The day of fall was crisp and fresh as Akon's footsteps gently padded towards the tavern. She was unarmored, and without her usual battle attire, instead wearing a simple pair of black laced pants, a long shirt and belt. Her swords were tucked at her side and she made her way to the steps of the tavern, hoodless, though it was day. She pressed the tavern door open with her back, her fingers full of freshly cut fall flowers and branches of berries sitting on top of a medium sized tome. She set them on a table within the tavern, then went about gathering a few of the water pitchers, setting them on every other table and filling them with water as she placed each one.
Once the pitchers were set, she went from table to table, flower bunch in hand, and set a gentle arrangement of nightvale, elderberry, winterwhisper and holly sprigs in each. Once set, she smiled ever so slightly and went to sit with her back against the wall at one of the tavern tables, taking up her tome and cracking open the first few pages. Sitting at ease, she took a sip of water from the flask at her hip, and settled in a bit more, flipping the page as her eyes scanned over the writtings.
Jael pushed the tavern door open just as Akon finished the last arrangement, lifting an eyebrow while admiring her recent decorations. Seeing Lia there Jael glanced to her, shaking his head slightly. He held four books in his hands and walked over to the table Akon took to. "Nice decorations.", He remarked while sitting the books down and taking a seat next to her. Jael was dressed in his normal atire as usual, green tunic, light brown pants, and a sword at his side. "They add something to the tavern." He opened one of the books and looked to Akon with a smile.
Cail strolled up to the tavern and pushed through the doors while brushing what appeared to be dirt off of his hands. Looking up as he crosed the threshold, he noticed all of the arraingments set on the tables, then looks around to see Lia, Akon, and Jael and stops in his tracks. After a seconds pause and a slight stare, Cail raises an eyebrow and finishes clearing his hands of debris.
Looking away, he crosses the tavern to the bar and asks for a glass of water and continues to sit in silence.
Leofrick was sitting at a table sketching when Akon walked itno the tavern with flowers in hand. "Hmm, I haven't seen Lady Nivarian with flowers before, but to each their own tastes." Leofrick saw Lia sitting over by the fireplace chuckled for a moment and went back to sketching.
Zwey steps in the door, a long curved scimitar and a longsword at his waist, he notices the all together improved aroma of the tavern. He is surprised to the see the quiet warlock placing the final flower laden container on the table. How curious, he sits with her at the table as she opens a tome, leans against the wall, and places his feet in the on the bench opposite him, before proceeding to wiggle his fingers, and tenses from time to time. the area around him warms when he tenses. He waits for akon to address him.
Victor sat quietly in the corner eating his breakfast of eggs and pork while sipping on a glass of hot tea. Noticing Akon as she set about her decorations of the tavern he smiled warmly her way. "After all the strife this town has seen, it is good to see even our most dour of citizens in a good mood. It's a good sign."
Having walked in a while before with Lia, Des was sat in the corner of the ceiling above the fireplace where Lia was sat, hidden. The light of the flames were blocked by the mantle above the wood stove making a really nice spot in the shadows for him to lurk. He sat there, enjoying the patterns of everyone's mannerisms.
He sees Akon's has changed considerably since she's started walking in hand, figuratively, with Jael, who no longer seems as wobbly. It's still weird to see them as they are. Her kind, him sober. What is the shard coming to?
He throws his voice a little to whisper to Lia, "I wonder what she's reading?"
The towering empyrean at the bar being silent, it feels kind of odd but gives more atmosphere to how peaceful it has been. He sees the unlikely paladin sketching over at a table, watching the picture come together. He spies the new brother of angor coming in, new weapons at his sides. He thinks to himself, "I'm glad this guy doesn't seem as mindless as our other brethren." Victor's presence always seems welcoming, of course his usefulness on the field of battle is always more welcome, but his words have much to agree upon.
Akon noticed Lia and her falling asleepness, glad she was getting some rest. She nodded to Victor as his comment as she sat down, seemingly peaceful enough. A slightly brighter look came to her eyes as they met on Jael, looking along him as he made his way to her, a slight break of a smile on her lips as he neared. "I thought they would be a nice addition." She commented. She saw the tomes he carried, then looked to her own.
She looked up once more as the Angori sat next to her, eyeing him over briefly, before looking back to her own text. "I didn't take you for one to wield the elements." She commented gently to the angori.
Leofrick moves up towards the fireplace and begins to build a small blaze. "Hello Desiderio, it's nice to see you." Leofrick took a seat next to the mantle with a poker in his hand. "The flames do not cause me sadness anymore since I divugled all my secrets to them."
Des is slightly surprised that he was spotted, but then notices he had his head too far out, revealing his horns to the light of the flames. He draws his face back into the shadows and responds, "It does seem liberating sometimes, cleaning the slate, doesn't it?" He still keeps his voice low and directs it so only Lia and Leo can hear him.
Jael offers a simple touch on Akon's arm before going back to his book still smiling as he did so. As Zwey sat he glanced up to the new comer. "Ah. Hello. I do not believe we ever were introduced properly. My name is Jael Taydon, welcome to Jastrey. Please do sit and make yourself at home." He could hear bis and peices of Leo's and Des's conversation but did not appear to be listening in closely.
