<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/EDkyjet.jpg)</div>Amidst a group of patrons sitting around a small table in one corner of the inn, the young shifter known as Umbra was currently in the midst of a game of chance. Holding her cards to hide them from the view of her opponents, she ran her eyes across them. She wore a nervous expression on her face, biting her lower lip as she shifted her eyes from her cards to her opponents. Reading her expression, the half-orc woman across the table grinned broadly in turn. The human and halfling men to their sides each fidgeted. The halfling called, with some trepidation, and the half-orc much more confidently did the same. The human folded, and all eyes fell on Umbra. She hesitated for but a moment, before letting the slightest of grins creep onto her lips, as she announced her intent to call and lowered her hand for the others to see. The halfling's head dropped and the half-orc swore loudly. Umbra kept grinning as she reached over to collect the pot, keeping her eyes locked on the half-orc as she did. The two others at the table looked between them, almost seeming nervous that a fight were to break out. Just as the tension seemed to reaching a peak, Umbra turned towards the bar and yelled over, "Barkeep! Get my friends here a round on me for being good sports!"<br/><br/>She turned back to look at the other woman, who was very clearly deciding whether to punch her or accept the kindness, but Umbra simply winked at her and said, "I'd be more than happy to give you a chance to work out that frustration, love, but I'm afraid I'm here waiting on some matters of business. All the same, it's been a pleasure."<br/><br/>With that, she rose and stood from the table, before the other woman could quite figure out how to reply. She was still trying to work it out when the round of drinks arrived. By then, Umbra had made her way to the bar and tapped her knuckles on the counter, placing the coin down for her generous order, adding a few coins extra as she said, "I'll take a tall cup of your strongest ale."<br/><br/>As the barkeep turned to pour her a glass, Umbra took the moment to look over towards where she was supposed to be meeting Max, idly adjusting her clothing as she did. She hadn't really started off with much anything to her name, and she'd worked hard to get what she had, even if it still wasn't much. Max probably paid for a fair bit of her wardrobe with the money he lost to her at cards. She supposed, all things considered, she owed it to him to hear out what he needed and lend a hand if she could, provided there was coin to be made and thrills to be had.<br/><br/>She spot others around the table in question. Others Max had called on? No sign of Max yet, though. The tiefling caught her eye first, and she had to admit, they looked interesting enough. She'd have to make sure they were properly introduced before they started off on this task. The human, on the other hand... well, Umbra didn't exactly make a habit of trusting their kind overmuch. Not only human, but she had the look of a religious sort to her as well. Perhaps some had forgotten the Inquisition, but Umbra's people damn well hadn't. Still, Umbra would do what was asked of her. She was quite capable of acting the professional when it was required.<br/><br/>As she continued to look for Max, or others approaching the table, she felt her attention waver, as the surrounding noise and sights and sounds of the bar began to fade away, giving way to a muffled quiet of the senses. Then, all at once, the sound of a cup being placed on the counter behind her drew her back to reality. She turned to the barkeep, offering a friendly smile and a nod of her head as she took the cup and brought it up to her lips, knocking back a deep swig of the pleasantly bitter contents. Hopefully this business Max had dragged her here for would be worth the wait.