It was a bit of a blur.

It felt like a long time sitting around the table with the raunchy dwarven skeletons, but may have been just half an hour due to the strong dwarven ale. Mira was nearly swaying and quite smashed at that point, telling tales, bringing ale and drinking with the dwarves. In their un-****, the dwarves, of course, did not get any drunker or fall asleep again. Mira had to figure out something and quickly.

‘Ey, go get more ale, we don’t want to run dry here,’ the skeleton bellowed and smacked Mira on the butt with a loud whack as she passed him.

‘H-Hey! Watch it!’ She cried out and stumbled, spilling the ale she was carrying to another table on the floor, ‘Shit!’

‘Better clean that up, lassie!’ another laughed at her misfortune.

Crawling back to her feet and grumbling, Mira went over to the tavern’s counter and looked for a rag. Finding one on the lower shelf, she grabbed it and with a tink, a brass key fell on the floor. The blonde girl got on her knees and grabbed it, clutching it in her fist. ‘Oh, please be the key to the door,’ she prayed to herself. She rushed past the patrons, as fast as she managed without drunkenly falling on her face, while they hollered at her for more ale or her company.

Stopping at the door, she tried to get the key in the keyhole. Several missed attempts later, she got it in. A click sounded as she turned the key and Mira let out a sigh of relief.

She tried to open the door, but it was made of heavy stone and she was too weak in her drunken stupor. Luckily, a moment after she tried to yank on the door from the inside, it opened from the outside.

‘Mira! You made it!’ Otto huffed as he pushed open the door fully, and stepped inside the tavern. ‘Ten thousand demons, what is going on here!?’ his eyes nearly shot out of their sockets, looking over the scene.

The paladin brandished his warhammer and recited a prayer to his God, an aura of holy light starting to emanate form him, ‘I shall grant you eternal rest, undead creatures!’

The skeletons tried to scramble from their seats but recoiled from the holy light, unable to attack the paladin. Otto’s hammer flew from foe to foe, as he went through the ranks of skeletons like a whilwind, smashing bone and wood alike.

As the dust settled, Otto stood breathing heavily in his plate armour among the bones and wood splinters, having returned the lost souls to the afterlife. His deed done, he turned to Mira and approached her. She was sitting on the floor, watching the spectacle, ‘They are gone. Are you alright? What happened here’

Mira giggled, ‘Wow, that was… really impressive.’

‘Thank you, the undead stand little chance against a Paladin,’ Otto smiled, ‘You want to answer my questions?’

‘Oh… sorry… silly me,’ Mira tried to get up and stumbled, landing Otto’s arms, ‘Ooops, I’m a bit tipsy.’

‘Tipsy is an understatement,’ the Paladin laughed and looked at her expectantly for an answer.’

‘Well, I… uhm… came in and these skeletons came to life and I had to play waitress for them, they made me drink far too much with them,’ Mira explained, ‘And I couldn’t fight them without weapons.’

‘Good thing you found a way to open the door in time,’ Otto said, still holding the blonde, ‘Can you stand?’

‘Probably, but I don’t feel so good to be honest, damn dwarven ale,’ Mira frowned, as she held onto Otto’s armoured arms.

Otto chuckled as he held her, ‘No offence, you reek like you had a bath in ale.’

Mira sighed and slowly got back standing on her own, ‘Yeah, I suspect I do. Ugh.’

‘We’ll find a place to wash, I hope,’ Otto laughed.

‘And a place to rest and get sober,’ Mira grabbed her head and grumbled.