The tavern keeper had a full and fleshy body. Tribal tattoos adorned her two bare forearms. Her smile seemed to mark a certain apprehension before the two newcomers. It was not so much that they were new that worried her. The Outpost was a hub for all kinds of homins, most of them merchants, others mere adventurers or wanderers looking for a temporary home. It was also a high place for diplomatic meetings between Rangers, Marauders, people of the Halt and the surrounding tribes. The tavern was the place where people came to celebrate the signing of mutual aid pacts or trade agreements.
No, what worried her was that they emanated a sort of unpleasant aura. Was it their all-Fyros armor when the Rangers' armor was motley, or their unfamiliar tattoos when she boasted of knowing the tattoos of all the surrounding tribes. There was something in them that was completely unknown, never seen before.
The homina asked her with a thick foreign accent for a shooki liquor. O'Teelo was astonished:
"A what?"
"Forget it…"
"We only serve baba here," the tavern keeper added before the Fyrossa's pout.
"How much is the baba?" said the Fyros homin while putting his purse on the counter.
This one had an amazing dragon tattoo on his face. However, it didn't look like the one of the Red Dragon Hunters Clan. By the way, the Fyros was not a Marauder, judging by his armor.
"It depends… How do you pay?"
"Do you accept dappers?"
The tavern keeper took a disdainful look. Dappers were still used on the Road, but they were increasingly abandoned in favor of barter. There were also some local currencies, depending on the place.
"That'll be 5,000 dappers, and it comes with the dish of the day," O'teelo explained. "Arma stew with botoga seeds."
The two Fyros looked at each other with a discomfited expression.
"Is there anything else to eat and especially to drink?"
"Tomorrow there might be some ploderos stew, depending on the arrivals. To drink there is also the glorx."
"The glork?"
"Glorx, repeated the tavern keeper, insisting on the final x. It is a specialty of the Atakorum.
While saying so, she pointed with her head to the group of turbaned homins.
"But you must have a strong stomach. Only they and the Fraiders usually drink it. I don't even know what it's made from."
"Then go for the glorx," exclaimed the girl, slapping her hand on the counter.
"Are you sure?" asked the Fyros.
"It can't be worse than the baba…"
The Fyros nodded that he would take the same.
"That will be 10,000 dappers in all," said the tavern keeper.
The two Fyros spent much of their day in the tavern, trying to strike up conversations with various homins. Eeri made contact with a Fraider, Azazor talked with a fat Fyros named Krapoutos. They learned that the Diplomatic Outpost hosted meetings between important Citadel generals and Rangers. The clan that owned the Outpost, however, was not playing the role of the Citadel's spokesman. The Passers Clan was taking advantage of it only to do business,, especially since diplomacy sometimes was going through trade too.
That evening, after a long discussion between Azazor and O'Teelo, the latter was finally convinced to hire them for a week as kitchen staff. Pelorus, the cook, was lacking hands. Azazor had assured her that they were butchers and that she would not regret it. She offered them a one-week trial contract, to run from the next day, with the possibility of prolongation if they did the job. The agreement was concluded on a handshake and an "akep" of the Fyros. This one had explained her where they were coming from, where they were going and what they were. Scientists from the New Lands on their way to the Citadel and beyond. Yes, her instincts had not deceived her. These two homins were very special indeed. O'Teelo wondered if she would regret the agreement with the Fyros…
No, what worried her was that they emanated a sort of unpleasant aura. Was it their all-Fyros armor when the Rangers' armor was motley, or their unfamiliar tattoos when she boasted of knowing the tattoos of all the surrounding tribes. There was something in them that was completely unknown, never seen before.
The homina asked her with a thick foreign accent for a shooki liquor. O'Teelo was astonished:
"A what?"
"Forget it…"
"We only serve baba here," the tavern keeper added before the Fyrossa's pout.
"How much is the baba?" said the Fyros homin while putting his purse on the counter.
This one had an amazing dragon tattoo on his face. However, it didn't look like the one of the Red Dragon Hunters Clan. By the way, the Fyros was not a Marauder, judging by his armor.
"It depends… How do you pay?"
"Do you accept dappers?"
The tavern keeper took a disdainful look. Dappers were still used on the Road, but they were increasingly abandoned in favor of barter. There were also some local currencies, depending on the place.
"That'll be 5,000 dappers, and it comes with the dish of the day," O'teelo explained. "Arma stew with botoga seeds."
The two Fyros looked at each other with a discomfited expression.
"Is there anything else to eat and especially to drink?"
"Tomorrow there might be some ploderos stew, depending on the arrivals. To drink there is also the glorx."
"The glork?"
"Glorx, repeated the tavern keeper, insisting on the final x. It is a specialty of the Atakorum.
While saying so, she pointed with her head to the group of turbaned homins.
"But you must have a strong stomach. Only they and the Fraiders usually drink it. I don't even know what it's made from."
"Then go for the glorx," exclaimed the girl, slapping her hand on the counter.
"Are you sure?" asked the Fyros.
"It can't be worse than the baba…"
The Fyros nodded that he would take the same.
"That will be 10,000 dappers in all," said the tavern keeper.
The two Fyros spent much of their day in the tavern, trying to strike up conversations with various homins. Eeri made contact with a Fraider, Azazor talked with a fat Fyros named Krapoutos. They learned that the Diplomatic Outpost hosted meetings between important Citadel generals and Rangers. The clan that owned the Outpost, however, was not playing the role of the Citadel's spokesman. The Passers Clan was taking advantage of it only to do business,, especially since diplomacy sometimes was going through trade too.
That evening, after a long discussion between Azazor and O'Teelo, the latter was finally convinced to hire them for a week as kitchen staff. Pelorus, the cook, was lacking hands. Azazor had assured her that they were butchers and that she would not regret it. She offered them a one-week trial contract, to run from the next day, with the possibility of prolongation if they did the job. The agreement was concluded on a handshake and an "akep" of the Fyros. This one had explained her where they were coming from, where they were going and what they were. Scientists from the New Lands on their way to the Citadel and beyond. Yes, her instincts had not deceived her. These two homins were very special indeed. O'Teelo wondered if she would regret the agreement with the Fyros…