by Kelne » Sat Nov 29, 2003 9:14 pm
The inn was quite well maintained, really. There might not be any competition, but it was clear that the owner hadn't taken that as an excuse to rest on his laurels.
A soft murmer of conversation filled the common room, people discussing the day's events over a round of beer. Two people, however, seemed a bit out of place. One was recognisable by Sydney as his associate, a somewhat weedy man in an outfit of faded grey. He sat alone at a table in the corner, nursing his ale and giving the impression of being a down on his luck drifter.
Appearances were deceiving. Jules was, to Sydney's knowledge, a comfortably off smuggler who made his living arranging the transfer of goods and people between Doma and Nekonia. He wasn't entirely morally bankrupt, steering well clear of such enterprises as the drug trade, but he didn't tend to do anything unless there was money involved.
Spotting Sydney, Jules waved him over.
The other man who stood out was dressed in the clothes of a scholar, a far cry from the typical homespun of the locals. He was engaged in conversation with a table of old men near the fireplace. Every village, no matter how small, has at least one old man who knows everything about the place going back for decades. In this case, there were three.
Of course, their ability to keep to the subject at hand was directly proportional to the amount of drink a questioner was willing to ply them with. This seemed to provide no problem to the scholar, who kept up a steady stream of drinks from the bar.
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Junira's perusal of the area of the inn revealed stables annexed to it. Though small, with space for only three horses or chocobos, there was plenty of room, with only one occupant at the moment - a rather placid looking blue chocobo. It seemed possible that the innkeep would let her sleep there, perhaps in exchange for helping out about the place. Well, maybe not. But it couldn't hurt to ask.
As far as excitement went, Tinuviel didn't really see much. Just a typical sleepy backwater town in the throes of a quiet afternoon. In accordance with certain universal laws, there were a few youths loitering on the town's one and only street corner, not really doing much. Aside from the inn and a general store, there weren't really many places of interest.