The Fated Three

Provisions, People, and New Problems

    They walked into what looked to be an old tavern. It barely had a roof, and random holes were all throughout the building. Rubble and ash were everywhere and perfuming the air was a stench that reeks of death, but no one said a word. "I guess it's hard to keep a place going with all this war" Freya mentions as she looks around the room. The villagers look empty and numb to their surroundings. They hadn't even acknowledged the group as they walked in. 'It's like they gave up' Freya thinks to herself. "Well this place has uh...character," Rose speaks up, the distaste clear in her voice. With a shrug she continued "ehh as long as the food is good, it's fine with me" she accepted. Delgan shook his head in amusement "always so ravenous" he chuckled.

     The three made their way to the back of the tavern so as not to be disturbed. There was a table in a barely lit corner. Instinctively, Rose took the seat in the actual corner with her back against the wall. It puts her at ease to see everyone's whereabouts at all times. She made note of everyone in the tavern. There was an old man that had pretty much merged with the bar stool, countless other merchants and villagers that were almost zombified and barely moving, lounged in the middle at multiple tables, and a mysterious cloaked man sat at the other end of the bar. He had glanced a few times at Rose the moment she entered the tavern Rose noted. Rose refocused her attention on the table as Freya began to speak. "So here's what I know" Freya began. Rose's eyes shifted back to the cloaked man as he took a swig of his drink. As he leaned back, the light from the candle revealed the lower half of his face. As he raised his chin to drink, Rose could see on his neck the top of a snake tattoo poking out his dark shirt. "That sonofabitch" Rose muttered. Delgan snapped his attention to Rose "what's wrong".

Rose avoided Delgans eyes before responding. "Nothing" Rose insisted. Instantly she looked away from the man in the cloak. Freya looks at Rose confused. "I'd expect Delgan not to pay attention instead of you Rose," Freya said curiously. She sighed "you promised to help me, so I'd appreciate it if you'd paid attention" she added. Rose instantly looked directly at Freya. Her face was serious. "I'm well aware of my obligations," Rose responded flatly. She took a breath before continuing. "My apologies," she added. The cloaked man glanced at Rose again before taking another chug of his drink. Rose shifted in her seat. "Let's just take a second to recharge, we haven't drank or eaten anything since we journeyed here" she reminded them. With a quick glance at the man Rose continued. "I'm going to get us some drinks and we can continue our discussion" she finished. Without another word, Rose got up and headed to the bar. Delgan analyzed Rose as he watched her approach the bar. "Three ales and a loaf of bread for the table" she ordered. The barkeep hadn't moved from cleaning his mug. In fact, he hadn't noticed Rose at all. She waved her hand in front of his face "um, hello?" she tried. But still, he didn't look up. "Ok.... well while you're doing that, I guess I'll wait over here" she commented and moved to the side as she waited. The cloaked man was sitting just next to her but she didn't look at him. With a chuckle, he spoke. "I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to make your way over here, I almost got a buzz waiting" he chuckled again. His voice was rough yet melodic.