Oscar made his way along the wave of disembarked crowds forward towards the city proper on the cobblestone streets.

He kept his hands in his pockets and watched the sights along his path.

The peddlers of the fish market peddled their wares to smiling at the young washing ladies when making eye contact as he passed their workplace.

He stopped along the way with others and watched some street performers along the way, showing marvelous and exotic performances from distant and close lands.

He kept smiling along the way but inside he couldn’t help but feel as if it was all hollow. There was a certain, feeling in the air as the streets took him deeper. A certain lifelessness, a monotony of life veiled over by a gilded colorful veil of humdrum.

He stopped and glanced to an alley to the side.

He was nearing the grand market, the arterial heart of the capitol where all roads would take you if you’d walk or ride a carriage long enough. He could smell the various spices, herbs, perfumes and myriad foods drifting from there.

Somebody bumped into him from behind due to his sudden stop, but he ignored it and weaved into the alley.

Compared to the grand road it was small and decrepit with barely any light entering the forlorn side path in between venerable brick buildings with a restaurant and a shop individually on the ground floor while housing was on the two upper floors.

The beginning of the alley was mostly clean and covered in packed dirt with some side paths for the residents of the buildings to reach their housing along with some trash along the sides of the alley.

The alley itself went on with more tall buildings, crisscrossing with more paths into a dense residential district of sorts with alleys as pathways.

Laundry lines crossed the buildings with clothing drying on the upper residences.

Oscar began to walk the alley inwards, looking at the people lounging or chatting in windows, it felt surreally different from the grand road he had walked along the crowd.

Soon the lively sounds of the road made way to the sounds of ordinary living and the quiet steps of him and the occasional pedestrian walking past him.

Eyes of the neighborhood watched him as he walked their alley, observing him as he observed them.

He soon came out the other side of the backstreets onto another road, this one different than the crowded walkway, carts and carriages pulled by horses ran in the middle while the pedestrians kept to the sides.

The road itself was packed dirt like the alley and on the other side a mix of more residential blocks, larger compounds of workshops and warehouses that ran along the road.

The occasional shop or tavern also intermingled with the rest of the buildings occasionally but there was a certain lack of opulence that showed he had reached the common areas of the large city with shops and taverns catering to the needs of everyday life.

Oscar leaned onto the edge of the alley and fished out a box of tobacco with some rolling paper inside as well and rolled a cigarette and put it in his mouth before taking out a box of matches.

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He lit the cigarette and dragged his lungs full of acrid smoke as he watched the traffic calmly and letting the tobacco hit him before exhaling slowly.

It was mid-afternoon in an unfamiliar town without a place of residence.

He finished his cigarette and let it fall to the ground before choosing a tavern that stuck his fancy and headed there, quickly crossing the street and making his way to the establishment.

He entered the red brick tavern and came upon the wooden interior that reminded him of the feasting halls of the league.

The hall was empty besides a couple of patrons sitting and enjoying some hearty meal that they drowned in ale.

The tavern keep nodded at him from behind the counter as he entered to which he responded in kind and made his way to the tavern keep.

The proprietor was a middling man of greying hair and a hearty physique and well-worn brown clothing with slight adornments on the sleeves and neckline that was mostly hidden by a large, stained leather apron.

“Got a hearty thick stew with sausage and proper ale to offer as a meal.” The man said in an unhurried tone as Oscar reached the counter. “Meals twelve pence with ale on the side.”

Oscar nodded with a smile and brought out his money pouch tied to from within his trousers and brought forth a silver coin with a mint of ‘1’ on one of its sides and gave it to the proprietor who nodded and returned a large copper coin with a ‘10’ on it along with three small copper coins with a denominator of ‘1’.

Without a word the tavern keep turned around and headed towards a doorway leading to a kitchen as Oscar sat down in a corner after putting the coins in his pouch and tucking it back in.

He glanced at the doorway to the kitchen watching as the tavern keep talked with a wizened matron with auburn hair and a face with slight signs of crow’s feet and laughing lines while leaning against the doorway. She was dressed like, the proprietor, most likely a pair of husband and wife.

Oscar watched as they made small talk as the woman ladled the stew into a bowl before glancing at him for a moment before skimming a few more pieces of sausage from the pot and adding it to his bowl and adding a spoon before handing it to her husband who gave a grunt in thanks and waltzed back to the hall proper and expertly served a tankard of ale from a tapped cask with one hand.

With eased moment he glided from behind the counter into the hall proper and zoomed to Oscar’s table of choice.

With his meal served Oscar nodded cheerfully to the man, “My gratitude.” Before turning towards the kitchen and taking a thankful bow towards the woman who was now leaning in the doorway and keeping an eye on them both.

“And my regards to the matron.” He said with a smile as he turned towards the husband who smirked and let out a hearty laugh.

“Aye, I’ll tell her.” He said and slowly sat down on the bench on the other side with a slight groan. “Always appreciates the patrons complimenting her stew.” He added as he wiped his hands on the apron.

“But never cares when I say so.” He laughed heartily before motioning at the stew, “Eat up or she’ll have both our heads for ruining her stew by letting it grow cold.”

With a laugh and a nod Oscar dug into his first meal of the day, leaning over his bowl and holding it with his other hand. He enjoyed the extra sausage bursting with broth and fat before washing it down with some ale.

With an airy exhale he nodded appreciatively at his host who smirked matter-of-factly and leaned his head on his hand as Oscar continued eating.

“So.” He started and tilted his head slightly “New around these parts?” He asked with a cheeky grin. “Aven’t seen you around er before.”

Oscar chortled mid digging into the stew and grinning at the man “How’d you guess?” he asked before continuing and looking at the proprietor whose grin turned mischievous as he leaned back.

He motioned widely around his tavern “Old timers” He motioned at the few other patrons to the side who laughed and toasted towards them.

“And newcomers come around this time” He laughed and pointed at Oscar who joined laughing with the others and toasted back at the others before taking a big swig from the ale.

Bringing the metal tankard down on the table he twitched slightly as the ale hit just right and grinned at the tavern keep again and raising the tankard to toast again “Just off the ships.” He exclaimed before downing the ale.

“Ha!” The tavern keeper exclaimed and slapped his thigh before whistling at his wife who rolled her eyes before quickly bringing a bottle of schnapps and two glasses to the table.

The man grinned like a small child as she waltzed over and put the bottle and glasses down.

He leaned towards his wife while pursing his lips, who gently laughed at the sigh and leaned over smiling as he kissed her on the cheek, eliciting Oscar and the patrons to laugh and whistle.

She left back to the kitchen with a smile and a slight blush as the husband passed over a glass while taking the other.

“The woman of my dreams.” He grinned as he poured schnapps to both of them and raised a glass, with Oscar raising his own.

“To new beginnings” The tavern keeper exclaimed loudly while looking at the glass above him, before turning towards Oscar, “And to new regulars!” He cheekily added.

“To new beginnings” Oscar toasted, and they downed their glasses.

"“And new regulars”" The other patrons added as they toasted as well.

“And new regulars!” Oscar laughed and nodded at the other regulars and the hosts of the tavern ‘Home away from home’.