Dreadlords Study Abroad

[Edric]

Edric's expression changed into a mixture of emotions that he himself couldn't have quite interpreted.

Juliette Lecreaux was staring at him like a puppy who was expecting a treat combined with a witch waiting to cast some sinister spell. Kristen was looking at him like some expectant teacher knowing he would get the answer wrong.

Six months ago he would have rejected this entire fucking process. Told Juliette she was a fucking moron, punched Bolo or whatever that stupid fucking elf's name was in the face, and simply walked away from the entire situation.

But now?

Now he was acutely aware of the politics of this place, their mission, and everything surrounding it.

His eyes wandered from Juliette to Kristen, and then between them down the hallway he suddenly spotted Noel. He frowned as he noted the expression on her face, the rage creeping there, and then suddenly something snapped into place. "No. Fuck that."

Edric said, Juliette's eyes growing to the size of saucers. Her two companions letting out twin gasps of shock.

"We're Dreadlords." They were weapons, soldiers, fucking killers. He was EDRIC. Not some whimpering little child lost at school. "We don't do parties. We have our own brand of fun."

Before she could respond Edric continued. "What's the worst part of town?"

The half-elfs expression changed into one of trepidation mixed with what Edric through might have been excitement. "T-the Quarterfell, but no one goes there the carte-"

"Great. Meet us there at sundown." Edric said as he motioned to Kristen and called out down the hall. "NOEL!"

As soon as he called out he jerked his thumb down the hall and headed in the direction of Henk and Davi.

 

[Noel]

"...not that I meant to insinuate that you don't have friends or that you're a pariah. I mean, I kind of am, some people say that my positive attitude can be grating. But you have the opposite problem, I think none of your other students want to hang out with you because you aren't positive enough!" This guy would not stop.

Noel could feel the eyes of some of her classmates, Davi and Henk, boring into the back of her neck as it turned several shades of crimson. There were a flurry of thoughts that ran through Noel's head as the pointy-eared student prattled on about how socially inept he believed her to be.

Maybe her punishment would be light if she simply broke his nose? Perhaps she could throw him down a staircase and convince everyone the boy was just clumsy? No, she couldn't actually bring him physical harm.

But she could intimidate him. Make sure he stayed far, far, away from the Dreadlord initiates for the remainder of their time in Elbion.

"I'm going to give you," she was interrupted by a sharp yell from Edric and a stiff thumb that pointed out towards daylight. "Sorry Bingo. My friend's are waiting on me."

Noel turned and walked out towards the college's exit.

 

[Henk]

"Settle down, settle down. We'll be beginning shortly, I assure you." The Maester waved his hands towards the ground, trying to signal the restless youth, many waiting to enter the College for the first time, to quiet down so he could hear himself think. They weren't anxious without reason; Ammorath had delayed beginning until he spotted the boy he'd entrusted with Vel Anir's participation earlier in the day.

Luckily, it seemed his wait was over. Henk had just emerged from one of the many halls that emptied into the courtyard in front of the college with one of the other foreign students, and quickly The Maester waved them over. It was somewhat disappointing that he'd only brought one other student with him, but he trusted the boy had done his best.

"He has his hands full even without us." Henk mumbled to Davi as they approached the rear of the crowd. "They should be able to distract him enough for at least one of us to slip away. Besides, might even learn something." Still, Henk wished that more of them were here. It would make things easier, and he wouldn't have the nagging worry in the back of his mind that something bad would happen involving them.

Almost as soon as the thought had crossed his mind, Henk watched the heads of many of the students in front of them turning to look to the door they'd just exited from. Following their gaze, his brows raised as Noel emerged from the hall and moved to join them.

Henk knew better than to say a word.

"Ah, wonderful! It looks like the last of us are arriving! Now, if you'll allow me to being, I am Maester Ammorath. I'll be giving you your introduction the great College of Elbion today. Now, most of you are new students about to begin your first term here, so we won't be going into many of the advanced wings and classes, but I think you'll find there's plenty to be excited about..."

"Have you seen Edric? Kristen?" Henk muttered to Noel as the crowd began to stir.

 

[Davi]

"They're here," Davi murmured, his acute hearing having picked up the low whisper to Noel. He didn't bother to glance over his shoulder to affirm his words, the pair of them had distinctive smells and the weighted sound of their footsteps matched their heights. Instead he kept his eyes trained patiently on the Maester, hands in the deep pockets of his dark trench coat. He looked, to all the world, as though he were deeply interested in the history the Maester had begun to lecture the gathered group on whilst he attempted to lead them from the courtyard to their first stop, like a mother duck and her uncoordinated ducklings.

