Approaching the desk

[Marqués del Stry]

Business in town had taken longer than anticipated however, through matters of persuasion; the Tanner had seen the error in his ways and was, once again, in the employ of the Marqués.

It had already been late in the day when he and Leo had left the nautical port and then, after they had stopped to take care of business, it was terribly dark. Instead of traveling at night they chose to stay at a place overnight.

Bright and early the next day they headed out towards New Haven and the Tel’Ranaeym Inn.

“Before heading to the rooms I will stop by the front desk. Remember Leo, it is always in your interest to show yourself to the staff of the place you are staying. Not only is it courteous, but it lets you evaluate them.”

Approaching the Inn he saw that there were people outside sitting about. A tip of his head to them as he entered.

[Leo]

"...It is always in your interest to show yourself to the staff of the place you are staying.."

"I have met a member or two of this Inn and I have found them to be quite the lot." He meant this in the good and bad sense. Whereas he hasn't spent a lot of time around the Inn's populace, he had seen quite a lot of what was going on - occupational necessity.

Following the Marqués into the Inn he looked to see if there was anyone at the desk. He was slightly apprehensive for he did not know how his boss would react when he actually saw an elf. They did not speak on the subject since they had left the nautical port the other day.

[Elessar]

Elessar had been heading through the kitchen door when he noticed a few of the buttons were still undone, and so he paused there for a moment to fix them. With the door cracked open as it was he could catch the sound of voices in the main room, though he was too far away to hear what had actually been said.

The buttons fixed, and looking presentable again, he pushed the door the rest of the way open. Coming out from behind the bar he noticed the two men standing at the desk. Here he had thought Armandeus was the only early riser around. Putting on a friendly smile, and forcing himself not to walk too stiffly, he headed towards them. "Good morning. Can I help you with anything?"

[Marqués del Stry]

The Marques had been ready to give a response to Leo, a quip on the people he has met, but that was before he caught sight of who came through the door and who was now addressing them.

It was an elf. That was the first thing that caught his attention. The cut of the face, the ears, the way he walked. Even trying to hide that he was not walking easily - yes he could tell when a person's gait was off or forced from the natural - he still had the elfish nature about him. He made no attempt to mask the hard and measuring look he was giving his greeter.

Internally he could feel his blood level rising as surely as he could feel his heart beating within his chest. An elf. One thing he was noticing was the fact that this was not one of the elven kind of his late love. He was a different breed.

The cut of the clothing was adequate, but the fabric was not.

He turned then to Leo and, in a voice deep and firm spoke, "Herido en batalla. Mentiras. Quién lo hizo él mate." He knew that the elf could hear him. Chances are he wouldn't know what was said.

Spoken he turned back to the greeter. "You do not walk properly Elf. How did you get damaged."

[Leo]

For the love of god, he did not know something like this was going to happen or else he would have tried talking to his boss about it more. No matter how much he would have protested, or yelled. It might have helped him get it all out of his system and they could avoid anything like this from happening.

Quick to action Leo stepped forward and smiled to the Elf that had presented himself before them. "Mucho gusto Señor. Thank you for the greeting." Quick glance was exchanged to the Marqués.

"It has been a long and exhausting day and the Marqués has come a long way and I'm afraid he's a bit travel worn. You'll have to excuse him." Doing the talking. It might be better if he did it for now. "I am Leo, I believe I met your friend at the bar when I checked in, a bit shorter than yourself yes?"

[Elessar]

Elessar hadn't made it more than a few steps away from the bar when his gaze caught the hard look being directed at him. It was enough to stop the Elf cold in shock. Had he met the man before? He was almost certain he hadn't, but that was not a look given to strangers.

If the look had been shocking, it was nothing compared to the speech. The words were foreign to his ears; unlike anything he had ever heard before. But, it was not the words that truly mattered, it was the tone, and his spoke volumes.

Perhaps it was the way he was addressed as 'Elf' or the feel of carefully hidden Elven blades against his skin, or the knowledge that Ar was in the kitchen behind him, but either way Elessar felt a sudden rush of bravery. His voice never changed from the soft, calm tone it always held. "My damage, and how it came to be is none of your concern." Vergoth preserve him, he would probably need it.

The other, and by the looks of it, friendlier man, was addressing him then, and he turned his way. "You met our chef, Armandeus. Did he acquire you a room already?"

[Leo]

"You met our chef, Armandeus. Did he acquire you a room already?"

"Yes. Yes he did. Very good. Thank you." He may have spoke a bit rapidly. Trying to keep his voice clear even while in a hurry. The Spanish accent came across strongly.

Leo was moving back to talk to the Marqués, his back turning slightly to the greeter whose name he did not know. The last thing they needed to incur were angry host. "Él es nuestro amigo, y su amigo también. Mira sus ropas. No son mismo de otros. Bien?"(1)

As for him, he was starting to get settled at this place and did not want to leave yet.


^{1- He is our friend, and his friend also. Look at his clothes. They are not the same as the others. Okay?}

[Marqués del Stry]

What Leo had said was true. He had to not let thoughts of one kind influence that of another. And he had to get his pressure under control before worst were to happen.

The Marqués clapped Leo on the back. "You are right. Shall try to make the amends."

The second set of words were for the elf. His tone was normalized for conversation and lacked the hard edge of earlier."As was said, it has been a long journey. I hope your injuries were not attained here. It would be no good to keep rooms in hostile territory."

The Inn did not show signs of a recent battle or scrimmage but he knew how quickly things could be covered up. "How shall we address you? Me, you can call either Marqués or Stry."

[Elessar]

They already had a room, and Elessar couldn't have been more thankful for it. Having been away for a while on his short 'journey' he still had yet to learn how to check people in. He had a feeling that checking in these men would not have been an easy task.

Now the friendlier man was speaking in that strange language again. One ear twitched just slightly as he tried to make sense of it, but it was hopeless. Elessar truly hoped that this was not another form of the common tongue, for he had a hard enough time learning it to begin with.

Had he heard that right? The man, who had seemed angry just moments before, wanted to make amends? He looked up in surprise, nodding carefully as he listened.

He still wanted to know how he was injured it seemed. It was not the best of stories, in fact it was one that sounded so stupid one might not have believed it had he told it. At any rate the only one who had heard the full tale was Armandeus, and Elessar was not about to repeat it. He had to say something, however. "My injuries were not attained here, I assure you of this. You may call me Elessar."

[Leo]

"Elessar. Good name." His tone was still slightly rushed. The greatest relief to him was that his boss had changed his tone and was at least trying to act in a civil manner towards Elessar. Even so, it would not due to tarry longer in the lobby area.

"Come on Marqués, the room is great. Did I tell you about the new orders that came in a few days ago?" He might be making excuses to get his boss away from the elf, but it was all for the better.

"Swift recovery Señor." He sought to lead his boss up the stairs and to the rooms that he had acquired previously.



(Sorry for the ill-written post. long work days lend to a tired mind.)

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