The Yesteryears.

This is the chapter in which Xenia meets Traevus.

All the customers had fallen asleep, either in their respectful beds or at the tables in the bar. The night before had been an eventful one, leaving Xenia to clean up the messes alone. Sherstia had gone to bed long before, and the halfling knew she wouldn’t be back for a while.

Xenia took her wooden pail to the well outside The Corrupt Duke and filled it up about half way. The sound of water against wood comforted her, and allowed her to stay relaxed in this foggy state. Her bare feet don’t lift off the ground as she walks back to the pub.

Once inside Xenia sets to her tasks of cleaning the tables and floors. Vomit is splattered heavily on one of the stools. Cussing, she washes the wood while plugging her nose.

Once the water is murky with filth, she walks back out into the sunlight to throw the pail of water onto the grass. The halfling stumbles as sleep tries to take over her brain, as she hits the door to go inside she is awoken. Her eyes wide, and pain throbbing in her hip, she sits down at a table.

Her eyes stare off into space, the cracks in the wood taking all her attention. Slowly, the Halfling’s eyes droop. Soon enough she is fully unconscious in the spotless bar.

A figure walks in through the doors, not seeming to pay attention to the fact that the pub seems to be closed. His beard is the only thing visible that can mark him different from another. He walks up the bar and sits on the stool Xenia cleaned before she fell asleep.

The figure peers around the entire pub, taking in it’s entirety. The way his shoulders are perked back, puffing out his chest, suggests he’s taking a stance of dominance, to hide the fact he has never been here before.

As the sun rises, customers start to come in, travelers and local residents alike requesting Xenia’s attention. One small child shakes her, and her eyes flicker open. In that moment, the figure is gone.

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Throughout the day, the halfling shivers with the feeling of something stepping on her grave. She continuously looks around as she serves customers their drinks, paranoia is setting into her brain, and she cannot figure out why. At times, she even shivers, with no knowledge of what is causing them.

The day becomes night, a bard comes to sing to the inn. Children are asleep, but other creatures love to stay up long into the night. Xenia, still exhausted calls upon Shirtsia to take care of the bar so she may have proper rest.

Her sister dons on an apron, and readies for her duties as Xenia drags herself upstairs to their rooms above the pub. Her exhaustion is deep in her bones, mixing very dangerously with the paranoia.

Entering her room, hairs stand up on her entire body. Looking around, she sees nothing, so the halfling goes to her small bathroom and washes her face with the well water in her bath sink.

Stepping back into her room, she takes off her clothing. Once completely nude, she puts on her long nightgown, ready for a good sleep. Lying in bed, she hears a sound. She reaches for the knife underneath her pillow, and is ready to defend against a drunken creature that may have stumbled the wrong way.

Before she can endanger a life, she is shushed. “ You don’t need to harm me, I come baring a message. My master, Traevus, heard you needed some extra money, and thought you would be right for his job, if you want more information, you can meet him at the stream, by the apple orchard, when the sun is at midpoint. He’ll be waiting tomorrow.” The creature shuffles away, without letting Xenia see it’s face. Her curiosity sets her mind spinning, forcing her to stay awake pondering what could happen the next day. Finally, her eyes allow themselves to close, and her mind shuts off long enough for some rejuvenating rest.

Shuffling and bumbling beneath the sunlight, the halfling puts on her clothes from yesterday, and goes downstairs to get much needed coffee. The creature in her room from the night before pops into her head, and the decision to go to the stream is made.

An eternity is spent in her mind, waiting for the sun to continue rising. The pub is dead, everybody asleep from the night before. She makes the decision to leave early, taking her apron off, and walking out the door before second thoughts can be made.

The sound of her bare feet in the grass makes the decision real, her eyes stare straight ahead, and the wind blows whips of her hair that could not fit in her braid. It takes longer than the halfling remembers to get to the stream, but she is there nonetheless. Waiting does not happen, another figure is already there as well.

“Early, eh?” A raspy voice prods into the silence. He takes his hood down, allowing an elderly face of a dwarf to show. He smiles, making Xenia feel weary to what he could be hiding.

“It’s better early than late old man. What is it that is so important that you had someone sneak into my room where I could have slit there throats?” Xenia’s voice is harsh, but is more bluff than truth. Her arms fold over as a wind blows at the pair.

“I have a quest for you, young halfling. And I do not worry about you killing anyone, if you were deadly I would not want to help better you. I need you to acconpany me. I'm headed out of town, but the forest is a creepy place and I've heard the rumors that monsters dwell inside. If you help, I will give you gold, and tell others of the good you have done me.” His voice is now earnest, hoping she will agree.

“Alright, will you give me a map of where you're heading?” Her confirmation of taking the quest makes the dwarf shiver in glee.

“I will give you the places we should be on a piece of parchment, it will be dropped off at the pub when no one can see. Thank you Halfling, I appreciate this.”

Both part in their ways, and start on a journey that is much longer than needed.