[IC] Sir Shane's Story (Legend in the Mist)

[third eye]

Barleytown

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After arriving in the Dales, and asking around in Underbough and Fairpoint, Sir Shane learned the main source of the talks about weird things awakening. As far as the folks of the riverside villages could tell, it all came from the west, where Barleytown lied. Some of them specifically mentioned the inn there, where people congregate after the monthly market, the Goatbeard.

Barleytown was well-known for its good yield of its namesake, and the beer made from it. The locals were very proud of it, making it a point with every visitor to taste it, always offering a free mug for fresh arrivals. The mysterious Dolmen Knolls could be found north of town, providing an infinite source for spooky and cautionary tales for the towners. 'You'll go to the dolmens!' was a phrase scary enough for most children to become obedient. The Craggen Highlands, however, were less mysterious but more directly dangerous, as the wild hillfolk usually hunted all intruders to set an example.

All in all, Barleytown was itself peaceful, with exciting things around it, to keep the folk gossiping and guessing whenever they got bored.

[rush99999]

The ride from Fairpoint to Barleytown had been a lengthy yet peaceful journey. One that had done well to prepare Sir Shane the Shy for the next challenge he would face. Though not nearly as large as Stormhelm, Barleytown was still the largest settlement that appeared on the map of the Dales. That meant a lot more people he'd have to pass by. Which in turn meant a higher likelihood that the sight of a knight from north of the Bridge would make someone curious enough to come strike up a conversation. Something he rarely enjoyed all that much. Though at least it wasn't anything like what he would have had to endure if he'd stayed in the city.

Thankfully, though many a curious glance had been cast his way as he rode into town and made for the Goatbeard, no one had actually stopped to chat. When he arrived at the inn, Sir Shane guided his horse to a set of hitching posts set up near the entrance and dismounted as his loyal charger lowered her head and began to drink from one of the water troughs that had been left there for the horses. "You did well today, Flutter." Sir Shane quietly praised his equine companion while gently stroking and patting her neck. "You've more than earned a drink. I'll get you some more carrots next chance I get, too."

Leaving Flutter to her rest, Sir Shane made for the front door of the inn. With any luck, he wouldn't need to stay long or speak with many people before finding what he had come in search of, be it the source of the rumors or another step on the trail to the true source. And so Sir Shane uttered a quiet prayer for luck as he reached the Goatbeard's door, opened it, and made his way inside.

[third eye]

The inn was moderately busy in the early afternoon, but obviously had much more space than the half-dozen patrons took up, mostly eating alone at a table. The gruff man who was serving food to a hunter-like fellow, didn't make small talk, just put the bowl of stew on the table. The hunter nodded at him, and started to eat at leisure. She had a hooded cloak dropped on the back of her chair, sturdy leather boots, and a piercing, clear gaze.

The others were elder people, sipping a mug of beer, or staring out the window.

The man who served the food noticed the knight entering the Goatbeard. He stopped and took a few steps towards Sir Shane. He tried an awkward bow, but stopped midway, and searched for the proper word for a few seconds. Ummm, welcome good lord, to the inn. What do ... would you like to have?

[rush99999]

Sir Shane tensed slightly as the server approached him. Though as the man revealed himself to be just as nervous a Sir Shane was, the knight relaxed, gave a polite nod to the attempted bow, and waited patiently for the server to say his piece. "A bowl of stew and a mug of beer for me, please. And some carrots for my horse if you have any." Sir Shane requested once the server fell silent. "Also, you needn't refer to me as lord. I am but a humble knight. Sir Shane will do just fine."

[third eye]

Yes, Sir Shane. Take a chair. And he swept around with his arm, indicating the numerous empty tables. May I ask what, ummm, purpose do you have in our town? Barleytown has the best beer in the world, but it's not a court for nobles.

[rush99999]

"Precisely." Sir Shane said in response to the man saying that Barley town was no court for nobles. One of the empty tables happened to be right next to them, so Sir Shane pulled the nearest chair out from under that one and sat down.

[third eye]

"Errr, fine. I'll be bringing the food ..." - and he left the knight alone. About two minutes later he turned up with the beer, then a short time later with the stew. He placed all the things Sir Shane ordered on his table without any further words.

[rush99999]

"Thank you kindly." Sir Shane said before pulling out his coin purse. "While I've heard that the first mug of beer is free for fresh arrivals here, I assume you'll still be charging for the stew and carrots." The knight added. "How much would that be?"

[third eye]

"That's 30 pence, Sir. Would you like to stay in the Goatbeard, Sir?"

[rush99999]

"30 pence..." Sir Shane murmured to himself as he fished the requested amount from his purse. While he did so, Sir Shane looked up at the server. "Yes please." Sir Shane answered the server's question as he finished retrieving the coin and handed it off to the server. The knight's hand then returned to the still open coin purse and hovered over the opening. "How much are the rooms here?"

[third eye]

"A pound a night, if you want breakfast with it. That's what most people choose, anyway. How many nights do you want?" - by now he mostly dropped out of the polite mode he tried to keep up, but was obviously not at home with it.

[rush99999]

Sir Shane tensed up again when he finally noticed that the server had dropped his initial politeness. While it might have been obvious to others that the server dropped the demeanor simply because he wasn't at home with it, the socially awkward knight wasn't so quick on the uptake. Sir Shane began to wonder if he had offended the server. Perhaps the man had misinterpreted Sir Shane's laconic replies as a sort of arrogant disregard for the common folk that a fair few nobles possessed. Be it that, or something else, the thought of having possibly offended the server was enough to unsettle Sir Shane out of the relative calm he had started the conversation with.

