Act 2: Upheaval I - The Werewolf

"Come on, Steve." Konrad wrinkles his nose at the man openly weeping to the whole world. "Try not to drown in your own ale as well as your tears, or you'll sink your business sooner than you fear."

Steve pats the man on the shoulder to comfort him but follows Konrad away into the crowd. "What now?"

"Maybe you're right." He sniffles.

"Now we find our Lorinthian traveler." Konrad scans the crowd for the boy matching Davis' looks, with bodyguards hanging around.

Awareness 21

"Last delivery never came, so now he's running on just a couple barrels till they run dry." - he keeps explaining - "We can't help him right now; we're sidetracked as it is and already on the clock for that. C'mon."

"Oh, that's too bad," Amber replies while eyeing the mugs of beer.

The adventurers regroup.

"Gonna tell you a secret: Beer's for getting social, more than anything. It's what you order when you want to fit in. Or make some noise."

Amber is about to answer Mihai when she sees Konrad and Steve make their way back to them.

"What are we doing now?" she asks her companions.

This is when Konrad identifies the Lorinthian teenager he saved last year; he's sitting at a table with his two bodyguards, right in the middle of the tavern. The three of them are eating beef stew with a loaf of bread.

Memory of the company kept with the boy brings a smile to Konrad's face, as he strides forward to a relaxed distance, hands at his hips. "Davis! It really is you! Remember me?"

Davis Dreyfuss is a clean-shaved young man who wears plain clothes. If it wasn't for the two bodyguards at his table—both armed with long swords—it would be easy to mistake him for a common traveler. When he hears Konrad speak his name, his body tenses up. His guardians instinctively put an hand on the handle of their swords, but they quickly relax once they realize who's calling for their attention.

The teenager gulps down a mouthful of stew and bread. He's not alert anymore, only surprised.

"Konrad... Granger?" he says, unsure.

"Oh, you found him already," Amber comments, having followed the red mage.

Although everyone is ignoring the party right now, it is clear that standing in the middle of the tavern makes Amber uncomfortable. Davis briefly glances at her, but is too preoccupied with Konrad at the moment to give her his full attention.

"Oh, right," he realizes. "You're here for the Tournament."

Steve politely watches as the two old acquaintances catch up. No need to intrude and all that.

"Correct! You're smart, did I tell you that?" He walks up to the table. "Is that why you're here? Want to spectate? Or," he asks auspiciously, raising an eyebrow, "are you just waiting for a chance to slip away?"

For some reason, the bodyguards do not speak and instead wait for their protege's reaction.

"Slip away?" David repeats, confused. "Uh, no. I'm also here for the Tournament."

He notices Steve and Mihai but decides not to ask about them.

"Got a favorite?"

"A favorite? No, not really. Although I hope we get to see the monk fight."

He takes this chance to glance at Amber again. She's just waiting for her companions to finish talking.

"Are you here to eat? We're almost finished; you could take our table if you do not mind waiting a little."

Davis falls silent for a moment. He clearly caught Konrad's subtle mention of the attempted kidnapping he was victim of. The two bodyguards exchange a glance and wait for their protege's response.

"Yeah, sure," the teenager replies. "Sigmund, can you handle the tab please?"

"Of course," the bodyguard with the mustache says.

"Please follow me."

Dreyfuss and the other guardian both stand up and walk towards the hallway that connect the tavern to the inn.

Steve will follow.

Mihai will follow.

"Mihai."

Dreyfuss guides the party to his room which is located on the second floor. His bodyguard makes sure to stay two steps behind him and checks every corner each time they take a turn. Once the young man reaches room 215, he pulls out a key from his pocket, unlocks the door and invites his guests in. He then gestures at his guardian to stay outside.

Although the room isn't luxurious, there's however enough space for the four party members to stand around. Amber doesn't waste any time and takes one of the two only chairs present here. Just when Davis begins to close the door, Florolf runs inside the room and finds a nice spot on the bed. This sudden apparition startles the young man, but it's far from over.

"Finally, some fresh air!"

It's Fluffle, having just come out of Amber's hood. The fairy stretches his arms and flies towards the bed.

"Hey Florolf, how are you doing?"

The carbuncle, now sitting on one of the pillows, stares at Fluffle and tilts his head.

"Yeah, me too."

The fairy lies down on the bed. Meanwhile, Dreyfuss observes the scene with a dumbfounded expression. That amuses Amber greatly.

Konrad chuckles when the little guy pops out. "Heh, this is Fluffle, our fairy ride-along. He's kind of a secret, for now. I hope you don't mind."

Steve takes off his hat and holds his hand out for a handshake. "Hi, I'm Steve, nice to meet you."

Mihai follows suit with the handshake thing - "Didn't sit well with the Administrator that your case didn't get looked at."