He sat in silence, waiting patiently for his order and sorting through his thoughts.  He wondered briefly whatever became of Sir Ahlandranâ€™s fiancÃ©e.  The son of Nobility, the marriage had been arranged when the two were both rather young, but he remembered the young woman fondly, and the two had been in love.  Ahlandran spoke of her constantly while campaigning during the War, and before the Disbanding he had delivered a sheaf of letters his Brother had written in the months before his death.  He had delivered far too many letters from dead men.<br/><br/>But, such things were of no consequence to the here and now.  The arrival of another latecomer briefly peaked his curiosity and he gave the man a brief glance.  He had the stride of a disciplined man, a palpable air of confidence and skill.  A dangerous man.<br/><br/>But, one could say the same of him.  There wasnâ€™t much conversation left in the room, and the pairâ€™s discussion at the bar, while not loud, was still hard to miss.  He only listened with half an ear, and once it came to an end, well, things were silent once more.<br/><br/>It wasn't long after that the newcomer retired into his mind and his tankard that the serving girl brought his meal out.  Her earlier shy interest was replaced with uncertainty, and she laid out his order without meeting his gaze, and he simply held a distant smile and a softly spoken thank you as she retreated back to the bar.<br/><br/>He ate it silence while thinking over what he had heard.  Were the orcs up to something?  Their raids were different too; they had stolen loot, wealth and gold.  Not livestock and people, but things of monetary value.  Again, he hadn't thought much of it at the time; an isolated incident without a means of formulating a pattern or even realizing there might be a problem.<br/><br/>He ate while he thought it over, and it wasn't long until his food was gone, and he found himself savoring his last cup of tea.  He ate quickly and neatly, no wasted movements and no absent minded pauses.  The mannerisms of a man used to action and constant movement.  It wouldn't be long before he retired for the night, only to be up bright and early for a bout of exercise in the stable yard, likely before many, if any, of the other guests had even thought of rising from their beds.