A night at the bar (open)

[Vitar]

There were a couple of quiet hours in the mid-afternoon, after lunch but before the day's end, when everybody was busy at their own jobs. At that time, Millie always gave her barmaids their lunch break while she closed the tavern and gave it a quick scrub. The old oak tables were sturdy, but in sore need of a new varnish; ale seeped and soaked into the cracks, followed by droplets of stew from her famous Bread-and-stew Special. Millie dried the tables as best she could before carrying the stack of lunch dishes out back and dumping the scraps into the pig pen.

"'Ow're you today, Lottie?" she murmured, rubbing the old sow's head. "Yer lookin' a little plump around the middle. Not pregnant again, are ya?" If so, it might be time to kill one of the boys. Millie only had enough scraps for so many pigs.

She had the wooden bowls scrubbed clean and drying and a spare ale barrel up and ready to tap by the time the evening crowd started to trickle in. With a smile, Millie shoved her cleaning rag into her apron pocket and called down a barmaid. Time to make some money.

[Brisinger987]

Torak had heard several things about this tavern. Good ale, pretty barmaids. His kind of place. The mid afternoon job had been done and now he wanted somewhere to spend the thousand gold he had just earned from a nobleman. Where better than a tavern. Screw the cat houses and their disease ridden old tarts. Actual people suited Torak.

And the barmaid that responded to the barkeep's call was beautiful.

And so he made his was into the bar, taking a seat near the barmaid, thinking of how to position himself to not seem too desperate. He wasn't desperate, but he could still give the wrong impression.

"Good day my dear, can I get you a drink?" Torak asked her, smiling sweetly. His helmet and armour were shoved into he bag, the enchantments giving them unnatural space. He was just wearing the nice clothes he'd bought. Nobleman's attire, the sign of a rich man.

[Vitar]

The barmaid raised an eyebrow at the newcomer, glancing from him to Millie. Newcomers who weren't military were an interesting but slightly suspicious sight in the town. Millie was pretending not to notice as she bustled in and out of the little kitchen, but she glanced over and met the barmaid's eyes once.

"I'm pretty sure it's my job to get you a drink, sir," she pointed out. "What'll it be? We have ale, and some of last years' wine. If yer hungry, there's bread-and-stew, which is the Lady's specialty."

[Brisinger987]

"I'll have an ale please sweetheart." He noticed the burly woman going to and from the tavern's kitchen. He figure she owned the place. She had been here all day. And cleaned it.

He watched as the barmaid left, and kept a close eye on the tavern owner. She would know he was new, and newcomers were unwelcome in this town. He had been before, about a year ago, in passing, but never stayed in the village. Quaint and queer described the village best. It had a beautiful; scene and amazingly beautiful houses, but the residents were truly frightening. He kept his eyes trained on the tavern owner. She seemed suspicious. Cooks rarely left their posts. And she was wandering.

[Vitar]

The barmaid nodded once and headed for the kitchen.

"Problem, Sandy?" Millie asked.

"No. No, just..." the woman bit her lip.

Millie rolled her eyes. "You really should consider a career change, you know. Talking to strange men is kinda the deal around here. Work kitchen for a bit, I'll handle him."

Millie was already a little annoyed as she headed out with the man's ale. It wasn't that she blamed the girl, she just wished she'd get it into her head that she wasn't cut out for tavern work before Millie had to up and fire her. Still, she made sure not to direct her irritation at the customer as she placed the ale in front of him and looked him up and down once, not insulting his intelligence by trying to hide the action. She gave him a smile. "Anythin' else, sir?"

[Brisinger987]

Ah. So he had to deal with this woman. He was suspicious, bt hid the emotion well.

"Have you got a room for rent? I am staying for a few days and must conduct work for several clients in the area." He made sure to be straight to the point.

"I would prefer something isolated if possible, my work requires me to conduct many private affairs." He was an honest assassin if anything.

[Vitar]

Millie frowned. "This is a tavern, sonny. We don't get enough visitors through here for a full-blown inn." She bit her lip. "Tell you what, you can sleep in one o' the kit beds in the storeroom. We got a few for... emergencies." She slept in the tavern herself, most nights. And she'd certainly have to if a stranger was staying there. Normally they only had people wanting somewhere to sleep if the army was moving through. "One gold," she added quickly, not one to be cheated into doing anything for free. "If you're staying the night, I guess you'll be wanting dinner. We do a good stew here. Lamb stew, guaranteed to have actual parts of sheep in it."

[Brisinger987]

The meal sounded lovely. And in taverns like these, it was fresh, and nice. He would find the client in the morning.

"How about 7 gold for the week?" He pulled seven golden discs out of his pouch, placing them on the table.

Lamb stew. And actual lamb stew, not stew with a hint of lamb fat boiled in. He hadn't eaten normally in a while, usually eating odd animals like snakes and bats.

He had a small flashback of the incident he once ate a human. Not pleasant.

