Esnell

You start to enjoy your surroundings as you walk, reveling in the music of the forest and the mystery of where this path might take you. After about ten minutes, you turn a corner and, as abruptly as it began, the path ends.
Just a few feet beyond where it stops, a huge, beautiful marble structure stands. The walls themselves seem to glow, inviting you to enter the building. Hesitating only a moment, you walk up to the door and, finding a ruby set in the stone, push your palm against it. The gem gives way, sinking into the marble, and the door slides inside the wall.
Stepping inside, you find yourself in the middle of a long hall, crafted from marble as well. Examining the walls, you can see a beautiful array of carvings, most of creatures that you've never seen, some you have. You stand there for a few minutes, entranced by the hundreds of carvings, and eventually realize that these are all taken from various regions of Kiesst.
"You like em, huh?" you startle at the sudden voice. Your eyes quickly come to rest on the source-

-a young girl wearing dirty working clothes and carrying two large metal buckets. Several stray brown hairs hang in front of her face, though they do little to conceal her sparkling green eyes. She smiles brightly, snuffing her hair out of her eyes and not seeming to notice when they just fall back again. You note the sun-tanned complexion of her skin and quickly surmise that she works out here a lot.
"Hey, s'up?" she continues, putting one bucket down to scratch her sweaty neck. "Hot day, huh?"
You nod, well aware of the sweltering humidity yourself.
"Yeah, my name's Jesse," she says, putting down her other bucket and stepping forward to shake your hand.
You accept her hand and tell her your name.
"Ah, yeah, well, that's cool an' all," she says absently, turning and picking up her buckets again, "How'd you get here, huh? This is a long ways into the mountains, you know." As she talks, she turns her head back to eye you curiously. You shrug, walking forward to stand side by side with her.
"Starless on..." you begin.
"Oh, North took you up," she interrupts, nodding, "Okay, okay, I get it." She smiles again, lifting her arms and rolling the bucket handles to the edges of her fingertips. "Welcome to Keisst!" she says cheerily, letting her arms drop, "Or, Esnell, more specifically- a nice little place in a nice little forest." She frowns, unconsciously rolling the bucket handles over her hands and back into her palms again. "Or, rather, a nice big place in a nice big forest," she mutters thoughtfully. Shrugging, she suddenly looks up, as if just noticing you were there.
"Ah, yeah, well, anyways," she says, inclining her head, "Shall we go? I think you'll like this place." She lifts a bucket and holds it out for you to take. "Here, help me out," she adds, blowing her hair out of her eyes again. You accept the bucket, and instantly find that the young girl's size is extremely decieving.
You grunt as the full weight of the metal container falls into your hands, nearly dropping it altogether. Clenching your teeth to keep from biting your lip, you look into the bucket.
"Synink droppings," Jesse explains, seeming a little confused by your struggle, "Can you carry it?" You nod, if only to save your pride, and heft the heavy bucket, leaning it against your leg to help spread out the weight as you walk.
"Yeah, well, okay," she says, shrugging, "This way!" She snorts, giggles, and skips down the long hall. You follow at a somewhat slower pace, lugging the bucket behind you.
"Isn't this place great?" she comments as you walk, glancing around the beautiful hall, "Dana constructed the whole place." She inclines her head, sparing you a glance. "With a little bit of magic, mind you," she adds, "But lots of it was with his own two hands." She giggles, noticing your incredulous look. "I guess you haven't seen Dana in his elven form, huh?"
"Elven form?" you ask, perplexed.
"Yeah," she confirms, nodding, "He can switch right from elf to dog in a second. It's cool." She lifts a hand, as if remembering something. "In fact, Nicholos is his dad! Did you know that? I was kinda surprised when I found that out."
"Nicholos is married?" you grunt, still working to move the bucket along.
"Mmm," she nibbles her lip thoughtfully, "Kind of. More like he was married. She's not dead or anything. Just had to go back to her own plane of existance." She rolls her eyes and smiles weirdly. "Or something like that! She was apparently very magical, so that's why Dana's got that special little tweak about him." She shrugs. "Had to go home, though. Kinda stinks. You can tell Nicholos misses her, though he doesn't talk about her much. But, you know, that's the way it is. Had an eighty-year one time pass... better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, though, right?"
"Eighty years?" you interrupt her chatter, "How old is Nicholos?"
"Old," she replies, "I'm not sure even he knows." She smiles that wacky smile again. "Elves live a long time, though, right?" She eyes you slyly.
"But not that long," you say, catching on.
"Right," she follows up, snapping her fingers, "We think it has something to do with the portal stones. Whoever appointed him guardian... we don't know who that is, he's not allowed to tell... must've made it so he can live a long time. I mean, the stones have to be protected for all eternity... or, ya know, until all evil is eliminated from the worlds." She snorts, voicing her opinion on the likelihood of that happening.
"Oh, okidoki," she says as the hallway T's off, "Left is my quarters, the kitchen, and the storage rooms. Right is the Synink Reserve. I'll go thataway," she points left, "Dump the synink... droppings... get a shower, a bite to eat, and meet you in the Synink Reserve. That cool with you?" You nod, gladly handing her your bucket, and start down the right hallway.