Just a day in the life...

~~Gil steps into the tavern, his large frame filling the doorway as he enters, grinning amiably at the patrons, waving to the majority that knew him from his frequent forays into the city proper. he is dressed simply in earth tones, his usual long white coat absent, though a pair of hand axes are still at his hip, and a short-bladed sword hangs at his hip at well. he grins and goes to the bar, ordering a tankard of ale and turning to face the rest of the bar as he waits for his drink, winking good-naturedly at a passing bar-maid. He wondered where Ralean was, and what kind of trouble he was getting into without Gil there, most of which he was sure would be fun. SUch are the demands of duty. Running this damn cirty in his absence was a chore, and he was anxious for Ral to get back and resume his duties.~~

At a round table in the corner of the bar room, Lilith is in the midst of a hustle. She has on a ripped grey peasant blouse with a dingy looking brown vest over the once elegant looking attire. The tears shown to be held at the collar and yanked, creating a low cut garment. Her brown locks were tied back and sweat dripped down her forehead. She stands forward leaning onto the table, her two palms spread wide in an aggressive stance, yelling at one of the brutes who refuses to pay up the coins she earned through her trickery. Inside her vest pocket lays a small dagger she keeps for circumstances such as this.

~~Gil casts a lazy glance to the commotion across the bar. he glances across to the bartender with a nod to get his attention. The bartender comes to stand across the bar from Gil, sliding a full tankard across to him and leaning over, a rag in one hand. "Gil, could ye be doin' me a favor and keepin' an eye on that for me? I don't be wantin' any trouble in my establishment, but my usual help seems to be off shirking his duties this evening."Gil smiles. "AYe, my good man, I believe I can do that for you, aye, and gladly too." he lifts his tankard in a quick salute as the bartender turns back to another customer, and then Gil turns back, casually watching for trouble out of the corner of his eye to make sure the problem didn't escalate, sipping at a fresh tankard, as the bartender does the same~~

**Edited with admin position in absence of a narrator**

"Look you mangy, tub of lard," with intense dark forest-green eyes she stares down the large man sitting at the other side of the table. "I won that gold, so I better get it!" Her heart was racing, and her head was throbbing she knew she wouldn't be able to take the fat man in a brawl, but she'd surely put up a fight.

~~Gil stands, stretching his massive frame with a barely stifled yawn and slowly makes his way over to the table. He rests a large hand on the lady's shoulder, grinning amiably as he looks down at her from his six-and-a-half feet of height. "Aye, he may be a bit rotund, Miss, but the man also works for a living, and he's earned his right to indulge himself from his earnings." he looks between the two and chuckles. "Which it seems you've been in the process of taking. Now, what seems to be the problem here?"~~

Lilith offers a glare at the broad man and moves her body away from his. She stands back from the broad man, her arms crossed over her vest. Her right hand is near her left pocket with the dagger. If she had to use it, she'd be the one wielding first. Her nose scrunches and her eyes become beady as she faces the brawny man. "This has nothing to do with you, haughty jolthead. Leave us be. " She turns to look back at the man at the table, "You still owe me my gold, now give it here." Her arms go back onto the table and she is in the stance she was in beforehand, not caring about the robust man at her side.

~~Gil grins down at the woman, chuckling. "You've got a big mouth for such a small woman." he ignores her insults as what they were, and puts his hand down on the table between her and the man. "And if you'll excuse me, but the owner of this fine establishment made this my business, so I'm going to ask you nicely, Miss, to lower your tone. We don't want trouble here, do we?" He smiles amiably and takes a long pull from his ale, draining half the tankard without blinking~~

She looks towards the bartender and then back to Gil. "What's life without a little trouble?" with a little smirk at the man. "Now, you look like a man of honor, but surely you know that there's no such thing as fun without a little disorder. I'll bet you've caused a bit of mayhem once or twice." She eyes his sword. Her arms then cross over her vest and she moves the dagger so it can be easily snatched when she needs it. "Now if you'll excuse my presence, I'm due my earnings, and I'm going to get it." She says with a fiery scowl.

It had been another agonizingly long trip from The Thunderlands with Ralean, but it was more than worth it. Travel was an excellent time to think, and he had been able to get his head straight about what he'd done. It was unfortunate, yet necessary for his own sanity to shrug off bad baggage.

"Come on Ral, the least I can do is buy you a drink."

