“Of course it starts in a tavern,” Timothy said to himself in a low tone to avoid being overheard.
He began to look around at his surroundings, he was not sure what he was expecting but this was far from it. He was in a large, well-lit common room with bleached white walls that went up about four feet before transitioning to a light-colored wood. The windows were spaced out about every ten feet with a dark iron sconce holding a small torch on each side. The torch light, along with the two large chandeliers, were enough to brighten the entire room. There was a raised stage on the other side of the dining area that looked like it was for performances of almost any kind. He was seated at the far side of the room from the stage, closest to the bar. Behind the bar was, what he could only think of as, a dwarf. This dwarf was bald, had no beard and seemed a bit too tall since his waste up was visible over the bar height.
Timothy was sitting at a small wooden table, only big enough for two people to share a meal at. He was sitting in a somewhat comfortable chair made of the same wood as the table, with one more chair to his right. The smell of food wafted through the air, assaulting his senses, making him realize how hungry he was. He could feel his stomach growling and looked around the room for a waitress, but the room was so thick with people that he couldn’t see more than a few rows into the crowd.
He was about to give up hope and make his way to the bar when a beautiful young lady, probably in her early twenties, snuck through the crowd and approached his table. Her skin was the color of winter snow with white hair tinged with blue that seemed to move as if under a constant breeze. She walked over, looked him up and down and gave him a smile.
“I apologize, I didn’t see you come in. Were you waiting long?” She asked.
“Not at all. In fact, I just got here,” Timothy replied.
“Oh good! I wouldn’t want old Roric over there getting mad at me,” she said as she hooked a thumb over in the dwarf’s direction, “I am Candice. Are you here to eat, drink or both?”
“I am starving, it has been a long journey. I will take whatever you recommend and a pint of beer if you don’t mind,” Timothy said.
“Why would I mind?” Candice teased. Timothy shook his head, he was going to have to stop saying that, he thought as he remembered Marline from Parrot Island.
Candice continued, “No problem. I will have your drink in a moment, but the steak will take a little bit. The kitchen is busy tonight with the crowd waiting for Mr. Firndwyer to take the stage. I will bring some biscuits and broth with your beer, how’s that sound?”
“Sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said as she left his table. Timothy couldn’t help but steal a glance at her as she walked away, her beauty was unlike anything he had ever seen before.
He snapped himself out of it as a memory of Gina flashed in his head. Not even a few minutes in this new world and he was ogling another girl, god he felt like a creep.
After a few minutes of admonishing himself, he continued to look around the room looking for anything he didn’t see on his initial scan. Most of the patrons looked like hard working, salt of the earth kind of people, enjoying the end of the workday. He did not see anyone he would classify as the adventuring type, what kind of a tavern was this if he couldn’t find a group here. He chuckled to himself at the thought.
He continued to take the room in, it was warm, most of the warmth coming from the hearth to his left. Glancing back at the windows he noticed that the bottoms had little arches of frost, or snow, draped across their bottoms, he couldn’t tell from this distance. Every once in a while, he would feel a draft of cold air as one patron entered or left the tavern through the front door. It was cold outside, had he been away in the prep room that long, could it be winter already?
The crowd started to stir as a man in a colorful shirt and brown trousers walked upon the stage. There was a round of applause when he settled into a chair and opened a case that contained a lute, polished to a glossy shine. He settled the lute on his lap and looked over the crowd as they settled down so they could hear the music he was about to play. When he started the music was calm and relaxing, like something you would hear in a fine restaurant, everyone quieted and listened.
Candice arrived a few minutes after the music started, “Here you go,” she said as she placed the bread, broth and beer on the table in front of Timothy, “Is there anything else I can get for you while you wait for the main course?”
Timothy took a quick sip of the beer and smelled the food, it smelled incredible, making him hungrier than he was before it arrived, “The beer is very nice, I might as well order another to come out with my dinner.”
“Sure thing!” she said with a smile, then turned around to move to one of the other tables.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Timothy had to force himself to slow down as he ate, he was so hungry that he could have inhaled the food instead of chewing it. Fortunately, the combination of the biscuits and beer were enough to curb his voracious appetite for the time being. When he finished each he sat back and focused his attention on the stage, listening to the melodious music of the bard. Ten minutes must have gone by before Candice returned to his table with a plate of food in one hand and a mug of beer in the other.
“You were hungry! I hope you saved room for this,” she said as she slid the steak in front of Timothy.
“You have nothing to worry about there,” he said, “please tell the chef that the biscuits and broth were delicious.”
“I will! She is always happy to know when a patron is enjoying the food,” she smiled at him again as she turned to tend to another table.
