Arnold
Rásmos pumped a fist in the air as the cheater took a knee to the balls. He laughed boisterously, eyes fastened on the unfolding brawl while he reached out to try gently jostling his new bardic friend.

"Hey, you gonna play a song or...?" He asked, but paused when he failed to feel her shoulder where he expected it. A quick turn of the head found her scrambling across the room and shouting about her lute as she kicked the door open. His heavy brow furrowed and he chuffed in both frustration and concern, not wanting to miss a good fight but also peeved that someone would steal a traveling bard's lute!

"Hey! Anyone seen a lute!?" The brayer boomed out before finishing the last of his drink.

Everyone heard him, but the few people that bothered to respond only shook their heads or murmured 'no' before watching the cheating silnari get kicked by his foe while rolling on the floor, clutching at the devastation that was formerly his groin.

"...Fuck." Rásmos swore quietly before shoving himself off the stool to help look for the lute or any sign of a thief. Orlaith had been kind to him so far and he really wanted to hear her sing about someone getting their ass beat.

Chairs were nudged aside, tables lifted, nooks checked, and crannies were inspected all while the brawl played out. Rásmos paused his search occasionally to cheer for the fricharii before feeling a little guilty and resuming his search. Whoever had taken it managed to secret it away someplace out of sight or had already fled. Likewise, the fight was over and the cheating silnari had shuffled into one of the far corners to sulk in his defeat.

"That lute wasn't an heirloom or anything... Right?" Rásmos asked with a grimace as he met up with Orlaith once again, empty handed.
Alan
Relieved to have someone helping her on the inside, Orlaith felt free to look around outdoors. Even if she had just met the man, Rásmos seemed earnest in his desire to help at least by the loud querying and searching that she had seen before she left.

The heavy wooden door snapped shut behind her and suddenly she was out on the steppes again. Orlaith's boots dug into the rough earth as she ran up the nearby slope to reach an elevated point where she could look out from. The sun had long since descended below the horizon and now what was a massive blue sky was now a sprawling starscape. The serene beauty of it made the breath catch in Orlaith's throat. She cursed whoever stole her lute, and cursed them double for stealing this moment from her as well. 

Instead of taking the time to cherish the night, her eyes scanned over the countryside with some modest appreciation of movement and color at least nearer to her. There came a distance at which she simply couldn't see, so if her thief had rode away with her lute it might be gone. She could make out no other figures on the plains and so unhappily made her way back to the End of the Road. She checked on Treacle, patting his haunches and briefly checking the meager survival kit contents in the saddlebags. No one else was in the stables beside her, no one rapidly flinging themselves onto their horse to make off with her instrument.

** **
Another displeased huff and she pushed a hand on the tavern door, only to have it ripped out of her grasp. She managed to leap back and evade the two lathians who sailed out shortly thereafter to careen into the ruddy dirt at Orlaith's feet. 

"And stay out, you damn cheating bastards!" The innkeep hollered before brushing her hands together. The fricharii woman who started the whole thing received a stern glare from the innkeep which made her stifle the shit-eating grin she was otherwise boasting. "You can stay. No more fights." 

Orlaith stepped over the two lathians and made her way back into the tavern, eyes passing briefly over the fricharii woman who now bore a gnarly black eye and several scattered bruises. Orlaith cursed the thief thrice now for making her miss what surely was a grand brawl! She made her way back over to Rásmos just as everyone was settling in again, buzzing with excitement or concern over the turn of events. Her slumped shoulders and dismal pout conveyed that she hadn't found the lute before she even spoke.

"No..." She grumbled. "Though it is made of rather lovely rosewood from the western forests of Lymia." Pouring herself back onto the stool she once occupied, the tholian sadly eyed the remaining patrons of the tavern. "Why would anyone steal it? It wasn't worth more than thirty or so silver, even!" Orlaith lamented and then brought her gaze back to her newfound brayer friend. She'd call him a friend at least, after helping search for her lute. "Thanks for looking, at least." She sniffled.
Arnold
"You're welcome." Rásmos said grimly. "Lemme buy you a drink at least, help take the sting out of the loss a bit. What do you want?" A supportive pat on the back accompanied a 'cheer up' look from the brayer before he paid the barkeep for her drink.

"Maybe you'll get lucky and find the rotten fuck who took it on the road. Give that sword a quick red bath in their guts and boom, you're back in business. Singing and looking dangerous just like how you were when you walked in." He remarked with a hopeful shrug, trying to boost her spirits. "If you're heading my way tomorrow morning, I'll even cheer you on if you want. You staying the night?"
Alan
"Alright." She agreed, though even his kindly pats and the buttery smooth whiskey he soon set before her at her request didn't fully erase the pout from her lips. Periodically she peered around the room, hoping to spy her lute peeking out from under someone's cloak or behind someone's chair. It wasn't to be. Perhaps someone had ferreted it away in their room. Would she stay awake all night waiting for them to come by with her lute? No. Not for an item which, as she said, was neither particularly expensive nor an heirloom. 

At last, the luteless bard seemed to give up and turned her attention fully towards Rásmos. She even sported a not very convincing smile. His coarse, if complimentary, words seemed to help a little. "I am, yes. I grew weary of sleeping rough out in the steppes. I need to buy a proper tent and a new bedroll before I attempt that again." She said, then paused, then at last continued as if she had been processing his words for the last several seconds. 

