Tavern of the Wind

A medieval tavern, not attached to any other buildings, it's located in a town next to a weapon shop and a clothing shop. Two stories high, it appeared old and worn out, but has proven its sturdiness with the many years on its back. From the tavern's door, the scent of sweet pastries lingered strongly. Within, there are no signs of the sweet pastries, but a bar stood to the far left accompanied by eight stools in a row. Round tables accompanies by a few chairs were set with generous gaps. Comfortable single sofa-chairs surrounds the fireplace to the far right-center. Stairs parallel to the front doors leads to guest rooms for those who wishes to rest up for their journey.

The tavern had been well-known to reside a legendary warrior. The warrior of the South, a man who had taken on a hundred armies with his bare hands. A man who had helped overthrown the South King and restored power to the southern lands. The myth had gathered many strong fighters from all over the land, in hopes of sparring and learning from this warrior.

During the day, the tavern is quiet. A woman with luscious, white hair accompanied by a young face smiled softly to her customers as she served them her homemade pastries. Her hair has been tied up in a loose bun with strands falling off her shoulder in the most graceful manner, she was a woman who was happy with what she is doing. During the night, the tavern is like a festival, loud talking everywhere, drunks getting violent, and someone getting tossed out.

The rooms for guests are simple. A bed with clean sheets, fluffed up pillows, and a mid-weight blanket. A round, wooden table with two wooden chairs somewhere in the room, adjacent to the bed. There's are total of two baths and six toilets with small sinks and mirrors. Guests are expected to share and be courteous to each other.

A man whom had traveled for many weeks approached the outskirts of the town. The rumors of a warrior of great strength that was said to reside here had drawn him far from his homeland. He hoped that sparring with this man would increase his own skills in combat. His venture to this place, however, had left him weary, with a great need for rest. He continued forward, breathing deeply, into the town until he reached the doors of an old tavern. This seems to be a good place to start in finding this warrior, he thought to himself, I may be able to rest here overnight, as well. Slowly opening the doors, he continued inside.

The man made his way to the bar to his left and took the nearest empty seat. After taking a moment to breath, he slowly beckoned to the young woman serving the other guests. "Excuse me, Maam. Is there a room available for the night?" he asked, still tired from his journey, "And, by the way, you may call me Xeran. It's an honor to meet you."

Setting a plate of a sliced pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream, the woman stood upright as she brushes some strands from her face. Her attention was turned to the man with beautiful emerald eyes, which clashed against her golden yellow ones. She smiled softly and nodded her head.

"The rooms are upstairs," she said, her eyes moved towards the stairs that was located to her right. Her eyes trailed back to meet his once more, she explained, "If there's a sign on the door, then it means it has already been occupied by another guest."

Adjusting her body, she turned to face him and gave a short bow that required only her waist muscles. "I am pleased to meet you, Xeran," she said as she came back up from her bow, "my name is Lilith. If you need anything, please, do not hesitate to ask."

She paused, glancing over to the bar, noticing that he was a new customer. "Oh, how rude of me, can I get started on your drink?"

Xeran was curious of Lilith's heretage to have received eyes colored to appear as gold, but decided that would be a discussion for another time. He removed the guantlets from his hands, placing them into the travel pack at his waist, and answered her question, "All I require is a glass of clean water and a warm meal," he slowly leaned forward to rest his arms on the counter, his right crossed over the left, "I wish to challenge a certain warrior in this town to a competition of strength later on, and I can't have the after effects of alcohol interupting me."

"I hear that they call him the Warrior of the South," he continued, "Perhaps you could provide some information on where I am to find him?"

Lilith smiled and nodded as she makes her way behind the counter and grabbed a heavy, brown mug that looked worn and old. Looks can be deceiving, although it looked dirty on the outside, it was very clean on the inside. She poured from a glass jar to display the cleanness of the water in front of him. The jar was rise high as the liquid poured into the mug like a peaceful waterfall. It displayed grace and elegance.

