Rook listened to the exchange between Thaddeus and Edward without a word, idly rolling his dice between his fingers and sipping on a dwindling flagon of mead. He raised an eyebrow at the mention of Woodhaven. [i]"Woodhaven, eh? I wonder if Lugo is still running that brewery. From the look on the kid's face, he probably isnt. I hope I didn't gamble my way into a bloodbath..."[/i]

He noticed others began to crowd around, pulling up chairs and sitting in with the three; Rook suspected they weren't just curious locals, either. Dwarves, elves, other companions that were mentioned by Thaddeus, but never properly introduced or even described. That was when Lila showed up; her disgust of Rook was an almost palpable feeling - as much as it amused him - and her curt, loveless greeting did nothing to shake the image.

"Hey there honeybomb, how was the ride? You should've gone on ahead with me, I showed the innkeep this coin trick right, made a silver disappear and pulled a gold from his ear, absolutely blew his mind Ive been sleeping on the softest bed since. I mean, it was [i]his[/i] bed but, hey, he offered." He delivered the run-down of his arrival at a rapid-fire pace, laughing and throwing back the rest of his mead in one gulp before leaning in, his smile turning devilish. "You know, it got lonely at night, all that empty bed-space and whatnot..." 

Her glare was venomous, but he quickly turned to the rest and opened his arms wide. "Welcome, welcome, to the lovely little bed of sin and failed ambition that is Merryspring. Okay no, its not actually that bad, things are quaint, people are nice. Not that we'll be here long, that is...." He turned to Thaddeus. "So, chief, what's the word? Ive been able to snag coin but very little info from the yokel-locals...not that I know what Im even looking for to begin with."

 "This is Edward," Thaddeus explained. "He's why we're here."

Rook's grin faded a bit, and he set his jaw slightly as if in thought. "Ah." He noted the scimitar with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that aint human-made, no sir. And I dont think a single one of our bearded or pointy-eared friends here," he nodded to those gathered, "would be caught dead with a blade like that. Now, Im not a man to go back on my word, and I told you Id follow you...but Im gonna start needing some answers." He folded his arms and sat back in his chair, his face stony and neutral. He never once stopped passing the dice between his fingers. "Where are we going, what are we doing, and will the maidens weep with desire when they hear my name after our inevitable glorious victory?" [i]Or horrifying massacre...some here look greener than the weed back home...[/i]