A certain story

Seeing as their course of action seemed to be set, Bartleby followed on after Byron, along with the others. It wasn't far to the town, and it wouldnn't take long for them to get there. And as a result of this, Bartleby made sure to think quickly of a relatively sound exuse to enable him to keep a room to himself. The brunette elf did eventually think of something, though it waas fair to say that it was farfetched - and if any of these others knew the slightest thing about elves, it would fall apart - but it would have to do.

"I'll have to take a room for myself. It's an elf custom. It's not permitted to share sleeping space - apart from outside." He knew it was weak, but it was sort of plausible. With any luck the others would just accept it as a weird elf thing that couldn't be explained. God knew Bartleby often found himself doing the same to humans, and even other elves. What was it with those air fairy wood elves and their frolicking? Not to mention humans and their love of fist fighting - for fun. What the hell? There wasn't a tavern he'd found where a few macho idiots wanted to prove their strength and earn the respect and friendship of their compatriots by beating the living shit out of eachother. It was weird. The elves he was used to, preferred to use slightly more civil means to break the ice. Or just assassinate anyone who happened to be in the way, whichever was easier.
 
Daniel took a deep breath. His troupe of boys was going their separate ways. But they seemed to be converging upon a specific destination; some town across the bridge. Daniel was not suited for towns, particularly. Along the countryside, the bulky knight would have been taken for a paladin or knight that was on some noble quest, but in towns, people asked questions about him. They asked him about the nature of his quest, the reasons for his armor; and though he was quite deft at lying, somebody always figured it out. Daniel Danielson, the last of the Danielson Family. But this was a small town.

The elf was speaking, and the death knight looked over at him, the rotted flesh around his eyes twitching. "We will see what rooms are available. I must take one for myself as well. Perhaps this will mean that we will end up rooming together. Perhaps not." He was not well versed in elf-custom, but he saw no reason for Bartleby to not abandon them. He was amongst mortal Men, as was Daniel, and they both had their parts to play. If that meant ridding themselves of their prior biases, customs, and comfort, so be it. Daniel had to board with so-called heroes before. Their initial shock that their compatriot was a rotting monster was often muted. Daniel suspected there were reasons for that. Perhaps it just wasn't that surprising.

The knight lurched over to pick up the boy that had fallen asleep. He nestled the boy comfortably within his arms, though his spiked and rusted armor could not be a comfortable place to sleep. He awkwardly draped his cloak over the boy in a surprisingly tender gesture though it was ruined by the ear-splitting clank of his armor. Daniel turned his head slowly to Lucian. "Do not worry about paying for rooms. I have money."

With that, the death knight, with Chris-in-arms, followed Bartleby.
 
This is uncomfortable..... Can we just wake up and, you know, get off the freaking spikes?
Just wait. We might be able to find something out if we stay like this. We don't know the group's trust in us, and, it could be a good way of getting information. From what it sounds, Bartleby's an elf, have you met one before, Chris?
N-no.... of course I haven't! We've been confined for years by my father!
Hm...... True. However, something seems off. Both the man carrying us and the elf wish to have separate rooms. Since we are all traveling in a group, it seems odd to want separate rooms, unless someone is hiding something....
You heard the elf, stinking rat, its his custom.
Even if that's true, whats the knight's excuse? Discomfort from being in the same room as ones younger than him?
No offense, but you ask waaay too many questions. Don't worry, we're all friends! After all, even if one of them has a secret, we should just trust them! It's not like a secret can ruin this entire group!
You would be surprised....
 
Lucian ran atfer Bartleby and Byron. He was happy that they had all desided to stick together for now, but getting two seperate rooms could prove to be difficult. Well, it couldn't be helped, Bartleby had his elven customs and Lucian was sure that Daniel had his reasons too. ´Wierd custom though.`Lucian had seen two elves before, and they only passed by the village, not even stopping to eat. And since Daniel wa offering to pay for their share too, it propably wouldn't be too much of bother to let him have a single room. And if Byron was going to sleep outside anyways, it didin't really matter if someone would have to sleep outside.

