[h3][b][i][color=7F7765][center]Lucan Cauldwell[/center][/color][/i][/b][/h3]
[center][b][color=7F7765]Location:[/color][/b] Arriving At Salarn - Crossed Swords Tavern & Inn
[b][color=7F7765]Interacting With:[/color][/b] Militia Outside of Salarn, Barmaid in the Tavern[/center]

[color=7F7765]"And this is the trouble with border towns."[/color] Lucan droned on to Brie as he had for the last few hours he had been on her back, watching as the platinum-haired woman spoke with the guards and made her way into the town itself. [color=7F7765]"Just once i'd like a friendly welcome, not the whole 'you look an awful lot like a bandit to me' bit, you know?"[/color] Brie huffed in agreement, or at least Lucan chose to take it as agreement, running his hand momentarily through her mane as he sighed, trotting her up to the guards slowly, putting on his acting chops as he approached.

[color=7F7765]"Evening chaps! Good to see you're all working hard keepin' the town safe, what would we folk do without you?"[/color] Stunningly, Lucan's flattery failed to impress the militia as they barred his way with crossed spears, Brie huffing as she came to a stop, one of the Militiamen approaching the rider and giving him a long look. "State your business in Salarn." He uttered rather plainly, obviously getting a bit tired of repeating the line to those who came through, Lucan was willing to bet this man was getting close to the end of a long day of work.

Leaning down, Lucan gave the man a winning smile and spoke to him a hushed tone. [color=7F7765]"Look friend, you've been working hard today, harder than these chumps, why don't you take the break you deserve and we can talk about why i'm here later, huh?"[/color] With that, he slipped a few gold into the militiaman's hand. Had it been earlier in the day, and the man more bothered to actually do his job, it was quite possible this sort of tactic wouldn't have worked in Lucan's favour, and he himself still had doubts over whether it actually would.

After a few moments of awkward, dubious silence, the militiaman he spoke to slid the coins into a pouch on his belt, turning toward the other guards. "Soldier returning from the front, let the boy through so he can get some rest." He informed his partners, they seemed to question the validity of the reasoning, but did as they were told, allowing Lucan passage into the town. [color=7F7765]"Thank you kindly sirs, enjoy a drink on me in the tavern tonight!"[/color] He made his way past them, glancing back when he was sure they were out of earshot. [color=7F7765]"Can't believe that works every time."[/color]

For a short while, Lucan trotted through the town on Brie, looking the place over as he gathered a vague idea of the local landmarks. Eventually, he decided to make his way to the tavern, carefully he climbed down off Brie, leading her into the stable and tying her rein off onto a post, giving her a gentle stroke of the mane and a carrot to help her relax. [color=7F7765]"Try to relax for the night, darlin', we should be heading off again tomorrow."[/color] He gave her another affectionate pat before he moved off, heading inside.

The tavern was abuzz with activity, just as Lucan liked it. He took a brief moment to look over the majority of those present, there were the usual groups, the gamblers, he liked them, the drunks, he liked them too, the quiet people in the corners, he liked them less, and the barmaids. He particularly liked them. Moving to an empty booth, he took a seat and waited for one of the barmaids to approach, after offering a few flirtatious comments, he ordered a simple mug of ale, settling back in his seat as he looked over the tavern and those within it, expecting and hoping for a fairly quiet night, without incident.