"Would you like a soup or a steak?" she asked as she sets the mug down and placed the jar back underneath the counter. Clean water is hard to come by in some places, and while this town was enriched with it, being mugged for it is not rare. She thought for a moment, going through the menu in her head, "Or perhaps some roast beef, unless you're more into curry with rice?"

Her mind processed his next questions. Ah, another challenger seeking the Southern Warrior. He must be the sixth one, if she recalled correctly. She only smiled, knowing just what to say after she gets her reply on what meal he would like prepared for him.

On the second floor of the Tavern, a door squeaked open. The whine echoed throughout the building, announcing someones awakening. Heavy footsteps followed, and were joined by a noticable groan. The voice was raspy and dry, probably because of the night before. As the sound drew nearer to the staircase, a leather boot came into view on the top step.

"I don't remember a thing from last night...."

Finally, human language escaped the booted figure. The other piece of footwear dropped to the next step, it's metal plates covered the toe, mimmicking the first boot. Slowly, another step was made, the rest of the lower half being revealed. A pair of deep black pants trodded along with the feet, nearly dragging them off the step and just dropping onto the one below it.

"....Li-Lily?...Li-Lilo?...Damn...Barkeep?"

He stuttered, searching for the right word. His torso was now shown, leaving only his face to be unseen. He wore an open blood-red jacket, it's waistline cut off at his ribcage. Under this was a deep black shirt that followed his pants similar look; very plain. The last few steps were cleared, a saggy eyed, ruffly hair, young man now stood in front of the newcomer and the woman serving him. It was obvious he had some sort of a hangover, his body winced at the scrape of plates and clashing of glass mugs, his eyes squinted in irritation to the light.

"What's the time?"

Her attention immediately left the new guest and quickly approached the one who came down the stairs. It was obvious that he was calling for her. With a hand, she gently guided him to an open table and seated him down.

"You have not yet recovered from this morning, you should rest longer in your room," she said with concern like a mother. This man had been partying up late last night with the rest of the night crew, drinking games and the usual bar fights. Of course, when morning came, it was her job to kick them out and make them go home to their wife's side. Those who were clearly travelers were aid to an unoccupied room upstairs until they were well enough to travel again, or to drink again when night falls once more. She had already received the gold that was needed to cover everything from the amount of alcohol that would be consumed to the emergency rooming.

"Let me go get you some water," she sighed as she shook her head lightly with a smile on her face. At least he wasn't red in the face anymore. Securing the man to the seat, she left to retrieve a mug of water for him and placed two ice cubes into it. Returning, she reached for the man's right wrist and opened up his hand to place the mug into it.

"Here," she said, "drink this, it may help with the rest of that hangover."

The tavern was always crazy when day becomes night. It was late noon already, and as soon as the first lantern gets lit, her usual customers will start pouring in like a broken faucet.

an unusually fat man who seems to never shave wakes up at about lunch time outside of the tavern
"ungh.... what am i doing outside?"
due feeling the bump on his head, he knew he was thrown out.
"damn, what did I do now?"
he gets up, and goes back into the tavern to apologize.

johnnyg5646 wrote:

an unusually fat man who seems to never shave wakes up at about lunch time outside of the tavern
"ungh.... what am i doing outside?"
due feeling the bump on his head, he knew he was thrown out.
"damn, what did I do now?"
he gets up, and goes back into the tavern to apologize.

Ooc: Please fix this up a bit Johnny...Grammar...Punctuation...A little bit of detail too.

Xeran began thinking through the choices given to him, "Hmm... I'm going to go with the steak, medium rare if it's not too much... trouble..." His voice trailed off as a dark groaning figure worked its way down the steps from the second floor to be revealed by the light. The man was hardly able to speak. Yet another who wastes their life away drowning away their misfortunes, he thought to himself.

