After an uneventful night in the Redwood, the party broke camp and traveled on to Thurmaster. As they neared the little village, abandoned farmsteads falling with the passage of time dotted the landscape. They reached Thurmaster by midday. It was a tiny place, probably home to a hundred people or less, surrounded by rickety wooden walls. The two guards at the gates were dicing for coppers and paid them little mind, waving them through as they approached. Right next to the village gates stood a rundown tavern and inn with foxes painted on the battered sign outside. A few houses stood directly in front of them. Some villagers, mostly women, were moving around in the streets, going about their daily business.
Aloysius looked at the others as they entered town. "I'm going to speak with Tauster. I see no reason for all of us to go there. Mayhap some of the good people of this town know something of these brigands, or of men who smell of fish." Without slowing down to see who would follow, Aloysius headed for Tauster's home.
Gala followed quickly.
Jana looked around dubiously. "Great," she muttered unhappily. "I'm going to look for a blacksmith," she commented, to no one in particular. She asked one of the passing women, "Excuse me, ma'am, is there a blacksmith in town?" Jana was careful to smile politely and keep her hands away from her weapons.
Not having any desire to speak with a wizard, Blacky wanders around town.
Echo headed directly for the tavern. "I'll be in here when the rest of you get finished with what you're doing."
Blacky and Jana returned to the tavern after a few minutes. One of the barmaids immediately intercepted Blacky and talked with him for a while.
Blacky finished up his conversation with the friendly barmaid and joined Echo and Jana at their table. Both women were giggling like little girls, and the mugs that they had at the table smelled of pure grain alcohol. Anth brought Blacky's ale and mutton pie to the table. The mutton pie was greasy and cold, and the ale was watery.
A few minutes later, Aloysius, Gala, Lasiar, and Kaileer walked into the tavern as well after seeing Tauster. The blond barmaid Anth waved to Blacky as she left the tavern and gave him a knowing look, and a red-head in a similarly lowcut dress came over to take the orders of the newcomers. She put one hand on Kaileer's shoulder and the other on Lasiar's as they sat at the table, "My name's Gloris. Welcome to the Hound and Tails. What can I get for ya today, strangers?"
Gala smiled, "Dinner?" she asked. "Um, Aloysius, do you have the funds or did the gnome take off with them again?" She blushed as she spoke.
In a softer voice, "Those barmaids sure are friendly. They just seem to like almost all the men." Her brow wrinkled slightly.
Looking uncomfortable, the ranger shifted in his seat, gentle but firmly lifted the woman's hand from his shoulder and looked around. After glancing at Blacky's ghastly fare, he shook his head. "I not want that," he said to the barmaid while pointing at the mutton pie, "if not have other food, I want only water."
In elven, he asked Aloysius, "Is there no alternative place to spend the night? I will get no rest in this establishment, perhaps I should return to the forest. I could meet Azrun and Arachne while you all proceed to Parlfray's home or keep or whatever name he gives his place of residence."
"If funds you're lacking, I'll buy. All but the ale that is, I can't abide watery ale." Blacky offered with a slight grimace as he drank. "What did you find out from your mage friend?" He asked.
Gala smiled at Blacky, "My thanks. I can't seem to hold on to money. Tauster is more Aloysius's friend than mine. They talked about arcane matters and Jelenneth. Tauster really misses her." She sighed sadly.
"Try some'a this!" Jana suggested, waving her cup at Blacky and giggling. She looked down into the empty cup and thought for a moment. 'Y'wannanother?" Jana asked Echo. "It's startin' t'taste kinda good now..."
Echo shook her head comically, "Nah, it don't taste good even now. I'm going back to watery beer. If we ever go back to Milborne, where they have decent drinks, the first rounds on me!" She started to laugh again, "D.B.?" She looked at Jana inquisitively then frowned, "No, that's no good either. Still not very tough."
Aloysius sat down at the table with Blacky and his two other toasty companions. He reached into his pouch and handed Gala 4 pieces of platinum. "Here, Galaret, this be thine share of the booty we didst take from the gnolls. Mayhap this will resolve thy current insolvency."
