-----"Wait!" Sarah says, standing up out of her chair and rushing over to block the door. "Can you help us?!?"
-----Raven looks over at Rinda and motions towards the door. Raven starts to follow the man out. Raven stops by the three gnomes and says, "Looks like three mini-Dreads." Raven snarls at the gnomes, "It will be three dead mini-Dreads if you follow us." With that Raven leaves the bar to see how the man reacts to Sarah question.
-----The man lets a slight smile slip as Sarah stands between him and the door. "Let's talk outside," he says with a low voice. He then reaches beyond the young mage and opens the door.
-----"Okay." Sarah says, a little intimidated by the man. She meekly follows him outside, but before she does she turns back to Ruplier. "Oh dear Ruplier, I'm afraid it just wasn't meant to be." She sighs melodramatically and cancels the charm spell. She then scampers out of the bar as fast as possible.
-----As everyone follows him out, Sol catches up to the man. "Look ye! Hold a moment." Sol briefly and inwardly debates for a second before continuing, "If yer willing an' yer not tied up wi' other work, my companions an' I could do with an extra hand. Th' thieves we're after aren't our only prey. We also hunt one who may be part o' what caused this chaos in Redmarsh. What say ye? Would ye aid us?"
-----The man raises his eyebrows at Sol's assault of questions. He then looks down at his axe while his leather jerkin catches the glare of the late afternoon sun. Looking over to his right, he catches a glimpse of Thunder standing with the other horses.
-----He walks over calmly to the stallion and pats the muscular neck. With an impressed sound to his voice, he says, "Now this is more o' the company I like to keep." Turning back to the young warrior, he says, "I like your choice of animals." He then looks beyond at the two horses that Raven and Rinda rode, adding, "Those are a couple of fine mares, too."
-----As he glances at Marlexana, he smiles and remains quiet as if he tries to determine the horse's origin. He remains speechless for a moment though visibly impressed with what he sees.
-----Sarah smiles as the man is impressed with her horse. She is bursting with questions she wants to ask him about Marlexana, but decides to wait until later.
-----The smile then fades as he turns back to Sol to answer his requests. "I don't know what aid I can give you. Most people I've run into down here want to blame the Lord o' Hearthorn for neglecting them. It sounds like they're ready to follow the Lord across the river. I've never been one for dealing with Lords and politics. I'm more for wandering and following the ways o' nature."
-----He adds one final stroke to Thunder's neck before he turns toward everyone and shrugs somewhat apologetically.
-----"Figures," Sarah says grumpily, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. She wonders why they can't meet up with any civilized people in any of their travels.
-----Just then a woman perhaps in her late twenties approaches the tavern from down the road. Dressed in a silky red dress and blouse, her perfume seems to precede her. The strong aroma causes some of the horses to quiver and stamp where they wait.
-----The woman tosses her head alluringly causing her blond hair to bounce around her shoulders. "Ooo," she says in a sultry voice, "Horsies!"
-----She smiles broadly at Sol and the axe-wielding man as she asks, "Could one of you gentlemen be so kind as to take me for a ride?"
-----Sarah immediately walks over to Sol's side and wraps her delicate arms around his waist possessively. She faces the blonde woman with burning eyes. "No, he can't." She says quickly.
-----The woman in the red dress brings an immediate frown from the axe-wielding man. As the woman draws nearer, her breath reveals that perhaps she has already visited the tavern earlier. Under his own breath, the axe-wielding man says, "Not the kind o' company I like to keep."
-----"We'll get along fine." Sarah says, likewise under her breath to the man.
-----Raven exits the tavern and stands quietly as the man looks at the horse. Raven then says, "My beloved and I are also more at peace around the Hunter's children."
-----Raven motions for the wolf to sit by Raven's side. "Our main prey is working with dark cults that twists the very nature you love." Raven pauses as he studies the man. "We could use your help. You know this area much better than I do. I'm a tracker and hunter, but I do not know these woods very well. I know we don't know each other, but I like what I've seen so far. I'd like to see what that axe could against our foes."
-----Raven gives the man a slight smile.
-----Sol abruptly clears his throat as he answers the woman, "Sorry ma'am, but Sarah's right. We're about t'leave on business. Perhaps th' local teamster would be willing t'loan ye a horse."