"Two by two; of autumn hue; hands of sand; scoop the land; a time to spare; the evenings fare; too far from home; nev-"
"More!"
A silence fell across the bar, only one sound dared break the brute forced quiet.
"-ime to stare; forget the hat; it's far too...it's far too...mat; go to the pub; look out snub." The man mumbled as his fingers twitched flicker fast over the painting. He was not a big man, average of stature and standing. He had handsome features...but that might be more due to his present company. A messy mop of white-gold hair fell about his ears as his hazel eyes were fixed firmly on the canvas in front of him. He wore the finery of a well to do noble, embroidered silk shirt with one more ruffle than could be considered foppish. Pantaloons of the same name brand custom-tailored elegance flapped as he kicked the air under his stool. He wore little jewelry however, save for his right hand, which was covered in more rings than could ever be considered proper or comfortable.
He hadn't heard the command, or the resigned grumble-roar that came after as his associate turned back to consult his bottle. The man in question was quite a bit bigger than his fellow, quite a bit bigger than anything else around him either. The whole bar seemed ready to tip over from the way he leaned on it, no matter what protest the nails that affixed it to the ground had to give. He looked more like an oversized piece of furniture actually, abit, one that was far to large, misshapen, and covered with far too many animal skins to be used for anything other than intimidating guests. His face was hidden behind a shrub of stiff brown-gray bristles and he pawed absently at the axe that seemed fixed to his hip. Every breath he took caused the oil-lamps to flicker and the bartender seemed to have taken a aesthetic vow to ignore the giant, no matter how many times he reached idly for another bottle of hard liquor. His unlikely, though no less bizarre companion painting in the corner had already paid a sum enough to cover upkeep on the tavern for the next three months...though he had to admit his jubilation was being sobered by prolonged contact with the two unfortunate tenants. He was just happy they hadn't reacted to the nights activities thus far. Suddenly an infantile shush came from the man in the corner as he dropped his brush listening to something only he seemed to hear. He smashed a slender finger against his lips. The giant looked over his shoulder idly. The man in the corner smiled. "Got it!" He pointed upstairs. "four of them...no...wait...maybe five. Definitely, probably the right ones this time I'm almost certain of it, maybe."
The giant just sniffed and suddenly the whole bar shook. It took the bartender a moment to realize the giant was giggling. "Finally." He grabbed his axe dragging it with painfully damaging grace across the floor to make the innkeeper wince. With a woop of some uncertain emotion the giant charged up the narrow staircase with an alacrity and ease that seemed to defy his bulk. The man in the corner waved his arms as rushed to the bottom of the stairs. "No! Wait! I didn't say kill them! Oh bother...more compensation for the next of kin. Oh...destiny can be so tricky to figure out sometimes." He shuffled up the stairs after the beast.
The bartender decided it was best to go back to polishing his already spotless mugs and call the carpenters in the morning.
Meanwhile, about ten feet up and over the fur clad giant crashed down on the top of the stairs. He only saw four from the hallway, two girls and a pair of men...no sport in the women folk most likely, though he'd been surprised before. The men-folk might be a bit more entertaining, especially the shirtless one with the sword, he was a scrawny little blighter, but he looked like he'd seen his own share of fun. With an incoherent cry he leveled his axe at his unfortunate enemies, and charged with all the fury and volume of a hurricane. All the while his companion rushed behind shouting obscenities far too antiquated and polite to be insulting...though whether at the giant or his prey was unclear.
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