Galen had been walking through the downpour for the past few days, towards the port city of Deltsourum. Castamoren didn't seem to even notice the rain; for the last few days and the weeks or so after they left Riveroak, the hunter had provided both bird and cat with food. And, truth be told, Galen hadn't cared about the rain much either.
He walked up the road at a crawling pace. He had decided to travel to the large city the night after he found his village razed. He vaguely remembered his father going to the city once, some five years ago, but he couldn't remember why. Galen thought he could make a living with his meager healing skills.
He entered the city gates without a word. Galen looked at all of the large and wondrous buildings in awe. Even the pubs and inns were bigger than Riveroak's Meeting Hall, and the Meeting Hall could hold nearly everyone in the village!
Galen walked into the nearest inn, called the "Wyrm's Tail". He sat down at one of the few open tables near the warm fire. A serving woman came around, and he ordered the fish special. It was expensive, and he had little money, but he missed the familiar taste of fish after weeks of eating the small game that Castamoren got.
While waiting for his meal, Galen looked around the room. There were a few others eating alone like him, and few couples and small groups, and a large party at the bar, drinking and having a loud conversation. The large party consisted of one tall human, dressed in very rich clothing, three dwarves, and one Thoom. The human and the dwarves seemed to be arguing in what Galen thought to be a Dwarven tounge, and trying to drink each other under the table at the same time. The Thoom, however, sat back in his chair and said nothing, but laughed slightly once in a while.
Galen's meal arrived, and he thanked the server. As he ate, he continued to watch the group. Half way through the meal, another dwarf approached the group. The human and him spoke briefly, then the dwarf laughed loudly, while the human blushed with anger. The dwarf said something again, and this time, the human grabbed the dwarf and pulled him off the ground. The dwarf punched the human, and a fight broke out.
Galen watched as the two fighters threw each other around the room, into walls and through tables. The fight began to come in his general direction, so he picked up his plate and moved towards the wall. A good thing I did, he thought to himself as the dwarf was thrown into the seat where he was less than a minute ago.
The other dwarves cheered on, while the Thoom stood up, as if he was ready to stop it at a moments notice. The fight raged on, and one by one, most everyone began to cheer, even the bartender.
Suddenly, the human stumbled backwards from a hard hit, and tripped over a broken chair and fell into the roaring hearth fire. He screamed, and the Thoom snapped into action. He dashed to the fire and pulled the human out. The dwarves ran over and helped move him to a table. Galen put his plate on the floor, and rushed over to help, too. The dwarf that had knocked him into the fire left under the cover of confusion.
The human was horribly burned. His face was charred black, and parts of his long, black hair and mustache were still smoking. The Thoom pulled out a small jar, and took a bit of green paste out of it. He began to place it on the worst burns.
Galen reached the human, and pulled out his moonstone, and began to heal him. The others watched as the burns started to heal. The Thoom seemed most shocked of all.
After a few minutes, the human managed to stand up. "Thank you," the human said. Galen simply smiled in return. When he had finished healing him, the human introduced himself.
"I am Sir Feram van Broumen, at your service, good healer," he said in a firm, noble-sounding voice. "These are my companions," he said as he gestured to the Thoom and the dwarves. "This is Iamox, herbalist and general wiseman," he said while looking at the Thoom. Iamox bowed, and Galen smiled again.
Feram pointed at the three dwarves. "My good friends, the brothers Beral, Ceral, and Deral." Galen heard the names and looked at the dwarves. He realized that they really did look like brothers. The three dwarves shook his paw.
"And who might you be?" Feram inquired of Galen. He told the group who he was and what had happened over the past few weeks.
Feram looked very pleased, especially when he said he was interested in the old Sylvan temples that were scattered throughout the forest, up until the part of Galen's tale where Riveroak was destroyed, when he frowned and shook his head. Galen asked him about who they were. Feram said that he was funding the research of an ancient ruin site some seventy five miles to the north. Iamox was the linguist, and the three brothers were hired to preform any heavy work. He also said that while Iamox had some knowledge of medicines, the party was still looking for a healer.
"Are-are you offering me a job?" Galen managed to force out.
"Indeed," Feram replied with a grin.
Galen quickly accepted, and he spent the rest of the night learning more about the ruins and the group.