After getting dressed, I headed down the stairs into the bar. Behind the counter was a tall and burly man alongside a plump woman cooking with Magic. To the right of them was the same girl as before, further hiding her face with her hands. The man had a thick beard while on his head he had long and unkempt hair. His arms were the size of tree trunks and the rest of his muscles were barely contained by his clothes. He had the same purple eyes as the girl, and on his hand was a spell brand. I knew immediately that he was a Giant, obviously a Nas'ver as a Val'tiir would be rampaging through the city killing and eating whatever it wanted. The woman wasn't a Giant, but a Human, and was cooking with great zeal. I could tell that she wasn't the mother of the girl, but might be her caretaker. She had short blonde hair and pale blue eyes, her face sporting a few blemishes. Just through these brief observations I learned that the girl was at least half-Giant, but to learn more I'd have to see her face. Well, I think I might be prying into their business a bit too much, but I really want to see her face. I feel like I've always been far too curious for my own good.
Seems like I lost some time yesterday and woke up the next morning, the lady seems to be cooking breakfast. It smells amazing in here, my Draconic senses are in overdrive. Thinking back, I haven't eaten in at least a day. Of course I have more self-control than ...*GROWL*... that. The faces of the few other patrons immediately shift their attention to me as I decide to ignore all my shame.
The man behind the counter seems to grin at the cry from my stomach, yelling out, "Martha, looks like we've got a hungry Dragon, better make enough for thirty!" His voice was surprisingly pleasant, the complete opposite of his appearance.
Martha responds with, "You mean that lanky lad from yesterday, who looked like he was dying? Targus, I doubt he can even eat anything!" Her voice was strange as well, with qualities akin to birdsong. Her comment about my former appearance stung a bit, but I probably didn't look all that great.
"Yeah? Well, you'd better take a second look at him. The man's healthier than an ox!" Targus chuckles at his own words. Martha turns around after hearing him, and as her gaze lands on me, her eyes widen in shock.
"Oh my! He's shot up a foot in a single night, he's filled out nicely as well!" she says, the surprise evident in her voice. Mm, it's embarrassing to hear that come from someone not related to me. I should also take this chance to apologize to the girl.
"Excuse me miss, I'd like to apologize for my appearance earlier. It was very inappropriate and rude of me." Hearing me, the girl just nods her head in acceptance. Targus seems to perk up more after hearing this, a trace of anger flashed through his eyes.
"What exactly happened when Lillia came to wake you?" His voice trembles a bit, I can tell he's holding down some anger.
"I- um,I may have outgrown my clothing overnight, and she came in around the time I was first waking up." I whisper, trying not to draw in the other patrons.
"If it's any help, I didn't really mean for her to see me. Though, I feel like that statement might anger you more."
"You're right, it does. But! I'm a mature enough man to know when someone is actively pursuing my daughter and when one just has a very unfortunate misunderstanding. You apologized so I'm willing to let this go, just know that Lillia is a very shy girl, and I won't let anyone harass her." As he ended his sentence he spoke in a deeper voice to intimidate me, though his threat didn't really faze me. I figure I should feign a bit of fear just so he keeps his confidence.
"Y-yes, I'll do my best." As I say this the girl, Lillia, turns her head away, obviously further embarrassed by her father's actions. I wonder what could have caused her to become so unsociable? Maybe it has something to do with the mother?
"Hey, boy, I need you to pay for your meal." Martha's voice cuts off my thoughts.
"Please call me Lugh, how much is it?"
"One gold and five silver." Targus chimes in.
"Sure, that sounds reasonable for the amount of food." I pull out two gold from my emergency funds. Martha goes to retrieve some silver coins for my change, but I quickly stop her.
"You can keep the rest, I don't really need it." Their eyes opened in joy when I said that, I guess money might be a bit tight. Turning back I search the room for an empty table, picking one in the corner away from the other people. As I sit down a few of the other patrons get up and walk towards me. Great, it's this stereotype, where the rich outsider gets ousted and mugged for cash. I just had to show off a little wealth didn't I, now it's coming back to bite me. Hmm, I'll just make a wall of wind with Magic and stop them in their tracks. Hopefully, they'll be deterred with just that and go back to their table. I flick my hand underneath the my table to hide my spell-casting, and in less than a second, an invisible air cushion surrounds me.
"Hey bro, mind sharing some of that wea-" The scrawny man is cut off when he collides with the barrier and bounces back into his accomplices. All three of them take a tumble into another patron's table, angering Targus, who gets out from the bar and proceeds to pick them up and throw them out of the tavern. Seeing this I dispel my Magic, and wait for my food to come. Martha makes her way over to me, carrying two plates of food, while another two hover behind her. What arrived first was a large stack of griddlecakes, followed by an omelette with toast, bacon and eggs, and finally a mushroom and cheese quiche. I can already tell how good this food is just by its appearance alone. Setting them down in front of me, she barely gets any time to move away before I start gulping down the meals furiously.
A look of shock appears on everyone's faces as I finish 4 meals in under a minute. Martha snaps out when I motion for the rest to start coming. I thought while she hurried back that I should give a tip, but I wasn't sure how much to give. I decided to just leave a small bag of coins and hope they'd put it to good use. Maybe thirty gold coins would be enough to renovate, as I see a few cracks and holes in the floor and ceiling. They need new chairs and tables as well, considering their age. Obviously the furniture was made for Giants so the quality was great but decades have taken their toll so now they rock and creak.
Martha comes back with another round of meals, this time consisting of mainly just bacon, sausage, and eggs in various forms. Of course they're gone in a minute once again. At this point the other patrons begin to finish up and leave, obviously disturbed by my ravenous hunger. After about another ten minutes, dozens of plates have been stacked around me and I'm finally satiated. If I'm completely honest, I didn't even taste anything due to how quickly everything disappeared into my stomach. Halfway through I had to pay for another 20 meals, as I had far exceeded my original payment. But another gold coin was worth it just to fill myself up, now I don't have to worry about food for a while.
After helping Martha take the plates back, I walked over to Lillia and secretly hand her a bag of gold whispering, "Use this to help fix this place up but don't tell anyone aside from your father where you got this. I can tell you're good people, and deserve better than this."
Stunned, she barely manages to squeak out "Thank you" before I turn to walk out of the inn. I give her a short wave then exit through the door. I never did actually learn the inn's name. I moved my head to get a look at the sign and I saw the image of a man jumping in the air with the word "The Jumping Giant" written underneath. Chuckling, I think to myself that they picked a suitable name.
