PM to join A Few Drinks Between Friends

[Hal Edward]

Hal Edwards It was getting late in the evening, and he'd managed to win several mugs of ale off of his acquaintances. Tonight was his night, Hal had won almost every round. He knew this seemed suspicious but he was having some of the best luck of his life. With thoughts of going tavern to tavern and starting to play for coins filled his head, he was dealt another hand. His face was cool and calm, he gave no indication of what he was playing with. His hand was good... Real good. The odds of someone beating him were now down to two possible hands. "Half pint, sound good boys?" They looked at each other nodding in agreement. He decided not to discard anything, and raised. " How about we play for a whole pint?" one folded five remained . [color=#FFFFBF]"How about, we play for two pints?" The man to his left coolly said, he was a good player but tonight his luck had been pretty sour. Final discard, only one did so. It seemed the hands were either very good or the best they can get. Final bet. "How about, we go all in, two pitchers of Ale?" One more folded, Now there were Four. They met him. It seemed like an eternity as they waited for dealer to call the flop. He was busy ordering himself a drink, having folded at the start. Then it came. "Flop!" Instead of everyone relaxing and the cards being shuffled, the air filled with tension. For some reason the hairs on the back of Hal's neck rose. He looked from his own cards and to the others. He beat everyone except one hand. A hand that was exactly like his. Which was impossible for they both had four of a kind of the same card. The man to his right had cheated, yet he was the one less known to the men around the table. His eyes locked with, the man next to his. Things were going to escalate quickly, he could already feel the table spin out of control. He took in the sight of the man, beads of sweat now formed on his forehead, a thin beard covering his pockmarked face. He was on the fatter side of big, he had a few wispy strands of hair on the top of his head left, in response it seemed he had grown out one side of his hair longer and begun to comb it over. His fingers drummed nervously. Hal had played with this man for a few weeks now and never seen him this fidgety. He'd cheated, and Hal knew it. He went to open his mouth but instead the man beat him to it. In a hush voice, so only the men at the table could hear he said, "You cheated! I won this hand fair and square!" Hal was tense but not nervous, he felt a fire burning low in his belly. "You're calling me a cheater?" The fire was building, every one of his words was a log added."I don't even own a deck of cards, I usually am the one on the losing end! What about you? You always have those mirical hands when things are high stakes!" The ugly mans brow scrunched, it seemed to take him a moment to understand what he'd been accused of. "Listen here you scum! I've been playing this game longer, I'm better, I'm the best! You, are a lowly cheater who only wins when they cheat! I should stab you right here and gut you on this floor!" Before Hal could react, he felt the hard Mug smash into the side of his head. His head went to the table, and his hand immediately found a jagged piece of the cup, he raised his head looked the man in the eye. Whos eyes looked like they were going to explode from his head. He obviously had gotten carried away, but now so was Hal. He rammed the jagged piece into the top of the mans hand, pinning it to the table. With quick succession, he followed up with a blow to the mans face, knocking him backwards and taking the table with him. The man to his left grabbed him by the shoulder, and he brought the full force of his elbow crashing into the mans jaw. The blow threw the man off of him. At this point the other four advanced on him. He threw himself from his seat and into their ranks, swinging fist, and boot. Now the man who had, had just jaw busted was up. He felt their fists, Hands and kicks tear into him at all angles, He shoved his fingers into the mouth of the man infront of him, and used his boots to push him away as the man vomited across the floor. He could hear Old man Kevith rushing in and wading through the rabble. Now several people had gotten involved and things were start to spin out of control. He got a blow across the brow, cutting him, and he brought his boot to the crotch of the man who did it. Hal's was seeing read and he tried to fight everyone and everything in the radius of the fight. His shirt was getting pulled and he was being sucked back into the throng of the battle. He was a wild man, now. Friend or foe, he kicked out, threw out his fist. The man who had his shirt, got a swift blow to the gut from Hal's boot. He now had some room and fell into a boxing stance guarding his face, he threw out a few punches. Finally someone hit him in the knee and he struggled to stay up right, he grabbed a hold of an attacker and used him as support, this in turn got him several blows to the face. He'd be bruised but fine in the end. He could still hear the screams of the man with cup broken into his hand.

