It's All in a Day's Work

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose wiped the sweat off of her forehead and sighed. Why did Father have to move here? He never did tell me... She continued to clean the tables, some of which had alcohol stains on them. She absolutely hated alcohol. It destroyed so many things, and she couldn't bear the thought of her drunk. But I guess I'll have to deal with it. I am a waitress at an inn, after all. Her father was the owner of the Black Briar Inn. It was fairly small, with only about ten rooms. Even so, the most interesting of characters show up. Rose liked the thought of countless adventurers stopping there. She secretly wished that she could be one of them.

"Rose, dear, can you check outside to see if anyone's out there? I heard there's going to be a sandstorm soon. If someone doesn't have a place to stay, they can spend the night here." Her father said. She nodded, walking towards the door. I hope that the sandstorm never comes. It always takes numerous lives whenever it passes.

[Dansen]

The end of the days in Essyrn tended to be dealt with in a manner of ways. As the number of professions in the city almost blotted out the number of taverns that covered the landscape of the streets everyone had a way to relieve or release the tension from the hard days labors. But for Garreth it was the end of the day that tended to be either his rush hour, or his break. Thieving tended to not be so difficult in the light of the day, so long as you had the know how and quick thinking to move through homes of some more middle class but wealthy landowners it tended to be a quick payment and a quick getaway. As the night rolled in and more unhealthy elements of the city came with it  they all seemed fearful of the sandstorm predicted to flow in on the city soon the young thief felt that perhaps it was time for him to take a moment or two to rest, to him it was not as if the homes were going to move over a few hours...

On the rooftops he saw his destination below, The Black Briar Inn. He did not look to stay for the night, but he was certainly looking for a respite, there was enough service in the inn that made it more affordable and less conspicuous than many of the inns that provided grandiose service for much too much coin for him to have on hand without some issue. As quick as a flash, he began to make his descent to the ground, a dark cloak covering his silvery hair and bandanna to cover his face, the sneakthief fell silently as his feet hit the floor looking to enter the inn to meet a fence...

It was not easy finding a fence who would not fall under the guild but Garreth had a way of convincing others to turn the other cheek. As he would enter his sharp and seemingly otherworldly sapphire eyes would look to the only girl who seemed to have some sort of control of the place as she was in his way in the front door, before looking down to a corner where his man Sten, had decided to wait for him. Taking his hood down he would reveal his face and not care much mind to those around, passing the woman with a strange ease he found his way to his fence. Garreth made more than most of his clients or independents stay a night or two for confirmation of a job well done. Sitting by Sten he would look to the man and with a stern but joking voice with a tone so only hopefully he would hear simply state. "Are you willing to buy at a high price?" Giving off a smile of rather smug sarcasm at the weedy man sitting opposite him. "You-you got what I want?" The fence seemed rather nervous as he passed a cup of ale to Garreth, only for the thief to pass the drink back. "If I didn't I wouldn't be here, nor would I have denied your drink probably, just not a fan of the stuff..."

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose looked around before going back inside the inn. I guess that man was the only one outside. She went around the tables, taking orders as usual. It was tiring work. She sometimes found herself half-awake, stumbling clumsily around with food or drinks. No one had heard of a clumsy waitress until they met Rose. Even now, perfectly awake, she was having trouble walking in her heels. It's ridiculous that Father makes me wear these. I love him, but sometimes he has the craziest ideas... A man called her over, and he was obviously drunk.

"Get me another drink," She wrinkled her nose at his breath.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. The rules are-"

"I don't care bout the stinkin' rules!" He grabbed her shirt and lifted her up so they were eye-to-eye. "Get. Me. A. Drink."

"No," Rose narrowed her eyes at him. Being a waitress, she had gotten used to drunks. She just stood her ground and hoped that they weren't violent. Luckily, none of the ones she had encountered were. Not yet, anyways.

"Wench!" The man punched her. A shock of pain vibrated through her jaw. "I'll get my own damn drink." He threw her down and walked over to her father.

