The Ocean air whipped and stung, lifting spray in great gusts against the dock. Rolling on the horizon, dark and imposing, laid a storm like this dock hadn't seen in years. It was so large that it seemed the sea had mountains floating on it, as far around the east as the eye could see. They were thrown in stark relief, orange-gold fire cast against the bulbous underbellies and flat-headed anvils of the thunderheads... beautiful really, and fear-inspiring as well. Clouds had always had that effect on Eli. He understood why paintings of heaven often had the golden-crowned fluffy nimbus clouds framing the holy subjects. It looked marvellous.
Eli gave the approaching storm one last stare before turning heel and strolling back down the pier. The salty sting of the sea faded as he approached
The Chanting Wind, the only good food and drink in the bay - or so he'd been told by a particularly charismatic man with a beard worthy of a portrait. Eli had always liked beards, but not on his own face. He was stiffly in the moustache category, though perhaps a little stubble on the chin wouldn't be so bad... the thoughts slid from his mind as he pushed the Inn and Bar's door open. Well oiled, it didn't make a sound on the hinges, and Eli decided to keep the trend going, stepping quietly onto the hardwood floor of the tavern. It wasn't packed, but there were a few drunken patrons singing a raucous swabbie song while spilling their lager across the bar.
Eli turned on his heel for the second time in as many minutes, just as quietly exiting the common room. He was all for a good drink, but he'd wait for the commotion to die down before ordering his meal for the night. He found a spot on the cobblestone wall of
The Chanting Wind to lean against, just beside the door and pulled a pipe and a small bag of tobac from his pockets. He dumped some of the tobacco into the pipe, stuffed it in, replaced the bag, and pulled out a slightly bent match. Scratching the match head on the cobble-wall, Eli proceeded to light up his pipe and take a drag. The sunset had turned the sky a lovely orange-red, and Eli thought to himself in that moment,
"I haven't felt this good for longer than I can remember..."@Kalak
