Adventure Awaits... (CASxEmyBear)

[TwystydWhyspyr88]

The world was bathed in new life with the winter snow melting and the chilly nights growing warmer. The small city of Anora was no different, and with the warming weather more people became active. Farmers who lived on the outskirts woke early to plant their crops and tend their animals, readying them to be sold to the local butcher.
Bakers stoked their ovens and prepared their dough, the faint aroma of freshly baked bread drifting on a morning breeze. Butchers, blacksmiths, tailors and all other merchants and workers woke with the sun to get their stores ready for the locals and any travelers that stumbled upon their quaint simple place.

One such traveler stumbled out of the woods, visibly shaking and soaked head to toe. Her fair features were twisted in annoyance as she brushed the dark brown hair from her face. Even with warmer days on the horizon, it was still quite chilly this early and some of it had begun to freeze to her skin. Pushing through the last of the bushes, dark green eyes scanned the sloped plains below her. Patches of tilled land spread out before her, beyond that a wall surrounding a town, smoke billowing from the chimneys.

The Elven lady smiled, and started off for the main road she saw leading into the city. A place to get a hot meal and warm up sounded wonderful, her eagerness seen in her steps even as he rubbed her arms to return warmth to them. The sun had barely peeked over the far off mountain by the time she reached the outer wall of the town, greeted by the guards who saw her distress and pointed her off in the direction of a tavern.

Thankful, she hurried along the cobblestone street, taking in a long deep breath as she passed the bakery, the scent of food making her stomach growl. It had been a full day since she ate the last of her rations, only getting by on various plants and berries that had managed to bloom early. She would have to be mindful next time, she scolded herself mentally. Soon enough, following the directions she was given, she came to the tavern. Relief washed over her, and she stepped inside.

Being early, no one else was there except a haggard looking older woman who walked with a slight limp as she wiped down the counter. A fire was burning in one corner of the room, the warmth spreading out and touching her. Smiling, she walked to the older woman. "Excuse me, but is there any chance of a meal at this time?"

The woman huffed, and without verbal answer disappeared into the back. Shrugging, the young woman walked over to a chair near the fire and sat down, reaching out and letting the warmth of the fire spread from her fingers and slowly through the rest of her, melting away the chill that threatened to set it.





@CAS

 

[Crispy]

The night had been too cold for him. The wind had howled and howled and the cracks in the wall did nothing to keep the veteran traveler from shivering underneath his tattered blanket amid a pile of hay. Too cheap to spend good coin on an inn he'd bartered trinkets with a farmer to let him sleep in the stables, only the stables were actually just a rundown shed barely worthy of that title. Now, with the rise of the sun so too did the man. What little belongings he had were in a bag at his feet; spare clothes, some empty wineskins, sharpening stones and other trinkets he'd gathered during his travels. Sighing heavily he rose from his cold bed, shook off the hay and left the shed with his bag of belongings draped over a shoulder. If the farmers food was anything like the stable he'd marveled about a meal at an inn was well worth the little coin the traveler had left.

As he ambled down the rutted pathway towards the center of Anora he considered what he was going to do from now on. A month ago he'd had enough coin to live in luxury. Nearly six months of work without rest, most of it hunting down outlaws or protecting fat merchants had netted a huge profit. The merchants were the worst to work for. No matter what you told them about there not being cutthroats around looking specifically for them, the merchants would refuse him sleep, as though the wheat was worth that much to begin with. Scowling in remembrance the traveler found himself at the door of the inn without any new plan for making any money or finding a warm place to sleep. At least he'd found a warm meal though.

Pushing through the door he shuddered, trying to shake away the cold and let the warmth of the inn cover him. He ran a hand through his brown hair shaking away any hay that clung to him. The inn was quaint with an apparent focus on being warm rather than well decorated. There was no barkeep or server in sight, only a browned haired woman sitting near the fireplace. The traveler made his way to the seat next to her. His belongings dropped to the floor with a loud thump and laid in a messy pile. He pulled a chair over from a table and sat down squarely in front of the fireplace. He mimicked the woman and stretched his hands out to the fire. "Cold out, init?" he asked the woman beside him, not turning away from the fire.