[Dansen]

A lot of noise happened over at the opposite side of the bar, as Garreth looked on to the other side of the inn he noted a drunkard acting as rowdy as any would once he had passed his limit and clearly thought abusing serving staff was a nice way to end the night. For now it wasn't his issue, as he looked to Sten holding a emblem marked with a rather impressive silver dragon the fence looked up to note his surprise. "Yo-u-u stole for a Adelan ambassador?" The thief looked uninterested as he explained himself. "Well he wasn't using it, and I'm sure something like that would just be up in smoke as missing... Considering my care..." The tact of the man was that of an expert gambler, or someone much too good at the illegal.

Suddenly a noise broke the conversation as the two looked to see the serving girl on the floor as the drunkard had decided to make a scene. Sten could tell what the other was thinking and held onto his arm for a moment. "p-p-p-p-Please don't make a scene Garreth...." The thief stood and walked towards the drunkard the man noting his approach acted with hostility. "What?! You want a go 'den to! What you want you pompish--" Before he could finish his sentence the man had grabbed hold of his arm and pulled with the force to take it out of its socket, a cheap strike tends to go best first and the drunk was not well pleased. "AHHHHH! MY---MY ARM! YOU BROKE---BROKE IT!!!" Garreth with a soft tone simply corrected him. "No I dislocated it, and now." With a mighty swing up the thief knocked the man on the floor with a uppercut that made the man's jaw descend oddly. "Now I've broken your jaw... The difference will be notable."

Finishing up the thief put a coin sack on the innkeeper's desk. "That is for the damage..." He then threw a pouch to a few boys sitting at the back. "That's too throw this man out if you'd like..." Looking down on the woman who had been hit Garreth took a knee to see if she was alright, it wasn't much like him to care for the sake of others, but he never enjoyed seeing a woman be injured or hit at all, plenty of drunks from his youth were plenty of reason for him not to enjoy that part of his life... 

[SapphireIceDragon]

In all of her work as a waitress, Rose had never seen quite a scene as this. She had never been punched by a drunk (surprisingly) and had certainly never seen a complete stranger stand up for her. She sat up slowly and looked at the man in front of her. He had dislocated a shoulder and broken a jaw...for her? Her head spun. She was quite dizzy from the blow, but she was sure that she was fine.

"Thank you..." She let out a sigh of relief. "Who knows what that man might have done to my father or his inn?" She winced. Her head throbbed. Even so, she forced herself to her feet and brushed herself off. "Is there anything you want in return?" She wanted to repay him somehow. In that moment, she noticed that he had a mysterious air about him. She wondered how many secrets he kept behind his sapphire eyes. She pulled herself out of her thoughts. I shouldn't be so curious about a stranger. It's not safe...

[Dansen]

The thief noted that the man he had knocked out had yet to stir, but he was assured that his attack would not leave the man any uglier or more irritating so in this position Garreth was entirely fine with how this meeting was going down, though it could be a bit quieter and that would have just been fine. Looking down at the young waitress his rather ambivalent look made it so he was not too worried that she'd be suffering too much from the hit. The man was too drunk to be accurate or cruel enough to hurt the girl enough to cause any lasting damage, that was preferable to avoid harming a young woman in his books, they tended to have a lot of spite for their age...

The girl looked up to him, giving him some gratitude for the rather spontaneous act claiming that she was the daughter of the owner, quite a good fact to have in his pocket for sure but right now he was glad enough for the thanks, especially when it came from simple violence. "I'd doubt he could do much of anything now, barring how to eat with his other hand..." Turning away the thief noted that the girl asked for anything in return, he simply looked back with a stern stare his eyes not giving much away. "Don't worry love, I'm just not a fan of drunks hitting pretty young barmaids, it one of my little quirks I suppose. The debt's nonexistent or maybe the peace and quiet could be the payment, take which one you like." Walking back nothing diminished the air of mystery around him and his lack of payment in dealing with this issue showed the attention that could occur with this kind of fight was not what Garreth was looking for.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose was surprised that the man didn't ask for any payment at all. Well, he did ask for some peace and quiet. I can manage that. She sighed, wishing that she could do something more interesting than serve drunks and mysterious figures. She had always wanted to help out travelers, more than just getting them food and drinks. Her more mature side argued that it was too dangerous outside the four walls of the inn. She had no place out there. Glancing out the window, she noticed a child walking in the middle of the street. What is she doing out there? There's going to be a sandstorm any minute!

