Crow paced himself, still last in the group as they made way through the immediate hallway. Being near the girls would be optimal, but the side effects from before reaching Brew were already in motion. He stopped himself as the room swirled upside down and blurred, keeping control as he nearly tilted, but kept his regular walk in form as the room slid again back in place. He closed his eyes for a moment, favoring a small exhale before again willing them open. The men in steel had lent him a hand, seeing them more so as potential threats then enemies kept him cautious and focused, but not on edge. And in that mindset, one would be surprised at what they could accomplish. Not that he expected anything too rough to occur, the commander and her men seemed good folk, but he would rather be distrustful then regretful. It would not be the first time he would be taken by surprise.

The roars heard before entering surged in volume, ringing off the walls stemming from the end of the hall, where a yellow light crept from beneath a door onto the royal carpet. The door sat on the right side, and when it opened, it did so with a low groan, painting the carpet and hallway wall a dreary yellow. A head peaked out, the awkward face lowered, where Sue and Megan stared blankly upward, and it also in return. The mood was oddly relaxed, especially with the commander’s men making such a fuss behind them.

"What are you brats looking at?" the head said, and not in the tone Megan or her sibling expected. Sue looked like the thought of burning it all down ran across her mind. "Who are you calling a brat you f-" Megan’s hand slapped across the grunting girl, and with a solid attempt of a smile as she rubbed Susan's back in her failed attempt to calm her.

"Apologies, she was dropped as a child." Sue planted her foot, preparing to twist and launch herself after the sly remark. At least, that was the intention, until a familiar throat was cleared. The owner couldn't even be seen behind Elda and her men, but never the less, Sue along with her anger froze in their tracks.

Elda chuckled while walking past the two, approaching the face and door. "Be kind, these young women are our guests." The commander turned to the face, smiling. Not the kind used when returning to friends, but more the kind used to send a message. The face nodded as he met her eyes. "Yes ma'am, but what about him?" he said with a finger aimed down the hall. Who the finger pointed to now stood only steps away from Megan and Sue. Elda glanced to it’s target, "Him as well," she answered, before turning and passing the man in front of the doorway. Less then moments later a thunderous laughter appeared from within. One Megan concluded must have been made by a ogre of a man.

"One prick, one band of garbage, our third lieutenant still lives, life is good!" Cheers and shouting in agreement sung almost as loud as the voice. "Oh, oh, no need to mention our lovely waitresses, including our newest, who is a true beauty to behold. All is well in Ouson!"

"All is well indeed!" the crowd of men replied. "Let the fun begin!" Cheers of victory followed the doorway, along with the shattering of glass and gargle of liquor. Megan and Sue turned to one another as the men and women who traveled with them entered with words and smiles. "Hykon is ridiculous," one of the soldiers commented to another, both with helmets in hand. Even Crow held a look as if he didn't know how to react. Seconds later the roars and excitement seemed reignited with chanting.

"Brew!"

"Brew!"

"Brew!"

"Brew!"

"Brew!"

The girls peaked their heads inside the doorway, Megan above Sue since she was naturally smaller while the last half dozen soldiers passed by. Megan winced at the sounds of their heavy steel, clinking and scraping with every step. The door was actually the entrance to a large tavern like area. Sue recognized the style from books her and Mae used to read together over the years. It was a spectacle to watch, overflowed tankards held high over crowded tables, laughter, conversation and arguments filling walls neck high. Each of the waitresses, who all wore matching black and white outfits held a smile, hinting that they were very used to this level of excitement, and probably enjoyed it. Trophies from hunts were showed off hanging on the upper walls. Megan and Sue approached one in particular after finally entering in a branching hallway that led to both restrooms on their left. But upon doing so, their eyes fell ahead of the doorway at the root of the tavern, where the largest man they've ever seen sat, effortlessly standing out among the rest of the room in their own seats. His hair mimicked the opposite of his body, withering grey and lone strings running down his cheek. His skin shined with the same tone as the rum falling down the throats and chins around them. And next to him was Elda, laughing just as the rest.

"She really is a knight," Susan whispered. Megan’s eyes narrowed. "Indeed." Rum ... It had a strong smell to it. Megan wondered how she knew the name. A book maybe. Both reached the wall of trophies, again eying the one in particular.