"Name's Lief missy. Hope you don't mind me sittin next to ya."


@EmyBear

 

[TwystydWhyspyr88]

She raised a brow questioningly at the bag that was dumped on the floor, watching a few trinkets roll out of it. Shaking it off, she lifted her gaze from the floor to the man who took a seat next to her. He looked about as disheveled as herself, just without being soaked.

"That it is," she replied, turning her attention back to the fire, wiggling her fingers as feeling returned to them. "It'll be warm soon enough though, thankfully."

As he introduced himself, she nodded and got to her feet, stepping closer to the fireplace. She pulled her tangled hair to one side of her head, running her fingers through it to no avail. She smiled at the stranger, Lief he called himself. "Name's Miya, and even if I did have a problem with you sitting with me, it's not really my place to tell you no, is it?" she smirked, wringing her hair out, the water dripping to the stone hissing and evaporating almost instantly from the heat of the fire.

She sat back down, turning slightly to Lief. "But, I don't mind. It's actually nice to see some life around. Speaking of..." her voice trailed for a moment as she turned to where she saw the old lady vanish. And just like that, she appeared once more, bringing a plate over and setting it on a table. "Thank you," Miya said while giving coin for her food.

It wasn't much, a plate of dried fruit slices, buttered bread and eggs. The old lady nodded her own thanks and turned to Lief, offering as much of a smile as her wrinkled face could give. "Morning, sir. What can I get you?" she asked him in a tired gravely voice, wiping her hands on the stained apron about her waist.

 

[Crispy]

Watching Miya wring out her hair on the stone of the fireplace Leif wondered where she'd been until now. Staying in the forests in this temperature without any supplies was almost a guaranteed death in his mind. Nonetheless it seemed this lady had done just that, or fallen into a lake before finding the inn. He listened to her words, mind addled as to whether to take her first question as rhetoric or not. At least it would appear, as she introduced herself, that he wasn't that unwelcome.

With the return of the old woman Leif turned in his chair to watch her bring the plate of food over. He eyed the fruit suspiciously, but drooled at the thought of fresh eggs over hot biscuits. The old lady set down the food and cleaned her hands on her apron. Flashing a toothy grin at her Leif played with some coins he'd fetched from his bag in his hand, pondering just how much he could spend on the meal. "My dear, I'll have everything she's having except the fruit. Instead," Leif paused as though to think, when really he was trying to justify the cost of, "if you could fetch me some tea?" The older woman turned without a word and quickly returned out of sight to the kitchen.

"A pleasure to meet you Miya." He spoke up again. Returning to face the fireplace Leif couldn't help but eye the plate of food that was already before him. He was anxious to have his own and couldn't help to stare, as rude as it may have been. "If you don't mind my askin, what do you do anyway? Don't look like the kind of folk from round here." Leif knew he had a similar appearance, one that didn't fit. His skin was more darkly tanned, his blue eyes an uncommon colour, and his clothing to foreign to have belonged to a farmer or potter. His shins were wrapped in leather, causing his trousers to blouse which gave him the fleeting image of a soldier without their armour. Most of all though his bag of worldly possessions made even the dumbest of nits realize he was a drifter.

 

[TwystydWhyspyr88]

Seated, she looked sideways to Leif as he ordered his own food from the lady. She picked up one of the fruits, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully for a moment, noticing his staring at her food. He must have come quite a way to be that hungry to stare at food the way he was. Almiya wondered where he had come from, what he was doing here. It was obvious he probably lived a similar life as she did, but didn't want to assume anything.

"I believe the pleasure is mine, Leif," Almiya retorted, turning in the chair a little to face him, leaning forward with elbows propped up on her knees. "As for what I do, well. A little complicated. For now, lets just say I enjoy traveling and meeting new people who share similar interests." She gave him a soft smile, before leaning back in her chair, picking up the slice of bread.

"May I ask if there is something wrong with fruit? You seem put off by it," she asked, simply trying to make conversation with the man, and it was a harmless enough question.