A road was a road, no matter its looks. And, to him, unlike others might think, the best roads were those who would take him to his next kill. And, if he was lucky, send some in the way.<br/><br/>So when Ace heard a rumour on the last tavern he stopped in about a merchant who was looking for some mercenary to go kill things in the southern forest, he was already happy enough to go check if it was true. Almost anything in the forest was worth checking, and he was not far from it, anyway. And when he found out he would need to go to the Boar's Belly, taking the path that run through Deep, as some locals called the worst parts of the forest, he had simply grinned, not bothering to ask twice. The trip would not be a wasted one, even if the merchant didn't exist outside the whispered rumours.<br/><br/>So he gathered the few clothes he had and the travel supplies and shoved them all in two battered backpacks. He rarely needed much more than that. Most of the time, his contractors were more than happy to provide specific things he would need for a hunt. And, if they didn't, and Ace still found the job interesting enough to not go looking somewhere else instantly, he would simply steal the needed equipment and be on his way. So no need to clutter his mount nor himself with unnecessary things. He usually got the cheapest horse he could get, as he had gone through his fair share of mounts, most dying somewhere along the road, or falling victim of a beast or another, and others downright sacrificed when they broke a leg on a particularly difficult terrain and had no more use to him.<br/><br/>The horse of the time was a reddish mare, with black mane and black fur on its four legs, a skinny thing that Ace decided to call Girl, a bad joke on the death she would surely suffer soon on the road. He would usually name the horses he bought and then just call them Girl or Boy after the first two or three days. This one, though, he hadn't even bothered to name. She wouldn't likely survive more than that in the Deep, anyway. He had, however, been pleasantly surprised when, one night, he had woken up to a very loud noise and saw Girl kicking and screaming, trying to get her rear leg free from a set of white teeth attached to a black mass Ace could not identify. He had jumped to his feet, taken his bow and shoot at the thing as fast as he could, not really caring what it was, only that it was trying to eat his horse. The loud and pained howl of the thing that definitely wasn't a normal animal mixed with a painful scream coming from Girl, and Ace cursed under his breath as he readied another arrow, knowing the former had hit Girl too. But the second projectile wasn't necessary, as the creature retreated, afraid of the pain.<br/><br/>Ace had tended to the wounds of the mare, and was impressed that she hadn't broken anything, nor was beyond salvation. In fact, there were just a few bloodied marks on her skin where the teeth and the arrow had scratched her, and she was still able to carry his things, although limping the rest of the way. Ace hadn't even tried to ride her anymore, decided to give the mare a rest as a reward, even switching places with her for half a day and carrying his own stuff.<br/><br/>She had proven herself a fighter, and he felt a small affection building inside him, but he kept the name Girl. Just because.<br/><br/>So, on the fourth day, as the shadows were starting to fall on the forest, Ace was whistling a song he had heard on the last tavern, his usual game on how long he could whistle the same song without becoming bored. Turned out this particular bard had been pretty skilled, and even after four whole days, he still found it catching. The man smile grew when he finally saw the light of the inn, standing between crooked trees and looking kind of crooked itself. He pulled Girl around the construction as he tried to find a stable and was pleased when he did find one, behind the building and seeming even more wild and integrated with the vegetation around it than the inn itself. Nevertheless, it was a roof above the mare's head, and after the exhaustive travel, she would be glad for it.<br/><br/>"Hello." Ace greeted, as he entered the place without asking permission, looking around the stalls and evaluating the place. There were a few moist spots around, indicating some leaking, but, otherwise, it seemed protected enough, both from the wind and from the rain. "Your best room for the lady, please."<br/><br/>The stableman turned to him, a grimace on his face. He was a short but very bulky guy that showed a missing eye and enough scars that Ace knew for sure he was probably the one to keep the horses safe from the outside danger, or try to, anyway. Since there was only one other horse on the facility, Ace couldn't be sure how effective the man was.<br/><br/>"They are all the same. Pick one." the stableman snorted, his voice a low grumble that left little room for discussion.<br/><br/>Ace rolled his eyes at the now nicknamed Gruffy, as he walked towards a stall near the middle of the stable. Close enough to the outside so she could run away if it came to it, and after the other horse, so if any beast got in, it would attack the other first. The stall also looked dry enough for him, and he placed Girl inside, and petted her for almost a minute, careful not to let the metal of his gauntlet touch her fur. He didn't say anything, but by the way the mare leaned in in his caress, he supposed he understood what he was trying to convey.