The Harpy and The Bull

Chapter 1 ✦ Adelaide

*Hugs* Welcome to my book!

I'm sure the kingdoms are going to get confusing as the book goes on so here is a list of them. They all start with the same letter to keep it a little straighter. I may change it later.
Red-Reyfa
Orange-Orn
Yellow-Yedha
Green-Gild
Blue-Bristram
Violet-Veldaron
Pink-Pacorseum
White-Whiltra
Black-Baldeum
Brown-Brunda

I've been sitting in a noisy tavern almost all afternoon while engulfed in the scent of meat, liquor, and a bit of sweet sage attempting to cover the other two. I tap my fingernails to the twenty-one bell tolls on the side of a full, silver tankard in front of me. I don't recognize what the bartender put in it a few moments ago when I merely took a seat and he slid it towards me. The dark red liquid was sloshing around just calmly enough not to spill from the rim when it arrived in front of me.

I remember to thank him, but he only looks at me for the last three bell tolls, nods solemnly in response, and turns away again. I take a sip only for the sake of politeness. A rich, fruity taste fills my mouth immediately but my resistance to gulp down the entire drink barely wavers.

I attempt to turn my head to see everything without making it too obvious. There's only about nine patrons around and they all have separated themselves into small groups away from me. I don't believe this separation from me is to do with fright or anything of the like, more simply out of a common distrust of strangers. I stare out the windows-- the ones that aren't boarded up from being previously shattered-- into the small portion of the street I can see from where I sit. It's getting dark outside, the burnt light that spills in through the windows diminishing quickly. A lock of my snow-colored hair falls into my face as I rest my chin in my hand, my yellow eyes fluttering closed. My long fingernails make small indentions in my cheek as the noises of drinks being placed on tables and the mumbling of conversations stop me from dozing off. This is a lot of work for a man I don't even know, though one's not supposed to know their messengers personally.

Suddenly, I'm ripped from my thoughts. Eyes, including my own, open and roll lazily to peer at the wooden doors swinging on their hinges. No one has come in in quite a while. All of us--well, the conscious ones-- are slightly curious as to who the rare newcomer is as we don't see a body clumsily slipping out into the darkened streets to signal someone exiting the tavern.

The arrival turns out to be a man that I estimate to be around twenty-five. It's quite hard to tell exactly because the hood he has on hides most of his features. His leather and cloth boots are burnt around the soles, black stains striking upwards on the sides. A flash of his azure eyes and white, intricate face paint tells me he's from Bristram. Obviously, he's new to the treacherous land. How tired I am coaxes my belief that he's the man I've been waiting for.

Coming fully to my senses is a slow process as I surprisingly haven't been bothered by anyone this whole time. I look around for a plan after realizing I never thought this far ahead. We obviously couldn't speak here; someone would overhear and drunks babble about everything their minds can hold long enough.

The wide entrance doors have tables and chairs against the walls on either side. In the middle of the room, where I sit, is an oval bar made of the same wood as the tables and chairs surrounding it. On the opposite side of the tavern as the door, behind the oval bar, the wall juts out in the middle. There's two doors, one on either side of that protuberance, that head to the kitchen. A large painting with an ornately detailed frame sits in the middle of the two doors. It's of a grey and teal harpy attacking a bull's eyes with its claws, matching the taverns name- The Harpy and the Bull.