What Davi was actually doing, however, was listening to the murmured conversations all around them.

"I heard the marble wing is home to some of the oldest magical objects Arethil has..."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen's eyes and mouth flattened into grimacing lines, each expressing a kind of defeat and the immediate, if somewhat exasperated, acceptance thereof.

To Juliette she said, "Don't...actually do that. 'Tis my advice to you."

What could she now do? There was no force on Arethil strong enough to coax her into going to this disreputable "Quarterfell" area of Elbion. Only just could she tolerate even stepping foot for purely business needs inside the most prestigious of taverns, let alone some ignoble, ramshackle district of town.

Kristen would just have to be content with whatever embarrassingly sordid affairs Edric had in mind being contained in the seedy underbelly of Elbion, far from the light of day. Still she yearned to have a reprimanding word with him, but it could wait. Chances were that the impetus for such a word wouldn't even fade in the interim; when one found themselves worthy of nothing more than constant self-debasement, hardly ever was there an inopportune time for an intervention addressing it.

She looked toward Maester Ammorath and his group down the hall. If nothing else, she might as well spend the rest of the day participating in the actual purpose of their visit.

 

[Edric]

"They're here."​

Just as Davi finished speaking Edric popped up behind the two Initiates. One of his hands settled on each of their shoulders, firmly pinning them in place so that neither could turn around to face him. Briefly he glanced behind himself, making sure that Noel had actually followed and could hear.

Kristen stood just a few feet apart from them, her expression more dour than a widow who'd learned of her husband's fate. "I'm going to see a little bit more of Elbion tonight."

Edric whispered conspiratorially to his fellow Initates.

"Some place called the Quarterfell." He had no idea if either of them had ever heard of it.

It wasn't why they had been sent here, not by far, but Edric was tired of always walking the line. For the last decade of his life he had done exactly what he'd been told. He had trained hard. He had fought, killed, broken through every obstacle the Academy had thrown at him.

He was tired.

Tired of listening. Tired of following the rules.

That spark that had pushed him over the edge in Sene once again flickered in his chest. That need to buck and rebel, to just do what he wanted. "Care to join me?"

 

[Noel]

Why would anyone want to go to the Quarterfell? It was a question Noel hadn't gotten a chance to pose to Edric, only hearing snippets of the conversation with the preppy elvish girl before Bingo had wormed his annyong voice into Noel's earholes.

All Noel knew of the place was that it was an impoverished area of the city. She'd only done a mild reading of Elbion prior to this trip and the information the Dreadlord Academy had on the city was around a decade or two old. Perhaps the place had gentrified and become a fun, bustling, part of town?

"I'm in." Literally anything sounded more intellectually stimulating than whatever it was the Maester planned on showing them.

Although she couldn't help herself from asking the question. "Though I'd like to know why we're going there?" If Edric was planning on drinking again she might actually pass up the opportunity. The last time they'd gone out for drinks hadn't ended so well and the headache the next morning hardly felt worth it.

 

[Henk]

Henk withheld the groan that came to his throat upon Edric's invitation. Who the hell had told him about the Quarterfell? It was one of the few things he'd been praying that he wouldn't catch wind of, but of course that was far too much to ask of the fates, wasn't it? Biting down on the inside of his cheek, he put his eyes forward towards Ammorath as he now exuberantly began to usher students inside, even more chipper now that he saw the entire cavalcade of visitors waiting at the line's end.

Somehow he didn't think that would last if more than half of them left to prowl the Quarterfell.

"Deviating from the mission is one thing, but I don't think it's a wise idea to split up that far apart." Begrudgingly, he had to argue his point here. "If something goes awry with one group, the other won't have any idea, and be left vulnerable." Henk cast his gaze back to Edric in particular. He knew as much as anybody what going lone wolf on even a routine trip could do. Of course, the obvious solution to Henk's problem was 'Either they all go or they all stay.'

But Henk knew exactly what would win if it were put to a vote. And to his own detriment, he'd more or less just told them he'd have no choice but to come along should they leave.

"The only thing waiting down there is trouble. It's a slum, but it's overseen by powerful figures that I really don't want to tangle with."

