True to her word, Berta had been keeping an eye on the pair and catches Rana's fare-ye-well, pausing in her rounds to raise her hand to wave goodbye.

"Come again !" she calls out, above the clink and clatter of glasses and buzz of conversation, grining broadly as the pair leave hand in hand.

* New Day *

Shopping wasn't really a favourite pastime of hers, rather, Rana considered it a 'necessary evil'.  However, she had been determined to show Ush the best parts of Tusk and, invariably, they ended up in the Merchant District at just about the right time in the afternoon for a light meal.  The young sorceress had decided, after her first visit to Tusk, that the Dragon's Den was a home-away-from-home.  Both of the women carried a couple of packages wrapped in brown paper and secured with twine as Rana carefully opened the door to the tavern.

Rana let her eyes adjust to the slightly muted lighting in the tavern as she paused in the doorway and glanced around the room.  She smiled as entered, urging the half-orc young woman to follow her.

"I don't know about you, Ush, but I can certainly do with a sitdown and a bite of something to eat."  She spoke softly to other female who seemed less than comfortable.  Rana gestured to an empty table in the corner "That looks like a perfect place to sit for a bit and give our arms a rest from carrying these things.  I'm really not certain how we ended up with quite so much," she added with a chuckle.

At the table, she set the bundles down on the floor to one side of a chair and Ush did the same.  The young half-orc female took the seat in the corner so that she had an uninterrupted view of the room.

"I see Gabriel is teaching you well," Rana commented softly, before scanning the room for other patrons, as well as to see if any of the Roths were in attendance.

"I'll go order our drinks and see if we can get some bread and cheese which should see us through until supper."  Matching actions to words, Rana rose and approached the bar.  She smiled as she remembered her first time in the Dragon's Den.

Gedd was serving behind the bar when the two young women entered. Perhaps it was just politeness that kept his tongue still as they made themselves comfortable at a table. Perhaps not.

Gedd raised his hand in greeting as the human lass approached the bar. He remembered her from her previous visit.

"A good afternoon, m'lady ... Rana? Gedd Roth, at your service. What can I get for you and your friend?" he asked. He glanced across the room to where the other young woman sat warily watching everyone in the room. That brought a smile to his lips that showed in his eyes as well.

Berta is on the other side of the common room, doing her rounds, looking for trouble (though strangely there's precious little to be found whenever she's prowling around seeking it out), but glances up, as is her habit, as the young sorceress and her charge enter the Dragon, acknowledging Rana with a broad grin and a nod of her head, determining that the chosen path she treads will lead her over to their table shortly ... unless any other patron dares disturb her progress and needs be dealt with.

Rana felt herself relax slightly as she spied the man tending bar.

"Thank you, Gedd, for remembering my name.  It has been some time since I've managed to stop in to my favourite place in all of Tusk.  As on my first visit, you have made me feel very much at home."  Her words were not meant as flattery, rather spoken from the heart.  "If Ush and I could have a platter of cheese and bread with wine that would be appreciated.  I fear that shopping is not on either of our lists of most fun things to do.  However," she glanced at the array of packages stacked on the floor at their table, "I suppose it could be argued that we have given it a good go."

A soft chuckle escaped her lips, and her eyes twinkled as she remembered the day.  "This is Ush's first visit to Tusk, Gedd.  Her family live in Gurdinford, which is about a good day's ride along the river from the Tuskwater.  On my first visit to Gurdinford, she showed a keen interest in training and honing her skills. I offered her the opportunity to come to New Dawn with me and train with Gabriel at his school for all things 'woodsy' and the like.  She liked the sound of the location, so she accepted.  We are heading back to check out some caves I'd seen previously close to Gurdinford, and thought it would be a good opportunity for Ush to visit her family."

Rana paused for breath then chuckled lightly again.  "Enough of me, though.  How are you and the rest of your family?"

Gedd grinned as Rana pointed out the evidence of their shopping trip.

"Shopping's not my idea of fun either," he chuckled. "Excuse me for a moment."

He stepped back to the kitchen door briefly to pass on the order for a cheese platter and fresh bread, then was quickly back behind the bar.

"The four of us are all doing well. Thanks for asking. Our business ventures are all prospering, so we have nothing to complain about there. I must say, though, I envy Ush the chance to learn from this Gabriel fellow. I don't know him but 'all things woodsy' sounds like something I'd enjoy, too, if I had the time for it these days. I always felt more at home in a forest than in a city. So, is Ush training towards a particular profession?" he asked, then quickly added, "I almost forgot to ask, what would you like to drink?"

