“Ah, that stench! My nose!” Lindelle squeaked, pinching her nose tightly. She drew her eyebrows together, alarmed at the smell of combined sweat, mud, under arm odor, and other distinct odors in the pub. “It’s...It’s horrid! How can you stand this?” She asked the barkeep, still holding her breath. He simply flashed his new barmaid a toothy grin.

“It’s a stench that you’ll learn to love with when you work in the pub all during the summer solstice, m’dear.” Lindelle shook her head in disbelief, earning a good chuckle from her boss. He began to fill up a couple glasses with the pub’s special mystery liquid. “Mind you, Lindelle, not all the men here reek like an ass’s behind. I bet that if you keep an eye open you may find quite the catch. It’s not all drunks who come here. Many a time we get to serve people of a civilized manner. Just be sure to keep him coming back so I can make some money.”

She cocked a brow and quickly scanned the pub for anyone who could have possibly been civilized. Ho hum. Let’s see, let’s see. There were drunkards getting into fights over things they wouldn’t remember in the morn, men so big they looked as if they could eat Lindelle in one bite, perverts hitting and invading the personal space of the other barmaids, some shady looking characters whom she could have sworn were on some of the wanted posters, a snooty looking elf here and there, and then there was the occasional hooded figure in the crowd of faces hiding in the corners. How she had arrived here in one piece was still a mystery to her. Thankfully no one had harmed Lindelle, yet.

She turned back shaking her head again, this time in uncertainty. Well, she certainly didn’t see anyone worth reeling in. Not that it mattered. She was never really into that whole romantic affair anyways. Lindelle looked back at her boss, looking clearly offended that he had thought that she might actually be attracted to anyone in here. He gave a whole hearted laugh at the expression on her face.

“Ahh...never mind, girl! So hard to please you women. Always expecting the perfect man. Well, go on. I’m not paying you to go husband hunting. Start serving some of the people in here!” He slid a couple of mugs across the counter over to her. “And lass,” he said, beckoning her closer with his finger. “Try to keep your voice down when you talk about my customers. I don’t want you ruining that pretty face of yours during your first month on the job. Humph. Serve those to the table with the three rangers over there, would you?”

“Yes, sir.” Hair sleekly pulled back, Lindelle took two mugs in one hand and holding the last mug in the other. She made her way through the tight crowd with trouble. Lindelle’s petite size didn’t make up for her clumsiness, but she had made it.

“Oh, sorry bout that, ma’am.”

“Excuse me-”

“Ah, would you mind moving out of the- eep. N-never mind. I’m sorry sir. Please enjoy your meal... I’ll... I’ll just walk around.”

“Coming through, sorry. Don’t mind me-”

Crash.

Lindelle winced at the sound of breaking glass and fell back on her behind. “Not again...” She groaned to no one in particular. That was the third time this week. Which would make a record of five broken chalices all in all. At times it amazed Lindelle how poised she was.

“Next time watch where you’re going!” A man of colossal size roared out at her.

“S-Sorry, sir.” She replied weakly, bowing her head. The giant merely sneered before taking his seat again. Purple locks fell from behind her shoulders and covered her face as the meek barmaid got on her hands and knees and began to pick up the glass pieces off the grimy floor. She wasn’t going to have anyone else pay for her lack of grace. “Well, wasn’t he just a delight.” She muttered sarcastically under her breath. “Stimulating conversation, really. Oh, how’s my day going he asked? Just fine thanks for asking, I said to that ugly troll. If I knew something other than healing magic, why he’d be the one on the ground and- ouch!”

Lindelle dropped all the shards she had managed to gather on instinct, and examined her now bleeding finger, thoroughly. Because she had been so into talking to herself, Lindelle had carelessly pierced herself with a jagged piece of glass. “Owie...” She looked at her finger with a slight frown.

“Next time use a broom.” Another barmaid said apathetically, dropping a broom and a dustpan in front of Lindelle as she walked past her.

