Magic Madness™️

Chapter Seventeen: Taverns and Bards (There Is a Tavern in the Town)

Word Count: 2,124

    "So you're telling me you had the exact same experience as Evalyn described?" Joan asked again.
    "Yes! I felt it all," Elijah nodded.
    "I don't know if this is good or bad. It seems like a very interesting power to have, but I can't seem to think of any way it could be useful to you," Joan said thoughtfully.
    "Trust me, I can't either," Elijah sighed.
    "Alright. Well, I will try to figure out exactly what power might have lead to that. I suppose we should re-join them. It's getting late," Joan concluded, standing up from his chair. Elijah followed.

    Joan had taken Elijah to an outside table of a tavern in a village between Arbran and Pyron. They had almost stopped at this tavern the last time they traveled this way, but it had also been mid-day, last time. This time, they needed a place to eat and sleep.
    Joan opened the door for Elijah, who walked back in. He was delighted to hear lute music and many drunk voices fill the room. The tavern was full of people, all seeming to have a great time. Amber, Alejandro, and Evalyn sat at a corner table together, sipping from their glasses of water and enjoying their first real meals since they left Joan's house for the second time. The food wasn't great, but it sure beat the bread and campfire-cooked meat they had been eating recently. And even if there had been no food at all, everyone seemed to enjoy being in the company of other people (even if most of those people were NPCs). The singing and happiness that seemed to drift in the air considerably lifted the group's mood.

    The current song ended and everyone seemed to cheer. A lanky, but quite handsome-looking, young man stood on a table and announced that he wanted to sing a solo song. It was romantic and drawn-out, and his facial expressions had a few different people laughing at such a melodramatic performance. It was written in Shakespearean dialect, so no one really fully understood what he was saying, but there was no mistake that it was a love song. He hopped off the table as he continued to sing, walking around and sweeping people from their chairs to dance with him. As he waltzed alone past Joan's table, he winked. No one was sure who, at the table, he had winked at. He was gone dancing with someone else by the next line of the song.
    When he was done, he was loudly applauded and clapped on the back for his performance, and he continued to wander the tavern alone. Very soon, the sound of the lute filled the air again, and people were grabbing friends and significant others and dancing. Liked arm-in-arm, almost everyone in the room was up on their feet, all doing the same jig. Amber grabbed Evalyn and dragged her to dance, and Alex did the same to Elijah. They danced until they were out of breath. Joan watched amusedly. The look on his face was akin to the look parents have when watching their kids run around on a playground. Like a look of pride, but sweeter.

    When things wound down a little, Evalyn sat down on a bar stool and asked for a cup of ice water. The singer from earlier sat down next to her.
    "Hey," Evalyn smiled, "Nice song."
    "Thank you! I wrote it myself," He replied.
    "You're welcome. I'm Evalyn," Eva introduced, holding her hand out to shake. Instead of shaking it, the man took her hand and kissed it.
    "I'm Cassio," He said, smiling sweetly at her. She retracted her hand.
    "Well, Cassio, it's nice to meet you," Eva said.
    "And you, Evalyn," Cassio nodded. Evalyn was handed her ice water. She sipped it. Cassio ordered mead.
    "By the way," Evalyn asked out of pure curiosity, "Who were you winking at earlier?"
    "That depends," Cassio smirked, grabbing the drink that the waitress slid to him across the counter.
    "If that's code for 'are you taken,' the answer is yes. And the other lady at my table is my girlfriend," Evalyn laughed.
    "Oh. My apologies. I'd never knowingly seek out one whose heart belongs elsewhere. But if that's the case," Cassio turned to look out at the crowd of people. He pointed at Alejandro, who was chatting up some girl about her cool pocket watch, "What about that handsome fellow?"
    Evalyn's eyebrows shot up.
    "Boys and girls?" She asked.
    "Yes. They're both so pretty," Cassio sighed dramatically, his shoulders slumping.
    "Cheers to that," Evalyn chuckled, lifting her water glass. Cassio smiled and clinked his cup to hers.
    "But really. Does his heart also belong to another?" Cassio asked.
    "I...don't actually know," Evalyn replied slowly.
    "Well, if his heart does belong to another, then I must envy that source of his affections. He seems like a fine man," Cassio lamented, and then took a long swig from his drink.