Varian woke up with a headache. Confusion swept over him as he realized he was in a comfortable bed and not his. Then the events of the night before came flooding in all at once. Utterly disgusted, Varian leaned over the side of the bed and threw up. Not that he had much left to throw up.

After composing himself, he saw his old clothes on a chair. He saw a bucket of water and a rag which he used to wash himself off with. He quickly dressed and went out the window. Despite having a limp, he was able to climb down thanks to adrenaline. Then he moved as fast as his limp allowed and went straight to the pub.

Now surrounded by thugs, he felt oddly safe. The bartender barely glanced in his direction. "You're late," he stated.

"Something... something came up..." Varian answered, shifting himself uncomfortably. He felt so weird. Just the knowledge of what was done to him... he felt so disgusted and dirty inside. What he wanted was an actual bath and a way to escape the branded memories of the previous night.

Good old Joel, the bartender, immediately sensed something was amiss. "You're working in the back today," he muttered.

"Ok," Varian replied and left to do his work. He was grateful to work in the back, because he feared he wasn't going to be able to look anyone in the eye or just not be able to handle customers overall. He was emotionally unstable and he was already trying to fight the tears that threatened to spill.

It wasn't long before Joel came into the back. Varian was aware that the man was studying him, as if he was searching to find what was wrong. The man rarely ever showed he cared, but Varian knew deep down that Joel had grown a soft spot for him. Not that he would ever admit it.

Finally, Joel cleared his throat. Varian stopped what he was doing to look at the man. He raised a brow, waiting for the bartender to continue. Seeing that Varian wasn't going to say a thing without being prompted, the man thought about his words.

"So... something came up?"

"Yeah, you know I worked with the Baron last night. I worked super, super late and they had me sleep in one of the guest beds. I was late because I had to crawl out the window to get out."

Confusion swept over Joel's face. "Crawl out the window? Why didn't you use the front door?"

"Because I didn't want to run into the Baron. He's taken a liking to me, I thought he'd want me to stay longer." Varian wondered if he was hinting enough or if he was just covering everything up. He could just tell Joel outright what had happened, but he thought he'd puke if he said the words.

Apparently it was not enough because Joel looked even more confused. "I mean, why wouldn't you? You'll get paid more there and if you're on the Baron's good side, would that not benefit you?"

"No, you don't understand..." Varian mumbled and shifted the collar to his shirt. "You don't want to be favored by the Baron unless you enjoy long nights of hell and spice."

"Are you saying...?"

Varian let out a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair. Joel took that as a yes.

"Do you need a day off?"

"I need to get away, but not right away. I'll stick around, earn a few more wages before I set off. I'll need enough to go to Bayangor. I don't think he'll bother me. At least... not for a while..."

The poor bartender nodded, not knowing what he was supposed to do. In a town of thugs, the Baron was the law. There was nothing he could do except... "Would you prefer to spend your nights here?"

Varian took a moment to think. "Well... at least for tonight," he admitted.

Joel nodded. "Very well, we can work with that."