Timothy realized he was smiling just as brightly, Damn, she really knows how to treat the guests, he thought to himself as he watched her interact with the other tables. Flashing her smile to each person she was serving, bringing returned smiles from the other guests as she waited on them.
Timothy shook his head before looking at his food. The steak was huge, covering more than three quarters of the plate, potatoes covering the rest. Again, he had to pace himself as he ate his way through his dinner, otherwise he would have finished the meal in only a few minutes. After every bite he would sit back and watch the bard for a moment, this helped him pace himself to not eat too fast.
While he was cutting another bite size piece of steak a greenish-gray hand pressed itself into the table. The forearm was covered in a thick bracer made of a dark stained leather with silver studs and a red cloth wrapped around the wrist area. Timothy followed the arm up to its owner to discover it was a female orc that looked like a cross between a martial artist and a bodybuilder. She had long dark hair, pointed ears and green eyes that were staring daggers at him.
“I don’t recall letting you in here, how did you get past the door?” she said in a deep husky voice, yet still feminine.
“Truthfully, I have no idea,” Timothy said with trepidation heavy in his tone.
“If you are too drunk to remember how you got in here, you are too drunk to stay,” she said as she grabbed the cloth of his cloak on his shoulders.
Her strength was formidable, easily pulling him up out of his chair, Timothy thought it would be a bad idea to try and resist. Instead, he let her pull him up out of his seat and away from the table before he tried to say anything. By the time he thought about what to say she was half dragging him towards the door leading out of the tavern.
“Hold up a second! I am not drunk. I have only had one beer and that was while I was here.”
She continued to drag him towards the door, “Do you know how many drunks have told me that same story? I am not buying it.”
“Nava! What are you doing to my customer?” Candice came running over through the crowd.
“He doesn’t belong here, I did not let him through the door, so he is getting escorted out,” Nava said, keeping her grip on Timothy’s cloak but stopped walking toward the door.
“He has been fine and a complete gentleman, you can let him stay.”
“No one enters into this building without my say so, that is what Roric pays me for. You know this!” Nava was nearly growling at Candice.
Timothy put his hands up in a submissive gesture, “Look, what can I do to make this right? I agree that I arrived here without you checking me in, and I am sorry, I am new here and didn’t know the rules,” Timothy glanced up at Nava.
God she is tall! What? Probably six foot six or close enough to that, how did I not notice her before, Timothy thought to himself before he continued.
“Besides, I owe Candice for the food and drink. Please allow me to settle my bill first before you throw me out, I did not mean to cause any trouble.”
Nava looked him over for a moment, “Fine!” She let go of his cloak and gave him a little shove back toward his table.
Timothy glanced over his shoulder at her but held back from saying anything that would escalate the situation, “Will I be allowed to finish my meal, or no?”
Candice replied, “Yes,” at the same time Nava said “No.”
The two women stared at each other, neither backing down as they tested the others will with sheer intimidation. It was almost comical to Timothy, there was a massive height disparity between the two of a foot or more, yet neither was backing down. This was not going well, the longer this staring contest went on the angrier each was getting. Timothy thought they were going to start trading blows any second.
“Candice, please, it is okay. We have a slight misunderstanding here and I am in the wrong. I have no problem leaving, but I would ask one favor. Where is a good place to rent a room for the night?”
Candice turned her head slightly to acknowledge Timothy, but kept her glare on Nava, “This is the only inn in town.”
Nava looked at Timothy and smiled deviously, “It will be cold tonight, I hope you have warmer clothes than what you are wearing.”
“I have a tent and blankets, I will make do. Let me grab my stuff,” Timothy grabbed his pack and staff, “Oh!? What do I owe you?” He asked Candice.
“Seven iron,” she said.
Timothy reached into his coin purse and fished out ten iron coins and handed them to Candice, “Thank you for wonderful service and please let the chef know that the steak was perfect. I apologize for not finishing it.”
“I will, and I am sorry that things turned out this way,” Candice said, regret heavy in her voice.
“No worries,” Timothy looked over at Nava, “Am I band for good, or can I return another day?”
“We will see,” her tone softening just a touch from Timothy’s compliance.
Timothy finished latching his backpack on, grabbed his staff and started making his way to the door, Nava following closely behind him. The other patrons making way for the two as they walked. Timothy had the distinct impression that no one wanted to get on Nava’s bad side and from the look of her, he understood why. They were about ten feet from the door when it flew open from someone pushing it too hard and it slammed against the doorstop. The door rattled, nearly shattering the small glass panes as three dwarves stumbled in half drunk and eyed Nava.
The first one pointed a finger at her and said in a slurred drunken speech, “You said I wasn’t welcome here anymore,” he waved his hands around at the other two, “How about now?”
She wiped her hand over her face, annoyed, “The McManus brothers.”