Rana watched Gedd working behind the bar and the memories it brought back of growing up working in her parents' inn made her smile fondly.

"I don't know if Ush has decided on a specific profession yet, although I know she has been speaking to Gabriel about different opportunities.  She has mentioned to me her interest in becoming a warden, a pathfinder or a scout.  I'm certain she'll figure it out sooner or later, I can't see that there's any need for her to rush into it."  Rana chuckled softly, then looked across to the young woman and smiled. "It was wine to drink, if you please, Gedd.  I'll leave the choice to you as you will know your wines better than me and can recommend one to complement the cheeses."

She paused for a moment in thought before continuing.  "It's a shame you can't get out to the forests very often.  There definitely are plenty near enough to New Dawn for Gabriel to train his charges and I'm sure he'd be happy to have you join them for some of their forays into the wilds, as he calls them.  Gabriel and his wife Alanna are with us in Tusk.  I can suggest that he stops in for a chat, if you'd like?  New Dawn, whilst it will never be as big as Tusk, does have some fine things to offer visitors and may be some place you and your family might want to consider expanding to in the future."

Gedd reaches under the bar and brings out two glasses and a bottle of wine.

"Wyn and Berta would hardly forgive me if I didn't suggest you try the Grapes of Roth. On the house, of course. We have our own winery and vineyard up at Outpost and we are all rather proud of the quality of the wine we have been able to produce.

"Perhaps I might be able to detour across to New dawn next time I travel up to Outpost. I would enjoy seeing what you have to offer up there now. If Gabriel would like to pay us a visit, I would welcome the chance to meet him. It would be interesting to see what plans he has for training young folk like Ush. I spent a lot of my youth among gardeners, woodsmen, poachers and even a ranger or two. In the end it was a ranger that became my main tutor and you might say I followed in his footsteps in more ways than one. I look forward to seeing what path Ush decides to follow."

Rana started to insist on paying for the wine, but managed to stop herself.  She remembered her mam and pa doing similar things in order to 'spread the word' regarding the product they were trying to promote. Rana had no doubt that the Roth's sometimes used a similar tactic to promote their own items.

"Thank you, Gedd.  I'm certain it will be very nice and complement the cheeses.  I'm a fan already of the name."  She smiled in thanks at Gedd.  "You would be welcome at New Dawn any time.  Gabriel and Alanna are also in the process of training horses for use by the troops of Midmarch, and that might also interest you."

She glanced around the room, saw Berta, and smiled at the other woman.  "I see Berta is here as well.  I'm certain I'll catch up with her in a bit, but I think it best I get back to our table.  I hate leaving Ush on her own, even though I know she can take care of herself."

Rana picked up the bottle of wine in her right hand, then skillfully picked up the two glasses in her left, then returned to her table.  She went in to 'bar staff' mode as she got to the table, setting the glasses down carefully before filling each one halfway with wine.  As she sat down to the right of Ush, Rana moved the glasses to within reach of the two of them, and placed the bottle close enough that it wouldn't be much of a stretch for her to top their glasses up.

Rana began chatting with Ush, every so often pointing to various people or things of interest in the Dragon's Den.

The city was nothing like what Ush was used to.  Compared to where she had grown up in Gurdingford and then training with Gabriel and the other apprentices on the outskirts of New Dawn, Tusk was enormous.  There were a plethora of people in the city and they brought with them all the assorted aromas and sounds that a large group of people generate.  Even though their group had only been in Tusk for a day, the young woman was already itching to move on and out into the open area and continue their journey to Gurdingford.  However, Gabriel had been teaching her, and the other apprentices, how to utilise all their senses in the country and on their ride from New Dawn he reviewed with her how she could use those same skills in a city.

One of the things they had discussed was the benefit of having your back to a wall.  'If there's a wall at your back, you only have to protect three sides, rather than four.  And that one less side just might save your life someday.'  Not that Ush thought that Rana would take her to a place where she might have to put her fighting skills into use, but the more the young woman practiced what she was being taught, the more natural it would become.

Whilst Rana had been up at the bar, Ush had let her eyes scan the other customers in the Dragon's Den. She didn't know any of them, but she tried to determine each of his or her strength's based solely on their looks and how they were sitting.  She noticed one or two people who she thought were probably merchants as their cloaks were clean, obviously well-cared for and their hands appeared, at least from a distance, to not have been subjected to hard labour at least not recently.  There were a few of the City's guards, or watch, Ush wasn't positive what they called them in Tusk, sitting at a table across the room.  Each of the men, and she thought they were all men although one was a bit more slight than the others so it could be a woman, had a tankard in front of them as well as bowls of some type of stew that they appeared to be enjoying.  Surprisingly, Ush was enjoying watching the others in the room.  Whether she was right about any of their professions she couldn't say and she wasn't about to approach them and ask!  Gabriel had promised that they would have some 'practical' exercises soon, but Ush was content to practice on her own for the moment.

