Open Chronicles The Dragon's Den

[Elra Mistfall]

Elra took a step back and wiped the sweat from her brow. A satisfied smile crossing her face as she admired her work. Perfect, or at least, at close as one could come. She looked up at her patient. “Rest here for now, and don’t touch that bandage. I’ll be back to check on you later.” She offered one last smile before turning, straightening her pose, and walking off.

Another bullheaded adventurer got himself hurt and checked himself into her clinic. As happy as she is to help, it does take up a lot of her energy. “I suppose I have time for a tea break.” Lucky for her, she had the finest teahouse on the first floor. There were advantages to being co-owner of the Dragon's Den.

Two floors down, she emerged in the teahouse. Business was around normal levels. With both regular and new customers lingering around, she distantly wondered how well their new blacksmith apprentice was handling things. She walked over to the counter, coming up on her sister while she was busy pouring herself a cup of tea. Elra smiled wryly. “Must you make yourself tea while on the job?”

Tanith looked up and smiled widely as though they hadn’t seen each other in days. “Elly! How are you? I haven’t spoken to you all day! Are you ignoring me?” She pouted.

Elra crossed her arms and huffed. “We share a house Tanith.” She glanced at her sister’s teapot and nodded. “I’ll take a cup of that.”

Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

Alliria. Loud and bustling, but Mikelle felt absolutely tranquil being there. At least once he was free of his carriage. Along the journey Mikelle was flanked by work-hands, as well as a guard to help oversee the safe passage of high-end goods from entrance to the city to the final destination of deliveries. Mikelle, overpaid delivery boy of the family of Fallowbridge, mostly stayed tight-lipped with the employees, only relaxing once he could tell the guard to “wait here with the cart,” and head into the Dragon’s Den on his own.

Tranquil, yes. It was a relaxing place to Mikelle. The people here worked hard in uniquely different ways, and so the smell of the place was uniquely mixed. It felt rustic yet refined. And while they sold the family wine, they also had enough to put around with and inspect that Mikelle never felt like he was loitering too much. At least as far as he could tell.

He strode into the teahouse and took a big breath of the fresh scent of the place.

“Is that chai I’m smelling?” Mikelle asked out loud as he looked to the two owners; sisters Tanith and Elra. He was smiling, his voice sing-song with energy and delight. “Miss Mistfall and Miss Mistfall, I hope you’ve been having yourselves a lovely day.”


Elra Mistfall

 

[Tanith Mistfall]

Tanith clasped her hands together and smiled brightly. “Oh hello Mikelle! It’s been too long.” She heard her sister mumble something about having met with him not too long ago, but she ignored it. She glanced at her teapot and grinned. “Why yes, it is. Why don’t you sit down? I’ll pour some for you?” Her voice matched the energy and cheerfulness of their guest.

Elra turned and smiled politely. “Good day Mr. Fallowbridge. I wish you a lovely morning as well. I trust you’ve brought our latest purchase with you?

Tanith waved her hand dismissively. “Oh hush you. He’s only just arrived! Surely we can wait to talk business for a little while.” She pouted at her sister.

Elra sighed and nodded once. “Very well. I suppose I’m on break anyway.” She took a seat at the table nearest to the counter.

Tanith giggled. "Sorry about her, she means well." She ignored the glare Elra sent her way.

Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Tyrenlil Swiftwind]

Tyr had made his way into the teahouse, he smiled greeting people on the street making along the way, he walked with a swagger about him, his face carrying a pearly white smile as he held the door for for another patron who would enter the teahouse before strolling inside continuing his strut.

Upon entering he smiled and winked at a female patron who's eye he had caught the ship he was on had been in dry dock now for a while. He carried coin on him from his last big haul. He fancied himself a bit of a merchant though his means for obtaining goods were at best questionable.

He was tall and strapping, he also wore fine embossed leather armor and matching boots and gloves which were well maintained and oiled. His blemishes white shirt was made of fine exotic cottons and he green silk afghan pined with a silver pin.

"Well doesn't the tea here smell divine!"

Tanith Mistfall Mikelle Fallowbridge Elra Mistfall

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

Mikelle didn’t seem to notice Elra’s initial mumblings, only delightfully walking in further before taking a seat at a small table somewhat close to the kitchen. He only noticed what Elra said once she spoke up to him directly, mentioning the purchases. Mikelle looked to her with raised brows, but not a hint of concern. Still, Tanith brushed it off, and so did Mikelle, but he gave a small reassuring nod in Elra’s direction if nothing else.

