There were many things Reether hated; the cold, that crick in his neck, the dumb Josh kid who thought he was pulling the wool over the innkeeper's eyes when he stole from the barley stocks, but there were few things he hated more than willful ignorance. Pride was one of them. Whether or not she was being arrogant was irrelevant to him, but it was for a reason. It was because, purposeful or not, that damn pride was going to get her killed. And in Urenda, that usually means a few more will go down with you. His eyes narrowed as she continued, and he was shaking his head by the end of it. He interrupted her before her tale of her birth with a sharp, cold, brutal laugh from the pit of his stomach, but she continued to speak to the other dwarf. Reether waited a moment, and turned to the pair.

	"I do not mean to keep you, girl, but you should hear this if you want to make it to thirty, and you better pay attention and do it [i]good.[/i] It ain't hard to live out there on you own." His voice changed, and he sounded much more, not hostile or condescending, but almost exasperated, believing, at this point, he was speaking to a child. "Maybe you came across a few demons, and you think yourself strong for defeating them. But no demon ever hunted you, no monster followed you, no [i]force[/i] cared about you because you were just one little girl in a world of a thousand scrambling people. They didn't care about you, just like they don;t care about the countless others who live on their own. That's how most people live nowadays, even the ones that come through here, they only do it every so often. I'm sure you're thinking, too, that the city isn't dangerous because you managed to walk through it. Well, half a dozen people do that too, every day. And do you want to know why?" 

	"It's because demons are smarter than you give them credit for. Do you think they don't know what this is? You act as though you are fighting mindless beasts! They wait, and they gather, and they let Urenda grow so that when they finally come for us, it is a meaningful victory. Of course they wouldn't bother you going to the city. Why would they risk a small assault, when they can let you and others get inside so that they can later boast of killing a whole city? They wish to please their masters with as much blood as they can. What is better, a sacrifice once every few days, or an entire settlement that has been one of the only hopeful places mortals can go in two decades? I'm sure you know the answer. They're growing with us, and they are getting stronger. They bother our crops and our walls to distract us, to make us think we have things under control and become complacent. They only attack those who go out in the city to make those still inside think their walls are keeping them safe." 

	"Do you know what's going to happen to you if you go down there? The same thing that happened to the many men, especially those much more experienced than you, that have tried to stay in the city for whatever reason without aid. First of all, how the hell are you going to gather anything by your damn self? What, you need three planks of wood for your house? You'll waste your time because you won't be able to bring anything back. Second, what do you think a demon will do if it sees you rummaging through the damn dust? He won't attack you, not alone. He's going to see what your doing, and know you're gathering building supplies. He's going to assume you're aiding in the repair effort of the city. Then he's going to get his friends nearby, and their friends, and surround you. They know the city while you do not. They are going to make you run. They are going to out-maneuver you. Then they're going to corner you. Maybe you'll kill two or three of them, sure. But, at that point, there are more than a dozen trailing you. It will end in one of two ways. Either they eat you, typically all at once, or they capture you, rape you, and force you to birth abominations." He shook his head, realizing that he had just gone on a small, albeit mostly clam, rant. However, it wasn't to shame or hurt the girl. Despite his horrible execution, the man was just trying to keep the girl alive.

	At that point, the kitchen doors swung open and Bella, who was second under the innkeeper, rolled out like a wave and headed right for the grumbling man. She hadn't heard his words, as he hadn't raised his voice, but the bar was close enough to the kitchen that she heard his tone. She came up to his side, a firm hand on his shoulder, and said, "They need you in the back, boss." In a sort of dismissive tone that was not up to debate. 

	Reether looked to Aurora once more. "Do not get yourself killed for you pride," he said in a solemn voice, and then whisked into the doors behind the counter. 

	"Allllrighty, then! Please take what Reether says with a grain of salt," Bella tried to laugh it off, but her eyes darted to the man in a bit of discomfort. "I'm sorry about that. He can get pretty gloomy." She left the two to their conversation after adding, "When you are ready, I can show you where you'll be staying." 

	She turned to the shorter dwarf, a bit of a flustered look on her face. [i]Dammit, Tori[/i]. "Of course, sir! I'm [i]so[/i] sorry about that!" She turned and grabbed a mug from the wall behind her, and sashayed to the few smaller kegs behind the other end of the. They rarely held much, but they were lucky enough that through trade they had some selection. She went immediately for their darkest brew, the most flavorful they had at the moment, and whisked back quickly. She placed it in front of him, leaning back with a hand on her hip and addressing both him and Rex. "Can I get you gets anything to eat? I know you're good for it, Rex. What about you, sir?"