The new staff was lovely, but 20 minutes of the finer points of staff-making, the finish, the charms, the heft, its reactions to Perishible Fire compared to Unperishible Fire, were beginning to wear thin.
Politely excusing herself from the Wizard, Bird hopped up on the fireplace mantel and scanned the room again. A crowd was gathered around the man telling the tale of Gondor. Andreth and Cami were taking a coffee-break from their adventures in the back. Bird wondered if she could get a cup with a "touch of Entish" in it, but Rimbaud kept coffee off the menu. You had to ask for it, and then he might plead unreliable Dwarfish delivery services as an excuse to not sell it to you. Bird wondered how much Cami had had to tip the innkeeper to get their cups.
And there was Gamba, the little rascal. Apparently, no one had "carded" him. Bird figured he had chosen the Hobbit life becaues Hobbrim had no taverns. Or did they? She'd have to ask Kali.
Suddenly, she spotted a familiar figure in the very back booth. Jumping down from the mantel and morphing into woman's form (Rimbaud had scolded her for morphing first, saying the mantelpiece wouldn't hold up to such treatment) she made her way over to the mysterious Elven figure.
"Pio, if you are going to travel incognito you should really lose that "grey, travel-stained" cloak. I can spot that cloak a mile away, you know."
"Sit down and listen," Pio hissed, grabbing Birdie by the arm and pulling her down into the booth.
"What, don't you want to know who else is here at the "Seventh Star" tonight?" Bird giggled. She'd hope to stage a meeting between Mith and Pio. It was always the same. They started out arguing, had a few drinks, and then left the tavern arm-in-arm.
"I'll argue with Mith later." said Pio, knowing the drill as well. "Right now I have some information for you. Concerning Skinchangers."
At that, Birdie was all ears...
[ November 22, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]
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