Once Rana returned to the table with the glasses and wine, Ush took a tentative sip from the proferred glass then smiled at Rana.

"Tastes nice, Rana.  Better than what we brewed in Gurdingford, but makes me think of home." She then fell into a companionable conversation with the sorceress.

The same measured tread that once took her round her city beat e'erlong brings Berta to the table where Rana and Ush sit.

"Good morrow," the Dragon's resident bouncer (at least this evening when it's Gedd's turn to manage the bar) proffers to the Sorceress, in her best guard's voice, her greeting bookended by a broad grin, and a smile and a nod to her Half-Orc companion.

"Keeping busy ?" the warrior-woman eyes the plethora of shopping-bags at their feet, brow raised with the question.

"Good drop," Berta adds, equally succinctly and close on her last remark, as she spies the bottle of wine on the bar. "I favour the Poacher's myself, but then I'm a woman of simple tastes."  She casts her gaze around the common room at that, daring anyone to challenge it.  "Or so I'm told."  By Wyn.  Repeatedly.

Rana smiled at the Berta when she approached their table and made to stand up, but instead gestured to the seat across from her.

"Hi Berta.  Care to join us?"  She looked at the wine on the table, then back to the Roth sister.  "I think it's very nice.  I must remember to pick up a few bottles to take home with me before we leave Tusk." Taking the other woman's tastes into consideration, she added, "I'll have to sample the Poachers the next time I'm here."

She gestured at Ush.  "Berta, this is Ush.  She is from Gurdingford, but has been studying at Gabriel's training school outside New Dawn for a little while now.  We're heading out towards Gurdingford in a day or two, so Ush thought it would be good to visit her family.  As for me, I feel like I have been keeping very busy, but don't ask me with what, because I'd be hard pushed to say.  Everything seems a bit of a blur since I came to Midmarch, if I'm honest."

"Just picking up a few new clothes.  I suppose I could have purchased them in New Dawn, but I remembered a shop here in Tusk that had the kind of outfits I like for everyday wear."  Rana glanced at the packages on the floor and shrugged.  "Perhaps I went a bit overboard."

Ush nodded in greeting at the other woman, letting Rana lead the conversation while she tried to surreptitiously gauge Berta's strengths.  She could see the ease which Berta carried herself and was hopeful that, one day, she would have the ability to appear as confident.  Ush knew that her confidence had grown since starting her training with Gabriel, so she was hopeful.

The warrior woman eyes the chair and bottle with some regret. "I'd like nothing better ... but I'm afraid I'm working.  Someone has to keep an eye on these reprobates," she looks around the common room proprietorially.

"Though I must say they're all being very well behaved today. It's funny, I rarely seem to have any problems ... or at least never a second time," she winks at Ush.  "It's good to have a reputation."

"Pleased to meet you," Berta addresses the Half-Orc warmly, following Rana's introduction, adding [Language unknown: "Hoonnt ro beee tin,"] and politely watching Ush for signs of understanding, ready to provide the translation if needed.

"Hopefully your teachers are a bit nicer than mine were !" she grins broadly, patting the pommels of the twin blades that sit comfortably on her hips.

"What's coin for if not to enjoy ?" Berta suggests, smiling.

Rana nodded in understanding at Berta's refusal to join them. "Another time, then, when you're not working."

She took a sip of her wine, before continuing. "I had suggested to Gedd that you might want to visit us in New Dawn.  It continues to expand, although it will never become the metropolitan area that Tusk is growing into.  There is currently only one hotel and one roadhouse, so another tavern might be needed soon.  If that would be something you and your brothers would be intersted in, I'm certain Marik would love to speak with you about future development opportunities."  Rana had inadvertently forgotten Marik's title, and wasn't aware that she'd forgotten it.

Ush's eyes widened at the words of welcome from Berta, but then a tentative smile touched her lips.

[Language unknown: "Haolwi urech cking com eehedi, Teprta, ted whi ssonho a tio ha vor ng.  P ntereahoudayere ter sti Ckpre ainoulwa m maur tr."]

A quick glance at Rana made Ush realise that the sorceress didn't understand what was said, so she took a moment to explain.  "Rana, Berta just welcomed me here in orcish."  She then answered Bera's query.  "Gabriel is firm, but fair, although it's more the other trainees who can be cruel."

