The Kingdom

It seemed that the only solace anyone was finding came from the foul-smelling tankards of alcohol set before them. I felt pity for them now in place of the disgust that I had earlier. Something of my inner thoughts must've reached my face, because the hostility of the drunken onlookers seemed to dissipate away and one by one they glanced back to their tankards and took a swig as they resumed their usual business of hopelessly watching time go by.

This was diplomacy. My first lesson so to speak.

My attitude of dislike had been clearly evident to all within the room and I had made potential enemies of all of them, until I'd had the sense to really see them for what they were. They were simple, but tired out people with no hope of anything ever getting better.

Even as I now pitied them I found myself rather thankful to not be sharing their lot in life. What a change in perspective could make in terms of viewing a situation.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

The voice was feminine and youthful in quality and inwardly I girded myself against any sudden infatuation with a member of the opposite sex. My head turned to take in the speaker and I relaxed instantly.

No vision of temptation's beckoning allure stood before me. It was just a girl of perhaps 10 or 12. She had a pretty face, but she was so thin that she appeared to be on the point of starvation.

Her features, stark as they were with the lack of food and meaningful care, echoed of something finer. What was it?

I glanced from her to Kuri and back again. She was a Yesathurim, or at least partly so. What was a girl of her ancestry doing in a place like this?

"We would like the best of what you can offer," Kuri said, giving the girl his full attention.

The girl's darker cast features blushed for a moment and she looked down before haltingly asking, "Can you pay?"

Kuri reached forward and pressed several coins into the girl's dirty hands. Her eyes got huge and she quickly hurried off, I presume to get us the best that this place had to offer. That said, I wasn't expecting much.

She came back quickly with two tankards that looked marginally cleaner than the others on display around the room, although the contents still stank of the same vile concoction of alcohol mixed with something that smelled like rotting fish that the others within the room had before them.

"I'll just have water. Thanks anyway." I said.

The girl snorted derisively at me and I glanced at her in indignation as I started to hand my tankard back to her. Kuri's fingers closed about my wrist and the tankard stayed on the table.