[EVENT RP] The Reclamation of Tania

[Victor]

Roland hadn't seen much sleep since his arrival in Tania. Between the long evenings at the Three Wyverns tavern and the commotion in town now, he was afraid that at any moment, someone would burst from the shadows and skirt him away. The bags under his eyes were obvious, and he slumped as he trundled around the town, looking for his second breakfast. There had been a dearth of opportunity, and now with all the rumors of Bern making its move, nobody really seemed to need any odd jobs done, and were even more wary of an unfamiliar face.

He soon found himself at an inn, with a good amount of familiar faces; drinking companions from several nights ago who he couldn't possibly hope to remember. The big man and his pretend Sacaean savage date and the red haired one in big armor. Among them, though, was a familiar shock of red hair. Someone he never expected to see outside of Pherae. It was her. That bookish look would stick out anywhere, and he wasn't about to let it go unnoticed. Not since the last time they had fought, before he was sent off. He'd almost made a fool of himself. Almost. The wounds were still fresh. The spiritual ones, obviously. The bruised ego. A frail, delicate, scholarly flower like Paige could never actually wound a great knight like himself. The very idea was preposterous.

He huffed up his chest and stomped to the table where Paige and the red haired knight were talking. Nay, not talking. They were sharing secrets, and he couldn't help but feel left out. What in the world could Paige be privy to that she was sharing it with someone who wasn't Roland? He placed his hand on the knight's pauldron to split the duo apart from each other, while he gesticulated at his old sparring partner.

"Well, well," he spat, nose in the air, "If it isn't my favorite little bookworm. Come to Tania to beg for another duel with the Red Knight himself? No need to flatter yourself. How are books treating you? I'll be surprised if they haven't written my name in them yet."