TheHub2MannyLikesTheBrokenSwords

It's official: The Broken Swords is my new favorite inn. So much awesome happened there since yesterday. Whenever I'm in Scryfe I will be sleeping there. Or, at least hanging there all night. You get the idea. Here's the recap, starting from yesterday morning:

I pull out my book and quickly write her name down. "Keef, priestess of temple of thieves." Triple underline. She's on my list, now. Last night I'm pretty sure she drank me under the table. We went out on a date. I hoped it wasn't a trap. Maybe she was being legit and she was waiting for me to get paranoid or something. We drank for a while and... um... I don't remember the rest.

Anyway, it's morning time and I am naked. I see a note on the side of the bed: "Thanks for the fun last night." Surprisingly, most of my stuff is here, safe and sound. All of my money is gone, of course. But at least my armor and equipment is here. That was nice of her. She could've sold my lute off or maybe bartered my whip away.

I'm dressed. Time to get out of here. But first I head downstairs and check with the innkeep. I nod to him. "Hey, uh, do I have a tab?" He grins and nods, stroking his scraggly beard. "Let's see. You and the lady racked up a tab of...10 gold pieces."

Ten gold. Normally that would be a cinch to pay off. But right now, no money. Not so nice, Keef! "I expect to be paid in full by noon, boy." He crosses his arms and gives me a wide grin. He clearly doesn't expect me to pull this off, and he's going to enjoy every minute of watching me squirm. I pull out my lute and pull up a stool. "I guess I'll be playing music for a while." He chuckles to himself and turns away. I wonder if he's called the guards already.

First, to destress. I tune my lute. My first song is at around walking pace. It's about a man who tries to buy the fastest horse his money can buy. He buys the prettiest horse, thinking that beauty means quality. When the big race starts, and his pride is on the line, the horse tosses him off into a puddle of mud and gallops off. As I finish it off, several barmaids laugh and applaud. The two patrons here don't really get it, but they still throw a few copper my way. That song is for me, but at least the barmaids get the joke. The innkeep doesn't and tells me to keep it quiet, several patrons are asleep.

The second song is very slow ambiance. It represents the sun finally rising, and peeking over the horizon. When I was in hunting squads, we would play this at sunrise to tell monsters to back off. It reminds people that we have survived another day, and to remember those who didn't. It is also relatively quiet, and I don't know how much energy I will have to save for later songs.

"That's a nice tune you have there." One of the barmaids, a skinny half-elf pulls up a stool and sits next to me. "Can you show me how you did that?" Mureen spends her free time learning to play the lute. I show her some fingering techniques I use for quick yet controlled string plucks. A few more of the barmaids come by and this turns into an impromptu music lesson. I earn a lot of pity points for what happened to me the night before, too. While I'm not earning any money, it's not all bad. These ladies are very easy on the eyes. Eventually, the killjoy innkeep shouts "Back to work, all of ya! No wastin your time on him." I grin and tell the barmaids "you heard the man. The show must go on."

"Rule the first: Don't piss off the innkeep." This barmaid is human, stocky and is a lot older than the other barmaids. Her name is Sheerma, and she is definitely the veteran barmaid around here. "You know how to play the lute, that's the truth. I've heard good ones and I've heard bad players. But you're not going to make ten gold pieces in a few hours." She sits down, wiping a few mugs with her cloth. Naturally we start talking. "Yeah, I know. My friends have the money, but I can't leave, ya know? I guess this is the bad part of being a journeyman." Sheerma's attention picks up a bit with that word. Now I've got her. She's willing to listen.

As I tell her about my wacky journey, it reminds her of her oldest son, Gilfrem, who left on a journey a few years ago. She hasn't heard from him in a while. We start talking about the risks and rewards of the adventurer, and in the end how it's all worth it. I think I cheered her up, because by the end she's smiling and has forgotten about the mugs she was cleaning. "You remind me so much of Gil... alright, I'll take a chance with you. Where can I find your friends?" Her younger son Toby heads off to to deliver a message to my friends. Nice.

