2. The Tavern

art by 'Jason Rainville' - from left: Alice(Cleric), Flame Princess(Fighter), Melissa(Magic User)

Current situation

This is a scene from Traci's adventures which takes place immediately after she exits The Ruin.

Traci is walking hesitantly through the backstreets. She quickly becomes aware of an oppressive presence that seems to be following her every step, but she sees and hears nothing. Quickening her pace, she sees the warm, welcoming glow of a rowdy tavern just up ahead and makes for it immediately. She enters the tavern and the strange, oppressive feeling diminishes before dispersing almost entirely.

Options

Traci's immediate concern is to find out what the strange presence is that seems to have followed her out of the ruin. Three young women drinking together at a nearby table seem to be taking a particular interest in her and make no attempt to hide it. 

• My first thought is that Traci will attempt to strike up a conversation with the three women, but first impressions indicate simmering hostility and she wouldn't want to find herself violently ejected. Then again, a round of drinks and a friendly smile might break the ice. Three women may very well welcome a fourth to their little party after all. And Traci could do with some friends in her line of business. 
• Another option is to simply sit quietly and ignore them. First impressions make it seem likely that they have seen more than their share of unusual situations themselves. Maybe patience and a keen ear are all that's needed. But this risks sitting around drinking alone all evening only to risk ending up learning nothing of use anyway. And then there's the obvious problem of a woman alone in a place like this. It's probably just asking for trouble.
• Then of course there's the option of her taking a room here for the night and waiting for the morning light, always assuming there are rooms available of course, and that trouble doesn't find her first. The problem with this is that she needs information and is not likely to get it by slipping off to a room and waiting it out.

Her decision

Traci decides the first option is probably the best and so buys a round of drinks in an attempt to strike up conversation with the women. She thinks she'll succeed because:

• There are three of them and Traci's a young woman on her own in this place. She's not likely to be considered much of a threat to them anyway.
• There's a pile of coins on their table so it should be obvious that by buying them drinks she's simply attempting to strike up conversation or befriend them. 
• The fact that they were staring intently at her when she entered the tavern seems to indicate that they are as interested in her as she is in them.

Outcome

Since all three of the women are clearly as interested in Traci as she is in them, it seems extremely unlikely that they'll immediately go on the offensive and launch an unprovoked attack, especially since Traci's quite clearly alone. On the other hand, they could very well be staring at her for any number of reasons; they could be sizing her up to rob her later, or they may recognise something of that strange presence about her, or maybe they're simply planning on having a little fun at her expense. But then there's the drinks she's kindly buying for them, which are a clear indication of her desire for friendship. So even if their interest in Traci still remains a little unclear, she's still winning them over for the time-being with her desire to befriend them, albeit through the liberal use of alcohol.

So we find that Traci is able to successfully strike up a conversation with the women even given the initial perceived hostility.