The orange vixen trudges down the dirt road, her mood darkened by hunger.
"I could've sworn I had an apple or something in my bag..." she said to nobody in particular. "Did somebody steal it?"
Maria freezes. She did remember bumping into some elf kid when she was in town the other day. She dropped her bag, and everything fell out of it... The kid helped pick everything up, but apparently he kept something of hers...
"That little bastard!" She is furious. "Nobody steals from me! If I find him, I'll... I'll..." Maria sighs, as her anger subsides. Her anger never lasts long, especially not when kindled against a child. "I'll forgive him... He did look pretty hungry, I guess..."
Her stomach gurgles. "But I'm hungry, too..."
"Ma'am? Who are you talking to?" A man walks into view. "I hear you talking, quite loudly, and yet I don't see anybody with you..."
"Oh... Nobody..." Maria says, embarrassed. "I was just talking to myself... I must look quite odd."
He's a very plain man: Brown hair, brown eyes, brown shirt, brown shoes... And pants. He's wearing pants, too; they're gray, though. He's got a sack slung over his right shoulder, and a half-eaten pear in his left hand.
"No, no... It's not that odd. It sure looks odd, but it's not." The vixen's eyes fall on the half-eaten pear in the man's hand, and her stomach rumbles once more. "So, I hear you're hungry, now? I've got some pears in the bag, if you'd like."
"No, no, I'm fine, really..." She was lying, obviously, but didn't see fit to impose herself on a stranger.
"Oh, it's fine. I've got plenty. And I heard you say you were hungry."
"Well, if you insist... Thank you."
They both sit down against a thick tree to the side of the road. The man opens his bag, takes out a few pears, and places them in Maria's paws; she accepts them graciously.
It looks like she's getting lunch, after all.
They strike up a conversation as the vixen eats her pears. They exchange names (his name is Isaac, by the way), and stories.
He tells her about the pear orchard he owns... And that's it. Isaac isn't a very exciting man.
She tells him about her "profession" as a warrior, and how she hasn't been doing much lately.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Isaac says.
"It wouldn't be so bad... Except, you know, no money..." Maria says. "I'm beginning to consider abandoning this job... For what, though, I'm not sure."
"You probably don't have to do that... At least, not if you don't want to. I think I might have a 'lead' for you..."
"Really?" Maria asks, her interest piqued.
"Yeah. I've been hearing stories, lately, about this cave..."
"A cave?"
"Yeah, a cave. It's full of monsters and traps, but also full of treasure. You might check that out; if nothing else, you might salvage something that'll at least fetch enough coin to feed you 'til your next job."
"That sounds good. Where is it?"
"It's... Somewhere around here. People are a bit vague about that. You might look around the base of the mountain..." Isaac gestures toward a mountain 500 yards away. "I hope that helps."
"It does, it does. Thank you, Isaac; for the pears, and the information." Maria rises from her sitting position, stretches, and heads toward the mountain.
"Wait, wait... Before you go, you might as well take another pear."
"Thank you."
"Good luck."
Maria accepts the pear and continues on her way. Isaac stays behind, eating a pear.
"She's a nice girl..." Isaac says to himself, between mouthfuls of pear. "I hope he doesn't give her much trouble..."
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