“Mmkay. Will do. Thank you very much, Charlotte!” Lindelle called out after her as she watched the other barmaid disappear into the crowd. Lindelle pulled herself back up to her feet and began to sweep away the shattered glass. A soft sigh parted her coral lips. “I don’t understand why they just don’t fire me now and get it over with...”

Xaki walked into the pub, being pushed around like a good deal of drunks and muscled men were. Fights between drunkards breaking out every couple of feet until Xaki reached the bar. He let out a sigh as he stretched his sore muscles from his travels through the Misty Forest. A bar main walked up to him and gave him a glass of ale before walking away to deal with some drunks at the far end of the bar.

Yes, this was another day in the Drital Qu'ellar Pub during the Summer solstice, it was also another day closer to death for everybody, especially Xaki. He took a drink from the mug and the bitter taste of the ale embraced his taste buds. He put the mug down and looked down the bar to see a purple-haired barmaid talking to the barkeep.

Xaki sighed at the knowledge that the chances of her falling in love with him were slim to none and he took another swallow from the mug. He looked around and saw several people that were marked as 'wanted' by the officials in Lomedor. Why the guards never looked here was beyond understanding since it was usuallly a first retreat for anybody on a wanted poster.

The stench of the entire pub finally greeted Xaki's nose like a million bulls ramming against his head. Sweat, ale, blood, and bad body odor rushed through the crowded pub. It had always been this way during the Summer and it never changed unless a big brawl broke out between the heavily muscled drunks.

Xaki grinned and looked back at where the barmaid was, only to watch as she left into the crowd with two mugs which she accidentally sloshed over everything. It was not her fault considering the lack of space in the pub today. Xaki gave a scoff before taking another swallow from his mug and trying to find where the woman had gone, still uneffected by the alchohol.

He managed to find her due to an accident with a humongous man shouting at her. A small space cleared and another bar maid walked over to the scene as the man left the area. Xaki gave a soft growl and went after the man. the one thing he couldn't stand was muscle heads.

He managed to get the monsterous man outside where he than beat the collosal man down without using his sword. He was just teaching the man a lesson he had hoped would get through the man's thick skull, which bruised Xaki's legs as he attacked him.

Xaki went back inside the pub and looked for the barmaiden. He eventually found her sweeping up broken glass and pushed his way through the sweaty drunks. "Aezeri ti, eisi o eilol?" He asked in a kind voice. What he had asked was if she was allright, he did not know too much Elvish but this was a phrase he knew. He had said it in Elvish because he had noticed that she was elvish, or at least hafl-elvish. He thought that maybe this woman would not acceot him but he needed to assure that she was allright.

Lindelle inspected the pub’s dirt stricken floor, hoping to spot the last of the glass pieces before she put the broom away, emptied the dust pan, and scurried off to tend to her other duties. Amethyst eyes searched the floor around her feet, but stopped upon another’s footwear. It wasn’t that they were fascinating shoes or anything; it was the gentle voice coming from above the feet that had distracted her. Lindelle’s eyes trailed from the feet up and reached the face of another elf. He was looking straight at her, so she had come to the obvious conclusion that he was talking to her.

What did he say before? Aezeri ti, eisi o eilol? She felt like an imbecile for taking a while to realize he was speaking Sindarin. Oh. It was probably my ears, she thought. Another elf. Hm, probably another stuck-up, haughty one. But despite this sudden thought, she decided to place the broom and the dust pan down and help him out anyways. She tilted her head in confusion, sighed once more, and the tired expression on her face was replaced with a weak, apologetic smile. "I’m sorry sir. I can only speak Adûnaic." He had spoken to her in a questioning tone a moment ago. Maybe he was requesting a drink? “You’ll have to place your order with someone else I’m afraid.” She stated before picking her broom and dust pan again.