Mikelle was certain he’d be much more mortified if he came in here without his promised deliveries, but he was fairly confident people in Alliria didn’t always have that level of shame. The least he could offer Elra was that little confirmation. But after giving a little nod, he was happy to then forget about his work for a little while.

“No need for apologies, Miss Mistfall!” Mikelle addressed Tanith coolly. “But a chai tea sounds grand right about now.”

After speaking, Mikelle casually glanced over at the other patrons at the teahouse. The ladies had drummed up some good business for the place. Sure enough, another customer walked in; a well-dressed elf. With Tyr’s nice leather armor, he looked like the dashing adventurer sort. Mikelle was terrible at masking his envy for too long and so he flicked his eyes to one customer and then the next. Quietly making grandiose, heroic assumptions of them all while he waited for his tea.



Tanith Mistfall Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Tanith Mistfall]

Tanith ducked behind the counter to grab another cup. “Oh, but I must. My sister can be such a stick in the mud sometimes. If she had her way, she’d scare off half our customers!” She stood back up with enough speed that it made both her hair and hood shift. “Here you are, enjoy!” She set the cup down on the counter and poured a cup for Mikelle.

She glanced up when she heard the door open, just in time to see the new customer saunter in and wink at a female patron. She stifled a giggle. “Oh dear, I should probably keep him away from Elly.” She brimmed with pride at the compliment to her tea. “I wouldn’t quite call it the nectar of the gods. Buuut it may be the closest worldly thing.”

Mikelle Fallowbridge Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

Mikelle picked up his cup of tea almost as soon as Tanith poured it for him, excited to have his first sip. He offered a small thank you to Tanith as he did so. After he had his first taste, he hummed to himself before looking back up to Tanith, intending to compliment the tea. Instead, he ended up following her eyes to where she was looking. Initially, he simply watched quietly as she spoke to the elf. He enjoyed his tea for a little bit longer before standing up.

"Miss Mistfall," Mikelle started as he went to Elra's table. He spoke casually but quietly, trying to only keep the conversation between him and her. "Did you like to talk business now?"

Elra Mistfall

 

[Elra Mistfall]

Elra’s eyes flicked up from her tea. She smiled when she saw Mikelle approach. “Of course. Please, take a seat.” She gestured at the chair across from her. She could clearly see the hirelings Mikelle had brought with her outside. Likely bringing the latest shipment of wine with them.

She relaxed, and for a second, her tone almost took on a lighthearted tone. “I must say, our popularity’s increased ever since we started selling your family’s wine here. I don’t suppose you can tell me the secret of how to make it?”

Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Tyrenlil Swiftwind]

Tyr smiled at Tanith, he had caught a glimpse of her ears, elven. This made his smile grow and more genuinely. He noticed what looked like a halfling conversing with another Elven woman.

His ears picking up every word of their conversation. However besides from a very slight twitch of the ears it would be hard to tell he was eavesdropping. He made his way over to Tanith and he made a slight bow. " The names Tyrenlil Swiftwind" He offered.

"It's been such a long time since I've had a proper Elven tea, but I heard that you also have an exquisite wine here aswell, that is of word on the street is correct"

He smiled still "makes its rather, Hard to choose, what would the lady recommend?"

Tanith Mistfall Mikelle Fallowbridge Elra Mistfall

 

[Tanith Mistfall]

Tanith twirled once and returned the bow with a grin on her face. “And I’m Tanith Mistfall, co-owner of this fine establishment! It’s nice to meet you.” Despite how subtle it was, she still noticed the slight twitch of his ears, but only giggled. Making it hard to tell if she’d really seen anything.

She set a hand on her chin and hummed as though she were really considering his question. In truth, she knew exactly what she’d recommend. She always did. “Why the tea of course!” She stole a glance at Mikelle and gained a more sheepish expression. “Err, not that there’s anything wrong with the wine. It really is quite exquisite. But there's a reason this little part of our business is still called a teahouse." She giggled at her own little comment.

Tyrenlil Swiftwind Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

Mikelle appeared pleased and opened his mouth to reply to Elra, only to pause when he overheard Tanith talking about tea with one of her customers. He raised a brow and side-eyed Tanith for a second before his attention was back on Elra, his expression never becoming anything but playful. It wasn't so late in the day that he'd expect Tanith to push any type of alcohol anyways, but he found the coincidence in conversation amusing.

"I'm confident the Fallowbridge name gets them in visiting, but I'd be remiss if I discredited your sister's own brew."

