Chapter 33: Sea Trolls

Vernon finally settled down in a big wooden, slightly reclined, chair he had pulled out of a dark corner of the tavern. It looked heavy too. Michaela was impressed by the tavern keeper’s strength.

Now, sitting by the fire, smoking a pipe, Vernon smiled over at Michaela. She sat slouched in a chair across from him. A bear skin rug lay between them, and the townsfolk sat all around.

The blanket Martha had given Michaela had slipped off her shoulders, exposing her chest to the crowd again. She didn’t bother crossing her legs either. Too engrossed in the story, neither Vernon or anyone in the crowd bothered to help her cover herself again.

Michaela’s head swam with the drink. It only enhanced the mesmerizing way Vernon told the tale, and nothing else really mattered to her at the moment.

“Have you always been a tavern keeper?” Michaela asked.

Caught off guard by the personal question, Vernon’s eyebrows rose up his forehead. Lighting his pipe, he took a pull before answering.