Your travels have taken you far and wide to many places, meeting many kinds of people, and having faced and triumphed over a number of perils.  Right now luck and skill could not save you on the possible peril of getting lost in the middle of nowhere, and while you could subsist on what the wild could offer, you’ll need information and guidance on your present whereabouts, so that you can go back on track on the right route to your intended destination.  Also since when was the last time you slept under cover and protection of a roof plus enjoy the amenities of home cooking?  Such musings seemed to come into fruition as you suddenly stumble upon an isolated village of sorts in the middle of the forest you were traversing.  Said village appears to be rural and is situated in a large open clearing in the woods.  Whatever trails or paths that led to this place you do not notice at this point.  However your senses tell you something is off.  The entire village appears to be awfully silent, as if deserted.  Glancing here and there however shows telltale signs of outdoor activity, like carpentry or tanning, that were suddenly left unattended or unfinished in haste.  You do notice many of the windows of the house are shuttered tight but you manage to catch a glimpse of one, slightly ajar before suddenly closing shut with intention.<br/><br/>(http://www.teaci.com/Illustration/lightbox2.05/images/village1.1.jpg)<br/><br/>Curious but wary you cautiously enter further into the village proper.  Calling out illicit no response from any of the surrounding buildings, the same result when trying to knock at the doors or the shuttered windows.  Just as you’re about be give up in frustration you’re suddenly caught off-guard by someone greeting you from behind.  “May I help you, stranger?”  It was a short, bent down old man with a bush of a mustache under his nose; the top of his head is bald save for the brown hair that rings around the sides and back.  Thick brows of the same hue as his hair and mustache overshadow his dimming eyes.<br/><br/>“As the village elder, I welcome you to the village of Aliya.”<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Knowledge (local) 15</div><div class="spoiler_body">There is said to be a village blessed by the Goddess of Love and Beauty that its womenfolk born there grow up to be beautiful specimens of the female gender.  The village’s name is called Aliya.<br/></div></div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Knowledge (local) 20</div><div class="spoiler_body">It is said that many members of the Sisters of Rapture, a holy order of warrior-priestesses who dedicate themselves to the Goddess of Love and Beauty, come from and are recruited from the village of Aliya.<br/></div></div><br/>