The sun had risen barely over the mountains by the time that Lily had gotten into the village. The guards at the main gate that looked out over the forest had accepted her false traveling visa and had allowed her inside of the village. She had to move fast through the village. She didn’t want to get caught here…at least not until she had thoroughly been through it and deemed it safe enough for her to stay for at least an overnight visit.

After roaming around for a few minutes, Lily booked a room at the local inn and went in search for some food. In a tiny village like this there was bound to be at least three taverns that were known for their reputation amongst the locals. She chatted with a few locals to see which one was the best one to go to. It turned out a tavern by the name of The Screaming Jackal’s Bar was the best one for travelers to visit. After confirming that with a few more locals, she made her way towards the tavern, hoping that the locals didn’t lead her astray. That wouldn’t be the best thing for this village at the moment. Her temper was short and she was prone for violence when she was like this.

Upon entering the tavern she knew that the locals were right in their advice. A few moments after walking into the tavern she had to step to one side to avoid a body from being flung into her own body as it sailed out of the tavern and into the streets. “And stay out!” rang a voice from inside of the tavern. Lily looked around the tavern and saw a large man with both hands on his hips staring out of the open door at the drunk that he had just evicted from his building. His eyes darted from the door and onto Lily. She paled slightly and quickly closed the door, earning a quick nod from the tavern owner before he walked behind the bar. Lily looked around the area to find that it was empty. Of course it would be this early in the day. She would have found it strange if it was full this early in the day.

She slowly walked over to the bar and sat down in a stool. The bartender/owner walked over to her and placed his hands on the bar-top, giving her a slightly stern look. “So, I take it you aren’t here for the alcohol, am I right?” he asked her, holding his tone of voice down so that only she could hear. Lily gave him a quizzical look until a waitress came out of the back room with a tray full of a bowl of soup, a plate of bread, and an empty tankard The waitress set the items on the bar-top in front of Lily and left a few moments later. Lily looked up at the bartender and he shrugged his shoulders “She begged me for the job. Felt it was best if I gave her that one. My last waitress bailed out on me when she left the village to get married in the Capital.”