Standing near the doorway of the Inn, Siene could smell the sweat and stink of the men and women within. If it weren't for the information she received recently, she would have avoided this foul smelling establishment and gone further north. Unfortunately, she'd been riding in rain for the last five days straight and could use a room with a hot bath and some decent food. Pulling her long black leather cape firmly around her and adjusting the grey woolen hood over her head, she went in intent on getting a room.
Keeping the cowl of her caped jacket over her long white hair, she moved quietly to the end of the bar where a proprietor sign hung. Just as she was about to ask the barmaid for a room, she overheard a man's voice boasting of his recent luck. "Good fortune gave us the last room in the place, wit some pretty lasses an cold ale too boot. It's gonna be a right good night fellas". The three men shared smiles and friendly shoulder smacking as they collected their mugs of ale from the bar. Silently scowling, Sienne quickly made a plan to relieve them of their room.
Noting the general direction of their meandering walk through the bar, she eyed a table in the far back corner. Surrounded by several thick pillars, the corner table was hidden from the view of most bar patrons. Perfect for her current need.
Siene had no desire to draw everyone's attention, but her whole body was designed to get the attention of the opposite gender. She had to be careful to attract only her targets. Although she often wore her hip length silvery white hair in one thick braided combination at the back of her head, she had went with a less regal blend of braids and plaits favored by humans. Today that turned out to be her good luck.
As soon as she got close to the men she took off her cowl and shook out her hair. She opened her leather cape and swished it back to give a glimpse of her figure. Hearing grunts of approval directly behind her, she could tell she had their attention. She quickly sat down at the corner table and acted seemingly unaware of their interest. It wasn't long before the three men approached her table. "Now what's a pretty girl like you doin' in a place like this?," said the snaggle-toothed leader of the trio.
"Honestly, I'm not sure myself," Siene said as she smiled at the men. She had found it was easier to compel humans if they willingly looked into her cool blue eyes. She only had to convince them to move along and leave her their empty room. She knew it meant all three would have to agree.
"It's too bad you can't stay to chat. This awful weather is horrible to travel in. I bet you have plans to make since you're leaving soon." Siene said, while smiling broadly at all three.
"Oh no lass. We're here fer the night," their leader said, as he put his mug on her table.
"I could have swore I heard you say you needed to stay ahead of this nasty storm," Siene said as she lingered on the eyes of the leader.
"Well yea, if it's too bad, we're gonna to have to get going," he mumbled with some confusion. Just then his furry partner interrupted him, "What's this about a storm?"
Siene had to adjust her focus to look at him closely, in a sweet innocent voice, "I heard them all talking about heavy rain moving this way slowly from the South. I assumed that's why you were making plans to leave as soon as possible. You know," Siene took a second to shake like she was chilled, "Before that icy rain starts pouring here."
Blinking with less confusion than his snaggle-toothed leader, he looked around and saw the empty table next to him. Suddenly he blurted out, "Yea your right, we need to get our map out an get our plans set . Ain't got time to go upstairs."
The third man looked at his two friends like they had lost their minds. Slowly moving to follow his two friends as they walked away and sat down, the third man finally sat at their table. After watching the two men pull out their travel papers and map, he smacked his mug on the table to get the two men's attention.
Siene grimaced slightly because it was clear that she hadn't deceived him. Before he became more irate, she got up and went to speak with him.
"What are ye talkin' about," said the third man to the snaggle-toothed leader. "We can't leave tonight. We haven't even gotten our supplies yet."
His two partners, looked at him grumpily. " We got to keep our goods dry and out of that icy rain".
The third man's face reddened quickly, "That's why I packed it tight and covered it in oil skins. Spent two extra hours fixing it so nothing could get to it. Y'all doubting me?"
Siene made her way quickly towards him as she heard him start to get seriously riled up. "Ain't no reason ta leave early cuz some woman says theys a nasty storm comin'. I'm aiming te eat and sleep in a bed te' night"
Just as he was about to get up, she laid her hand softly on his shoulder. When he turned around to see who was touching him, his fist clenched and ready to punch, she caught him in a one on one look. "Leaving as soon as you're loaded is a great idea. Why don't you leave now to check on those supplies you need. I'm sure the innkeeper will be happy to help you get things together." He blinked at her a couple times, then picked up his mug. "I'll be checking on our gear," was all he said as he walked off.
Being a vampire hybrid definitely had it's advantages. She could usually use her voluptuous looks to get what she wanted, but she was tired from riding hard for the last week. Mind manipulation was easy on humans if you could get their full attention. It was taking about all the energy she had right now to get these three men to give up their room. She was glad she didn't have to fend off their attentions all evening. As soon as they left, she went and rented the newly available room.
Tired and slightly damp, she looked forward to that hot bath. Her growling stomach forced her to wait until she got something to eat however. Being half vampire and half human she could survive on either food or blood. She preferred fresh animal blood; but since she had no time to cover up a feeding, she decided to eat as the humans did. No matter what it was, she needed the energy.
Walking back to her table she began thinking about what her spy had uncovered. The newest information she received said the kidnapped triplets had been sighted only fifteen miles north from this little mining town. But that sighting was two weeks old. She needed updated information, food, and rest. So, with little choice, she used compel to make sure the men would leave her alone altogether. Hopefully, they didn't take naps. Recently, the strength and length of her compel ability hadn't been consistent. She had to hope they just kept on travelling and didn't wake up wondering why they hadn't stopped for the night.
Catching the attention of the bar maid, she settled back at her table to prepare to eat.