Ush noticed Rana's eyes widen in shock at her words and the half-orc girl wished she could take them back.  She looked at Rana and shook her head slowly.  "It's better now.  They just took some time getting used to me, is all.  Nothing to be worrying about."

"That'd be nice," Berta thanks the sorceress for her invitation.  That she always seems to be working doesn't occur to her - truth be told, the warrior-woman revels in her duties at the Dragon, finding them more entertaining that chore.  Though Wyn's wife Winnie occasionally looses her and her brothers upon the wider world, undoubtedly when she herself is in need of a break !

"They probably would be," she agrees with Rana's conjecture. "Very good at taking care of business, the pair of them - they even seem to enjoy it !  I prefer the heavy lifting."

Berta smiles as Ush replies in kind, nodding her understanding, though the smile fades and her eyes narrow as the Half-Orc speaks about the travails of her training.

"I can't abide bullies," the warrior-woman avows. "but can't really recommend my own solution," smiling again, albeit grimly as she holds up a clenched fist. Though she did tend to win most of those youthful battles and at least gave as good as she got when she didn't.  "All I can suggest is to just be better than them - work harder, be stronger, faster.  If there's an ounce of worth in them then they'll respect you for it ... if not, then you know not to bother with them.  Feel free to mention my name, though.  At least one of them will have heard of me and if they know you're my friends they'll think twice."

"Gabriel, eh ?  When we're next in New Dawn, we might just drop in some time to watch the training," Berta grins wickedly.  "You can introduce me !"

"It wasn't anything that lasted for long," Ush reassured the other women.  "One of the other staff at the stables, Gorthok, has been helpful and how I imagine a brother would be like if I had one.  Supportive and teasing, but he's taught me ways to get along with people that might think badly of me at first glance."  She shrugged as if it was of no further consequence.

"Besides, the more we train, the stronger and faster I'm getting, so it's all good."

Rana looked thoughtfully at Ush, then decided that the young woman would ask for help if she needed it.  The sorceress had been coming to the realisation that everyone needed to learn to fend for themselves, on occasion, in order to grow into your own strengths.

She smiled at Berta.  "Anytime you want to visit, you will be more than welcome. And I'm certain that Gabriel and Alanna will be happy to show you around the ranch so you can see what they are achieving."

Rana sipped her wine, then queried, "Any interesting news from further afield recently, Berta?  Or does all seem quiet at the moment?"

"Sounds like you don't need my help," Berta smiles at Ush.  "Believe it or not, I never used to get along with people - comes from joining the Guard - you tend to only see the worst in folk."

"We'll definitely do that," the warrior-woman confirms for Rana, "just can't say when as yet, but we'll let you know."

"Interesting news ..." she raises her gaze to the rafters for a few moments, considering.  "Interesting, yes, but I'd not vouch for the reliability of much that I here, save to say that for every rumour or snippet there's always at least one of our customers who believes it wholeheartedly."

"Still, if you've gone and spent all your coin on that little lot," Berta nods at the shopping bags with a grin, "you might be interested ..."

She leans closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially.  "There were three fellows in here the other day - close-mouthed as they come to begin with, but after they'd loosened their tongues with a few drinks, I heard them arguing ... seems they'd found gold in the swamp out near Litwin's Cove."

Berta shrugs. "As I say, I can't vouch for the veracity.  Another fellow, fresh from a stint at the fort at Varnhold swore that we're all about to be overrun by centaurs, if you'd believe it ?!!"

Rana's attention was piqued at Berta's mention of gold in a swamp as well as Centaurs.

"Those are very interesting rumours.  I've not heard of Litwin's Cove.  Where is that?"  She queried and then continued, "I think centaurs might make good allies, as long as there are good relations between all parties."

She leaned back in her chair and glanced around the room.

"I know that there is sometimes entertainment in the evening, Berta.  Is there anything planned for this evening?"

Winnie moves around the bar, polishing a few glasses as she goes.

"Litwin's Cove ..." Berta's eyes narrow as she thinks on the best way to explain "... take the road South-West out of Westgate, and continue on through Apple Gate."  It's in the vicinity of Lake Hooktongue, though you'd have to trudge through a lot of swamp if you wanted to go for a swim !"

"Planned is a little generous as far as Folfast's organisational skills are concerned, but he usually rises for his breakfast round about now, and you don't so much prevail upon him for a song as set him off !" the Dragon's resident bouncer grins broadly.

"I've seen enough mud recently to last me for quite some time!" Rana said as she wrinkled her nose as visions of lizardmen ran through her brain.  "However, this Folfast sounds, well, interesting, don't you think, Ush?"  Rana turned to her companion with her query.