Surrounded by a lawn of grass on all sides, the humble inn sat comfortably near the center of Corantha. The first floor of the building sat a few feet into the ground, so that a short flight of stairs led downward into the tavern. Time had dulled the white brick into a dirty gray, and small patches of moss sprawled over the reddish brown rooftiles. A horizontal rod extended from a few feet above the entrance, and a rectangular sign hung off of the rod by iron circles. 'Lena's Inn & Tavern' were carved neatly into the sign and painted in a bright orange, and at the corner was the illustration of a winebottle and plate of food.
Aiden walked under the swaying sign and pushed past the heavy wooden doors. It was early in the morning, so the tavern lay empty with most of its chairs sitting facedown atop the tables. Still, a couple of tables were occupied with visitors chatting over breakfast, and Aiden quickly found a lone anyeli sitting by the windows. As he couldn't see any other anyeli who were female, white-winged, and dark-haired, he walked toward the petitioner.
She looked toward him as he neared, and as she stood, he held out his hand and smiled politely. “Good morning, I'm Aiden Roy. Pria, I suppose?” The anyeli was middle-aged, wearing travel clothes, and had tied her hair into a neat ponytail. As they shook hands, he noticed that hers were rough and dry, perhaps from the strain of frequent travelling.
“Good to see you, Aiden. How was your trip from New Alexandria?”
They had communicated via COM before meeting up, so Aiden wasn't surprised at her knowledge. “It went smoothly. A friend of mine happened to be travelling to the Duskies, so we rented tarochs and rode here. I got here yesterday afternoon, looked around, and spent the night at an inn a few blocks north...” As Pria motioned for Aiden to sit, he took off his backpack and set it beside his chair. He'd filled it with snacks, warm clothing, and a light blanket for nights when they'd stay outdoors. “So how's the caravan setting up?”
Nodding, the woman folded her hands upon the bare table and looked toward the window. “Our caravan is setting up at the stables, and we're waiting for one more escort. Well I hope you had a good night's rest. As I said on the COM, we're hoping to get to Danurai by Wednesday night or Thursday morning...”