"What do you think it is?" Sue asked. Megan stared wide eyed. "I don't know, but it must have been big." Elda’s steps drew across the room and to them, also studying the animal's face stained with rage. It's yellow eyes blazing, and mouth open wide, almost gloating it's sharp white teeth, ready to deliver the final blow. A decent sized mirror hung eye level to Sue just below it.

"The mighty black dragon of Andar Mountain, a opponent worthy of recognition and praise, even in death." Sue’s gaze turned to Elda’s voice behind them. Which was who she expected, and found, but Elda stood steps beside her back. A man stood behind Susan, when her eyes found him her heart flinched in her chest. Like all in the tavern he wore a fitted coat of steal, a blade at his side and pride in his posture. "James, was it not you who took on the beast in snow?" Elda spoke with her arms crossed, and also with a tone suggesting she should know the answer, but drifted away in her mind. "I was only one, and would have died had it not been for Lycon’s aid," the man called James said as he eyed the dragon, his brown eyes likely envisioning the memory of battle still. Elda seemed to notice first while watching him run through his thoughts. "How close was it?" Elda inquired. James glanced to her. "The closest it's ever been." Elda turned back to the dragon with a half smile. "Those are the days all who carry the heart of a warrior prepare for, ache for. The kind you visit in dreams after." Sue watched Elda as she spoke, and Megan watched Sue. Those... with a heart of a warrior?

"Have we received word from Black Haven yet?" Interest flashed in Megan’s eyes as the commander aimed her words to James. "A letter confirming the transaction in coin arrived yesterday evening," said the man who still held eye contact with the trophy. Elda sighed in relief, her crossed arms falling before one raised to the back of her neck. "Good. The gold will come in good use for the coming days. We should be quite active."

Megan swallowed. Her mind was still stuck on that term- Black Haven. She wanted to ask what it was, something about it gnawed at her, but something else warned her to not. That now was not the time, and that voice (the second) held much more passion then the first. "Are you okay Megan?" The girl blinked, finding all three pair of eyes on her. "I'm fine. Just thinking of home." Susan bit her lower lip, and Elda’s head tilted. "Ah, I’ve been wondering, where is home for the three of you?" Megan weighed the question. Her sudden hesitation left only herself puzzled. The words just spilled out, with no thought or intent behind them. "We were born in a village, somewhere near where we and the bald man met, though I'm unsure how far. Growing up everyone was kind, helped Crow look after us, though there were never really children our age, most were older." The girl started to scan up the tavern’s warm wooden walls, a chocolate brown, a good choice. "Compared to your home in scale, it’s no more then a pebble in a pond." A small smile grew below her cheeks and strands of red. "But it was enough, more then enough." Elda eyed the girl, in quiet thought.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You are a guest of Brew, of the commander, yet lie blatantly in her presence." Megan’s chin rose with crumpled brows. "You think I'm lying?"

"I know you are. Brew lays at the center of Idyll, of each face of the world. Because such amount of traffic is aimed to us, roots of any settlement of life were planted with care, distancing themselves as far away as possible."

"What does that have to do with one village?" Sue cut in, her voice not as fiery as usual Megan had noticed. "A village would crumble in weeks without connection to Brew. They would earn no coin here, no coin or alliances means no food, no clean water, no steel or support against bandits and thieves." The two outsiders faded into silence as they met one each other’s eyes.

"Lieutenant, that is enough." The man turned to Elda. "But commander-"

"I do not think they are lying. Though it makes no sense, there are other factors we aren't considering."

"Such as?" Elda held her tongue as a hand took hold of her chin. The matter already running through her mind by the looks of it. But before she could respond, something in the air shifted, only momentarily, but it was out of place, and such things in one’s home are not so easily overlooked.

"Who the hell are you?" James said harshly. Elda’s eyes raised and scanned, switched between the girls before tugging to the right, just behind the outsiders upon the wall. The man with his back against the chocolate brown had his hands inside his coat, with a uninterested look as his grey eyes laid upon James. "I asked you a question," the lieutenant reiterated, causing Sue’s fist to close. Even with such tone, the third outsider didn't oblige, only his chin rose just above where a goat’s head sat with abnormally dark grey fur and horns long and sharp.

James sucked his teeth while cracking his knuckles. "It is common courtesy to give a knight your name when requested. A trait held by those with even a sliver of honor. Criminals even understand this."

