Young Writers Society

Rydia was only recently returned from the Riverlands and the scars of her time there were deep in her eyes. She had seen the things that kept you awake at night and even now there was an incessant roaring in her head like thunder.

The Tavern was open. Rydia had heard it would be so, but she could hardly believe it was true and for a moment she simply stood and stared at the beat up shack. Then Rydia pushed the door open and the squeak of hinges deadened the roaring in her skull.

It was good to be home.

Rydia nodded at Nate as she sank on to a stool. "You look rough," he said.

"Riverlands." Nate nodded and he poured her a glass of milk without asking. Rydia was already separating the perfect melody of coins. They exchanged and their eyes met and might have been a little bit wet.

Rydia turned away and swirled her milk. "Any chance someone in here is needing my services?"

Morada scratched Thump's head.
"I don't think you can come with me in here, buddy," she said with a smile. "Stay out here."
Thump circled around near the door and sat with a thud.
She strolled in and spotted the woman wit the infant along with the oter girl smiling at the baby.
"Is she yours?" Morada asked, seeing the baby's face. "She's adorable."
The woman smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

The first customer to The Tavern was friendly enough. She came in, asked for an orange juice, and Nate gladly obliged. She even left a hefty tip when she left a handful of change on the counter.

It was the second person that took him aback. Not too long after pouring the orange juice, she came in scowling, as if to say, "Pfft." Nate was holding a dish rag at the time, cleaning out a mug when she said, "Jumpy much?". He had no idea what to make of her.

The third customer was named Ariel; Nate knew this because she barged into The Tavern filled with bubbly excitement, shouting her name. He began to reach for the cheeries, whip cream, strawberry syrup, and 7-Up. He didn't know what she was going to order, but he knew it'd be sweet.

Then there was the fourth customer; full of brooding and raked over with scars. She could only come from one place, he knew: the Riverlands. It was a deceptive area; lush and fertile from a distance, but foul and dangerous up close. If it wasn't the swamp gases that got you, it was the horse-hippopotami, the platypus-bears, or the feline-crocodiles. Seeing as how she was a veteran of battle, he knew that she would require a stiff drink: milk.

Shino road a hot air balloon down from his steamboat, which was now anchored to a small building he hadn't intended to smash. He parked his balloon in front of a small Tavern. His crew had been begging him for days to visit the Tavern. He was surprised such well-traveled and rugged men wanted to stop at a place that served soda, milk, and juice. But then again, they'd been sky-sailing for days straight over the rough skies of the plains. The winds were rough high over the plains.

"Alright men, behave yourselves around these land lubbers and sea sissies, or we won't be able to come back." Shino said, he adjusted his hakama and re-positioned his katana and wakizashi, managing not to cut himself in the process. He walked into the tavern, his crew of twelve men followed behind him. "Lemme getta acai berry juice, on the rocks."

\

Slowly and steadily, the tavern filled with life. Voices buzzed and drinks were served while Noni sat at her lonely stool drinking her cool orange juice. It was just the way she liked it - cool, smooth, and one hundred percent pulp-free.

As her glass slowly emptied, her arm was slowly covered in a cacophony of inky black letters forming abstract lines of poetry. She scowled; the slim pen in her right hand was almost empty.

Deciding it was time to go, she began to stand up - at least until a loud, boisterous man walked up beside her and and noisily proclaimed his need for an acai berry juice on the rocks. Noni noted the various weapons hanging from his body and was immediately interested.

"So, you're the kind of guy who likes a bit of trouble, eh?" Noni gave a devilish smile as the man turned to face her.

"Trouble eh? What kind of trouble are ye lookin' ter get into?" Shino asked. "'Cause if yer lookin' fer treasure, I was gonna go journeyin' to the Riverlands." Shino looked around the bar to see if he'd peaked any interest. His crew was tough, but to make it to the Riverlands to search for treasure, he'd need real men, not sorry bunch of swill he was working with now. "An' I need some well traveled folk to keep the engines and steamers all ship shape."

"And of course, I'd be willin' to share a cut of any potential... treasuuurrrree."

Muffins had been to The Tavern before. But only for a short while, as her experience wasn't quite as joyful. This time, she had hoped, it would be a little more interesting.

