"Unfortunately, my coin purse is running rather light. I don't believe I could afford to buy anything currently," the assassin said. Duncan made a disappointed sigh as he listened to Xavalzo tell him of possible odd jobs he could take to help the inn and be given free room and board. Pocketing his coins, he looked to the thief turned bartender and said, "My... skills are a bit more oriented for other types of business, if you know what I mean. Are you sure there aren't any rival taverns you'd like for me to put out of business? Any noble making you pay an unreasonable amount of taxes?" He said this as more of a joke, he knew they were way too far out in the middle of nowhere to have any competitors or nobles.

Noticing Xavalzo's reaction to the strange sound originating below them, Duncan slid off the bar stool and got to his feet. Adjusting his gear he said, "Alright. Seeing as I don't feel like sleeping outside or hunting for food every morning, I'll take you up on that job offer." He held out his hand to shake on the unofficial contract before adding, "Just tell me where the stairway to the basement is and get a meal ready for when I return."

Alia's eyes widened slightly at the sight of Edric's scar. The mention of these "Inquisitors" and the "Order" struck a familiar bell in Alia's mind, recognizing them as people to be avoided at just about any cost. From what she learned, they were perilous for magicians and spellcasters, but fortunately for them, they didn't seem to be around this area.

When Edric was done talking, Alia was silent for a time. Not much could really be said at a time like that. Then Edric mentioned that he didn't know her name. "Oh, did I not mention it?" Alia asked in response. "My name is Alia. Alia Flori. Maybe it's a little late to say this, but nice to meet you." Alia then looked toward the ceiling, and continued with the subject after a brief moment. "I've never had any encounters with these 'Inquisitors' before, so I can't say much about them. Still, I'm sure you did your best under the circumstances. I don't think I could last 1 hour against them even as I am now, never mind three." Alia was silent after that, not really knowing what to say.

Fortunately, things seemed to be getting a little more lively within the tavern, if the extra voices were anything to judge by. "Well, the bedrooms are accessible now. Let's find you a proper place to rest," Alia suggested, getting up from her chair and walking into the hallway, entering the first room on the right. The room looked quite bland, but surprisingly nice compared to how the rest of the tavern looked. One thing that really stood out to Alia was the candle in the room. Not only was it already lit, the flame was blue. Alia decided to move on from the candle, however, and opened the drawer on the nightstand, finding a piece of an emerald and a number of silver coins. Taking the gem and a few of the coins, Alia shut the drawer and said, "Well, here we are," as she looked back at the entrance to the room, expecting to find Edric nearby.

Ember's eyes grew progressively narrower as she listened to the conversation between the two big people. She wasn't really paying much attention to what they were actually saying. She had little interest in 'inquisitions'...Whatever that was. Instead, she paid more attention to the body language. Was there something between these two? Maybe not. Maybe she was letting her imagination run wild again, as she had been known to do in the past. But then the woman mentioned something about a bedroom and getting the other one there. Ember threw her arms in the air as though celebrating her own cleverness.

She didn't want to see what happened next between these two and quickly flew off, back to the main room. Almost as soon as she arrived, she heard a strange noise. The bartender seemed to hear it too and looked down at his feet. Was the sound coming from the basement? He seemed to pay it little mind and went back to pouring drinks. Ember, however, was curious and decided to investigate. She flew around the corner until she found a wooden door, slightly ajar. She squeezed her tiny body through the space and found a set of stairs leading down. It was dark but she wasn't afraid of shadows...anymore. Like a tiny torch, Ember lit up. A fiery light seemed to emanate from her as she made her way slowly down into the basement.

So, her name was Alia. Alia, he played around with the name. He was vaguely certain he knew of a Mage who had an apprentice by the name of Alia, but it couldn't be her. There was a number of reasons that she couldn't be that Alia, primarily because her master would had to have been one of the strongest known mages...ever. Not that he doubted she was powerful, he felt quite a bit of power coming off of her, but because anyone who had been taught by him would surely be known to the whole world. The thinking was hurting his head, which was the last thing he needed as he was most definitely concussed. All think came to a cease when he realized Alia was inviting him into her room.