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[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex sat at a lonely, isolated table in the farthest corner of the bar, lost in thought. His fingers drummed somewhat impatiently on the table top, a reflex he had when sitting still for long a period of time. A broad-brimmed hat rested snugly on his head, the brim casting an ominous shadow over his greenish-blue eyes, which were outlined by his spectacles. He had no alcoholic beverage, for he had never been much of a drinker. Even though addiction to alcohol ran in his family, he found it much more preferable if he stayed well away from the substance and it's intoxicating effects. Nearby, a card game was taking place between a few of the pub's inhabitants. Naturally, Alex didn't pay much attention, considering the fact that cards never held his interest. It didn't seem like much was going on that night, aside from a few loud conversations from the drinkers. Quite a few of the men had drank themselves beyond judgement, and were ordered out by Old man Kevith. It was a good thing, too. He wasn't exactly in the mood to waste his time attepting to take care of another drunken fool. He felt that if he had to do something like that again, he may just have sheath his sword in his own chest to relieve how annoyed he would be. Out of the many times he has patrolled the bar, nothing more interesting or "out of the ordinary" had happened. In his opinion, it was a huge waste of his time. The time he could be using to figure out when he would be able to set off on his massive quest... It was when a few of the card members began whispering amongst themselves that Alex's curiosity was piqued. Already, he could feel some kind of tension in the air. He had no idea what was happening, but he figured that it was some kind of feud. His suspicions were confirmed less than ten seconds later, when the card players suddenly attacked one of their own. He stayed where he was, watching the brawl carry on. The one man the card players had attacked seemed to be doing fairly well on his own against the four of them, but more people quickly became involved. If this went on much longer, it would turn from a brawl to a full-out riot... which would soon lead to more than one man being the prime target. Normally, Alexander would avoid situations such as these and keep to himself. Of course being a Squire now, much more is expected from him. At that moment, the man who the card players originally went after was now within the focus of a single individual, and his face seemed to be badly bruised. With a sigh, he stood up and strolled casually toward the fighting men, feeling exposed without the protective circle of his comfort zone. As he waded through the crowd, he tried pushing a few people aside... which didn't work very well given his thin and lightweight build. As he approached the center, he pulled his father's steel longsword from its scabbard and held it tightly in both of his hands. Moving swiftly, he approached the attacking man from behind. Just as one of the other men called out a warning, Alex gripped his sword tightly in both hands and struck the man on the side of his head with the hilt. Of course, this being the first time he's ever had to use his sword, his aim was a bit flawed. Not to mention that not enough force was applied, due to his lack of physical strength. Even though he intended for the blow to be non-lethal, he wished that he had struck the man harder. Nevertheless, it was enough to stagger him and get his attention away from the other. "Enough!" Alex roared out over the crowd. The man he had struck quickly recovered, and shot a threatening look in his direction. "That's enough of this nonsense. Either settle your disputes like reasonable adults, or it's off to the mines with you!" One of the men looked the boy up and down, and let out a scoff. "You're no knight. You're not wearing the armor!" Alex glared at him, his broad-brimmed hat still casting an eerie shadow over his eyes. He hoped it would make him look more intimidating than he felt. "Are you sure you want to risk it?" He challenged. He glanced at the man who had originally been the primary target. His face was bruised from the beating, but it seemed he would be okay.

