The Stumble Inn was an older building with cracked stucco and weeds between the cobblestones. The bricks had been replaced at least once or twice over the years, but it had that blocky look with large square windows. The weird part was that the inn was named in English. Reed had gotten a bit used to the fact that a bunch of people were named random English words. But at least this time, there was an actual pun that made sense.

Entering the establishment, Reed found it kind of cozy. The sanded wood floors had peanut shells all over. Eleven tables were scattered in the common room. Three booths were along one wall that looked like they offered some privacy. There were a handful of patrons at the tables. Four had been pulled together into a group, seating fifteen people, eight of which were Hannish, though they looked like they were from out of town.

One man choked on his food the second he spotted Reed. The man beside him tried to help, but got distracted when he, too, saw Reed. Soon, the whole group was quiet.

That silence caught the barkeeper's attention. He turned to look and grinned, "Avery!" he called. "You brought some friends today?"

Reed looked away from the annoying Hans and laid his eyes upon the greasiest man he'd ever seen.

"M'boyo," Avery greeted in return with a grin.

M'boyo's shirt had pit stains down to his waist, and sweat glistening on his forehead. That forehead went all the way back, around which about three hairs had been wrapped multiple times to create a very threadbare comb-over.

Sparse five o'clock shadow colored his face, and Reed got the impression that this place didn't have any of the good stuff because the proprietor drank it all before customers could. M'boyo's bushy brows lifted as he looked over the group.

"Yeah. This is Reed. I told you about him," Avery said, pointing. "That's Timmons and Marx."

M'boyo grinned, flashing a gold tooth. "Didn't mention he was Hannish."

"That a problem?" Reed asked.

"Not at all!" M'boyo gestured with both fat hands in a wide sweep. "Long as you got coin to spend." He leaned on the bar. "So what'll you be having?"

"Whisky," Reed said and hopped onto a seat at the bar.

M'boyo immediately became Reed's favorite person as he slammed a wooden cup on the bar, poured a generous amount into it, and pushed it over.

The other three joined him at the bar. "Beer," Avery ordered.

"Whisky," Timmons said, trying to sound tough.

Lily shook her head slightly, "Ale."

M'boyo handed out their drinks. "So where you three from?" he asked, though Reed could tell he was mostly interested in Reed's story. The silence at the tables behind Reed was deafening. He tried not to roll his eyes as he knocked back a swallow.

Timmons choked on his.

Thankfully he didn't fart.

"I'm from here," Lily answered.

Timmons couldn't answer, still coughing.

Reed shrugged. "Molton."

"Bullshit," M'boyo laughed.

"Look, man. I don't give a shit if you believe me or not," Reed replied.

"Then what do you give a shit about?" M'boyo challenged with a gleam in his eye.

Reed set his empty cup down and pushed it toward the man. "A refill. Maybe I might tell a story. Maybe if I'm drunk enough, I'll tell the truth." He grinned, leaning forward on the bar. There was more than one way to pay for drinks, after all.

M'boyo stared Reed in the eyes. If he thought that would make him crack, the barkeeper was dead wrong.

The refilled cup slid back across the bar to Reed.

Reed grinned. "Molton, far back as I remember. Woke up on a ship in a cage. Some grimy Dur stuck his hand in my mouth. I relieved him of some fingers and ran off into the wilds."

M'boyo laughed. "Oh really? Then what?"

Ignoring the man, Reed savored his second free drink.

"What you've said is hardly worth the price of what you've already downed," M'boyo said, reminding that he could still change his mind and charge.

Reed grinned at him. "I'm gettin there. You just gotta have patience. Because I could tell you about the time I tried to choke an ogre to death now. But everyone likes the drunk version better."

"You did not!" Lily gasped, turning to look at him.

Avery, nursing his drink, still looked at M'boyo with a grin and wink.

Timmons was working up to trying another swallow of his whisky, but looked at Reed. "Don't leave us hanging, bra."

Chuckling at Timmons' theft and accurate use of the word, Reed decided to reward him. "So. Not only did I bite that asshole's fingers off, I slapped him with the chains I'd picked the lock on, then stole the other kids that were on the boat with me, and ran off into the mountains. I got those kids to a town, but bein that I'm rather brown, I didn't like the weird looks people gave me and decided to stay in the forest."

