“I need to get to Plexia.”
Those words cut through the air dense with smoke from pipes for the young woman at the far end of the bar trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible. The loud boasts of the rough company filling the seats upon long tables and the variable drunken laughter of sailors might as well not have existed when those words were stated. Her head pop up from the bar and her attitude changed from disappointed moping to excitement. Her feline ears perked up as they directed where her mismatched eyes should look. She followed the sound to a man speaking to the bartender at the bar.
She did not expect to see the raggedy mess of a man speaking to the bartender at the tavern. It was not as if this was an establishment that drew in the most hygienic of people but this man looks like he had just come out of exile. His clothes seemed to have once been of a good make but are now worn and poorly stitched together. His brown hair was tied back, she could see various dreadlocks forming in the bunch. The large beard he was sporting that he idly scratched at from time to time was in much the same state. Despite all this there was something different about the man.
The bartender was not as interested in what appeared to be some vagrant coming into his bar. The grey-haired man behind the bar took his time arranging the glasses he had just finished washing before he turned to the strange man. His greying beard and weathered face showed an instant impatience for this man and his order. They both took a moment to look each other in the eye before discussions started.
"Usually I would have gotten a drink or two before getting into business talks." the strange man says with a small smirk that seems at odds with his demeanor, "This isn't really what I would call a usual circumstance, so, let's start with what you know about getting on board of a ship and then when we have come to arrangement we can celebrate with a whatever vile liquor you have on hand, sounds good?"
The young woman simply watched the interaction from the far side of the bar with her own interest in how this played out. Listening to this strange man speak to the bartender and the way he held himself separated himself from the sailors, pirates, and drunkards that filled the small harbor side tavern. What caught the young woman’s eye was the stringed instrument that hung on his back. It did not look like one that was common in the jungles of Sundassta, it made it clear to her about the distances this man has traveled.
“So, why are ya talking to me and not the harbor master or a captain or something” The weathered bartender finally retorted after a long pause consisting scowling obviously hoping to dissuade the conversation further.
“I did, they told me to talk to you.” The strange man slid into the bar stool in front of him as he stated that. One of his hands rests flat on the bar and the other hangs off to the side.
“Oh, you just need to get on a boat, don’t you?” the bartender smirked and chuckled a bit at his growing understanding of the scenario. The strange man’s eyes narrowed for a moment and then he lightened up his posture and leaned back a bit.
“Yeah, kinda why I started with that.” the strange man’s push back is sarcastic, but he looked the bartender straight in the eye while saying it.
“Alright, so you got coin?” The bartender maintained his smirk, especially after he got some push back from the man he was bartering with.
“This isn’t going to be a kidnapping to be forced labor on some pirate ship sort of racket?” The strange man asks, obviously wary about the situation. The bartender looks him over for a moment. The young woman at the far end of the bar took this moment to get up and start moving towards the conversation, just shifting bar stools as inconspicuously as possible.
“Nah, you’re too small to be useful for anything like that. Might be good chum though!” Bartender said that and thought it was funny enough to laugh hard enough to double himself over. By the time the bartender slapped the bar in laughter the strange man thought he might at least add in sarcastic chuckle.
“Oh, good. I guess I got that going for me...” The strange man said under his breath while the bartender was absorbed in his own laughter. Once the bartender has settled himself down the strange man takes in a deep breath and asks the question he has been dreading.
“So, how much is this going to run me?” the strange man utters those words with a frown borne from acceptance.
“Uhh, depends how quickly you want to get on a ship. Extra if you want to get on a ship bound for Plexia.” the bartender states with a chuckle as he watches the mild frustration simmer in the eyes of the strange man.
“God... pretty light on coin right now.” the strange man shakes his head a little as he is getting back into the spirit of negotiation.
“How light we talkin?” bartender asks with a raised eyebrow and a dismissive look.
“Like a feather on the breeze.” the strange man wanted this to come across as some weathered traveler whose unflappable will can get him through any scenario but it more came across as someone without a dollar to their name’s attempt to be charming.
“Well, let’s hope you are that light because then you can just fly to Plexia.” The bartender gives one last chuckle to the man, “Now, I am going to go spend my time with people that are actually worth my time. Be thankful I don’t make you pay back the time you wasted.” The bartender snarls out the words at the strange man, eliciting the strange man to lean back and put his hands up slightly, before the bartender walks over to a new group of sailors that loudly are calling out for another round.
The strange man waits for the bartender to be out of ear shot before he groans and places his head in his hands. He is quickly realizing what he is getting into but also how he doesn’t have much of a choice given the scenario he is in. The young woman finally moves up and takes a seat beside the strange man. She moves quiet and quickly trying to not disturb the emotional turmoil the man is in. She takes a moment to consider what she should say to start the conversation before she taps him on the shoulder twice. The strange man takes his hands away from his face and looks over at her.
“So, I heard that you wanted to get to Plexia.” the young woman, whose green and blue eyes shone vibrant against her darker skin, spoke with a fixed confidence and a small smile. She wore simple, well woven cloth outfit with a small blue scarf hung loosely around her neck.
“Yes, but I don’t have money for that and, despite how lovely and endearing you may be, I probably don’t have money for you.” The man says in as amused of a tone that he could muster given his circumstance.
