"Blast!" Markov shouted. "I told you we should have gone the other way." The man's voice was ripe with old age.
The strange bird perched on his shoulder shouted to his ear. "Zis is all your fault from ze start! YOU forgot to get ze potions, YOU lost ze ones I retrieved YESTERDAY!"
"Clam that accented beak of yours," Markov replied ", After that beast has been chewing the sailors like beef jerky, I'd prefer not to stay out in this Godless street in the middle of the damn night!"
Markov was the local crockpot wizard of Merula. The strange man behind the back alley selling potions, trinkets, and what not to travelling adventurers at the most ridiculous of prices. But he was a wizard, and captured the look of one quite well. Who could resist buying a glowing green potion from a wizard? Now he was trudging through the night, heading to a backwater shop many steps from his home. A medical potion was near due for the Baron of Merula. Markov didn't want to think what would happen if he didn't come up with the cure for his ailment. A day in the stocks, eating tomatoes and vegetables thrown at him, if he's lucky maybe just one night in the dungeon. He shuddered at the sudden thought and quickened his pace, his gray cloak tossing in the breeze. Markov seemed very healthy and good looking for his old age. His face bore only a few wrinkles, and carried a long, pointy, gray beard. His pet bird Ivan was a mystery in every way. He's nears the same age as Markov, they've been around so long both dont remember where they came from, and he seems like a cross between a parakeet and a hawk. Colorful feathers, sharp eyes, large beak, and a slim, majestic body. Years of companionship with Markov eventually taught Ivan how to talk just like a regular person. The strange accent is just one of his many unsolved mysteries
As Markov neared his destination, he saw a figure walking down the pier. The jetblack cloak over it didn't allow Markov's old eyes to see it's face.
"Quite the suspicious fellow eh Ivan?" Markov whispered as he stopped to straighten his pointy wizard hat.
"Oh, of courss an old wizard with a talking bird on hiz shoulder cant be az suspicious az tha-"
A scream brought their conversation to a halt. They stood there, wide eyed, not knowing what to do.
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