Skrývať. The town was humble, the people humbler. Out of all the villages Pán had been to within the past few days, this one was one of the smallest. He certainly felt like an outcast, suddenly almost self-conscious of the intricate golden fabric at his hip, and the brilliant headpiece that adorned his hair. He felt like a freak show in this shambles of a town, people stayed deliberately out of his way, and he could hear their whispering. Fear. Admiration. Jealousy. Hatred. He kept track of where his dagger rest, in the sheath in the band around his waist; lest one of the more bitter voices turn into violence in a less public area. Pán didn't need much here, he'd simply had a tough time finding familiar edible plants in his travels lately, and needed to restock his bags with more. The further westward he moved, the less he recognized the foliage. He made a mental note to pick up a book on the subject when he made it to the next village over.
After he'd made his selections, he browsed through some of the other market stalls for the unique items you can only really find in a town like this one. Interesting pins caught his eye. Though somewhat dull compared to the brilliance of his current attire, he chose one resembling a brassy dragonfly. He could polish it up during a dull moment, it was certainly too interesting a piece to dismiss simply because it wasn't as shiny as the rest. As he was paying for the trinket, he heard a commotion near the center of the market. Turning around in surprise, Pán caught sight of an unusual-looking man in a black leather jacket, bickering with the town smithy. He was too far away to hear what it was they were upset about, but he could see the wild hand gestures on both sides of the argument, emphasizing the importance of whatever point they each had. A bit of a crowd was gathering, watching curiously. Though it was no unusual sight to see the argumentative old smith disputing with some traveler over something petty or other, it was the blunt oddity of this particular traveler that interested them. Pán approached and joined the crowd momentarily, puzzling over the bizarre scene.
It was at that moment that the argument broke, the strange traveler bidding the smith goodbye in a somewhat sarcastically polite manner. The crowd had shifted and dispersed somewhat, but the eyes stayed locked on him. He looked around at the townspeople, a confused expression on his face, before declaring "what, not get a lot of travelers in these parts?" He was met with a continued appalled silence, before slowly turning their attention back to whatever each was doing before the ruckus began in the first place. Pán remained, having no other purpose in Skrývať; though he was certainly curious about this new turn of events.
The traveler, after casting a sidelong glare at the smith, who had returned to his station, approached Pán, who happened to be the only one still looking at him. "You there! You look like a nice bloke. Care to help me out? I seem to have lost track of where I told my companion to wait for me while I looked for something here."
Pán blinked and nodded once, surprised he had been chosen out of everyone here, when most people would hardly cast a second glance at him, let alone speak to him. The traveler, whose name was Theta Sigma, or simply Theta, had come from a place even father away than Pán himself; though he wouldn't specify where. Instead, he gave cryptic answers that made Pán's head hurt trying to decipher them. After hours of frustrated circling and backtracking through the surrounding forests, they made it to a stopping point. Theta scrunched up his face as he looked into the sky, which was toning down into a pale blue-gray, indicating a soon-upcoming nightfall. "We'd better hurry, else get caught in the dark," Pán said, a sudden note of concern creeping into his voice. Theta shook his head. "Unless you've got somewhere to be, I'm not too concerned about a bit of darkness anymore." A smirk was on Theta's face,but Pán continued to stare at him. "There's a reason the people here don't go outdoors at night, and I'd rather not you find out that reason. I'd rather not be responsible, indirectly or not, for your death." The smirk dropped from Theta's face. "Sounds fantastic!" A cheery note of false enthusiasm was in his voice; he seemed more serious, though Pán could see he was still not truly concerned. Regardless, they moved on with an extra burst of swiftness.
The duo ended up finding Theta's friend before dark; a small but sturdy girl, round-eyed and peppy but had a certain rigidness in her posture that told him she was not one to be messed with. Theta thanked Pán in his usual odd way of speaking, and the two headed off, seeming to disappear into the murky darkness of the forest shadows.
They were never seen again; not by Pán, or anyone for that matter. Some believed Theta had never existed at all, dismissing memories as mere imagination. Pán knew it was real, and while on his journeys, continued to keep an eye out for the strange traveler, the anomaly, the disappearing oddity he called Theta Sigma.