Rose hurried out of the inn. The sharp wind whipped her dark brown hair into a frenzy. She ran to the child, hoping that she was okay.

"What are you doing out here?" Rose asked softly.

"I can't find Mama and Papa!" The poor thing was on the verge of tears. She sniffled.

"Well, for now, it's not safe out here. Please come inside," Rose noticed how the sand was being hurled at them by the wind. She hoped that they would get inside before either of them got hurt.

[Dansen]

Garreth's job cleaning up done he took his seat next to Sten to watch as the spindly man would look at the insignia with wider eyes with each turn of the item, seemingly judging the price of such an object with greater vigor as the money seemed to pile up from the appearance and rarity of such a object to be given to him for fencing and ratification. If he was a brave man Sten would have thought to steal away such an object and be as rich as a king for a few months, he could get all he wanted with the item and more so, but even as a brave man he would be hard pressed to make an enemy of Garreth so close to the man in the proper, as well as dealing with him in a good mood from his endeavors was much more appealing than having a knife to the throat when appraising.

"Its at least a good price, 20,000 pieces for something like this wouldn't be uncommon on the market." Garreth shrugged as he sat down for the price's result. "I'd want it to be a bit less on the market, money like that gets noticed I'm not here to be caught out by the guard and locked in a cage I could barely breath in. I'd start at 10,000 then haggle...." The sheet gall of a thief looking to haggle on his loot was ridiculous but at this point it was something you had to get use to when dealing with a thief who did seem to find the lifestyle quite appealing... The wind blew up in a instant as the doors were opened again, it seemed that someone had decided to make themselves scarce or had thought it would be a good idea to take a walk in the middle of a sandstorm and--

Garreth had noted that the girl he had just helped with was nowhere to be seen. He expected that she had gone to the back perhaps to clean herself up, but her father seemed to be bamboozled at her location. "Oh....Bollocks..." The sand began to pick up as Rose would looked to the inn, sand was now becoming more like tiny daggers in the air looking to demolish all in its path. The only light was the door of the inn opening again, a hooded figure would appear from the hazy light and with grace and lightning speed be on the girl and the child in the storm, shouting at the barmaid as it reached her. "Did that hit take leave of your senses! This is not the time to act the hero even for a child, now get in!" The eyes behind the cloak and bandanna were clear sapphires in the sand and not in the mood for such an act.

Bellowing out the cloak Garreth would hold onto the woman's waist to make sure he had a secure grip on her, if she fell he wouldn't be sure he could get to her again, looking at the young girl he bent to hide her away under his cloak. "Be a good girl lass, you'll be inside soon." A louder voice over the sound of the sand blazing forth he held onto the two of them and moved quickly, he did not speed ahead as he did with his entrance but held onto the both of them enough that they would not falter with the speed. "What in the world possessed you to go out to protect someone without proper protection! You'd both be boiled corpses before your father could dig you out!" Reprimanding the girl while still holding her close to keep her from suffering cuts and scratches from the upturning sand Garreth wondered why he had to play the good Samaritan today...

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose couldn't believe that she'd gotten herself in a dangerous situation...twice. She felt bad for the man who had to go out and assist her. I've been acting foolish lately, though I don't know why. She glanced over at the little girl. But what would've happened if I didn't try to save her? Would anyone notice her? She felt brave and incredibly stupid at the same time; it was a peculiar feeling.

"Sorry about that," she sighed. "You've already helped me today, and now I'm causing you more trouble. Thanks for your help. I can take care of the child now." She gently took hold of the child's hand and led her to the innkeeper.

