Inside the "Orc and Lute," the firelight dispelled the chill of late autumn.
Hulk took a long swig of the fiery Orcish Liquor and breathed out a hot cloud of alcohol. "Whew... This is good."
"Galen, I never thought you'd find a place like this so soon after arriving in Rose Town."
After Belt and Laila, the bickering couple, made up, Captain Hulk had proposed a farewell dinner and offered to pay.
Though the steady, middle-aged man had plenty of adventuring experience, he seemed to rarely visit taverns, so he asked the others to recommend one.
Belt suggested several lively places, but Laila vetoed them one by one, saying they were "too noisy."
In the end, He Xi thought of this memorable little tavern.
Unlike the last time they'd come, a slender male elven bard was now playing a lute on the small stage in the corner.
The music, like water droplets from a clear spring, and the deliberately lowered voices of the patrons gave the distinctive tavern an even more unique charm.
With a heavy tread, the owner, Grimm the Half-Orc, set a large platter of sizzling Cracked Hoof Bull ribs on the table.
"Eat while it's hot!" His booming voice drowned out the lute. He turned and shouted toward the kitchen, "Barin! Hurry it up! Is the stonejaw meat pie ready?"
"Boss, we didn't order this..." He Xi began, but Grimm cut him off.
"On the house." Grimm grinned. "Having you here, Galen, is an honor for me, Grimm."
Before he'd finished speaking, a stocky figure pushed aside the kitchen curtain.
The dwarf Barin wore a slightly tight linen apron. He carried an enormous ceramic dish holding a meat pie in both hands as he trudged over.
He set the pie on the table and turned to leave,