Upon their arrival at the merchant's cart, Caracatus looks around and says, "Raquil, with all of the thievery going on in this town, how is it that you seem not to fear having your wagon plundered, when I see so many wares hanging off it's side in plain view? It's most curious that you have not yet come outside to see your wagon completely plundered and totally devoid of any wares at all!!"

Caratacus re-enters the Inn from the back door, looking much refreshed. He glances around and then returns to the table where Raquil, Jericho, and Alatariel are seated but does not sit down.

"Jericho, my learned friend, I know that you know Alatariel and would fain give you a little privacy so that you two may discuss her plight alone together." He turns to look at the thin little man who sits with his feet impolitely propped on the table.

"Raquil, about that new sickle that I require, come outside and show me what you may have to replace my worn out one. Mind you, I do not require anything magical but I do demand a good quality tool." With that, he gathers up the merchant with a stern look and turns towards the entrance to the Inn.

"Ahh, perfect timing, Jericho! Please join us, here take my seat next to MiLady and lend your wisdom to her plight, I implore you!
I must excuse myself for a few minutes to go out back of the Inn to use the..." He glances at Alatariel, then back at Jericho, winking from the side of his face that she cannot see, "amenities. I will return shortly."

"I see..." Caratacus strokes his beard as he thinks for a moment, "and no doubt you would prefer not to speak to near-strangers about it's contents, they being personal, even though they vex or perplex you." Hmmm, Caratacus thinks to himself, there must be someone who can help her, one so lovely should not be left to suffer alone.

"Is there someone that can help you? I would be quite happy to help you locate them for you. I may not know many here, but I do not shrink from asking the assistance from strangers. We Druids may be a soft spoken race who tread lightly but we are known to be very tenacious, some of us can even be accused justly of being downright stubborn.", he says with a little wink.

Define "Bad table manners" first, do you like, eat with your feet? Drool as you chew with your mouth open? Just joking.

Meeting for coffee on the first date is usually the best idea, especially at Starbucks, because most of them have a Public back door near the restrooms, so you can make a quick exit, if needed.

"Ah, the note that I saw you puzzling over, no doubt? Is it anything that I may be able to help with? If it's a translation you need, in my travels, I have been required to learn many languages. In my Druid training, I was taught to read into what may have been hidden, either deliberately or otherwise..."

*Looks away from Raquil to the Half Elf, then holds up his hand to silence the little man,

"Caracatus, MiLady. If you don't mind my saying so, you appear most pensive indeed. Is there something on your mind that perhaps either of us may assist with? Sometimes just speaking aloud of your troubles can help to ease them somewhat."

"And you Raquil, will you not join me and regale me about you fine wares? I have a little gold in my pouch and my Druid's sickle is near worn out, for the branches of the Mistletoe are hard and difficult to cut."

Caracatus looks up and sees Alatariel sitting alone at the bar, "MilLady Elf, please, do not sit there alone and looking forlorn, I pray you, join us and grace us with your wit and beauty and we will endeavor to put a smile on your pretty face."

(Druids are known to have high charm points, LOL!)

Farewell, Jericho, I enjoyed chatting with you, until next time."

The solution is easy and foolproof, simply say, "Look my friends, I'm Roman Catholic, so no matter what you tell me, nothing is going to sway me in the slightest."

"Thank you Jericho, I suspected as much. When I saw Boromir treat the guards with respect and feed them for free, I reckoned that he felt them worthy, and I know Boromir to be, although young and a bit bashful, a fine judge of character."

"I honestly wouldn't know, my dear assassin, I am just recently come to this place, but judging from the respect that Boromir showed to the guardsmen who were here earlier, I am inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Perhaps we should ask Jericho, who has haunted these streets the longest. What say you Jericho? What think you of the Lord of Sinatorium's Guardsmen?"

"My point exactly, not to mention that IF thieves were to somehow manage to get past that formidable obstacle, there are usually any number of very formidable warrior or magic using creatures either in the bar or resting upstairs."

Caracatus, upon returning from the kitchen with a half-chewed turkey leg, listens to Jericho, The assassin called Phoenix, and the funny-looking thin little human.
" Excuse me, friends, but why should anyone who visits this Inn be interested in spending gold on a problem that is clearly the responsibility of the local authorities?"
He waves the turkey leg for effect and continues, "Besides, the the kind of protection in spells that Barbus arraigned for the Inn and type of denizens who frequent this place, what intelligent thief would be addle-pated enough to even attempt such folly as to rob the Green Dragon's Inn?"

After reading the notices, Caratacus thinks, "Too bad about the robbery but at least the local officials are doing something about it." Decides that, if questioned, he will do his best to co-operate and perhaps mention his strange encounter in the darkness of the other night. Thinks, "Too bad Barbus isn't going to be around, I wouldn't have minded asking a few more questions about the town and it's denizens."
With a shrug of his shoulders, the Druid decides to go and look for Boromir and ask for some breakfast.

Suddenly he feels a cold breeze and turns towards the door to see Idara. As necromancers are not Druids' favorite race, Caratacus draws his cloak a little tighter around his shoulders and hurriedly brushes past her, heading once more towards the kitchen.

*With a loud snort, Caratacus the Druid wakes up from where he had been sleeping in a chair next to the hearth. He looks around blearily and then promptly falls flat on his back on the floor.*

"Damnation!", he says loudly, "That'll teach me to fall asleep in a chair tilted back on it's rear legs." He face flushes with embarrassment as he picks himself and then his chair off the floor. Setting the chair back on its legs he once again looks blearily around the room. He sees that there are new notices on the bulletin board but decides that he isn't awake enough yet to read them.

The few patrons snicker, some openly, some behind their hands. Caratacus pretends not to hear, plops back down in his chair, scratches his beard, then yawns and stretches his arms and back.

He looks around for Boromir but doesn't see him, he decides to wait until he is more awake before seeking him out for some food and water. He's really not awake enough to feel hunger yet.

Then, after hearing what Alatariel has said to Calliope, decides he'd better get up and read the Bulletin Board, after all. He takes his staff in hand and stiffly walks over and begins to read.

Just FYI:
Ramen noodles unfortunately are not very good for you. Each package contains about 1560 mg of sodium. To remove the water and form them into blocks, they are deep fried in palm oil which is about the most saturated fat there is. Look in your local Asian food store, though, and you may find some that are baked or freeze dried without the oil. Check the ingredients--about 720 different varieties/flavors of ramen are available. For what it's worth, the average Japanese eats about 45 packages a year and, other than sumo wrestlers, ain't too many of them chubby.

"The Northern Dwarves, or any Dwarves, for that matter, tend to be uneasy friends to the Druids. As you may already know. The two races tend to vie for the same trade and so are very uneasy with each other, when it comes to sharing of each other's skills and crafts."

"Think no more upon it, good Thogeon, it was merely an intellectual question. Those of my clan happen to be artisans among other things and are fascinated by fabrication techniques that we are not aware of or have yet to master."