"Who is this little one?" He smiled warmly, kneeling down to look at the girl. He checked her for any scrapes or bruises. "She doesn't look hurt at all. Does she need to stay the night?"

"Yes, for she can't find her parents." Rose wondered what kind of parents would leave their child in a sandstorm.

"Okay, then. Show her to her room and get her anything she needs," Her father replied. Rose nodded, taking the little girl down the hallway. I hope she's not frightened. I would be if I was taken in by strangers, and she looks about ten years younger than me! She walked into the room and lit a candle.

"If you need anything, just ask." Rose left to get some food and water for the girl.

[Dansen]

The girl was starting to force a nerve on Garreth, he wanted to relax for the night at his own hope and low and behold now he was being forced to aid a waitress who had decided to get herself in a fight and walk out into a sandstorm. There was bravery, but the bold tended to end up with some sort of injury or certainly shortened life span. Looking down to the innkeep and the young girl Garreth turned to his fence and groaned at the spinning winds that he could hear from the outside of the inn with the sand hitting into the windows with enough force to make the young thief rather irritated... Now he'd have to stay in the inn for the night and hope that the storm would die down with the morning sun. Why does this have to be a day when good things make for bad timing...

Looking to the innkeeper Garreth would walk to him and place a hand in the coin purse that he had placed earlier for the damages. "I guess I'd like a room, somewhere away from my friend..." Looking over to the fence Garreth unlooking took another few coins and placed them down. "Make sure it is a good room..." Looking over to the girl who he had manage to get out of danger twice in the last few hours she moved to get the young girl some food and hopefully it was definitely a way to make sure that she would stay out of any proper trouble and keep it out of his hair.

Looking to the fence as he stared at the item he had taken his time to procure he grabbed it away from the weedy man as he was looking at it with greedy intent simply looking with annoyed eyes. "Well Sten for the moment you and I are living under the same roof, but for now I'll keep with my prize for the moment to make sure that you do not have any sort of ideas and make a run even if it was a poor idea with a sandstorm on the rise, but I'm sure we can both get along..." For a moment there was silence between the two of them only with the weedy man twiddling his thumbs until the other man stared at him again. "Go away..." As the small man walked away quickly to another table Garreth rested in the chair hoping the silence of the day could go along smoothly. Putting the insignia within his knapsack under his cloak for the moment waiting till later to go and get it sold. Oh what a day

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose somehow managed to balance a piece of bread, a bowl of soup, and a glass of water in her arms. I do hope I don't make a fool of myself again... She walked to the girl's room (forgetting to close the door behind her) and gave her the items.

"Thanks," The child murmured, wiping her eyes with her arm.

"You are very welcome. What's your name, dear?" Rose asked.

"Tabatha,"

"That's a pretty name, Tabatha. I'm Rose," She introduced herself. She had taken a liking to the child. I do hope that her parents learn their lesson... "I have to go now, okay? My room is on the other side of the inn. It's the last door on the left. Go there if you need me, okay?" She patted the girl on the head and went back to her job. What is there left to do? I suppose I could clean up. Most of the customers are heading to bed, anyways. She started to sweep the floors. The only people left in the room were her, the man who helped her, a short man, and a drunk couple. She sighed and continued to work, ignoring her aching limbs. I hope they go to sleep soon...

[Dansen]

As he made himself low in the chair Garreth could hear the sounds of the two girls that he had moved into the inn above him, his ears were strong enough that he could hear quite minute details it was a handy skill to hear footsteps from heavily armed guards or curious beautiful women... It never tended to be the latter unfortunately... Sten had moved up to his room, most likely the smallest one that he could afford, essentially a broom closet. While the others in the area still stayed up most likely due to their drunken nature the thief sat with some peace and quiet in his own little corner.

