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It is a week before the Swallowtail festival, and the town of Sandpoint is gearing up to the celebrations. A few miles from the town a number of strangers are meeting for the first time at a way-inn, it is an old rustic place, with little love to aesthetics. The wooden cabin is filled with tables and chairs but few patrons, many being put off by the numerous stenches of the less than hygienic staff. Many are resting up here today before they make their way into Sandpoint in the morning.
Stepping in from the evening air is a petite, blond half-elf girl clad in a soft yellow blouse with a grey chain shirt over it, as well as brown leggings & boots. A well-used longsword is sheathed at her side.
"No problem, Dad!" She calls back out the door before turning to the inn before her. The caravan was well on its way to Sandpoint, and wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to rest in a decent inn instead of under the stars. She just needed to find the innkeeper and get the caravan members some good rooms.
She steps into the main room of the inn, coughing a bit as the smell of the staff hits her nose. Not exactly the most hygienic of places, but at least the rooms here won't leak.
Well, not if the innkeeper wants repeat customers, at least.
She takes a look around, moving to one of the free tables and taking a seat while she waits for the innkeeper to show up.
Jirani watched the new arrival as she entered, he having only just arrived but a half an hour ago. He had not yet committed to a room opting instead to eat and contemplate pushing his luck in the evening and camping on the road or putting what precious little coin he had left to staying in a bed.
The road from Absalom had been long. He had been ready to leave the city anyway but the letters from his mentor, Haldin, had spoken of Sandpoint then stopped altogether. Jirani absently patted his satchel that carried the letters. It had given him a direction to set out and he had little else to work with in finding that man that helped Jirani find his own faith.
Besides, this festival seemed interesting so Jirani considered the timing to be as good as it could be for such a journey.
The half elf that entered seemed well armored and armed. A caravan guard perhaps? She spoke of a father. Jirani nodded at the pleasant notion of a family travelling together much as he had with his own.
A few minutes later, a slender man, with black hair and blue eyes, comes through the door. He greets everyone, but no one in particular. "Good evening!" He is wearing a light armor, made of small leather pieces sewn together, much like a scale mail, but made of leather. There is a brand new morningstar at his hip and a crossbow over his backpack, but not much else. He walks toward the balcony, speaking with the bartender.
"How are you doing? I would like something to drink, strong please. Are we far from the city?"
Auren glanced up at the darkening sky and inhaled deeply. The frontier air of Varisia had a clean and crisp quality to it that his home of Absalom could never match. It was definitely one of the things that he found he really liked about the north. I could get used to living here, he mused. Shaking his head clear, he knew that he had to make his way over to Magnimar at some point. Although spending another week around Sandpoint to attend the Swallowtail Festival should be all right--his timetable wasn't too strict in that regard. His superiors had inculcated into him a sense of religious tolerance, and had nurtured his curiosity about other faiths. They would probably be pleased by the fact he wanted to witness how worshippers of Desna celebrated one of her holy days.
As his reverie continued, a chill breeze quickly reminded Auren of why he was standing outside of an inn. With night falling and the temperature steadily dropping, he needed a warm place to sleep until morning. But out of habit, he started studying the building's rustic exterior. Constructed mainly of heavy timber, it was a typical structure representative of the region. And he could see shadows flickering against its glass window panes as lamplight from the interior leaked through. Noticing the caravan parked nearby, he guessed that quite a number of travelers may already be inside. But hopefully there was at least one vacancy still available.
The young, fair-haired missionary pushed open the inn's door and walked through. Though tall, armed, and armored, he didn't carry himself with a warrior's natural grace. His scale mail and scimitar looked too clean, too new, and obviously hadn't seen much use. And his frame was lanky and lacked the musculature of a true swordsman. It also didn't help that his face lacked any guile and appeared too earnest, marking him as someone inexperienced with the harsher realities of the world. But somehow, despite his sheltered upbringing, he had made it this particular inn in one piece.
