Private Tales Under the Pale Moonlight

"I assure you, I only need the room for two nights at the most."

Dario happily explained to the old tavern mistress who looked to be having none of the young handsome man smiling before her. The tavern itself was nearly barren except for a scattering of patrons who were more involved in their own business. On such a beautiful night with the full moon out, this place should have been blasting with shouts of joy and music.

The small hamlet of Chihuano was only a two day's ride from Sun Throne, normally a place with any passerby would happily ignore as the place seemed to only be a small farming hamlet, but Dario's master had promised him that the place had a discreet reputation from growing strange fungi and plants. Once the man had told him more of what those florae could do, the young wizard had become dead seat on collecting several as alchemical components.

The young wizard pursed his lips in thought before offering another coin to the small stack, "Please, I'm just here to find a few roots that only pop up in this area. I'll be out of your hair."

"Ya shouldn't be here boy. Bad things under the light of the moon."

Bad things? What sort of bad things? Dario now took a longer look over the room, fully taking in the other people with a frown. They all looked tired and weathered, but more than a few of them looked scared.

"What's going on here? I'm a wizard I can help."

That line surely would have gotten him yelled at by Master Fen'Radel as he wasn't set to graduate from his apprenticeship for another year, but it was like Grandma always said. Magic is magic as long as you have the heart to use it.

Dario quickly saw the woman about to push the coin away and swiftly changed his tactics to begging. His hands whipped out to hold hers were still gripping the coin.

"Wait, just wait, if bad things happen then surely you would not leave me abandoned with no place to sleep...Just one night."

Wren

The old woman stood there scowling at the boy for several seconds before the sound of the door opening again made her look past him. This time she looked a bit more concerned, whatever had walked in must be more pressing than Dario.

The young man turned only to find an armored woman who had already moved up to stand behind him. His heart nearly leaped into his throat as he jumped in surprise.

"Worse luck to be the reason the boy dies and don't know no better." The tavern keeper finally spit back. She was now standing at her full height of 5'4, but it was clear she was used to people listening to her.

"And that bounty is out of date. You're too late, just gonna end up dead if ya stay here."

Dario's head swiveled back and forth between the two stern-looking women before finally finding his voice and interjecting.

"W-wait one second! There is a bounty here, for what?

He felt like he would have heard if some criminal had snuck off to Chihuano, surely Dawnguard would have sent someone to track them down.

Wren