Chapter 1: Gravel

Rain. Not the typical weather for being outdoors. His mount occasionally slipped on the wet cobblestone, and his wet and heavy cloak stuck on his skin. But he had no choice. His search had led him to this town.

He could hear the merry sounds of laughter and singing from the nearby tavern. Shadows danced from the windows as lamp fire flickered. A low grumble reminded him of his top priorities: food and shelter.

He got off his mount and tugged its reins toward a stable to tie it around a post. The other occupants of the stable whinnied and nickered at the newcomer. Their new company shook itself to rid of the water logged in its coat. Its rider pointlessly shielded himself from the water with his soaked cloak. After securing the reins a second time, he removed his equipment from his mount and headed towards the tavern.

The singing and laughter continued even as he opened the door. The first thing he noticed was the raised hand of the bartender. Seeing that his attention was on him, the innkeeper pointed his finger down. The traveler followed the bartender's finger and saw a huge rug. He gazed back at the innkeeper and nodded.

After wiping his boots, he moved towards the counter. His semi dry boots still leaved some wet tracks and his cloak dripped as he neared the counter. The occasional tapping of his metal staff accompanied the steady beat of his steps. Under his cloak, metal clinked and clang. Coins jingled from a small bag tied to his waist.

"Sorry for the mess. Food and lodging please." he said to the middle aged man.

"No worries. How long will you be staying, lad?" the innkeeper eyed the stranger. He estimated that he was in his mid twenties.

The stranger placed five gold coins on top of the counter.

"Three nights then. Who shall I name the room to?" he said as he readied his log book and quill.

"Gareth. Edward Gareth." he placed five more gold coins on the counter. "I'll also need my mount tended in the morning. It's in the stable right now."

"Right away mister Gareth." the inn keeper reached for the cluster of keys hanging from a wall, and a box of matches from under the counter.

"Here's the key to your room upstairs. You can unpack and come back downstairs."

"Yes, that would be nice. Thanks." he turned to leave but he stopped on his tracks. He turned back to the inn keeper. "Before I go, can I have two kilos of meat, please?" he said, as he tossed a silver coin to the inn keeper.

His room was pretty standard by his account. A small bed by the window was all he needed by the way. He removed his cloak and clothes and put them down on the sill with a soft squelch. He laid out his equipment on the floor by the bed and began examining them. Most of them were wet and in need of drying. His next job wouldn't end well for him if he had rusty equipment.

He decided to dry his clothes first since he couldn't go out without them. He opened the window and wrung his cloak and clothes. They weren't dry yet but they're not completely wet either so he decided to move on to his equipment. Without any dry cloth on him, he grabbed the blanket and began tending to his equipment. As he was about to finish, three knocks came from his door.

"Mister Gareth, are you in there?" a feminine voice called to him.

"Yes, I'm here. Can I help you?"

"Your meal is ready to be served. I was sent here to collect you."

"I'll be right there. just give me a few minutes."

"Please head for the counter as you go down. My husband will be waiting for you."

Edward heard footsteps leaving his door. He sighed as he went back to finishing his work.

"Don't you have any other clothes, lad?" the innkeeper shook his head in disbelief.

Edward just shrugged. "These are all I have. Here's the matchbox, by the way. Thank you."

"Here's your meal, lad. Just go sit by the fire and dry yourself."

Edward carried his meal to the table nearest to the fireplace and sat on the chair. He ate his meal in peace, absorbing his environment. A group of men drank and sang to the slightly out of tune lute. Another table was busy playing cards each player wore an unreadable expression on their face. The last table he looked caught him by surprise. An elderly couple was engrossed in a game of chess. They had quite the audience gathered around them.

"Fascinating, isn't it? They're not too bothered by the noise because their hearing went out years ago."

Edward looked at the man across his table. He brushed his blonde locks away from his brown eyes as he sat down. He figured that the stranger might be his age based on his looks.

"What brings you to the town of Gravel, stranger?" the blonde man asked.

Edward paid no attention, he casually went back to eating his meal.

"There's not much in this small town. Are you looking for someone, gryphon slayer?"

There was a noticeable pause in Edward's chewing.

"What am I saying? I shouldn't pry into private matters. How rude of me."

"Who are you?" the words came out of his mouth in a cautious tone.

The stranger's lips curled upwards. "Felix Grey, at your service. How are you tonight?" he looked at Edward's cloak by the fireplace. "Not a good weather for traveling isn't it?" he turned to the gryphon slayer with an assuring smile. "Don't worry, it'll let up before morning."

Sure enough, the drowning sound of rain by the window started to quiet down to a drizzle.

"I've only heard stories about your clan since I was little. The mighty warriors of Dragonjaw. Gravel's a long way from that mountain range."

Edward's brows furrowed as he slowly took a bite from his fork.

Felix smiled "Come on, everyone knows what the mark of gryphon slayers look like." he took a closer look at Edward. "Though I must say, yours doesn't quite look the part. There's supposed to be a dagger right through that bird skull tattoo on your hand."

Edward hovered a hand over his tattoo. He gently rubbed the bird skull and traced the lion tail with a finger.

"Don't you have any stories? I'd very much like to hear how you slayed your first gryphon." Felix leaned closer and rested his head on his hands.

"My first gryphon?" Edward chuckled. "It didn't really put up much of a fight." He grabbed a nearby salt shaker and sprinkled a bit of salt on his meal. "I threw a net and pierced my sword through it straight the ground." with a swift motion, he stabbed the meat on his plate. "And just like that, it was no more."

"Amazing. A fast and efficient killer. Do you have any more interesting adventures you'd like to tell?"

Edward smiled. "Nothing worth telling a stranger."

"Is that so? I'd like to stay a while longer." he got up and stretched his arms a bit. "But I've got a lot to do back home. If you'll be staying for a bit, then I guess I'll see you around." he waved goodbye and started walking towards the exit.

"You know, I've never seen someone use a mouse for theft."

Felix stopped. "And I thought Nimbus here did a great job." he chuckled and pulled out a small piece of bread and gave it to the mouse climbing on his shoulder. "I suppose you want your money back?" he said as he tossed and caught the bag on one hand. The small grey mouse rested on his shoulder, gnawed on the piece of bread.

Edward shook his head. "Keep it. I've got more upstairs. I do need the key back, though."

A laugh escaped the thief's mouth as he took out the key in his pocket and placed it on Edward's table. "A sharp man. I'll be seeing you around."

With that, Felix left as songs and cheers continued. Edward couldn't help but smile when he saw table of the elderly couple. People were cheering as they lifted the old lady. Others pat the old man on his back and shouted words of encouragement. The gryphon slayer finished his meal in silence.