<br/><br/>"Someone is missing a hole." Ace answered, arching an eyebrow, as if he had never stopped to place Girl in the stall. His smile, allied with the reproving look he gave the stableman, was probably mocking enough to make Gruffy narrow his eyes and to his face to turn red. Ace supposed it was from anger, but perhaps there was a little embarrassment mixed.<br/><br/>"Shut up." the man spat, hands almost crushing the wooden broom. "Could use your ass, if it bothers you that much."<br/><br/>"Ah, so I was right!" the grin turned satisfying, which only made the man even more red. Ace wondered if he should see how redder he could make the man, but decided against it. There were more pressing matters. Like a beer and a bed. "I'll have to decline, sorry. I can do better. But don't worry, you'll find one soon enough, if you take good care of my girl there, of course. Otherwise..." his smile turned more twisted, and he raised his hand to scratch the side of his nose, showing the gauntlet that was like a metal glove. "There won't be anything to use anywhere anymore."<br/><br/>The stableman froze for a second, eyeing his hands and then the sword on his waist. He clearly decided that he could be more danger than it was worth the trouble, because he grumbled something under his breath and turned his back to the other, swiping the floor in motions that probably did more harm than good. Ace petted Girl one last time and took the two backpacks from her back, before leaving, making a point on snickering as he walked past the stableman, the corner of his eyes catching the aggressive motion of the broom that was probably intended on hitting him, but simply fell to the floor.<br/><br/>Chuckling to himself, Ace made his way towards the inn's entrance, smiling as the staled air hit him. He had been to so many inns like this one that it almost feel like home. To him, comfort and safety were a foreign concept, and the closer he came to them was when he was in places like this: the dim light softly illuminating people too busy drinking or smoking, talking enough to the background sound to be there. The sturdy bed, that at least was a bed, and a roof that protected him enough from the cold and the rain. The drunk and the talkative were his family. He barely ever took part on these talks, except when he needed a hunt, but that didn't mean he didn't like to hear the stories with problems that made him laugh for how stupid they sounded. In fact, he had gotten himself in more than one fight for suggesting that maybe the problem would go away if they took the stick out of their asses, but he felt a deeper connection to these that ended up giving him a swollen lip than he had with the guards that protected the streets and the rich noblemen that watched it all from the top of their greasy nose. In the end, though, he found it easy to turn his back to those man and simply walk away. Family held little meaning to him, just slightly above than enemies and people "he didn't give a fuck about". Friends, on the other hand, those he held close to his heart. Not that he had any.<br/><br/>As he took his coat out of his shoulder, revealing the simple but sturdy black leather that protected his body, he noticed the exact type of people who he would expect to find in a inn in the middle of nowhere, and that would survive long enough to get there. Two people caught his attention, though, almost seeming out of place amongst the other hardened men and women. One was a black haired man with armor way too polished to be part of the inn's crew, but at least he appeared comfortable in the place. The other, though... He was sitting on the bar, a sword on his back, and shoulders as stiff as they could be. Ace frowned, unable to pinpoint what it was, exactly, that set him apart from the others. The leather he wore was old and battered, he was dirty and seemingly tired, the same as usual. But his posture was way too stiff, too alert, too different from the two men that sat beside him. He almost reminded Ace of when guards went inside one of taverns with a very ill-reputation, and the man chuckled at himself. The chances of him being a guard were very slim, but there was probably some connection there. And, if a guard was indeed this far into the forest, something very interesting would be waiting for him to put his hands on. Moved by curiosity, Ace made his way towards him, bumping the man sitting on the left with his hip to make space for himself. The man grunted, but shifted away, not drunk enough to pick a fight with an armed person.<br/><br/>With a quick movement of his hand to the barkeeper, not even bothering to look, knowing his order would be taken anyway, Ace placed his backpacks on the floor and took off his gauntlets before sitting. He rested his head on his hand, eyes locked in the face of the misplaced man. He smiled.<br/><br/>"If I may ask, what is the knight in shining armor doing in a forsaken place like this?" he asked, knowing very well he could be picking a fight but not really caring. Guard or not, no one had true power inside that forest. And, if it came down to it, Ace could defend himself easily enough. He had killed beasts bigger than the man.