If you were expecting Salt Lick to be podunk, your expectations have been met Zekk.  You set your pack down and wipe the sweat off your brow, easing the tension out of your shoulders.

You're standing between a large building you assume is an inn.  There's a sign above the door reading Grat's Packets.  On the other side is what looks like a market of some kind.  It's midafternoon and a lot of the villagers are gathered there.  It must be a fish market as a lot of the villagers there are dressed like fishermen and..well...the place smells like fish.

A middle aged woman with a young girl no more than two clinging to her legs passes by.

"Pardon me Sir!  And welcome to Salt Lick!  Haven't seen you here before. Gotta get my husband's lunch to him.  He just got back from the boat.  If you're lookin' for a meal and a room..." She points at Grat's Packets

For Breya, Bel, Cass, Koz, etc.

It looks like the fishing fleet have come in.  The boat crews are packing the fish market.  The catch has to be cut and placed on drying racks.  It's a busy time of day in the village.

As you come up the path towards the market, you can see there's a new face in town.  Guy in armor standing between Grat's Packets and the Fish Market, looking around like he's new in town.

Zekk, I'll let you describe yourself for the group.

Looking up from the road, Zekk read the sign on the door quickly, and grunted softly to himself.

Odd...

Zekk tilted his hooded face towards the woman that reached out to him a second later, raising a solitary eyebrow as she virtually threw her entire life story at him in half a moment.

Play nice...

He tossed her a half-smile, waving a powerfully muscled arm at her in a friendly gesture. No reason to rock the boat, having just gotten here.

Turning back towards the market, he lifted his wide chin and sniffed the air, his bright blue eyes glinting in the sun. It smelled good enough: could be a source of food in the future. Shifting his pack slightly to the side on his shoulders, Zekk's posture was still confident, and powerful, even if he had been marching for quite some time.

Glancing back towards Grat's Packets one more time with a sigh, Zekk resigned himself to his fate. Yet another small town, with very little of interest to him. Hopefully, he could find something that he could do that wouldn't bore him to tears, but who knew?

Breya, in the meantime, walked with an elf, holding hands with him.  Well, "holding hands" in the sense she followed right behind him, at his shoulder, with both of her hands wrenched on his arm, one at the elbow and one at the wrist.  It was a little annoying because she had no free hand to police her hair with, and a few long red strands had come loose and were getting in the way.

She even remembered the song.  "With a little turn and a little squeeze, everyone drops to their knees!"

It did leave her vulnerable since she had her hands occupied and had to watch her... friend, but she trusted the others to run interference for her.

She took a moment to whisper sweet nothings in his ear.  "If you lie or target the wrong person or play any stupid tricks, I have no compulsions whatsoever about showing you what I did to Mason the Mutilator."

She wasn't shy about using the leverage to move him along either.  If he got out of position, it would just plain hurt.

In reply to Breya (msg # 4):

Zekk, as you turn towards Grat's Packets...whatever that is...you do see something of interest.  A rather odd looking group is coming in from the east.

Three women: one big as yourself.  One with a servicable looking blade on her hip.  And one tiefling bounding along.  Three men are with them.  A dashing type. One who looks like he's been out in the wilderness.  And a tall, froofy looking elf.

The froofy elf and the big woman are holding hands.  But they neither of them looks happy about it.

I'll let you guys describe yourselves as you wish for Zekk

---

Flea frowns at you Breya.  "You really have trust issues, don'tcha?  Sad way to go through life.  Anyway I have no reason to do the wrong here.  Because once I point them out, you guys are gonna let me go.  Right?"

As you move into what passes for the center of town in Salt Lick, you're encountering more villagers.  They all recognize the lot of you.  They smile, wave.  One woman openly wonders if the "cute" one is dating anybody. But she's not specific who the "cute" one is.

As you get near the fish market, Flea suddenly stops.  He tugs at his hand, shooting you an annoyed look Breya.  "I was about to point at him.  Can you let one of my hands go? It'd make this easier on both of us."