Inn-stinct

This Inn was bustling with people from all over. It seemed that the innkeeper was extremely happy with the increased clientelle and was working hard to see that all were served as well as possible. There were two more servers behind the counter and another three running the room. One hallway was closed off which was interesting.g

As the shop owner came by stating he was taking a break the form of a young lady in tough leather that showed some chain mail on it moved out from the shadows and smiled at him as he sat down. The man huffed in surprise then chuckled, "Lass you will be the death of me yet." The Dwarf exclaimed with amusement, "Sit and have some stew with me. I haven't seen you about, Tatsoo."

Tatsoo shrugged, "Been awt hunting for leather fer yar daughter's boots, Hinock." She was still not fully used to the way these people spoke but was getting better at it. The Dwarf had liked her boots when she'd come to barter one day and now had a good arrangement for those goods, "What about this?" She asked, indicating the room with the wave of a hand.

"The Hero of Fereldan is staying here so people have come to see." He smiled, "Yer loft room in the barn is as you left it but Suji did clean a bit in there. That would be easier for you to work. The Hero has an interest in your work so I told her she could see you if you came around."

"Chuck said so too. My stuff ees there aready." The stew came and she lifted the bowl, "I should get leather readied." She stood and walked out of the bar without watching carefully as she tipped the bowl to her mouth and spooned it in.

Three men moved around the side of the stables and there were more to the side. Tatsoo realized a moment too late that these were not regular customers of the inn until one grabbed her and picked her up, crowing his satisfaction in raucious laughter, "I caught us a toy lads!"

Tatsoo did not get any time to scream as a hand folded over her mouth but instead she threw her bowl into one man's face breaking his nose then bit down on the other's hand making him scream and try to remove her as she kicked at him and finally connected with his crotch. The man gasped and fell to his knees accidentally pinning her under him.

Sitting at the bar, Maddox Hyperion was growing a bit uncomfortable. He's seen this place busy before, but now was a little out of control. He didn't know it, until he decided to do some eavesdropping. He overheard a conversation the store owner had with this woman, who spoke with a distinct accent. Apparently, the Gray Warden Nygozy was in Denerim. He hadn't seen her since the Coronation of King Alistair Theirin. But if she's around...that definitely means trouble.

Right next to him, his mabari Tiberius was sleeping. Which was good. If he's asleep, he can't cause trouble. Like almost every other time he came here. He has to pay the owner a little extra to pay off any and all damages that the resulting fight causes. It's a good thing that he isn't the Bann. He would be setting a bad example to others.

As Maddox finished his ale, he noticed Tiberius's ears perk up. He gets up and starts barking at him. "Tiberius, what's wrong? Do you hear something?" Tiberius barked his reply and lead him out of the bar. Maddox jumped off his stool and gave chase, knowing he'd need it. He was surprised when Tiberius led him to the scene where three men were trying to capture the woman from before. She handled herself pretty well so far, for someone who was ambushed by three people.

"Well, well. What do we have here, Tiberius?" A bark was heard, followed by growling. "That's right, a trio of people who don't know what they just got themselves into." Maddox charged, shoulder-first, into the the with the broken nose, pinning him up against the wall. He grabbed the guy by the neck and punched him out. Tiberius tackled the other guy and just tried to keep him occupied.

Maddox grabbed the guy the woman stunned, which unfortunately landed on her. He pulled him off and tossed him aside. He offered his hand to her. "Need a hand?"

Tatsoo was considering how to get this oaf off of herself, arranging herself in such a manner that she could get her elbow into a position to do damage, hopefully to the throat but before she could do so another person came out of the Inn and accosted her attackers. She was confused for a moment as she had not expected anyone to come and save her figuring it would all be up to her.

Once the weight was removed from her and then this man put his hand out to her. The woman looked up with startled honey eyes. She was still ready to fight but fought down the urge as she took his hand and stood up, watching him carefully to make sure that he was not the type to become just as bad as the others. As of far he did seem to be a good person and it was nice to see that. Tatsoo had too often noticed that many people were out for their own good in this city so tended to not take much attention to them. This was different though and her smile returned to her face as she shook off the raging changes of reactions to settle on being normal and also careful at the same time due to the others there.