The line was moving into the door. Ammorath was watching them now, expectedly. Either they followed the mission, or they broke off looking for trouble. The choice had to be made now.

 

[Davi]

After that ominous speech Davi glanced briefly at the others that he could see. Kristen looked as though she had eaten a particularly sour lemon and Henk looked as though he wanted to bang his head off a wall. Edric and Noel however looked, for the first time, engaged in the mission as a whole. It appeared it came down to his unofficial vote.

It really was unfortunate for Kristen and Henk that Davi was in a rare socialising mood.

"I'm in," he shrugged casually. "I heard one of the girls in the library saying there was meant to be a party down there tonight."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen didn't stay stood still for very long.

She wasn't going to this "Quarterfell" district, and she would perhaps find out later if Juliette made the mistake of going. Little importance did she ascribe to Henk's words on the matter; if trouble did arise in the Quarterfell...well, that was the barbarism those who were going volunteered themselves into, wasn't it? They'd return, covered in shame and ignobility, and at least one Initiate among this cultural exchange program needed to counterbalance the scales with respectability.

Kristen did indeed feel strongly on this matter.

So she departed from her peers, and set about with Maester Ammorath to take the tour of the College and immerse herself in the lives of their foreign counterparts.


[Exiting thread]

 

[Edric]

If Edric noticed Kristen's departure, he didn't mention it. "Power, Henk my friend, is entirely subjective."

The words slipped from his tongue as though he were some sort of tempting Devil. The arm around his companion squeezing ever so slightly, the smile on his lips flickering into place. In the moment he felt like himself again. Like something had drawn out that same spirit of rebellion he had felt all the way back in Cortos.

"We're Dreadlords." He reminded, Henk. "People fear us. Not the other way around."

The sheer audacity brimmed from him, as though he were trying to prove a point. His head slowly swiveled towards Noel.

"We're going, because a little elf from Elbion thought she could use us as set pieces." Edric remarked.

"And I don't know about you." Edric remarked. "But I'd like very much to show that just because the Republic is here, doesn't mean we are any less for it."

 

[Noel]

"Oh," Noel began as Edric explained the reasoning behind their foray into the Quarterfell. Suddenly Kristen's exodus made a lot more sense. "I'm definitely in then. We get to put a stuck-up elvish student in her place? Amazing."

There were truly very few things that would've been more fun to do tonight.

Which was a good thing because Henk's words indicated that the Quarterfell had not, in fact, renovated and improved its conditions since the publishing of the book she'd read back at the academy.

With a sly smirk Noel nodded towards Henk and Davi. "I'm not afraid of a few street thugs," between the four of them they'd dispatch any potential threats easily, "and there's going to be a party too!" Noel gave a grin towards Davi.

They'd get to show up an Elbion student and then party afterwards. What a perfect evening.

 

[Henk]

Damn it, they weren't giving him any choice. Kristen made her thoughts known and stormed off with a rather bemused-looking Ammorath, and while Henk would have loved to join her, he didn't feel confident in letting the others run off. Pirian was the least likely to set something up in smoke, and the one he worried about the least of all of them in this admittedly frustrating environment.

"Fine." Henk sighed, relenting. "Suppose I can't talk about not splitting up and then break off anyways. I'll come along." Quickly shooting the Maester an apologetic look, Henk turned on the heel of his boot and slid past the others, eager to get away from the courtyard, and the disapproving eyes of the old teacher, as fast as possible.

A spider-like tingle ran up the length of his spine, and Henk reached up to cradle his own shoulders for a moment, furrowing the lines of his brow into a worried crease. Doubt lingered in the back of his skull about leaving Pirian behind, but of all of them, she was probably the least likely to start trouble.

He'd just have to trust her.

You could actually see part of the Quarterfell from the large archway that hung over the entrance to the College, a dark spot when the sun fell, and a bright one when it rose again. Henk had even heard tales of magic imbued signs that glowed like fire, used by particularly bold merchants for services both entirely legal and morally bankrupt.

Henk shifted his body to lean on the arch as he waited for everybody to pass through the archway.

"A party? So everybody is going to need to be rounded up in the morning, in layman's terms." A smirk found him as they left the bastion of education for the pit of debauchery. "Vel Anirian tax money at work."

