Nights at the Hero Tavern were always quiet.
Every man oppressed during working hours chose to spend the last three underdark hours of his day getting blind drunk.
They always wanted to stretch that time a little longer, but the endless chores at home forced them to leave the numbing comfort of alcohol behind—perhaps a whip would lash their backs while they waited to serve in bed, perhaps they had to change the family's babies' diapers, or perhaps the women simply disliked them showing their faces outside so often.
No one wanted to face the bright life they had long since grown accustomed to.
Bright was a derogatory word.
Only unattached male livestock could linger here a little longer, though never for more than five underdark hours—the tavern owner also had to go home to serve in bed.
Naturally, the shareholder behind such an excellent establishment for squeezing money out of male livestock was a woman.
On these alcohol-soaked nights, they rarely spoke to one another. Most buried the day's grievances in their hearts and drank alone in silence.
It had not always been this desolate. The male livestock had occasionally talked about their grievances, complaining that the women whipped them too hard and so on... until another male reported those complaints to the women in exchange for a measure of status.
Those complainers were now whispering to one another at the bottom of the lake beside the tavern.
If they could still speak, that was.
Sir Raffi was the most distinguished male livestock in the tavern. As the Master of Arms of the [Venom Sting] Family, who had been among the first to submit to [Spider Silk] during the Great Hunt and thereby regain a foothold in Lightless City, he enjoyed more freedom of movement than ordinary family males.