"Oi, don't go sitting around with your thumb in your ass, get to work!" came a shout as Oliver entered the tavern, soon seeing Oric shouting to one of his waiters as they seemed to be dozing off, soon snapping the man out of it before he ran for a set of customers that had just sat down. Oric just sighed as he looked to the entrance, soon noticing Oliver's entry before he nodded over towards the corner of the bar, letting Oliver notice that Serphia and Sylphia at the far end of the bar conversing, making the man sigh as he sat down in front of the barkeep. "They've been talking the entire time they've been here, Serphia telling stories of the last few months in the army."
"Well, war stories are always a fun past time for soldiers and mercenaries to tell." Oliver responded as Oric placed a small glass in front of him, soon pulling out a few silver coins as Oric picked up a bottle of what Oliver normally ordered, a sweet mead that was made in the northern kingdom of Dargoth. "So then, any more reports of attacks throughout the day?"
"Fortunately, no. Travelers have been coming in with little trouble, and apparently the creatures around the forest have picked the bones of those creatures clean." Oric spoke as he soon filled the glass, Oliver only looking at him confused as he continued. "Along with that, some other hunters have come in with their own bounties recently, making the forest path mainly clear to move on without trouble."
"Well, that's always good, but it means I can't find any work for the next month or so." Oliver sighed, making Oric look at him as Oliver picked up the glass and downed the drink, soon looking back at the barkeep with a smile. "Those two did seem to cause quite some ruckus, though, so I'm sure to have dealt with the problems for now."
"Though I doubt killing those two beasts will cause any creatures to stay put for long." Oric spoke as the two looked over to where Serphia and Sylphia were, both laughing from something they had apparently missed. "Speaking of pairs of two, those two are having quite a ball after one being gone for so long."
"Aye, though it's far more subtle than what could've happened." Oliver responded before he remembered his fight with Elia and her words used to make him go all out, causing him to sigh as he leaned back in his chair, soon looking up to the ceiling. "That princess of yours is quite a piece of work. Did you know she talks while she's facing opponents?"
"Only the ones she wants to see the abilities of, from what I've heard from General Darius." Oric responded as he poured another glass of the mead and set it beside Oliver's first glass. Oliver's mind went back to the large man that had stopped his fight with the three warriors, remembering his own curiosity of him that had appeared while he was selling the beasts.
"So I could tell, but using someone's student as a threat to ensure a wager?" Oliver asked as he looked back over to the drink Oric had poured, not even feeling a buzz from the first drink for reasons he already knew and hated. That was his only problem with this country and it's culture, it was so close to how the middle ages were that they didn't have that well of drinking water, so the amount of alcohol that was used in drinks was only enough to clean the drinks of bacteria, far from enough to get drunk by. "That kind of stuff should be taboo in fights..."
"So you're telling me that you wouldn't have done the same in her boots, regardless of how little you knew of your opponent?" Oric asked, making Oliver look back at him as he picked up the drink, only taking a sip this time while thinking through his answer. From what he could see on Oric's face, it was as if he knew that Elia would ask him for a fight, but probably didn't even know how it could turn out.
"...You're right, I probably might have even pushed worse buttons." Oliver spoke as he set down his drink, keeping his gaze on the bar keep as he noticed a grin on their face. "You're always good at finding out stuff like that from people?"
