Spirited Away - The Game

Edward nods. "Let's play by her rules for now," he whispers.

He humours the unkempt woman of the house, walking to the questionable seats she has offered.

Leaving the marginally more comfortable stool for Maximilian, he sits down on the sack, steadying himself to a balanced position.

He glances at the surroundings, checking for other doors and entrances, other than the one they walked in through.

Going by Maximilian's definition, the tavern patrons seem to be decidedly boring. Despite the heat inside, most of them are wearing their hats and overcoats - probably because there is nowhere convenient to hang them - and are expelling noxious clouds from their pipes. Upon closer inspection there is one young man among them. His attractiveness is a matter of taste and his face has turned an interesting shade of green, perhaps due to his inability to keep up with the smoking and the drinking of his fellows, but at least he does not have the complexion of an aged haunted tree.

Edward notices only one more door at the far end of the room. Judging by the exterior dimensions of the building, the room behind it must be very small. If the lady of the house has turned her home into a tavern which seems to be the case, she has reserved only a few feet for her own privacy. It also shows that this is only a drinking establishment and does not offer rooms - unless one falls asleep where they sit, but even then the landlady seems more than capable of throwing the unlucky fellow out.

"Here!" the woman shoves two mugs of something hot and pungent into her new guests' hands, expecting them to either take hold of the mugs or have the drink spill onto their laps. "Will you be eating too? You'll have to do without bread."

"Far be it from us to impose," Maximilian quickly replies. "This will be fine. Thank you very much." He's not sure he trusts this place to have something good to eat. Once she has left them again, he asks, "Any thoughts on how we shall proceed? We could ask around if anyone has seen a magician."

"Hmm... He was described as a vagrant. I wonder if we can use that," he says quietly.

"What if we say we are family. And the poor relative is not right in the head, and has ran away. We show the necessary concern, and say we are looking for him everywhere... It might make our questions more acceptable..." he suggests.

"That is a good plan," Maximilian agrees. "And it does very well explain why he would be going around calling himself a magician."

With a plan in mind, Maximilian decides to approach the younger man among the crowd, leaving Edward to try with someone else. "Would you mind if I sat with you for a moment?" he asked the man when next to him.

Edward stays sat in place to observe the reactions to Max's move. Better not hassle these folks with too many questions, yet...