Private A Place at the Table

[Rin Taal]

The smell reached Rin before the building itself. Fresh bread, slow-cooked stew, roasted root vegetables, and herbs found nowhere beyond Veradune drifted through the cool evening air. The communal hall stood near the center of the settlement, its broad timber beams weathered by decades of seasons and countless repairs. Warm light spilled from open windows while laughter rolled through the doorway, joined by the scrape of benches and the easy hum of neighbors sharing the day's work. It was loud in the comfortable way only a place full of familiar people could be.

She paused just outside, allowing herself a quiet smile before stepping through the wide doorway. A handful of heads turned almost immediately. Recognition spread with easy familiarity rather than surprise, followed by greetings called from every corner of the room. Someone teased that she'd finally remembered where home was, another wondered aloud if she'd stay longer than a few nights this time, while an older woman waved her toward the serving line before she could answer any of them. The conversation scarcely slowed. It simply shifted long enough to welcome another familiar face before continuing on its way.

Rin accepted the good-natured ribbing with a soft laugh as she collected a wooden bowl and joined the line. "I make no promises," she admitted, smiling toward the woman serving the evening meal. "But I was hoping there might still be enough left for one more traveler." The response came with theatrical offense, followed by an especially generous ladle of stew and a thick slice of still-warm bread that earned another laugh from Rin before she thanked them and searched for an empty place to sit.

Settling onto a bench, she let the warmth of the hall settle around her as naturally as an old blanket. Children darted between tables despite repeated reminders to slow down; someone at the far end of the room was clearly embellishing a hunting story; and every few moments, another burst of laughter rippled through the hall. Rin simply listened as she broke apart her bread, content to be another voice among many. The road had brought her back to Veradune once more, and for tonight, that was more than enough.

Vulpesen

 

[Vulpesen]

"Yeah, I'll see you later! Try not to drill the recruits too hard!" The roar of laughter was heard from outside the doors just before a new figure stumbled in, waving goodbye to some silhouette who had just smacked his back hard enough to send him careening through the doors. Vulpesen's smile was good natured as he made his way through the eating hall. He patted shoulders and shared hello's with those he passed. He did his best to ignore the reverene of those who stood on the outskirts or the way that eyes followed him as he headed to the bar. In his eyes, he was just a man. A man who had certainly seen some strange things, but still a mortal like any other. Only fortune had brought him through the insanity that made his reality as strange as the rumors that followed him.

"Correlian ale. Make it a tall one!" He found his seat next to a woman at the table and he waited for his drink. His arms stretched out and a happy sigh escaped his throat. It had been a long day. Hardly a rough one, but his hand cramped from signing legislations while his mind buzzed from a dozen meetings each as boring as the last. It was good to finally be off, to finally hang up his mantle as head of state and live life as a man who enjoyed a good drink at the end of the day.

Rin Taal

 

[Rin Taal]

The laughter reached Rin before the man himself did.

She looked up as the doors swung open and a broad-shouldered man stumbled inside from an enthusiastic shove, recovering with nothing more than an easy grin and a wave over his shoulder. The room greeted him almost instinctively. Voices called his name, hands reached out to clap his shoulder as he passed, and more than one person abandoned their own conversation just long enough to exchange a few words with him. Whatever he had been doing before arriving, he carried none of its weight into the hall.

Rin watched quietly over the rim of her mug.

Not the man.

The people around him.

Some laughed with him as though he'd been part of every meal they'd ever shared. Others straightened unconsciously when he passed, respect settling over them as naturally as breathing. He acknowledged each greeting with the same easy smile, never lingering on the admiration and never appearing to expect it. By the time he settled onto the bench beside her and ordered his ale, he seemed perfectly content to disappear into the ordinary rhythm of the evening.

The hall carried on around them. Wooden mugs knocked together in toasts, serving spoons scraped against the bottoms of iron pots, and somewhere near the hearth a fresh loaf of bread was broken apart before being passed down the table. Lantern light danced across worn timbers polished smooth by generations of elbows and laughter, while conversations rose and fell like the tide, never quite quiet, never overwhelming.

Only then did Rin turn toward him, a quiet smile touching her lips.

"Long day?" she asked, her eyes flicking briefly toward the tall mug that had just been set before him. "You look like a man who's earned that ale."

Vulpesen