((open)) A lazy Drink

[Carter]

Carter slammed his pint on the table before him, and the beer inslide sloshed around and spilled over the edge of the tarcard. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. He had only just returned from the Holy land in search of Robin's gang. He knew he wasn't going to find them here, but he needed a break. He downed his beer and then belched quietly.

He clicked his fingers unpolitely, signalling for another beer. It came and he stared at the white froth before him. He became mesmorised by the swirling mass of the strange fluffy substance. It suddenly occured to him that he had no money to pay for the beer he had been hastily consuming. But he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

[Imogen Frewer]

Imogen was deep in unsettling thoughts as she lent against the Inns front door frame gazing out at the damp streets. She had to find one of Robin’s men and find a way of getting them to talk and she only had 6 days left to complete Gisborne’s task. The outlaws past by the Inn every so often but there was no grantee they would pass with in the 6 days, a fact that was looming over Jenny every second of the day. Only a few days before she was dreaming of something to mess up her repetitive life, add a bit of excitement in to her days, now she would quite happily go back to those dull times.

There was the sound of clicking fingers and Imogen was snapped out of her deep thoughts. Reluctantly she tore her self away from the doorway and shuffled over to the bar to pull the man a pint of ale.

“Bad day?” she said slapping it down in front of him with a little to much force.

[Roe]

Roe walked into the 'establishment', and spied Carter, apparently analyzing his beverage quite carefully, and Roe walked over, not sure if it was wise to go over and interrupt the Crusader's private thoughts, but in the end, deciding to do it anyway. "You seem to be investing a lot of time and energy in that brew Carter," he said, motioning to the barkeep for one of one of his own. "Would you rather be left to yourself? You seem to be deep in thought about something. Just so you know .... I'll be heading back to Locksley shortly, and if you needed any place to bed down for the night you'd be welcome. If not, I understand," and he took a long sip of his ale, eyeing Carter, to see what his response would be.

[Carter]

“Bad day?”

Carter looked up at the attractive barmaid and raised an eyebrow. His lips curved into a sly smile, he hummed in reply and then continued to stare at the beer in front of him. He was not particularly in the mood for small talk, even if it was with nice looking ladies.

But as a man he recognised sat himself next to him, he decided to drink his beer rather than stare at it. As he looked at the man he recognised him as the man he had bumped into earlier in the street. What was his name? Ah Robert. He remembered commenting that was his middle name. Carter did a small laugh. As he began talk, Carter already found himself losing interest. But when Robert offered him a place to rest, he suddenly perked up. He would rather stay somewhere for free than have to pay for a place at the Inn. After all, he had no money to pay with.

Carter grinned and patted Robert on the back. "That would be much appreciated good sir." he beamed. He downed his beer in one and slammed it again on the table. "Won't the wife mind?"

[Roe]

Roe thought that Carter was even in less of a mood for small talk than he was earlier. However, Roe had not allowed himself to have an Ale in a pub in ages, so he was not about to deny himself this opportunity. And he had to admit the scenery provided by the barmaid wasn't half-bad either.

However, it seemed that his offer of a place to sleep was received a bit more enthusiastically. "Its a pleasure to do for a Crusader .... lets say a something that a former crusader can do for a current one, eh? I know what it like to sleep outdoors when you don't want to, and can find someplace that's dry and a bit warmer. Its nothing fancy now, I'm still repairing it, but the roof is much better now." Suddenly, Roe became a lot more serious now.

"Don't worry about that Carter. I sowed my wild oats years ago, now. I left her to Crusade, and she was not my wife yet, and would never be. Remember, I've been away 15 years, and just returned. I spent my time being a Crusader and learning to kill in new and different ways, and forgetting how to be a human being. There is nobody at home for us to worry about," he said with a knowing smile. "Want another round?"

[Carter]

Carter blinked at Robert's solemn reply and stared at his empty glass seriously. "I see." he said nodding. But the mood was lightened again by another round being mentioned. "Ah yes, that sounds good." said Carter with a grin.

"So we're both without love then." said Carter, rapping has fingers on the table in front of him. "Doesn't the idea of dying alone scare you?" he laughed. Carter had never been able to maintain a steady relationship. Love was something he did not take very seriously. He was a slipperly character, and often got too involved with things that should have been left alone. If you were in a relationship with Carter, you could never really be sure of what he was doing behind your back.

