A Night of Drinking

“Hey, glad you could make it. Wendy! A round of whiskey for Flynn and his party!” said Mia, beckoning me over to her table. Other guards were in the tavern drinking, but Mia sat alone. She was still in her breastplate and greaves, but her gauntlets and cape were noticeably absent.

“Sure thing captain,” said one of the barmaids, ‘Wendy’. She walked off towards the bar as I took a seat across from the wolfgirl.

“Glad to be here,” I said, unstrapping my sword from my side and leaning it against the table. “Been out on the road for over a week, so I’m definitely ready to relax over a few drinks.”

“I know how you feel. Back when I was a soldier during the Drestin campaign five years ago, the only thing I could think about while on the march was getting a good drink in,” Said Mia, downing the last third of the drink she had.

“You used to be a soldier?” I asked.

“Yeah. For about a year. Got deployed to fight in the war against Drestin to the southeast. Ended up getting kicked to the curb when I took an arrow to the shoulder early on. When I healed, I took a job as a city guardswoman,” she said, rubbing her left shoulder.

“I see. That must’ve been tough. I’m glad you survived,” I said, taking my mug of whiskey from the barmaid, Wendy.

“Hah. Me too,” she laughed, taking a sip from her freshly filled mug. “So what’s your story, huh? Why be an adventurer?”

“Why? Hmm...” I took a drink, thinking about my answer. “I guess because it’s fun and pays the bills. I also get to help people, too.”

“Fair enough. You’re not too different from myself. I became a soldier because I thought serving my country would be a good way to use my life, but, that war was senseless. An offensive war over trade routes...bah, what a fool I was. When I was wounded, I realized that being a soldier wouldn’t help me serve my country, only my king,” she sighed, taking a large drink of her whiskey. Her wolf ears drooped sadly.

“A wise woman once said that country is its people,” I said. “A guard would better serve the people than a soldier in a pointless war.”

“That’s what I thought as well,” she says, sipping from her mug. “I wanted to thank you once more for getting rid of those bandits. Many of my men lost their lives to them...so, thanks...”

“I’m sorry for your loss. If you ever have something you could use our help with, I’d be happy to lend a hand,” I said.

“I’ll have to take you up on that,” she laughed, her ears rising back to normal. “But don’t let me keep you. Go on, I’m sure there are others waiting to have a drink with you.”

I smiled and nodded, grabbing my mug before looking around to see who was here. Sofia was drinking with her dad at a corner table. Lucille drank alongside a few guardsmen. Flora sat near the request board, drinking alone. Alice stood near the entrance awkwardly talking to a pair of female adventurers. Anna was even drinking as well, sat at the bar, conversing with the bartender.