"Thank yew. That was nice of yew and ..." She noticed Tiberius and her face lit up as she looked at the Mabari hound, "You have a friend in anemals. He is impressive and both ya strong." It looked like she was itching to pet Tiberius but was holding back. The truth was that she knew some animals would not accept any attention except from the people they chose and did not want to offend either the dog or the man.

"Go ahead, he won't bite. He loves the attention." He smiled, relieved to see that she didn't appear hurt. Her accent seemed more apparent now that she is actually talking to him, as opposed to eavesdropping. "And your welcome. Tiberius and I have seen a lot of combat over the years."

Maddox let Tiberius walk over to the girl so he can deal with this last guy. He knelt down and grabbed the guy by his collar. He pulled him up so can get a better look at him. He had a bit of a defiant look in his eyes. Maddox glanced over at Tatsoo then back to him. An evil grin came over his face as he pulled the guy to his feet. He held the guy's arms at his back. "Hey, I think you missed this guy. I think he wants you to show him what you really think about what he tried to do."

The thought of being able to pay attention to an animal of such stature was pleasing. She had not been near any dogs for so long, at least since the Blight took over the landscape. She knelt down to Tiberius and put out her hand for him to sniff then wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed his ear with one hand, "I so miss the feel of fur. I mean, with living underneath. I work with skins but dey are not de same ad all." Tatsoo sat back and rubbed Tiberius' cheeks, chuckling at the funny look it gave him.

As she petted the Mabari she noticed that Maddox was talking again. She looked up at him then stood considering the offer, "Well, I'd say he na like to have what done to him like he does to others." She got closer and looked up at him, "But na like him I do na pick on who I feel be defenseless. So I say..." She grinned, "Give im a fair start an ah teach him what it be like."

"Very well then," Maddox replied as he pushed the man away, freeing his arms in the process. "You heard her. You better start running." A smirk appeared on his face just thinking of hunting this man down. But then he looked at the two guys that were left behind. He should do something about them first.

Now that the two were relatively alone, Maddox realized that the only name exchanged so far was that of his mabari. "Since you said about giving him a head start, I think it's about time I formally introduce myself. I am Ser Maddox Hyperion, heir to the Bannorn of Cercium. Who might you be, miss?"

As the last conscious rat fink bolted towards safety, a firm hand caught him by the collar, and hoisted him off the ground. Amazingly, it was an elf the size of a human, with all the musculature of one too. Marcus was not pleased by this display. "I think you'd better apologize to the lady and mean it." He snarled dangerously, his berserker rage at a slow boil right now.

With the thug and his buddies (once the others came to) begged for the honey-eyed girl's forgiveness as they saw the dangerous glint off the huge axe the elf carried. An elf with a weapon too fine for his kind. What manner of knife-ears was he? Marcus waited for them to finish before kicking them in the behinds to send them on their way. Gray eyes peered over his shoulder to the two people he had never seen before and grinned the boorish grin he was infamous for among his friends.

"Honestly, horny hellspawn hurrying to their bodily harm is hardly harrowing effort on my part." He said with a flourishing bow. "Durbans, at your service." He said to no one in particular and then looked towards the woman. "You alright, missy?" he asked her in a serious tone.

Tatsoo was ready to move but the man spoke to her again and she nodded as he gave his name.

"Since you said about giving him a head start, I think it's about time I formally introduce myself. I am Ser Maddox Hyperion, heir to the Bannorn of Cercium. Who might you be, miss?"

"Ahm Tatsoo. I was of the Dewshine Tribe on southward." She said a little sadly then noticed another man come along and force the men to apologize then gave this huge grin.

"Honestly, horny hellspawn hurrying to their bodily harm is hardly harrowing effort on my part. Durbans, at your service. You alright, missy?"

She blinked then chuckled at the over exemplified actions of this one, "Aye. Ahm fine thanks to Maddox and Tiberius. Thanks be for making them apologize. We don't get to hunt though. Is a shame. That one could run and would be a fun quarry." She shrugged, "Anyhow, might I repay yer halp with some stew? I ken get some from the Inn an maybe we can talk while I work on me boots. It has been a while since I've had a good chat with anyone."