[Nemo]

Connlaoth was... A strange place. Really strange. By Athelu's standards, though, an open sky, the stiff weeds of a forest and the gentle carpet of green ~everythere~ she looked was pretty darn strange too! But Connlaoth was strange... Sort of on different terms. People here were friendly enough... As long as she didn't use her powers. She'd been chased out of several settlements before someone explained to her why this was, and even in knowing she could not believe the reasons. It wasn't that gods were unheard of... No, she was religeous, herself! But this one made certain commandments of his people that made her wonder if coming to the surface was really a good idea.

Athelu couldn't go back... Not yet... So, she'd adapted. Human ways were why she'd come up, after all! She wanted, had to learn... So, she'd payed a carter one of the gemstones she'd brought up with her in exchange for taking her along towards the capitol - a big city, where she could meet the warriors she'd heard about - these... Mordecai! They had the ability to weaken magic... What a strange talent! And they didn't use any magic themselves! They had "weapons!" And "armor" too! Surely she could find someone prepared to teach her... They did seem to appreciate the gemstones, so who knows? Maybe there was hope yet!

The carter had kidly helped her down, despite how uneasy he was by her appearance. (She was a lady, he reasoned, so there was such a thing as manners.) He had generously given her a sort of heavy cloak though, and made her promise she would wear it - so she did, hood concealing her features, the fluff of her antennae just barely visible. It smelled of horse... But she'd promised. And so, Athelu wandered out into the dull evening. Dogs barked in the distance... But she'd never known such quiet as what she found on the roads and fields of the surface world. Her two dark eyes gazed skyward, and the cephrene maiden let out a breath all in one go. What... Beauty. How magnificent this place was... She would never tire of seeing the sunset!

Some distance ahead, a structure stood. While the carter hitched up his horse and tended his cargo, Athelu made her way to it. It was the work of a few moments to figure out what the sign on the place said.

"Taa-vern..." She said, her voice soft, and in truth... Uncertain. She thoughtfully traced the sign's lettering with her fingers for a full minute as she thought... But then the penny dropped at last and operated her brain! "Tavern... Oh!" Athelu had been to one before - it had been nice enough, she reflected, the bread stuff ha been particularly yummy! And the mushrooms... Well, the mushrooms. Cough.

And so the tavern door was pushed open, and the silver cephrene walked meekly into the room, one pair of her hands folded in her lap, the other pair at her side, her bag of gems clutched in one of them - she would need it at hand pretty quickly - people responded better if they knew she was paying her way.

Getting to the counter, she drew her hood back and coughed politely, her big dark blue eyes wide with anxiety. Despite having no obvious mouth, the moth girl spoke thus;

"H-hello... I um..." The voice would not be out of place coming from a young woman of 20, her fluffy antennae wiggling a tiny bit as she spoke, her face immobile save her eyes "... I would like to buy something to eat and drink? I-I can pay...!" She said, apprehension of her position clear in her tones.

[Brisinger987]

Torak knew he wasn't fond of bugs. Spiders, wasps, bees, dragonflies, flies, moths, butterflies. He despised bugs in general, mostly because of a small incident where he got caught on a giant spider web and almost eaten. Giant spiders terrified him. Giant moths that could talk were one of the most frightening things he had ever seen. And this one was his first giant moth.

"Holy shit!" Torak jumped, choking on a mouthful of ale as he tried to draw a weapon. "What the hell are giant moths doing wandering around?! You just let them in here?! That's a health hazard, I swear. If there was someone I could call to evaluate the cleanliness of this place, letting that thing in here would have failed you."

[Nemo]

Athelu recoiled from the sudden outburst, staring with wide-eyed bewilderment as the man shouted disapproval at the top of his voice and made to grab one of the metal implements the people around here carried on their belts a lot of the time! She stood transfixed, visibly shaking with anxiety and nerves! She'd experienced something like this before, and the best response was to stay as calm as possible and not run squealing into the night - then they'd chase her! She'd done nothing wrong - she had to stand her ground.

"I'm n-not a moth!" Athelu squeaked!  "I just look d-different from you!" She added. "Please, don't hurt me I just want something to eat! I'm paying...!" She squeaked, her terror managing to escape even though she was trying her hardest to seem brave. "A-and if its... Any help... I bathe daily and w-wash my hands...?" She offered, trying to look as little as possible.

[Brisinger987]

"If you aren't a bloody moth, what the hell are you?!" Torak was terrified. Giant insects were the bane of his existence, and the only thing that caused him nightmares. He noticed that he was shaking, and had made the amateur mistake of pointing the knife in a single direction. He hated this bug, and was hoping it was being truthful. It seemed to be sincere enough.

[Nemo]

"T-terrifiedpleasedon'thurtmeeeee!" She wailed, and recoiled further from the knife! She looked on the brink of running, chase or not, but a mild voice from the doorway came, a male's voice. It said "Oi wots all this then?" He said, and wandered a bit into the room.

The carter that ferried her here was inside from taking care of his horses and cargo, and, with his old corn cob pipe, cap, and slacks held up by suspenders. He was a big man with leathery old hands, well into his middle ages. He had seen alot in his life.

"Don't mind her, milord, she's just Athelu - come up from the mushroom caves near the mountains, Milord. She'll be no trouble." he said, his tones disarming as he moved between them. "Lemme buy ya a drink, milord, we don' need to carry on like this do we?"