"Brown?" Lily asked with a raised brow. Her gaze traveled up.

"Okay, fine. I was pretty sure the guy I bit was important and they'd not stop at a beating," Reed admitted. "Anyway. I was out there for a few months when some guy..." Reed downed the last of his drink and climbed on top of his stool to wave his hand. "This. Fucking. Tall. Started tailing me because he caught me killing the pack of goblins that broke into my hut." Reed dropped back down into his seat.

"You're talking about Ox?" someone behind him asked.

"Yep. Paul," Reed agreed, looking back at the other table. "Took another month, but I finally lost him, but by then I'd ended up in an area I wasn't as familiar with. Took a wrong turn into a gully and found myself nose to knee with an ogre. Unfamiliar with the little guy, I tried to make friends with it." Reed grinned at M'boyo. "And by friends, I mean I cut his hamstring and ran for it."

M'boyo nodded. "As you should. Though you maybe shouldn't have even gotten that close."

"Wasn't a choice I made on purpose." Reed slid his cup back over.

M'boyo obliged by refilling it.

Reed leaned back from the bar, feeling pleasantly buzzed, which made telling the story easier. "When I heard the thunderous steps pounding behind me, I realized I'd done fucked up. Rounding a bend in the gully, I came to a clearing. A rockslide had taken out a bunch of trees." He waved his index finger. "But there was one still standing, and it was tall enough for my purposes. I'd decided I was tired of running and I'd make this fucker regret its life choices."

"Nyltia..." Timmons whispered in horror.

Grinning at him, Reed said, "I was in the tree faster than a cat, and when that ogre came storming in... Who decided to show up?" He turned to look at the other table. "Old Ox. And he. About shit himself."

His audience gasped in horror.

"Served as the perfect distraction for my plan, though. Ogre went past and I--" Reed sailed his hand through the air and grabbed the back of Timmons' neck. Timmons hunched his shoulders, eyes wide. "Latched on like a tick to a dog! Tossed my coil of rope around its neck and started tying."

"Fucking idiot!" one of the men at the other table shouted.

Reed laughed and pointed. "Exactly what Paul said! But I was already committed. Rope in place, I used my sturdy sharpened stick as a lever and started tightening."

"That didn't work! That could not have worked!" one of the other men at the table protested.

Taking a swallow of his drink, Reed agreed, "Absolutely correct. It did not. I did discover that ogres are incredibly stupid, though. It didn't even think to try backing into the tree to scrape me off. Every time it reached for me, I'd hop to the opposite shoulder. It'd stagger whichever way I was, so I started steering it around backward in circles. Paul got his head out of his ass finally and decided to be helpful by hacking its knees. After a few round arounds on the rocks the fucker tripped. Paul put an axe through its forehead, and that was that." Reed finished his cup with a chuckle.

"Bullshit!" someone at the other table shouted.

"Go to the Guild, ask about Fish," Reed retorted with a grin.

One of the Durs at the other table jumped to his feet. "You can't be Fish. Fish is..."

"Fuckin insane?" Reed retorted. "Rides giant spiders like they're horses. Drinks grown men under the table?" He grinned.

The Dur scowled at him. "Fish is short."

"I'd prefer fun-sized, thank you," Reed retorted, leaning back against the bar, putting his ankle on the other knee. "Besides, I'm still growing."

M'boyo started laughing. His voice filled the bar. "Fine, kid. I'll check with the Guild tomorrow. But you'd better show me your Named mark now or you're payin for everyone's drinks."

Reed unbuttoned his coat and set it on the bar so he could remove his shirt. Doing so was easier than trying to pull the collar to the side.

M'boyo pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil, which he used to do a quick sketch. The others abandoned their table to crowd close and get a look.

Reed pulled his shirt and coat back on, but didn't button or tuck anything. Pushing his cup back toward M'boyo, he grinned.

"You'd better continue to be entertaining, kid."

"Aite, giant spider rodeo."