The sound of glasses and laughter washed over the saloon. Judging by the vibe of the place, if Jin had to make a guess this was the center of Ferri’s Village. It was a cozy place, with about six tables, but all of them occupied.
He briefly noticed everyone taking care of their lives, no gaze was diverted in their direction. Except for the bald man across the room, who was rubbing the counter with a damp cloth.
"What can I do for you lads?" He asked with a raspy voice.
"Hey buddy, how is it going, give me two shots of the house’s best." Vendrick addressed the man who frowned in suspicion before him.
The second the table was polished, the man finally gave the order the required attention. For a moment that seemed interminable, the man stopped what he was doing, and looked slightly at the two boys.
Crossing his tanned arms in doubt, he broke the ice—"You boys aren't from around here eh?"
With his head tilted and his eyebrows raised, Vendrick replied "Maybe just maybe, you're good at guessing."
He shook his head, his eyes now filled by astonishment in its purest form.
"What gave us away, perhaps the Kabanist accent?" asked Vendrick.
The stark man behind the counter shook his head. “Those yellow eyes that you have, I’ve never thought that I’d see them again,” He uttered in disbelief. "You must be Vendrick, son of Alaric."
"Phooo, for a second there I thought my accent gave us away." Sighed Vendrick as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. With barely any bulk of forests adjacent to the road, for miles themselves were the only shadows cast, ever unapproachable for a moment of rest from sunburn.
“Silly me!”
“Accents don’t do any harm for me, I’m better off worrying about the weapons you’re bringing into my workplace,” Continued the balded man. “It’s rare to see adventurers around these parts, especially with what’s been going on here lately.”
"Is this about the cows going missing at night?" Suggested Jin, his voice echoing throughout the room.
The man suddenly frowned, this time his facial expression grew darker. His body language had totally switched. His mouth no longer had any sign of friendliness from a minute ago. Shaking his head while gazing at the bottles, he addressed Jin at once.
“Cows you said? How dare you kid, the manpower in Sanctum has been so low that they’re resorting to sending arrogant children along to assist us? Unbelievable, ” the unhappy bartender shouted for the whole saloon to hear.
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“Watch out what you say, old man,” Jin threatened with a hand on the counter. “You should be grateful that we are here at all to help your little village.”
For the second time, Jin's tone of voice ricocheted off the walls of the room and won the attention of the people who were sitting nearby. From table number two in the corner of the room, a large man in leather gloves and hand-sewn light armor stood up with a defiant look.
Clenching his fists, the tall man took a deep breath and inquired about the disturbance. "Do we have a problem here?" he frowned.
“There’s no problem at all sir, we were just about to leave,” Spurted Vendrick as he glugged down the entire shot of rum in one go. “We don’t want trouble, my bro over here just can’t think straight while thirsty that’s all.” His half-brother was contained in a headlock between his arms.
Vendrick had no idea what had triggered the hostile reaction from everyone in a matter of minutes. But if shutting Jin down made everyone there more willing to talk, then so be it.
“Jin can you please go wait outside while I gather the intel here with Mr…”
"You can call me Mr. Jayce Sawano, I'm the innkeeper." The bald man added, growing impatient.
With clenched fists, Jin turned his back and walked out of the saloon in silence, knowing full well that he should not further encourage hostility in the air. Vendrick would pay for that furtive submission attempt in front of everyone. He didn't quite know how things had gotten to this point. But if he had to blame the escalation into something, the bartender's unstable state of mind would have easily taken the trophy.
"Fine." Uttered Jin, his dark eyes shooting anger through and through.
With each step he took, the curious people who gathered around the commotion moved away. Gradually the path opened up before him.
“Listen I'm sorry for the inconvenience but we need something to work with here. I’m the leader of the squad sent here from Sanctum. Our primary mission is to deal with your issue and whatever has been plaguing this village for the past few weeks. The more you work with me, the faster we’ll leave your village. ” Pleaded Vendrick, as he slid ten golden coins on the counter.
“Here’s to ease the mood.”
Mr. Jayce looked at the coins shining before him. “By Aura’s delight, this is so nice of you!” Stunned by the amount, he relaxed his shoulders as he collected them quickly, filling his pocket to the top.
“I apologize for the troubles that we brought upon you,” Vendrick added, his fists intertwined with his head lowered. "May I hear your prediction on what we’ll find roaming on the streets when night falls?"
Trader first, and stubborn second, the bald man couldn't help himself but take the yellow-eyed hero on his offer.
“As you might have seen already, we’re running low on chairs, but the first thing we’re taught in Ferris is to prepare for the worst. “Come!” He motioned with his hands.
“It is one thing to send rude costumers out of my inn, but it takes a fool to deny an elementalist such as yourself their deserved intel in the battles to come… You are welcome to follow me to my office.” Said the barkeeper.
Leading Vendrick to a more private spot, Mr. Jayce stopped halfway and turned back. On the corridor, there were just the two of them, and so a remark had to be made.
“You should teach your partner some manners; One thing is to come inside with your dirty boots without taking them off, or without a shower.But a whole different issue surges the second your partner comes into my business comparing cows to treasured costumers we may never see again."
"I'm sorry, what?” Replied Vendrick, in disbelief.