The start of a story I'm writing based off of a D&D campaign I've wanted to run but haven't yet. Just meeting the main characters so not too much going on yet.

He knew he was looking for something but wasn't sure what it was. After his ritual in the Epukiro mountains, Exter Sykes Duncan (or Ex as he called himself) found himself in the mining town of Tymbo, looking for something to do or someone to talk to. 
Ex was a wiry twenty-two, grown fully into his body but still beholden to the awkward giraffe phase that marked his teenaged years. His dark, dirt-brown hair flashed red under the sun, with eyes peering out from beneath heavy brows, just above a once broken nose that had never healed quite right. Raised in the foothill community of Kamano, Ex had never ventured this far south, let alone much outside of Kamano, so his arrival in Tymbo was his first real introduction to the outside world. It wasn't as exciting as he thought it might be. 
Tymbo wasn't a large town, but it wasn't a small town either. It had the proper number of people for its needs and its people fit it. There was the mine built into the mountains on the west side of town, and the town center on the east. There was a blacksmith and a jeweler, a stable master and a tanner. And there was one main street that ran through the center of town, just for a little ways, long enough to not quite see end to end, but short enough to hold the town together. Tymbo was a quiet town, keeping mostly to itself, and Ex's arrival was quite possibly the most exciting thing to happen to it since its founding.
"I thought this place was supposed to be busy," Ex said to himself upon entering Tymbo. The street, central though it was, was essentially deserted. Ex caught a hint of movement off ahead to his right, likely miners, he thought, and some motion in and out of some shops ahead to his left. Otherwise the place was practically a ghost town, not at all what he had imagined from descriptions of a bustling saltpeter mine and a key trade post on the edge of the Laputa Desert. Undeterred, and because frankly there wasn't much else for him to do, Ex headed into town, deciding the local inn, the Salt Block, would be a good place to start. The Salt Block was like most of the other buildings on the street, built from local oak trees, now aged a weathered white brown from the constant sun and wind. Its only differentiating feature was a second story, its balcony casting a shadow on the lower entrance. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the shade, Ex pulled the door open and headed inside. 
The pungent smells of roasting meat and stale mead wafted across Ex's nose as he stepped across the threshold. His stomach rumbled; he hadn't eaten a real meal in several weeks. While the inn was rather empty, two seats were occupied by the hearth and two more at the bar, one on each end, so Ex took a seat in the middle. Just then, a woman with raven black hair appeared in front of him with a platter full of hot food, piled high with the roasted leg of some unfortunate animal and a heap of potatoes. Ex salivated at the bounty, only for his face to fall as he watched it served to the tawny-haired stranger on his left. 
His attention well and captured by his neighbor’s food, Ex paid no attention to the attention he was getting from the server: 
“Excuse me, mister? Mister, can I get you anything? Excuse me?!”
“Oh sorry! Umm, I’ll just have what he’s having, thanks,” Ex stuttered, embarrassed having been jolted from his aromatic daydream.
“No problem, honey, I’ll bring that to you shortly,” she said with a smile, and turning, went through the swinging door behind the bar.
As Ex went back to his daydreams of roasts and stews, a voice surprised him from his left.
“You’re new, aren’t ya?” it inquired.
Ex jumped in his seat and looking over, found himself staring into the grinning, gap-toothed face of a youthful girl.
“Uh yeah, I am, just came down from some time in the foothills,” he said, “the name’s Ex.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m Lizetia, but you can call me Liz,” she said friendlily, extending a hand. “What’re you doin’ here?”
Shaking her hand then shaking his head, Ex answered, “I’m trying to figure that out for myself. This is my first time away from home so I’m just trying to find my feet.”
“Well why don’t ya join me then? I’m newish too, so we can figure things together!” she said.
After a slight hesitation and with some brief apprehension, Ex nodded, “Ok. Thanks.”
“No problem!” Liz beamed, and then turned her attention to her food.
Food. Ex had forgotten he was hungry, but his stomach gave him a rather vocal reminder. As if summoned by the growling, the server swung through the door with another platter of food, this time actually directed at Ex.
“There you go dear. Let me know if you need anything else!” she said.
With a mumbled “Thank you” Ex turned to his food ravenously and began eating like he hadn’t in weeks, which it had nearly been since his last full meal.