The horses had been tied up outside and now he was pushing the door to the familiar tavern open, his boots clunking on the ground as he strode to the bar. He nodded to some of the regulars within, recieving some warm smiles. Leaning onto the bar, he notices Gil. With a laugh, Jared approached him.

"Hey, Gil! Might of known you'd be in here...how are you doing?"

~Ral steps into the tavern after Jared, dust on his boots and a grin upon his face. he was tired, and sore, and loved every second of the long journey. he murmurs a greeting to a patron as he steps in, glancing around and noticing Gil as Jared does, grinning broadly and excusing himself.

As he approaches, he notices the woman nearby, standing tensely, and laughs, clapping Gil's shoulder. "Still have a way with the ladies, I see." he turns to the woman, lifting a brow. "M'lady, if you plan on using that dagger you have so carefully hidden, do me a favor and don't cut his face. He's not bright, you can at least leave him what little looks nature blessed him with." he winks, and turns back to Gil. "What trouble are you giving her? ANd how have you been?"~

~~Gil opens his mouth to speak to the woman jsut as he catches sight of Jared. He grins and offers a huge hand, turning away from the woman but keeping her in sight out of the corner of his eye. "Jared! How the hell are ya?" he sees Ral and laughs "And Duke SwyftBlade, ever a pleasure to actually see you in your own damn city."

as Ral talks about the girl, Gil turns to her and winks. "Oh, her? Just a little ragamuffin working the locals for some coin."~~

Lilith kept her stance, trying not to show any proof of intimidation from being called out on her dagger. She wants to turn her attention back to the man at the table, but she can't keep her eyes off of the Duke, staring for a few minutes as the two men cross the bar and make their exchange with the vigilante. She snaps out of her trance and looks towards Gil. There's something she finds strangely intriguing about him. He was different than her usual encounters. Keeping her mouth shut, she studies the three men. The armor, the blades, their sizes, she's wants to know exactly who they are. "Hmpf" she sounds in response to his 'ragamuffin' wisecrack.

~after not finding anywhere to stay by the castle she decided to come back to grorr and see if she could find lodging there..she tied her horse up next to the local pub. Taking her saddle bag over her shoulder she dusts off her dark brown jacket that she wore over her blue cotton poet shirt and her leather pants as she walked into the tavern the dust made her sneeze alittle as she noticed commotion over at a table...she walks over to the bar and takes a seat a few down from jared. she sets her bag on the bar and pulls her dirty blonde hair out of its ponytail as her hair falls just passed her shoulders. She orders a pint as its is handed to her.. she glance over to the commotion wondering what is going on and listens as she drinks her pint.~

~Ral smiles wryly. "Well, everyone needs to make a living. I jsut wish some would do it more honestly in the confines of my city." he chuckles and turns to Lilith. "These are my people, and I will not see them cheated of their hard earned coin. Consider this your warning." his voice is still jovial and light, but it contains an edge of hard authority as he dismissively steps past the woman and to the bar, calling out to the barkeep for his usual and asking about the man's family, seating himself betwen jared and Jade, g;ancing voer at the woman's semi-familiar face.~

~she sips her pint and grins alittle as she glances over to Ralean as he sits down between us. she set down her glass and then turns in her chair toward Ralean her light blue eyes looking over Ralean and Jared. Then glances over to Gil. Grabbing her pint and finishing it off. she sets the glass down and slides a few extra coin to the barkeep. ~

The crown prince grinned at Giligan, chuckling at him as he listened to the casual talk. His eyes cast across to the woman who had been refered to as "Ragamuffin" then to the other woman (Jade) who was seated across. Her face looked a little more familiar, but he couldn't think where and so left the matter.

"I'm doing good, good thanks."

Well, he felt better, thats for sure. It was a bold statement given the circumstances. Raising his hand, he called over the waitress and ordered a pitcher of beer.

"I'm glad to see you haven't burnt down the city, Gil..."

He smirked, leaning back in his chair.

"Ralean and I had a bet going that the place would be in ruins by now."

~she raised an eyebrow~

"I wouldn't have bet against Gil..." she grinned alittle.

~leaning back against the bar she plays with the jade necklace around her neck.~

~she remember that night she was sneaking around and gil almost ran her over or she almost ran into him. she was looking to see if anyone knew about her mothers things. and she had left to go to see the queen and see what she knew and knowing there are a few thing of her mothers there as soon as she found a place to stay she could send word and look thru what was there. Course some would think she was her mother Indis cause they looked alike aside from the dirty blonde hair which her mother had dark brown. but she had the pale blue eyes of her mother and her looks.~

The waitress returned quickly with the pitcher of ale, and so he grabbed a tankard, pouring himself one. Jade's voice caused him to look up from it.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, you're right. Gil's a good bloke, he can handle himself and no doubt a city...except when he's drunk."

