Arrival in Madmaw

"Well, we should all get going." Rinomve said, getting up from where he had been perched, stretched and started rolling up his bedroll.

"Yes, we should." Grace agreed, stretching and getting up from her spot. "I will go clean the dishes." She said as she took the dishes from Falael and Rinomve and went back down to the river.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell her?" Rinomve asked Falael again, as she left the campsite. "I think that you would be making a great mistake."

"I'm sure." Falael confirmed, finishing up filling the water skins with the freshly boiled drinking water. "I care about her, and I don't want her to be hurt because of me."

"And yet, it seems like she will be hurt regardless of whether or not you tell her."

"I know. That is my dilemma. But until I cannot hold it in any longer, Grace will not know about it. Understood?" Falael asked, turning to Rinomve as he finished rolling up Grace's bedroll.

"Understood." Rinomve replied, stamping out the fire that he had created. "Do I agree, no. But I will respect your decision."

"Good."

"What's good?" Grace asked, arriving back at the campsite.

"Nothing that you need to be concerned about. By the way, I have rolled up your bedroll." Falael said, handing her her pack.

"Well, let's get on our way then." Grace replied, as she finished putting the bowls and spoons back into their packs.

By midday, the trio had managed to make their way to Madmaw. As they approached the doors of The Dirty Lady, the smell brought Grace back to working at The Thundering Barrel, the stench of booze, vomit, sweat and yeast heavy in the air. She turned to her companions. Falael was doing okay, having spent some time at The Thundering Barrel, but Rinomve looked positively green.

"You'll get used to it." Grace reassured him. "I too was a little green the first time I came to a place like this."

"while I appreciate your encouragement, I somehow doubt that I will ever get used to the smell." Rinomve said, scrunching his nose up. "How on Recrosie do you two survive such a stench?"

"It's simple." Falael said, opening the door. "We don't have much of a choice." He held the door open, and Grace stepped though the door and made her way up to the bar.

"And what can I get you, beautiful lady?" The bartender, an oily, greasy man with too little hair, asked, trying to flirt with her.

"Your largest room, and a meeting with Melarue Faelen, please." She flirted back in an unnaturally high voice, leaning over the bar.

"Certainly, miss." The bartender said, straightening up as Falael and Rinomve came up behind her. He handed her a key. "The last room on the left."

"Shall we go?" Grace asked as she turned her back on the bartender.

"You are forgetting that you also asked for Melarue Faelen." Falael reminded her. Grace raised a palm to her forehead.

"Oh, silly me." She spun back to face the bartender. "Just how does one meet Melarue Faelen?" She asked sweetly, making herself grimace on the inside. She hated that she had to put on such an act. If it gets the job done, she reminded herself.

"She should be coming by later tonight." the bartender replied. "I will be sure to send her up to your room for your entertainment."

"Thank you." Grace replied, walking lightly towards the stairs.

"What on Recrosie was that?" Falael asked her when they got up to the room.

"When a woman has to deal with a man like our dear bartender," Grace started. "She needs to learn that being brutally honest with him will not do her any good. So, she must flirt with him, stroke his ego, give him a little attention so that she will get what she wants out of him, while struggling to maintain a level of professionalism." She took a breath as she sat down on the large bed. "It's a skill you learn when you are a barmaid, and is useful many situations, like trying to score the biggest room your yourself and your two male travelling companions, or securing a meeting with a person with vital information."

"She got us everything we need to continue, brother." Rinomve pointed out.

"I hate that you are both right." Falael grumbled, lining their packs up by the door.

The knock on the door was the only thing that broke the comfortable silence that fell upon the trio. Falael, being the closest to the door, opened it.

"Can I help you?" He asked as Grace and Rinomve held their breath.

"My name is Melarue Faelen." A soft, feminine voice answered. "As I understand it, you wanted to talk to me?"