Phineas cooks up a mid-winter stew.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

Phineas J. Pennefeather, the Halfling proprietor of the Watering Hole Tavern, comes up from the cellar and into the kitchen as quietly as one can in well-worn hob-nailed boots. After all, the innkeeper does not want to awaken anyone who may have fallen asleep in the main room of the tavern. Phineas has brought up a basket full of the makings of a hardy stew from the stores beneath the tavern: onions, potatoes, carrots, beets and a few other vegetables and herbs that you might not be able to identify. Phineas quietly places the basket on the floor behind the counter. The Halfling ties on his well-used leather apron, checks the stove, adds wood to the fire, and returns to his work at the counter.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

Phineas cleans up the sink and the counter and puts enough of the stream water to wash the soil away from the vegetables. Next he cuts up the roots and onions, careful to wash them thoroughly. In less than a few minutes, the pot is filled with stewing vegetables and topped with herbs.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

Phineas trims the roast rabbit while carefully checking for any pieces of metal that may have been secreted away in the animal. Being certain that there is none, Phineas adds the meat to the stew.

With the stew cooking on its own, Phineas sits back to enjoy the quiet of the Inn while reading through his papers.

[Ravira]

Ravira walks slowly into the inn wrapped in many furs and looking rather larger around the middle than normal.

She sniffs at the pot and hums to herself. She snuggles down in a dark corner of the inn to wait for the stew to finish cooking.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

With the arrival of Ravira, Phineas true to his duties as Tavern-keeper, quickly gets up and attends to his guest.

First the Halfling picks out a bowl, hesitates, then selects a somewhat larger bowl and fills it with the rabbit stew being careful to skim a little more fat over the top. Serving it with a slab of bread, Phineas places the bowl of stew on the table in front of Ravira.

[Degren Brightforge]

Degren walks into the inn, kicking the clods of snow from his heavy boots before noisily stepping over the threshold. He nods to everyone before finding a seat for himself next to the fire. The stench of the forge, a greesy smokey smell, surrounds him and soot covers the front of his frayed and worn shirt. Giving the halfling a friendly smile, He motions to Phineas by holding an imaginary cup to his lips and tipping it.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

As Degren the Smith gets settled into his place by the Tavern’s wood stove, Phineas steps away from his working space behind the half counter separating the kitchen area from the main hall and sets a frothy mug of ale on the table in front of him.

“Hungry?!” the Halfling says, although it’s more of a statement than a question.

Without waiting to receive an answer, Phineas ladles out a substantial bowl of rabbit stew for the Smith and sets it near him.

[Degren Brightforge]

Grinning wildly at the food, Degren scoops a hefty spoonful of the thick stew into his mouth. A moment of painful gasping and hand waving later, he holds up a soot stained thumb and nods his head furiously.
Noticing Ravira he waves, and quickly scribbles down a note. With ano overhand toss, he chucks the crumpled note, letting it bounce of the top of her head to land in front of her.
Hello. How has your winter been?

[Skyrius Ventus]

Sky, both tired and exhausted from training on his own in the forest, wanders towards that aromatic Tavern.
Looking at Phineas, "May I have some? It smells delicious!" Sky wipes his brow and smiles at the hardworking man.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

With the arrival of Skyrius Ventus into the main room of the Watering Hole Tavern, Phineas dishes out a large bowl of the rabbit stew and pours a large flagon of ale.  He quickly sets the drink, the stew and an end of bread on the table in easy reach of Sky.

With those in the Inn seeming to be looked after, Ravira settled in and the simmering rabbit stew filling the hall with a mouth-watering aroma, Phineas turns his attention to Degren and Sky.

“You two seem to be a little worn out!” the Halfling cautiously states. “Have you been working on something down at the forge??”

[Ravira]

Ravira eats ravenously. "Quiet good today Phineas. Mind if I trade the good food with some bear meat? Could I also get another bowl and a tankard of water?"
(If you look closer you see the cloak is of a black bear.)

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

“B-b-bear meat?!” the Halfling sputters. “Of course, I will trade rabbit stew for bear meat!”

Phineas dishes out another great big serving of the rabbit stew, pours a large mug of ale and quickly sets all near Ravira on the table.

“How much do you want to give up?” he asks. “Because I enough wild leeks to make up a big feed of bear stew and I haven’t had any in a very long time!”

