In the south of Middle-earth, in the realm of men, Gondor.
This kingdom long since lacked the former glory of the Numenorean Empire, and even the royal bloodline was scattered abroad, with the royal power held in the hands of Regent Chancellor Beren Mardil. Facing Mordor close at hand and the repeatedly invading Eastern barbarians and Dunlendings, they were exhausted, yet they remained the most powerful kingdom of men.
The Meadow Tavern, an establishment opened by the allied Rohirrim, was quite famous among adventurers and rangers in Gondor due to its strong, unadulterated liquor and affordable prices.
Sometimes one could see soldiers and officers who had just come down from the battlefield, or aristocratic young ladies who had slipped out after blindly trusting the descriptions in knight novels to seek a "turning point of fate," as well as some highly renowned hero figures, and many "bosses" would even come straight to the tavern to recruit people when they needed workers.
Of course, government spies also disguised themselves as ordinary people to come here and secretly probe for useful intelligence.
All of this made the tavern so famous that many of the latest news items were often not circulated in the letters of the kingdom's ministers, but rather spread within this tavern.
Accompanied by people's gruff voices.
A somewhat chubby man who looked relatively old sat in a corner. He had a full beard and a pair of clear blue eyes, wore thick clothes, and had a felt cap made of fox fur on his head. His waistline was somewhat wide, making him look like a merchant.
In addition, several men wearing plain cloth and cowhide bracers sat clustered around a wooden table, their wooden mugs filled with frothy ale, and the lighting in the tavern was somewhat dim.
They drank