3 Chapter 3

Night fall came quickly and to Nicolas it seemed as though the Tavern below had truly sprung to life. The sound of cheers and songs below bellowed well into his room.

Nicolas could feel his hunger beginning to grow, and so decided that now would be a good time for him to join Dana down in the Tavern below.

Nicolas descended the stairs, the sound of the men and women growing louder as he approached the main hall.

As soon as he stepped foot into the Tavern, Nicolas saw how packed the place was.

Men and women from practically every race had filled the place, top to bottom.

Nicolas wondered how it was that Dana was going to be able to run the place alone with so many people frequenting. Then he saw two different waiters running around with trays and drinks in their hands. One was a human male, around the same size as Nicolas. The other was a smaller woman with pointed ears. An elf with short black hair and green eyes.

Nicolas was astonished. He was no stranger to seeing Dwarves and Humans venturing out into the deep Wilds. But this was his first time actually seeing an elf in person.

As Nicolas observed the woman, he had been distracted and hadn't sensed Dana approaching. So, when she did reach out and grab the man by his shoulder, Nicolas' head snapped back in her direction.

This made Dana flinch hard.

" Oh, sorry. You weren't responding, so, I thought something might be wrong." Dana told the man.

" My bad, sorry, I just wasn't paying attention." Nicolas told the woman.

" So, what brings ya down?" She asked after a moment of silence.

" I was hoping to try the food. I haven't eaten today." Nicolas replied honestly.

" Alright." Dana said. " Have a seat at the bar and I'll take your order." Dana told the man. She gestured to an empty seat at the bar, and Nicolas sat in it.

" Alright, what'll ya have?" Dana asked. " We have a stew made from Elf root and Ram. Druffalo steak. And of course, rice and vegetables."

" Can I get rice with the Druffalo steak?" Nicolas asked.

" Sure thing, I'll get to work on it and Syril will bring it out to you." Dana told the man.

Nicolas looked at Dana in confusion upon hearing the name and Dana laughed. Dana then placed a mug down on the counter in front of Nicolas and filled it with some kind of alcoholic beverage. She then disappeared into the kitchen, most presumably to make the food.

Meanwhile, Nicolas enjoyed his drink, sipping it slowly as to further enjoy the taste of the sweet drink.

After some time, the young elf girl came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food and placed it down in front of Nicolas.

" Hello, there. My name is Syril." The young elf woman told the man. She looked at him with a smile on her face. She had a nice attitude and seemed like a very cheery person to Nicolas.

Nicolas in turn smiled at Syril and nodded. " A pleasure, to meet you, Syril. My name is Nicolas. But feel free to call me Nick."

" The pleasure is mine, Sir. Lady Dana told us how you saved her life. We are indebted to you. It'll be my honor to be your waitress while lady Dane is busy filling the other orders. Is there anything else I can get you?" Syril asked the man.

" Yes, actually. Can you bring me three more mugs of whatever this is?" Nicolas asked the woman. Nicolas enjoyed having the chance to speak with the Elvhen, but at the moment his attention was more occupied by the alochol.

" Absolutely." Syril exclaimed. She placed three mugs down on the counter from under the table and filled them to the brim with the same kind of fruity beverage.

" Thank you, Syril." Nicolas told the woman.

" My pleasure, if you need anything just call." Syril told the man. She flashed Nicolas a bright smile and then quickly returned her attention to the rest of the Tavern, while Nicolas began to wolf down his food.

The rest of the night was fun, and the bar was ever lively. Even as one person left another group came in. It was a constant cycle. Some came simply to have a good time; others came to wish Dana their prayers.

However, as things began to slow down towards midnight, a group of unpleasant hooligans made their presence known.

The door to the tavern flung open hard, drawing the attention of the occupants, and marching in clad in armor were Soldiers belonging to a man known by most as Teryn Loghain.

Nicolas watched as the trio of men made their way to an empty table and sat down.

At first things seemed to be fine, just a group of soldiers trying to unwind. But then thery're attitudes wuickly shown through.

" Hey, woman. Can we get some damn service over here?!" One of the men yelled, followed by a collective shout from the other two. Nicolas instantly noted this man to be the leader of the three.

Dana sighed and nodded. She dropped the mugs she was cleaning and walked over to the soldier's table.