As he stood by himself rather self-consciously, looking unsure of where to sit, Auren waved at one of the waitstaff hoping to catch her attention. I hope they still have a room left, he fretted.
The young man walks to the inn, looking around to make he hasn't been followed. 'The last thing I need is another ambush.' He secures his hood and walks in. His blue gaze shifts, seeing the well-armored patrons. He appears to be of high stock. What is odd is his short fiery red hair, not seen on a Cheliaxian. His ash bow is slung on his back. He stays silent, a frown marking his face as he walks to one of the darker lit tables in the back. He sits, keeping his wits about him, keeping an eye out, and waiting to order.
Lia's eyes land on the bartender girl with a smile. With the bartender currently busy, she figured the young lady would be able to help her get some good rooms for her caravan.
Failing that, she could at least ensure they could have some good food. Argus would appreciate having a vacation from cooking for once.
She stands up from her table and approaches the girl.
"Excuse me, but do you know where the innkeeper is? I'm asking because my caravan is outside and will pay well for a couple of good rooms." She asks in the most polite manner possible.
She gives the serving girl her a warm smile.
"Rum, definitely rum." He looks around, to the newcomers, but speaks to the bartender. "You're gonna have more and more visitors this week, hun? Do you know if there is a room available? Cause I don't see the Innkeeper anywhere."
Lia smiles.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all."
She moves back to her seat and takes a look around.
After a while, Aerodus waves the young bartender girl over. "I'll have an ale. And if there's room tonight, I'll take one. It's been a long time since I've slept with a roof over my head." As the young bartender leaves, Aerodus just sits and thinks. His gaze goes over to the group of lasses in the corner every once in a while. 'All I need to do is stay in Sandpoint until I give those bounty hunters and Hellknights the slip. And then, to wherever I want.'
Auren frowned in slight dismay. His attempt to gain the attention of the young bartender girl had failed. But it was an understandable situation since she was currently preoccupied with another patron. With the arrival of the caravan and several other travelers, the place looked like it was going to be busy for the night. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the quiet cleric stepped up to the bar careful to avoid the unsavory looking barkeep. The pox-ridden man's lack of hygiene didn't bode well for a chance at clean food.
Instead, Auren timed a flash of gold coin with the exact moment that the bargirl's eyes brushed past his. That seemed to get her attention. He waited until she approached and then pushed the coin across the stained countertop toward her. "Do you recommend any of the food here?" he asked her, sincerely curious. His Varisian had a noticeable, southern city accent to it.
Lia stretches in her seat and looks around some more. A couple of Chelish people, one with red hair (which TOTALLY wasn't dyed) and lugging around a longbow, the other wearing the armor & vestments of a priest of Sarenrae. A man of Garundi descent, dressed in flowing colors of purple, blue, black & grey. And even another priest was here, this one of Desna.
Taking a look at the bartender, she starts to have doubts about the quality of the food here.
Well, it looks like Argus is going to have to do the cooking again tonight. Sorry, Granddad. Here's hoping the rooms are better. If not... then we'll just have to sleep in the wagons again.
She doesn't relish the thought of going back outside and telling her father & her boss that this place was dirtier than the ground outside. She decides to look through her spellbook while she waited for the innkeeper to arrive, pulling it out of her backpack and setting it down in front of her.
Really wish I brought something else to read...
Venator takes a sip of the strong rum, although the sediment was something he should worry about. Or not. He looks around, smiling at seeing the disgusted faces of the others. He calls it aloud so everyone would hear it. "Cheers!" He lifts his cup, offering a toast for these unknowns in the road. "What doesn't kill you make you stronger!" Then he drinks a bit more.
Areodus sits. He notices the half-elf girl pulling out a book. Catching a glimpse, he notices that it's a spellbook. His eyes narrow at the girl. 'A magic user. It seems like no matter where I go, there's some arcane user nearby.'