Edric shut down for a moment. He had never been experienced with girls, the closest he had come to having a girlfriend was his partner back in the Order, though gods knew where she was now. That didn't even really count, as it was fairly platonic. Of course, he could be over-thinking this. It was quite possible that she wanted him to sleep on the floor or something. Maybe all the other rooms were taken. Perhaps she just wanted to show him around? That didn't really make sense, but nothing made sense in this goddamned tavern. When Alia turned towards the doorway, he froze. Should he accept the offer?

"Uh, so do you want to take the bed or?" He wanted to make it clear he didn't expect to share the bed, not that he would mind. The Spell Caster was pretty but they had quite literally just met. Then again, he had trusted under more strenuous circumstances than this, and what was the worse that could happen? Then again, all this think was based off the fact that she was inviting him into the room, and it was quite possible that she wasn't. He realized now that he was sweating. Sweating. He had been involved in fierce battles, had literally been tortured, had once helped slay a dragon (admittedly, he hadn't been a big help, but still.), and this girl was making him sweat. He chuckled internally at the irony.

After a few minutes of waving the stick around, nobody came out, or even peered through the window. It was peculiar, who would set up a barrier like this? ...Perhaps someone who didn't want a specific species in. While her practical magic skills were not especially notable, her magic theory was fairly good. She recalled that demons of many sorts were often adversaries to Magicians and Magic Practitioners, the magic used often beckoning to them. Or a foolish Magician seeking a fast road to power might speak to a demon in hopes of gaining its powers, usually failing. This meant someone in the tavern is adept in demonology! Ihri hoped. She had a few questions about the behaviors of natural based demons in various Animism religions that she thought of during the trip here.

Black was a warrior. An old one. He remembered many fights. Much death and blood. Yet this girl... She was not death or blood. Black and Green taught her to fight. Too many innocents who did not know how to fight, died. He did not want her to die. He wanted to protect, like she was his own. This wall of magic in front of his was something he knew. It came from Riftology practices, from Demon Hunters. Powerful warriors.
Black looked over his shoulder. A noise, light and heavy. He saw a wolf, but no wolf pack. Strange. A warforged is its pack? They were strong. No blood, but run by magic. Could cut limbs off, but they still charged. He sensed no hate, no bloodlust, seeing only curiosity. Black still put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Sheathed on his hip. Gripped his shield. Ready for combat. Many scenarios ran through his mind. He must block both wolf and warforged, wolf first. Wolf is fa-

"What a cute wolf!" Ihri declared rather loudly, her attention was now directed away from the Tavern and to the two newcomers. She jogged over them, beaming with delight. She hadn't seen company other than Black or Green in several weeks. And while they made fine company, they weren't quite capable of speech. Black lifted his hand from the hilt of his sword once he saw that the Warforged and his wolf were definitely not hostile, making a noiseless sigh of relief, he followed at a much slower pace than the quicker moving magician. As soon she got there, she looked up and down the mossy Warforged, making a very obvious statement. "You're a Warforged!" She spoke, as if she had just realized, "I've never seen one in person! You're much taller than I thought you would be." She stated in wonderment, looking up at the Warforged's head. Suddenly she looked at him in the eyes with determination, "I must examine you. In the tavern, there will be chairs and tables!" She pointed towards the worn down building. It should be safe, she thought. If it was meant to keep out demons then all of them would be able to walk through harmlessly.

His nerves started to calm with the touch of Kitten on his leg. The woman although holding the stick didn't really seem mean. But the black clad, um man? He wasn't sure about.

He saw the man in black look over his shoulder and grab his sword hilt and straightened. He didn't like fighting he didn't hate it he just preferred not to do it, but he would to protect his friends. To protect Kitten. Kitten stood and raised his haunches pulling a snarle at the man, but quickly turned it into a pant and a furiously wagging tale when he saw the woman running toward them.

He relaxed yet again seeing Kittens reaction. The woman was small, but most people were to him, abd she definitely seemed friendly. She callen over complimenting Kitten. The two things he noted was she was smart, you should always greet Kitten first, and she knew magic.