Mikelle put his hands on the table, gesturing to pick up his cup only to realize he'd not brought it with him. Disappointed, he eyed the empty spot on the table for a moment before continuing what he was saying with a small smile.

"Sometimes time is the only missing ingredient, Miss Mistfall! If your sister has little ones of her own, I'd be willing to bet their first job will be delivering Mistfall Tea in crates to other cities. Should expansion ever interest either of you, that is."


Elra Mistfall Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Elra Mistfall]

Elra winced when she heard Tanith’s words. “And she says my attitudes bad for business,” she grumbled. Thankfully, their supplier didn’t seem offended. She took a short sip of her tea before answering. “The Fallowbridge name may have something to do with it. But it’d be remiss to downplay the quality of the wine itself.”

She noticed him reaching for his own tea and glanced back at the counter, seeing Mikelle’s cup sitting there, unattended. Normally she could have someone fetch it for him, but that wasn’t an option at the moment. As no waiter or waitress was currently working. She opted instead to smile apologetically.

A smile she had to fight to keep from turning into a smirk at the thought of her sister marrying and having children. While far from out of the question, her behavior oft proved too much for any potential suitors. “I’m not sure the Den can handle any more business at the moment. But maybe someday. What about you Mr. Fallowbridge? I know your family is already quite prominent, but do you hope to expand the winery further?”

 

[Tyrenlil Swiftwind]

Tyr couldn't help but to grin at her bubbly personality, it reminded him of simpler times before he had taken the path that he was on now, a path her couldn't see himself diverging from any time soon, but fate had a funny way of doing what it wanted.

"Well, with such a beautiful owner I'd imagine I'd find my self here quiet often." He offered a sly grin "A tea it is, perhaps the house special?"

Tyr stood about two inches taller than Tanith, his emerald eyes locked with hers a moment he observed the hues of her own green gems and smiled softly.
Overhearing the talk of furure children of the woman before him, chuckled to himself ever so briefly. "Children?" He thought to himself, "Could you imagine a rogue like me? What kind of life would that be for them." But perhaps starting over and settling down wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Was it 'Miss' Mistfall?" He probed with a smile

Tanith Mistfall Elra Mistfall Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Tanith Mistfall]

Tanith set a hand on her cheek and giggled. “Oh, why thank you. You’re not so hard on the eyes yourself.” She stifled a laugh at the glare Elra sent their way when she overheard. A hundred and thirty-seven years old, and she still had to deal with an overprotective sister. But it wasn’t the first time a patron flirted with her. She could take of herself.

“Coming right up!” she sang. The ‘house special’ tended to change every day, or multiple times a day, depending on Tanith’s current mood. She loved tea too much to pick a definitive favorite. For the moment, it was chai tea. Mixed with some elven herbs. She poured a cup and set it down in front of Tyrenlil.

She grinned. “Tanith Mistfall, and that over there is my sister Elra.” She nodded toward the table where Elra and Mikelle sat. “What brings you to Alliria today?”

Tyrenlil Swiftwind Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

"Well I--" Mikelle halted his words when he overheard Tanith's giggling. He refrained from making comment, but it sure seemed like there was additional business Tanith would welcome. Teasing was something friends do, he didn't want to risk being over familiar with Elra by joking around. He'd cost his family business like that. He played off his pause as just needing to clear his throat.

"Well. I think there's a mountain's peak of quantity before you find yourself at a cliff tail of quality." Mikelle's words had been stiff at first, but once he was quoting his parents, his words were fluid and precise.

"Although. Perhaps." He hesitated to add on. He glanced at the exit to the teahouse, knowing that beyond it were other ventures within the very same building. "Perhaps broadening beyond wine. Someday."

Immediately, he grimaced to himself. "Maybe. You'd be right about the quality of wine. Wouldn't ever wish to risk it after all!"

His brown eyes were back on Elra. He rested his wrists on the edge of the table and laced his fingers together. "I don't know if I could get away with something like the Dragon's Den. I imagine teamwork plays a significant role in that, and you're very fortunate to work so well with your sister as equals! That's one in a million."


Tyrenlil Swiftwind Elra Mistfall

 

[Elra Mistfall]

Elra hardly noticed Mikelle’s pause due to the way he played it off. She refocused on him and sat straighter. “Ah, apologies. I didn’t mean to get distracted.” She raised an eyebrow at his comment about quality. She didn’t want to say anything, but that didn’t sound like the type of thing he’d say normally. Or perhaps it was, she certainly didn’t know everything about him.

Instead, she nodded. “True enough.” She cocked her head at Mikelle’s reaction to her question. “I wish you the best of luck. Expanding your horizons can be difficult, but also rewarding.” She learned that much three times in her long life.

