The innkeeper was taken aback by Amaryllis suddenly being so close. And she nearly panicked, finally giving any kind of reaction, she struggled to speak coherently. "No, no, we have room! Look you can stay for free if you go upstairs like, right now?" She quickly handed a pair of keys, shaking and struggling to make a nervous smile.

The stranger in grey and black gave a haughty and boastful laugh. "My man, I'd be interested in the company. You see I'm a hunter of a very specific brand of prey. Once I'm done, I could reconsider your offer." He toasted and took a drink. "Thanks for the drink though"

While her smile never faltered, Amaryllis' eyebrows shot up at the drastic change in the innkeeper's demeanor. "There's no need for that, my good woman. Why don't you take this—," she reached out and clasped the hand that held the keys offered to her, pressing several coins into it as she accepted them. Her movements were open and steady, there was no need to try to hide what she was doing. "—and come find me once I have settled in and the other waiting patrons have gotten their board sorted out." She gestured to Sigismund and the hooded woman he had been talking to with her free hand.

"You can bring me my change and we can finish our little discussion about payment then." It was not the first time Amaryllis had met someone anxious to talk to her, nor would it be the last if her dark luck had anything to say about it. Keys securely in her hands, she gave Rummia another reassuring smile and returned to her previous seat to get her things.

She paused as she looked at Mordecai, tempted for the briefest of moments to tell him she told him she'd be out of his hair soon, but held her tongue and bowed another greeting, the snarky comment nothing but a twinkle of humor in her eyes as she did. Softly, as to not be overheard, she said, "I'm afraid I can only offer you one less noisy element for now. May the Mother grant you a restful day." While still amused, her greeting seemed sincere. She quickly gathered the rest of her things and headed up the stairs Rummia had nervously gestured toward. Once up and out of sight, she allowed the ever-present worry that gnawed at her to break free in the form of a frown. Surely her presence hadn't brought trouble to the town ahead of her arrival? That would be a first.

She found her room swiftly, letting herself in and setting down her backpack.

In reply to Roger (msg # 50):

"Greetings, what prey would that be? My name is Sigismund, and you are?" He reaches out his hand in greetings.

Mordecai humphed as the large man walked away from him, taking another sip of his ale. "Hedge mage. Ha! If only he knew how skilled of a wizard I was," he shook his head, waving his hand in the air dismissively.

When the woman in black made her remark about having a restful day, he chuckled. "Until I get out of here, I do not see that happening, but thank you all the same. At least someone in here has some kind of manners," he nodded. "I'm not one for religious talk, but the same to you," he almost smiled back at her. Now, if she wanted to adventure with him, he might take her up on the offer. She seemed to be more interested in being left alone, though. After she left, Mordecai went back to watching the rest of the bar patrons, especially this one talking about prey.

All color simultaneously went away from the innkeeper's face while it simultaneously reddened. At the same time, she grasped for air in relief.

The man was casual with the conversation. "Oh, but the hunt would be harder if I went public with it. Things are better when the target is unaware." he toasted once again before offering his hand "Roger Black"

In reply to Roger (msg # 55):

Sigismund frowned, "I don't hunt men sir. Beasts and monsters and evil things, but I do not hunt men!"

Looking Mordecai's way as the man confidently spoke of his arcane ability Lal asked, mildly, "Do, please, elucidate. I enjoy hearing tales of arcanists as well as warriors and a bit of variety is welcome." He smiled easily in a relaxed fashion, his attention on the individual rather than roaming across the rest of the bar for the moment.

In reply to Sigismund (msg # 56):

"Men can be evil things too, sir..." The man took another drink.

Sigismund visibly relaxed when Roger said that, "Yes, they can be very evil. I was mistaken, I do hunt men, but I'm no Bounty Hunter, I hunt evil and stamp it out." He said to Roger sitting there smugly, "So? Would you be interested?"

The Wizard regarded the curious man... curiously, wondering if he was telling the truth or just pulling his leg. Ah, well, either way, it would be a good time to boast about his ability! "Well, I am no bard by any means, but if it's a tale you wish, a tale I shall deliver," he nodded, sitting upright in his chair a little bit. "I am a Conjurer, you see, one who calls upon creatures from another plane to do my bidding. I have summoned countless of these creatures, and my abilities cause them to be even more formidable than one would normally expect. Take, for instance, the time I called upon a celestial hippogryph to fend off a wild Owlbear who sought to make me his dinner, or perhaps when I summoned a monstrous spider, so that it would trap a would-be thief in its web before, well... let's just say that the thief didn't steal anything from anyone else, ever again," the wizard laughed. "What about yourself? What great exploits do you have to regale us with?" he asked, sitting back in his seat now that he was finished bragging.