She jogged over to them. "Thanks" he said as kitten tried to angle his head under her hand looking for a scratch behind the ears. "His name is Kitten." Now that she was 'Kitten approved' he began to talk with her saying "yes I am a warforged well sort of most of us also have metal but that's a long story" in reply to her statement.

She started talking about examining him. Could she be able to fix him? His eyes lit up again this time because he was hopeful. He didn't care so much about not having metal he actually gre to like it. That combined with the moss made him feel closer to nature which in turn kept his memory of the druid alive. But, maybe just maybe, she could fix his 'mind' the magic used was executed and prepared improperly, and he longed to be fully developed. So in his excitement he said exactly what you'd expect. "Um... sure, as long as the chairs are strong enough to hold me." And with that he walked toward the tavern Kitten grudgingly following him, not wanting to leave his new friend, and they stepped inside the tavern.

Once inside he began taking in the state of things noting what needed repaired and which repairs he could manage. He looked at the bar and saw two men one on either side, neither of them looked as friendly as the nice woman did, but Kitten and his new friend made him feel safe.

Alex strolled back into the tavern, his face pale and flushed. As he passed the stools towards the bar, he had nearly tripped over a few. He eventually sat down at the bar, looking over to see what the others were up to. That is when he had noticed Ihri but did not say anything. Rather he simply turned from her and began to drink water.

“Hey Bouldy, I trust you’re behaving yourself.” He called. Bouldy, who at the time was carrying some heavy furniture that needed moving simply gave a low accepting sound and continued with his duties,

"Kitten?" She asked bemused, aren't wolf children called pups? But she didn't pry, a name is a name. She gave Kitten a thorough scratching with both hands while the Warforged explained that he was in fact a Warforged, mentioning that most of his people had metal. He then gave her the OK for his examination. Ihri grinned like a child in a candy store, patting the back of the Warforged excitedly. The Warforged and Kitten entered first, followed closely by Black. Almost as tall as the green Warforged himself, the large built, black steel armored knight walked to a table and set his strange heavy shield down with a thud, leaning on the table. He pulled a chair out and sat on it tentatively, it seemed to hold up well.

Then Ihri bounced in, sidestepping by the Warforged going towards the table that Black had sat at. Slowing once she saw the larger rock golem, presumably powered by the bright blue crystal planted where its head would be. That was definitely some sort of crystal based magic. The golem was lifting some heavy materials around. The Tavern clearly had some work to do, and work was being done. Once she got to the table, she pulled a second chair out and pulled her satchel off of her, dropping it on the table with its own thud. She took the various heavy books and scrolls out, setting them aside. Black looked at the seemingly endless amount of books and scrolls, then he looked at the green Warforged. He gestured him to sit with his hand, offering the seat that Ihri had pulled out.

Once the Warforged had sat down, Ihri now having a sizable stack of books next to her satchel pulled out a leather bound box, locked with an intricate lock made of metal and emblazoned with various runes. What was most notable about the lock was that it had no keyhole, and what was notable about the box was that it had a single white symbol. "Aha!" She exclaimed, she set it down, pushing the satchel aside. She tapped the lock with her index finger, the runes glowed in a myriad of colors, then it clicked and fell off the box. She opened the box, revealing a surprisingly intimidating variety of knives. Black glanced at the box. Ihri glanced at Black, Kitten and the Warforged. She gave a nervous chuckle and closed the box, "That's not what we're looking for."
The white symbol rearranged its lines and curves in response, and she opened the box again. This time revealing a variety of strange tools, pens, lipsticks, and other items. She grabbed a magnifying glass and held it up, made of steel and emblazoned with bronze hieroglyphics. "Are you ready for the examination?" She halted for a second, as if just remembering something. She turned around towards the bar and then pointed to the bartender, "I need a job! Preferably as a cook!" she declared, a little too loud. Her ears were red from embarrassment, she came for a job but ended up getting carried away by her curiosity. Her large witches' hat and cloak were doing a decent job of covering it up, but one could obviously see mild relief on her face, now that she's said what she came to say.

The two he had just meet walked in behind him and claimed a table. He was watching the large golem work, thinking of how he could help him and help repair the building when the black knight offered him a seat. He sat down drinking in the entire assortment of items spread across the table.

