Larrikan moves through the forest outside of Karlstrasse, at ease and confident. Not only has he had a lifetime of travel to let him know what is isafe, he knows the nearby town will have scared off anything too dangerous, and that his own kinfolk are working safety and peace through the local area. They do that wherever they go, and with so many here for the Gather, the effect will be quite strong. Larrikan is sure he can feel the effect, like a warm, safe blanket over the area, even though everyone tells him that is impossible.
Nothing bothers the fox until he reaches the clearing the Gather will be held in the next day. He steps in to the clearing and stops, froxen by the number of strange people there. It takes him a few stunned moments to realize that they are all busy with tasks, and that no one is looking at him, much less unhappy with him.
The big Gather-clearing has people working in it. A crew of trolls helps to build the stage at one side, and several small groups of humans are putting up a number of booths around the edge of the clearing opposite the stage. A crew of humans with ladders appears to be tying ropes across the clearing.
Larrikan picks one of the smaller groups of people in the clearing, a couple working on one of the booths, and approaches them carefully. Trying to look his most harmless, he says, politely, warily, “Excuse me.”
Larrikan nearly jumps out of his skin when the man stands all the way up and snaps, “We’re not open yet!”
Before the fox can back up more than a step or two, the woman chides, “Oh, Bern, stop that! I’m sure he can see that!” She turns to Larrikan and smiles, asking, “What did you need here, traveler?”
“I’m looking for one of the wizards,” stammers Larrikan, “Do you know where I can find one?”
“Oh,” says the man, “Is that all?” He points to a tall, heartily built woman with long, graying hair. She is standing in the middle of the confusion of ladders and people tying ropes across the clearing, apparently directing that busy chaos. The man says, “You want Coldwillow there.”
Larrikan thanks the couple, who smile at him. He then darts back to the edge of the clearing, hiding, as the Shy Folk tend to do. He wanders if he can do this, after all.