Behind him, Athelu relaxed considerably and drew her cloak more tightly around herself. Mister Brown, she reflected was a very kind man indeed.

[Brisinger987]

"As long as it doesn't come and touch me, or sit too close to me, I won't teleport behind her, and leave her to bleed into the floor. Those are my terms for putting my weapon away." He discreetly pressed the button to load a bolt into his wrist mounted crossbow. He hoped the click of the spring wouldn't be too loud.

Then he put the dagger away, believing her compliance. She seemed almost as scared as Torak. But Torak wouldn't make good on his word to kill her, he would set the townspeople to do that. He would be perfectly capable of rousing an angry mob.

"So what are you doing away from you mountain caves?" The question was valid.

[Vitar]

Millie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the newcomer. While she inched over to the bar to keep her sword in react while the two strangers shouted at each other, she had no intention of interfering unless they actually came to blows; they didn't, so she headed back out to the table sans sword.

But Millie had sharp ears. And she was pretty sure she'd just heard the strange gentleman announce that he could teleport, as well as casually mention the possibility of killing another customer. Could be a bluff, obviously. But it was an odd one. Throwing around magical threats was a good way to make a confrontation worse, not better.

But there was no reason to get involved. Even if one of the customers might be a violent magic-user and the other was the weirdest thing she'd ever seen, they were customers and she had no proof. No need to overreact. She headed back out to the kitchen and sent a barmaid out in her pace, but kept Sandy close at hand. The girl may not be a natural barmaid but she could run, and Millie might need a runner to bring in the guards if thing did take a turn for the worse.

The barmaid headed out and began to wipe some of the already-clean tables; she'd give things a moment to settle down before taking the moth-girl's order.

[Nemo]

The carter put his head on one side, and didn't quite glare at the assassin, but he didn't react how the assassin was probably... used to people reacting. For one thing, he didn't back down exactly, or show fear - he just hooked his thumbs in his belt and stared coolly at the assassin.

"Well now. Seems to me you're not from around here either, boyo. Word to the wise, hm? It pays not to judge by looks, folks will always surprise you." he said, his voice flat and level. "And she's not an 'it' - she's a woman, and a good spot more polite than you've been. Be told." he said, and put an arm around Athelu's shoulders, piloting the trembling thing to a chair where he sat her down, and smiled in an almost fatherly way to the strange female as he pushed her chair in gently with a scoot-scoot.

At his question, the man flashed Torak another frosty stare, then looked back to the girl "You don't need to respond to him..." he said, but she dipped her chin a little, and shook her head. "Its... alright." and turned her head up to Torak. "I'm going to the capitol to look for some help for my people." she said, her voice quiet and meek as milk.

[Brisinger987]

"For help? What sort of help do moth-people need from humans? Most of us would be terrified or horrified. Some would try and kill you. If you do not know the surface, do not come here. I told a mole-man that one." Torak would have killed her just then. But in all reality, she terrified him beyond belief. His skit with a giant spider had put him off bugs for life. And his incident with a hornet nest. That filled an entire cave. And his incident with the bloody beetle thing that attacked him. He was terrified of bugs. He couldn't and wouldn't get over it. He just wanted out.

[Nemo]

Athelu sagged a little at Torak's blatant cruelty to her and drew up her hood. The carter looked frok Torak's face... To the girl, and back again. His gears spun on all cylinders, as one might who half expected the possibility of blood and death in the next few minutes. This man was well dressed, had a sinister air about him and a bad attitude. He'd never seen him in this town before, and to top it, he'd casually threatened someone with magic and death. And yet... Something about him said he wasn't normally a man of words. He... was terrified! Right on down to his very shiny shoes.

He made eye contact with Millie, a look that said 'better send for the guards now' and glared at the assassin "Boy" the carter said, pulling up a seat at last "Not everyone will be as frightened as you are. Tell you what - There's the door." And he leaned closer, dropping his voice "And you'd better take it... The guard reacts poorly to threats of magic and murder around here. And I have a feeling they'll catch wind of you... And your description, very very soon indeed." He smiled amiably.

"So get going, sonnychim."

[Brisinger987]

"You misunderstand. I am frightened of your moth girlfriend. You don't phase me in the slightest." Torak smiled, waiting to hear the door open or close. Not hearing it, he slashed at the man's throat with his dagger, hoping to kill the man outright. "I couldn't care less if she gets angry. I doubt she will fight me. She's more afraid than even I am."

[Nemo]

The old man didn't smile. He just brought his walking stick up and gave the assassin's hand a thunderous crack with the hardest point, seeking to break knuckles around that sodding dagger he had. Either way, the smack sent the blade too far off course to do any real harm. He could have seen that slash coming a thousand miles away - it was just too obvious he was hungering for blood. Men like him reacted to fear by getting angry - too predictable.

"My my, you're making friends here and no mistake, you little tit." the old man said, "I've been a cop for too sodding long for that to work. You've got bad eyes - you reek with the blood of other men... and tonight, unless you get out of town in a damn hurry, a lot of men are gonna smell like yours!" he roared, planting his boot on the assassin's table and ramming it forcefully in his direction, toppling it over fantastically in the process.