Hale Loneshadow
Well-Known Member
4th Era: Year 248. Summer.
Whether or not Hale Loneshadow was, at times, a procrastinator and a holds-his-eggs-in-one-basket kind of person, he always strove to keep his word. Unfortunately, such good intentions did not always hold up in his favor.
Today found Hale in a situation he had been finding himself tied up in progressively more often within the past few years. Unfortunate too, because if only these high lords and ladies would listen to a lowly templar from High Rock then all might very well be made right in the world. Of course, he could have perhaps taken a rather more diplomatic approach to garner their more kindly gazes, rather than barge in to Falkreath proper with the head of a striga in a bag.
Eh, something something, hindsight, Hale thought with an external grimace. Wonderful. Now, he'd have to take the hard way to Whiterun.
Some might say that what one who is chained and locked in a keep's cellar has to say is irrelevant, but then those people had never been forced to live the life of Hale Loneshadow.
Two lockpicks and a small handful of gold to the bored guards later, Hale quietly slipped out of the curiously militarized Falkreath, and once having recovered his horse Eagle-Runs from outside of the city lines, made all haste back to Riverwood.
Once within the more friendly town, Hale swung his weapons and pack onto his person, hurrying into The Sleeping Giant Inn. While most of Riverwood had changed little in the past half-century - excepting more private households and farms (and the militarized fortress walls now guarding its main town borders) - the Sleeping Giant had expanded. Growing both in length and height, having added more area to the main kitchen, inn, bar and hearth areas as well as adding two floors of rooms to rent, the Sleeping Giant was itself a giant of the innkeeping industry, even in this time of war.
"Two brandy's, whatever food you've got, and a room for a week if you would, please, miss," said Hale to the striking barkeeper-ess, taking a seat each for himself and his gear. "You know, give me a third brandy. For the horse, you see," he added with a wink.
Though he wasn't sure she'd gotten the joke, that mattered less than both the liquor he was now gulping down in front of him, and more importantly, taking a deep glance throughout the bar where he indicated he'd wished to meet any willing companions. Hoping to see some of those potential companions already here, Hale turned around on his seat at the edge of the bar, and looked out to see who may be here, or may be entering...