As he entered the building behind Sheo, Magnus scanned the bar immediately to see if the man he'd spoke with during the morning venture was still behind it. He was not, and a few new faces were there in his stead. Magnus pouted again. While he understood nobody was going to work the entire day in such an establishment, he was curious as to the well-being of Anora, and he wasn't about to go to the room the healers had been in after getting a harsh scolding from them. He trusted that she and Ardur were in good enough hands, and decided to focus on other things for now.<br/><br/>On the approach to the counter, he was interrupted by the worker behind it. "Don't suppose you'll be taking the same thing as your friend?" He asked, motioning with his head in the general direction of the aggressively loud orc nearby.<br/><br/>"Oh, no, no. Just some soup, please." Magnus wasn't quite as appetized by the idea of consuming an entire decapitated head. Anything with eyes and intact organs was something he'd much prefer to avoid. "Whatever you've got on already. And some tea?"<br/><br/>"Mhm. White, green, or herbal?" A wave of the hand to a nearby collection of glass jars, each filled with dried leaves (and flowers, in the last one's case) showed off the evening's collection. They all looked quite good, but attention was immediately drawn towards the flowers. "Those ones are neat. Put 'em in some hot water and they bloom. Real pretty."<br/><br/>"Oh, wow. I think I'll have that one then. Could I get some for the road?" Magnus felt around his waist for his bags, and after realizing that they were stowed beneath his armour, he muttered a small curse and reached beneath the brigandine's lower half. After a few moments of shuffling about, he produced a small coin purse filled with a reasonable amount of money.<br/><br/>The display drew some amusement from the worker, who nodded. "Sure. Three for one ducat each sound reasonable?"<br/><br/>With a nod, Magnus opened the purse and began counting out coins. "In that case, I'll take five's worth. How much for that and the soup? And, uh, the...head." His brows furrowed slightly at the final inquiry. He never once thought he'd be asking how much to pay for an entire roasted skull.<br/><br/>"About twenty three. Anything else I can get for you?" As each coin was counted out and placed on the counter top, the worker stacked them up and set them aside, waiting for a full payment before putting them away.<br/><br/>Magnus paused for a moment, turning to take a glance in Sheo's direction. After a second or so of observing whatever it was she was up to, he turned back to the clerk and responded. "Yes, actually. A room for the night?" He spoke in a slightly hushed tone, though any attempts at subtlety were quickly halted by the man at the counter's response.<br/><br/>With a wry smile, the clerk decided to draw out the exchange a bit. "Depends. How many beds you want?" He asked, to which Magnus responded with a tight-lipped glare. Laughing a little at that, he kept on going. "I'm guessing one. Since you came in so late, I'll give you a discount. Ten."<br/><br/>"Thanks," Magnus huffed out, shoving the appropriate amount over the counter. He was about to leave to find some seats, but he halted and followed up with a question. "Don't suppose you'd give another discount if I liven the place up a bit? Those bards could use an extra hand."<br/><br/>"Sure. Put on a good enough show and you can stay for free. They're a pretty nice sort, so they'll probably let you join 'em." The clerk carefully scooped the ducats into a shelf behind the counter, and turned to yell the addition to Sheo's order into the kitchen.<br/><br/>Magnus took a few moments to put away the unused coins and swap his money with his flute, making a mental note to modify his carry belt to be worn<span style="font-style: italic">above</span>the waist of the armour. His clothing was form-fitting enough to remain up on its own anyway. With his instrument in hand, a blue-painted ocarina, he approached the band just as they finished up a song. He waved, being sure to make his instrument visible, and kept a friendly smile on. "Evening! Mind if I step in?" He questioned.<br/><br/>"Not at all. C'mon over," One of the musicians said. Magnus gladly did so, and after a quick discussion as to what song they'd be playing next, he stood next to the flute player already there and joined in. At first, everything was going as expected, until they both attempted to play the same part of the song.<br/><br/>It quickly devolved into a rousing display of music, flamboyant poses, and ever-intensifying background strings and drums. It could be most accurately described as a battle of winds.<br/><br/>While that was all going on, Magnus' parents happened upon the inn, and walked in to see their son kneeling dramatically by the band with his head thrown back, playing extremely rapid notes while another flutist did the same just a few steps away. They left him to his business, and went to take a seat elsewhere in the inn, exchanging some highly amused words.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>At Vasma's burst of magical air, most of the group of assassins went toppling. Tarkus shifted his stance to allow Verena to pass by his arm, and a majority of the building's inhabitants went into an extremely reasonable state of panic. Most of them fled the building outright, while others backed away into the far walls. With them out of the way, Tarkus drew his knife and stood. His immense size quickly became apparent, head nearly touching the roof. His weapon was likewise very large, relatively speaking. What was a knife to a Jotun could very well be a small sword to a Dvergar.<br/><br/>As the assailants gathered their footing, Tarkus began a rapid approach forward. One that was in front of him was victim to a very strong, forward kick to the chest. A sound of cracking was very audible, and the impact sent him flying right out the still-open door of the building. An approach from the side to Tarkus' empty hand by another was foiled not a moment later. A swung mace was stopped by Tarkus simply grabbing the arm holding the weapon and squeezing. More cracks were heard, and he screamed in the few moments he remained in the lobby before being harshly tossed out the door.<br/><br/>By the time the second assassin was forcibly removed, some others immediately decided to cut and run. The gun-wielding Teryn had other ideas, and drew the weapon from his place on the ground. With a pull of the trigger, the flint-tipped hammers fell upon the gun's frizzen, pushing it forward and igniting a spark in the pan. The powder in the barrel ignited, and the bullet was sent flying at the giant.<br/><br/>Tarkus' hand raised instinctively. As the bullet hit his palm, it passed through it entirely, significantly slowed and sent off-course. It struck his pauldron and embedded itself in the thick steel. The familiar burn of silver pulsed through his hand in extremely painful intervals, and he reeled away, dropping his knife to grab at the wound with a pained growl.<br/><br/>During that time, the assassin backed themselves away, searching frantically in their belt pouch for a prepared packet of gunpowder and shot. He managed to open the packet, and was in the process of pouring it down the barrel when he heard another growl above him. He looked up, and met eye to eye with an extremely furious-looking Jotun, baring teeth and snarling in a beastly manner.<br/><br/>He aimed his gun to fire again, and pulled the trigger a moment too late. A swift backhand from Tarkus' injured hand, which was leaking blood from both sides, knocked the gun away right as it was shot. The window nearest the door broke, as did the hand of the assailant. Tarkus then grabbed the assassin by the neck with his free hand, squeezing tightly. Another low growl came from him, but he managed to keep a hold on himself. While he could have easily popped off the man's head, he lightened his grip, instead keeping him firmly pinned to the floor. He peered over his shoulder at the others, and seeing that they were having some trouble, he gave aid through a very simple solution.<br/><br/>As the assassin they fought got to his feet again, he was immediately floored by the impact of the other, thrown across the room at him.