The night continued to unravel pleasantly in Shelly's Ale. It was a truly wonderful experience meeting Justin, and I had to pleasantly admit, it wasn't at all bad listening to the two banter about the old days during their prime.
I mean, I got to dig up some interesting dirt— I mean, interesting details about Cliff when he was younger.
The relationship between Cliff and Justin goes way back by many years, at the cusps of their youth. Justin was one of the people who were closest to being a sort of childhood friend to Cliff.
Some stories from Cliff's teenage days accompanied the warmth of my milk with each gulp down my throat.
The hours continued to roll by in Shelly's Ale, the small local pub still moving strong with the livelihood of customers rolling in and out each hours. Soon and eventually, a burly woman with arms as thick as trees and robust muscles bulging from underneath her clothes and bleached apron, broad shoulders and a single wide scar running across her missing left eye reached the counter at the end of the bar with a bell in arm.
The brawny woman, with a fine, carved and heavily developed musculature, who I came to understand was Shally, the pubs owner herself, gave a wide and loud swing with the bell, the jingle resonating entirely through the pub garnering all eyes and attention. And in a thick, firm and loud voice, and a suprisingly Scottish accent, Shally announced like a bellow.
"Last call for ye bunch. Quick, budge yer reekin' bletherin' bahookies oot o' ma pub, will ye?"
Soon the pub all erupted in laughter and 'friendly' commentary from the not so sober customers present.
"Oh, come on, Shally, the night's still young, isn't it?" remarked one of the lads quipped with a brawny chuckle.
"Oi, oi, Shally, if I didn't know any better, I'd reckon you're attempting to give us the boot now, ain't you?" added another with a mischievous grin.
"Alright, Shally, be a gem and have one of yer fresh lasses fetch us a few pints! Last call can wait a tad, love." Another bloke raised his tankard, flashing a toothy grin as he declared.
And many others followed with that.
Shally observed the wasted lasses from over the counter with obvious disgust and disdain in her eyes. But it was obvious from the interaction so far, that this was something she was used to.
Shally snorted and turned away. She spat out and cursed in some unfamiliar language while she left.
"Ma pub'll be shuttin' doon in less than an hour. Y'all bletherin' lads got yer warnin'." With those words in the same Scottis-soundig accent from earlier, Shally turned and marched back to wherever she came from.
That is, of course, not without her sneaking a glance towards our table. At the sight, both Justin and Cliff could only smile awkwardly at the brawny woman who snorted and left.
"Shally's still as pissy as ever, huh." Cliff commented jokingly after she was gone.
"Are you kidding? Of course she still is." Justin sighed as it if were undisputably obvious.
While I observed the two older men's conversations and subtle reactions over the rim of my mug, it was at that moment my attention, as well as some of the others, was drawn to a little commotion happening among some of the groups in the pub.
One of the many commotions that happened in the pub, at least.
Over across, at one side of the room, there were a small group of oddly dressed men and women, chanting without restraint with a festive atmosphere surrounding their table. They cursed, they laughed, they tugged, they shoved...put simply, this group was chaotic in all of its glory.
"Adventurers."
"Mercenaries."
Cliff and Justin said at the same time then turned to glance at each other dryly with a shrug.
"Those are obviously Adventurers. It's obvious from how 'colorful' they all look." Cliff subtly gestured at the group from across and argued.
"And I'm saying they aren't. Plus what exactly does 'colorful' mean in this context? They're obviously mercenaries." Justin glanced at Cliff as if observing a specie with two different head on a single neck.
"I mean, Mercenaries are more atmospherically downcast and gloomy in nature. They have no social joy." Cliff expressed his point with wide hand movements as if to truly drive it home.
"What the hell does that mean?" Justin almost cried, "mercenaries, especially a party are known, most of the time, for their barbarism and unculturedness when outside like this. They act like they own a place whenever they go out for a gathering or something, just like now."
The moment Justin said this, one of the men among the barbaric group slammed a leg on the table and raised his jug high hup and declared to all of everyone.
"Three hearty 'Huzzah' to the greatest Adventurerer party in all of Border Town, no, the continent! To the Crimson Bears!! Huzzah!!" And the group replied in kin with three thunderous cries.
"Huzzah!"
"Huzzah!"
"Huzzah!!"
"Heh." Cliff snickered in mocking pleasure at his friend, then further added, "Told you so."
Then the chants continued under the unwelcoming gazes of the other customers. The Adventurers didn't seem to mind this at all and partied like no tomorrow.
Then I saw it.
Magic.
One of the 'colorful' members of the group, a young lady dressed in purple revealing robes, spread open a folding fan in her hand from which a spring of water shot out amusingly like a fountain.
It was just a party trick, I knew that but my eyes regardless still gleamed intensely at the group. Suddenly my throat felt dry, I felt perched, but not the usual kind. It was a thirst that drove me with a peerless, seemingly unsatisfiable itch to learn magic.
At this point, I almost hungered for it.
Perhaps I was staring too hard, as the Mage from across gave a sensual wink accompanying a seductive smile my way. She made a small gesture, crossing the tips of her index finger and thumb into the shape of half a heart, a tongue of small magically conjured fire licked the air, forming the other half of the gesture .
"Looks like you're little boy here as an interest in magic, eh?"
Justin chuckled, leaning in closer with amusement.
"Hm?" Cliff put down his mug, gave a glance at me then smiled.
"He's a special kid."
Justin simply nodded repeatedly, very approvingly.
"I can understand. I can understand. That's how I feel about my own Lana as well." He huffed, his smile swelling with warmth and pride.
"Ooh? Did something happen?" Cliff took a sip of his booze then asked, probably picking up some clues from Justin's reaction.
At the question, Justin's smile widened broadly. Then he said, beaming at each following word .
"Lana just showed her first signs of magical talent."