 

[Davi]

Davi said nothing further; the matter seemed settled enough. If anything it was a good thing that Kristen removed herself from the situation. The last thing he had wanted to do tonight was watch her try and desperately harness the reins of Noel and Edric to bring them to some kind of heel. He wanted to forget about being a Dreadlord Initiate for a bit. What he wanted was to feel like a normal student at a school. Breaking the rules to attend a little party and have fun.

Fun was not a word ever heard in the Academy.

He refocused his attention on the Maester instead and what he was saying about the storage of old historic artefacts that even the highest Maester still hadn't figured out the workings of.

 

[Edric]

It was a few hours, after the sun had set, that four of the five Initiates had coalesced just a few steps away from the Quarterfell.

They stood gathered in front of what was literally a line drawn in the street itself. A mark which Edric thought was in somewhat bad taste. Vel Anir might have had it's wall to separate from the slum, but that seemed at least a bit more respectful than just a line.

His glance flickered up from the ground with a shake of the head. "So parties at a place called "Addicts Paradise?'"

Edric asked dubiously.

"Seems a bit on the nose." He remarked, glancing over his shoulder. Noting that a single torchlight was approaching their little group. Still a wise away, but with a pulse of magic through his eyes he managed to see two cloaked figures. One about the size of the Juliette, the other her friend.

 

[Noel]

Noel hadn't spoken to Juliette but she'd seen her and her friends back at the college. They wore expensive jewelry and lavish outfits. But as they approached the Dreadlord Initiates Juliette and now her solo friend were dressed in the cloaks of commoners as they wore ill-fitting clothing.

Likely the garb of their house servants they'd borrowed for the evening.

"We're like, here, or whatever," Juliette said with a slight annoyance to her voice, "not really sure why you like wanted to come out to the Quarterfell."

Nervously the half-elf glanced over her shoulder before eyeing one of the alleys. Clearly she'd been far too nervous to dress as if she were from money though if Noel were to guess the girl likely still had a fat coin purse buried somewhere in her outfit. Not like she'd need it from the looks of this place.

It was likely a single piece of silver would buy out the entire stock of a bar here.

"Isn't there supposed to be a party?" Noel said with a tone of uncertainty, "and some scary gang?"

The group of thugs would be a nice distraction but the real draw was a party held by a wealthy kid in the worst part of town. It was very avant garde.

"Shh!" Juliette held a finger up to her lips with a shocked look on her face, "no one challenges the Marte Cartel in the Quarterfell."

 

[Henk]

This was a terrible idea.

Henk wasn't opposed to having a little extracurricular fun, especially when the mission at hand was one so taxing on the mind, but The Quarterfell, while it did boast an interesting nightlife scene, was full of the kind of people that would do nothing but antagonize the Initiates.

Though he couldn't claim he'd care if they ended up having to wipe out a few cartel members as much as he would students.

Speaking of students, the ones who'd planted the idea in Edric's head in the first place had arrived, and Henk turned his head from where he leaned on a wall beside the line on the ground to shoot them a look that could most definitely kill. "I think you'll find my friends and I are able to take care of ourselves, Miss."

The disdain in his tone was the closest thing to seething he'd felt in a while.

He was done trying to avert disaster; all he could do now was try and enjoy what little there was here. Addict's Paradise didn't seem promising but... well...

At least Noel was here. Odd as it was, her being around helped with his frustration.

"At the very least, we should agree on somewhere to meet up should we be split up. No reason to be too careless."

 

[Davi]

"If we don't like it, we can always move on," Davi pointed out with a casual shrug of one shoulder. He wasn't married to the idea of staying here all night, he'd chase the fun wherever it took him. Whether that was with the group or not, too. Henk, of course, was far more sensible than his blasé approach to the whole thing which was, in summary 'go with the flow'.

"There was a lamppost, a road or two up," Davi reminded them. It had stood at the crossroads which had seemed to mark the end of the 'good' part of town and the start of downtown. As they had passed some poor bloke had been lighting it. "Meet there if we spilt up?" he suggested.

 

[Edric]

Edric's eyes suddenly snapped open, having fallen shut just a few seconds after Noel had made her inquiry. "The lamp post will do fine."

He'd really only been paying half attention to the conversation, and in truth he doubted very much that they would need any sort of meet up point. But arguing about it seemed as pointless as could be, and thus he just agreed.

"Glad you could make it." He greeted Juliette, flashing a grin, and then suddenly turned on his heel.

With all the bravado of a minstrel Edric stepped into the Quarterfell, entering the borough as though he owned it.

