“Barkeep! Another!” Riva cheered at the counter, having just downed a third glass.
The barkeep, an older feliome with furry sideburns, was impressed by the woman’s tolerance. He had been responsible for her first three drinks, the third of which had been on the house. There were one or two others at the bar asking for drinks as well, but this woman had caught ahold of his attention. Though she assumed it was just because she had shown up only about twenty minutes ago.
Unlike his coworker Mya, the barkeep was much more energetic with the patrons of Big Bart’s. He spoke to them with gravitas, chuckling heartily at their jokes and often telling some of his own. Most importantly, he paid close attention to how they were feeling. He always wanted his patrons to have fun while they were here, and he took pride in making sure he gave that to them.
He poured the bold woman another glass of ale, sliding it across the countertop right into her waiting hand. She tossed him a gold piece and raised the glass in appreciation. Looking around the room, Riva tried to get a sense of the atmosphere. While the place wasn’t too crowded, which was fair seeing as how it was in the middle of the woods, everyone inside looked really happy. Like, really happy. She wondered what kinds of lives these people led. Where they had come from, where they were journeying to. She wondered if any of them had been here before, or if they had been advised to come here by someone else, like her and her companions with Bolur and Cahven.
Despite her docile demeanor, Riva was actually no stranger to a drink. She had refrained from drinking most of her life, but in the past few years, she started picking up a few more glasses. Over the past half-decade, she had developed a rather strong tolerance, much to her distaste. The woman rarely drank for enjoyment, instead hoping to get drunk as quickly as possible. She had had many rough nights the past few years and quickly found that drinking was an easy way to alleviate her stress. Sure, she could enjoy drinks with friends, but most often, she raised her glass in hopes of forgetting the day.With the tolerance she had built up over the recent years, she had grown annoyed with how much she usually had to drink before feeling lightheaded. Though of course, in public it could be seen as something admirable, and she tried to remain positive about it.
As she drank her ale, the barkeep was already bothering to poor her another, anticipating that she would be asking for one soon. “So,” asked the feliome as he poured, “would you say you’re liking our little establishment?”
“So far, it’s alright,” Riva replied with a slightly forced smile. “It has a quaint charm to it, though the idea of a tavern in the middle of nowhere must scare some people off, no?”
“Oh, quite the contrary, I must say,” refuted the barkeep. “The types of folks we get here are always rather intrigued by the idea. It’s become a bit of a legend. Ol’ Big Bart’s. Any traveler worth their gold has to stop by!”
The barkeep chuckled as he finished speaking. The cat man was charismatic, Riva had to admit. She looked around the room again but was quickly drawn to a commotion a few seats next to her. A drunken man with short hair and dark skin had fallen off his stool, having lost his balance. As he got up, the man patted his clothes before muttering, “Hm? Where’d my gold pouch go?”
“Ha ha ha, losing your stuff already, bud?” the barkeep laughed. “Don’t worry, man, happens all the time. Hard to keep track of your things when you can’t even keep your balance! Let me get you another drink in the meantime, then I can help you look for it!”
The dark-skinned man who had, for a moment, sobered up slightly quickly returned to his drunken state, smiling at the furry barkeep and thanking him for the offer. He quickly forgot about his initial worry, resolving to look for his pouch later as the cat man had suggested. “Thanks, barkeep!” the man cheered, slurring his words. “I gotta’ say, Big Bart’s is the best!”
The man then turned to Riva, who was still sipping her fourth glass. “How ‘bout you, ma’am, you having a great time?” he asked the woman. “All… these people… are having a lovely night off in the woods… before returning to grand adventure! Like me. This… sword right here… yup, that’s me. That’s my… mine. You having a good time?”
Staring at the two men looking at her, the woman downed her fourth glass and replied, “You know, I think I am! I had quite the long day, and I just needed a little something for me. And I think I’m getting that right now. Speaking of getting…”
The woman pointed to the glass of ale that the barkeep had already poured, gesturing for him to hand it over. He handed it over to her graciously, throwing up his hand to catch a gold piece that she flung his way. Turning back to face the rest of the room again, Riva watched as people danced with one another, tripped over their chairs, and clinked their drinks. It wasn’t the busiest of places, but it was certainly one of the happiest she had ever seen. And she was starting to feel why. Downing the last of her fourth glass, she returned her gaze to the feliome barkeep and the dark-skinned man next to her. “You know, I think you were right, hun’,” she admitted to the patron. “Big Bart’s… is the best!”
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Back in room 10, Leone was still passed out on the bed, not having moved an inch. The covers were still tucked neatly under him and his legs were still resting on the floor. Azim was in the same spot he had been when the young man first fell asleep, and Roman was still sleeping by his legs. In fact, the mosstail was the only one who had moved in the past couple of hours, tossing and turning slightly before finally resting peacefully on the feet of Azim’s metal boots.
