The Stained Stein buzzed with the usual gossip. The clientele, mostly those folk that lived above the nearby shops, knew each other, and strangers elicited silent stares. Most denizens of the neighborhood didn’t take kindly to unknown (to them) threats.

Teppo, the proprietor of the Stained Stein, surveyed his domain. While it was home, and had been for almost fifty years, he was ready to give it all up to spend time with his daughter’s son. Several years before, his wife had passed on to the next life and he had to hire a cook. She was nowhere near as skilled as his Breda, and business began dropping off.

The old man looked up when silence descended across the common room. He watched as a group of soldiers entered the Stein. One walked with a limp. They took up a table in the corner where they could watch the room. As he observed the band, he reassessed his impression of the party and decided they were adventurers, not soldiers. Never had he seen such a varied crew.

A dwarf, dressed in plain leather breeches and jerkin, pulled a large two-headed axe from a holder strapped to his back, leaning it on the table within easy reach. He sat with his back to the room. Next to him, back against a wall, sat an elf. The elf leaned his longbow against the wall next to him, then pulled the quiver from his belt, setting it next to the bow. A half-elf leaned heavily on his staff as he eased himself down onto a chair, sighing as his weight came off his injured leg. A human woman rounded out the team. She carried the most obvious weapons of the band. Besides the longsword and shield, Teppo noted the chain shirt under her jerkin. He hurried to their table.

“What can I get ye, me fine folk?”

“Yer best ale, all around,” said the dwarf.

“Aye, Sor.” Teppo turned and signaled his barmaid. “Are ye wantin’ supper?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes,” said the woman with authority. “Your special.” She stared hard at the dwarf. “All around. You don’t get to drink your dinner, Roland.”

“Aw, Aeryn,” the dwarf whined.

“The last time you did that,” remarked the elf, “it took us three days to sober you up.”

“Eh, yer no fun.”

Teppo hurried back to the kitchen. The regulars stared at the strangers, not yet ready to resume their chatter. He knew they were wondering what, exactly, brought this armed group into their midst. Teppo knew. He had invited them here and asked for their discretion. Of course, they couldn’t hide their natures. Even unarmed, they had the look and presence of predators. And he knew better than to ask the group to hide their natures.

No, he’d asked them here because he knew the half-elf, Gryffin Bluespark. Teppo had known the man all his life. Gryff was his sister’s boy. After the fire that killed his folks, Teppo knew Gryff had taken to the streets to find who had set it. He’d learned enough magic along the way to not only find who had ordered the building burned, but to set the man up to pay for his crime.

After Teppo heard Gryff had almost lost his leg to infection, he reached out to the boy. Gryff had a good head on his shoulders, despite his propensity for mischief.

When he brought the ale to the table, the woman asked, “have you rooms for the night?”

This, of course, had been part of the ruse. He had a suite set aside for them on the third floor. He wanted to meet privately while they discussed details of turning the property over to Gryff. Teppo knew he couldn’t let news of this deal out into the wild just yet. Street gangs had been trying to take the neighborhood over for some time now, and he hadn’t been willing to let them have what he and Breda had worked so hard to build. So, he turned to the only family that had ever shown an interest in taking over his life’s work—Gryffin Bluespark.

After they finished eating, he led them up to the apartment, then showed them the rooms off the central sitting room.

“I’ll send hot water up for baths, then see you after closing.”

“Thank you, Uncle Teppo,” said Gryff as he eased onto a cushioned chair in front of the fireplace.

Teppo left them to tell Mirin, his serving woman, to arrange baths for their guests.

(to be continued)