As Joric took refuge in one of the rooms at the inn, so to did another newcomer: Serkan Stahlwurm. This particular half-elf mercenary was on his way to Valuun Keep, seeking his master, Ferran. If only Serkan knew what had become of his old master... Not to long after, a young woman entered the inn, seeking refuge as well; her sly trickery earned her a free room, albeit being able to pay for every room in the inn.

Other than those who decided to get a quick rest, some other interesting customers sought shelter from the torrential downpour of the outdoors. The first of these was Ireth Vardamir, an elven ranger seeking her glory at Valuun Keep. Not long after the young Leon Thorne arrived, informing Ireth of what he knew about the keep. The young Aveline Ronan wasn't far behind, deciding to purchase a meal and join in with the others; she was seeking her brother, Castan, at the keep. A beast of a man: Arkadi Vasile walked into the inn, almost as big if not bigger than Joric himself. Arkadi decided to fill his stomach with some pork while trying to pick up information on the keep, so the innkeeper allowed him to help himself. A wise mage walked in next; his name was Athinar Da' Danash, and he was obviously here to see what Valuun Keep had to offer, joining in with the others. The last fellow to walk in was Dale Gade, who promptly fell flat on the floor. The innkeeper looked at him curiously.

"Have you any rooms and a bath to trade for some quality eggs," asked Dale.

The innkeeper blinked his eyes for a moment before replying, "well, we just received a shipment of some supplies, but I don't reckon we got any eggs in it. I... suppose a few eggs'll do; might even let'chu fix'em in the mornin'." The innkeeper shook his head and took one of the room keys. He handed it to Dale and told him "room's upstairs; we got one bath, water's probably cold, but what can you do, eh?" After finishing up with Dale, the innkeeper fixed some pork on a plate for Aveline.

Athinar, Leon, Ireth, and Aveline anxiously awaited the inn keeper's return. As he approached he passed Aveline's plate over to here and poured her a cup of drink while starting his tale. "One of my great ancestors built this here inn. Ain't sure why he built it here... reckon he thought he could serve all the would-be heroes on there way to the keep." He passed the mug to Aveline. "I seen people come and go on the Longroad when I was but a wee little lad; but I ain't never - in all my life - seen anyone come back outta that keep. In the rest of the world they may it's just tales and stories... but they ain't nowhere next to the truth. That there keep is cold, dangerous, and it ain't right. The earthquake we had here recently was from that keep, I know it - I can feel it in me bones. I ain't tellin you to not go in there... I'm just tellin ye it ain't such a good idea. But whatta I know, eh? I'm just a drunk innkeeper." The innkeeper started laughing as he walked away to tend to his other customers, including the group who had just taken a beating by Joric. They probably wouldn't mind sleeping with the horses for tonight.

Up above, in one of the rooms, Joric lie on his bed, eyes wide open. Below him he could hear murmurs, the opening of doors, and laughing. Obviously the inn had filled up with some new people. Curious, Joric slowly stood up, strapped his covered item on his back, and cautiously looked outside his door. No one was around, so he pushed it open. The door creaked, but that didn't matter. He took a few steps forward and looked down the strairs. A group of several adventuring-types sat at the bar and some of the tables.

Slowly, Joric reached his hand back and unraveled some of the cloth on the covered item. The hilt of a greatsword was revealed. The hilt was obsidian-black, decorated with hellish patterns and design, adorned with blood-red gemstones. He gripped the hilt with his hand and quietly whispered "they're here."

[i][b]"AS I TOLD YOU THEY WOULD."[/b][/i]

Joric shook his head, feeling a bit guilty, but he shook these thoughts from his head. He recovered the hilt, walked back to his room, and lay back on his bed, anticipating the morning.