Xeran turned in his seat, still resting his right arm on the counter with his hand lazily hanging over the side, watching as Lilith carefully directed the man to a seat and handed him a mug of water. Such care for a customer was a rare sight in many of the taverns he had visited. He turned back and slowly drank the water from his mug, taking no notice of the over-weighted man who had entered the building.

Making sure that the grip on that mug was tight, her attention returned to the man with beautiful green eyes. Never had she encountered one so bright and rich with that color. Most people had dull, dark brown eyes. A fair share of beautiful sapphires, but most has been mud with greed and age.

Giving a quick nod, she repeated the words to make sure they were correct. "Medium rare," she said with a smile, "would you like anything else like a soup or a salad? Perhaps some mash potato on the side?"

In her tavern, she was like the mother while her customers are her children. A healthy, balanced meal was important to a fighter. They have to eat healthy to perform and further improving their skills. Although she was warned by countless people to watch out those who are out for greed, she learned that the world is not perfect and that no one should be judged based on their appearance or their way of presenting themselves. All warriors and fighters are welcomed in her tavern, and all will be fed appropriately.

Standing up straight, she slowly made her way around some tables and chairs and into the back. Where he sat, he still had a view of her as she still has a view of him. Reaching into the fridge, she grabbed a steak and begin to pound the steak while she waits for his reply on the side order. Seasoning the steak with black pepper, salt, garlic powder, grind rosemary, onion powder, paprika, celery salt, and a hint of lemon juice sprinkled on top. All those ingredients were mixed together in a separate bowl before it was smeared and rubbed on top of the steak.

"The warrior you mentioned earlier," she said, stepping out from the doorless frame. Leaning on it as she waits for the steak to take in all the favor that she has just placed on it. "Warrior of the South."

"You cannot find him because he cannot be found," she said as she adjusted comfortably against the framework. "People from all over the world seek a duel with him, to test their strength. But, strength, comes from within and requires confidence. It requires long years of dedication and endless trials of errors."

"You cannot seek out the warrior, only the warrior would come to you, if you have proven yourself worthy," she continued, smiling softly, "or, so, that was what I was told."

The glass mug placed in the mans hand, was slowly raised to his lips. As soon as it was swallowed, the cool water quickly doused the raging hangover left from the night before. Memories resurfaced and names were remembered...like a miracle potion, this Taverns water held some sort of secret. A long, deep, breath was taken in, followed shortly by an exhale. The saggy eyes had dissappeared, the ruffled haired oddly strsightened out. A pair of shiny hazel eyes now opened wide, taking in all of the new day's surroundings.

"Lillith..." He finally recognized the woman. "...Why do you have to get another Warrior's hopes up by telling them such a provocautive story? I moved to this land two years ago to meet the Southern Hero, but my request has yet to be filled." He smiled, raising up the same argument that he holds every time a new guy comes.

"I appreciate letting me stay the night though, I wouldn't have made it home anyways. Your a good woman, even if you like to tell stories." He continued, a playful smirk dancing across his face. The man that spoke now was very casual and flirtatious, as a opposed to his nightime obnoxious, drunkedness, and his grouchy, afterparty persona.

Lilith gave a big hearty laugh that trailed off to a chuckle. "Perhaps the Warrior of the South does not view you as worthy," she joked back, "and no problem, what are friends for, right?" Giving her old friend a quick nod and a wink, she turned around as the strands of white hair followed her motion in a graceful manner. Rubbing the steak a bit more, she started up the fire and greased the pan with unsalted butter that was created by hand.

"Oh, would you be a dear and go chop up some firewood for me?" she called out, obviously not to her guest. Wiping her hand on her apron to free it from the excess grease, she reached and sprinkled just a pinch of salt to give it a little more favoring.

"Of course!" He smiled, this time it was very gentle and held a deeper meaning. He stood up casually and stretched, causing a series of cracks, pops and other odd noises to escape his tired body. With a heavy sigh of relief, Tiduseya made his way behind the counter, past Lillith (Where he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave an affectionate squeeze) and into a back room.

