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The sky outside is a mix of lavender and vermillion as the sun sets over the West side of the city of Grey Lake. Though night is taking the sky, a soft glow of light emanates from the windows of a popular alehouse and inn.

Within the Rusted Nail, at the front door stands the large intimidating figure of Olaf. He’s a bald headed older man, nearing his late forties, but his stature belies his age. Olaf stands over six and a half feet tall and is bound in muscle; his face is a story of old battle wounds, crisscrossed with scars. Beside him is a crate that contains a few weapons; daggers and knives, a crossbow, an axe, and a sword. Any who enter the establishment are patted down by Olaf and their weapons are placed in the crate to be picked up upon their departure.

Behind the bar is Gil, a man of age with Olaf but in very different physical condition. Gil has thinning brown hair and though he is broad shouldered, he is also thick of gut. He stands a few inches under six foot and has a calm and friendly face.

Three men sit at the bar; one (an old man) is so drunk that he has fallen asleep. A fat richly dressed man sits beside a guy who appears to be a common laborer. The fat man has a thick black beard and long black hair; both of which are well groomed. The labor, by contrast, wears a simple tunic with short sleeves, is broad shouldered and broad chested with thick muscled arms; his hair is trimmed short and he has a long scar that runs from down the right side of his face from the top of his brow to just above the mouth.

The tables within are mostly unoccupied save for a couple who sit closely together sharing a meal.

Olaf stops you at the door and pats you down when you enter.

Even as Olaf pats him down, Tom rolls his eyes at the large man’s unwavering allegiance to protocol.

“You don’t have to search me, Olaf - I work here!” he tells him for probably the millionth time. It’s all part of the routine any and every time Tom is sent outside the doors of the Rusted Nail.

Olaf finishes his part in the ritual and grunts admissibly, crossing his scarred arms and looking back out onto the street with the eyes of a hawk. Tom runs briskly inside.

Cleaning a mug out, Gil gives the boy a smile as he approaches the bar and hops onto a stool.

“So, what’s the word, Tom m’boy?” he asks.

“Lord Farthing says he’ll buy our latest bunch of casks after all,” Tom confirms. “He wanted a lower price, but I told him it was set in stone like you told me.”

Gil laughs and tousles the boy’s mop of brown hair. “Well done, lad. Those noble types love to pinch every penny no matter how much of ‘em they ‘ave, you remember that.”

“Yessir,” Tom nods. He hesitates a moment, before continuing. “Can Molly and me go to the square and watch the performers now? There’s hardly a soul in here tonight, Pa.”

Gil furrows his large brow, considering. Finally, he sighs and nods. “Fine, fine, but the two of you need to clean up afore you go running off.”

Tom beams. “Yessir!” He hops back off the stool and dashes back into the kitchen, abruptly stirring the sleeping old man.

In the kitchen, Molly is busy cleaning the floors of fallen food and grime. When she sees Tom, she stops her work to wipe her brow and gives him a tired smile.

“Slow night, eh Tommy? Did you ask Pa about-”

“-Yes and he said we could if we finish cleaning first,” Tom interrupts, excited.

Molly laughs. “Well, roll up those sleeves and let’s get to it.” Tom obeys and the two of them work on making the kitchen spotless again, lest they win a stern lecture from Mel the cook.

Avren steps inside, raising an eyebrow slightly when the lumbering giant guarding the door insists on patting her down for weapons. "Oh, very well," she says, handing Olaf the small but very sharp knife she kept on her person and acquiescing to a more thorough search with a slightly amused look. "Though it does make one wonder what sort of clientele this place expects to make such measures necessary..."

If she thinks anything of the current clientele as she pauses just past the doorway and coolly surveys the room she keeps it to herself. Starting to make her way toward the counter, she says over her shoulder, "Yantse, that jolly fellow there would like to hold your bow and skinning knife awhile," as her servant enters the building after her.

"Good evening, sir," she says in polite greeting to Gil. "Seeing how your inn is so fortuitously located near the city's oldest library, I'm seeking lodging for...hmm, shall we say a fortnight? My horse has already been stabled, and I need two adjoining rooms...one as spacious as possible, if you can oblige me there. And also," she adds after a moment, "We'll not be needing the services of a maid. In fact, I'd appreciate it if we were not disturbed at all during our time here."

As Uydr looks down on Olaf he just simply says "No." and walks inside. He has fought mountain lions and coyotes for food one human does not scare him.

He attempts to walk around the man at the door, but his way is barred.

"I check you or you do not enter," Olaf says.

Uydr does not reply.

"You want in?" Olaf asks. "I'm checking you."

Narrowing his eyes, Uydr allows the guard to briefly pat him down before being let inside.

"Let's hope you're here for a bath," the doorman says as Uydr enters the inn.

Looking around at the other people in the room, he identify s everyone even the little girl in the back of the room while her mistress speaks quickly to the man behind the counter.

Thinking quickly no one here is threat. He moves to the back and bends over to look at the girl more closely. Noticing the trama done to her he flashes back to the slave cravan he use to be caught in. Remembering the cruelty of his master he decides to speak with her

Pointing to the scare and the missing finger he says "Who?" getting no response he sits next to her and waits for her answer making it apparent he won't leave till he gets one.

During this time the owner walks over and says "What would you like?"

Uydr for a brief second looks over and says "Water."

Uydr thoughts turn back to the girl awaiting her response.

Gil smiles at Avren, "You're requested accomodations will not be a problem. I'll 'ave m'daughter show you to your rooms and our knave will bring your belongings up. After that you will not be disturbed m'lady. You have my word. The larger rooms are a bit pricey though, you'll need 2 silver a night, the smaller adjoinging room is included in that cost. Also included in the cost are your meals."

