Alpine knew a strange situation when he saw one. He was a peculiarity, too; a wizard on the road far from a city, looking for adventure. He didn’t stand out, though, since no one really knew he was a wizard. The woman in the corner, however, stood out like frozen laundry on a windy day.
She sat the corner farthest from the door, up against the stairway to the rooms upstairs.. She wasn’t with anyone that Al could tell and she wasn’t waitressing. It might raise a few eyebrows back in Whitney, where women had a little more autonomy, but here in the countryside of Sharka, it was a bit odd. Especially a woman so comely and so unprotected.
She was dark haired with captivating eyes that tilted up slightly. She would be incredibly stunning if she wore clothing more befitting her small stature and gained a little weight. As it were, her high cheekbones shadowed her face dramatically and her collarbones stuck out in a way closer to starvation than exoticism. Her appearance didn’t seem to bother the local men, though. Al had counted eight of them sitting at her table during the better part of an evening, a little under half the men in the tavern. The rest probably understood they were too old or too poor to have a fair chance at her hand.
The woman spoke quietly, occasionally pulling out a bag of runes. Even stranger. A piscarin, so far from the docks of a city. Was that normal for a small town in Sharka?
“We may never know,” Al said, taking a long swig.
Al waited a few minutes, then decided it was worth the entertainment, if not the education. He brought his beer over with him and asked if she minded if he sat down. She waved him to join her.
“Are you looking to have your fortune told?” she asked.
“Seems a good way to spend a few minutes,” he said, putting his beer down on the table.
“Three coppers, unless you’d like a stronger connection.” She held her hand out in front of her.
“Let’s make this interesting shall we?” He placed two coins on the table. “I will pay you one copper for the reading. If you can guess three things about me, I will give you one gold.” Why did I just wager a gold?
He nodded and slid the gold coin a thumb’s length towards her.
He slid the coin again.
He didn’t leave immediately, though. He watched her go through a series of non-verbal tries. First, she flirted with him, her eyes looking into his, then bashfully away. When that didn’t work, she grew cold, leaning back into the darkened corner with her arms crossed. Finally, she ignored him, looking around the room for her next client.
“You broke your facade,” he said after he finished his beer. Her gaze to him. “Just for a moment, I saw someone whom I found much more interesting. I’d rather talk to her and not deal with this fake piscarin thing you’re doing,” Al said, waving his hand in front of her face.
It occurred to him in that moment that the beer might be stronger than he thought.
“You’re a wizard?” she asked, looking piqued for the first time.
Al left her at the table, the woman staring ahead with a thoughtful look. He paid his tab. “What’s in that beer exactly?” he asked the bartender.
He stepped outside, stretching his limbs and pacing back and forth in front of the tavern. The sun was set for the night, but there was still enough light to silhouette the trees across the road. Flies gathered around the oil lamps in the town center, which consisted of just the tavern, a general store, an area with some stalls that suggested a daytime market, and a few houses. Frogs and insects chirped all around him. Al found it peaceful and beautiful.
The white, many paned door to the tavern creaked open and closed. He turned and saw the woman from inside standing there, her arms clasped before her.
Al waved to her as he walked back into the tavern. He walked up the stairs to his room and didn’t notice the jealous looks from all the men thinking he was the luckiest man in the world.