" What can I get for you, gentlemen?" Dana asked. Doing her absolute best to feign a positive attitude.

" About damn time. Get drinks for me and my friends and bring us something to eat." The man demanded.

" What will you have?" Dana asked again.

" I said bring me drinks for my friends and something to eat! What are you deaf?" The man asked the woman.

" No sir, but we have different items."

" Look, girl I don't fucking care. Okay? Just go and bring us whatever." The man told Dana. His voice was calm, but his tone indicated that he was talking down to her.

Dana sighed; she didn't want to make things worse. So, she quickly returned to the kitchen and began working om making the men's food. Meanwhile Syril poured their drinks and carried them over to the table.

Though the look on her face made it clear she was uncomfortable with all three of them. Something made even more apparent from the way she shivered as the men all whistled at her. She could feel their eyes roaming up and down her body. She wanted for everything to be over and done.

" Here you go gentlemen." Syril spoke. She placed all of the drinks down on the table. She then tried to turn and walk away only for a strong hand to pull her back.

" Where ya going?" The man asked.

" I'm sorry, I have other customers to attend to." Syril replied.

" Wha? No, Stay. Me and my friends here have had a rough day. We could use the company." He said.

Syril struggled to pull her arm free, but the man just wouldn't let go.

" Let go of me, please." Syril asked.

" Listen, you little bitch. Do you know, who we are?" The man asked. He gave Syril's wrist a hard squeeze and Syril squealed from the pain.

Nicolas finally had enough and got up from his seat. He walked over to the table and ripped the man's arm off of Syril's and without saying a word, pulled the girl away from the trio and led her back over to his spot at the bar.

" Don't worry about them, anymore. You just stay close." Nicolas told the girl.

Syril nodded her head. " Thank you." She spoke. She felt relieved to have been pulled out of the situation. She had known full well, what it was those men had expected of her.

Nicolas nodded and went back to his drink. However, the soldiers weren't feeling as accepting.

The three men all got up from their seats and walked over to the bar, circling Nicolas on all sides.

" Hey, do you know who we are buddy?" The man asked.

" I don't care, really. Go away." Nicolas told the man.

" Listen, man. If you're interested in the elf that's fine. But we had her first. And ain't no way anyone's gonna get a poke before us." Syril trembled slightly as the men spoke about her.

Nicolas sighed and placed his mug down on the table with a thud, spooking the men.

" She doesn't want to go with you. Now leave, I don't want things to get violent." Nicolas told the men. He gave the leader a look that made it clear that he wasn't araid of them, nor did he care for whom they worked for.

Any smart man would take this chance to step away and save face.

These weren't smart men.

The leader didn't hesitate to take a swing at Nicolas with his sword.

Nicolas, however, dodged the blade, and grabbed the man's arm and pulled. He pulled him towards his chest and then grabbed the man's head and slammed it on the table counter. At the same tim he kicked his chair back into the crotch of the man behind him and kicked the other man in his knee. Nicolas spun around, grabbed the chair and basjed both of the men over the skull with the chair hard enough to knock them both out.

He then sat the chair back down on the ground and continued sipping from his drink.

The entire Tavern had gone quiet, and upon hearing the sound of fighting Dana had returned from the kitchen in a panic. Though she hadn't expected to see the three soldiers laid out on the ground unconscious.

" What did you do?" Dana asked Nicolas.

" They attacked me, so I dealt with them. Don't worry. They'll be fine." Nicolas told the woman. " When they wake up tomorrow anyway. Don't worry if they come back looking for trouble, I'll take care of it." Nicolas told the woman. He could tell from just a glance what she was thinking, so he did his best to try and put her mind at ease.

Dana sighed.

" What's wrong Syril?" Dana asked. She noticed the girl was rubbing her arm repeatedly and seemed shaken up.

" Nothing, lady Dane." Syril replied. " It doesn't matter." She then turned to Nicolas and bowed. " Thank you once again, Lord Nicolas."

Nicolas looked at Syril and smiled wide. Showing off all of his bright teeth and very sharp fangs.

" Don't you worry about it, Syril. If these guys come back, just give me a call. I'll take care of'em." Nicolas stated.

Syril smiled and Nicolas let out a hearty laugh.

From across the room, a certain red-headed chantry sister, watched Nicolas closely. A small smile on displayed on his face.