She smiled more genuinely when he mentioned the Den. “I am fortunate. Although it didn’t start out that way. It took years of adventuring for us to learn how to work together as well as we do. And another few months for us to learn teamwork under different circumstances.”

Mikelle Fallowbridge Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Tyrenlil Swiftwind]

Tyr reached down grabbing the tea cup he raised it to his lips and allowed the tea to pause there for a moment. He took a deep inhale through his nose savoring the scent of the herbs mixed with the chai. He took a sip of the tea his pinkie extended as he did so and then gently placed the cup back to it saucer.

"Why thank you!" He said with a soft smirk "I do my best to remain well maintained" He reached down again taking another sip of the tea, it had been far to long since he had a good cup of tea.

As she questioned his happenings in Alliria his smirk sharpened ever so slightly "I was chartering a merchant vessel, that had to dock for some extensive repairs" He paused for a moment to sip some more of the fine tea "I am a bit of an entrepreneur" He obviously wouldn't tell her about his privateering or the fact that he had just been part of the pillaging of a treasure ship or that he was using the time in Alliria to offload goods and looking to pick clean a vault or two.

Tyr reached into his vest pocket and pulled out three rather large gold coins that would have been way beyond the value or price of the tea he was savoring and he placed them on the table where they hit the wood with a decent thub declaring their weight. One coin might have paid for a barrel of wine.

Tyr smiled and offered a nod in Elra's direction before turning his attention back to Tanith "Tanith it is then" He looked about the teahouse seing the filled seats. "Have you been here long?"

Elra Mistfall Mikelle Fallowbridge Tanith Mistfall

 

[Tanith Mistfall]

Tanith smiled, always pleased to meet someone who appreciates good tea. It almost distracted her from the rest of his behavior. Almost, that is. She cocked her head slightly when his smirk sharpened. While her own expression remained as cheerful as ever. “Oh, is that so? You’re in good company then! Alliria’s full of entrepreneurs and merchants seeking their fortune. And a few others basking in it.” She giggled.

Her eyes widened slightly when he placed the gold on the counter. “Or maybe you’ve already found your fortune.” She picked up one of the coins and held it up to her eye. Half expecting to find it to be a forgery. She smirked. “What's all this for? Are you trying to buy the teahouse from me?”

She set down the coin and set a hand on her heart. “Why, yes I have! My sister and I grew up in Alliria, although we spent some time away, back during our adventuring days.”

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

Mikelle blinked a few times, surprised by the words that came out of Elra's mouth. Before the young man could say anything else, he heard the sound of a bag of coins hitting a table. Tanith and her heroic-looking elven customer were exchanging words, and a lot of coin was involved. Mikelle tilted his head, an ear to their conversation for just a moment. Tanith was saying something similar to Elra; the sisters had been adventurers at some point.

There was a brightness in Mikelle's dark brown eyes as he stared at Elra. His mouth slightly agape. It made the bond between the women all the cooler, all the more special to Mikelle. They weren't simply perfect together since childhood, but it was built upon. Likely with plenty of tales to tell.

"That's amazing..! You and your sister look as though you've had nothing but peaceful days in your past, I would have never guessed." His voice was wistful. Mikelle was definitely imagining what sort of things Elra and Tanith might have gotten up to in the past.

After a moment, the halfling tapped a finger on his lip while looking at Elra. He was going through what he knew about her. He just couldn't imagine what Elra would look like in battle.

"Did... Did you make powerful potions for facing dangers back then?"


Elra Mistfall Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Elra Mistfall]

Elra briefly looked away when she noticed where Mikelle was looking. Her eyes widen slightly when she sees the gold laying on the table before they narrow just as slightly in suspicion. Why would the stranger be handing over that much coin? Is he making a purchase? Showing off? Few would hand over that much coin to a stranger, just on a whim.

Her gaze shifted back to Mikelle. Taken aback by the look in his eye. She used to get it all the time back when she was an adventurer. An alchemist and innkeeper didn’t get quite the same look of awe. She smiled. “Yes, well, after a century of adventure, we both agreed it was time for us to settle down and spend some time living life normally. While using our wealth and experience to help other adventurers instead.”

She scratched the back of her head. Looking a little embarrassed at the question about her potions. “On occasion, it’s not really something I can just, do whenever I want. It took time for me to find all the right ingredients. I was mostly in charge of logistics; making sure we had all the supplies we needed and that our party didn’t waste all of our coin. That, and archery, I was quite proficient at it, back in the day.”