He smiled and shook his head, "Women." he said, turning his attention to the barmaid.

[Roe]

Quickly Roe made a motion to the barmaid to provide another, and to the question he nodded a yes. "You see Carter .... when I left," he paused and said, "well ... it was a bad time .... and oh .... drink as much as you like .... you can ride the horse back ..... if you don't have one to ride yourself. Its not that far to Locksley anyway." He wondered if the drink would loosen Carter's tongue a bit, and he hoped that it wouldn't have the same effect on him. He knew that he had talked a lot, but really hadn't divulged anything significant, since Roe didn't feel anything about himself was that significant.

"No Carter .... that was always one of my advantages in battle over others. In fact, I had already sent word, early on back to the earl, that I had died, so nobody would be worrying over me. I didn't want to have anyone missing me. And I always went into battle without fear, without hesitation. I was a two-handed fighter, so that was an advantage as well. I expect you are well-acquainted with what is necessary on the battlefield, eh? Just as what is available here," he said gesturing at the young lady who was the bar-maid.

[Carter]

"Mmm." Carter smiled at Roe's words. He was starting to feel a bit light headed after all the drinks, but he took another sip of the new pint before him none-the-less. He sighed contently. "The Holy land is not the most wonderful of places. I'm glad to be back." Carter still didn't know whether to ask this man more about his knowledge of the Scarletts, and more importantly, Robin Hood. But he decided he had nothing to lose.

"You mention the Earl, the Earl of Huntington?" He raised his eyebrows. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but wasn't that the old position of the well, some would say famous, others would say infamous, Robin Hood?" Carter took another sip of the beer and took a deep breath. This would have to be his last one, or else he'd be on the floor.

[Roe]

It was becoming obvious that Carter had had several beers before Roe had arrived, and despite whatever tolerance he had developed were affecting him significantly. Carter no longer had that defensive edge to his words or his body language. Roe could see that although they were both comfortably seated, Carter was having a little bit of difficulty keeping his head up and was swaying ever-so-slightly. And then Carter, finally asked a question. Why would he ask that question, he wondered? Was that the point of his visit here .... Robin Hood?

"Yes .... I know that it is not the happiest of places .... and I spent almost half of my life there .... wasted it there. Yes ... I'm glad .... both to be back and to have you here as well," he said in nodding in deference to his new acquaintance, knightly comrade, and daresay friend. "Yes .... I knew the old Earl well, and his young son of the same name, until he was about 12 .... and yes I hear he is the 'famous' Robin Hood," he said somewhat hesitantly. "Would you like another beer, for the road, perhaps?"

[Esme Kingsley]

((Meet Esme! She will have a signature more appropriate for the times when I find time to make one!))

A nineteen-year-old peasant by the name of Esme was a regular figure in the Jerusalem Inn. The pretty young thing, however, very rarely took a drink: no, Esme Kingsley worked in this particular pub, and in others, too. She worked as many jobs as she could in order to make enough money - to survive, to pay her taxes, and to feed and care for her ailing father. She was often exhausted, and had no time to do what many other girls did at her age - namely, going out to find herself a good husband, so that she could start her own family. Even with all this, she didn't begrudge her father. She would happily take care of him until the day he died.

"May I take your empty tankards, sirs?" she asked, addressing Carter and Roe. She was pretty, it was true, but she wasn't what everyone expected of young maiden. She did not keep her eyes down when speaking to men, as she should have. And, when she was not working, she would wear clothing that would not have been deemed appropriate for a young maiden - leather braies, for example, clothing meant for the men folk - and would hunt. Well, anything to make some money, and keep food on the table for her, and her father.

[Carter]

Carter downed his beer. Surely one more wouldn't hurt. He nodded. "Yeah, why not!" his speach was somewhat slurred, and his had an absurd grin on his face. What little sense he still had was still telling him not to reveal too much to Roe, after all, Carter had only known him for a few hours at most. He placed his hand on Roe's shoulder and grinned. "Phew. I think I may have had a few too many to drink." It was true. Carter had not had alchohol for ages. In the Holy land there was not much of it around, and before that, he was too busy trying to find and kill Robin Hood to stop for a few pints.