At the Desnan cleric's cheers, Aerodus just scowls and rolls his eyes. But his thoughts read, 'There's truth to that. Truth I know quite a bit of.'
Lia looks up at the Desnan priest as he downs the rum. Noticing how... off the drink looks, her eyes widen.
Yep, now I know not to order any food here. If that's what the drinks are like, I'm afraid to ask about the food.
Looking away, she notices the redhead narrowing her eyes at her. Her face can't decide whether to blush or pale.
She instead settles for putting her spellbook away. She rises from her seat, deciding to take a look at what rooms the inn has to offer. Her sword bounces against her chair as she gets up.
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The bargirl gets Auren a pint of ale, making sure to avoid making eye contact with him, already at the tether of her wits and unthinking, when he asks her about the food she makes a small jump spilling a bit of the ale on the floor, the embarrassed she shakes her head to say no. She then takes the ale back as she goes to clean the floor
Lia
Okay, three rooms already taken, a couple of clean, small ones and--oh, by Nethys, that common room is filthy. Yeah, there's no way I'd let Dad sleep here. Bree & Tanna, maybe, but certainly no one else. Hell, Egan would have a conniption if he could see this room now. Lia thinks, her eyes widening at the sight of the common room.
She heads back downstairs, noticing the priest at the bar trying to chat up the serving girl. She walks over in time to overhear him asking about the food.
She takes a seat at the bar next to him. "Yeah, I'd give the special a miss if I were you. That rum--" She nods her head at the Desnan priest. "--looks like it was scraped from the bottom of the keg. Can't say I'd hold out hope for the food being okay."
She fishes around in her coin purse, counts out 3 gold pieces, and hands them off to the serving girl.
"A tip." She says with a smile.
Lia doesn't quite catch what the bearded man says, but she's curious about what he's chasing the servant girl for.
She decides to see what the bearded man's buddy is up to and approaches the 'cooks'.
"Excuse me, may I ask where she's going? Is something wrong?" She asks in her most polite voice.
Lia nods, still trying to hear what's going on in the back.
"And who, may I ask, is the bearded gentleman over there?" She nods her head in the direction of the aforementioned man.
Aerodus notices the bearded man saying something to his partner.
Aerodus finishes his ale before standing up and walking over. He asks, "Is there a problem here?" He does glance over to the young half-elf, almost as if he's wary that she might try something.
A little bit surprised by the girl's frank honesty, Auren decided to forgo ordering dinner. He still had dry trail rations in his pack that he could eat anyway. And as he eyed his ale with some trepidation, he thought, Maybe I should pass on the alcohol here as well. However, when one of the other patrons offered up a toast, he politely raised his mug but set it back down again without taking a sip.
With plans to nurse his drink indefinitely, he startled when the petite blonde swordswoman appeared at his side and spoke. "I think you're right," he agreed. Her assessment of the establishment's food quality pretty much matched his. And he could only imagine what the condition of the overnight rooms might be like. Sleeping outdoors was starting to gain more and more appeal.
Something definitely seemed off about the inn, but before Auren could voice his concerns the serving girl ran off. He watched her go, wondering where she was headed and if she was going to come back. No innkeeper in sight, and now I may have to actually deal with the bartender. The evening couldn't get any worse, or so he hoped.
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Lia
Aerodus
Auren
Cook ”Ah he be a healer from dem south, been wok’in ‘er fe a week” the other cook nods
Aerodus glares at the cook. "That's bull and you know it. If he's a healer, then why did he say that 'time's up' and threatening to 'lift protection' from you? He also left as soon as the half-elf magic user payed the bargirl. Now, move!"
Lia's a bit startled by the redhead's threats, but she starts having suspicions about the legitimacy of the whole affair.
She rests her right hand on her sword while gathering arcane energy into her left.
"I think it'd be a good idea to move right now, don't you?" She asks in an innocent voice.
Aerodus walks forward, a scowl forming on his face. He says, "What's going on in here?!"
Lia follows the redhead, ready for trouble to start.
