The Void Beyond the Arches RP

[Aquila]

The dwarf breathed in deep through his nose and he grinned at the nostalgic smells; nutty cheese, long grain bread, and ale. "Now now, 'ow bout w' decide who pays between da two of us by who drinks da least?" He grinned. "Ya said yer gonna give me a run fer m' money, now let's see ya own up ta it." The dwarf dropped his haversack on the ground next to an empty chair by a table large enough for the five of them. "Com'on laddies, lemme show ya how a dwarf drinks!" He stood on top of the chair and laughed.

[ErrorBlender]

[Thornfell]

Gilderhall beamed. "Right then!" The blacksmith gathered his apprentices in a massive embrace and guided them towards the table Rudolph had settled in. "Frackett, keep the drinks coming!"

Frackett looked as burly as Gilderhall was though shorter. His thick fingerz snapped at the air, calling out the barmaids from the kitchen. "Gather your skirts and wills, you'll be serving drunk men until the crack of dawn!"

The girls simply nodded and went to their duties. "Five for Gilderhall's crew; Emma? Yes, you girl, refill that man's mug over there. Oi, Syla, any news on the bard? He's late as usual, the bloke be late to his own lycan attack if he could."

Emma, a short haired brunette, nodded and went to the counter for a pitcher and Syla, a tall blonde with pale skin, shrugged at the bard's current whereabouts.

"Haven't seen hide or hair of ol' Erdmon, Frackett," Syla replied as she moved towards the counter. "'Haps he's been taken?"

Frackett shook his head. "Saw him last night, skulking while we fought. Man knows how to hide from action; the lycan attack last night is no excuse for him."

As Gilderhall and the rest settled on their seats, the barmaid approached their table and set down five mugs, each filled to the brim with foam overflowing at the top. Gilderhall eyed Rudolph sternly as he swept his cup and brought it to his mouth, downing the entire thing's content in a single gulp. The smith set it down with a slam and the barmaid simply looked at the already empty container.

"Come now boys," Gilderhall gestured to his apprentices. "Nights young and we have a dwarf to show how strong human livers are."

[TwinVeil]

"The great Soramaru seeks aid, elven warrior!" The disciple declared, thrusting his fist into the air. "There are creatures who prey under his divine light and must be stopped."

"Enough of that," the monk to his side said exasperated. "You haven't been silent the entire time after my shift in the church. All about this Soramaru god that isn't even in any texts I've read."

The elven guide raised an eyebrow and looked to the two as she walked on. "Soramaru? Creatures of the night, you mean Lycanthrope then?"

"Yes! Heathens they are," the disciple continued.

[PitchEnder]

A missing bard? Now this sounds like my chance to get some coin!

Osxium, the half elf bard with a pitch black cittern, positioned himself so he could get a foot on some sort of chair or barrel besides the group. He swung his cittern to the front and began plucking at strings, creating a simple rhythm as he spoke.

"So, you all are missing a bard? I'll have you know that I'm the best long eared musician that has ever touched soil." He said, a smirk stretching across his face as his sentence went on. "What exactly would you be needing that bard for? Maybe some background music for your drinking contest?"

[Aquila]

"Ooh showin off now are we?" Rudolph took a deep breath out before grabbing his mug and practically inhaling its contents. He exhaled again through his nose before tipping the mug to reveal its empty. "Seems w're gun need a refill." The dwarf grinned. "Oh look, it's da knife-ears, guess yer friend is too big ta settle in. 'N long as ye dunt try ta muck up any more dwarf songs, Guess some music 'll be good."

[Arch-Angel]

"We're supposed to be on our way to Highmount, but the lantern-bearer and mule are looking to get Thornfell some help with their Lycan problem." Rhea found her eyes wandering to Lera more ever since Saria referred to Lera as sister. This truly was shaping up to be a rather peculiar group. "How about Twinveil, Saria? Has this interesting town seen its share of Lycan? Have the forests gone silent as well?"

[ErrorBlender]

[Thornfell]

Frackett looked over to the newcomer, coming in and yelling about how grand his stature is about being a bard. The bartender leaned on the counter and huffed.

"You? A bard?" He scoffed slightly. "Sing us a tune, elf, then maybe we can talk of payment if the night doesn't shatter from it."

-=-=-=-=-

"Aye!" Gilderhall laughed hard. His apprentices drank theirs in their own time while Emma refilled the blacksmith's and Rudolph's mugs. "Thank you miss." Gilderhall smiled as he downed the next one.

[Twinveil]

Saria raised a brow at the mention of lycanthrope. "Yes, there have been sightings of them but they have not been a problem to us other than scaring off the game."

The branch they were walking on visibly widened until they neared the parent trunk of the massive tree. "We've had hunter parties scrounge the area for their kin but they've evaded even our best trackers. Something is not right with that." Saria threw the last words off-handedly. "Anyway, we're here."

The escort had lead the party in what looked to be a massive mess hall carved right into the wood of the trunk. It was right in there, with a massive column at the very center with tables and chairs circling it. Food was freely set the central column and numerous elves were mingling about inside.

"Welcome to one of the Commons," Saria bowed slighltly as she ushered the rest of the party inside. Looking up, the ceiling was incredibly high and seems to have a second floor to accomodate for more people. It was also lit up by the same lanterns outisde. "Here you'll find all the manner of food and drink you want. But perhaps not much of human or dwarf alchohol."

[PitchEnder]

The bard's smirk continued to linger upon his face, satisfied that the Vanvalor's weren't very well known in this particular area. If word of his family had gotten this far out, then that would mean something terrible must have happened. But, he had no time to continue thinking about his family in Fedimia. Right now, he had to come up with a song. The fingers on his left hand rearranged themselves on the neck of his cittern, placing firm fingertips upon the strings that made up his first note. The first song was a bit slower with each song afterwards getting progressively more energetic and fast-paced.

[Haru]

"Not much, what a pity," Rabbit casually remarked, winking.

"Still up for a good meal, however. Who's with me? I'll grab ye a good drink before they sling it down their throats."

[Aquila]

"Been a long time since Oy've drunk ale dis good. Dunt make em like dis in prison." Rudolph chuckled loudly, clinking tankards with Gilderhall before chugging it down too. He licked the foam off his mustache. "Ayy yer apprentices seem ta be laggin behind. Dunt tell me they already are fallin off."

[Arch-Angel]

Twinveil was having a much easier time with the lycans, at least from the sound of it. "I'm hoping your people will help Thornfell, so we can carry on to Highmount without any more needless delays. Have you heard anything in regards to the happenings there?" Rhea stared over at Lera, expecting her to lead the way since she was apparently familiar with this place and their customs.