“Perhaps," she started to suggest. “You could see if the barkeep speaks some Sindarin. (She pointed over to the bar.) Having to meet so many people everyday he must have picked up some words over the years...oh...” It was a possibility that he couldn’t understand her, and that he could only speak the Elvish language. Lindelle shook her head and began sweeping at invisible pieces on the ground so she wouldn’t have to keep direct eye contact. It was a bad habit of hers. Too many eyes always made her nervous.

Poor fellow, she thought. She had sincerely wanted to help. Mayhap he is another snobbish elf. But he was an improvement from more than half the other rowdy drunks in here. Well, at least his smell certainly was.

(OOC: I am sooo sorry Xaki. I should have replied sooner, I know, but well. Busy busy weekend. Sorry again. >_< )

"Okay, I am sorry. I believed you may only speak elvish so I assumed you may understand me. What I had asked was if you were okay." Xaki said with a slight chuckle. "And also, that was the only phrase I know of Sindarin, I learned it from a group of Sindarians once." He smiled before continueing. "My Adûnaic vocabulary is very miyi. And I don't have long since I am constantly faced mâ agan. My nuphrât saphad when I started dying." He paused for a minute feeling embaressed that his Adûnaic was broken like that. "I apologize for my bad Adûnaic." He said with a smile.

He looked at her expression twords him and shook his head a bit. "Do not worry, I am not one of those 'holier than though' elves, I am not even an elf." He looked and could see several pieces of glass scattered around the floor. "Do you need help with that?" He asked sincreley as he kneeled and picked up five pieces of glass. A heavy feeling made itself known to Xaki on his chest. It almost felt as if he could not breath. He stood up and coughed into his hand, out came more blood but the sound of it was masked and he cleaned up his hands and picked up several more pieces of glass. The heavy feeling remained on his chest while he was around this woman, but he believed that he would not be able to love her because his kind of luck would have her not interested, but he continued to help pick up the pieces of glass.

A giant foot attempted to stomp on his hand but xaki pulled it out just in time and stood up to face a gigantic man. "Out of my way!" The man said, his voice deep and his stench heavy. Xaki sighed and looked back at the barmaid. He shook his head and not more than a moment more later the monsterous man began to strangle Xaki with one of is hands "I said MOVE!" The monsterous man attmpted to throw Xaki out of his way but He kept his grip on the monsterous man and kicked him in the back of his neck. Xaki rushed out of the pub as quickly as he could, his muscles trying to hold up the humongous man until he dropped him outside. The gigantic man lied on the mground, holding his neck in pain as he struggled to breath. "Don't get up and don't go back in there please, there is enough drunks in there as it is." Xaki said before knocking the man out with the flat side of his blade and the returned to help the barmaid pick up shards of glass.

“Oh,” Lindelle grinned sheepishly. Not an elf. How silly. Next time she must pay better attention to who she was talking with.

Do not worry, I am not one of those 'holier than though' elves, he had told her. She panicked for a moment. Had he read her mind? Or had she spoken her thoughts aloud? Either way she tried to keep her face calm again as he offered to help her. But before she had even answered he was already on the ground.

“No-no. Sir. It really is no problem. I mean, it wasn’t your fault or-” But she stopped, noticing that it seemed that just bending down pained him. Her tongue throbbed as she bit down hard on it, trying to mind her own business. Once more, she opened her mouth to object to this stranger’s kindness, but was so rudely interrupted by another monstrous looking man, who seemed to lack the manners that the one before had, too.

“Excuse me, sir-!” She said, quite irritably. This is what she got for deciding to work in a pub. She had hoped to hear stories of traveler’s and make a friend or two working at a pub. But instead the pub was filled with the most despicable men she had ever lay eyes on.

The second troll bellowed out at the considerate man who had offered to help her moments before, and took no notice of her. She stood there helpless and bit her fingernails, worrying that she might be the cause of serious harm. If only she had gifted with more grace. Or at least she should have learned a few offensive techniques. But it seemed she had been worrying for no reason. In what seemed like mere moments the man had easily handled the giant and brought him outside.

