Ch 3 – Bowerstone Tavern
Ranger awoke suddenly, startled by the chirping of birds near his window. He arose, redressed his wounds, clothed himself in his plate armor, and proceeded to the tavern for a hot breakfast. One scratch from a Hobbe still stung enough that he resolved to learn that healing spell when next he stopped in at the Guild. As he walked, he smiled as he watched a mother usher her little girl out the door to join the motley wee multitude of children running to the school. Turning away from the sight, he stopped quite suddenly as a little boy darted in front of him. He regained his balance and continued on his way down the path through town. Halfway between the barber's and the weapon-maker's shops, he had to step aside quickly to avoid the man running toward the school. That must be the teacher, he thought.
He entered the tavern and headed toward the bar to get his breakfast. As he passed through the bustling crowd that always seemed to patronize the establishment, the Card dealer accosted him and urged him to play Card Pairs. Ranger had seen it played, but had yet to do so himself. He sat down and placed three gold coins on the table while the man dealt the cards. Thirty seconds later, he'd matched all the pairs, earning three more gold coins and, of all things, one of those Hero dolls he'd seen about. He took the doll and his gold and stood, only then noticing the resemblance of the doll to Briar Rose. Ah. That must be the doll's identity.
No sooner had he thought this when the human bearer of the likeness the doll was portraying appeared before him. He realized that she'd actually asked him a question that he'd not heard. She smirked at his dumbfounded expression and repeated, "Planning to cuddle that as you go to sleep?" He gave her a glare of bemused censure. "Hey, if you think I'm angling to replace a doll of me with the genuine article, think again." Her quiet statement started him laughing as he turned to finally get his breakfast. He retrieved the meal, turned back to her, and asked, "Care to join me?"
"Share or get my own?" She somehow had schooled her expression into one of total innocence and cheer, though he knew otherwise.
"Whichever way you choose, please do be quick about it. I'm hungry." He replied nonchalantly.
She looked startled. Not at his declaration of hunger, but rather at the idea that he was willing to split his meal with her. After all, she'd merely been joking. She thought for a moment, stepped up to the bar, and ordered a drink to match his. When she took it, Ranger was already sitting at a table in one of the circular nooks out of the main dining area. As she sat, he nudged the food to a position where they could both reach it with ease.
She took a sip of her beverage, then hesitantly asked, "Ranger, why are you sharing with me instead of insisting I get my own? We both know I can afford it."
"Well, Rose, my first reason is because you're my friend, and I want to do something nice for you. By the by, if you want that doll, you're welcome to it." He demonstrated that she had yet to corner the market on well-humored smirks.
"No thank you. I'll leave it for you. That way, you won't ever be rid of seeing me every day." She teased him; if he truly despised her company such that the doll's presence would cause problems, he'd not have asked her to join him.
"Could be worse, I suppose. Anyway, the other reason is related to the first. I haven't seen you for a while and was curious as to how everything has been. Last time I saw you was…that time in the Map Room, just after the Wasp Queen."
Briar Rose pointed to him, held up a single finger, then to herself and held up two fingers. Then she pointed to her mouth, which presently resembled that of a chipmunk for how stuffed it was with food. He snickered at the sight, then agreed. "All right. I'll go first."