WW CVI: Tol-in-Westeros Game Thread

[Kath]

You reach the Inn at the Crossroads shortly before nightfall. True to its name, it lies at the crossroads near the ford, between the Kingsroad running north-south, the River Road west and the High Road east. The Inn is three stories tall with turrets and chimneys made of white stone. Its south wing is built upon pilings that rise over a bed of weeds, and on the north side there is a stable with a thatch roof and a bell tower. The building is surrounded by a low wall of broken white stones. Smoke drifts from the chimneys, and raucous voices echo in the gathering darkness.

The evening air is turning cold, so you hurry towards the inn. As you get closer, the smell of cooked meat and ale issues from the open door. Though the voices are loud and drunken, they sound happy, and you feel no fear as you enter. Ahead of you is a wooden bar, behind which stands a thick-set dwarf. The room is filled with people, seemingly from all parts of the realm. Ale and good food have clearly done their work, you can see sigils from many houses - Royce, Tully, Greyjoy, Stark – but not a bared weapon in sight. Reassured, you head to the bar.

“And what can I get for you?” the dwarf asks, wiping a mug with a cloth. She has an accent that you recognise as one from across the Narrow Sea, and what's more, she has a long, beautifully plaited dark beard.

“Freak”, you think to yourself, but can't help noticing that for a dwarf, she is actually quite gorgeous.

“A beer,” you say, “and food. And a bed for the night, if you have one.”

“There is indeed one more bed,” she says. “It seems like half the Seven Kingdoms is on the move tonight.” She pours you a drink and calls to the kitchen: “Agan! Food for the newcomer!”

To your surprise, another dwarf appears in the doorway to the kitchen. This one is fair haired and fair bearded, with similar plaiting to the dwarf behind the bar.

“Another one, Kath? Well it’s coming up but there isn’t much left.”

“We can get new supplies on the morrow.” Kath replies. Agan shrugs and returns to the kitchen.

The dark haired dwarf places the mug in front of you.

“Find a seat.” She says. “The food will be with you shortly.”

Leaning forward to pick up your beer, you are seconds from making a height-related pun, when you see the large axe leaning against the bar by Kath’s feet. Shutting your mouth, you lift the mug and turn to face the crowded room. You can see a table with a spare stool and head towards it.

Heads turn as you walk across the room. Somebody catcalls, and you feel a flush creeping onto your face. When you sit down, a rough-looking woman bears down on you.

“Who do you serve?” she asks bluntly, but is seemingly content with your muttered answer. “That's good,” she says, “we don't want no Lannisters here. They cause naught but trouble.”

“Aye,” says a curly-haired man next to her. “It's good of Aganzir and Kath not to let them in. They want the Iron Throne for themselves even if it means killing everyone else in the process.”

Agan brings you your food. It's a stew with beans and carrots and it's a tad too spicy to your liking, but a fresh loaf of bread helps you gulp it down.

Time passes quickly. Your food is soon gone and your first ale is followed by a second, a third, a fourth. The customers are easy company, though you try to keep out of some of the more political conversations. With so many different houses around it would be easy to get drawn into deeper issues than which of the seven kingdoms has the best ale.

You glance at the bar and see the two dwarves drinking from huge pints, deep in a conversation with a strangely tanned man, half of his body pale and half brown. You wonder if it's pure chance or a strange emblem of the house he serves. Two yellow-haired girls are playing soft music in front of the fireplace, the red light flickering on their instruments. You are starting to feel tired, but your curiosity is piqued when you hear the tanned man call loudly:

“Oy, girls, play us a jig to dance to!”

As the music gets faster, the fair dwarf leads him to the centre of the floor grinning widely, and starts to teach him steps to a dance that looks fairly complicated to you. The audience laughs and cheers them on, but after a while they give up. Agan wipes her brow and looks mischievously at Kath, who is still standing at the bar.

Agan inclines her head towards the middle of the floor. Kath folds her arms and shakes her head firmly. A sly grin creeps onto Agan’s face as she sidles towards the bar. Kath raises her hands to ward Agan off, but the move backfires as the other dwarf grabs both hands and hauls her away from the bar.

“No!” She hisses, dragging her heels and trying to fall back.

“Come on!” Agan wheedles, not loosening her grip.

“Agan, I swear …” The sentence is lost as the musicians strike up again, playing a rousing tune that has many other patrons on their feet, but you can see that Kath is unhappy.

“Agan, let go of me!” Kath hisses, but Agan has a tight hold on Kath's hands, and she has no choice but to dance. Some patrons are watching them with a benign interest. “I am seriously angry with you right now,” you hear Kath say in a low, fast voice, and then she continues, to a lull in the music, “I'm going to rip your beard off! I'm going to rip it off and shove it down your throat!”

Agan doubles over laughing, and Kath stalks back to the bar. Back in the safety of her barrels and mugs, she claps her hands sharply and says with a hint of tension: “Alright everyone! The single rooms are on the second floor, the shared rooms are on the third.”

Little by little, the patrons start drifting towards their beds, you among them.

~ ~ ~

NIGHT 1 BEGINS IN ONE HOUR

WOLVES MAY DISCUSS

BEAR AND MAIDEN MAY SHARE LOVING WHISPERS

SEER MAY DREAM

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