Music reverberated throughout the nightclub. The mellow strum of guitar strings meshed seamlessly with the pluck-and-roll of an upright bass, underscored by the steady rhythm of a well tapped tambourine. The magically amplified music soared over the polished oak floor where men and women danced alone and in couples. It echoed in the corner where tables and chairs gave patrons a place to sit and rest, enjoying their drinks or a hot meal brought out from the kitchens. It resounded off the wall behind the long bar where beautiful young tenders served the needs of the club's many customers. It flowed out the doors as they opened to admit Joshua 'Breaker' Cronen.
The lighting in the club was low and restful, a pleasant change from the garish green glow of the sign outside. It smelled of incense, scented sticks burning at the bar and in wall sconces like tiny torches. The music throbbed a mellow rhythm over the chatter of perhaps two hundred people. A female elf was on stage with the three piece band, singing a song about Raiaeara written before the Necromancer's Destruction. She had high cheekbones and slanted green green eyes that appeared blissful yet shone with tears.
Breaker nodded at the pair of burly bouncers outside as the doors closed behind him. His bare feet padded over the well swept floor, his tailor-cut blue sifan shirt and black pants swishing with every step. He scratched a stubbled chin and combed his close-cropped brown hair with callused hands. He blinked his hazel eyes and just like that, Angeline was at his side.
Angeline Sellings, the manager of The Flesh Failures nightclub, took her former head doorman by one muscular arm and threaded through the crowd towards the bar. She had not seen Josh in several months, and intended to say hello properly before resuming her duties.
"Scotch. Rocks." She said to a bartender. "Where have you been all this time?" She demanded of Josh as the young man fixed the drink.
"Traveling a fair bit," Cronen said with an enigmatic smile, "wherever the currents take me."
"Sailing?" She asked.
"No."
He's a strange one, Angeline noted as she passed the drink from the bartender to Breaker, but then he always was, somewhat.
"I just came by to relax for a night," he noted as they meandered towards the back of the large room, "how's business?"
"Booming as ever," Angeline said happily, "you picked the perfect night to stop by, then. Come on!"
She led Josh to the stage just as the Raiaeran elf finished her song. The crowd applauded loudly for the effort and the elf stepped down from the stage, thanking the band. Breaker stepped up in her place awkwardly as the room quieted to a muted purr of conversation.
Cronen's mind was blank. The only song he could think of was a silly sea shanty he'd heard a crewman singing while traveling on a pirate ship. Angeline and a couple hundred people were looking at him expectantly, and the band was poised, ready to play along with whatever came out of his mouth. Unable to think of an escape, Josh cleared his throat and sang in an uneven baritone. The enchanted microphone magnified his words for all to hear.
"Oh I met a lass with morals of gold
How my heart yearns for her more and more
She was pretty and clever, perfect for me
And that is where I went wrong, you see.
Take me to Haide!
All I wanted was a beautiful wife
Someone to join for all my life
Now I'm old and fat and all alone
With a cracked little cabin to call my home
Well my lass's sister was mighty bold
How my heart yearns for her more and more
She was quick to to confess she desired me
And before bloody long my own sword was free
Take me to Haide!
All I wanted was a beautiful wife
Someone to join for all my life
Now I'm old and fat and all alone
With a cracked little cabin to call my home
Well that lass's grandma was plenty old
How my heart yearns for her more and more
But the old have experience aplenty you see
So my tally from that family rose to three!"
Laughter greeted the song, and some of the crowd joined in on Josh's final rendition of the chorus. Chuckling at his own expense, he bowed to the band and then to the crowd, and stepped down to rejoin Angeline.
"Thanks for that," he said, accepting his drink and taking a long pull of the strong, fine whisky. Arm in arm, they walked a short distance away and turned to see who would take the stage next.
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