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Archives: Failed Storyline: A New Balance

Chapter 2: A Tavern in Roid

    The music and smells of the inns common room filled the air, among the patrons a rather imposing and gruff looking man sat at a table by himself. Holding his mug of ale he watched the room and waited for his contact, soon after a messenger came in and walked up to him. “I am afraid to inform you that your services are no longer needed, I just saw Gorlon killed two days west of here by brigands. He did send the payment though as compensation for your trouble, good day to you sir.”

    After tossing the messenger a few gold he finished his drink and walked over to the bar, the ale was good here and the food was ok even if the rooms were a bit poor he liked the place. “I’ll be needing the room for a few more days, here’s your payment and enough for another drink or two. Can you let me know if you hear of any work?” He then went and sat back down, thinking of going to the guild again to see if they had any jobs. He hated downtime, dulled his edge as he figured it.

    Jinn marched into the tavern with robes wrapped around his shoulders. There was a slight depression on his left side but a few seemed to notice in the bustling building. By the time he had arrived many of the seats had been occupied. Jinn purchased a drink from the counter and approached a table that was occupied by a giant of a man.

    Other patrons seemed to be avoiding eye contact and physical contact. Jinn chose to take this opportunity to obtain a seat after a hard day’s journeying. Jinn placed his mug down first before drawing his chair. He made eye contact with the other man. “If you do not mind.”

    “Go ahead, if your brave enough to just take the seat right away then you’ve got a lot of guts. Last one who did wound up in the morgue, but then he had it coming...” he replied with as he looked up at the man, curiously he had one arm but not much else could be made out and by the looks of it he was probably a merc. He kept an eye on him though, the moment he presented trouble he would act if he felt threatened. “What’s yer name stranger? Most just call me Grimeye.”

    Kiran slipped into a nearby tavern to escape the anxiety on the street. He didn’t want to meet another priest, especially if there was the chance the next one didn’t like him. Kiran kept his head down and the hood far enough over his amber eyes to keep them in the shadows. All that was shown was his scarred, dark chin. He took a seat at the bar, trying not to make eye contact with anyone and seem as inconspicuous as possible. However, he still managed to make people wary. Maybe coming into Roid was a bad idea. Kiran ordered a mug of ale from the bartender. He could feel the distrust from the man’s gaze, even if he couldn’t see his eyes. Or maybe it was just his imagination.

    “I am Jinn of the Sky-Edge.” Jinn saw no reason to hide his identity on this island. He would be a stranger to all its residents. While taking a slow drink he absorbed this man, Grimeye with his eyes. Jinn kept his response short. After watching Grimeye he studied the bar making note of potential threats and enemies before returning to his drink. “Those who do not know how to stay alive in these times do not deserve to drink in this place.” Raising his eyes a little he responded, Jinn seemed accustomed to this life. He seemed to know about how it went, survival of the fittest and look out for number one.

    “That’s why most mercenaries or adventurers come here, the common man find the accommodations a bit rough and the drink a bit strong. What brings you to Roid, looking for work or something?” He took another pull at his ale and looked around, someone else had entered who people were leery of. Maybe he too was of a similar trade, he had a recognizable edge to him that most traveling warriors carried. “So what about him, you know who he is or is he a new face too? Always remember to look out for number one, I’m sure you know this yourself.”He asked, his voice was always a bit impersonal yet still he did seem to appreciate the company Jinn provided at the table.

    “I’ve not seen him before. Of course, I have not been in this city long.” Jinn risked a glance over his shoulder, the twist in his torso making his lack of a left arm more evident. “Seems interesting.” Jinn turned back to Grimeye and to his drink. “Perhaps we can invite him for a drink here, I don’t think many others will. And?#0148; Jinn finished his mug. “A way a man drinks is a good judge of how he fights.”

    “Yeah, he seems the sort who’d be like company. I wonder who he is...” Ultarik then motioned over to Kiran and indicated he was welcome to join them at the table, perhaps he was just as likely to stick out as them.

    Kiran noticed the movement and glanced toward its source. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if the large warrior was gesturing to him or someone else. It took Kiran a moment’s debate, but he decided to go ahead and see what this guy wanted. Picking up his mug of ale, he headed to the table where the two men sat. He took a seat at the table and looked up far enough from beneath his hood to expose his amber eyes. Then, he noticed the tattoo on the warrior’s arm, a flaming sword through an elven skull...maybe it wasn’t a good idea, but it was too late to change his mind. “Uh...hello,” Kiran said, drawing his eyes away from the tattoo.

    “Hello.” Jinn responded to the new stranger. Jinn watched the man, he also wrapped himself in a hood, concealing something about himself like Jinn did. “This bar is full of ruffians... does the drink bring you here... or adventure?”

    “This piss poor swill?” Kiran sneered, swirling his mug. “No, I just slipped in here to get away from the streets,” Kiran replied. He wouldn’t give much more information until he knew how they felt about him. The white-haired man seemed friendly enough, he wasn’t sure about the dark one though.

