The Red Zephyr — Roleplayer Guild

As the Voyagers had expected, The Elm wasn't exactly bustling, despite their tall companion's insistence of the inn's quality. The atmosphere was rather subdued for an Asylum establishment, with its dozen-or-so candle-lit tables; only two of them occupied. The bottom floor was rather dark and unbalanced, since only the tables in use had their candles lit and there seemed to be more staff than guests. The woman behind the front desk and bar table--a somewhat hefty bleach-blonde--sat back in her chair filing her fingernails without a care in the world, while another slender, dark-haired woman made her way through the kitchen doors, a hint of fear in her eyes. The only man in the room--a gruff-looking muscly type-- leaned against the wall to the right of the greeter-bartender staring intently at the group of Voyagers out of the corners of his eyes. He glanced briefly at the blonde before pretending to clear his throat to get her attention.

The greeter woman sighed before standing up out of her seat. "Welcome to The Elm, weary travelers," she began, feigning enthusiasm, "find a seat wherever you wish, or pay for your rooms and retire--or not--right away. We currently have seven vacancies."

A sigh of relief swept over Ian. There were enough rooms for everyone to have their own, which meant he wouldn't have to share with Tall and Quiet. The latter obviously kept to herself, but it made Ian uncomfortable to sleep next to someone he did not know the gender of.

"Great," Ryan replied, approaching the desk, "we'll take three rooms then. Gotta save money, and we don't wanna hog all of your space."

Ian cocked his head in confusion. Again? If money was an issue, why not buy just one room? 

"Absolutely!" The greeter continued to act like she gave a damn, turning around and grabbing three keys from a hanger behind her head. 

Both wearing fake smiles, Ryan and the blonde haggled for a minute before trading blues for the three keys. Ian thought he heard something about their "two best lays" but didn't pay much attention.

Instead, the lone soul in the back corner of the room caught his attention. A man with sunken eyes and very blackened veins sat in the least conspicuous part of the inn, which made him seem the most conspicuous. Ian wondered if this man had been the source of the other woman's fearful look. 

"Kid!" Ryan's scolding voice broke through. Ian turned his gaze back to the team leader to see a key on a chain dangling in front of his face. "You're bunking with Alex and Jean. Room 15. Don't give a damn what you guys do: Sleep, drink, fuck all night, whatever. But make sure you're down here by oh-five-hundred tomorrow."

With a sigh, the Tall One snatched the keys from Ryan's hands. "Leave the poor kid alone. He didn't wanna do anything but sleep the last few nights and he hasn't slept in."

Ryan scoffed, "Yeah but he's on cloud nine every waking minute. Maybe some pussy and discipline is what he needs to get his head on straight."

The two continued to bicker for another minute or so before realizing Ian had taken the keys from Tall and gone to the room himself.

The leader shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously what is up with him? The Voyagers take in anyone these days."

The tall Voyager glanced at the staircase Ian had taken upstairs, then replied in a lowered voice, "But you saw what he did to those 'Guards. They didn't even touch him: He acted like it was nothing. If he wasn't there, the whole thing would have turned really ugly."

"Believe me, I know Al." Ryan's voice also lowered. "His other squads couldn't handle him; said he was unpredictable. But if we can use him, control whatever the fuck he let out today, the Voyager big-wigs will notice. We'll get bigger jobs and be rollin' in blue."

"Can you really control that though?"
The Red Zephyr Member

The Fractured Mind of a Broken Soul

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