River Valley Town, White Tit Tavern.
Sticky, discordant clamor mingled with the light clink of wine cups, and the boundary between day and night blurred in the wine fragrance that hung so thick in the air it almost seemed ready to condense.
The grief and sorrow of losing teammates, the excited glee of scavenging gains in the Goblin Nest, the eager thrill of a breakthrough in Combat Skill Proficiency...
A tangled mass of emotions swirled through this small tavern on the borderlands, like mellow wine rolling down the throat, catalyzing the deepest instinctive desires in the heart.
"Damn it, money's been real hard to earn these past two years!"
"I remember when I first started out, my brother took me along. We only went on one mission a month, and the silver coins we earned couldn't even fit in a pouch. The rest of the time, I could lie around in bed and do whatever I wanted. Don't even mention how comfortable it was."
"Now look at this. Just one set meal like this can't even fill up my little Jack, and they still charge me a full two silver coins."
"If they want to rob me, they might as well just take it straight from my pocket. Why go through all this trouble!"
A stubbly man in shabby clothes and cheap leather armor sat hunched at a small table near the tavern entrance, reeking of alcohol as he grumbled.
The tabletop in front of him was almost covered in empty bottles. Only through the gaps between them could one barely make out the empty plates buried underneath, still smeared with food scraps.
"Don't you see what kind of place this is?"
"If you want something cheap, just go to any other street in town and find a place. You