"I'll have my daughter show you to your room, and our knave will take your belongings up, once you've paid and are ready, of course."

"Molly! Tom!" he calls. "Prepare the master room," he tells Molly.

A dirty man walks in next, a huge beast of a man with grimy hair and dirty skin. Gil eyes the man suspiciously as he stops at the bar to talk to Avren's shadow, a little girl that he had already forgotten was in the room. The girl didn't respond and soon the towering dirty figure got back up and sat at the bar.

"What'll you have?" Gil asked of him.

"Water," the man said in a thick tongue.

They say not to judge people by their appearance, Gil thought, but this guy must be just as poor as he looks. He filled a mug with water and set it before the man. "Water's free," he told him, though it was only part true. Water was free with a meal, but this guy didn't look like the type who could afford much and Gil had always been a sucker for people down on their luck.

Just then a group of four city guardsmen entered the room, each with their little clubs on their belts. Guards were one of the few exceptions to the no-weapons policy, royalty and high ranking city officials were the others.

The guards sat at a table together and Nikki, the barmaid on duty, moved over to greet them and take their orders; adjusting her blouse so that her breasts were more clearly exposed before doing so.

(OOC: just a note, Yantse isn't really a 'little girl', she's more like 18 or 19, though do to her build I guess it's possible to mistake her for being younger.)

Avren pauses in her conversation with the innkeeper, looking over at the enormous, filthy man entering the inn and narrowing her eyes as he approaches her servant. She had just opened her mouth to protest when the new arrival was briefly distracted to order a drink, allowing Yantse to slip quickly out the door. "Two silver a night will be fine, thank you," she says instead, relaxing slightly and turning back to Gil with a brief nod. Taking a small pouch from an inner pocket of her robe, she counts out fourteen coins. "Will it do to pay the first week now and the rest later? I'm having the majority of my funds sent up with some other things on the caravan from River Ridge," she explains, naming a smaller town a few days travel to the south. "I didn't feel it was wise for just the two of us to carry many valuables, making the trip alone. You understand, I'm sure."

Sliding an additional silver piece across the counter, this one larger and strangely marked, she adds in a lowered voice, with a brief, nearly imperceptible flick of a finger toward the suspicious looking, oversized man. "And again, as I'm sure you're a man of your word, I'll thank you to see to it that I and my servant are not bothered in any way?"

Avren resumes a normal speaking voice and pushes herself away from the counter with a glance toward the door. "As for my things, yes, call for your boy, please. Yantse should be unloading the horse now. There are a few...more delicate items she'll be handling herself, but he can bring the others while I get a look at the room. And...I know I just said I wouldn't need a maid, but would you mind having someone draw a couple of baths, just for tonight? We're both rather tired."

Despite her last statement and a slight edge of weariness to her voice she seems perfectly alert, looking around immediately when the doors open again to note the guards coming in, shaking her head a bit at the barmaid's obvious flirting once they settled at a table.

Uydr hears the girl leave as he orders his drink. His mountain lion parents instilled the need to be aware at all times. So he also notes that the lady talking to the man up front seems anger and wary of him.

That causes him to watch her mannerisms more carefully. Seeing her lean in and tell the owner something and move away.

Suddenly the door slams open and he hears a group walk in. He looks sees the weapons at there side and matters "Weak" under his breath.

As he notes the women's disgust at the barmaid, who is obviously trying to mate with one of the guards, he yells cross at here. "Why you scared?"

Nearly done when Gil calls for them from the main room, Tom and Molly give each other knowing glances. It figures they should be needed the moment they’re done with their final duties.

Molly puts away all the cleaning equipment and hurries to hear her father’s orders, Tom following behind.

Tom enters the main room to see several new customers; a pale woman in black a tall, wild-looking man and some of the local city guardsmen ogling Nikki. He silently bemoans the gods and their love of cosmic irony.

Gil tells his daughter to prepare the master room for the pale woman and her aid, then approaches Tom.

“Go help this lady’s servant unload her horse,” he tells the boy. Tom looks a bit forlorn, causing Gil to add in a whisper, “And then you and Molly may go for the night.”

Tom nods his head and bolts out the front door. He sees a reined horse close to the entrance, a tan young man in a straw hat removing some things from its back. Tom approaches, smiling.

“Hi,” he greets the older boy, “what do you want me to take?”

Avren isn't completely sure whether the man is shouting across the room at her or at someone else or just because he likes to hear himself shout, but either way she ignores him and waits calmly for the innkeeper's daughter to finish preparing the rooms. Let him make as much commotion as he wants--perhaps then he'll be the guards' problem. It had been a long day of travel, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with some uncouth barbarian right now.

********

Yantse glances down at the boy and nods in greeting, handing him a large canvas bag that feels like it's full of clothing, and after a moment's consideration, a couple of heavy books that have been carefully wrapped in oilskin. She herself takes hold of a medium-sized chest that sports a formidable brass lock and emits a faint clinking sound of glass as she hefts it onto one shoulder, groaning a bit under the weight. Over the other shoulder she slings a straw bag that gives off a strong odor of herbs, and with another nod, she starts off toward the inn.

Uydr figures out that she is ignoring him. He also doubts she would continue doing so, if he stepped up to her and asked the question directly. But he does not want to cause any trouble for the man who owns the place. After finishing his water he gets out a bag tied to his belt and puts a silver on the table as a tip. He walks back outside.

As he passes the guard of the place, he nods his head. Respecting the man as a warrior because of the lack of weapons on him.

Heading to the stables he sees the boy the owner sent out helping the young women with her bags. He walks to the stables.

Upon entering he sees a beautiful gray stallion. After taking a good look and thinking about what he knows about horses from the ones who pulled his cage back in the old days. He notes this one is hungry and walks out side to find an apple.