Entrance

[venhedis]

Another night getting drunk at the Hanged Man tavern, another prowling gang of idiot thugs taught a bloody lesson, another night losing at Diamondback or Wicked Grace with a braggart of a dwarf and a shameless pirate wench...

This is not the Hanged Man.Without a moment's pause, a muted *crack* like far-off thunder makes the stranger's body run

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[birdofkirkwall]

Hawke has fortunately (perhaps), arrived shortly after Fenris, and, after watching him panic for a moment, she steps up behind him lightly and flicks an ear, ready to duck.

"Relax, Fenris. It's okay."

[venhedis]

Fenris's reactions are lightning quick, but he would also recognize Hawke's voice over anything else in the world. He flinches, yes; his lyrium flares and his sword almost begs to swing at the touch, but Fenris stops himself.

He turns to face Hawke with a muttered Imperium curse, He's still glowing and glowering, but he lowers the sword. "Hawke. If this is your idea of a joke..."

[birdofkirkwall]

Hawke just grins lopsidedly in the face of the glowing, snarling elf and his sword.

"Now Fenris, would I joke about strange taverns that appear out of nowhere?"

[venhedis]

grumblegrumble "The last time we were in a cavern you asked me to ignite my lyrium so you could read a map by its light."

To punctuate his statement, he throws his head back, cries out, and douses the lyrium shield. Then he looks at Hawke as if his point has been made.

[birdofkirkwall]

"It was dark," she protests with a soft tisking noise. "Isabela forgot the torches and I wasn't exactly jumping at the idea of getting lost again and running into another den of those spiders."

[venhedis]

"The abomination," Fenris snarls, "would have been more than happy to curry your favour by lighting a ball of fire in his hand. He would gladly light his whole body on fire for you." grumblegrumble

He shakes his head. "But that is neither here nor there. If you did not bring me to this place, where are we? This is not the Fade, nor is it a dream." He looks around. "Yet it's certainly the strangest tavern I have ever seen."

[birdofkirkwall]

"Anders," she both corrects and chastises, "wasn't standing next to me and the time and demanding to know when were were..."

She pauses for a moment and curls her lip up into a snarl and lowers her voice into something resembling his.

"...getting out of this fell-damned hole in the ground."

[venhedis]

Fenris sniffs haughtily. "...he healed me when I was dying of spider venom," he admits.

Then he spots the bar. "Is the drink in this place safe? I believe strong drink is called for."

[birdofkirkwall]

At the mention of drinks, she's grinning again, and she slings an arm about his shoulders as she leads him towards the Bar.

"The booze here is perfectly safe to drink, even more so than what they sell you in the Hanged Man. Tastes better, too."

[venhedis]

"Excellent," Fenris says. Is he smiling? Will wonders ever cease? "I will... er..." he falters, "pay for the next round." He looks sheepish. "Isabela cheats."

[ooc: guest arriving. back this evening (Eastern Daylight).]

[birdofkirkwall]

"Isabela always cheats," she says with a grin. "You just need to cheat back. As for the drinks, don't worry about it. There's no merchant's guild here to inflate the prices so the drinks are actually affordable."

[venhedis]

"You've been here before, I take it," Fenris says glowerglower. "All the more reason for you to buy the ale, so you can tell me more about this place, and I can get drunk enough to believe you." He looks over at the bar. "But alas, there is no barkeep."

[birdofkirkwall]

"Varric and I found this place together not long after I met him. At first we thought this was the result of some of the more...exotic Antivian herbs."

They arrive at the Bar and she gives Fenris a bit of a smirk as she digs into one of her pockets for a handfull of copper.

"I'll be more than happy to tell you about what I know of this place, though."

She turns to address Bar, laying her coin down as she places their order. Funny, the drinks weren't there a moment ago, were they?

[venhedis]

Fenris, a bit shocked not at all concerned, takes a step back. "Hawke," he sighs, "what fell magic have you been toying with this time?"

He eyes the tankards dubiously.

[birdofkirkwall]

She disregards Fenfis for a moment, murmuring her thanks to the inanimate object before taking up one of the tankards.

"It's perfectly safe to drink, I promise."

[venhedis]

He sighs and shakes his head and murmurs, "You say that about so many things."

He waits until she takes a sip, sniffs his own tankard, then drinks. He absolutely does not lick the foam from the ale from his lips. "If you didn't have mea band of companions to watch you, your head would have been cleaved in two a year ago."

After a pause, "Thank you. This is indeed far better than the swill served at the Hanged Man."