"I don't care," the outsider replied. His sight still raised onto the odd goat head. Susan turned to Elda, wondering why she hadn't stepped in yet, or why she herself laid quiet until now. Was Crow angry about something? The lieutenant sneered before approaching Crow, stepping around Megan in doing so, he glanced down and up as they now stood no more then a few feet apart. "I've met plenty like you, off and on the field of battle. Hiding behind your majik and danger from the front lines, leaving with no scars of war, yet your head still held high as if you should be feared." James took another step forward, and Crow’s chin lowered, meeting the lieutenant’s eyes with a calm stare. "I wonder how you would react to true fear. When death surrounds only you, reaches only for you." The lieutenant’s voice grew sour when speaking, red bloomed across his face as his glare continued on. Crow sniffed, wiping the face of his nose with a thumb. "Are you done?"

"You make me want to vomit."

"And you make me want to sleep," Crow said with a soundless yawn. Elda’s ears twitched, her head following the waves behind her. The wild tavern had grown silent, pitches of drink grounded to the tables and necks rotated to their brother in arms and the outsider locking eyes.

"I think that's enough, James," Elda muttered while running by the filled tavern’s eyes. "Unless this is a prelude to a discussion between me and you." After a moment, James took a step backward, his eyes lowering. Susan felt the energy shift in the room, from pure excitement to confusion to uneasiness. Which doubled when he replied with silence. Elda turned to him, her eyes also lowering.

"Hykon, round up for patrols. Be gone for a hour at least. Take the staff with you." The incredibly large man pushed off the bar counter somewhat flustered. "No. I won't allow hi-" Elda faced the grey haired giant slowly, he and her on separate sides of the room, but her presence like their voices reached wall to wall. "That was a order, squad leader."

Hykon raised his chin, his jaw locked and fist tightening. "All but squads six through ten, prepare for routine patrols." The man’s voice was sound and unhesitant when speaking. But no one moved. More so unlike the brother of the second lieutenant, Lycon, the men were second guessing, hesitant. The giant observed with understanding eyes, then inhaled through his nose, "Raise!" the squad leader ordered, and they did, the entire tavern shaking as it’s patrons stood tall. Few in the tavern fell into a salute, a meager twenty out of however many. "Stay weary!" the men called, and their brothers and sisters nodded before placing their helms on and preparing for the unknown again. Hykon met Elda’s eyes once more with a concerned look, Susan thought. She nodded, and he set forth to the tavern’s entrance. "March!"

The populated tavern soon wove into one line, their steel steps probably heard in town if not for the market when in unison. Sue out the corner of her eye saw Crow’s finger raise, and the string of black levitate and connect to Megan’s ear. Sue could picture the silence from how active her eyes were. Attaching to anything that moved, until one of the saluted followed and let the last of the line pass through the door before closing it.

"Crow, you three should wait outside also." The man eyed Sue and Megan, contemplating. Elda looked ready for him to speak, but his words never came. She watched as he peeled off the wall, and walked past the lieutenant (his head still stuck to the floor) facing forward, avoiding eye contact. "Keep up Sue and Mae." Megan began to follow him, the string already loose from her ear, but Susan, like Brew’s soldiers, hesitated. Her gut took hold of her legs, and Crow could sense where this was going the moment he noticed. "No, Susan. Follow your sister."

Her eyes raised, with a different feel then usual. These grey eyes, he had realized decades ago would one day grow uncontrollable. It wasn't a fact he disliked, but it did make him nervous, timing can sometimes mean everything, and this-where they stood now was a piece of that everything. Not now he would often think, not yet. But as he stood in the midst of a city he thought he'd never return to, that out of his many yet few wishes, he knew this would not come true.

"I don't think we should leave," Sue said in a voice inches over a whisper. He already knew her answer, but the words still burned in his chest. Their growth had began long ago, pleading now was simply to fool himself. "We are leaving. Now." As much as he tried, the other side of him he couldn't tug out, the more serious side. Pride was reaching from beneath his throat, trying to take hold of his lips, but Crow bit back the smile, with as much fervor as he could manage. But before he had completely won that battle within, a sound pulled his and Elda’s attention to the entrance. A click and bang, the sound of a wide hole opening and being filled.