Tatsoo had no clue why she was inviting these men to hang out with her. There was something about them that cried out to her of tribe and the young woman always listened to her senses as they were more than likely correct.

Maddox was a bit surprised at the sight of this man. He didn't really look like much, but his weapon made him stand out a bit more. He was a weird elf. Pretty gutsy, too, forcing the assailants to apologize, given their respective races. He liked this guy already.

"Durbans, huh?"

He returned his eyes to Tatsoo, a bit curious about this Dewshine Tribe. He never heard of them before. But from her reference, south, perhaps...the Korcari Wilds? What would she be in Denerim? When she mentioned boots, he had an idea that maybe she was bartering goods in Denerim. It would make sense, given the amount of traffic Denerim gets. And with the Warden-Commander here, she couldn't have picked a better time to sell some equipment.

"I think I can go for some stew. If you don't mind, can you also get some meat for Tiberius. I wouldn't want him to feel left out." Maddox didn't even need to look to notice how excited Tiberius was at the idea. Maddox also noted that Tiberius didn't try to attack Durbans, meaning he didn't think he was a threat to them. And that is a very good thing, considering how their guard would be down during their meal.

"Aye. Ahm fine thanks to Maddox and Tiberius. Thanks be for making them apologize. We don't get to hunt though. Is a shame. That one could run and would be a fun quarry. Anyhow, might I repay yer halp with some stew? I ken get some from the Inn an maybe we can talk while I work on me boots. It has been a while since I've had a good chat with anyone." said the blonde girl. Marcus beamed. "Yes, I would love some stew right about now. Chasing off brigands brings a baleful belly, you know." He nodded his head sagely.

So the two humans were Maddox Hyperion and Tatsoo. Interesting names but Marcus still did not trust them enough with his real name, so he kept that to himself, maintaining the aloof persona of Durbans.

When they both said they would like some stew Tatsoo smiled and went to the kitchen door and went in. It did not take long for her to procure a pot of stew, some bread, a big bone three bowls and spoons as well as a big jug of mead with cups. The pot had a handle like a bucket so she carried it that way and the rest was in a bag. As she came out she smiled at the three and motioned towards the barn.

"Aye stay here a lot but don like to be indoors much so they rent out the loft in the stables to me. The room up there is big dough." Tatsoo went into the barn and climbed a ladder almost like a squirrel, her speed at getting up even with burdens was almost amazing. She stepped to the side, "I can send down a rope to pull up yer Mabari?" She said as she put down the package and pot.

The loft itself was fairly large and looked down into the stable common and across into the other side with the second loft in that section. There was a closed area half way down the loft and lots of straw bales between her and the room. The door to the room was open and one could see a makeshift bed of blankets, pelts and a pillow on straw and some skins hanging on frames drying. A couple of barrels with cushioning were there as well as a short workbench. There were quite a few other skins on the ground and various tools and made or partially made boots with fur insoles, beading and other forms of adornment. There were two large windows with shutters looking out at the market.

"Tis not much but it works well." She smiled.

"Nice place, Tatsoo. Kinda reminds me of my home before the Ferelden Rebellion, before my father became a Bann," Maddox reminisced upon seeing Tatsoo's loft. This was the kind of place he would want to one day retire in. He would be content living here.

Maddox looked down at Tiberius, curious to see if he was brave enough to try to get up there."Well, Tiberius? Want to stay down there, or try coming up here? It's your choice either way."

He didn't think Tiberius would be so bold, but he was. He bit down on the rope and Maddox began to pull. It didn't take long, with Tiberius doing his best to lessen the distance. When Tiberius anchored his front paws on the ledge Maddox grabbed him and pulled him over the edge. "Are you trying to show off or something? You're not as young as you think you are."

Ah a quaint loft in a barn. The wood smelled so fresh too. Also the smell of Tatsoo's cooking was grand. His shoulder still hurt but it was mostly healed now. Still, stew is good for recovery, his mother used to tell him. And while the Alienage was short on quality ingredients, he had learned to love simple dishes like stew. "This place reminds me of home." He said with a sad smile on his face as the ghost of something flashed across his eyes, remembering his deceased family before the Blight swallowed West Hills.