“Excuse me?” the sheer lack of amusement coming from the young woman made the strange man take a moment to re-evaluate the scenario.
“Umm, I just didn’t want to lead you on was all. If you just want to talk that is fine too.” the strange man seems uncertain regarding exactly what is going on but that doesn’t stop him from trying to talk his way out of it.
“I’m not a prostitute...” the young woman’s dead pan glare was enough to make the man shrink in his seat.
“I mean... if you were then you would be one of the prettier ones I have seen.” there is a small wryer smile on his face as he knows that he is not helping himself, “But you aren’t, and I know that now. So, what would you want with me?” He asked hoping that he can direct the conversation away from the last subject. The young woman glares at him for a moment after brushing her hair out of the way of her eyes. One of her hands rhythmically taps on the bar as she takes a moment to consider her next move.
“You’re an adventurer, right? You know how to fight, cast spells, fight off monsters, figure out ancient riddles, and do all sort of things, right?” the young woman becomes more animated as she rattles off the various things adventurers are known for.
“I used to be, I don’t think I am anymore.” the speed which the man responded to this and his hand waving off the idea seems out of place with the demeanor he had throughout the rest of the conversation.
“But... you know magic and how to travel around and loads of other things right?” The young woman ignores the second part of what the strange man said and becomes noticeably more excited in her speech.
“Yeah, I knew some magic but I really didn’t...” the strange man starts to explain in his tired manner before getting cut off by the young woman.
“You can teach me though? I know some magic already and I know how to hunt and...” the young woman was stating her case before the man looked over at her with a disdain and frustration that caused her to falter for a moment.
“No.” the man said with a deep frown and furrowed brow.
“But I have potential, my father told me...” the young woman tries to begin to convince the man again but is cut off yet again.
“I don’t care.” The young woman’s excitement is shattered by those words as she slumps in her seat with her mouth open in disappointment, “If you love your dad enough to follow his advice than maybe you should go back to him and stop hanging out in random harbor taverns before you get in trouble.” The man is entirely dismissive and after he states his point, he turns his head away from the young woman.
“I am not going to get in trouble because I can take care of myself. I could probably beat you in a fight.” the young woman’s anger is obviously boiling in her words even though she is still trying to convince this man of her capability.
“If it would get you off my case then I would welcome it.” The man rolls his eyes and sighs before turning back towards the young woman, her eyes locked on his hoping for the small chance that he might be willing to take her up on that fight and she could prove herself.
“The only potential I see in you right now is the potential to bother me and get some easy coin by laying on your back. Leave me be, it will be doing both of us a favor.” That small shine in the young woman’s eyes fades and she is left between anger and despair.
“Ya know what, you can screw off. I’ll wait for the next adventurer to come around.” the young woman pushes off the bar and places her hands on her hips as she looks at the man with a defiant scowl, “I hope the best for your travel to Plexia. From the looks of you it seems like you are going to need it." The young woman starts to walk away but then turns around and walks back to the man to say one more thing, "Thanks for calling me a good-looking whore.” She tried to talk down to this man, but she just displayed the pain she was feeling.
She turns away and walks towards the door of the establishment. The man tries to say something but the pangs of doubt that he was going to be able to fix things with this girl after the interaction they just had makes him stop himself. He watches her walk out of the bar before he turns back around and lay his head on the bar. He closed his eye tightly as he beat himself up in his own mind for this mistake and others. There is a small moment of hesitation before he gets up from the bar and heads to the door after the young woman.
Walking out into the bright, tropical sunlight as well as the noise of a busy harbor had the man having to shut his eyes for a moment before he could even try to figure out where the young woman went. The smell of pipe smoke, spilled beers, and sweat gave way to the salt sea air drifting by on a soft breeze. The breeze also causes the great green wall of the jungle on the edge of the harbor shift and move as if it were some giant being. The small Sundasstan port of Domitila's Bend was busy enough with smaller trade ships favoring this harbor than larger ports. Being near the Spearhead Swamps allows for the lizard folks easy travel from further into the jungle, their large scaled forms standing a head taller than any other person among the crowds.
Once his senses have returned, he scans the crowd. Luckily, despite the variety of people walking to and from their business few of them had ears like hers. It didn’t take long to locate her; she was walking quickly with her hands swinging at her sides. The man went into a half jog to try and catch up to her. As he started to get closer to her, he bumped into a fruit cart. The driver unleashed a hail of curses at the man, who quickly picked up the few fruits that fell out of the cart. The debacle drew the young woman's attention, and she threw an angry frown at him before picking up the pace yet again. The man then had just enough time to calm the driver and then keep the woman in sight. He saw her turn into one of the numerous alleyways of the generally haphazard building plan of the harbor. Fearing that he was going to lose her before he could apologize, he picked up his pace into running to catch her.
As he turned around the corner quickly, he suddenly felt a sudden blunt force landing squarely between his eyes. He stumbled back, grabbing at his nose instinctively. Once the pain subsided a bit, he was able to see what he had run into. Looking up he had saw the young woman with a look of anger and her bottom lip quivering as she tried to hold in her emotions, she had her hands balled in fist ready to strike if needed. The man looks at her and checks his nose to see if it was broken.