"I uh... I'm n-not... entirely sure how long I'll... be here. Umm..." Sir Shane said unsteadily. "I... I came here to investigate those rumors. Th-The ones about strange things awakening in the Dales...? If Barleytown is the source of the rumors, I'll uh... I'd probably be here for some time. If not... I'll depart from here the day after I find my next lead." As he spoke, Sir Shane began slowly but surely shrinking into his chair as the shyness for which he had earned his moniker made its presence known.

[third eye]

"Ah-ha. Well, you can ask Elaine here," he nodded towards the hunter-looking female still at her table, "or maybe wander around north or west. There's talk from the south, too, but you know, southerners..." and he made a condescending handwave, "sensible folk stay up, not down."

The traditional tension between northerners and southerners was apparently very much part of this man, and probably the town in general.

[rush99999]

Sir Shane glanced over at Elaine. His gaze didn't linger long. Partly because he didn't want to offend the server anymore than he already had by seeming to be ignoring him, but mainly because he feared the hunter would notice if he observed for too long and would turn her piercing stare on him. Sir Shane was tempted to just stay for one day, then head off in any of the directions the server had suggested. But the knight knew he couldn't just ignore a potential lead.

"Tha-Thank you for the suggestions." Sir Shane said to the server, before fishing another thirty pence out of his coin purse and placing it on the table. "For your assistance." The knight's hand then moved back to the coin purse and hovered over the lip once more. "A-Also, could you please inform Elaine that I have paid for her next drink?"

[third eye]

The man looked surprised at first, but then nodded with a knowing grin and winked at Sir Shane for buying the lass a drink. "Sure, sure. One for Elaine."

He then proceeded back to the kitchen, and the next time he came out with stuff, he went to the huntress' table and placed a jar in front of her. Leaning closer to her, he whispered something in her ear, then left her.

She turned to the knight's direction, without any ladylike shyness, and nodded at him. After a few moments of open curiosity, she turned back to her food and drink, leaving it to the man to make further contact.

[rush99999]

"Many thanks." Sir Shane said as the server departed. The knight then closed his coin purse, stowed it back in his backpack, lifted the visor on his helmet just enough that it wouldn't get in the way of his mouth, and tucked into the stew and beer that had been brought before him. The stew was a fine fare by the standards of inn food. But the beer? The beer was a wonder on the tongue. Not that such a thing came as a surprise to Sir Shane. The fame of Barleytown beer did not reach as far as Stormhelm and then further still without good reason, after all.

In summary, the meal was a good one. One that left Sir Shane satisfied indeed by the end of it. But when he saw the server emerge with jug in hand, Sir Shane lowered his visor back into place as he felt his satisfaction quickly give way to a feeling of uneasy anticipation. Once the drink had arrived at Elaine's table and the huntress had acknowledged the knight, Sir Shane took a breath to prepare himself for what must come next. Once he had steadied himself as best he could, Sir Shane rose from his seat and made his way over to Elaine's table. "G-Greetings." Sir Shane spoke when he reached the edge of the table across from where Elaine was sitting at it. "The uh... The server told me your name is Elaine? I... I am Sir Shane. Sir Shane the Shy. Th-The server also told me that you might know something about the rumors of strange things awakening in the Dales."

[third eye]

The woman's face showed obvious annoyance. "You know, shy or not, I don't like talking to a helmet. If you want to, we can go to a dark corner where no-one else can see your face, but I don't talk to someone without being able to look them in the eye."

[rush99999]

Sir Shane had been silently praying that the woman wasn't going to make such a request. His mind ran through every excuse he could think of, trying to find one that might convince Elaine to let the helmet stay on. But ultimately, he could tell from the look on her face that he'd have as much success convincing her as he would have convincing any noble back in Stormhelm that wanted to see his face when he spoke to them. "D-Don't worry about moving." Sir Shane said, slumping slightly in resignation as his hands moved up to grasp his helmet. "It... wouldn't make much difference to me either way." He lifted his helmet off his head then, revealing the face of the nervous looking young man that lay beneath.

[third eye]

"That's much better, Sir Shane." She smiled at him encouragingly. "Indeed, I've heard rumors, now and then. Rumors of shapes moving in the forest, otherworldly sounds coming from dark corners where no person's supposed to be. Even if we discard the notorious attention-seekers, there's just too much of this talk to mean nothing. Something's afoot in the Dales, and it's probably not a friend of us common people."

She took a sip of the very light ale in the jug. "Would you tell me why you're asking?"

[rush99999]

Sir Shane returned the smile as best he could. But despite his best efforts, it was a shaky, unstable think that looked ready to tumble back into complete nervousness at any moment. Sir Shane tried to hold the huntress's gaze as he listened intently to what she had to say about the rumors, but he could never meet her eyes for more than a few seconds before his gaze began to rapidly flick between various different spots on her face, glance off to his left or right for a moment, then return back to her eyes for a few seconds before repeating the cycle all over again.

"Would you tell me why you're asking?"

The question jolted Sir Shane out of the loop he'd worked himself into. He stammered incoherently for a brief moment before regaining his mental footing enough to give a reply. "I umm... I'm on a quest." Sir Shane explained. "I have come south from Stormhelm to investigate these rumors after the Shiverwash carried them to the city. The rivermen are acting a lot more... superstitious than usual because of the rumors, and the nobles are worried about how that might affect the imports that flow from the Dales. My quest is to learn the truth of these rumors and solve whatever is happening here before the rivermen stop bringing goods to Stormhelm for fear of whatever it is that is going on."