[Hal Edward]

[color=#FFFFFF] Hal Edwards As the men clawed and kicked at him, he continued to struggle to throw fists and kick out when ever he had the chance. It seemed like hours but must have only been a minor half minute of rabble rousing. He saw an opening that was too awkward for him to get his hand in so instead with what little room he had, he used all his might to throw himself into the man beside him leaving the one that was supporting him. He dug his teeth into the man's shoulder until a warm metallic liquid filled his mouth. Whether it was his blood or the man he was chomping onto, it got him a quick shove and at the same time, Things immediately became quiet and tense. At first he thought it was the bite, but quickly understood it was because a boy, wielding an impressive sword. It glinted in the candle light, its silver killing edges held by a young man, if not a boy. Hal noticed after a moment that he wasn't very strong, the way his shoulders were set and how he handled the blade. He wasn't a complete rookie, yet two or more of these men might be able to wrestle the blade away from him. Finally he decided that this unlikely ally would indeed be his savior tonight, if not he his savior too. He spit out the blood that was in his mouth, it spattering against the stone floor. "You know, you can get away with cheating at cards, hell even beating the shit out of me. But you mess with the squire you better have a quick exit too wildlands otherwise you're going straight to the gallows." His voice was deep, and his words held a very real warning. "And if you knuckle heads really are as hard as you think you are, then I'm willing to bet a pint on the kid and I beat you fiv-"As he spoke Kevith cut him off, pushing his way back to the front. His face was red, you could easily tell that he was ready to blow his top. If not for the fact he needed customers they all might be a whole lot less whole. "Listen here! You all better get out of MY tavern or I'm going to start taking limbs! If I don't see you out by the time I come back you've been warned!" With that he set off, back towards the bar. Hal didn't blink or waste a second and wrestled free from the grasp of one of the men. His face bleeding and bruised, he grabbed the kids collar as he walked by dragging him with. "Come on, I gotta talk to you."His voice less threatening now but still commanding. He drug the male out into the hall way and a little ways away from the tavern's door. All the participants in the brawl left the opposite way, a couple to the healers. Stopping he looked at the kid, taking a step back he eyed him for a moment. "I suppose I should thank you then Huh?" He said, sticking out his hand. "The name's Hal Edwards, pleasure to meet you, and thanks for getting my hide out of that jam."

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross With all the adrenaline still rushing through his veins, his mind rushed with too many thoughts to realize that he had been dragged away from the crowd. Usually during serious situations such as this, Alex tended to "black out", mainly causing his body to react before his mind could. A lot of the time, it tends to save him from being knocked over the head. But even so, it had always bothered him. Ranqor had pestured him many times for hours on end about learning to control it, but it was difficult. Having quite a few mental flaws, it was no wonder why Ranqor had agreed to take Alex on as an apprentice. Ever since he started teaching him, he began to feel more intelligent. For instance, mathmatics had never been a strong point for Alex, but being taught by Ranqor, he was able to have a much better grasp on the subject than before... It was when his jumbled thoughts were finally calm and collected did he noticed that the man who dragged him away by the collar was the one he had rescued. The tavern once again began buzzing with activity, mainly sending for healers for the injured men rather than everyone drinking their livers out. It caused him to think... Many men come into the Rearing Stallion to drink and have fun, yet most of them tend to lose touch with reality. He wondered how surprised they had felt once he made them remember where they were and how they should act in public. Once they had made it away from the crowed and it became more quiet, he began to take deep breaths to calm his racing heart. When the man mentioned a "thank you", Alex couldn't help but beam with pride a bit. It definitely was not often that someone expressed some kind of gratitude toward him and his actions, and it gave him a new respect for him. "It was no problem." He said, shaking his hand. "Alexander Ross. I guess you can just call me 'Alex' or 'Ross', whichever one you prefer." Glancing back in the direction of the bar, he sighed and put his longsword away. "Well, I would ask you what all of that was about, but I think we should wait until we're a safe distance away from the tavern. Normally, as a squire I should be allowed to return whenever I want as long as it's before cerfew, but I really don't want to cause Kevith anymore stress than he's already had to deal with... That, and I value my limbs quite a lot..." He said with a nervous chuckle. Kevith may have only one arm, but he was still more than capable of breaking a man in two.

