Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was peculiar how a hand-shake could hint of a personality in itself; this woman, who at first glance seemed young and fairly innocent, somehow succeeded in putting decades of experience in such a simple gesture; she'd been around, as much was obvious. Although she had already stated as much, it wasn't until now Beatrice truly comprehended. To put it simple, this Aylin was good at shaking hands.

"That's some tale. I must've missed your news-stand, though. But I guess it's sort of a big town."

She didn't bother to put the glove back on; instead she shoved it down one of her pockets, and proceeded to swallow half of her new glass' contents in a single sweep.

"Well, that, or we simply didn't move in the same, err, areas", she chucklingly added, although if she was amused by memories, or by a recent guest's big-arse portfolio that she had now set her eyes on, was hard to determine.

"Neither was I, to be honest. Been there for a decade-or-so, but--yeah, that's its own story. Nice place, though. Really is."

She finished her drink completely, and seemed to contemplate whether she should call for another one. Shaking her head, she discarded the idea. Boozing away every piece of Gold before making it as far as to the inn? Bad idea.

"Darn, this was pretty good. Worth its weight in Gold, I'd say. Can see why this here's a popular oasis. Oi, I'm payin' over here now!"

Waving at bartending Frank, with whom she now considered herself relatively familiar, she started counting her Gold on the counter. "This ought'a be enough, right?"

"Sure is."

Beatrice fell silent for a while. Then she smacked her hand against the counter, picked up her glove again and put it back on.

"Well, I suppose I'd best be off, huh? Not that I know exactly how to kill the time, but I guess finding that inn's a good start. Hey -- how's this place night-time? Hm, I mean, how's it like fifty years ago, anyway? Any chance of a peaceful nightcap?"

"Well, we'll see how that turns out, then. Nice to meet you, too."

Beatrice conjured forth a pair of worn shades from an inside-pocket, and casually placed them on the tip of her nose as she stood up. With a small salute, she bid them goodbye.

"Have a good one!"

Her boots thudded heavily against the floor as she swiftly made her way towards the door. She really wasn't at all sure where that inn was, but she figured that'd solve itself soon enough. She'd need some more gold first, anyhow. Might as well head back to the port to gather the rest of her stuff that had been inconveniently forgotten on-board.

(Do with this as you wish tavern goers)

It was hard making the choice to leave her husband's stein behind but Aylin had a job to do. The military wing of the Casimir Alliance had asked her clan's military to send someone to Porta Denia to investigate the missing ships. That was the main reason for her return to Porta Denia and the main reason she sat at the bar in the Red Lion Tavern. Bumping into Shirley and meeting Beatrice were merely side steps in her greater mission. The visit to the Red Lion was more or less a way to find out how much the town had changed in the last forty-eight years. She had not expected it to turn into a social visit that brought back the painful memories of losing Orrin eight years back. That was the risk Aylin had taken when she asked the bartender to give her Orrin's stein.

"Sorry to have made you waste a perfectly good stein of ale," Aylin apologized to the older bartender as she placed her bank card on the bar, "Any good places to eat around here?"

As he ran the card through the small card reader next to the ancient looking cash register Frank replied to Aylin's query, "If your looking for good food and an interesting atmosphere then Fong's Noodle Palace and Diner at the bottom of the island is going to be the place to go."

With the transaction complete Aylin left her bar stool and was about to exit the Red Lion when a loud clanging sound of a bell began ringing. Instantly, the local patrons in the tavern froze as they listened to the number of loud rings. Curious as to what was going on Aylin watched as even the crowd around the drunk man making passes at random men mere moments before were deadly silent. When the ringing ended Aylin heard someone in the corner of the tavern mention sixteen gone before a woman started softly crying.

"That's the fifth ship this month," Shirley commented softly from her place at the bar.

It was at that point the door to the tavern swung open and a young man no older than twenty by his looks called out to the tavern goers, "It was the Red Barron. It was Captain Donavon's ship. The harbor master is sure of it. Last anyone heard from Captain Donavon he was bragging around the docks about how he was going to conquer the Devil's Run."

Aylin processed the last bit of information the boy gave the tavern as she opened the door to leave. She had her first lead in the investigation but first it was off to the diner the bartender mentioned for a bite to eat.

wink >

Beatrice had reached the door, touching the handle, as the mighty bell chimed ominously. Along with the rest of the tavern, she froze for a brief while, just listening to the sound. Then, before she had managed to process the whole thing completely, the door flew open, and almost smashed her across the face; she managed to make a dramatic spin away from it, and ended up flat against the wall. She saw how the young man's news caused grief and unrest among the tavern's, but that didn't stop her from grabbing his arm and hiss: "Watch where you open yer damn doors, rascal, or I'll have you know--"

Then she realized that beating this poor guy up in front of a tavern that was probably altogether on his side was a pretty bad idea. She reluctantly let go of him with a mean glare before he had the chance to say anything else, and looked around the tavern again. She couldn't spot Aylin now, but the elderly woman -- Shirley, was it? -- still sat at her place, writing frenetically. With no other civilized or familiar face to turn to, she crossed the room again. Without bothering to sit down, she asked: "What was that about? Who's the Donavon-guy?"

Shirley sighed. "Oh, Donavon. A fine commander, but a bit too reckless for his own good. Know this, however, young lady: it's not just about Captain Donavon. Any ship that has tried to brave the Devil's Run has disappeared. Or, any ship hired by Hastings', that is. You do know Hastings' Air, do you?"

"Vaguely." Actually, Beatrice had scarcely any idea at all. "So, you're saying they disappear? Devil's Run? How long's this been goin' on?"

"For too long", Shirley bitterly smirked, and took a sip from her drink.

Beatrice pondered whether she should try to extinguish the small flame of willingness to get thrown into some serious intrigues that had awakened within her. The old woman appeared to recognize her eagerness -- how, Beatrice did not know, and she'd rather not find out right now -- and softly recommended sticking around the port especially, if she was interested in further information on the matter.

Beatrice thanked her briefly, and said goodbye again. As she stepped outside the Red Lion, she saw the town with new eyes; maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. She slammed the door shut with a loud bang, and began strolling down the street leading -- hopefully -- to the port. With a dry chuckle, she said to herself: "Welcome to Porta Denia."

Billy was snapped out of the collective funk the tavern was now in and processed the request of thee young woman before him. A sweet lady like her deserved a sweet drink and Billy knew just the thing. Billy pulled out a double sided metal shot glass, a cocktail glass, a bottle of apple juice, a large bottle of lemonade, and a bottle apple flavored vodka. Before the woman's eyes he poured into the glass a shot of the flavored vodka, a cup of the apple juice, and topped it off with a cup of the lemonade. He then reached into a small container with lemon juice and pulled out a small piece of apple and then took a lemon slice from the garnish tray. Billy arranged the lemon followed by the apple on a plastic garnish pick and then placed the beverage on a thick paper coaster before the woman.

"Here you go miss one sweet fizzy apple for the sweet lady," Billy said announcing the drink he served her.