[Realm: Álfheimr]
[Location: Rumpelstadt]
The tavern as ever was dim and stale, its walls soaked in much more smoke and ale since he was last here.
"My first day of freedom," Gretchen muttered, folding her arms on the scarred table, "and you take me to a dingy tavern. You really are tactless."
Tamamo-no-Mae's tails swayed behind her as she perched atop the table. "That's what I tell him," she said cheerfully, sipping from a chipped cup that had been abandoned by someone braver—or dumber—earlier.
Dante stood rather than sat, leaning slightly against the table's edge. "We still have things to discuss. This may not be secure, but it will serve its purpose."
The noise of the tavern drifted around them—snatches of drunken conversations, the shuffle of cards, the muted scrape of tankards—a lot more patriots this time.
