They parted ways at Lund’s. It was late, and Isa didn’t want to try to find her way to Zileek’s in the dark. And even then, he might not have the room ready. Hopefully Lund would have room for the night. She could use his advice on earning gold with her sword, and frankly, after the night she’d had, she could use a few pints of Lund’s brew.

The bar was quiet. Isa had no idea what time it was or even what day it was. That was actually kind of nice compared to Portland, where it sometimes felt like every second was allocated.

“Isa!” Lund called to her from behind the bar. “Where have you been hiding yourself?”

She sat at the bar and piled the clothes bundle on the stool beside her. “Everywhere and nowhere,” she laughed. “Let me buy you a beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Later as Isa finished a second pint and her story, she sighed and said, “So I need cash - coin, I mean.”

Lund nodded. “You want to be a sword for hire. I get that.” He wiped up a circle of spilled beer. “Dangerous but lucrative. How I got this place.”

“Yeah?” Isa tilted her glass to get the last of the beer.

“Yeah, when I left the army I didn’t have much. Hired myself out for a few years, saved my gold.” He wiped the bar again. “And here I am.”

“Speaking of that, is 4 gold, 5 silver a good price to pay for a place to stay? With breakfast?”

“Yeah, that’s a good deal, as long as it’s not a skeevy place where you have to sleep with one eye open. Is it?” Lund’s face was serious.

“Skeevy? I dunno. It’s a place Anne took me - the merchant. A dwarf owns it.”

“Ah, Zileek’s? By the river. Nice. If you like old people.”

“Sure. I got nothing against old people.” Isa suddenly felt drunk. The beer and fatigue had finally gotten to her. “So it’s a retirement home, like? ‘Sisted living?”

Lund mouthed the words “sisted living” as if trying to parse their meaning.

“Hey! Does the river have a name?” Isa asked him. “This Bywater, sure but what’s the river?”

“Most folks call it the Bye. But it’s real name, the one the elves gave it is Des’eren.”

Isa was very sleepy. She laid her head on her arm. “That’s pretty. What’s it mean?”

“How much health did you say you have?” Lund was staring at her.

“I got like 11 or something.” Isa waved her hand. “I’m fine. What’s the mean name? I mean the name. What’s it mean?”

Lund shrugged. “It’s really not important. Let’s get you to bed. You need to rest and heal.”

Isa sat up. “I’m fine. I want ‘nother beer. And food. You don’t have burgers here, do you? That’s a damned shame.”

“You can teach me how to make that. Tomorrow. Right now we’re going to get you into a bed.” Almost to himself he said, “I haven’t seen you this drunk since the first night.”

Instantly she was sober. “I wasn’t drunk then. I had one beer. I was nursing it.”

“Ha! I’d hate to see you really drinking then. You two were pouring ‘em down.”

“I was alone, Lund.” A cold wind seemed to trail down her spine. “Remember? I ordered a hefe, and you gave me a pint of your own.”

“Yeah, but later, your friend joined you. He paid for the room.”

“I thought you said Joth paid for the room.”

“No, I said he paid for breakfast for you.”

“Well then who was the guy? The one who paid for the room? He a regular here?”

Lund sighed. “It’s not my place to know all about your friends.”

“You know I’m here against my wishes. Whoever that guy was, he’s probably the one that brought me here. Anything you can remember would be huge.” Isa looked hard at him. “Anything.”

“He was a guy. Average looking. Average clothes.” He shooed her toward the stairs. “You got all your stuff?”

Isa pulled back and studied Lund. What did she really know about the half-orc? Maybe he’d had a hand in her arrival here. But no, he’d been nothing but a friend to her from the first. He seemed as perplexed by her presence as she was.

“Am I the first outlander to show up at your bar?”

“Of course not. I see strangers all the time.”

“I mean brand new strangers. Ones like me who are reeling from finding themselves far, far from home.”

He furrowed his brow. “I dunno, maybe. Maybe 1 or 2. How do you know? Varana is a strange place.” He walked up the stairs, and Isa followed.

She wasn’t getting anything else from him tonight. “It is. And you’re a good friend, Lund. Thank you.”

He opened a door at the end of the hall. “You’re welcome. Now get some sleep. You’re a mess.”

Spoiler: Isa's Character Sheet

Name: Isa Chamberlin

Race: Human

Height & Weight: 5ft 6inches / 120 lbs

Class: Fighter Level: 4

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Background: Stranger in a Strange Land

Hit Points: 26 AC: 15

Current Hit Points: 11

Combat: +5 to Hit

Weapons: Rapier (left hand) 1d8 +3 / Quarterstaff +1 (right hand) 1d6 +3 (bludgeoning)

(1) Potion of Healing

STR

11

0

DEX

16

+3

CON

11

0

INT

13

+1

WIS

13

+1

CHA

12

+1

Saving Throws: Str and Con +2

5

Acrobatics* (Dex)

1

Medicine (Wis)

1

Animal Handling (Wis)

1

Nature (Int)

1

Arcana (Int)

3

Perception* (Wis)

0

Athletics (Str)

1

Performance (Cha)

1

Deception (Cha)

1

Persuasion (Cha)

3

History* (Int)

1

Religion (Int)

3

Insight* (Wis)

3

Sleight of Hand (Dex)

1

Intimidation (Cha)

3

Stealth (Dex)

1

Investigation (Int)

1

Survival (Wis)

Special Attack: Two weapon fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Class Features:

(USED) Second Wind - On your turn, you can use a Bonus Action to regain hit points equal to 5 + your fighter level. Short or Long Rest before you can use it again.

(USED) Action Surge - On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible Bonus Action. You must finish a short or Long Rest before using it again.

Martial Archetype: Surgical Fighter

3rd level - Clinical Eye: Spend 1 combat turn studying your enemy and learn one of the following: if the enemy is equal to or stronger than you in strength, dexterity, or constitution. Can spend up to 3 turns to discern all 3. Can be used outside of combat as a free action - spend 1 minute to learn all three.