As Darvil surveyed the common room he couldn’t be entirely displeased. Winter was more than half over and business, never bad, was picking up. If only so many of his better customers hadn’t been lost. Oh not dead, at least not all- war was the one constant in the lands around Chelwith, but bought off with foolish notions of homesteads and farmsteads far to the north. Finster, the Duke of Haverlith’s land agent was back at it again tonight. Filling mens heads with foolish notions of an easy life waiting to the north. Jolf came out of the back with an armful of loaves of bread, fresh from the oven and restocked the shelf behind the bar. Darvil waved him over. “ Try and keep Danby out of the room while Finster is around, no point in inviting trouble.” Jolf nodded and headed back to the kitchen. Grear, one of Danby’s good friends took Finster up on his offer last Fall and Danby had still not forgiven him for it.
At that moment the front door opened and in charged Danby, visibly upset and heading right towards the land agent. Darvil, having just imagined such a scenario was quick to interpose himself between the two before serious harm could befall. He couldn’t however keep Danby from flinging a round of curses at Finster that Darvil was surprised the stable manager even knew. No fool, as Darvil worked to move Danby out the backdoor, Finster scurried out the front entrance. Darvil was almost certain he heard a disappointed murmur as the tension in the room eased.
Danby evaded Darvil’s attempts to maneuver him out of the common room, and the innkeeper realized the young man was more than mad, he was distraught. Setting a tankard of ale on one of the long tables and getting Danby to sit, Darvil asked “whats wrong boy? Finster has been at it all winter, why tonight?”
“It’s Grear, Darvil. He’s dead and it’s that spiteful worms doing! Misty, his wife returned to town just this afternoon. Alone but for a wee little babe, Grears son that he barely got what to see and hold. And its all that Damned Lord Justice Haverlith’s fault.”
Lelnard, who was nearer to the fireplace perked up on hearing Danby, and moved closer. Good stories were his stock and trade and the possibility of a new one wasn’t something he was likely to pass up. “Go on lad, what happened. What’s the Dukes brother got to do with this?”
“It’s all been a trick, land and the easy life up north that he’s been selling. They has been getting settled way out by the demon stones, far north of the Hollerwoods.” Darvil sat down by his stable master. ”Danby, breaking new ground is never easy no matter where.” “ It’s not that Darvil, LORD Haverlith, only gave men the land to pick a fight with the greenskins. He knew them stones meant something to them. He was countin on it, had a force of the Dukes best men all outfitted and ready to fight. Fool had no idea, no idea how enraged he made the greenies. Or what that most all the creatures out thats ways would fight with em. Misty says, before he passed that Grear talked of dragons...dragons fighting, and ratlins an centaurs too.” Darvil was somewhat taken aback by the claim.” Don’t see them much here in Chelwith, not ones for cities you know, but centaurs always struck me as decent enough folk, wonder whats happened.” “Somethin’ is wrong in Hollerwood, Misty says. The clans been driven out, says she bout died of fright on the journey back through the woods. Everythin been shifted and she felt likes they was all being watched.” Darvil thought he heard a snap from behind the bar and got up to check. Lelnard carefully coaxed more of the story out of the lad. “So the fight went against them?” “ Well lets just say the Lord Justice Haverlith won’t be stirrin up no more trouble no sIr. He and most of his high fallutin troops are a permanent part of the north now.” Darvil, looked up from behind the bar, everything seemed fine, “ all of them?” “Well, that’s what Misty says.” answered Danby.
Darvil pulled a handful of coins out of the pocket of his apron and tossed them in his money box. Making sure no one was paying attention he muttered the incantation to activate the box. The coins didn’t move. Normally they would have separated, gold moving to one side, silver to another and copper to a third. There was no chance that every coin he’d collected this evening was a forgery. He repeated the incantation, a little louder this time. Still the coins stubbornly refused to move, and he distinctly heard a light chuckle over his shoulder. Great, just great..his Inn had an imp problem. Well that was a problem for tomorrow. Right now Darvil had other thoughts on his mind. If Justice Haverlith’s foolishness had just caused the Duchy most of its best troops then surely the Duchy of Graflynn would hear about it. Like as not as soon as they recruited a sufficient force of mercenaries ( trust the Graflynns to try and get someone else to do the dirty work) they would be marching on the Haverliths...again. He’d best send Jolf up to the attic to find and clean up the other sign. Seems like he’d be running the Pheonix again soon.
***watch for our friends at Ironwind Metals / Ral Partha’s third Chaos wars Kickstarter featuring dryads, fea, and chaos warriors. It should be starting any day now***