Gala recoiled from the platinum. "No, that is money from a slaughter. I will not touch it. I would rather go hungry." She stood and walked out of the bar.
The mage then looked over at Kaileer as the ranger squirmed beneath the friendly touch of the barmaid. "Brave one, I have a simialr amount of coinage for thee if thou hast need of it. 'Tis thine anyway, so let me know if you wish to have it back."
His attention was then drawn by the barmaid's inquiry about what was to be ordered. As Aloysius turned to her to reply, his eyes became glued to her rather generous, and rather bare, breasts as they spilled from her blouse.
"By the twin Orbs of Aggamotto!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder. His jaw dropped open in amazement and his lower lip quivered slightly. He unblinkingly gazed upon the aforementioned orbs, but said nothing more. Those seated immediately next to him might have noticed a small trickle of saliva forming in the corner of his mouth.
Aloysius' outburst drew Lasiar's attention away from the barmaid, and he eyed his companion with surprise, as he hadn't expected such behavior from the mage.
Still transfixed by the barmaid's accessories, Aloysius allowed the platinum pieces to topple onto the tabletop. He made no reaction whatsoever to Gala's departure. Slowly, the edges of his mouth curled upwards and his lips parted. His face assumed the extreme distortion that some of his companions had witnessed before. A smile so drastic that it had to be painful to maintain plastered itself on his face as he leered at the bobbing cleavage before him.
The ranger frowned slightly as Gala left but then sighed and accepted the coins from Aloysius with a shrug, passing one of the platinum coins to the barmaid immediately. As he turned back, Kaileer noticed Aloysius' trance like stare past his head and couldn't help but crack a smile, though nothing compared to the wizard's expression.
"That's 'cuz you've only had one," Jana pointed out to Echo. "It's takes two 'fore y'can't really taste nothin' no more." She nodded her overly-enthusiastic agreement with the plan to sample decent drinks in Milbourne. "Nah," she said, shaking her head vigorously while laughing, "not tough enough."
Jana paused for a moment, blinking rapidly until she regained her equilibrium. "Woah," she mumbled. She grinned and giggled a bit, then turned to Gloris. "Hey, can he stare atcha later? M'friend an' I'd like 'nother round, 'cept she's a wimp an' wants beer now." Jana looked back over at Echo, made a silly face, and began gigging.
"You two be careful with that stuff. A friend of my father's poisoned himself on drink that smelled almost as bad as that." Blacky said wrinkling his nose at the grain alcohol. "Gloris, I too will have water if you don't have anything better than this." He inicates the cups around the table. "In fact, I'd like to have a word with your brewmaster if you don't mind."
"I like it," Jana declared, then started to giggle again. "S'fun." She smiled and tried to wink conspiratorily but couldn't manage one eye at a time. She giggled a bit more.
Gloris grinned at him, "It won't hurt 'em, just their heads and their bellies in the morning. And if we had a 'brewmaster', we wouldn't serve swill like that. We make do with what we got 'round these parts."
"Yeah!" Jana squealed in agreement. "S'there!" She grinned at Blacky and finished off her third mug. Jana smiled lop-sidedly at Gloris and asked, "Maphthr?" She looked confused for a moment, then started again, speaking slowly. "May I have 'nother, please?" She smiled triumphantly and set the empty mug down with exaggerated care.
"Well then, maybe I can be of service. If you show me what you've got, maybe I can fire up some wort this afternoon. If I can't drink, I might as well brew. That way next time I'm in town I _can_ drink." Blacky said standing up and following Gloris to the kitchen if she accepts his offer.
Gloris gave him a rather blank look, obviously having no idea what "firing up some wort" would entail. "We don't make it here. Weismar buys what he can from one o' the families from the Shrieken Mire. You can come back an' talk to Weismar if ya want, but I don't think he's got what ya'll need to do that."
Blacky walks back to talk to Weismar. "Wanna have some fun and maybe learn a thing or two? I'm talking about brewing my dear fellow, ale, nectar of the gods if done properly. It's really not that hard, why I could brew swill like this before I could walk."
