[center][h2]Skarsat[/h2]The Faded Lantern Inn[/center]

It took an agonizing while, but ultimately even the nose of a Tork man was able to adapt to things that simply didn't exist among the nomads: the scent of sweat, vomit and cheap ale concentrated in a badly ventilated, enclosed space way too tiny. Nothing against the hearth though -- that thing was rock solid, burning much better than an open fireplace and would likely provide a lot of warmth well after the flames had ceased. Unfortunatenly it had to be incredibly heavy, so no tribe could afford to move such a thing around...

Anyway. His clothes had become dry, which meant Skarsat could start concentrating on other things. Saving himself from a nasty cold and an empty stomach were not the only reasons why he had decided to come here, but while the first issue was already solved and the second problem was about to find its end in the form of a enticingly good looking barmaiden delivering a large piece of roasted meat, his bosses' boss still was not showing up. Or was the man actually Lord Ivor's boss ? Lord Ivor had claimed so with a mixture of both reverence and fear, but who was a simple Tork to know for sure ? It could just as well be a trick to influence his whole mindset in advance about this 'Lord Vargas'.

Skarsat kept waiting. First until he had finished his meal, then until the card of games he had been watching from the distance had ended in yet another brawl and then an uncounted number of minutes further... Enough! Whoever this Vargas guy was, he'd have to talk now! Luckily mister Ivor had given him a hint about the bartender. The wooden chair creaked with a lot of relief as Skarsat raised himself to his towering height again and moved over towards Percival. The latter appeared to be in a bit of a hectic move and certainly looked like this was not the best evening for him, but Skarsat happily ignored this fact for the moment.

[color=darkgreen]"You..."[/color]

One really couldn't say that Skarsat would have been the most charismatic person, but rather one whose dark voice and overall appearance gave reason to feel intimidated. Running a place like [i]The Faded Lantern[/i] however was not an easy job either and unpleasant approaches were more like an everyday business, so combined with the fact that Skarsat actually tried to provide a friendly intonation Percival perceived the man's method of addressing him without feeling too much disturbed. He instead presented as much of a gentle smile as he could muster after what had happened earlier this evening.

[color=darkgreen]"Someone told me that the man behind the bar knows more about a certain Lord Vargas. Now if my eyes don't betray me the man behind the bar is you. So could you tell me more ?"[/color]

Maybe it was a good thing that Skarsat lacked the ability to read other people's minds, otherwise he would have been able to witness an entire stampede of thoughts about his kind going off in the bartender's mind right now: often big, often bad, and more often than not even not so nice looking. Also Percival didn't hesistate to make an internal statement about the Tork standing in front of his counter being a good example for all of those aspects. None of this could be seen on the bartender's face however. He, after all, was somewhat prepared by this not being the first occasion of its kind.

"Could be, yes. Who wants to know ?"

[color=darkgreen]"Skarsat. I have an... erm... what it's formally called ? Appointment! Yes, I have an appointment with Vargas!"[/color]

Percival let go of a sigh he didn't even bother to try and hide somehow. Lord Vargas was a busy man and even someone as miraculous and cunning as him could not just divide himself and keep up to several appointments simultaneously. Yes, he had told him something about another rendezvous with some Tork guy, but right now Vargas was upstairs with a bunch of people and it didn't look like that things would be over in that room anytime soon! One of the perks of being a Lord was that it was clear who'd have to wait in such cases, but unfortunatenly it was not the perk of a simple Tork man to know that, was it ?

"The schedule has gone a little haywire today, so please accept the Lord's apology for letting you wait. Nobody of us expected the king's soldiers to show up today! I'll take you to the Lord once he's ready!" Percival kept smiling. He had survived Lord Vargas not having a good opinion about his actions earlier this evening, so an unnverved Tork could not do any harm to him! He cut off any further potential of interrogation by just turning away from Skarsat, instead firmly dedicating himself to the lot of drinks people upstairs were waiting for.

Yet the stare didn't go away. The tork man kept nailing Percival with his glare and started to tap his fingers on the table. His lips more and more narrowed down to a thin line and his facial muscles started to flex slightly. As Percival did his best to resist, Skarsat grabbed himself a stool for comfort and watched the bartender dashing around and piling up beverages on his plate at a rather bewildering speed. As interesting as this was to watch, as little did it help Skarsat's interests though.

[color=darkgreen]"You know, I can search for Vargas myself. Thanks for services not rendered!"[/color]

Percival's body felt as if one had tossed him from the overheated atmosphere of the tavern right into the cold waters of the harbor. No, not another session with Vargas just like the one before! If this guy would just stumble into that room... With one quick move that told a story about his experience as a barman since none of the drinks on his plate lost a single drop, Percival positioned himself in front of Skarsat before the latter could reach the stairs. Just... just how big was this walking tower of a man ?

"No need to, I am ready! I just need to pick up someone else, too! You know... you're not the only one he wants to talk to today!" He had almost forgotten about Nora! Hopefully she was somewhere around here, too...