"Maybay Tiberius is tryin ta show ye up, Maddox." She petted the dog's head, "Yer such a strong boy and loyal to do such a brave thing just to be with us." A bone came out from the bag and she handed it into Tiberius' mouth then went to her bed and set up the rest of the items on her table.

Tatsoo waved them into the room so they would take seats, "Ahm na sure wha a home is. Ma tribe had tents an we traveled all over our territory. We used them even in the white, fluffy rain seasin. Mebe yer ken tell me what it is like? I mean, a home. It is hard ta learn sometimes because even dough Ahm good at watching an listenin it is differn when others teach. But none wans ta show outsida anythin."

She dished out the stew and shoveled some into her mouth with the spoon directly from the bowl almost as if she were drinking it. She stopped for a moment, "An dew yer know what id is aboud dis strange group everywun is talk aboud? It is strange. Dey say erro of Freldan bud what id dat?"

"Maybe your right, Tatsoo. Or it's perhaps Tiberius is too much like me. I'm not exactly young myself, and I still try to show off when I can."

"Well...a home can look like anything really. For me and Durbans, it is probably a house, built out of wood or stone, like this place for instance. A home would be some place you feel comfortable and you put a lot of care in it. It doesn't necessarily need to be a house." Maddox tried answering to the best of his abilities, but he wasn't really taught much himself. Knowledge was Daren's weapon, never really his own. He can relate to Tatsoo in how he learned growing up. This next question, however, was something he knows about.

"You must be talking about the Grey Wardens. They are a group of people who are trained to kill darkspawn, and during a blight, kill the arch demon. The Hero of Ferelden is the Gray Warden who killed the arch demon. She's a...dwarf, if I recall. Nygozy was her name, I believe."

"Dat jus means yer young at heart and still have lots of life in ye." Tatsoo mentioned then smiled as Maddox explained to her about homes. She listened intently to the concept and worked it out in her head, probably translating it from language to language and figuring out what was the best match to what he was saying. She finally nodded after some time of contemplation, "It is like a sala. The sala is where one lives and takes as their own. It does not move like de tents but is good for people who ... they grow their food and keep animals for food."

The thought of the wardens made her wonder even more, "So she got rid of da head spawn? That musta been hard as even da liddle buggers are pains ta kill sometimes. I saw da big one, da draygon flyin about one time and dat was enuf fer me. It was huge. Mayhap it will not be bad to meet da eero. Maybe she would like ma boots and I could make a nice pair fer her."

Her voice trailed off then she ate the rest of her food and poured the drinks, "Ell. Dis is mah work. Whad about yer work? What do ye do?" She asked both men equally.

Marcus listened to the conversation for a time before something was mentioned that he could get into. "Aye, I'm traveling with the Wardens. Have been for weeks." He smiled. Tatsoo then went into a mini rant. "So she got rid of da head spawn? That musta been hard as even da liddle buggers are pains ta kill sometimes. I saw da big one, da draygon flyin about one time and dat was enuf fer me. It was huge. Mayhap it will not be bad to meet da eero. Maybe she would like ma boots and I could make a nice pair fer her." to which Marcus shrugged. "Darkspawn aren't that hard to kill. Hack em apart and they go down like anyone else. And I guess you're lucky to have seen the Archdemon and survived." He nodded his head as he began eating his stew.


As the drinks were poured, Tatsoo asked "Whad about yer work? What do ye do?" Marcus smiled weakly. "I used to be a lumberjack from West Hills. Now I'm just a mercenary."

Durban's response piqued his interest. He travels with the Wardens? If he recall from information he heard, at least half of her traveling companions were not Wardens. He thought it was because of the low numbers, but perhaps the Wardens have no policy against having others travel and fight beside them.

"My work...well...officially, I'm in charge of the garrison in Cercium. I'm supposed to lead them in to battle during attacks and wars. Right now I have my second taking my place until I get the need for excitement out of my system." He began scratching his head. "However, I don't really get paid for that. With my brother as Bann, I have unlimited access to the family treasury. Unfortunately, my unofficial job as a person who gets into trouble, forces me to spend a lot of money to repair collateral damage. I do occasionally get rewarded, but I never seem to hold onto it."