Jirani watches wordlessly, sensing the heightening tension and apparent consternation of the young half-elf and the Chelaxian new comer. Sensing an escalation the inquisitor rises from his seat and casually approached the group.
What indeed neighbor? Is there trouble here?
Jirani, undoubedly behind the others simply shrugs, See? No issue here?
Venator watched the mess the others made. Indeed the place was a low-quality one, but could there be something else? He peeked inside the ale, but thought it was alright. If there's some kind of poison the alcohol would neutralize it. Hearing the bell ring made him curious, tough, so he left a couple coins to pay for the rum and exited the place, circling around through the shadows to peek at the outside of the back door.
At the oddly dressed man's statement, Aerodus can only roll his eyes. He whispers through clenched teeth, "Obviously, he's hiding something." He then gives a careful glance around the room, looking for anything suspicious.
He then walks up to the man. "You're lying. I've seen you glancing at the bartender girl. As soon as the half-elf paid the lass, you nodded to your companion and made your way in here. You told him that 'time's up'. You also told the cooks that you would 'lift protection' if they didn't move. Know this. I'm cold, tired, and hungry. I don't have time to deal with you. Now tell me what in the Hells is going on... or else."
At the threat, the man can faintly see Aerodus's eyes turn a slight crimson. Aerodus's blood moves swiftly. He can hear the faint, devilish sounds of 'kill him and 'show him who's superior' coming from said blood.
Lia takes a breath to steady herself.
She looks the oddly dressed man squarely in the eyes.
"Sir, we've been acting on the impression that this young lady's life is in danger." She says softly, looking over to the serving girl. "I'm willing to believe that this was all just a big misunderstanding, but I'm afraid I will not be able to guarantee your safety if you don't explain everything truthfully to us. Please?"
There was certainly more going on at the inn than Auren could discern on his own. The two men he had mistaken for random patrons seemed to be anything but random. And what he'd overheard from the bearded gentleman had him scratching his head. What did he mean by protection? he wondered. What kind of place is this anyway?
All Auren wanted was some good food and a clean room for the night. Instead, some sort of dramatic commotion was apparently starting to transpire. It wasn't any of his business, but he'd seen tavern brawls erupt for much less provocation.
With his ale all but forgotten, he swept his gaze over the other guests to see how they were reacting to the situation. In particular, he watched the table of four young women to see if they played any part in all of this, or if they were just innocent bystanders like himself.
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Venator
Auren
Bearded man ”Well now those are some accusations. Is it such a crime to be hungry and impatient? And a little paranoid on how one’s food is prepared? I assure you that the only danger this girl is in is lying inside that pot” he points at the cooking pot
Having heard the bell, he thinks there should be someone here. Maybe they got in instead of out, but still he takes a careful look at the surroundings.
Aerodus stares at the man. "While it's not a crime, it is very suspicious. It's also the fact that you came in here after her payment, threatening the cooks on the way. If there's not trouble, then leave the young woman to do her job in peace. Otherwise, I'll be staying here as well. Just to be sure." He then leans up against one of the walls.
Looking to the half-elf, he whispers into her ear. "Why don't you talk to his friend, half-elf? See if his lips are looser."
Lia's fingers twitch. She listens to the redhead, and at least content that there's nothing likely to happen, she decides to ask the bearded gentleman from before.
She walks out of the kitchen, past the cooks, and up to the bearded gentleman.
"Excuse me, but I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding between your companion and us. After I gave the serving girl a tip, you sent your companion after her. May I ask why? Just to clear the air."
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Man in the kitchen ”by all means stay and watch, though if this puts you off your food you’re the only one to blame”
Guy in the colourful clothes ”I’m so terribly hungry, thought you’d paid so she could attend our order”
Venator
Aerodus says, "Don't really care. I've been on the road for months. I'll eat any warm food at this point." He stands in silence, watching both the bargirl and the man. He asks, "So, where are you from?"