[center][h1][color=gray] Elin Meagher [/color][/h1][/center]

Elin sat in the rafters, silent as she looked over a browning piece of parchment in her lap. Raucous laughter and brusque bellows echoed below her as she pored over the map of the local region. [i]This place isn't too bad,[/i] Elin thought, tapping a few landmarks on the well-worn paper and making a mental note to visit them in the upcoming days. [i]Maybe I'll stay here for a while.[/i]

Setting the map on her lap, Elin's eyes focused on a drunkard who put down his pouch of coins beside him. [i]Looks like I might be buying a few drinks tonight,[/i] Elin thought, grinning. Then she noticed another man eyeing the pouch as well, and she watched silently as the man snagged the bags of coin. He was skilled—Elin could see that much. The grin was still on her face when Elin phased into air and drifted out a side window, gliding to a tree branch near the tavern before solidifying again.

Looking around with narrowed eyes, the sylph noted a man approaching the inn with a butchered deer. She cringed internally at the sight of the mutilated animal, once again reminded of the realities of the animals in the woods. After the man passed, Elin headed around to the front of the tavern. [i]The Strumpet Inn? Cute,[/i] Elin thought, entering the building unceremoniously. She took a seat to the side of the bar, ordering a mug of mead before scanning her surrounding. Aside from the usual rabble one would expect to find at taverns, there were a few more dangerous-looking folk at the bar, the thief from before who was now being questioned loudly by the drunkard, and a jumpy elven girl digging into a plate of food. Elin took a sip of her mead after it was delivered, cocking a brow at the quality. [i]If this is the quality of drink around here, I’m definitely staying.[/i]

Just then, a loud roar sounded from above the rafters. Elin’s eyes widened in alarm, her hand automatically going for the sword at her side. [i]Shit. What was that?[/i] she thought, rising from her seat as the other patrons did. Looking around, some of the inn-goers seemed unimpressed by the monster even as a loud thump signalled its landing in front of the tavern.

[i]My god, is that a dragon?[/i] Elin thought, eyebrows rising as the beast’s scales came into view. [i]The last time I saw one of those… It’d been long dead.[/i] 

Deciding the best course of action would be to imitate those who seemed unsurprised by the beast’s arrival, Elin sat back down and continued sipping the liquid gold in her mug.