Lindelle blinked rapidly, completely stunned. The kind stranger hadn’t looked weak. The shocking part was how he had managed to bring down that other man so effortlessly. He strolled back inside as if what he had done was nothing.

"Two in one day. Goodness." she said softly to herself. He attempted to help her out once more, but this time she bent down and swept all the glass pieces in her hand with one swift movement, ignoring the small, sharp stabs in her palm. She emptied the shards from her hand and into the dust pan, and quickly straightened herself out and hid her hand behind back.

“Sir,” she said, firmly. “I really do appreciate your help, but... but it really is my job to tend to any problems in the pub. I do not want you to burden yourself just because I cannot walk across the room without spilling a couple of mugs. Besides, I’m the one being paid for my services. It would not be just if continued doing what you were without pay.” He had helped her out too much, she decided. And if she continued this pushover act she’d never get him to sit down and enjoy his drinks again.

“Almost forgot,” She extended her clean hand and smiled warmly. “I’m Lindelle by the way."

Xaki shook her hand with kindness. "I am Xaki Urufu. It is a pleasure to meet you Lindelle." He said kindly. "Yes and how would you like to make a bit of money." A voice rang out to Xaki who looked in the direction. It was the barkeeper and he had a business proposition. "What do you mean?" Xaki asked confused slightly. "I watched what you did to those two trolls, how about you be the bouncer for this pub?!" the barkeep said as he threw his arms into the air, just an inch from hitting two people in the heads. "Umm--" Before Xaki could respond the barkeeper intrrupted. "How about ten gold for every fight you stop!" "Well, I guess--" "Well then! Congradulations on your new job, 'Xaki' was it?" "Umm, yes?" The barkeep bareley let Xaki speak much but they were both happy, the barkeeper more than Xaki by at least a hundred times.

The barkeep left Xaki and Lindelle to go serve two people who were waiting at the bar. "Kind of pushy, isn't he? But at least he is enthusiastic." Xaki said with a slight chuckle which was quickly followed by a groan. "Hadn't really expected to have a job here." Xaki said as he shook his head in disbelief. He sighed once more, following it up with a chuckle. He stood there, blank for a moment as he tried to understand what just happened. "Well... I guess my job is really simplistic." Xaki said as he looked around, for now nothing was happening so he turned his attention to Lindelle. "Is he always that way? Slightly pushy and enthusiastic?"

Lindelle had to resist the strong urge to laugh. It was slightly amusing, watching her boss force Xaki into taking a job at the bar. Like a sort of guard? Hm, she hadn’t been paying too much attention. She had been too busy looking back and forth between the men’s expressions. The barkeep, obviously delighted and gleeful, while Xaki on the other hand looked confused and a little lost.

A grin split her face in two when Xaki spoke to her again. “I guess so. I wouldn’t know too well. I’ve only been here about a week or two.” She emptied the dust pan she was holding into the rubbish bin a few feet away and placed the dust pan in its home in the corner, the broom by its side.

Lindelle placed a hand on her hip and sighed. “Well, it looks like I’ll be seeing you a lot more now.”

Lindelle wasn’t sure if she was actually pleased to hear that the guest that had already taken down two enormous men was going to be working here. He seemed a bit ill, but she didn’t pester him about it. “Just one thing, I won’t be able to watch after you so take care of yourself, you hear?” She said teasingly.

Lindelle slid a couple of glasses overflowing with a bubbling liquid to two other customers. “So what exactly are you working as?” She asked while she filled up more cups.

