Nevin wanted to punch himself. He had been closer to escape from the woods than he had thought - though if he had kept going on his original route, he had no idea how long he would have been stuck. Well - no matter, this jaunty hat wearing Elf had decided to help him - and for that Nevin was grateful, even if he did still have a chill dancing on his spine about how quietly Elthas had shown up. He just hoped that he wouldn't regret trusting the Elf. It would be rather upsetting if this friendliness was just a masque to get a victim.

But no, Nevin felt like he could at least offer some modicum of trust to the Elf - aside from the glowing eyes he didn't have too much magic about him, and from what Nevin knew Elves, Forest Elves at least, generally held no truck with sacrificial magics. Of course he could be a rather elegant bandit - but between the two of them, he doubted he had anything that the Elf would consider valuable.

So. Offer trust, and follow him. Nevin swallowed past the knot of nerves in his throat and set off in the direction Elthas was walking. As the Elf started singing softly Nevin worked on how to respond to the questions he had been asked. He knew how he could answer, but he was not ring to figure out a way that didn't make him seem like an absent minded dolt.

"I... Was restocking my medicinal herbs. The woods here are replete with herbs and plants for alchemy, and I'll need those to get my shop running.
I know a remedy that is supposed to help with miner's lung, so figured that that, along with the other potions and salves I can make, would see me setting up quite nicely." And getting a reputation as a friendly, helpful alchemist would serve him well in masking just how some of his wares were made.

Speaking of - Nevin was careful to mark the route that they were taking to get to Stonevale. He would need to be coming back out here - both for the plants and herbs he could cultivate out here, though he did intend on making a small garden to grow the most common ingredients near his shop, but also for the hunting he would need to do. He knew that while he could make restorative potions with normal alchemy, his best sellers, the most effective ones... Were made with his other talents.

Still, as they walked, the Elf's singing was slowly pulling his mind out of its tense state, slowly and bit by bit at a time.