"Now, why is it called the QUEENS Guard and not the King's guard? Most people think that it's cus the king has his own secret guard. But that's wrong, the actual truth is that the King himself is such a monster that he needs no protection! I mean, the dude hasn't been seen in 24 years and he's still at the top of the food chain! How insane is that?!"
"Right, right, that's all very cool, let's get you inside"
Giving a groan, Andy continued to drag his incredibly drunk friend through the snow, leaving two long lines in the fresh white powder. Luckily for him in this situation it was only a short path back to the room where the two were staying, and an even shorter path to where he planned on dumping the limp friend. After another few barely audible sentences Andy managed to push his back against the door and get just far enough inside to set Ange down on his side. With a sigh of relief at making it in, Andy glanced around the area.
It was exactly what one would expect from a small inn in a small town on the small edge of the frontier. Warmth and a friendly feeling seemed to seep out from the center to counter the frost seeping in from the snow outside. Various locals lay scattered around the table, none of them seemed that interested in the pair that had just entered save a few nods of acknowledgement. This was a relief to Andy as dragging a drunk person into any sort of bar in the capital or larger cities late at night was a generally unpleasant event.
"What can I get for you?"
The voice belonged to the Innkeeper, standing behind the bar. The standard commoner clothing ran up against her long black hair, her smile that of someone who had seen many strangers pass by this inn. Andy paused for a few seconds as he had to remind herself that despite her pose and aura, she probably didn't actually live behind the bar table. Walking over, he took a seat and set down his traveling pack as the contents made a noticeable thwump against the wooden ground.
"Just one room and a drink. Afraid my comrade here decided to stay warm through uh…internal measures"
A quick glance was all it took for the Innkeeper to give a small chuckle. Being a barmaid, she was more than used to people being in this state. The exchange took place quickly, a key and a mug full of fizzy liquid in exchange for a few gold coins slid across the wooden table. Raising the glass to his lips, he drank deeply before setting it down. It was a battle to keep his face from grimacing, but for the sake of the lady that had given him the drink, Andy managed to put on a standard smile. Never much of a fan of beer, he only drank it because the party was out of water, hence his comrade's drunken state. Luckily for him, she had moved on to cleaning other glasses and bringing tables their various items.
Even this late at night, the building was still very much abuzz with life. That, or everyone here was just putting off their trek home through the snow.
Another gulp of the drink, another grimace, another glance around. His eyes made it almost around the room before noticing that someone had sat next to him. Saying that they snuck up would be a lie since they clearly didn't have any hostile intent to trick him, but it had been so quiet that he barely had the time to notice before they spoke.
"Hey, you're an adventurer, aren't you?"
The voice belonged to a young woman, her face reminded Andy of the inn keeper who was surviving someone else across the counter. A daughter, perhaps? She wore much the same clothes, although the air around her seemed charged with positivity and interest. Whoever this was, their eyes were intently focused on Andy.
Oh, great, guess I won't be going straight to bed.
Her voice was just loud enough for him to hear it but it seemed to drift away any further. Fitting for someone who had basically snuck up on him. She was clearly no stranger to using her own skills. As if to emphasize this, her hand moved up and without a noise the cup sitting next to her slid into their hands as if pushed through some sort of invisible force.
Ah, even better, she's a wind mage. She seems quite confident if she's willing to show it off in front of an adventure.
"And what makes you think that? I must commend you on your quickness and quietness, I barely noticed you"
"You're not from around here, you don't have winter clothes, not only that but….well, you're not exactly hiding it"
Her eyes drifted towards the bag that sat at Andy's feet, it's shape a tell-tale of your average traveler. With a small sigh he realized that even if he wanted to deny it, the conviction in this lady's voice wasn't something that could be easily shook off.
"Adventurer is a very broad term,but I suppose we do fit under that umbrella. We're more just courier though, paid to deliver packages and mail that people really don't want lost. Adventurer Andy, at your service"
He ended his sentence with a small bow for the sake of fitting in with the trope. It was an oversimplification of course, but Andy figured that it should be enough to shake this lady's interest off. No one in their right mind would be very interested in glorified mailmen. Much to his disappointment, the lady's face didn't shift at all. If anything, she seemed more intent on getting answers out of him.
"What are you delivering this time?"
"Poems"
"From who?"
"The grand magistrate of Vinris's city."
"Are they any good?"
"If you can't read, maybe"
Both parties gave a small laugh at the back and forth. Even though this figure was clearly far from the standard citizen, it was common knowledge that those who delivered any sort of mail were sworn to secrecy under penalty of death. Finding himself actually enjoying their conversation now, and with a tinge of red cheeks from the beer he'd gone through, Andy finally let himself relax.
"What about you? Surely you've got a name and a equally interesting occupation"
"Afraid not for the latter half, I'm just your standard barmaid. Helping run the family business and all that. Name's Elyon, nice to meet you Andy"
Feeling satisfied that he had been right on the mark with the familiar faces, Andy simply nodded and finished off his cup, nudging it to the side. It seemed more and more likely as this conversation continued that the poor girl just wanted an excuse to entertain herself with something other than juggling dishes and serving mediocre beer.
"Fair enough, although that's just as good a job as any. Someone's gotta help out with wandering adventures and those who drink too much"
His eyes drifted to his friend, still slumped against the wall with a rather happy smile on their sleeping face.
Giving a sheepish shrug Elyon stood up and walked to the other side of the counter. She didn't seem to agree much with his assessment, although given her interest in the adventuring duo that was to be expected. With a wave of her hand, the air inside the bar shifted ever so slightly, launching the two empty cups over to her side of the bar and then sliding into the other dishes.
It was a pretty surprising display of skill, at least from someone who knew what to look for. Andy could tell from how smoothly she had moved that this use of her power was as natural to her as breathing for everyone else. There was something else about this girl though, something that gave away the fact she was much more than she was letting on.
"Say, were you the one who left the wisps around the town?"
Elyon's face looked up, eyebrows raised in surprise that they had been noticed. Andy had felt the difference in the air as they had first stepped into the village, the tell-tale sign of someone watching it with magic. It explained why she had found them so quickly after entering the bar. The town was on the frontier after all, and likely didn't get much foot traffic. Most of the time this type of magic was used by guards to watch out for threats, but in this case it appeared as though it was a way of keeping herself less bored.
"I'm surprised you even noticed them, and here I was thinking I had gotten good at making them invisible"
A small idea had started to be planted in Andy's mind when he first entered the town, and now it was slowly growing. Their adventurer thus far had been safe but slow going, so to add a wind mage to their short trip to the next town…