He saw the girl walk back into the room to look to clean, it was not his place to make any demands and her keeping quiet was enough for him to deem it a good job. As he rested his head back into the chair he felt the teachings of his older teacher sing along in his head You could be stabbed from behind or poisoned in your sleep if you rest here! Even as a specter of his imagination the old man was still and pain for him to ignore, he'd doubted that anyone had the notion to try and go near him and if they did he was a light enough sleeper for them to realize their mistake before it was too late. The only problem could be the girl considering she probably wouldn't want him sleeping in space on the bottom floor after he paid for a room, but at this point as he rested his head and closed his eyes Garreth seemed to fall into a dreamless sleep resting for the moment in the night, a small respite for a thief's time of day to shine....

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose glanced around the room and noticed the sleeping man. Should I wake him up? He already paid for a room...But...I don't want to cause him anymore trouble.However, what if he gets mad at me for not waking him up? It would be a waste of money to sleep down here...She took a hesitant step towards him. The floorboards creaked, and he stirred a little in his sleep. He sure is a light sleeper! She was starting to doubt her decision to wake him up. However, Tabatha made that decision for her. She ran up to Rose, her loud footsteps awaking the sleepy traveler.

"What is it, Tabatha?" Rose asked. She hoped that the man wasn't angry.

"I-I was having nightmares. I couldn't sleep," the little girl replied, blinking slowly. "Can I sleep in your room? Mama usually helps me with nightmares, but she's not here."

"Sure," Rose smiled. She didn't mind a little company. "I already told you where it is, so you can go on up there." Tabatha nodded, leaving without another word. Rose turned to the man. "Sorry about that. Well, since you're awake, do you want to head up to your room?"

[Dansen]

The creaking of the floorboards made him stir for a moment to notice the young waitress coming towards him, he did not expect her to be anything than a glutton for trouble or just trying to push him up to his room. Either way she wasn't the one who roused him awake, the young girl he had saved ran to the older woman act like a little lost child, then again it seemed the role was a perfect one for her at the moment. Looking at the two of them, his eyes lazily shifted from the young girl to the woman, at this point he wondered if having taken them from being made it sand soup was really all that appreciated... Then again what would be the hit on his conscience if he left a girl and a child out in the sandy cold.

The girl asked for company in the her bed to avoid nightmares, he guessed that a child would be the expert on such things as sleeping soundly at night... The waitress comforted the young child telling her to go ahead of her as the youth moved away hoping for some rest in the older lady's bed. Rose turned to Garreth and apologized to him while he was standing up to move and get the stress from his bones moving out. She asked him if he wanted to head up to his new room, Garreth stared at her with his sapphire eyes and yawned for a moment before he went towards her. "I suppose... Guess it must be nice, I paid for such a thing. Besides are your and my room so close to one another that you'd need to show me the way?" Being playful with the girl that he had saved twice over Garreth thought it would be some payment for the skills he showed for free...

[SapphireIceDragon]

"Actually, I believe our rooms are right next to each other," Rose replied. "I could show you the way." At least he doesn't seem upset about me waking him up. She led him up the stairs and down the hallway. She paused in front of the doorway. "I just wanted you to know...I really appreciate you helping me. You saved a life, something that I could almost never repay. So, to thank you..." Rose blushed furiously. Here goes nothing...She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. "Thank you..."

[Dansen]

Walking with the girl up to the rooms it seemed that their rooms were right next to each other, perhaps it was a flash of fate... Though Garreth never liked the idea of such things especially if it was to perhaps put him in a bit more trouble, it had been a day of trouble so in the end it could only go from strength to strength. As they were down the hallway she paused in front of the doorway, she seemed to want to thank him some more for the act of saving her more than once. "Well I thought that your gratitude had already been shown, though I guess I can say that its nice to be thanked for some thing using my skills..."

Suddenly the girl moved in to wrap his arms around him hugging him seemingly tight and thanking him once more, the girl's face was flushed from her spontaneous act but Garreth looked to her as she held  him. "Well looks like you've got a fever hanging onto me, the thanks is appreciated though gods know what could be appreciation if I save you another time." More playful banter with the girl as she held to him, he would wait for her to finish the hug though still keeping himself ready for the release.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose pulled away and smiled. "I don't think I'll be getting into trouble soon. At least...I hope not." No promises... "Anyways, good night." She walked away from the man and into her own room. Tabatha was sound asleep in her bed. I don't feel like sleeping yet, so I suppose I can read. She lit a candle and sat by it on the floor, leaning against the wall. She loved the feeling of turning page after page. Even though her book was interesting enough, her thoughts turned to the man who had saved her. I'm still curious about him. I don't even know his name...She thought about the events that had happened that day, the sound of the wind lulling her to sleep.