He winked in jest, and grabbed two spare tankards pouring the ale into both. Sliding one to Ralean and the other to Giligan, he took a gulp of his own. When he was done, he looked back at Jade.

"Er, do I know you? You look familiar."

It was a corny line, but he wasn't trying to chat her up, he was genuinely confused.

~smiles softly looking at Jared~

"I have not met you before that i know of tho I would have remembered. I would wage a guess that you probably knew my mother. " ~she stopped playing with her necklace~


"My mother was one of the Queens ladies in waiting. Indis Blake. Am her daughter Jade, Jade Blake." ~she decided not to mention her father as to not knowing how they felt about him.~

~she leaned back an ordered another pint of ale. and took the glass and took a drink.~

When she suggested that he would know her mother, he gave a mild look of suspicion until Jade said who she was, and a moment of recognition took place. His eyes lit up.

"Your mother? Duchess Indis! How about that? Yes, I do remember her! I'm very sorry she's no longer with us, but may I say, her passing allowed others to live."

He leaned over the table and offered his hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Jade. I had no idea that she had a daughter...she never mentioned you to me. Come here and grab a tankard. There's enough to go around if you want another drink."

The bar was beginning to get a little loud, smokey and noisy, so he raised his voice.

"I'm Jared, by the way. What a coincidence it is..that your mother worked for mine."

With a grin, he turned back to his drink for another gulp.

~ she watched as he recognized her mothers name. she smiled softly. She was alittle surprise that he was a prince. but didn't let it bother her.~

"Yes I had heard that they stopped or at least helped others escape."


~took his hand and shook it with a nice firm grip nothing to girly~

"Yes well she had taken sometime away from aegis after my father decided to leave with another woman from the realm it really had upset her. So I was kept a secret. She had sent for me not long before she past on. So i have been on my own since. Was here before and started training with the guards and such but left not long ago. I just saw your mother a few days ago. I had gone to the castle to look for somethings that my mother left behind. I just need to find a place to stay so they can send me the things."

~she realized she was going on and on and stopped herself for a moment. she went over closer to them and grabbed a tankard and took a few drinks~

"Sorry I tend to go on sometimes. Happens when you are alone so long that when you are around others you tend to babble..."

~taking another drink~

Lilith, mumbling under her breath, slips her hands away from her vest pockets. She obviously didn't come from a 'proper' household, her blouse, vest, and pants were dirty and tattered and she honestly didn't care for royal blood. However, she may as well not draw too much attention, especially not by ones who can have her imprisoned or worse... She eyes the fat man with great intent due to her having to leave her rightfully earned winnings. Once she felt she was out of Gil's eyesight, she began to slip towards the back door of the pub with what gold she has from earlier deceits.

~Ral glances to Jared and Jade with a wry smile, raising the glass the bartender had brought him to them with a nod and taking a sip, revelling in the taste on his tongue before swallowing the fiery liquid. He sighed appreciatively and turned to face the rest of the bar, he glances across at the woman sneaking towards the back door and lifts a brow, sending her a ML: "Honest people tend to leave through the front door, and to be fair, my warning is not made in jest. We do not tolerate confidence artists in my city"~

~~Gil chuckles, moving back to his place at the bar, moving past Jade with a light touch on her shoulder and nod of greeting, passing a small smile as Jared starts to speak. he grins, chuckling deep, a low rumble. "Trust me, I tried my best. This damn city just wants to run itself."~~

He listened patiently to the casual banter, nodding to Jade as he brought the drink to his lips once again.

"Sorry for your loss, must have been very tragic for you. I know its difficult when you're on your own. I suppose you'll go and get a job back at the Palace now, right?"

Drumming his fingers across the tabletop, he glanced around to see what Ralean and Giligian were doing - wondering if Ral had told Gil what they had in mind. As Gil came back and made comment about trying his best, Jared would grin.

"Ah, its easy work my good friend! Enjoy it, I'm making you Duke!"

He leaned onto the table, then looked at Ralean before laughing and turning back to Gil.

"Unless of course, you agree to come with us..we're going on a small adventure."