The innkeep finally loses notices us. "Sheerma. Not you too. Back to work, dammit." Sheerma stands up and yells "Don't be yelling at me. Did my duties this morn. Go back to staring at the pretty lasses and leave me be!" The innkeep backed down quick. I think Sheerma really runs this place. She smiles and nods to me and picks up her half-washed mugs. Some people are coming in for lunch and business is picking up. Good, they are actually glad to hear some music.

I start playing again. I get a few more copper, a few more laughs and a few more contacts. One group of mercenaries are jeering at me, telling me my music sucks and I should go home to mommy. I play them a tale about a foolhardy apprentice who gets killed while picking uneccessary fights. It's a good marching tune if you don't mind the irony. The barmaids again get a chuckle, and even a few patrons giggle. The boozed mercenaries don't get the joke, but they are "kind" enough to throw their half drank mugs of ale at me.

This is the cool part.

Several barmaids come running in. Two of them apologize to me while picking up the mugs and mopping up the mess. Another four form a wall between me and the mercenaries. Sheerma starts screaming at 'em. "We don't need any fightin' this morn. Especially from you types. Get out now before we throw you out!" The mercenaries know they aren't winning this fight and give me one last dirty look before they are out the door. Always good to know when you've found friends.

Time is taking its toll. I've been playing for a few hours. My arms are numb. My fingers sting from all that string plucking. The innkeep is about to snap. Seriously, he's spent the last fifteen minutes looking out the window and looking for wandering city guards. It won't be much longer before he decides to haul me out of here in chains. And not the good chains.

Then I feel something land on my head. I repress every urge to fix my hair, especially when I hear money and feel something shaking. Must be Ember. Oh bless you, little one. This was going to get a lot worse if you hadn't popped up.

I turn to the innkeep and pull out my bag of goid. "Delivery." I said as I dropped ten gold pieces on the counter. He manages to hide his complete shock long enough to mumble "Finally." He turns around to put on his poker face and turns back to me so he can scoop up the money. "I was this close to throwing you in prison. Would've done it myself." I laugh. "Yeah, you would have done it fairly easily, too. I'm sure you've seen your fair share of fights. I'll uh...see you later."

I bid goodbye to everyone and left. Several patrons thank me for my service, and several barmaids clearly want my services later on. Nice. Walking to Maggie's home, I take a shortcut down an alley. The four drunk mercenaries show up. Slightly more sober, but not enough to make sense or think it through.

"Should've stayed with your ladies, boy." One of them grins and pulls his dagger. "You would have someone to hide behind." I pull out my whip and crack my knuckles. "I've been stuck in an inn since last night. Someone made a fool of me, I lost a lot of money, and I've been playing all day long. It's time to destress, and you've volunteered yourselves as target practice."

It feel badass, and seeing one of them flee told me it was. A second merc slumps against a wall in fear. No really, he's losing bladder control and everything. (How can I tell at this distance in such a short time? Long story.) One man lunges at me with his dagger. His leg is wide open, so I wrap my whip around his feet a give a hard pull. He goes flying off to the side. Twisted his ankle.

That leaves one guy, the leader. Charging up to me with his shortsword, he is ready for the kill. Then his hand is suddenly covered in grease and he drops his weapon. He's unarmed right in front of me. I got one word for him.

"Boo."

He turns tail and is simply out of there. I hear a childish chuckle from behind me and give a high-five to Ember. Thanks for the magic, o mighty one.

That evening I return to the Broken Swords Inn. There are a lot more patrons and it's pretty lively. I play a few songs for the crowd and they love it. The innkeep is tolerant of me. Sheerma is glad to see I'm alright. My story about fighting the mercenaries captivates the other barmaids. One of them, a bubbly elf by the name of Oraste decides to personally thank me for driving them off. She is very inquisitive, by the way. Best night in quite a while.

So, thank you Keef. If not for your choice of an inn I would have missed out on all sorts of people to talk to and meet. Plus I wouldn't have met four easy to beat mercenaries. The Broken Swords Inn got awesome.