Sigismund paid attention as Mordecai spoke. "Very good sir! My apologies, you have moved past being a simple Hedge Wizard, you are a full blooded Wizard yourself! What are you seeking? I will help you find it! Strength lies in numbers, as does living in these times. If you are not interested in joining us, perhaps we'll join you!"

"Some of these wonderful people, all great adventurers themselves, may join us, it is entirely up to them! Are we seeking magical items, gold, items to be gathered to cast some great spell?"

Chess ala'riina was a bit taken when the innkeeper offered a room to the human so quickly and offering it free if she would go upstairs now.  But then again why was she acting a bit nervous.  It just didn't seem right and her eyes looked up toward the stairs going up.

"So she gets a room free if she goes up now.  Does that offer apply to all of us? she asked the innkeeper

The innkeeper reacted quickly to Chess "It can be free for you if you can keep her there and busy for the three hours."

Now that was an odd reply and she didn't understand why the innkeeper would want for someone to keep a customer in a room for three hours, busy.  That didn't bond well with her and she looked over to the big brute "Hey Sigismund are you busy?  Come with me upstairs.  I think this innkeeper just put that woman in danger. then she lets the muscles go first and following behind him, that is if he comes.

In reply to Chess ala'riina (msg # 64):

Sigismund looks to Chess when she speaks, "Please excuse me, I've been called. I'll be back shortly." He goes to Chess, listens to what she says, and leads the way upstairs. "You know the room number Chess?" He says as he tops the stairs and looks down the hall to see if there is sign of her.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:55, Wed 28 Dec 2022.

In reply to Chess ala'riina (msg # 64):

On hearing the statement by the hooded woman with the silver hair, Li gets up out of her seat and follows Sigismund upstairs.

Listening with polite interest to Mordecai's explanation Lal opened his mouth to answer but before he could Sigismund suddenly resumed talking to the man. Tilting back slightly he waited for the conversation to have a break but even as he did so the innkeeper's behaviour grew odd enough that it was called out by one of the others present. Sending an apologetic nod Mordecai's way he said, "I'll answer that in a moment."

As three people headed up the stairs he turned to regard the innkeeper and asked with a light tone, "I don't suppose you'd like to shed some light on things? I mostly overlooked you offering the free room to the lady earlier but now it seems you've gotten people panicking, perhaps you could calm things down by clarifying why it's so important for you to keep her here?"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Wed 28 Dec 2022.

In reply to Lal (msg # 67):

Sig listens at the first door, he taps at the door, and listens for Amarylis to answer.

He then looked to Chess with questioning eyes.

In reply to Lal (msg # 67):

The innkeeper was genuinely about to bang her head on the counter, both at the unexpected reaction and at the requested explanation, but before she could begin to speak, a loud thundering but still unmistakenly female voice came from outside the twin doors to the inn.

"I request entrance to this establishment..."

Looking genuinely sympathetic at the innkeeper's expressions Lal was about to offer some words of empathy but, given the sudden bellow from out front, was somewhat distracted by that. Glancing the woman behind the bar's way for a moment he nodded his head in the direction of the door, "Want me to let them in?" At this point he was beginning to fight off a grin, from the looks of things this was more likely to be amusing than sinister but he was not quite willing to be too relaxed about matters yet.

Looking to Sig "She is in the other room a bit down further. After looking at the first door and its number upon it.

This didn't feel right and she wanted to survive what ever hell that innkeeper just placed them in.

Mordecai looked over at the odd hooded man and leaned in closer to him. "And what would that be?" he whispered back.

Amaryllis was waiting for the sound of the innkeeper heading her way, though she was expecting it to be a little while yet what with all the travelers coming to town today. She let her hood down, fully freeing her long mop of wild, black curls and revealing her face. She was just about to take a look around her room when she heard knocking on one of the doors further down the hallway. Had the innkeeper been so anxious she forgot what room she had given her? It was possible.

As she made it to her door, she heard what sounded like a woman's voice. Deciding to step out and point Rummia in the right direction, Amaryllis opened her door and headed out into the hallway.

She blinked, surprised at the three adventurers she found herself face to face with. She looked from Sigismund to Li, then at the woman unknown to her. "Were you looking for me?" She asked, confusion clear in her voice and expression. She looked apologetically at the large warrior. "Sigismund, if this is about joining you on adventures, I'm afraid I must insist on my previous answer. I do wish you all good luck and the safety of the Father's watchful eyes, however." She smiled reassuringly at Li and Chess.