After another failed attempt at conjuring this energy he can feel inside, he notices Akon and Jael looking at him and replies, " Oh! I am know as Zwey Gurkha, always good to know the man who saved my unexperienced behind with the scarecows." He then addresses Akon, "Neither did I, i think being on the brink so many times may have brought some latent abilities to fruition." He focuses again, then gives up. "Now its just of matter of bringing them out fully"
Akon's hand reached to Jael's to gently squeeze it as Zwey mentioned having been saved by him, a slight, but gently knowing smile coming to her features as he spoke. She looked back up from her tome to Zwey. "To some it comes too easily. To others, it is a mental exercise that can be...dangerous. I would suggest, however, that you practice your talents and mental exercizes outside of these wooden structures. For one so new to the elemental arts, it could lead to undesired consequences should you practice them indoors. This tavern has burnt down one too many times...."
Cail sat and stared into his glass until all sounds went away from his mind. Everything was silent and a moment later his eyes grew wide as his free hand started to tremble. Standing abrubtly from his seat at the bar, knocking his glass over and spilling what remained of the liquid inside, he clenched his shaking hand to his chest and walked briskly to the tavern doors, throwing them open, not looking behind once or even stopping to shut the doors and proceeded to walk down the road apparently determined to get out of town.
Jael returned the squeeze glancing down to their intertwined hands, and his smile grew. "It is good to meet you friend. You were brave in battle Zwey, I was glad to help. Yes do be careful not to burn down the taver." He chuckled, "It seems to happen about once every month or so." Jael used his free hand to turn the page of his book, not having the chance to look down before Cail stood abruptly. He watched with concern as Cail left the tavern, looking to Akon for her response before standing to go after him.
Lia continued to rest undisturbed, until finally she jerked awake with a quick intake of breath. After rubbing her face with her hands, her eyes glanced about the large room before her. It took her a few seconds to register that new decorations had been laid out among the tables. She stared at one for a few moments before turning to face the fire and streching her arms over her head. The Ixifar stared into the dancing flames with weary eyes. It seemed as if she might doze again at any moment.
Cail returned to the tavern, hood drawn, and stepped straight towards the bar to order the strongest thing he could. The barkeep looked at him funny and asked if he was alright, but Cail gave him an angry stare that seemed to shut the barkeep up. Taking his small glass as soon as it hit the bar in front of him, Cail downed it in two swallows and ordered another. Leaving only a drop in the second glass, he stared at it as he swirled it in his hand as if lost in thought.
Cail turns to look at the hand the Angori held out and then snaps his eyes up to the Angori's own. Without blinking, Cail takes the Angori's hand in a shake and then returns to fiddling with his glass.
Without lowering his voice so Zwey couldn't hear, Cail said, "Another Angori for the quarter. It seems there is no end to them. This one is even well spoken! Well I may just be able to speak normally to this one." Turning to Zwey an with an almost obvious glow about his face due to the alcohol, which of course he has no tolerance for, Cail says, "So, my huge horned friend, what brings you to Jastrey? I'm Cail by the way."
"Ah! He Speaks! And here i thought you were drinking away your sorrows. A pleasure to meet you Cail, and I came because it was here. Left my last job in a bit of a hurry, as such, i landed here, just in time to be absolutly useless with the scarecrow attack outside of town. Oh, and i almost forgot, i am also looking for the lass that was attacked that night, havent seen hide nor hair of her since." He orders anouther sweet beverage and sets it before Cail, "Here, something that will lighten you mood that you wont regret later"
Cail looks at the drink before him and tastes it and deciding it wasn't too bad, he began to sip. "I thank you Zwey, you are very kind to offer me this. Scarecrows? What scarecrows? Ohh, you mean those things that atta... yeah I wasn't anywhere close to town back then. I like to take walks you know? There was a girl attacked too? Well maybe she died or something worse. Who knows?"
Cail kept babbling on about things he had done while out of town as the drinks took their effect on his non-existent tolerance.
"And as for my sorrows well you see... theres this well... you may know... ehh well probably not, but anyway... what was I saying? I guess it's not important, but what is important is that I found a new friend! Death to the infidels!" Cail shouts the last line throughout the tavern which causes the barkeep to flinch and eye the sword underneath the bar nervously.
Zwey chuckles, and drapes a heavy arm across the back of Cails sholders, and grabbing their drinks with the other, guides his drunken associate to a nearby table away from the twitchy barkeep. "Come with me friend, we can discuss the infidels elsewhere, as not all people can tolerate our bloodlust!" Zwey looks over his shoulder at the barkeep, and winks as he leads Cail to a table in a darker corner of the tavern, away from other patrons. The barkeep heaves a sigh of relief, and goes about his job?
Lia had been silently eyeing the exchange between Cail and Zwey, seemingly taking mental notes on the pair. They got up and walked away from the bar towards another side of the tavern when Leofrick spoke up to her. "Eh? Tch...I'm no 'miss'. But I'm alright enough. You?"
Lia shrugged and listened to Des's comment before replying herself. "I suppose. Though I don't have much prolonged experience with towns...and where I used to live, I'm used to new people coming frequently as others died...Though, there are some odd people here. I will give you that." She eyes Leofrick with a slyness in her gaze as if to convey some kind of silent jest, while her lips just barely quirked up into a smirk. From most angles it was unseen, except for maybe the Uordeq's vantage point.
Zwey leaves Cail to his drunkeness in the corner, to sober up. He overhears the conversation at hand, and walks over to the ixifar, angori, and uordeq. "Well, considering the lot we have here, i dont think we can call anyone strange!" He laughs, and offers his hand, "Zwey Gurkha"
Lia, who had been there some time before Akon's arrival, sat next to the fireplace as the dying embers of the morning's fire were flickering about. She sat with her back to the stone wall set around the fireplace, her legs stretched out on a bench borrowed from a near by table, and her head tilted back. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was soft and even. After a bit her head slowly rolled towards to the side and her arm--which both were crossed loosely over her lap--slipped down til it dangled freely.