Wakey, wakey, shake the snakey

THE MORNING:

John begins slowly stirring awake, eyes slightly opening as he sees the sun shining through the curtain. He the groans as he begins sitting up and as he does, he begins to stretch before looking over and seeing the small fairy still on the pillow.

John then decides to try and be nice to his guide, so he slowly gets out of the bed and looks inside of the bag that Tally gave him. He looks inside and pulls out a loose fitting cotton shirt before slipping it on and then putting on some boots.

John then creeps toward the door and opens it up as quietly as possible before slinking out and heading downstairs.

John walks down the stairs before getting to the main tavern area and is immediately hit with the stench of dried mead, beer and about a hundred different types of alcohol that he can't even fathom.

The smell now burrowing in his nostrils which causes him to make a slightly disgusted face but that's when he hears a voice from the side, "Nothin' like the stench of old ale eh?".

John turns to his right and behind the bar he sees the orc barmaiden carrying two barrels upon her very, very chiselled shoulders. She then places one on the floor as she continues, "Yeah, bit of a calm one last night, usually there's blood to be scrubbed or a broken table at least".

"Wow, every night?".

The orc replies "To some degree. They're pretty regular with the violence or destruction, luckily they spend so much that repairs and replacements are easy".

John is shocked as he comments, "Jeez, must be stressful".

"Ahh, this is nothing compared to an orc wedding... or an orc funeral... really any orc gathering" The barmaiden says in response.

The two laugh as the barmaiden begins moving the barrels down into the hatch beneath the bar as John takes a seat on one of the stools in front of the bar.

He takes his seat, he hears from below, "So, you're a drop-in huh?".

John stammers for a moment, "Uh, yeah... dropped in yesterday".

"Really fresh then! Where'd you drop in?" The women's voice asks.

"In the forest. I came down and fell on some mushrooms" John replies.

"Wow, that's pretty lucky. Sometimes you go out to hunt and you'll see some unlucky folk impaled on the trees".

"Jesus" Is all John reacts with.

Just then the barmaiden walks back up from the cellar as she says, "So... you're with the fairy then?".

"Oh, Lani? Yeah".

The orcs eyes open a little as she says, "Ahh, that's her name? It fits her. What's yours then?".

"Oh, i'm John" John extends his hand and the orc takes it.

"I'm Kyuala, of the Mar'azu clan".

The two then shake hands and John immediately notes the very firm grip of Kyuala. Just as they break hands, Kyuala almost leaps over the bar, grabbing John's shirt with both hands as she pulls him right up to her face before questioning him, "What did you do to the fairy?!".

John is in shock, spluttering as he tries to get out the words but eventually spits out, "I-I-I did nothing! We had an accident! That's all!".

Kyuala doesn't immediately respond, instead, she simply smells him. John is weirded out as he wonders what the hell she is doing, but then Kyuala says, "You're lucky you're telling the truth, I can smell lies like horse manure".

Kyuala then drops John onto the stool he was sat upon, John is a little rattled but the silence is once again cut as Kyuala says, "Just remember, if you do anything to hurt her, I can toss you like a rock into a pond. I can pick you up any time... to hurt you... or... to take you".

The orc gives John a sultry wink, sending a very mixed signal toward the dumbfounded human. The casual yet very real threat making his legs almost shake in fear however he also gets a hard-on which practically bounces against the wooden bar.

Kyuala then laughs at the shocked expression on his face but after cooling down finally asks, "So, what you down here for then?".

John snaps out of his confusion to answer, "Uhh, d-do you do like morning drinks here like coffee or tea? I want to do something nice for Lani since she's my guide and all".

The orc then gives a confused look before saying, "We don't have koo-fee or tee but we have soup".

"Uhh, that'll do. Thank you" John says, getting a nod from Kyuala.

Kyuala turns around and goes into the back to get said soup, as she is, she starts her questions again, "So, what are you exactly John?".

John is confused, "What do you mean?".

"I mean, what is your race? You don't have the ears of an elf, no gem in your head, and you don't look like a hobgoblin, or a halfling neither. So my last guess was a demon-kissed but you don't have the ugly marks. So... what are you exactly?"

John almost laughs but condenses it to a small chuckle as he says, "No, i'm none of those. Uhh... i'm actually a human".

John then hears the clang of a dropping ladle into a pot, followed by rapid footsteps that get closer and closer.

Just then Kyuala is back to being face-to-face with him as she says, "A human?!".

John almost leans back as he once again stammers, "Y-y-yeah?".

Kyuala makes a surprised face which makes John respond with, "Wait, you're not going to pick me up again right?".

Kyuala doesn't respond with words but instead grabs John's head and brings him forward before bringing out her tongue and licking his face, John pulls back in confusion, confusion and even more confusion as Kyuala simply says, "Mmmh! You taste just as sweet as the stories say you do!".

John now with worried eyes says, "You're not going to... eat me... are you?".

Kyuala looks at him for a moment before letting out a loud round of laughter. The laughter filling the empty tavern and at the same time, relaxing John, but as she finally cools down, Kyuala says, "No, i'm not going to eat you, but listen, you must keep that information to yourself alright? For now at least".

John is back to being confused as he asks, "Why?".

Just then, the tavern door opens as a multitude of adventurers walk in, Kyuala sees this so she leans in and whispers, "I will explain later, for now, I'll get your soup, stay in your room until I get you alright?".

John simply nods again and Kyuala walks back into he kitchen, grabbing two bowls of soup before bringing them back out and saying, "On the house, now go before they ask questions".

John looks at the adventurers behind him who are beginning to get comfortable at their tables before he turns back around and swiftly grabbing the bowls before walking back to the stairs and heading back up to his and Lani's room.