As the girl came over Carter grinned. "Yes you may..." he said. He rested his elbow on the bar and looked her up and down. This was a fine one. This bar sure was full of nice looking ladies. He raised his eyebrows at Roe, and then fixed his gaze back onto the young girl. "What's your name?" He asked with a sly smile.

[Esme Kingsley]

Esme was used to drunk men, and their leers. She had had several drunken marriage proposals by men in their forties and fifties in this very Inn, and she reecieved crude comments almost daily. The young peasant knew how to handle himself around men - well, more how to fend them off, really. Still, she was unnaccustomed to such handsome men taking an interest in her. Handsome men rarely graced the Jerusalem Inn. Still, he was a drunken man, and she would treat him accordingly.

She took the empty tankards that were littered around him. "Esme, sir," she informed him, polite at all times. She had to be: the few times she'd told customers what she'd actually thought of them, she'd almost risked her job. One of the only reasons that she had been kept on after her stormy altercations with some of the more persistent customers was because she was pretty; she attracted male attention, and therefore more customers. She felt, sometimes, likek a glorified prostitute. Still, anything to keep her father alive - well, not anything. She would never consider prostitution. What she wore to work was feminine and modest: a pretty cream close fitting bodice with a gathered skirt, that covered everything it should.

Seeing her boss eyeing her from across the bar, she realised he wanted her to be more friendly with the customers. "Is there anything else I can get you, sir?" she asked, addressing Carter. It was annoying when drunk men were attractive - she wasn't used to be attracted to the men she usually despised.

[Carter]

"Esme? What a lovely name. A lovely name for a lovely looking girl." he nodded at her, still wearing the same sly smile. "Carter. And this is my good friend Robert. But please, call him Roe."

The sober part of Carter had a voice still loud enough to be heard, and he reluctantly shook his head. "No...I better not." he said with a grin, "Otherwise I'll be on the floor and you'd have to clean me up." He laughed to himself and turned away from the girl. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to gain control of himself. He massaged his head.

He turned back around to face the young girl, smiling the smile that melted the hearts of many. He looked into Esme's eyes and then turned away again. She was looking at him in a way he recognised. "Oh dear." he whispered to himself.

[Esme Kingsley]

She smiled politely, all the time cursing his patronising manner. How she hated men who patronised her: even men good looking like Carter clearly was. She hadn't seen this man before - he wasn't one of the many who frequented the Jerusalem Inn. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Carter, Robert." As she turned, she saw her boss smiling: the innkeeper was never happier than when he thought his patrons were leering over his barmaid.

She smiled once more, as he said what all drunk men seemed to say; the usual 'I'd better not' line. However, the man was clearly drunk - he had either drunk a lot (which was likely considering the amount of empty tankards surrounding him) or could not handle his ale. "I don't recognise you, Carter," she said conversationally, as she began to clear more empty tankards from the neighbouring drinkers. Perhaps, if she made enough conversation with this wealthy-looking man, the innkeeper would give her her wages without causing problems this time. It seemed a lot of the time the innkeeper was looking for more than just a barmaid. No matter how many times she pressed the point, he did not seem to accept that she was not interested in his advance. "Am I to assume you don't hail from Nottingham?"

The young woman heard him say something, but wasn't quite sure what. "Excuse me?" A normal, meek young maiden might have just ignored the comment that they weren't meant to hear: Esme, however, was no such maiden.

[Carter]

"Oh nothing." he said just as quietly.

"Yes, you could say I'm new around here. In fact, I've just arrived. From the Holy land." He cleared his throat. He smiled to himself at the young girl's attempt of petty conversation. He could see right through her. He turned in the direction she was currently facing, and saw a man watching them. He waved at him, grinning, and then turned his attention back to Esme. "A friend of yours?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

Esme was clearly not co-operating, and was not impressed with his behavoir. Perhaps she was one of those fiesty, no-nonsense girls that there seemed to be a lot of these days. Carter shrugged. If it was not meant to be, then it was not meant to be. This girl probably had better fish to fry. Carter only really appreciated a woman if she appreciated him first, so he decided to let it drop. He pushed the pile of empty tankards in her direction, and gave her a polite nod.

"So, Roe." Carter turned back towards Roe. "When do you want to make a move? I think I'm about done here."