Dressed from head to toe in black, Muffins cautiously entered The Tavern. There were people already. Heh, seems like a lot of people did miss this place.

She headed over and claimed the corner seat, and ordered for the bartender's special, and prayed that no one would start a conversation. It'd be far too awkward. There was hardly anybody she knew.

Sipping slowly, she took in the scene around her. She saw a few familiar faces, but none that she had ever spoken to before. That'd have to change.

And then, her eyes met theirs. She smiled and nodded a hello.

Dragoness wandered into the tavern, her lab coat still on. She walked up to the bar and ordered a glass of ice-cold lemonade. She found a table by herself and settled in. She kept her head down, listening disinterestedly to the conversations around her, until she heard a man say something about, "folk to keep the engines and steamers all ship shape." That sounded like the kind of job she could do well at. It'd likely be steadier money than her inventions. Then, "treasuuurrrree." If Dragoness had been a dog, her ears would have stood up straight. Much better money.
Dragoness walked over to the very well-armed man and tapped him on the shoulder. "I have knowledge of the mechanical arts. I would be a valuable asset on your... adventure. For a suitable share of the profit, of course," she said.

As I walked through the door I noticed several people glance over and stare my way, but I ignored them. Walking straight to an empty bar stool, I took a seat. As I sat I threw back the hood of my cloak. Wounds and blood, both belonging to me and some of it not belonging to me, covered my body in several places. I didn't care. It's merely a bit of blood, nothing more.

"I'll have a milk." I say in a calm voice. After Nate lays the milk in front of me I say, "I'm looking for some action. Heard any news of available work or of any adventures lately?"

Shino nodded as sagely as a samurai pirate ship captain can nod. A woman in a lab coat tapped him on the shoulder and expressed her interest in joining his crew for the excursion. "Aye, it'd be an honor to have ye. What say ye we discuss shares of profit on the trip? An' I hope ye ain't averse ter heights... or turbulence sickness."

Another person entered the bar, a mysterious cloaked figure, wounded. Shino considered asking him to join his crew as well. He sat next to him and covered the charge for the milk. "Adventure? What could be more adventurous than a journey to the Riverrrrlands? I donnae mind sharin' a tad bit o' me profit. There'll be plenty to go aroun', after all, I ain't to greedy to share a city of gold... if we survive..."

As talk of the Riverlands began to circulate around the Tavern, Rydia gave an imperceptible shudder and mentally withdrew the offer of her services. One trip a month was enough for her. One trip in a lifetime was enough, though she had surpassed that already.

Rydia's eyes raked slowly around the Tavern, looking for a more sedate opening, when they settled on a vaguely familiar face whose owner nodded a hello. With some interest, Rydia nodded back and carried her milk over. "I've seen you around," she said as she leaned on the counter.

Then something the pirate captain said made her snort and shake her head, drawing unwanted attention from their side of the room. "Idiots," Rydia murmured into her milk. The Riverlands wasn't a place for adventure; thinking that way would get them killed.

~Arianwen

Shadows were dancing on the bottom side of the bridge, as water underneath it moved. She lied on a thin line of relatively dry stone next to the water, with black cigarette in her hand and observing the patterns shadows made.
They formed symbols, crawling on the stone of the bridge, moving as if alive, telling her of legends - telling her of everyone and everything. She exhaled silvery smoke and watched as it twirled around the restless words of shadow and light. She closed her eyes as it suddenly turned bright, and she could feel the water turning into hands and dragging her away.
Go to the city. There are things for you there.

She gasped as she opened her eyes again, almost bumping into a wall. Looking through one of the windows, she saw people talking, drinks pouring, adventures being discussed. Thin creatures of light, not much taller than pens, played around the clocks and shiny objects, invisible by everyone and questionably even present. They all turned to her, and she sighed. Fine, I get it. Not even looking around to see in what time and place she's arrived, she opened the door and entered.

She looked out of place, even though the crowd was colourful. She always did, it was something she was already used to. Usually, she moved around as if invisible, eventually leaving and maybe making people curious, but not curious enough to approach her - so she was surprised when the man behind the bar asked her if she wanted anything to drink.