"I don't think I'd gut someone just for stealing my lute. Though... I mean, if they were threatening me, I might have to. Or, well, yes. I might threaten them to give it back to me! It's not worth someone's life, though." Orlaith's voice still hadn't regained that chipper hum that she spoke with earlier, though her eyes were clearing up from that distressed haze she seemed to be in before. "Where *Are* You headed, Rásmos?"
Arnold
To her query, Rásmos only shrugged a single white shoulder.

"I don't really have a destination. I was heading east, just asking people everywhere I stop about the symbol. Working for coin took me out here... But I really could go just about anywhere, I suppose. I don't have any big leads." He remarked with a frown of unfortunate realization. "Which sounds as shitty as it is."

A quick chuff rolled some of the disappointment from his shoulders and he looked at Orlaith with crooked smile.

"I think I'd probably club someone at least once if I found out they stole from me, even if they gave back what they took." He said, imagining bonking a mysterious lute thief with his kanabo in the realm of his imagination. "Teach them you're not to be fucked with, you know? Set an example."

After another moment of amusement over imagined thief-clubbings, Rásmos returned to Orlaith's previous question.

"Why do you ask? You and Treacle looking for company on the road?" He asked with a flicker of humor.
Alan
Rásmos' words seemed to ring true within Orlaith as well. She reached tentatively to pat his near shoulder in consolation. "I'm the same. Though... Now my short term destination might be the rosewoods of Lymia and the luthiers nearby. But if I hear of someone blighting merchant families or leaving a moon and stars inscribed anywhere, well, that might make me veer off course." 

Steadily, she seemed to be regaining her fervor. The first sip of whiskey added to that fire within her as she gave a sharp exhale and then lifted her glass to cheers with Rásmos. "Phew! Well, I hope I have the chance to show someone I'm not to be fucked with then. ...And mostly to get my lute back." 

She drained a bit more of her whiskey then pulled her now cold bowl of stew towards her for a few last bites before finally pushing it away. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence that stretched between them given the lively din of the other patrons, but it was silence nonetheless. She hadn't taken on any fellow travelers in her journey thus far. She suspected it would make things *Complicated*. Then again, what tale worth telling was straightforward? 

"We could use another member in our travelling party." Orlaith finally conceded, a faint smile curling her lips before a look of concern washed over her face. She hadn't properly considered the prospect of travelling alone on long stretches of road with a man she'd just met, let alone a brayer. Could she feel safe sleeping on the steppes near him? Likely not with *Any* Stranger. "Actually..." She cringed, regretting the awkwardness of her assent and quick refusal. "It might be better if... Treacle and I forged our own path."
Arnold
Rásmos used the last of his daily budget of coin to order their whiskeys, but as they clinked glasses together and boosted one another's spirits he fully believed it to be worth it.

"Cheers to that!" The brayer agreed readily to her desire to show someone not to fuck with her before draining a good portion of the liquor. He still felt little to nothing from the alcohol, having only had the single ale before this. Orlaith's company and conversation ensured that despite his non-existent buzz, he still remained in good spirits. She didn't reek of entitlement and arrogance despite her sharp attire and the elegant deadliness of her estoc. She had humor and (allegedly) musical skill, even if she no longer had an instrument. Her voice was melodious and captivating, lending credence to her claim that she could truly be a bard.

*Plus she's easy on the eyes.* He thought with a smile as the tholian agreed that his company would be useful. *Might be kinda fun to have her along!*

Then came the rapid tonal change and cringeworthy verbal backpedal that came along with a change of heart. It took him by surprise, making him pivot in his seat to regard Orlaith with a faintly insulted and moderately confused look. 

"Really?" He asked with his mouth partially agape. Was it that she was untrusting? That he was a brayer? Why the sudden change?

*Doesn't really matter. Answer's still no.* He thought a little sadly. *Sucks, but maybe it's for the best.*

Regardless of her answer, the big brayer's strong shoulders rolled in a dismissive shrug.

"Your loss. I'm loads of fun." He said before finishing his whiskey and hopping off the stool once again. "Hey, thanks for the cheese and the chat. Sorry about your lute, hope you find it out there... Or at least a new one. Maybe you can nick the next one you see being set down and left unattended."

With that, Rásmos waved once to Orlaith before making his way to his room to settle in for the night.
Alan
Watching the brayer turn and doubletake to her words made Orlaith regret ever saying anything at all. She grimaced a bit and peered up to the man's orange eyes. 

"I've been travelling alone thus far, friend. I... Am not certain I'm ready to make it a travelling band proper." It was an explanation laced with apology, though they both knew she owed him nothing. "It's nothing personal, I'm certain you are fun and a sturdy travel partner no less." She agreed in a calm tone, but in his casual exit, she could feel *Something*. Perhaps some hurt or disappointment. Dashed hopes, even if they were only barely formed. She wondered if this wouldn't be their last meeting.

Orlaith waved in parting to the big man and remained at the bar long enough to finish her whiskey and mourn her lost lute a little longer before eventually heading to her room to sleep.