[Degren Brightforge]

Degren, still slurping down the hot soup, quickly jots down a few words on scrap,

I've been working on a few pieces of armor for Krond, and I made a new sword for Pierre as a surprise for him. Sort of a welcome home gift. How's your winter, Phineas?

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

The Halfling picks up the note, reads it quickly and places the paper back down in front of the smith. As quick as he can, Phineas runs behind the counter and returns with an empty mug and another filled with a steaming clear liquid.

“Hot, salted water!” he says. “Gargle five mouth-fulls and spit it back into the empty one!”
With a shrug, he continues.

“I have been looking into trying to get your voice back! I’ve gone through my alchemy books and asked a few psychics and I haven’t gotten to anything specific.”

He takes a small leather bound book out of the folds of his tunic, reads a few words and hides it away.

“I just might be able to do something. Please write down everything that you remember about how you lost your voice. Be specific and maybe I can figure something out!”

[Degren Brightforge]

Degren nods and begins to write, pausing to drink from a flaggon of ale.

I was brought into the tavern by an imperial accuser. She was in town investigating the murder of A General's grandmother. Though I was not punished for the murder, my friends and I had a part to play in it, as it seemed to be the best way of stopping the woman from controlling more of our people using her tainted candy.
I took responsibility for my friends, and they cursed me with this necklace. It mutes my voice and stunts my knowledge of smithing. What's more concerning is that I died and returned, only to have the necklace reappear a few hours later. Any help you can offer would be very much appreciated, master Phineas.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

When Degren is finished scribbling, Phineas picks up and reads the note.

“Well, it is very noble of you to take the blame for the stupidity! Weren’t you all ever told stories as a kid about accepting candy for crazy old women?”

Phineas shakes his head in disbelief.

“Well, I hope that you all learned a few lessons from this. Especially the lesson about NOT messing around with the Empire. That is almost as dumb as getting involved in Elven politics when you are not an Elf!!!”

The Halfling takes a long look at the smith’s neck.

“Don’t try to cut it off, either the bauble or your head.  I suspect that neither one will work to rid you of the curse.”

Phineas cups his chin in his left hand and closes his eyes in thought. After a little while, he speaks up.

“There has got to be some sort of ritual that will get this thing off of you!”

[Degren Brightforge]

With a heavy sigh Degren nods, turning the paper over to write.

I've tried everything I can think of to remove it. Shears, blades, and much more. I figured that if a whole new body didn't work, removing body parts wouldn't work either. But, I haven't managed to find anyone willing to try a ritual to remove it. I've spent the winter across the sea, searching through ancient tomes and scrolls, hoping to find rituals. I found many mentions of them, and a few ritual texts, but they were all incomplete or damaged.

[Degren Brightforge]

and as far as dealing with elves and Imperials, I'll never shy away from doing what is right for this community. I can't allow empire control, for they are known to enslave those who can't pay their tithes , and we are a poor settlement. While I respect their adherence to their laws, I can never agree with the corruption that plagues it. The elves are another story. The group that came here was evil, using pain to bring about more suffering. I don't believe that their excecutions were the right thing to do, but I trust in the men who did it. If they believe that those elves meant danger to Holdfast, and ending their threat on a permanent level was absolutely necessary , then I can't condemn them.I'm not sure if you were there, master hobbit, but everything happened so quickly. Without my voice I was unable to deter their actions.it is regrettable.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

Phineas read the notes and puts them back down on the table.

“As for your trinket there, if dying did not get rid of it, I suspect that nothing physical will either!” he says. “It’s a complexly cursed item. And believe me, I don’t mean a simple psychic curse. This thing must have been made to be this way and therefore there should be definite way of getting rid of it!”

After a pause to sip his own mug of ale, the Halfling continues.

“As for the Empire, I don’t disagree with you in principle! But most of the Imperialists that you meet this far out are not that bad. But in practice, there are some that need to be handled with at least some level of diplomacy.”

He holds his hands apart in a gesture of helplessness.

“As soon as I heard that Volk had killed the General’s grandmother, I had a pretty good idea that things would go bad and real quickly, too. Volk shorter by a head and you with a cursed voice box seems like we got off light. There could have easily taken down the whole town. Still might happen! Even this far from the Empire, there are always a few assassins that take Imperial gold!”

