BAM! Moonshine slammed her in-game beer down.
"What is wrong with that guy!?" she asked. The bartender just shrugged, and kept on cleaning his cup.
"I mean, I went immediately towards the gates when he asked, and I met him at the time that he said," she continued. "So why---" She took a swig. "--Is he so angry!?"
The bartender just blinked.
"First off, he was the one that didn't specify which 'tomorrow,'" she air-quoted, and continued to say "so why get so angry at me, when it's your fault?" She took another drink. "Like, what kinda guy would be so patient in the first place, especially towards someone they JUST MET. What is he, a stalker?"
The bartender just shook his head.
"Haaah... ya know, I was kinda lookin' forward to meetin' the guy. I wanted to see what kinda magic he could pull off to make me stronger," she finally admitted. "Would've been fun to suddenly get all strong. Hell, I probably would've bragged to my coworkers or somethin'."
"...Hey." The bartenders first word came out.
Slightly bewildered by the usually tight-lipped bartender's word, Moon replied. "W-what?"
"Let me tell you something." He began his story."About 18 or so hours ago, this young man came in. You could tell he had money, just looking at the equipment he was wearing. That said, he didn't spend a single penny the whole 6 hours he was here. Honestly, his loitering was terribly bothersome, and I really wanted to kick him out."
Moon raised her eyebrow--which was concealed by her bangs-- and wondered where this story was going.
"But right before my string-thin patience ran out, he came and sat right where you are sitting, and put a pouch of money down on the counter," he continued. "Inside it were 2 measly gold coins. Juuuust enough for the cheapest drink here. Once I gave him his drink, he began talking to me. He said, 'I'm sorry, but this is all the money I have.' Obviously not believing him, I glared at him slightly. Seeing my reaction, he continued. 'I have to spend all the money I earn to provide maintenance for my equipment.' He told me that he would come back again today with a 'friend' of his, and that they would order something more extravagant."
"Wow," Moonshine suddenly realized. "You talk a lot."
The bartender frowned, before continuing his story. "Now, not too long ago, I saw that man again. He was walking by, all frustrated and pouting. Honestly his face doesn't look too manly when angry; his cheeks puff out and he suddenly turns 12 years old. It's actually a bit cute," he gossiped.
"Go on."
"Also, his brows start to furrow and---"
"Not that part."
"Oh. Yes. Well, he was walking by with an awkward gait. When I looked at his feet, his right boot seemed to be torn up a bit. Then, he mumbled a bit how he would have to go hunting tomorrow to cover the costs for repair. Oh, and he also mumbled about how he was going to miss his meal."
"...Hm. Ok. I think I get it now. So, you're tellin' me--"
"Mhm?"
"That he was using me as his personal food bank, right?" She completely missed the head of the nail.
"Siiiigh," the bartender literally said. "You missed what I said. When the young man was talking, he had a slight smile on his face, and his whole demeanor seemed like one of excitement."
"You never said that," retorted Moon.
"It matters not. What does matter is that he called you 'friend.' I've seen him in this town every now and then, mostly in the direction of the smithy. Now, me and the good sir at the smithy are good friends, and he, for one, likes the art of gossiping. He talks about everyone, and one day he started talking about this young man. After a few drinks, he started talking about how every now and then that man would come in and ask for repairs for his equipment. Now, this man's equipment is relatively rare, so the price of repairs would end up being quite costly. Many times has this man come in and not have enough money to repair his completely destroyed equipment. And so, being distressed about such equipment always coming back destroyed, the smithy bothered to ask the man: why doesn't he hunt with friends, so he could alleviate the damage. Now tell me: What do you think he said?"
...
"... He... he doesn't have friends, does he?" Moonshine finally said.
"Correct."
*Gulp* Bam!
"Thank you for the drink... and the info," Moonshine spoke sincerely. "And what is it that I owe you, by the way?"
"10 gold," replied the bartender nonchalantly.
"!!!! Why so much!?" she asked about the outrageous price.
"The 4 for 5 deal was 5 gold, and me listening to your incessant rambling was another 2 gold. Finally, the 3 gold was the price for the personal info. I don't speak for free..." Moon started fishing for some gold in her inventory.
"...Miss," he finished.
!!! Moon stopped suddenly, shocked by the bartender's seemingly unimportant pronoun that he threw out.
"How did you..." she started.
"Your voice. While you continued drinking, you let your 'voice' go...ha." He chuckled. "At least, that was ONE of the ways I learned."
"Koff." Moon cleared her throat and deepened her voice again. "Your money, sirr." She handed the money to him, while glaring through the whole transaction. "Goodbye." She walked out of the bar and went towards the Local Guild.