[Hal Edward]

Hal Edwards "Well, I would ask you what all of that was about, but I think we should wait until we're a safe distance away from the tavern. Normally, as a squire I should be allowed to return whenever I want as long as it's before curfew, but I really don't want to cause Kevith anymore stress than he's already had to deal with... That, and I value my limbs quite a lot..." The slender man spoke with a nervous edge. Hal gave a small nod knowing exactly what he was talking about. He dropped his hand and moved subjects. "On this occasion I'm going to have to agree with you my new friend. The night is still young friend how about we head on over to the Broken Casket? Wet our whistles? I'll buy first round!" He burst out laughing, he'd always assumed that everyone liked to drink as much as him. They were just sneakier about it. He started walking in the direction of the Broken Casket in a slow jauntier allowing kid "Alex" to catch up. Hal's form was a little rough around the edges today, he had a small cut that was still feebly bleeding from his brow. A bruise or two forming on his cheek, and a nice black eye that was starting to show its ugly face. The Man bun he’d put his long hair into had come loose. His face was scruffy and his mustache wasn’t combed. He looked exactly like he should after getting involved in a fight. His body was exceptionally sore after his beating, it mounted on top of his work out he'd done that morning. At this moment he was contemplating a new life style."Say, you're a squire right? What makes one of you, become one of you? Ya know? Why do ya do it?"His voice deep, and his word slightly slurred. Either from the swelling in his cheek or the drinks he'd had earlier. "It can't be because you want too 'help' the innocent. Knights don't do that. They enforce their own brand of justice, and only when they see fit." The words that escaped his lips could be considered treason, as any knew. Yet he didn't feel the need to hide his emotions. The knights could fine him, kill him, it didn't matter. Everything always seemed to work out, he would find a way out or... not. "You probably don't like me talking about your brothers like that do ya? I hope you don't mind but I'm not the most charming citizen you'll meet." He seemed to know the layout of Syliras very well. Mostly because these were routs he traveled the most. It wasn't uncommon for him to be kicked out of Kelviths. After a long stint away he'd return and things would go back to normal. Daily threats against his life and promises of life time bans if he stirred up trouble. ”I hope this guy is alright. He did save me from that fight. But he doesn’t look like he’s even close to his weight in salt. Maybe he’ll turn out better than I expect.” The wispy hair that formed on his face was a give away at his “Inexperience” for lack of a better term. It was hard for Hal not to size him up, he always assumed at some point everyone would end up being his enemy. Everyone except Kelvith. no matter how strong he got he flet He’d always get a good whooping from him.

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alex barked out in sudden laughter upon hearing this, straightening the fedora on his head and cleaning his glasses. The man was nothing like anyone else he's ever met, that was for sure. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind, unlike every other citizen of Syliras who would much rather hold their tongue for fear of being hauled off to the Tank. The boy knew that he shouldn't be allowing Hal to speak like this, but he seemed a little too friendly for him to have him prosecuted so soon. It would be quite rude to throw someone in prison right after he just saved him. "Ha! Don't worry about it, it's fine." Alex said, pushing his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose. "I'm what you would call... Well... something of a liberalist. I think people should be free to make their own decisions, and speak their mind. Of course, there can't be a stable society without laws that have to do with the sake of common sense, but being unable to voice your opinion without being prosecuted? It's just as unlawful as thievery." It took him a moment to notice that he was rambling on the subject... which would put him in a world of trouble if he were to be heard by the wrong individual. He glanced around a moment before adding: "Uh... between you and me, of course." As they made their way toward the Broken Casket, Alex began to have second thoughts. He wasn't sure if Hal was in the right shape for anymore drinking. They may throw him out as soon as they walk in, suspecting that he would cause trouble because of the fight he had previously been in. Not only that, but Alexander himself was not a drinker. All his life, he tried to avoid alcohol out of fear of becoming a drunk. That, and he may get in a world of trouble for drinking on the job... But at the same time, he figured that everything would be fine as long as they didn't cause any havoc. Alex could always try and keep Hal from getting involved in anything else. Also, he didn't want to be rude by refusing his offer. What was the harm in just a few drinks? "Well, the truth is..." He said, shrugging. "I plan on traveling. I have a crazy journey planned, and it's more than likely to be difficult. The only reason I joined the Order was to get some training in to better prepare myself. Once I get enough training in, I'm going to travel in between a few cities to get used to moving around. After all, Wind Reach is quite a distance away..."