The town was small, only one street passing through and some alleys departing from that main road. Two stores and one single tavern. If Nova manged to get a room from somewhere, it had to be from there. It looked quite small, but if there weren't that many travellers, it was more than likely for there to be three empty rooms. But judging from the noise coming out, the tavern was getting popular. Propaly most of them were villagers stopping by for a drink, but they didn't usually make so much noise. It sounded like there was some sort of a fight going on. Lucian was the first to the tavern and he cautioysly opened the door. Hurrying to the keeper through the crownd he tried to not gather too much attenion. "Umm.. Do you have any free rooms?" He asked peeking at the others from above his shoulder.
 
Daniel followed after, carrying the sleeping boy in his arms. He looked down his nose at the young man, flesh beneath his eyelids twitching slightly. He was contemplating the uses of barging in, eating, and then promptly falling asleep. Perhaps there was some scheme that he was missing, or perhaps the boy simply wasn't very bright. He wasn't sure he could judge him either way, but he knew that ignorance was the first thing important to being pure of heart. He suspected that was why he never really was so pure; he had always had his family's knowledge. He jostled the boy slightly in his arms, as he moved to catch up with Lucian; though he certainly didn't move as quickly. He wondered why Lucian did so. Bryon was going somewhere else, and Bartleby was with the group. Split the group. Always a good idea, Daniel thought to himself, bitterly.

The death knight grimaced beneath his helmet, a painful tug of flesh around his mouth and cheek. "I do not understand the purpose of running ahead." Daniel said flatly, to nobody in particular. "We are remaining a group, to my understanding. What is the point of going off on one's lonesome while we share a common goal?" That, perhaps, was the question that had been on his mind since his first group of nobodies, fifteen years ago. They hadn't lasted very long; five, six days at absolute most. He wasn't responsible for what happened to them. It wasn't his fault. They were not pure at heart.

He clomped after Bartleby, keeping even pace with him, glancing back at him with his pale eyes. "I do not know if I can arrange separate rooms for us. I will attempt it, but i have no guarantee. You are prepared for an alternative, I trust?"
 
Byron led them to town and then soon fell behind so he could follow. Though he was going to sleep outside he wanted to know where they were going less he get lost and they forget about him. Noting the direction the kid was going he spotted a tree not that far away. "I'm gonna head that way." He said pointing toward the tree noting no one really heard him since they were already in the tavern. Shrugging he lifted himself up quickly and found a good sized branch to rest on. He would not necessarily sleep there but it was a good enough place to rest for the time being. There was work to be done and he wanted to make sure they were all asleep before he did anything. Most people he knew did not quite take to thieving or mercenary work well. He knew they would figure it all out later but for now, he wanted to not have them hate him.
 
The owner of the tavern had his back to the group while fixing something at the wall. It looks like there was a small hole.
In the corner that he works on, the candle that illuminated the area went out just a moment ago. But as he turns around an stands up.
Free rooms you say?
It's nova. It looks like he went here a bit earlier then the others.
There are two rooms left. And you came just in time.
 
Walking at an even pace, head down against the wind, merely out of habit, Bartleby made good time towards the town - though he was overtaken by someone who happened to be rather impatient. Apparently simply walking at an ordinary tempo was not good enough for at least one of the party, which caused Bartleby to simply shake his head slightly.

It was shortly after this that the knight spoke to him, with words that were nothing if not reasonable. Of course, the eventuality that two rooms would not be available had crossed his mind, and he was relatively certain that he'd manage to work out his own alternative. He glanced over at Daniel, answering him plainly, "If necessary, I will sleep outside. I'm no stranger to it." He didn't wish to leave this group now that he had found it, but if it was necessary, then he would do so.
 