From floor to ceiling, crates and barrels lined the walls, excluding a small chest by the exit. Opening it up, light from a window shone in, revealing it's contents. Multiple Gardening and basic Laboring tools sat in the box blankly. Some light shined off a glimmering Hatchet near the top of the pile, it reflected brilliantly almost as if it knew work was coming.

"Hey there old friend!"

He laughed, picking it up and entering a small courtyard behind the tavern. A little farther back is an alleyway but it's seperated by a stone wall and wooden gate about 3 feet high. To his left there was a row of beautiful golden flowers resembling in color, the barkeeps eyes. (The type of flower was unkown to Tiduseya however, the only thing he did know was that she took care of them lovingly.) To his right were a his 'assignment'; a whole lot of uncut firewood. Strutting over to the work at hand, he picked up the first piece of many. Laying it down on a base log, he pulled the hatchet back with both hands.

"One!"

The blade was brought down, a loud crack echoed from the now split wood.

The sounds of logs splitting could be heard and it wasn't long before three women gathered to watch him work. Minutes went by as more of them gathered like it was a show, the women in this town love looking at young men do heavy duty work like chopping woods. After all, their husbands aren't exactly young with a muscular body. From singles to middle aged wives, chattering with excitement behind the small, white fence as the young man lifted the axe to do his job. They were practically drooling and creaming themselves with this exclusive sight.

Lilith finished up the steak to medium rare. She set the plate down along with a fork and knife next to him. "Enjoy" was what she said with a smile before shifting to chase out unpaid guests. Walking back into the kitchen and out the back door, she opened the screen door to a view of women on her left. The sight of their hem brushing against her precious flowers almost threw her into a rage. Breathing deeply, she exhaled her tension before crossing her arms and glaring at the flock with dangerous yellow eyes.

"Freeloaders aren't welcome," she boomed loudly in her petite body as all the eyes now landed on her. Their chattering stopped and smiles were replaced with frowns.

"He doesn't belong to you," argued one of them. Some of the women agreed with nods.

Lilith made her way over to the bunch of ladies. They backed away a bit, just enough to be out of reach of her grip, and it was a good thing too. She grinned, "He is working under the tavern, so it's gonna cost you ladies some gold to keep watching. We've been over this a dozen times." Opening up her hand with her palm up, waiting for them to leave like before.

Unexpectedly, all the women reached into their pockets to take out some gold coins to place into the owner's hand. What a plot twister this was. When all the ladies paid, Lilith stared at the coins for a moment before placing them in her apron.

"Alright," she said as she turns around to walk back into the tavern, "you ladies may continue to watch. But." She glared over her shoulder with a warning, "keep away from the fence and my flowers."

Glancing over to Tiduseya and shrugged with a message of she tried to get rid of the flock, but this time, they really did paid. Walking back through the screen doors, she could hear them squealing again. Rolling her eyes, the idea of selling young men crossed her mind. She shook her head lightly, this was her tavern, not a prostitution house.

"Your not helping any!" Tiduseya yelled to Lilith as she entered the building...I'm not your whore!...he protested, although his actions said otherwise, as he slipped off his Jacket and shirt. It was naturally bright, considering it was the middle of the day and sweat was all too evident on his body. Another crack of the axe, another log down, "Forty-Five!" He announced hearing a reply of claps from his 'audience'. The only thing the Man found awkward about the whole scenario was his Pastors Wife at the front of the group practically raping him with her eyes. Should I feel ashamed of myself? He chuckled, snapping another piece of Firewood.

In about an hours time, the job was done and the crowd began to faulter aside from one or two which left after Tiduseya dissapeared into the back room. Dropping the Hatchet into the chest, he tiptoed into the bar and whispered to Lilith at the sink, "I'm gonna jump in the Bath....if any of my Drinking buddies pop in....stall for me!"

