A little foreshadowing

As any seasoned adventurer does, Norman immediately made his way to the tavern to enjoy a pint or two, and pick up on the local gossip. As he strode through, he passed many of the usual characters: drunken humans, a few drunken elves, drunken dwarves... a LOT of drunken dwarves. Apparently the local mines were closed on account of the trouble of late. So instead of digging for iron and copper while shit-faced, they were JUST shit-faced. With a modicum of effort, Norman was able to climb and mount the barstool.

"Ooh, a wee folk!" one of the scantily clad bartender girls said, cheerfully bouncing over to greet him- her ample bosom bouncing as well.

Taking off his pointy red hat, "I'm in love- Uh, I mean, hello! Good day, milady!"

She giggled, "So, what brings you to these parts? Not many visitors these days. Troubled times, ye know."

"Ey, that trouble's the very thing that's drawn me here," he said.

The buxom bartender looked as though she were about to laugh, but caught herself. She eyed him up in his plat armor.

"Yer serious?" she said.

"Deadly," he replied.

"Well then adventurer, what can I get ya?" she asked, smiling again.

And again, he was utterly transfixed by her... personality. So soft and inviting... He could literally get lost between those...

"Eh hem," she said, drawing his eyes back up to her face.

"Eh... I mean... Oh, I'll have a bottle of your Wild Rose," he said finally.

"The whole bottle? Ye sure?" she asked.

"'Course," he said.

Everyone knew that dwarves could drink. But gnomes... well, gnomes could DRINK!

"Suit yerself," she said and brought him a bottle.

The green bottle, filled with red wine, was nearly half as tall as he was. Somewhere, someone took notice and burst out into drunken laughter. Before too long, others seemed to take interest as well. Soon, most everybody was watching with interest as he quietly took hold of the bottle, put it to his lips, and tipped the bottom up into the air. Laughter became silence as the bottle slowly empied itself down the little gnome's gullet.

"Where's it all goin'?" someone whispered in astonishment.

"He's a wizard. He's godda be a wizard," someone replied.

Once the bottle was fully emptied, he quietly set it back down. ...And then let out a belch that surely reached every corner of Havenbrook.

"That's some fine drinkin' if I do say so myself," a grizley looking man in a grey cloak said, amongst a mismatched plethora of cheers.

"Ey, in my homeland it's considered an insult to leave your drink half drunk," Norman relied.

"I should like to visit your homeland someday!" the stranger said.

"I rather think they'd have to serve you outside, my friend," Norman said, motioning for a second bottle to be brought.

The man let out a hearty laugh.

"So, what know ye of the troubles around here?" Norman asked.

In a hushed tone, the man whispered, "Shadowspawn."

"Really? That's a story older than I am," Norman said dismissively.

"Truly friend. As the tale goes, the Darklight crystal crashed to earth long ago and gave rise many of the evils of the world- berthing the orcs and goblins, corrupting the once peaceful dark elves... But none were so vile and wretched as the accursed Shadowspawn. All the kings horses, and all the kings men, gathered in the plains Mordurr and battled them all the way to the base of Mount Crastledome. By then, only a hundred men remained. And then, when it seemed that all hope was lost, the great wizard Druldox appeared. But he alone, could not destroy the crystal burried at the top of the mountain. So, the remaining knights of Eldoria willingly sacrificed their lives to fuel a spell of enormous power. The heavens opened and a meteor plummeted into the mountain, destroying it completely. It should have destroyed the Darklight Crystal, too. But some say it survived, burried beneath the earth... waiting for some fool to come dig it up," the man said.

"And yet, noone quite seems to know where Mount Crastledome was," Norman said.

"It was destroyed. Crushed beneath a ball of rock, burning so hot that the sun dimmed by comparison. Instead of searching for a mountain, I'd try looking for a great chasm," he said.

"Hmmph, you speak as though you were there," Norman said.

"Hah! Even the great Druldox must surely be weathered bones by now, right?" he said.

Norman guzzled half his bottle of wine and then slammed it back down on the table.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed.

But the old man was gone... He looked to his left and then his right, but couldn't catch a glimpse of him as he hurried out. Hmmm... strange fellow.

"Eh, 'scuse me, miss... But where did the gentleman go whom I was just talking to?" Norman asked the bartender.

"Oh deary, ye've been talkin' to yerself this whole time. No 'fence, but it was kinda weird. Maybe ye should go easy on it," she said, slowly sliding the bottle away from him.

"Perhaps...," he said, though he could not shake the feeling that there was more to it than that.

Eventually, he wondered back out and crossed paths with other adventurers coming into town.

OOC: I appreciate everyone being patient with me. I'm still working on getting onto the right medication and the inattentiveness has been really hard to control lately.