Clouds like thin, spidery nets hung across the moon in the night sky as if to steal its light away. The pathetic tree in the stable yard moaned each time a faint breeze stirred. Spiders and beetles slipped in through the floorboards to take shelter, as well as a few scavenging mice. The cat sat outside the door, yowling for admission, and the dogs barked at nothing out back. The night reeked of storm. Bad storm. Nilko could hear the wind picking up, its icy cold fingers prying at the boards of the tavern walls. His guests seemed oblivious; untouched by the outside world. But he, Nilko, could sense the gathering tension even as he bustled about behind the counter; filling mugs and catching bits of gossip here and there.


The door opened with a groan of protest and a shadowed figure, hazy in the smokey room, slipped inside. Nilko glanced up from the conversation he had just entered and watched as the hooded stranger strode across the room to hide in the shadow of the fire. The door, which his new customer had not closed properly, banged opened, admitting the chill wind and drizzling rain, as well as a sopping cat. With a grunt Nilko nodded to his neice, the serving girl,"Mel, go take care of the stranger. And close the door." Mel, her hair hanging about her face in wispy tendrils, wiped her hands on her apron with a sigh, the exhaustion clear in her eyes. Without a word of protest she headed first for the door, and then for the stranger's table, the wet cat under one arm. The stranger sat motionless, the fire's light dancing across his cloak and casting strange shadows on the hidden face beneath. The hilt of a dagger just showed at his belt. He wasn't the type they usually got in their small town tavern.

Mell's clear voice drifted across the room to Nilko's ears, "Sir, how may I help you this evening?"
The stranger lifted his head to answer and the light of the fire fell on his face, revealing a long, jagged scar that ran from his left ear to his chin. Nilko saw his neice flinch. He couldn't help but shudder himself. What weapon could have caused such a scar? Or what creature.