"Um. Could I get some orange juice.. Please?" He turned to get it, and she almost slapped herself. What will you pay with? Do you even know what currency they use? Idiot. He put the glass in front of her, and she desperately searched her bag for money. She found two heavy, dark gold coins from some forgotten place or time, observing them a bit before showing them to the owner. "Do you take these?"

He made a move, maybe wanting to take them or to say something, when three people - strange cloaked man with suspicious stains on his clothes, a woman in green with interesting hair colour and a guy who looked like a pirate or something - turned her way, glaring first at the coins than her.

Arianwen shifted in her seat. She didn't like attention. What was so special about the coins? Have these people never seen gold? Maybe the symbols on the coins, in a strange language she couldn't quite read but it reminded her of water, meant something offensive in this city. She bit her lip, and slowly took the coins back. I really want that orange juice. She glanced at the owner.

"Where did you get those?" The woman asked, sounding somewhat suspicious.

I have no idea.
"I've been to many places," Arianwen said. "I'm.. Sorry if for some reason this currency isn't welcomed here."
*

~Auxii

Auxii pushed open the door of the tavern and slid in. The sword on her belt tapped her legs gently and her fiddle hummed quietly in it's case on her back. Her small satchel weighed lightly on her shoulder. Straggles of light blue hair had started to escape from the bun on her head and fall in front of her eyes. Tucking the rebellious strands behind her ear, she patted the bun slightly. She navigated around the boisterous sky-pirates, whom she had heard only a little about during her four months in this world, and made her way to the counter and sat on a stool in front of it. Everyone’s attention was on a woman a few stools further down who was holding two large golden coins in her hand. Auxii’s eyes widened. Gold coins! It was the first time she had seen any in this world. Only the King and nobles had them in her world.

She clutched the hilt of her sword to stop her from going and interrogating the woman. Seeing the situation that she was in, it wouldn’t help if a stranger from a different world intervened. The bartender came over and asked her if she wanted something to drink, eyeing her hair slightly. That was one of the things that she had noticed since she had arrived here: people didn’t have hair all of the colours of the rainbow. Every time she saw a splash of colour, she felt a pang of nostalgia for her home country.

The bartender had brought her the litchi juice that she had ordered and she took the chance to ask for information.
“Do you know anything about where I could find a book called Lithanelium?”

The bartender looked at her quizzically. “No… I’ve heard that there’s a library in Ludia, but I wouldn’t know about a specific book.”

Auxii sighed and hung her head. Would she never get back home? “Thank you anyway.” She placed a few coins on the counter and slid off of the stool. Pacing into a corner of the room, she took her fiddle out of it's case and a drew the bow over the stings a few times, tuning it and tightening the bow before slipping into a haunting tune from her homeland, her hair slipping from its but and falling in front of her eyes to hide her tears.


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsnrMmLeNvE)

Kay

I stared at the golden coins, their glitter reminding me of exactly how far from home I was, and how far I had to go.

"I've been to many places," the woman who held them said. "I'm.. Sorry if for some reason this currency isn't welcomed here."

I strode over and dropped a few copper coins on the table. "It's fine. I'll pay," I looked at the woman, "If you could tell me how far to the city? I need to get there quickly." I bit my lip and thought of how hot my daughter's forehead felt last time I touched it. "Before it's too late."

Dragoness

IF we survive?!? Dragoness swallowed a mouthful of lemonade. She usually liked to work in nice, low-pressure situations in a lab. Ones that only involved death if they blew up. Which, come to think of it, was rather often. But she hadn't lost anyone yet! Well, not completely. Josiah's lost legs don't count. That was his own fault. She told him not to stand there.

"All things considered, it's probably no more dangerous than my current line of work." Dragoness sat down on a stool. "I'm in. You shan't have any steamer problems with me as your engineer. Where would I find this ship of yours? I'd like to take a look at it so I know what I'm getting into."

The pirate captain directed her to where the steamboat was anchored, a few buildings away, but told her she wouldn't be able to board without a balloon. Dragoness listened carefully. When she had all the instructions, she chugged her lemonade, and set the glass on the counter with a soft clunk. She stood and strode out of the Tavern to inspect the airship.