"I believe the correct term is: Drunken Manager." Xaki said with a luagh"I say Drunken Manager because that is what I believe I may be doing throughout this entire, 'stinky', day here." . He laughed a bit and then quickly sighed. "I have done this before, last time it was really slow and I bareley got payes. Hopefully this time will be more fulfilling." Xaki said said with a smile that quickly grew grim. "I should not test fate like that, I could run into two ogres with giant axes and bad attitudes, coming just to kill some drunken people. And us being their first stop." He swayed slightly with a blank expression on his face as he thought of the sheer destruction that could cause. "Fate, please don't do that to me!" He said with a laugh.

He stood around the bar, leaned up against it with a glass of water next to him as he watched for anything to happen. Several minutes passes and continuley nothing happened. "Okay, I am going to tempt fate by saying that this is really dull!" Xaki dropped a bit until his shoulders, which were resting on the bar, came up to his head and he took a drink of water. "Give it time boy! Something will happen soon." The barkeep said with a grin. "Yeah, and knowing my kind of luck it will either be a free for all, or a gigantic, monsterous being wanting to crush my skull for something I did to it in another part of Lomedor." Xaki said with a chuckle and then let out a grieved sigh. "I test fate too much and I may be killed one of these days."

"Hey boy." The barkeep started through the noise of drunkens singing songs and getting into swear fights before falling over. "How are you going to get to any fights in this mess?" "You should have thought about that before hiring me." Xaki said with a smile as he propped himself up and took a drink from his water as he watched as the drunks did their usual, drunken, things.

Lindelle tended to the bar smiling at Xaki's statements.

"How wonderfully cheerful you are." She said with a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "If you keep this up you're going to kill all the drunks' mood and then you'll send all our customer's away."

Lindelle eyed the singing drunks warily. "And we wouldn't want that now, we would we?" The barmaid sighed again and handed a few more rugged men their drinks. She glanced back over her shoulder at Xaki while she quenched the thirst of the new arrivals visitors. "Besides, would you like something to happen? I for one have had enough brutes for one day."

The cup that was in her hand landed on the table in front of an elderly scribe with a thud, and she rested her hand in her palm. "Now that I give it more thought," she started. "Why would anyone want to hurt such a kind gentleman like you?"

"You've got to be kind to put up with her clumsiness." The barkeep said with a laugh and Lindelle smiled childishly.

"Well, then you, sir, are a saint. I'm surprised I haven't been let go. Only someone as wonderful as you would let me keep my job." She said in a smooth voice. The barkeep, who was expecting her to pout, stopped.

"Nice try. If you're expecting a raise don't even think about it. Flattery will get you no where. And those broken glasses are still coming out your pay." He said harshly, although he couldn't keep the smile off his face. Lindelle wilted visibly and took more drinks from the bar.

Xaki chuckled a bit at the little exchange of words. "And she called me a mood killer. and you know, since there are so many drunks here that instead of taking it out of her pay you could raise the price by how much one of those glasses costs and get that money times a hundred!" Xaki proposed to the barkeeper.

"I don't know about that." The barkeep said in a slight daze. "Think about it, they are so drunk right now that they can't even think about it. you could possibly empty their pockets quicker and have the pub smelling better by some major degree!" Xaki was mainly saying this because of all of the drunks that stunk the pub up.

"Oh, and by your way Elandria, no I do not enjoy getting pummeled into a flat piece of paper!" Xaki said to Lindelle with a laugh. He sighed as the barkeeper got him another glass of water.

Xaki let a coy smile pass onto his face as a drunkard bashed a glass over another's head and started a small fight which quiclky ended by the two drunks passing out. The barkeeper groaned. "Okay, now I see the sense in your proposal." the Barkeep said with his head down as Xaki chuckled a bit.

"Don't be so smug." the barkeep said grimly. "I am taking that one out of your pay." Xaki chuckled a bit and shrugged. "Since I wasn't getting payed anything before that won't make a differance." Xaki said jokingly.

Xaki stood there a moment before groaning at the presense of an armored ogre walking into the pub with a war mace. " I shouldn't have tested fate." Xaki groaned as he watched the ogre, hoping he would not do anything deadly.