Chapter 1: Tavern Talks

It was a cold noon, the 13 th under Lucia and Fei. High Tide, the sky was bright, Mels Inn was dark, dark as usual.

Sim sang her little blues. Mel liked Sim, she liked her voice. It justified the sadness of Sim’s Songs. Not everybody agrees, but whoever's travelling down south the red road doesn’t come and go to Mel’s for the music.

“Lone in grief I go, doin’ what I know, singing till I blow, my man in grey is all I know…”

And so Mel cleaned a few tables. At noon, there is not a lot of traffic on the Red Road anyways. Two Strangers sat close by the door eating. And the usual fellas, from the Crimson-Belt came up here for gambling and drinking, business as usual.

“Hey Mel, another round please”. They were nice and paid reliable. “Sure thing boys”. Mel liked them. She went behind the bar. A pot of greens is cooking there constantly, mixed with pepper-sirup, poured in cups and voila: “A fresh round of pepps! Here we go!” “Thanks Mel. It smells delicouse”. She smiles: “It really does, right?

Anything else I can do for you?”

Of course not. After all that’s  why she liked them so much.

“… And if this road doesn’t take me to the promised land,

I’ll keep on walking till I see the end.”

Finishing her tune, Sim put down her salv, letting Mel overhear some of the strangers' dialogue. They were discussing whether or not to head West into the Deep-Womb. Mel consciously tried to not listen in on strangers’ conversations so she quickly walked to Sim after hearing something about the puppet of Madness. Shivers. Mel never liked the talks about the gods – sad Memories.

“Sim, wonderful as usual.” The singer was focused on her bag, still she countered: “I messed up like 5 times”

“Ohh, still trouble sleeping?” She nods, pulling the meds out her bag Sim Adds: “I don’t know what it is, but this eerie restlessness always grabs me past midnight,” She puts the des-kraut on a piece of lavender paper, rolls it up into a cigarette and sticks it on the pipe. “I’m torn between smoking it away or using it to write… Whatever… wanna join me outside?”