Phineas takes the time to bring a fresh, frothy mug of ale for Degren and his cursed throat.

“But as far as the Elves are concerned,” he pauses. “You all should have left the punishment to the Elves. We can count a number of Elven friends in this place. They have their own rules that they must abide by. Either that or they must endure punishment, and I mean direct punishment, by the Faerie themselves. Elven business has to be left to the Elves. Either that or the Faerie can come and turn us all into turnips.”

[Degren Brightforge]

Degren pushes his stew around with his spoon, finds some turnip and pops it in his mouth. He smacks his lips  and grins. On a new sheet of rough paper that he pulls from the small pouch at his side he scribbles away:

I've never dealt with elven law before that day. It's regrettable there were no elves around to help us-- things may have been different. The fact that we are alive right now must be a good sign. I'm rusty on my history, though. I thought there had been many wars between men and elves in the past, which likely had casualties on both sides.  Why should the elven gods suddenly care now, when they were silent about the deaths of so many others?

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

“Until a few centuries ago, humans and Fae never really got together!” Phineas states. “It wasn’t until magic came into this world that Elves and the rest of us knew that humans existed. So, outside of a few misunderstandings, there has never been any sort of Human versus Elf battle! Or as far as I know.”

He pours himself a drink, then continues.

“Of all the Fae, the Elves are the eldest of the Fae and the most dedicated to a particular way of doing things: The Elven Code! And the Faerie absolutely make sure that they follow it!”

Phineas pauses to let that sink in.

“Elves cannot let other Elves get hurt and must help if another Elf does get hurt. They cannot even tell a lie to another Elf or break any promises either! On top of that they have to help all Fae and be a role model for all of us! Or the Faerie will GET THEM!”

Phineas pauses again.

“Those Elves were absolutely not living the life expected of Elves, from what I’ve been told! I am fairly certain that if you helped our Elves to restrain those badly behaved ones, the Faerie would have come by and fixed the situation!”  

Phineas drains his mug.

“Maybe even finding loophole in the code like turning them into something non-Elf and killable. Or some other suitable fate!”

[Degren Brightforge]

You've certainly given this a fair bit of thought. But I like to believe I know the hearts of men. We are a dangerous lot. Humans are Filled with fear, and that fear quickly turns to anger. Anger unified us. It brings us together far better than peace, or hope ,ever does. The people were still coming back from an epidemic, one which ravaged their world. The sudden appearance of the Fey and magic must have frightened them more than I can imagine.  Our first instinct is to attack-- self preservation above all. Surely that fear unified the humans into a force against the elves. And if not a unified army, then a force of fanatics looking to kill what they didn't understand ?

How does this code effect humans? I understand the elves are forced to follow it, but what does it mean for the race of men? If an elf attacks a man, is he unable to defend himself? Should this elven law not only control elves?
Degren watched the halfling read, drinking the rest of his beer as he does.

[Ravira]

Ravira watches the odd exchange as she eats and finally settles back after the bowl is empty.
"I have half a bear left Phineas. The rest I made into jerky. I brought it from the woods to the side of the bunkhouse since I figured you'd be interested in it. I'm heading back to the forest now. Thanks for the stew. It's nice to have someone else make a meal for me.
See you two in the spring."
She nods to Phineas and Degren and quickly, yet quietly, leaves the tavern.

[Phineas J. Pennefeather]

As Ravira departs, he shouts  out to her.

“I’ll take as much bear-meat as I can get, my dear!”

He turns his attention to the Smith.

“Did you know that we can likely expect the arrival of a little bundle of fur this Spring?”. Then he adds, with a little mirth.  “I assume that in all the cursing, that you are not responsible … ?”

Phineas true to his duties as Tavern-keeper, quickly cleans up what Ravira leaves behind.

He then attends to his guest.

“There is plenty humen and huwomen can do if Elves if they attack. Or even if the Elves in question are not living the life expected of Elves.  They set themselves up to be held to higher standard.  And it is enforceable! You can’t harm them, or the other Elves will take it badly.  But you can certainly get the other Elves to make sure that they do! On pain of Faerie justice!  And that is nothing to be sneezed at!”

The Halfling picks out a fresh bowl and fills it with more rabbit stew and setting in front of the Smith. Phineas then quickly runs out the door to recover the bear-meat from the side of the Inn and returns to gleefully begin his work with the meat.

[Sponsored content]