First meeting with Melfyra

One afternoon, those in the eastern part of the city see a sizeable amount of smoke rising above the upper sacks. Those more familiar with the area can tell that while the smoke doesn't seem to originate from freak street, it is in fairly close proximity. Those in the vicinity might also notice the smell of burning foliage, as compared to the smells of burning wood or charcoal that are more common in the city.

A green elf with antlers, a black, lizardlike tail, and blue stripes across her body scurries up the side of a run-down building close by where the smoke is to try and get a better look at what's going on. What could've started a fire at this hour? And from the smell of those plants, it could get dangerous. This warrants investigation.

from your vantage, you can see the smoke is coming from nearby. A sort of rundown manor in the upper sacks that probably belonged to a minor lord or rich merchant before the collapse. Now, it sits abandoned. You do remember however that on the grounds was the withered and dead remains of a sizeable hedge maze. It seems likely that this hedge maze is where the fire seems to be coming from but you can't see clearly from here.

Seeing how much ground there is to cover here, Melfyra casts a fly spell on herself and begins searching the maze from above. A maze like this with that much dry kindling could turn this fire worse if she doesn't get to the source.

From the air you can pretty clearly see what is happening. You note a few things. First, about one quarter of the hedge maze seems to have already burned, there is a woman standing next to the hedge maze who looks to be using fire magic to burn it, and the immediate area around the hedge maze itself has been cleared of all flammable debris, creating a sort of firebreak around the area. As you approach, the woman looks up at you and gives you a friendly wave.

Melfyra returns the wave and descends to the ground. "Hi! I noticed the smoke from a few blocks down, do you mind if I ask what you're doing here?"

"Oh, hello. Sorry to bother you. I was just clearing this area before I start proper construction. My name is Mahra." She gives you a small bow.

"Construction? Well, it's not like anyone else was using this maze, anyways. Shame to see it go though. I'm Melfyra, a local druid. What are you building?"

At the question about what she is doing, Mahra's eyes light up. "I'm working to start my own clan. So I'm working on fixing this place up so we have a place of operations." She gestures at the buildings around her. "I'm just getting started right now though"

Melfyra looks around at the buildings as well. "That's a noble goal! Once this place is fixed up, I'm sure it'll make a great clan hall! You mind if I stick around until the maze is fully cleared out? I'm sure you've got things under control here, but I wanna make sure it doesn't get too out of control, you know?"

"Sure." She responds happily. Always ready to make new friends. "If it's not rude, are you one of Gwen's undead? You are a lot more talkative than most of her other minions."

"Oh, no, I'm not one of hers. I wasn't raised by a necromancer, I asked Pomba to bite me a few years ago." Melfyra points to the bite mark on her neck. The telltale sign of vampirism.

"Oh, I've never met a vampire before." She looks at you curiously, like she wants to ask a question, but isn't sure what to ask about. Giving up on it "Do you live here in the upper sacks too?"

"Yeah! I live just across the street from Gwen, although I have found my attention in a lot of places lately. I'm just as likely to be here as I am to be in Lancaster."

"Oh I guess we will be neighbors then." She looks at you curiously "Lancaster?"

"Yeah! It's another city, a couple days from here on foot. It used to be infested with undead, but it's safe now! I was actually from there before it fell!"

She nods in agreement "Nasty business, having undead overrun a city. I'm glad the undead here seem to be under control. Even if there are quite a few." she looks towards freak street.

"Yeah! The undead here are all great, I'm glad I found my way here eventually!"

"I see. I just hope that I can find some good recruits for my tribe. Gwen doesn't seem interested in nothing else and I haven't met any other orcs here yet." She looks a bit forlorn.

"Yeah, that sounds like her. I'm sure you'll find more orcs as you keep doing associate work and get your name out there!"

She brightens up at Melphy's comment "Thanks, now I just need to track down those salmon I heard rumors about. It's been years since I last ate some."

"Oooooh, the salmon here are great! Especially when paired with some dwarven ale!"

"Oh really? Do you know where I can get some? I haven't found where to get it yet."

"Check the Ashenforge Clan Hall! They've got good food, good drink, and even better company!"

"I'll have to make sure to do so." By this point, the hedge is pretty much finished being burned. "Well, I need to head to trimarket now to procure materials. Before that though, maybe you could show me this place with good salmon. Would you like to join me for lunch?" She gives her new friend a smile.

"That sounds like a good idea to me! It's over in Little Monarch, right this way!"

Mahra will follow Melphy to go get lunch.