Chuckling, Lilith nodded in agreement. It wasn't until she watched him walk out of the kitchen and turned the corner that she noticed he was practically shirtless and was holding his clothes in hand. So, the ladies got an eyeful today, eh? She should have charged them extra for that. Drying her hands, she peeked around the tavern. Not much people, but nightfall was falling fast.

She climbed the stairs and headed towards her room to lit a lantern that was sitting on her table. Waving the match to put out the fire, she placed it gently against the metal tray. Glancing at the wardrobe, she walked towards it and opened it. Sliding open a drawer, she took out a clean white shirt and pants on her lap. Closing the drawer, she stood with clean clothes on her arm. Making her way out of the room, the door shut gently behind. Lighting the lanterns on the wall, she knocked softly on the door that Tiduseya was staying in.

If there was no answer, then it means he was already in the bath house, which is not attached to his room, but rather down the hall.

In the time it took Lilith to make her way Tiduseya's room a certain number of events occurred...

As Tiduseya entered his rented dwelling, he was met with a Visitor....The Pastor's Wife lying across the Bed in nothing but, well, nothing. "Woah!" He gasped, trying desperately not to make a huge commotion especially under the circumstance. In almost a single motion, she hopped up, wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him away from the door, shutting it with the kick of her foot, and wrenching both of them onto the bed. "Hey, hey, hey! What're you doing?" He whispered as the woman giggled into his ear. As a knock announced to both them, someones arrival, the Pastor's wife shushed him with a single finger, thinking that no answer would cause the visitor to leave.

Bad choice....Bad choice.....BAD CHOICE!!!!! He squeaked as the Door began to open, causing him fly up off of the bed and make a dive for the exit. "I'm innocent!"

Since there was no answer, Lilith opened the door and the first thing that greeted her was a shirtless Tiduseya.

"I'm innocent!"

Although she was a bit shocked at the sudden situation. Her expression remained the same as her eyes glanced over to the movement in the bed. She blinked once. Eyes traveling back to Tiduseya as they blinked for a second time. Bowing her head, she spoke with a dead tone.

"Please excuse my intrusion, I have some clean clothes for you," she said as she handed him the folded clothes, shoving them into his hand if he didn't take them willingly, "thank you for today."

With that, she closed the door almost immediately. Even with haste, it remained graceful and soft as the latch clicked. Continuing with her job, she lit the other unlit lanterns and made her way back downstairs. That wasn't the pastor's wife, was it? Shaking her head, she didn't even want to think any further. That was still unexpected though. When did a woman enter her tavern?

Reaching the end of the stairs, a soft smile greeted all those who turned their head to look at her.

"Lilith!" some of them greeted in unison. She smiled sweetly as she made her way across the tavern.

"The usual?" she asked, greeting them happily. They nodded and begun chattering amongst themselves. Lighting the lanterns outside the tavern, she made her way back inside shivering from the cold. It sure has gotten cold these couple of nights. Gracefully, she danced around those who have taken their seats yet and made her way back to the bar to retrieve the beers. Delivering them in a tray, she soon found herself busy with orders that was being hollered left and right.

The door of the tavern opened and a stranger set foot inside. He had black hair that almost looked a dark blue that was medium length and had green eyes. He was wearing a dark green long sleeve coat with a red cape on his back held in place by the metal plate resting on his left shoulder and a small knife with a 1 inch blade that appeared to be stuck in his back. He was unharmed though, as he was wearing armor underneath his clothes. His leg wear was black and he had metal plates on his knees that went into his large brown boots.

"Curse you, Cassandra. Paying for your witchcraft is never easy..."

He muttered to himself as he pulled up a stool near the bar. He looked tired.

"The service will take a while with these requests I'm hearing, but I can wait. At least I won't be pestered here."

Seeing a new face in her tavern, she finished putting a plate of fried chicken wings down before making her way around the tables to where she saw the stranger took his seat. She kept herself busy to keep her mind from wandering what's going on upstairs. Why was she so distracted by it? Guess the thoughts of needing to change the sheets crossed her mind.

