It was just past 2pm when Thalia and Zorvashar finished the message board assignment, which had them clear the town’s general storeroom of rats. They had not eaten yet and each could stand a brew so they headed over to the small town pub.
The building lay in the dead center of town, really laying out the priorities here. It was a shabby brown building with a thick straw roof. As they entered they were hit with a mixture of smoke, brew and stew hanging heavy upon the air. The place was dark but warm, with a roaring fire ablaze in the massive hearth at the far end of the room. There were a handful of people scattered between the bar and a few tables.
Thalia headed for a table in the back left corner and Zorvashar followed behind, making eye contact with the bar keep and giving him an, over here, head jerk to indicate they would want to be served. The man headed out from behind the counter and met them at their table as they sat down. “What have you today?” the man said in a deep husky voice. “What stew is on for today’s meal?” Thalia asked. The man replied quickly, like one who has repeated this information more times than anyone would like to “A potato and eel in a barley broth”. Thalia made eye contact with Zorvashar, who nodded his approval “We’ll take two bowls, two brews and a loaf of bread, if you have it today.” The bar keep nodded his understanding and wandered off into the back room behind the bar.
“Where to next?” Zorvashar uttered in his signature gravelly voice. Thalia contemplated for a moment, considering the options, “I believe it’s time to head west. We’ve been out this way for months and there’s been nothing more than small assignments from message boards. I am interested in something bigger. Bigger adventure, bigger reward.” “Bigger adventure means bigger problems” grumbled Zorvashar. “What do you care if the problems are bigger?” Thalia stated with an eye roll, “You don’t usually complain as long as the pay is worth the trouble.”
“I have been enjoying easy payouts here recently. We have been doing this long time, maybe we slow down now. Take easy pay, kill easy things, live easy lives.” “Oh orcs and goblins Zor, you’re only 80 years old, you have years of life yet. You’re not old and it’s not time to settle down.” Thalia huffed, making sure Zorvashar knew how ridiculous she thought his statement was.
Their conversation was interrupted by the barkeep dropping off their food and drink. There was silence between them for a while as they both stuffed their faces in a fashion that suggested they had not eaten in some time. Thalia’s attention had been captured while she was eating though and once she had enough to feel modestly satisfied she slowed down and broke the silence “Have you noticed that female across the pub from us. Over near the corner by the fire?” Zorrvashar ventured a glance that direction. The female in question looked half orc, half something else. She looked tall and muscular and had six empty bowls on her table and was invested in a seventh as they stared at her. “Hadn’t noticed but she can put it away it seems” Zorvashar stated, speaking specifically about the empty bowl amount. “I wonder if she always eats so hearty or if something has increased her appetite? I know I am hungry after a massive battle and can finish off three bowls easy. Maybe she has been doing some serious killing, maybe she knows of something big we can get tangled up in.” Thalia pondered this, excitement spreading across her face. Zorvashar looked at her and rolled his eyes “Oh calm down, she clearly has muscle on her, this is probably her normal appetite. Plus I don’t like the way you state we would be tangled up in something. I have no interest in tangledness.” Thalia started to get up from her seat. Zorvashar grabbed her arm, “Where are you going?!” “I am going to talk to her, I want insider knowledge she clearly has.” Thalia smiled defiantly, pulled her arm from Zorvashar’s hand and strode off to the other side of the pub.
Halgard looked up from her soup as Thalia strode over, looking all too eager. Halgard raised an eyebrow but continued to scoop spoonfuls into her mouth. “Good Afternoon, My name is Thalia, May I sit with you a moment?” Thalia did not wait for a response as she slid into the booth opposite Halgard. Halgard looked Thalia down, then back up and met her eyes, “And what does a little Tiefling such as yourself need from a stranger in a bar?” Thalia smiled, ‘Well I am so glad you asked, we can get right to it then. My friend and I are looking to see what sort of trouble or bounties are around here that are bigger than what we can find on the message boards. We have been out this way for months and it seems oddly quiet and easy going.”
“So you want to be involved in the trouble you believe is hiding in this region?” Halgard asked. “Yes, I believe there is more here than just small assignments on the board and we are looking to lend our expertise to assist whatever that may be.” Thalia replied. Halgard let out a hmm under her breath and shook her head “And what expertise might those be? You consider yourselves some sort of adventurers I assume?” With exaggerated head bobs and a swoop of the hand Thalia replied ‘Well yes actually. I guess that would be a proper title for us. We are experts in many things. From fighting to sneaking and many things in between. We have been doing this as our profession for many years.” Halgard nodded, “I wouldn’t say we get many adventurers around her outside of the local ones that stay local. Why do you assume I would know where trouble lies?” Halgard asked with a raised eyebrow and leaned back in the booth. Thalia knew that she was toeing the line of rudeness but she couldn’t think of a better way to explain her thought process, so she decided to go with honesty. “Well, I see you are on your seventh bowl of soup and I know when I have finished a large battle I will eat a lot of food. With this as my own frame of reference, I believe that maybe you have been eating more than usual because you have also been in a battle recently and are replenishing your energy.” Thalia smiled nervously as Halgard sat quiet and unmoving for what felt like an eternity. Finally, a smile crept across Halgards face and she let out a laugh, “You are a bold little tiefling, I like it. As you see I am no small thing myself so I can eat quite a bit usually but you are right, this is a lot, even for me. There is adventure to be had, if that is what you want to call it. Though I call it the destruction of a land I love.” “Call your friend over and I will let you in on all the finer details of my land’s battle with the warlock known as Sparrowin.”
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