Sotherglen
End of Summer 213
It’s a quiet evening, when Astarael wanders into the little Isendel town of Sotherglen. It has been a few days since she left the last one, and she is quite hungry. Game and edible plants seem to be scarcer in the woods of Isendel. She finds the local inn, and sits down in the tavern. Hmm. Just enough coin for a meal, it seems. Time to earn some more. She scans the room, and as luck would have it, she spots what she’s looking for. A few men in the corner, gambling with cards. She sits within earshot of them, and watches from a distance while she eats.
The man in the corner, with the gray in his beard. His eye twitches when he’s bluffing. And that one, with the scar on his hand. He sits up straighter when he has a good hand. The third man has his back to her. He looks younger. No matter. She finishes her plate, and wanders over to the table.
“Mind if I join you? It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to play.”
The men are amused at the idea that this young woman wants to play cards with them. But, she has some coins in her hand for the bet, and she’s pretty enough. They invite her to sit. She looks at the young man, as he pulls out the empty chair next to him. He’s incredibly handsome, and flashes her a smile.
Astarael is dealt a hand. She carefully considers the cards, and places her bet. She loses the first round, on purpose, and laughs coyly. “Ah, bad luck, miss.” says the man with the beard. “Shall I deal you in again?” The handsome man next to her offers to buy her an ale. Astarael consents, and thanks him. He says,
“Hi, my name’s Oliver. What’s yours?”
“My name is Astarael.”
They play for a few hours into the evening. Astarael is doing fairly well. Not so well as to arouse any suspicion, but she’s got a good handful of coins before her. It’s great fun for all. After a while, the bearded man gets up, announcing he’s had enough of losing his coppers to this maiden, and bids everyone goodnight. The man with the scarred hand does the same. Astarael finds herself alone with Oliver.
“Care for some more ale?” he asks.
She nods yes. This is the first time anyone’s asked her this. Most of the time, when she’s played cards on her travels, the various townsfolk enjoy a few games, lose a few coins, and carry on with their night. None of them ever wanted to share an ale after. He really is quite handsome. He looks at her from across the room, and Astarael feels herself flush a little.
The two of them sit close to the fire, sipping their ales, and talking into the night. Astarael shares some of her past- growing up in Moraeth. She lies, and says she ran away from home. Tells him about some of her travels. He speaks about his childhood in Eddle’s Ridge. How he wanted to see more of the world, and became a traveller himself. As the night wears on, Astarael finds the ale to have put her in a pleasant mood. This young man really is quite handsome, and charming too. And so, when he leans in to kiss her, she finds herself kissing him back. After a moment, he pulls away, and looks at her.
“I have a room upstairs….do you want to…?”
She blushes.
“OH! I, uh…ok.”
She smiles. She never did get around to getting a room for herself, anyways. She grabs her pack from the floor, and he leads her upstairs.
Astarael wakes up to the morning light on her face, and movement in the bed. The young man beside her gets up.
“Sorry to have to leave you! I’m afraid I have work to do today. Will you be sticking around town for a while? I’d love to see you again tonight.”
“I think I could be persuaded to stay for a while.”
She’s blushing, and smiling ear to ear. But that grin is short lived, as Oliver turns around, and she sees that the front of his tunic bears the emblem of the Painted Swans. Astarael is conflicted. How can someone as charming as he is be one of them?! Although many citizens are loyal to their baroness Tyr Isendel, Astarael has witnessed some of the cruelty perpetrated by the baroness’ soldiers, against their very own people. It left a bitter taste in Astarael’s mouth. She feels deceived by the charms of this young man.
She forces herself to smile at him, and he leans in to kiss her goodbye.
“See you tonight.” he says.
She nods, and he leaves her alone in his bed.
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