"W-wait! Where are you going?" Juliette demanded behind him. "Wher-where is he going?!"

She asked the others, but quickly fell into line behind the Dreadlord.

Quickly Edric began to guide the pack of them through the shanty town around them. They passed by pubs, warehouses, and what could only have been brothels. More than a few heads turned as they walked, some clearly beginning to skulk after the party.

Eventually though they found what Edric had been looking for. A massive building with light casting from every window, music pouring into the street, and drunken patrons spilling out into the streets. "Oh...oh no. No. No No."

The elf said, taking short steps backwards. "We c-can't be here, it's-"

"Perfect." Edric finished for her.

 

[Noel]

It wasn't much of a surprise to discovery that Elbion, like most non-Anirian cities, was a complete shithole once you got to the real parts of the city. For much of her life she very much doubted the notions taught to them. That places like Elbion and Alliria had been corrupted by non-humans and housed ghettos of unspeakable despair.

But in that moment it looked like the Proctors had been right about something. This place sucked.

Elbion was supposed to be a proper metropolis yet these streets looked no different than some of the war-torn villages she'd traipsed through or the smaller Anirian cities that had rebelled. The truth was that every place, even Vel Anir, had neighborhoods like this. Though she very much doubted this was the result of elves or dwarves, as every Proctor had insisted.

"What are you mumbling about?" she asked with a glare towards the elvish girl, "this is the first place we've passed that doesn't reek of piss."

The ragged looking group of men and women who followed them had nearly doubled in size as they approached this place, several of them clutching at daggers under their vests or wielding clubs. Any of the Dreadlords, even Davi, could've dispatched of them with ease.

Noel grasped at Juliette's hand and tugged her forward as she strolled through the large doors of the building past two bouncers. The elvish girl was practically crying as Noel shouted, "let's party!"

As the doors burst open dozens of new eyeballs looked at the initiate, the rich elvish girl, and the three Dreadlords-in-training waiting out on the sidewalks.

 

[Henk]

Henk stayed rather quiet for his part, stepping in just behind Noel and keeping his eyes turned downward. It wasn't the meat-headed brutes that littered this place that worried him, but the unseen foes; organized criminals who played the mindless violence like an instrument to suit their own needs. True, it wasn't likely that they'd have reason to target him or his friends, but Henk wasn't the type to rely on probability if he could help it.

The odd lights that littered the dirty streets felt much different on his skin than natural light did. It served the same purpose, but it felt impure, stale as it entered his body through the little exposed skin above his shoulders. It was comparable to drinking lake water when one was used to well water. It caused a nagging nauseous feeling in the pit of his belly, either way.

"This is the first place we've passed that doesn't reek of piss."

Normally he wouldn't make jokes, but he was still less than pleased with Juliette's egging Edric on. "Mm? I thought that was her, Noel." Henk cleared his throat as if he hadn't meant to say it in the elvish girl's earshot.

The Bouncers standing guard outside their ultimate destination looked slightly suspicious at the sight of a batch of fresh meat, but they weren't about to turn down business when there was money to be made, and Noel's declaration certainly spoke of a woman who knew what she wanted out of the place.

It also nearly made Henk break into a laugh, the two-word sentence sounding absolutely foreign coming from the metal-bending woman. She'd certainly brought all eyes on them, though. Maybe that should have made him nervous, but seeing her so open to having a little fun... It brought back some fond memories.

Reaching into his coat, Henk retrieved the sack of spare coin he'd brought with him.

" A round for the house!"

Noel had their curiosity, and now Henk had their attention.

 

[Davi]

Davi slipped into the tavern first just as several patrons gave a drunken cheer to Henk's announcement and a few others raised a cautious mug in their direction. He beelined his way to the bar where the landlords dog raised her head. Instead of growling her tongue rolled out as Davi passed and he gave her an affectionate pat.

The barkeep grunted.

"Well, anyone who Nora likes is fine by me," he conceded and turned to pour a wooden battered tankard with whatever barrel was hooked up to the only tap in the room. Unless they decided to splurge on what constituted the 'top shelf' liquor, it would be what was on tap or nothing and the bartender made it feel as though the latter would be an insult.

 

[Edric]

Juliette was practically vibrating as she and Edric stepped inside the Tavern, the cheering roar rising up in front of them as all manner of robbers, cut-throats, thugs, and other ill-be gotten merchants of crime stared at the newcommers.

