A blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see, disappearing behind snow topped mountains in one direction and vanishing through the leaves of a dense forest in the other. A handful of clouds, light and fluffy, danced in the wind as the warm summer breeze blew throughout the land. It was peaceful right now, as it should be. Farmers tended to their fields nearby alongside a large dirt road that emerged from the forests and spread out all the way towards the city gates in the opposite direction. The main city was built up in the mountains, a large pagoda-style palace built into the very cliff faces. That was where the royalty lived, no doubt. A large mass of houses and shops made up the second distract where the middle classes lived. Their homes were also of oriental design, with sloping, tiled roofs. This was surrounded by a great wall made of stone that wrapped itself around the base of the mountains, protecting the town from the front while the mountain itself protected the rear. Guards could regularly be seen patrolling the top of the wall. Spread out far and wide across the grassy plains surrounding the mountain were farms that grew crops, wheat and animals. It was very productive and everyone seemed happy with their lives as each day started and ended.
Far down the dirt road however, there was a small roadside tavern where pedlars and visitors to the city would often stop and rest their weary feet. It was a nice little place, mostly made of wood but offered rare luxuries that other taverns and inns did not possess. A perk of being the last place in and first place out of the city no doubt. They had fine foods and fine drinks for sale at reasonable prices too. It was a surprise to see that they hadn't been ransacked by thieves. The bottom floor of the tavern was the inn, where the food and drinks were sold. A wooden staircase to the left of the main entrance lead upwards to the bedrooms. There were about ten in total, decked out with large beds and silk sheets. It was very lush. Not the kind of thing for a certain man though, whom sat outside at one of the tables, drinking appeared to be some type of alcohol from a small white cup. The bottle itself sat upon the table in front of him. What was odd about this fellow, was how he managed to pour himself a glass of his drink without spilling a drop. What's odd about this you ask? Well, the thick black with red trim blindfold that covered his eyes would make pouring a drink for anyone pretty difficult.
He looked about thirty years of age. Long grey hair, tied back of sorts by his blindfold, reached down to his lower back. His face was thin, but had a strong chin and cheek bones. A small grey beard was neatly trimmed under his bottom lip. Under the blindfold, a large scar ran down across the man's eyes, which would answer why he wore it in the first place. His torso was of an athletic build, thin but tonned. His arms were strong with muscle clear to see. A tight dark red sleeveless shirt was worn on his torso, revealing more scars that dotted his shoulders, upper and lower arms. The scars were both clean as if made by a blade and torn as if made by the claws of a beast. Donning his legs were a pair of loose-fitting black pants. Two overlapping diamonds were sewn into the outside of either leg, the same colour as his shirt. Knee high boots, armoured out of blackened steel were covering his feet and lower legs. The same overlapping diamond design was painted onto them. Gauntlets matching his boots protected the backs of his hands and wrists, leaving his fingers bare to the elements. A large brown belt was tied about his waist that had a cloth surcoat falling down before his groin, which too donned the double overlapping diamond design.
The soft chirping of birds came from one of the nearby trees and the sound was delightful, as the silver-haired man once more took hold of his bottle of alcohol and poured himself a drink as easily as any man could. A wooden clunk came from the table as the bottle was placed down, a soft 'plish' coming from within that indicated that the vessel was nearly empty. The silver-haired stranger tilted his head at the sound, directing his right ear towards the table where his expression turned to one of surprise.
”Hm... Didn't think I got through it that quickly...”
He muttered to himself. His voice was young and calm, befitting that of any thirty-year old. A soft patting down of himself eventually lead to a soft jingle of coin as he pulled a purse from out of his belt. Giving it a subtle wiggle, the silver-haired man pondered for just a second, tilting his head away from his drink to 'look' out across the plains that surrounded the area. A small group of travellers were heading past on their way towards the city, a couple of horses carrying their wares were with them. More merchants it seemed, out to trade their stock to earn coin for food no doubt.
”Barman, a second bottle of sake please.”
The stranger asked as he 'looked' back towards the tavern and smiled softly as he heard soft footsteps approach. The waitress approached, female, small build, early twenties. There was a soft musk about her, possibly from having bathed with jasmine flowers or something. It was a nice smell, but the silver-haired stranger remained silent as he listened to the young man greet him.
”Good day sir. A bottle of sake is ten gold.”
She explained, to which the blindfolded man nodded his head, opened his purse and managed to collect ten gold pieces without any trouble. He placed the coin in her hand and just smiled at her as he heard her turn away to fetch his drink.
”Oh and could you bring a second cup, please?”
The waitress stopped, turned and nodded. He didn't see this of course, but knew of her movements from hearing them. With the chirping of the birds still coming from the nearby trees, the silver-haired man returned his purse to his belt and turned back to face the table, where he waited patiently.
Don't leave me waiting now...
He thought to himself.