"Ouch!"
-Chris tumbled out from the knight's arms, and sleepily pulls himself back up, handing back a blanket to the knight-
"This is yours, r-right?"
-Looking around the tavern, Chris seems to tense up, seeing men fighting and cursing loudly-
"So, we're sleeping here? Mind if I borrow a knife to cut up the fish?"
From the sound of it when I was asleep, the elf is Bartleby, the guy outside sleeping in a tree is Bryon. The blue haired guy who gave me a fish is Nova, and I don't know who either the knight or the hyper guy is. Everything happened too fast... I have to just process it all in right now.... calm down.....
 
And suddenly, they were in a tavern.

Like all taverns, it had a certain haze to it, a smoky crowdedness that Daniel found distinctly unappealing. He had grown up in a musty old keep that his family had always had, on the edge of the Sheldomar Valley. Nobody lived there, save for himself and his mother; and a few indentured skeletons that had taken care of them after his father's death. He remembered his father only in shadows, in memories. He knew that he had been a Knight; a knight of the same faction that he had signed onto when he was young. A painting of him hung in the vast library in the Danielson Manor. He had the sharp, long face that all Danielson's seemed to have; his features were pointed and weasel-like. His father's hair was not like his son's; it was tangled and curly, springing from his high-hairline. His father, Edgar Danielson, had been executed for consorting with fiends by his own order. Daniel had been there. He was five years old.

Daniel was so caught up in the memory that he did not notice that the sleeping boy was tumbling out of his arms. He glanced down at the boy, as he handed him the hem of his cloak, mistaking it, he assumed, for a blanket. The death knight shook his head once. "We must still buy our rooms." The knight pulled his cloak around him, and moved through the tavern patrons to Nova and Lucian. He tilted his head downwards to look at them, the metal plates making a grating sound. His voice echoed in his helmet. "How many rooms are left?"

The patrons were looking at him, he knew. Armored knights from Sheldomar Valley; particularly ones wearing the trappings of a Knights of the Watch were not a common sight. Particularly not ones with strange, ceramic-esque swords with full armor who kept their faces hidden beneath heavy helmets. Common people did not trust knights. Common people did not trust people from outside their nations; common people knew better than to take everything at face value. And they were right to.
 
"Hmmm. Only two rooms." Lucian gave it a thought and turned back to the others. "Since you, Bartleby and Daniel both want rooms, it might be best if you sleep in those. And then I guess that the two of us will go find Byron, now that you're awake too. What's your name by the way? I'm Lucian, that knight is Daniel, oh, Ser Daniel, and the elf is Bartleby. Did anyone see where Byron went?" He happily accepted the fact that he would be sleeping outside. "Though I guess it would be best if we stayed here for a while, and meet back here in the morning?" Lucian looked at the others wondering what they thought of the idea.
 
The difficullty with the rooms was undoubtedly annoying, but at least it seemed that a few members of this outstandingly odd group of people were nice and flexible. Bartleby knew that he was not one of them, which was why he immediately agreed to taking a room. "Yes. I will pay for my own, it is only fair." Without thought, he laid down a small amount of money, though not before asking how much said room would be. He felt that this action would ensure that his needs were met, although it was also possible that he might manage to tread on a few toes in the process of meeting his own ends. It was an unfortunate part of living as a fugitive, under a false identity.

"I believe Byron is close by. Just to the South, I think." He was fairly certain that this was where the other had left them, but could not be entirely certain of the exact location. In any event, he had stuck close by the inn, which was definitely a wise decision. There would be little danger to contend with so close to the town, and so all - whether indoors or out - should be blessed with a good nights sleep.
 
Nova waited for them to organize, but it seemed like there were simply not enough rooms. He took a look around and looked at Lucian.
Hey. You know... i was actually planning to get moving soon.
He threw his key into Lucian's hands.
You have a good heart. I think it will someday bring you far. In return for that key, make as much friends as possible.
Let their hearts become a part of you, so your heart becomes a part of them.
I'm sure you'll understand it soon... eventually.

Nova turned back to the group.
And you will have to pay 4 copper coins for each room.
 
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