Getting a better glance at the stranger, she noticed another pair of brilliant green eyes. It must be strange to these people to see a woman with golden yellow eyes accompanied by platinum white hair. She has been blessed with kind regulars who appreciates for who she is and not how she look. Of course, there are a few occasional people who feel insulted enough to the point of causing a ruckus in her tavern.

"Welcome stranger, can I get you anything to drink to start your night?" she asked kindly, jiggling a few things onto a tray to prepare another round trip around the tables.

The stranger looked up at the girl talking to him. He thought her hair was quite beautiful and that she had gorgeous eyes. Before he did anything rash, he quickly answered her question.

"Ah, hello. Yes, do you have tea? If not, I'll take some ale."

The stranger adjusted his shoulder plate and brought himself to look the girl in the eyes.

"My name is Janus Locke Jackuval, by the way. People just call me Locke. And may I ask your name?"

"Tea," she tasted the word in her tongue as her eyes rolled to the upper right corner in thinking. Did she serve the last bit of tea this afternoon? While she rumble her memories some more, she went ahead and replied to him. "Welcome Locke, my na--"

"Her name is Lilith," a large man cut her off as he enclosed the space between them. A hand on her waist to draw her closer to him. Glaring down at the newcomer, sending him a message to tell him to back the fuck off if he knows what's good for him.

"Keith, I would appreciate if you do not cut me off," the woman stated as she let her body be drawn into his. Not that she enjoy it, but he was a persistence man. Not to mention strong.

"Such a lovely lily like yourself don't need to bother with a small man like him. And you obviously don't belong here," he said, looking as gentle as he could down to meet her eyes.

Looking up, she questioned him, "He is a customer and if I don't belong here, where should I be?" Before she caught herself, she realized she just loaded the gun with that question.

"By my side, of course."

Shit, she knew it! This man has been trying hard to get her to be sixth wife since the beginning of the month when he first stumbled into the tavern when the bar he usually does business with ran out of the drink he desired. It's too early to tell rather or not he's in a good or bad mood. If good, he'll take no for an answer and come back tomorrow. If bad, he'll rack the place, beat up a few defenders on her side, and maybe threaten to burn the place down for the twenty-first time. Blinking and staring into cloudy eyes, she couldn't read him like she usually could. What was this man thinking?

"Ah," he begin, lifting a beautiful yellow tiger lily to her eye level before setting it behind her ear, "I saw this beautiful flower and thought of you." He had this smirk on his face that could easily be mistaken for a smile, but it was a mark of how proud he was at himself in being so smooth.


She blinked once and then her eyes remained still as her mind played back at the lily that was just presented to her. Was that... calm down, no way did that lily came from her garden. He wouldn't be stupid enough to pick from her garden... yes he would. No, it can't be one of her tiger lilies, it's not possible. Rage and confusion swirled within. Logic and common sense rushed to the rescue as they tried to reason her soon-to-be uncontrollable anger. Nothing bothers her generally as she has been known as the woman who has nothing... but when her lilies are involved, all hell breaks loose.

"W-where did you get this tiger lily?" she asked as calmly as she could, smiling as sweetly as she could. Doing her best to remain calm. It's not hers, it can't be hers. Yes, some other fool must have grown them... but the fact that she knew this man well did not help his case at all. He would never care for flowers nor treat them right. They should not be picked like those other wild flowers, they should be cut and placed in water. If there was anything she worshiped, it would be lilies.

She was, after all, named after them.

Locke sighed. "Wow, and to think this is actually better than the service in that tavern in the castle town. Hey big guy, I just want a drink. If you could please let the fair mistress do her work, then I would appreciate it. If it'll make you reasonable, I'll buy you a drink."

He looked at the flower the man was holding and thought about it.

("...No, Locke, don't present the blue roses you stole from the last town. She may look beautiful, but there's no helping it if a man is this protective about her, albeit to her dismay...")