"Papa, where did Mama go?" Little Rose asked. She held onto her father's hand. They lived in a farm in Serendipity, and it was a nice and quiet place.

"She went to the barn to get-" Her father was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream.

"Mama!" Little Rose ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. "Mama, are you okay?" She was about to enter the barn when...

Rose woke with a start, her throat numb and her eyes puffy.

[Dansen]

The girl agreed that she should not get into trouble in the night, though luck or fate or something could disagree with that in the night... Maybe the world could give him a night's rest for being so good lately, it was a small things to ask... As the girl left to go towards her own room Garreth scoffed for a moment as  she wished him a good night. "Well can't say it could be a bad one." Turning to open his door the thief would walk into a well furbished room, it was quite nice for the price paid so he guessed it wasn't bad having the cash on hand to deal with a situation like this and maybe getting some sleep on a new bed wouldn't be too difficult, though he was stuck in his ways he didn't have time nor cared enough to complain if a fault arose. Locking the door Garreth removed his cloak and shirt along with some of his tools, leaving only a small arm gauntlet on his upper body while the other items were taken off to get out of the heat that paraded through the night.

The man's body seemed to be covered in small scars and cuts, not exactly unheard of in a profession as dangerous as thievery but luckily things like this didn't cause him trouble sleeping. Laying down in the bed his previous tiredness kicked in quick as he closed his eyes, falling into the darkness. "Come on lad take the shot! The older thief stared at his apprentice looking for his final move. "This is moronic... Why do we need to kill someone, we're thieves not killers..." The older gentlemen nudged the youth. "Some need a flair for the dramatic... A calling-card!" The boy looked back with eyes of disappointment. "You're gonna use a deadman as a thief calling-card? You could just have a note.... Or not be an idiot and don't tell them you were here..."

Light broke through the window rousing the man, it was a shame he couldn't brow beat him old master further... He did sometime hate how light a sleeper he was...

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose got up and stretched, not bothering to wipe the tears away. I don't think anyone else is up at this hour. I suppose I could get breakfast before the morning rush. She noted that Tabatha was still fast asleep, her dark red hair splayed around her. Rose sleepily walked out the door and down the hallway. She went downstairs and got water and a piece of bread. It's not much, but it should keep me full till lunch time. The truth was, she barely ate. It wasn't that she felt that she was fat or greedy. She just didn't eat much. Rose sat down at a table, getting lost in thought. I wonder who will stop by today. Or if that man will stay another night. A part of her hoped that he would, so that she could get to know him. She didn't usually make friends, but for some reason, he was an exception. But he's probably annoyed with me now for bothering him so much...

[Dansen]

Opening his eyes, Garreth looked out to the area to see that now it was rather sand free. Though this would normally cause him to leave right now the sale of his item was more important. Putting on his inner clothing keeping his gear and cloak in the room the man walked out and to the room that he had found Sten was walking to by the end of the night. Knocking on the door insignia in hand the weedy man looked as he realized the thief's intentions. "I could get it sold by tonight or tomorrow night but I'd need to keep hands on it to make sure I wouldn't be in danger." His wish to not be assaulted for holding a important item aside the young thief simply threw the item into a knapsack open in the room. "You can hold onto it for a bit, but you will be coming back here till you sell it, then the profits will be split, and Sten? If you run I will find you..." The threat established Garreth made a move down to the reception.

Not noting anyone on around barring the innkeeper he walked and brought out a pouch with more coin to put down for the man. "My apologies, I'll need that room for a few more days, the sand has seemingly hindered my travel route to get back home." Throwing more coin on the table then taking back the pouch, with the lie set he could get some food to gain a bit more jump in his day.