Even before he achieved his current title and position in Crescent City, the Dew Drop Inn had been one of Sir Doryn Aelland's favored places to put his feet up and relax a little. After becoming a Noble, though he would occasionally take his leisure in the more higher-class establishments favored by the cities upper classes, Doryn still enjoyed the ambiance of the Dewdrop and spent as much time there as he could manage. The ale was stronger, the food was heartier, the women and music were both more to his liking, and no one begrudged him getting a bit far into his drink and needing to sleep it off in one of the rooms upstairs.<br/><br/>Or, on occasion, making<em>other use</em>of those rooms.<br/><br/>Everyone knew him here. He had a little table all his own and usually the undivided attention of more than a few of the serving girls, who he liked to imagine appreciated his looks as much as they did his coin though he had no doubt which of those two properties it was that earned his their regular attention. He was free with his coin in the Dewdrop, often buying a round of drink for the entire common room,-- renting out rooms for his own use or to put up a friend for the evening,-- and, of course,<em>very</em>generous tipping.<br/><br/>One of the few downsides of his promotion to Knight-Captain of the Guard was that he wasn't as free to visit his favorite bar any longer...<br/><br/>...he still visited when he could, usually with a few tall broad-shouldered men with him as an Honor Guard, a particular protection that he'd quickly learned was not in any way optional.<br/><br/>He knew the Inne still appreciated his patronage, of course, if anything even more so. The place had become a lot more<em>respectable</em>, without losing its own unique charm, attracting the odd young unmarried noble. Mostly folk who Doryn took out drinking with him, once or twice, who developed a liking for the place on their own. Noble<em>women</em>mostly stayed clear of the place unless Doryn took them there himself, but honestly that suited most of the visiting young noblemen just as well. It'd become a somewhat safer place to work and drink, as well, the Captain of the Guard having assigned a few extra patrols to the area and made sure that any disturbances at the Inn were handled with alacrity and carefully measured force. Hell, most everyone in the City knew that the Knight-Captain of the Guard favored the place and that made it safer all on its own.<br/><br/>Which, in turn, attracted those with heavier purses.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Tonight, Doryn was tucked away in his own private table, nursing a mug of ale and trying his best to ignore the presence of Friedrich looming behind him. It wasn't that the Knight-Captain distrusted the nearly seven-foot tall fellow who was standing at attention behind him, if anything the imposing mass of plated metal was one of Doryn's most loyal men and one whom he trusted implicitly, no, the main problem that he had with the Sergeant's imposing presence tonight was the simple fact that Friedrich looking over his shoulder tended to negatively impact the atmosphere of the bar.<br/><br/>He was taller than most anyone else in the City, except for a few of the Elves, and that might be part of the reason. He never sat down, never spoke, and tended to blend into the background of the Inn after a while so that he looked more like an armor-display than a living person. Right until he shuffled a bit, or moved, the slight adjustment of his armor reminding everyone that he was there. Mostly, when he felt the need to head to the Dewdrop he would rather leave Friedrich behind and instead bring one of the other members of his Honor Guard. Vaughn, for instance, actually<em>sat down</em>and<em>had the occasional drink</em>. Even Meerika blended in more than the 'Big Guy,' for all that she couldn't usually make it through a visit to a place like the Dewdrop without hurting someone before she left, and nimble soft-spoken Lai was the kind of honor-guard that one barely even noticed was in a room at all until the sarcastic elf said something.<br/><br/>Tonight, though, Doryn hadn't even thought about it before he'd told Friedrich to accompany him to the Dewdrop.<br/><br/>Despite the fact that he was tucked away in a shadowy corner of the Inn at his private table, that he'd bought a round of drinks for the common room, that he'd spent 15-minutes with one of the serving girls sat in his lap and that he was already on his 3rd mug of ale: Doryn wasn't at the Dew Drop Inn tonight for the purposes of<em>relaxation</em>. Someone had reached out to him with a business proposition, someone who had wanted a sit-down face to face meeting, and that meant that he'd not even paused before deciding to bringing 7-feet of cold imposing metal with him on this evening. If his potential business partner found Friedrich somewhat intimidating, well, that was only yet another service that the Sergeant would be more than happy to provide (and was quite experienced with).<br/><br/>Hani had made all the arrangements. Young, Beautiful, ever-so Sensible Hani-- by far his favorite of the girls that worked at the Dewdrop,-- was a woman after his own heart. He regretted, sometimes, how deeply involved she was in his various 'business arrangements'. They made excellent partners, such as it were, but he had no doubt that they'd have made great lovers as well. Yet, as his own Father had once told him, one should never mix matters of the heart with matters of the coin. It had been one of the few pieces of decent advice that his Father had even given him before he'd left his homeland and came to this land, but as all good pieces of advice that didn't mean it was always easy to follow.<br/><br/>"Mercedes, please, my mug is getting a little low..." he called out, giving a smile to one of the Dewdrops serving girls.<br/><br/>The young shapely redhead, who had spent more than a bit of time earlier tucked in his lap, simply nodded and flashed him a simple.<br/><br/>Doryn simply leaned back in his chair, glancing up at the nigh-expressionless face mask of his Honor Guard, wondering what Friedrich was thinking,-- if, indeed, the silent giant was thinking anything at all. The meeting would be happening soon, Doryn knew, a realization that was only redoubled when he fetched his mug from Mercedes,-- his fingers lightly brushing hers as he took it,-- and spotted Hani making her quiet way into the common room to start her shift.<br/><br/>"Thank you, my dear, your attention tonight has been most appreciated," Doryn said to Mercedes, eyes roaming appreciatively over the woman's low-cut dress, a smirk on his face as he looked up into her eyes. "Friedrich, do you want anything, before I send the lovely Mercedes away?"<br/><br/>Mercedes made a face, glancing up at the tall armored statue standing in the shadows behind Doryn before quickly looking down at the floor.<br/><br/>They both waited a moment, but there was-- of course,- no response.<br/><br/>"...it appears he does not. Ah well, only polite to ask. I'll leave you to your more demanding clients, then, lovely."<br/><br/>"You be as demanding as you want, love," she said, eyes fluttering a bit. "I'll check on you again a bit later."<br/><br/><strong>Soon...</strong>