The walk back to the Dragon's Claw took over an hour. By the time they reached the inn, the sky was brushed with orange and pink streaks. They ate as soon as they arrived, gingerly eating the scalding hot stew and day old bread.
Arak listened to Gia tell him all the areas of the city they were going to search for Talun. He was surprised with her knowledge of the various neighborhoods of Ma'lousk. She seemed to know a great deal about the area surrounding Cala's Café and the inn. Presuming that Talun had stayed in the western part of the city, she never once mentioned the eastern district, nor the central area Arak had explored several days previously. He still hadn't told anyone of his stroll through the hidden backstreets of Ma'lousk. For some reason, he was reluctant to share what he'd seen, especially his brief encounter with the woman who had seemingly pointed ears.
Once Arak and Gia finished their meal, Gia headed up to the room but Arak remained in the tavern. He was curious to see what kind of crowd came around at night and wasn't up to lying restless in his bed.
The crowd started to flow in a little after sunset. The majority were men, but there was a fair amount of women as well. Arak sat down at a long table and observed the people around him. Standing at the bar was a group of burly men, talking loudly and downing mugs of ale. By the hearth, four men and a woman were setting up their instruments to perform. An old man and two younger boys sat at a table near Arak, talking among themselves. Three tough-looking women sat with mugs of meads, throwing glances at some intoxicated men beside them. A few loners were scattered about the tavern, drinking quietly and keeping to themselves. The bards began to play and the shouting and conversing turned into the drunk men at the bar singing along to the first song, a fast-paced ditty about some knight's horse. Arak had never heard the song before and had trouble catching the lyrics through the roar of the men's singing. He tapped his foot along with beat and laughed, watching the men dramatically raising their mugs toward the end of the song.
Once the song had ended and the bards played a calmer melody, Arak ordered a hot cider from a barmaid. Several men in green robes sat at Arak's table and ordered their own drinks. The barmaid came a few moments later and handed Arak his cider. He pulled a silver coin out of his pocket and gave it to her. She hurried away and Arak took a sip of the cider, smacking his lips after. It had a sweet yet sour taste, which he wasn't prepared for, and a moment passed before Arak took another sip. Over the course of the next few minutes, he focused solely on accustoming himself to the taste. Arak found that it tasted better with each sip and five minutes later he was asking the barmaid for a second.
The tavern was louder and more crowded than it had been half an hour ago. The green robed men had shifted their chairs closer to Arak to make room for customers at the bar and Arak could hear snippets of their conversation.
"…a risky move, Dothan," one of the men warned.