A Slice Of Reality

Iris halted her steps in front of the door " Will get changed and meet in the corridor." the others nodded and entered a room. It didn't take long before everyone stepped into the corridor at one point or another. They descended the stairs to be greeted by Callan with a deep bow " Your baths will be ready upon your return!" he informed, and a small voice squeaked from behind one of the men, a thank you as they walked out the door. He presumed to be one of the women.

They stepped out of the inn and looked around when their eyes fell on Haren

sitting in front of the pleasure house, buttoning up his trousers in disarray.

"Feeling better now?" Dakran casually quipped, and Haren raised his head and straightened his tunic at the sound of the familiar voice.

Haren cleared his throat and smirked " You know me. A good humping always puts me in a good mood!" he amusedly said and descended the steps of the pleasure house.

" Yes, and I wish I didn't. I thought you were heading straight home!" Dakran remarked as he descended the steps of the inn while the other leaned against the railing and enjoyed the little spectacle.

" After all the time we spent in the Southlands, I missed the warmth of the women. You should try it!" he paused for a moment and closed the distance, and glanced briefly at Edýia " You wouldn't understand since you are high and mighty!" he mocked, and Dakran chuckled.

" You're cunt !" Dakran said with a smile on his lips and turned around to leave.

Haren hummed " I guess you could say I've turned into one since I spend quite a lot of time in one!" he amusedly said and turned around and left in the opposite direction.

Dakran shook his head. His brother was impossible at times. Since they'd been stuck in the Southlands for a long time, his mood had soured even further.

Seeing that Dakran kept walking, the others moved and quickly caught up to him and silently looked at each other, not knowing whether they should speak.

" Well, the outside world is fun so far!" Ian sarcastically remarked and shoved his hand in the pockets of his trousers.

Iris's brows raised " This is just a small part. It's not always like this. You have to take the good with the bad!" she hooked her arm in his as they walked through the town.

Ian hummed and had one last look around the town. He couldn't see it. All he saw was a bunch of people crammed within the town's walls. He couldn't understand why they chose to live like this. He liked his freedom, despite it lacking many things, but he was free of any constraints of societal rules.

The tavern appeared into their view, and the sign above the door of two carafes spilling showed the purpose of the house.

Dakran pushed the door and walked, followed by the others. The night was in full swing, the tavern full of people wearing their distinctive clothing. Some were traders. Some belonged to merchant guilds or wanderers travelling alone or with a caravan. The minstrels played their tunes in one corner. It wasn't very cheerful, but a nice change.

They picked a table in a corner that was far too small to seat all of them, but there wasn't much to choose from, so they crammed as tightly as they could.

Iris waited until they all settled in " Should we get drinks and food? How about alu and wine and see what food they have! " she suggested with a wide grin. A clear sign that she was excited to be out in the world again.

Dakran and Ian stood up " We will give you a hand with the drinks!" Dakran offered, and Iris nodded, and all three left to speak with the barkeep.

" Two pitchers of alu and two pitchers of wine!" she asked the barkeep and showed him with her finger the number.

The barkeep rested his hands on the counter " There is not much food left. There is boar gush or cow's liver on coal!" he answered the questions before she even had a chance to ask.

Iris grimaced, and after a few moments of silence, " Boar gush for nine people!" she ordered reluctantly and looked at Ian and Dakran. Just like her, neither of them looked pleased with the options, but they didn't reject the choice she had made.

The barkeep put the pitchers of alu and wine on the counter, and the two men took them and left her to pay for the food and take the glasses that the barkeep began putting on the counter.

" How much do we owe you?" she asked and fished her leather pouch and placed it on the counter.

"Twenty silver erids !" the barkeep said while he placed the last of the glasses on the counter.

Iris rummaged through the pouch and began counting the erids, placing them on the counter until she reached the desired sum.

" My, My! What do we have here?!" a man's voice slurred behind her, and she felt a slap on her ass.

The man hummed, " Fine ass you have. How much for a night?" he slurred some more and lent on the counter next to her.

Iris smiled " You can't afford me, in this lifetime or the next!" she smirked and began picking the glasses with the other hand tightly gripped on the dagger strapped to her waist. The man was a stupid drunk, and she saw no reason for bloodshed.

" Irja, sod off!" the barkeep barked, giving Irja a menacing glance.

" Listen here", he slurred and pointed his finger at Iris " Men like me, they don't make them anymore. You should consider yourself blessed by the gods !" he continued slurring.

Iris giggled " Is that so, and why is that ?" she indulged the man called Irja, mainly curious to know why he thought he was so special.

Irja cleared his throat " My bloodline is special. I've been blessed by the gods with tremendous power and could smite you all if I wanted to!" he slurred and lost his balance right before he finished speaking and tumbled on the wooden floor with a thump the no one heard.

Iris let go of the dagger and picked up the rest of the glasses. She gave the barkeep a nod and turned around to leave.

" So what do you say?" Irja asked, and Iris halted her steps while he struggled to push himself off the floor.

" I say you should share your gift with someone else!" she replied over her shoulder and walked to the table.

" What did he want?" Iris curiously asked while he eyed the man on the floor, frowning.

Iris poured herself a glass of alu and took a sip " To share his gifts with me !" she amusedly replied and looked at Irja, who finally pushed himself off the floor and clung to the counter for dear life