In room 9, Iman had stayed up waiting for Riva. Not that waiting was her only reason for staying awake, she also enjoyed the room she was in and wanted to take it all in. She couldn’t remember the last time she had spent the night inside a sheltered structure, especially not one away from home. While the inn’s room was simple and quaint, she eyed it with the appreciation of someone gazing upon the Capitol Building in the center of Brell. The simple lantern hanging by the door, another in between the two small beds. A small plush ottoman that sat at the foot of each one. And of course, a dingy bathroom with only a curtain to separate itself from the rest of the room. It wasn’t the most charming, and yet to Iman, it was wonderful. She sat on the bed, feeling its covers, chastising herself even more than she already had been for sleeping outside for so many nights, staying onsite for her arbitrary post that she had somehow assigned herself to for so long.
However, as the hours passed, the nør elf started to worry about Riva. She knew that Riva wanted some alone time and that one could easily spend hours at a bar. At least, she assumed so. The young woman figured she couldn’t say for sure as she could not speak from experience. But, still. She was worried. If her new companion was going to be drinking and loosening up for the night, she at least wanted to make sure the woman was safe and comfortable, and being alone in a room full of strangers could have potentially not been helping.
Azim tilted his head to the sound of knocking on his and Leone’s door. The young man, not knowing where the sound was coming from, jolted awake at the startling noise. “Wuzzat? Who?… Am I champion?” mumbled Leone groggily.
While the robot would have already been at the door and opening it by the time Leone was done rubbing his eyes, he was unable to because of the mosstail laid about atop his feet. Iman called through the door that was her, and apologized for knocking so late, but mentioned she was worried and asked if they could open the door. Leone pushed himself off the bed and went to answer. Opening the door and seeing the nør elf’s worried face, the young man asked what was wrong.
“Well, it may be stupid, but… Riva, she’s been gone for a while. I know she’s having her fun and whatnot, she said she needed this, and that’s cool, but… I don’t know, I’m just a bit worried leaving her alone for so long. I know she’s a grown woman and everything, but we’re surrounded by strangers, and she’s drinking, and it’d been a few hours, and—“
“Hey,” Leone cut her off, obviously still tired but speaking comfortingly. “Should we go check on her?”
Iman nodded and waited in the hall. Leone turned back to look at Azim, who had not said anything yet. He looked down at the mosstail still lying on the robot’s legs and asked if the robot was good where he was. While Azim did not understand that Leone was asking whether he wanted to stay or go with them, the android responded to the question he had been asked, stating, “I am not inconvenienced by remaining in this position.”
Leone, who simply took that as a yes, gave the robot a thumbs up and told him that he and Iman would be back soon. Azim waved to him and Iman, leaving them to go check on the well-being of their companion. He looked down at his pet, paying close attention to how comfortable it looked. He then lifted his head back up and continued to stand, unmoving, and unthinking.
Another hour or two went by without the return of Riva, or even Leone or Iman. Not only was the woman still gone, but now so were Azim’s other companions. While it was impossible for the metal man to feel concern, he was able to recognize the objective potential dangers that could arise in the current situation. He also acknowledged that his companions were concerned for Riva, and logistically, due to their similar absences, any potential concern that could be had for her could now also be had for them.
The robot had a choice to make. He could either continue to wait as Leone had asked, and welcome them back when they eventually arrived, or he could decide they had been gone too long, and go out checking on all of them himself. A decision like this was hard for Azim to make. It was a decision based on his own interests, his own judgment. He could not take action based on a response to someone else’s, as there was no immediate action to take. Sure, he considered the action of leaving and being gone, but he was told to wait. He was told they would be back. Now it was up to Azim to decide when they had been gone too long, as it was considered by his processors no longer efficient to follow the direction given by Leone. The robot had to act according to his own decisions. Decisions that were otherwise impossible to make.
Azim reflected on the amount of time that had elapsed since Leone and Iman had left. He then considered how long it had been since Riva had left them to go get a drink. Azim recognized that the time between when Riva left and when the others left to go look for her was greater than the time between when they left and now. The times would be equivalent in approximately 46 minutes and 15 seconds. Azim assessed that he could follow the actions of his companions, effectively basing his behavior on experiences and patterns as usual, if he left to go look for them after the same amount of time had elapsed. The robot determined that the given amount of time was the length needed to be deemed necessary for a check-in. If he simply waited the same amount of time that they did, he could then leave with the understanding that the decision was grounded on past experiences.
The only question was… could the android wait that long without consequence?