    Seeing him look at his tattoo and look away, Ultarik sighed, lost love always was hard especially when it was meant to be. Finishing his mug he grimaced at the weak flavor and scowled for a second, maybe he would need to find a new watering hole. “Don’t mind the mark, it’s in memory of a dark elf woman I loved. She died a few years back and that battle honor is all I have to remember her by, perhaps one day I’ll join her after I fall on the field of battle. You can call me Grimeye, and your right I have tasted better drink in rural villages. Barkeep another mug if you will, and if you water it down this time I am going to... She wore the same mark on her arm, the unit she once belonged to when Marmo was still under Beld’s control. Long story, when work is out there it can wait. You found any word on the street of work in this town yet?”

    The barkeep looked at Ultarik nervously as the barmaid scurried over with a fresh mug of ale and took the old mug, he watched him fill it and then tasted it. It was a little better but still crap, at least this place was reasonable.

    Kiran was quite relieved to hear that not only was this man not prejudiced against dark elves, but actually loved one. “Sorry to hear about your loss, dark elf women are some of the most beautiful in the world, and the best lovers,” Kiran replied. His mind drifted back to the merchant he’d seen earlier. “My name is Kiran,” he introduced himself.

    “I am Jinn.” Jinn nodded, his white hair bobbing over his eyes. “And this place is getting crowded.” Jinn gave a sideways glance to a man walking by, who was obviously drunk. The man missed a step and nearly toppled onto Jinn, he managed to catch his balance after his arm pushed passed where Jinn’s left arm should be and came into contact with his ribs.

    The altercation only took a half-moment. The man continued on his way after giving the one-armed swordsman a glare, as if it was Jinn’s fault. “Too many drunks. There is a much better bar in this part of the city, but it’s slightly out of the way.”

    Kiran glanced around at all the people in the tavern. No, it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to stick around much longer. “That sounds good to me,” he replied to Jinn.

    Ultarik nodded in reply after seeing the altercation, hearing the mans name and his words he sighed. “It was a long time ago, I have fought on to preserve her memory. Your words are truly appreciated, even if I don’t show anything. I’ll go too, I think a change is good.”

    After that he downed his drink and then looked around, some of the bigger and more drunk guys were looking at him with a challenging look as he shook his head. He would not start another brawl, they were not worth it. “The place better than this dive? Some of these idiots think they can take me, when I have proven otherwise.”

    “Well then.” Jinn slid out of his chair and headed for the door, trusting the other two to follow. The one-armed man made his way through the crowd then the streets. The building his sought wasn’t on the main road, or one of its many branches. After a half-dozen twists and more turns they came to a thin street to a building without a sign.

    When they came close to the door there was only silence from the other side disturbed only by the scratching of wooden pegs on the floor. Jinn pushed the heavy door open and stepped in.

    The inside was dark but clearly a place for drink. There were a dozen tables but only three of them filled. The men and women there drank quietly and spoke at a whisper, only breaking conversation for a drink. The man behind the bar, his face and hands riddled with scars, studied them quickly before nodding to them, giving his permission to enter further.

    “This is it. The Dark Whisper,” Jinn said.

    Ultarik looked around and seemed to like he place, fairly quiet and empty he figured that this place was selective on clients. “Few would even dare come here, place has a different air to it. More foreboding yet more welcoming than with the drunks, plus it looks like it serves better drink than the swill that place had.” He followed Jinn to a table and sat down, setting his axe beside him he waited for a barmaid and ordered some ale that came from the isle of Marmo.

    Kiran took a seat with his new companions, then tentatively removed his hood to reveal his elven ears. He asked the maid for an elven wine, and was quite pleased to know they carried it. “This place seems much better,” Kiran said softly.

    Ultarik saw his ears and nodded with a grin of approval, Kiran was someone he could trust by descent obviously. “Yeah it does, a lot more class than that drunk tank we were in before. Anybody know if the guild has any new jobs up, last time I saw nothing that caught my eye.” He thought of going back eventually to check for work, that was something he did once or twice a day so that he could keep afloat. As their drinks came he nodded to the maid and then took a drink of his ale, it was far better than the previous place’s ale.

    “It’s a quiet place with good drink. There’s usually at least one in a city.” Jinn asked for a beer made from a recipe from Alecrast. The maid that had served them brought that quickly as well. “Now... you mentioned jobs. There was one...” Jinn leaned in over his mug and smiled. “That seemed amusing to say the least. It involves a wizard, a tower and the Forest of Mirrors. What do you think?”

    “Hmm....I am not a mercenary by trade, but I would travel with you, anything to get me out of this bloody city,” Kiran replied, then took a sip of his wine. “I am sick of hiding under my hood.” As uncomfortable as he was here, he couldn’t get that dark elven woman he saw earlier out of his mind. Perhaps he should just step forward and say hello later.

    “And think of the adventure.” Jinn downed the last of his beer with his head thrown back. “Magic and swords. And different drink from over the island.” This was the freedom Jinn sought by coming to Lodoss. Though his true goal was to further his training in the sword he could not help but enjoy the adventure. “What do you say Grimeye?”

    Grimeye nodded his approval. Jinn smiled, an adventure. He stood and pointed towards the door. “Let’s get to the Mercenaries’ Guild. The message was posted there. We can get more information then head out.”

    Jinn reached into a small pouch on his belt and left enough coin on the table to cover his drink, Grimeye did the same before standing.

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