The tents.

Feeling like she should stay closer to the castle, Xalendra stuck to the nearby street and walked over to the aisles of tents that ran beneath the cliff her family's walls sat atop. People were gathered around some few tents, while others had only a single person in the door, often shouting about some service provided inside. However there was one tent in particular, which she couldn't help but notice.

Up against the rock wall of the cliff sat a round purple tent that held an eerie glow inside. A soft green light could be seen past the flaps of its door, and Xalendra soon found herself approaching it. Whether or not it was simply curiosity, she didn't seem to care, as she reached out and pulled the heavy gray fabric aside to enter the tent's confines.

Inside she saw a large, reflective green bowl in the center of the fur-lined space, which held a hissing and crackling fire. Around the corners stood smoking pillars of incense that filled her nose with spicy, cinnamon-esque flavors. Beyond the fire, between several varicolored clay jars, was a woman who turned around to meet her, sitting cross-legged on the furred floor.

As Xalendra stood just inside, her wide blue eyes were met by the sharp almond-eyed stare of a dark-skinned woman in sheer dress and colorful wrappings. Her painted face held a gentle smile behind a purple veil as she turned around in one lissome swivel of her hips.

“Welcome,” she spoke mellifluously. “How are you this night?”

Xalendra was knelt by the firebowl, for a moment lost in the dancing flames, before realizing she was asked a question. Her eyes came back up blinking. “Oh... I am fine, thank you,” she replied. She then remembered where she was, and how she didn't know where she was, exactly. “What is this place?”

The woman's smile grew as her golden eyelids fell half-way. “This is my medicine tent,” she said softly. “Would you like to sample my wares?”

Xalendra paused. She smelled the sweet and spicy air flowing though her head, and felt the warm fire before her, filling her with **** to leave so cozy and inviting a place.