"So. Durbans. You travel with the Grey Wardens? Imagine that. Do you think you can bring us to meet them later? There's someone I wanted to talk to who I heard was a Grey Warden. I heard she was in Denerim, but for the life of me, I can't seem to find her."

"Da Darspawn I mean are dose ones that appear and 'woosh'," She motioned with her hands, "Den da liddle buggars are gone. I ken track dem easy and kill dem. Dey are jus a pain in da ass." Tatsoo ate a bun, "Ya, dat demon was afta more importan stuff den me."

Tatsoo listened to the men and smiled about Marcus knowing the wardens, "D'ye know da hewwo much? I was workin on dis as I was tol she's innerest in ma work." She lifted a design of a griffin on a piece of paper. It was finely detailed even to the quality that Marcus put into his sculptures. The completed and partially completed footwear showed the same high ability, the images seeming to almost come to life with the vivid tones and intricacies, "Id would be for the side of da boot as it is too big for da toes an would be cular thwead instead ah beads."

All at once Marcus was assailed with questions. He listened to their tales and reasoning (though it was hard to sift through Tatsoo's accent) and sighed, raising a hand up as he finished shoveling down the last of the stew. "Depends, really. What's your business with the Wardens? Looking for someone could easily mean you intend to kill them. As for if I know the hero much, well, I know she definitely lives up to her reputation. She's an impressive woman. We've shed blood together and that's proof enough she fights like an archdemon." He chortled, sitting back in the chair. "So you're a cobbler, Tatsoo? Interesting."

"That's not the kind of trouble I like to get myself into. Have you heard of the Couslands? The Hyperions are vassals to Couslands. I heard that Macha Couslands, one of the survivors of the massacre, was a Grey Warden. I've...been looking to apologize. If I had decided to investigate Highever instead of return to Cercium that night, we could have saved the castle and it's occupants from Rendon Howe."

Maddox scratched the back of his head, trying to calm himself down. It wasn't going to help anything if he got too emotional about this. "I served as a squire in Castle Cousland when she was very young. Hurting her is the last thing on my mind. My family owes the Couslands a great deal. My father only became a Bann because of him fighting, and surviving, the Battle of White River alongside Bryce Cousland."

"Cob ... ler?" What in the world was that? There was a type of horse that was known as a "cob" but this did not make sense in the vocabulary that she had at hand. She scratched her cheek then behind her ear as she worked on that one in her head and listened to the two men talk. Ok. There was corn on the cob, a cob which was a breed of those noisy, neighing things ... but this had to do with her work? Why in the world would anyone name this work "cobbler"?

When Maddox started to be more emotional she looked up before he even showed that he was. She watched him carefully and was interested in the fact that he had been in battle. She had seen battle herself but it probably wasn't the same as what he was talking about. Or maybe it was in it's own way, fighting off invaders and those who wanted to exploit her people or their lands. For now she decided to listen and learn. Tatsoo was rather good at that.

Marcus lifted an eyebrow at Tatsoo. "A cobbler. You know, someone who makes shoes for a living." He said, shaking his head and then turned to Maddox. "Cousland huh. Never met any Macha in the group, sorry. Fereldan's a big place." He said with a shrug of his big shoulders. He pulled out a block of wood from his pocket and a carving knife from his belt and began whittling away at it. "If I see her, I'll let you know."

"Really? She isn't traveling with the Wardens? I see. Thanks anyway, Durbans." Maddox is a bit baffled that Macha wouldn't be with the wardens, if what he heard was true. Perhaps she elected to stay in Denerim instead of following Nygozy. It's entirely possible. Anything's possible.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did the Warden's come to Denerim? Are they looking for recruits or supplies?"

"Don know all yer language." Tatsoo commented back to Marcus, a little perturbed by the way he had answered her but not much. She was used to people either not giving her information or not being happy because she had no idea what they were talking about.

She sat back, drinking and listened to the other two. Her eyes flicked to the wood being sculpted then back into her mug.