After several villages, they finally got into a city where the words of their exploits HADN'T made it yet. The best part of this was that they had a small Inn they could rent out for the night.
Rennish thought he'd never be excited about a dark, dusty, small-town Inn in his life. But this night he was glad that they all had a moment's privacy and warm beds to themselves.
Dinner was served in a small corner of the Inn next to the fireplace. Because the place was so small the owner's family lived in the hotel also. So for the night the owner and his two kids had a meal behind the makeshift bar while Erust, Rennish, and Ashra ate at a small round table in the corner.
"Peace and quiet," Rennish said to himself while he quietly picked at dinner. The other two nodded and ate in silence. For the last week, every meal and moment spare had been watched by some grateful villager. They appreciated that their work was helping people, even prophets need a night off every so often.
When dinner was over Erust and Ashra excused themselves from the table. Erust had purchased a bottle of house wine. It was a cheap local wine but it was the first real drink they had been able to enjoy together since they left the port town. They wanted to spend a night alone.
Rennish had his own plans. They were technically in town. The Inn was close to the outskirts but still in city limits. Rennish wanted to see what the nightlife had to offer. He had gone upstairs and grabbed his bag of instruments. If there was someplace to play a song he was going to find it. Plus he had a moral thing about not paying for drinks if he could just sing his way into them.
The town they had stopped in wasn't a county seat town. It was just a fairly successful town. Several large farms were nearby. A few small industries also existed in the town. They made wood goods that were sold at markets in other parts of the world. They also had a man who was rather well known for his art. These all added up to mean that travelers and merchants often came and visited. Anytime someone came from outside they brought new money into the town. Which just made the whole economy grow.
Rennish didn't have to spend long walking into town before he found a business with brightly lit windows and the sounds of people singing. His professional experience had taught him that brightly lit places and lively singing meant that the booze was flowing.
Rennish smiled to himself and ran a hand over his clothes to remove what small wrinkles he could. He made a mental note to ask for the next town to have a laundry service in it.
He walked inside the door and found rows of benches with drunk people on them. A small fire was set in a large copper trough near the center. A reasonably tall woman with ambiguous Demi-human features was shuttling mugs from a counter in the back towards the guests.
Rennish felt his heart warm as the sounds of slurred words and singing began again. He knew what this crowd needed, and it was an instrument to really get them singing and drinking.
"Excuse me," he said to the nearest drunk man. "Can I join you guys and play?" He had pulled a guitar out of the bag and was motioning at it.
"Woah!" The man stood up and screamed in excitement. He pointed at Rennish before continuing, "I told you guys we needed some music! And the gods delivered!"
Everyone threw up their tankard hand and bear sloshed everywhere. The fire fizzled for a minute before picking up its intensity.
The next few hours Rennish played for the drunk group of men. Slowly people came in off the street as they heard the sound of the guitar. Before too long the whole business was bustling and the waitress lady was running from one area to another passing out mugs and cups faster than she had ever done before. The waitress had protested to the owner about the sudden uptick in business. Greed had glazed his eyes as he watched all the paying customers come pouring in to hear the music. "Let them play! You should be raking in the tips!"
The poor girl sighed, the drunk men had stopped tipping after about the 3rd or 4th drink in.
"I got the room!" And a tall woman with dark hair stepped out from behind the bar. The owner narrowed his eyes. When had he hired her? The waitress was about to step forward and stop the interloper before she shrugged and figured she better enjoy the break while she could.
The new waitress shuttled more and more drinks until the revelers were too inebriated to order any more. There is a rule that after a certain amount of drinking most parties carry on without any additional hooch. This party was just getting there. The party hadn't broken into any fights yet so everyone was feeling the love as their songs got louder and everyone started to sway together. It was almost a religious moment for them all.
As the night wore on Rennish finally found a point where his friends no longer bought him drinks and were singing on his own without his backup. Rennish excused himself from the bench and stood up to walk towards the bar. He was going to get a glass of water before leaving the building. He put his guitar in his bag and shook out his hands to get them bending and flexing again.
"Hey, can I get water around here? Cold if you got it?" Rennish called to the owner and waitress who were still talking in the corner.
The new waitress came over and put a hand on Rennish shoulder. "Sure thing sport! Just wait here a second. That was some good playing you did there? You a professional?"
Rennish smiled and puffed up his chest a little. He was just starting to get drunk and hubris was getting the better of him. "Yes, I am! Some people say I am a little god-like myself!"
The new waitress snorted. "Well is that so?" She turned around and placed a cold glass of water down for him.
Rennish took it and tipped his head before pulling it up to his lips and taking a long drink of the clear liquid. He felt his body get lighter and his head clearer.
"I have a package for you here also. Got delivered a while ago." The waitress said leaning under the counter to grab a dark-colored wooden box.
"No, couldn't have been me. Just got here this evening actually." Rennish waved a hand and looked at the singing crowd.
He felt the box being shoved into his general area. He looked down to see the dark-colored wooden box. "This is for you. I say you take it. I don't want the boss man being accused of stealing a traveling merchant's male." She smiled and her eyes had an almost surreal twinkle to them. They were almost too charming.
He looked at it as he put his mug down. He finally reached out with both hands and lifted it off the counter to inspect it. It was heavier than he expected. It was warm.
He started to shake it and the waitress immediately reached out across the bar. "Gods no! Don't do that. What if it's fragile?!"
Rennish blinked two times and laughed. "Yeah, your right. Who brought it?"
"No idea just dropped off and was told it was for you."
Rennish rubbed his chin, it was his package after all. He should be able to take anything that was delivered for him. "Thanks! I will take this with me then!"
Rennish wasn't drunk but he was tipsy enough that he was making less well thought out decisions. Any other day he would have burned the box and ran from town just for safety's sake. Here he had full plans to take it home with him.
"Wonder what it is?" He rubbed his chin while he inspected it.
"Looks important to me. Take it home and give it to your friends. I am sure there is a letter somewhere or something that will tell you what it is." The waitress was now cleaning glasses with a cloth and putting them back on the back counter, waiting for another drunk to walk in needing more to drink.
"Thank you then! I think I will take this right to the Inn then." He stood up on his feet shakily before getting his bearings and walking out.
The waitress watched as he left the hall. He wasn't drunk but he was very clumsy and he hit a few things as he walked out of the room. When she saw him head west to his room in town she sighed. She hoped the dolt had the imagination to read the letter taped to one edge. Her job here was done but she was going to wait around and help the people out. She got her power from the energy of a good party. And having done so much work away from parties she needed to recharge.
Or'Ain returned to the crowd and passed out the last round of drinks. The guys were starting to fall asleep on each other's shoulders. "Time to button it up, guys! Closing time soon! Wanna make sure you get home to those beautiful wives!"
The mention of wives sobered up most of them as they started to get their wits about them. She watched them fight the urge to sing one last time. Tonight had been a good night, she thought to herself.