He was trying to figure out how she managed to fit everything in her bag when she opened a magical box. His jaw dropped and he began to get nervous seeing the knives. He thought this was an examination not a dissection. He looked to Kitten, but he was calm, which usually helped him stay calm. He had just made up his mind to run when she informed him that the knives were a mistake. If he had lungs he would have sighed.

He was watching as the box rearranged it's simbles and she opened it again revealing different items. It made him very curious he wondered how it worked but decided to save that for a later time. His eyes scanned the contents of the box and was about to ask how lipstick would be a part of the examination when she asked if he was ready to begin holding her magnifying glass. "Uh, yes." He answed. "But I do have a question, well a favor to ask actually. Is it possible for you to fix the magic that made me?" He asked in a low voice, his toes seeming to interest him.

He snapped his head up when she asked for employment. His sad mood changed to excitement. He loved work he hated being still and unoccupied. "I would like work too. I could fix the walls and furniture. Or I could help him" he said pointing at the large golum. "I could help,with the roof too but I might be to heavy to stand on it ."

He turned back to the woman. He still wasn't any good at picking up on emotions, at least anything other than anger. Anger he could see all to well. Seeing her sitting there he said "uh, so..." beginning to feel odd just sitting at the table, he reached under the table where Kitten was laying and started to pet behind his ears.

Singing a little tune to make herself feel better about the darkness, Ember descended the staircase. Or rather, she flew downwards, above the stairs and towards the rumbling and sloshing sounds she could hear. The glowing pixie was currently the only light in the area but at the bottom of the stairs she found an old lamp which looked like it still had a little oil in it. She decided her own glow wasn't enough and clung onto the side of the hanging lamp with one hand as she waved the other at the lamp, whispering an incantation in the process. She yelped slightly as the lamp erupted. Apparently there was more oil in it than she realized.

But on the plus side, the area was well lit now. She noticed there was a doorway to the left of the last stair and was fairly certain that's where the sounds were coming from. She pressed herself up against the wooden door and listened. Yep. The noise was definitely coming from in there. She grabbed hold of the handle and pulled down on it with all of her weight, grumbling something under her breath about big people. Eventually she heard a click and the door swung slightly ajar. Rather pleased with herself for such a simple thing, the pixie slapped her hands together and quickly squeezed in through the narrow gap.

Her mood was soured somewhat when she say what lay on the other side. The room looked to be some kind of bath house. There was a large stone tub carved into the floor and Ember could see glowing runes on the bottom of it. What was bothering Ember was the fact that the runes seemed to be sporadically spewing up water into the air. The water fell back down into the tub and was quickly filling it. When the water seemed to ease its eruptions momentarily, Ember knelt by the side of the tub and down to test the water inside.

"OW!!!" She yelled as she recoiled far into the air, clutching at her hand. The water was too hot. She made an angry face at the water like it had wronged her. The runes started spewing water again as though they were mocking her.

This was clearly not how this thing was supposed to work. More importantly, if something wasn't done about it, it would likely overflow and flood the basement. She remembered the people upstairs saying something about restoring the tavern to working order. Perhaps she could help here. "Oh, fun!" she said, proud of herself once again for deciding to help.

The pixie began flying in a circle above the tub, spreading a ring of glowing pixie dust around the side of it as she went. She whispered another incantation and formed several symbols with her hands until she came to a stop, hovering above the tub. She closed her eyes and continued her spell.

Alia looked at him quizzingly. She had no idea what he was trying to say, nor why he was acting so nervous. She wasn't threatening him or anything. "I'm suggesting that you take the bed, of course, at least for now," Alia said. "You're still exhausted from the overuse of magic, right? Just lie down and take some time to recover." Alia smiled as she added, "I'll be with you and make sure you're recovering nicely."

As Edric did what he did, Alia was reminded of the old days with her master. She had been in the same state from overuse of magic, and her master was the one who brought her back to some comfortable place to rest up. Even when she feebly tried to complain that she could go on or that she was being babied, her master simply gave her "the look". And here she was now, doing more or less the same thing for someone else. Alia thought it was pretty funny and couldn't help but smile at the thought. Time certainly passed.