"We-we-they're gonna...do-" The elf girl stammered, though Edric wasn't really paying attention to her at this point.

Instead he looked around the room, looking at some of the patrons. He quickly noted that most of them had the same tattoo somewhere on their skin, and every single one without fail was armed in some way.

A fact which only made Edric grin.

As his fellow Dreadlords took care of the drinks, Edric cut directly towards the stage. There was minstrel was playing a quiet song, not the fare which would see to Noel's desired party...nor his. So he quickly walked up the man, Juliette clinging to his back almost like a Koala.

"Hey!" He called to the minstrel, the man's music cutting off as he looked down at Edric. "How bout we play something more liv-"

Before he could finish one of the men at the nearby table stood up, a hand pushing back the long tail of a coat.

"Who do you think you an your friends are, eh? You little shit. I like this song and I want to he-"​

Edric suddenly moved like a viper, grabbing the man and suddenly slamming him against the table he had stood up from. His body hit the floor with a thunk, a loud groan escaping his lips. Juliette screamed, and for a moment everyone in the bar went dead silent.

Then raucous laughter filled the room. "Something more lively, yeah?"

He called to the Minstrel.

 

[Noel]

Noel had no idea just how well her declaration of wanting to party would go.

Henk was buying drinks, Juliette was terrified, and both Davi and Edric were making new friends. Frankly, she should make a party declaration far more often. For now though the initiate simply grabbed one of the multiple tankards of ale being poured and moved into the crowd.

Most of their attention was focused more on the show of force Edric had shown and the minstrel who'd begun to pluck feverishly on his lute. A far more upbeat tune booming over the audience.

Without much thought she made the mistake of taking a sip of the beer and, well, clearly the Quarterfell wasn't where you went for good drinks. She stomached the taste and simply downed as much of it as she could in one go. Noel wasn't about to show weakness to this room of barbarians.

"You and your friends are having a fine time, yes?" a muscular man with long hair and an eyepatch said in a thick Elbionese accent. "Could you introduce me to your elvish friend?"

With a sly grin Noel nodded, "absolutely," before leading the man over towards Juliette.

 

[Henk]

Well, his assertiveness had worked well enough, it seemed. Free drinks broke the tension that had hung over the grimy, dimly lit place and now he had strange men in rags patting him on the back and calling him 'brother'. Henk wasn't entirely sure how to react, so he merely smiled and returned their gratitude, squeezing in between a few men burly enough to be half-orcish and tossing his coins to the bartender.

"Should keep it flowing for a while, no?" Henk was met with a smirk and a nod from the bartender. Good, that should keep everybody from wanting to kill them for a while.

Finding a seat in one of the less crowded, more shadowy corners of the seedy establishment, Henk found an empty table for himself and slid into the ragged seat with a loud creak. Through the smoke in the air, he saw Edric getting into a fight, Davi downing drinks, and Noel being chatted up by the locals. That all seemed to check out. Being as Henk didn't have much interest in drinking and fighting, though, he found himself somewhat the odd man out in the equation now.

"Well, I suppose it could all be going much worse." He muttered to himself with a small smile, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the floor, the loud atmosphere of the bar served as nice enough white noise to lose himself in. He'd mastered the art of tuning out the sounds of nightlife when they took the class on that trip to the brothel a year or two ago.

Some of the more patriarchial Proctors still took jabs at him for sitting outside.

Eventually though, one of the men who'd thanked him earlier did saunter over and slam a full mug down on the table in front of Henk. "Yer not gonna pay for me drinks and then go stone sober the whole nigh' brother."

Henk cracked his eyes open and gave a little laugh. "No? I wondered whether you lot were going to let me get away with that." The man cracked a toothy grin and raised his own glass, Henk reaching out to grip the one he'd been given as well. "To your health, big man."

"And te'yours boy. Though I think yer' a mite bit less fun than yer pals. No offense."

Henk gave him a smile and downed a bit of the grog in his mug, wincing slightly at the bitterness before sighing at the warmth settling in his chest. His new friend fell to the seat across from him, laughing at the expressions on his face.

"Saw you lookin' at that black hair lass, I did. She yer woman?"

He let out a cough into his drink as the comment caught him a bit off guard. Damnit, was he really that obvious? Waving a hand, he dismissed the notion. "N-no, It's not like that. We aren't..." The brute just grinned at him from over the rim of his glass, knowing full well now what it 'was like'.