Miri

"I'm so glad she's not mad at me."

There's a voice on her end.

"Esra says Mattias is there. If you want me to give him a good wallop when he comes back, just say the word."

The 'line' went dead.

"He's just a regular here." Her voice carried the significance of a grimace. "And he sure likes flirting with me."

"I'll pass it on," she promised. "Glad it's been helpful for you. I'll- wait. Is Mattias the soggy water mage with glasses he's always cleanin' even if they're damn clean already?"

"Four minutes, by Faegar's left tit." Miri swore gruffly. "That woman is awfully punctual... Mattias, was it? I'll let her know. Anything else you wanted to add?"

"Name it," the voice on the other side came through clearly. "I'll pass it on to her when she comes down again to inspect my mop job..."

She sounds most disgruntled.

"Right well, I'll get your food." Miri took the owed money and then took the order to the kitchen, happy to be away from Eshenesra now that the terrible oaf was near her.

Miri fixated her gaze on Lazarus, really studying him, and then imagined him with a sword and a helmet with horns on it.

"Eshenesra is my boss... I'll go and fetch her for you..."

And without taking his money, she darted off, out the bar and up the stairs leading to the second story.

edges detailing fanciful dragons and bards playing at taverns. The menu itself had 30 items, ranging from simple meat and potatoes to far more complex dishes and a few desserts at the back.

"Seen her around a bit, I think her name is Tabs?" Miri shrugged, having followed his gaze toward the large-bosomed cat-eared woman sitting alone. When Percy looked at Miri, she took the opportunity to place a menu in front of him. The menu was detailed and had all manner of artistic designs at the

her. Miri ignored the urge to itch while she bent down and grabbed a key to their two-bed suite, though she didn't put it down until she received payment.

symbol on a short riser beside him. "If you aren't eating at the bar, take that to your table and we'll have it right out. As for the rooms, that'll be four silver per night."

This dress itched. It always itched. It was either part of the curse or it was something Eshenesra engineered to torment

"Is it?" Miri wasn't sure if he was asking for clarification, or some kind of reassurance. Her white brows arched gently and she glanced down at the two items he pointed to on the menu.

"A hearty beef broth and our popular rice cakes? I'll have those right out to you." Miri placed a curious metal

The customer with the luggage moved away as the other bartender on duty attended to them, then moved to fill a different order on the other side of the bar. Miri took out a menu and gave Lazarus a patient, polite smile. "What'll it be tonight, sir?"

she turned her attention back to him and took his order, then glanced at Percy and addressed the hunter.

"Did you want any food aside from whiskey? We do have a full kitchen here if you're hungry."

Miri smiled mysteriously and poured him another glass, then diverted her attention toward a man holding a horned helmet and approaching the bar to order. She noticed a woman with cat-like ears that came in with him and went to sit down at a table. Her mismatched gaze followed her for a moment before

His response befuddled her for a moment and then she nodded once, a sharp movement that made her hair toss. "Can't expect you'd know Faegar, 'course." She took the empty bottle, then placed it beneath the counter to clean it later and refill it.

"Faegar's hand," she cursed, then grabbed the potion from underneath the counter and handed it to him. The red bottle gleamed in the light of the lamp above them and contained just enough to heal a serious injury - or fix a finger, as the case happened to be.

had recognized him, "and you already qualify for that."

She just figured 'get her over here' was a figure of speech.

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug that nearly touched her ears. "Can't personally say yes or no or anything about it, that's all go to do with Stacey and what he says or not. That said, one's a lot more likely to find work with a good word from a reputable fellow," she glanced at the adventurers that

"All. The. Time." Miri pointed to her dress. "This is my *third* dress this *week*. Almost feels like something's in the air. Anticipation, maybe." To make sure she wasn't just gabbing, she grabbed a dirty mug and started cleaning it with a rag. "People've been unusually antsy. Who's the girl?"

to themselves, then her gaze flicked to the bard, who was being paid to perform here tonight. She saw Miri's gaze and started right back up, and the tension in the air slowly began to fade away.

"Yeah. 'Esra'. Forget I said her name, she's no one important. The real owner is a guy named Stacey."

"You got another gold coin? I got a healing potion if you do." One she usually kept in reserve for an injury that needed stabilizing, but that situation could have gotten dangerous quickly. Mismatched eyes flicked to the adventurers, who were now laughing at a few jokes one of them said and keeping

to his bottle of beer. Miri's jaw clenched and she set down another glass of whiskey for Percy as a thank-you.

"Not everyone would've intervened," she told him, leaning in slightly to say it. "So thanks for that. Eshenesra would be most upset if the place got into a brawl."

"That was a mean punch," the one with the eyepatch said with a hint of respect. Then, blessedly, the adventurers all sat down.

"What was you thinkin'?" the skinniest of the lot asked the one Percy had punched. "He coulda filleted you!"

"BAH!" he yelled, waving the skinny one away and returning

rest of the tavern was deadly quiet.

"Now," Miri's voice carried easily throughout the tavern, "we can have a fight, or we can have a round of free drinks to make everyone a little happier. What say we all?"

The five adventurers looked down at their bleeding comrade, then up at Percy.

The dress was well-fit, so grabbing it meant she was coming right along with it. Luckily, Percy had ended that interaction quickly enough. Miri reached underneath the counter and pressed a small button, then smoothed her dress and looked at the rest of the men.

The bard had stopped playing. The

"Ohh!" All the men roared at the same time. Despite her effort, she'd only managed to insult them.

"Assuming we'd be trouble are we?" A man with an eyepatch growled while he stood up from his seat. He lunged toward Miri to grab her by the front of her dress and pull her toward him.
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them and sliding them down the counter.

"Well you're a pretty thing," one of the more burly men growled at her.

"I am," Miri spoke brazenly. "And I'll give you a kiss on the cheek if you behave yourself and leave all the fine people here to finish their meals and drinks in peace."
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"Well we wantsa hear about your monster hunting. And some beer for all of us!" Another human shouted, then slammed his hand on the countertop. The Orc chuckled quietly.

"So modest... We heard you've killed things we've never heard of."

Miri busied herself, quickly getting beer for each of
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