A relative of a friend

Janno turned around and the voice...and beheld a tall, auburn-haired female wearing hide armor with a pair of big axes strapped on her back. She was striking in her appearance for many reasons. Her face would have been pretty if it hadn't been for her flinty eyes and flat expression. Despite being a female, she is clearly muscular as evidenced by her biceps and rippling thighs. Most of all, she was glad in shorts revealing much of her legs and her armor was small enough that both her belly and part of her cleavage showed.

Janno instantly saw she was a barbarian...and one who wasn't looking happy to see him judging from her glare.

Janno stared almost in awe at her and rather dimly was aware the room had grown quiet at this female barbarian's appearance.

"I have come to hear the real story about my brother," the barbarian declared.

Janno quickly tried to gather himself. "Your brother?"

"I believe you know him as Rocko."

Quickly, Janno remembered Rocko once telling him of his family from the plains well to the east of Woodhaven. "Yes, Rocko mentioned he had a sister. I believe it is....Rockette?"

"ROCKELLE," the female barbarian answered. "My name is Rockelle!"

"Oh yeah," Janno said rather lamely. "That's right."

Rockelle took a stride forward and stood directly next to where Janno sat. With her combination of rippling muscles and scanty clothing, Janno was starting to fill a little uncomfortable. He cast a quick glance over and saw Kassi the ranger was staring almost openmouthed at the new arrival.

"What really happened to my brother," Rockelle demanded. "I heard he and his party perished and I came to collect his belongings from this inn. But then I heard there was a surivvor after all! You, Janno."

"Yes, well, your brother Rocko was a great companion and a great friend," Janno said quickly, trying to find a way to calm her down. "Our party faced a group of maruading ogres and it was a fight to the last. In the end, it came down to the lead ogre and Rocko and I. Between us, we managed to slay the beast but he got off one last strike that proved fatal to your heroic brother."

Rockelle didn't answer at first. Instead, her gaze bore into Janno for a long while. Janno was starting to become aware that everyone in the dining room was staring at the two of them.

Rockelle looked at him for awhile, then said, "I sense truth in your words. I had heard he had died bravely in battle."

Janno still wasn't sure how to react. He simply waited for what would happen to next.

Then....slowly.... Rockelle fell to her knees in front of Janno, covered her face with her two hands and started weeping uncontrollably.

"Alas, my older brother is dead and it is all my fault," Rockelle cried brokenly. "I was not there like I said I would be watch his back like we promised we would when we were still young. And now he is no more!"

With that she cried even harder right in front of a stunned Janno who glanced over to an equally shocked Kassi. This wasn't what Janno was expecting.