The night market was definitely coming to life as Henry walked down the street. More and more people were going about their business, albeit at a slower pace than was seen under the full light of the sun. The musician smiled and nodded to the people around him as he walked, taking in the peaceful air of the nig-

Thud.


The impact had been rather sudden and unexpected - Henry had been humming a tune under his breath as he walked the street and nodded to people, so he had not heard any footsteps coming towards him. The musician had let his guard down - he was back in a familiar setting, and the footsteps that had approached him had been quiet, soft and steady, not the sound of someone rushing in his direction, so they had been lost under the music in his own head. He blinked and shook his head once as he looked around, trying to see who it was that had run into him - and then looked down as two of the loaves of bread that he had been carrying were thrust up towards him. For a moment he thought that one of the local children had run into him while they were playing, but children weren't exactly known for calm, peaceful strides.

Then he processed what he was seeing. A short, stocky woman, with skin as dark as the night sky, and black hair done up in a bun, was holding up the loaves of bread as she spoke rapidly. Henry's mind ran back over what she was saying as she stopped to take a breath, and he blinked as he realized she was apologizing. Had apologized, rather, and was now holding the bread up towards him emphatically. The blue-eyed man let out a soft chuckle as he looked around on the ground, making sure none of the rest of his burden had been spilled onto the dusty path, then shook his head.

"Peace, peace. All's fair, miss. Ah, if you would?" He knelt down - he was still holding several loaves of bread, and couldn't exactly take the ones that she was holding out back. But on one knee, the pile of bread was low enough for her to easily stack the two that she had back on top. "No harm done to the bread, and the gods know the kids likely eat dirt raw, so even if some of the bread had gotten a bit messed up it would have been fine." He gave the dark-skinned - woman? Short teen? Dwarf, perhaps? - a bright smile. Her coal-black skin was definitely marking her as a foreigner to the region, but with Stonevale as one of the most profitable mines on the island nation, a lot of travelers came through.

It was a bit odd to see someone out here in what was essentially a suburb for the mining town, but not a complete rarity either. As he re-balanced the loaves of bread, Henry straightened back up and rolled his shoulders slightly. "There we go - actually. Hmm." He examined the woman for a moment - it didn't look like she'd run into his staff, but... "You aren't hurt yourself, are you miss?