"No?"
Anvis furrowed his brow, looking at the slim tavern keeper before him.
"Mr. Tavern Keeper, this joke isn't funny."
With those words, he raised his hand and placed the black copper key with a tag on the solid wood surface of the bar counter. Jom, standing beside him, did the same.
"Here's the deal. If you are willing to tell us the exact route of the black sailboat that brought myself and other travelers here, then we will forego the rest of our room fees—"
On one side of the bar counter, a fish oil wax candle on a wooden support pillar was lit, its flickering flame casting slanted light upon the two keys on the countertop, creating somber, sinister shadows.
"Black sailboat?"
The tavern keeper, looking down at the two keys, had a dead gaze with a strangely pallid complexion, showing no change in expression.
"Sorry, the three of you, there has never been any black sailboat, nor any travelers from the Continent."
