The Meaty Tusk

SPACE Already seated at the bar and eating eggs and cheese, the stranger from last night hails you with a silent wave.

SPACE The group sits at a table near the door and plops their belongings into a pile. Some clothing and a few stray trinkets is not enough to buy anyone proper equipment. Even some of your weapons were taken in the robbery. Blast that Cain!

SPACE Just as hope drains from the table, Alliandra enters the front door. She takes one look at the disheartened faces and picks up on the despair.
SPACE “Why the long faces?” she asks pleasantly.
SPACE “Cain robbed us last night,” Cyrdan informs her. “I’m sorry. I should have seen that coming.”
SPACE Alliandra only laughs. “Robbed us of what?” she says. “We didn’t have anything worthy of being robbed!”
SPACE This lightens the mood some. Tharg laughs. Grant nods his head.
SPACE “We’re lucky to be alive!” the cleric continues. Lowering her voice, she says, “We just survived a shipwreck, a storm, and an attack by huge spiders! We should be thankful for our lives!”
SPACE The group begins to slowly come around to agreement.
SPACE “Besides,” she smiles with a gleam in her eye, grabbing something from the folds of her robe, “he didn’t get these.” Opening her hand and dumping its contents on the table, the group looks down on the small handful of gemstones Gahiji gave Alliandra to hold when the chest was opened in the cavern where the party made their first camp. Glittering and reflecting the morning sunlight, these stones (8 in all, some of black, some of pink, and 1 light blue) look like they could fetch a small fortune. Well, enough to equip all of the group anyway.

SPACE A voice from behind them interrupts the moment of rapture and relief. It’s the raspy voice from last night.
SPACE “Those oughtta get you all cleaned up and decent looking,” it says. It’s the stranger. The members sitting around the table eye her cautiously. She smiles. Alliandra slides the gems back into her hand and tucks them away back into the folds of her robe.
SPACE Wearing a long-sleeved tunic and slacks, the stranger stands, unthreateningly in front of Cyrdan. Her obvious good looks are elven in nature. A long, thin scar, noticeale only now in the sunlight, runs from her right temple down her cheek to her chin.
SPACE She goes on to introduce herself as Meggana. Apparently, she has been staying here at The Meaty Tusk for a few months now. A quick glance at Cyrdan and he nods as if verifying her story.
SPACE “You all look like you could use a good cleaning up,” she suggests.
SPACE Slim’s voice is heard from behind the bar. “Which you’ll do before lunch-time if you plan on eating here,” he calls. “Sheela! Hurry up with the meat, wench!” Approaching the table, Slim adds, “You’re lucky your friend didn’t bother to help his greedy-self to my cashbox, else I’d have you hauled in in his stead!” Cyrdan remains silent, despite the threat. “Now what’ll you drink?”
SPACE Grant begins to order ale, but Alliandra stops him and orders waters for the whole group. They look at her accusingly, but she cites their recent exploits, singling out dehydration, as motive.

SPACE Pulling up a chair to join the group, the stranger mentions having overheard Slim talking to his barmaid, Sheela, regarding the unfortunate happenstance of last night. “Pity,” she says. “You can’t trust anyone these days.”
SPACE “Where can I get these people cleaned up for cheap?” Cyrdan asks her.
SPACE She tells the group that there is an outhouse behind the inn and a bath-house across the road. The barmaid, Sheela, a hefty, loud-mouthed woman, serving the table its deer-steaks and eggs, adds, “Tell ‘em ol’ Shee sent yas and they’ll hook you right up.” She winks at Grant, who turns his head away a bit flustered, and then leaves.

SPACE “I also know where you can get rid of those stones,” Meggana says to Alliandra, who drinks back the last of her cool glass of water.
SPACE “And you’ll share this information with us, why?” Alasdair asks accusingly.
SPACE “Why not?” she replies. “Just a professional courtesy.”
SPACE Professional courtesy?
SPACE “I mean, you are all adventurers, right?” she asks. “Like me.”

SPACE Adventurers. That’s not a word most of them have associated with themselves recently. Slave. Prisoner. Survivor. Surely these words describe them better than adventurer?
SPACE “Yes,” Cyrdan answers her after a pause. “We are all adventurers.”
SPACE Meggana smiles, eager to help her fellow ‘adventurers.’

SPACE After filling their bellies, the group, led by Meggana, walk across the street and enter the bath-house. The young man behind a counter there accepts the ‘Shee sent us’ as a legitimate method of payment, and allows the group to strip and bathe in the huge vats filled with hot water that stand behind curtains in the back. Meggana joins Alliandra in a private tub. The other tub is filled skin-to-skin with seven somewhat uncomfortable men.
SPACE The attendant enters the vat room with scissors, mirrors, shaving knives, and some waxy material Tharg and Conner both find ultimately curious.
SPACE Soap.
SPACE Once cleaned, shaven, and trimmed, the group emerges. The young clerk informs the group that they are the biggest group of patrons he has ever serviced at one time. He also commented that they are the dirtiest. The group leaves, thanking him.
SPACE “Tell Shee it’ll be on her tab and that I’ll be by tonight to collect,” he smiles.

SPACE Meggana informs the group where they can find a merchant able to cash in their stones. She tells them that she has business to tend to with a blacksmith friend of hers, but that she will return to The Meaty Tusk for dinner. She hopes they will join her.
SPACE With that, she leaves the group standing in front of the inn.