Mikelle Fallowbridge Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Tyrenlil Swiftwind]

Tyr smiled at Tanith "I doubt I'd be any good at running a teahouse" He looked around at the buzzing teahouse and all its patrons "Not that it looks like you need it, but I like to think of it as an investment" He offered her a grin "Means I'll just have to keep coming back until I've gotten my coins worth." He offered her a playful wink.

He took the tea up to his lips again his eyes locking with hers for a moment before setting his tea down once again.

His eyebrow raised hearing that the two sisters were once adventurers, he smiled. "I myself am an adventurer of sorts and have made a good living doing it. I find myself on ship alot, unfortunately crews are not quiet as pleasant or as easy on the eyes as yourself" He chuckled softly "The third coin is for good service and good company" He gave her a sly grin


"Alliria has seen many man to his fortune, but it has a way of bringing those same fortunes and familys to the gutter." He paused for a moment twirling the remainder of his tea around inside his cup his eyes focused intently on the maelstrom before looking back up to Tanith

"I digress, Do you know of any decent lodgings near by? It seems I will be here for quiet a while"

Tanith Mistfall Elra Mistfall Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Tanith Mistfall]

Tanith closed her eyes and giggled. “If you'd like to leave by month's end, maybe you should try our other accommodations, they’re a bit more expensive than my tea.” She opened her eyes just in time for him to make eye contact with her. A close enough inspection and he might notice the faint scars that ran over them.

She grinned impishly at Tyrenlil’s next comments. “My, quite the charmer, aren’t you? Mmm, but what if I say my company is worth an entire ship’s worth of gold. I don’t suppose you have that with you too?” she asked jokingly. Although her grin dropped when she saw the strange way he was staring at his tea.

Did he have some history in Alliria? One that went beyond simply visiting from time to time. Hm, a question for another time, she supposed.

The seriousness of the moment vanished when Tyrenlil mentioned needing a room. She struggled to stifle a laugh. “Why, yes I do!” She pointed up at the ceiling. “You’ll find it on the second floor!”

Tyrenlil Swiftwind Mikelle Fallowbridge

 

[Mikelle Fallowbridge]

Mikelle's posture had shifted. Without his own noticing, he had begun leaning forward, a cheek resting in his hand as he listened to what Elra had to say. He couldn't understand how she could speak so casually about it, or even look, dare he say, embarrassed about it? It sounded like the two hadn't even ended their daring lifestyle with tragedy. As far as Mikelle knew, that was rare, and a measurement of the sister's success.

"Archery, really?" Mikelle chuckled a little. "I have to ask; how come you went into medicine instead of teaching? I feel like with your range of skills, you'd be a coveted tutor."

Elra Mistfall Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Elra Mistfall]

Elra averted her gaze ever so slightly when she caught Mikelle leaning forward. She didn’t mind exactly, but it felt strange, now that she’d retired from the adventuring life. “Yes, archery. It was a hobby of mine, growing up.”

Her lip’s part when she heard Mikelle’s question. Considering it for a moment before answering. “There are many different types of adventurers, I wouldn’t necessarily be a good teacher for just anyone. I decided it would be better to treat and equip them instead. That said, if any adventurer ever does want my advice, I’d be happy to give it.”

She studied the young man for a moment. “If you don’t mind me saying Mr. Fallowbridge. You almost seem interested in adventuring yourself.”

Mikelle Fallowbridge Tyrenlil Swiftwind

 

[Tyrenlil Swiftwind]

Tyr chuckled at her cheerful response. Now that he thought of it this place was rather big, it did surprise him at all that of course the teahouse had an inn attached to it. He has assumed that there were living quarters somewhere.

"Next you will tell me there is a blacksmith here that can grind down my saber for me." He chuckled

He did notice the fain scars on her face. His eyes were keen, many a trap they had found in the dark, elven eyes were good for such things, for seeing great distances or for seeing the tiniest detail.
His ear twitched silly as he listened to Elra speak of archery, a love of his as well. He was a crack shot with a bow and had his custom black wood bow could send an arrow through a plated helm and out the back of it. He gently rested his hand on the hilt of his sader, he was an expert in the blade at that.

"Do you have a suite available?" He grinned. His eyes were soft now he took one last good wif of his tea before tilting the cup back finishing it off with a soft 'Ahhh' and then placed the the teacup down on it saucer.

"That, was a wonderful cup of tea, do you serve food here aswell?" He smiled softly

Tanith Mistfall Mikelle Fallowbridge