As loud as a small girl can be among wolves, she proclaimed:
“I’m looking for someone who can take me through the forest”, her voice only shaking a little.
This surprised the patrons; Why had she not run away from their den in fear yet? And what was this about the forest?
The girl continued. “I can pay”, she said, bringing forth a small golden object. This immediately drew the attentions of everyone, looking upon the small thing with outright greed.
“I don’t know where you got something like that, but I can take you through the forest”, a man with dark eyes said.
There were others who had been ready to offer their services – seeing an easy target- but they kept their mouths shut and eyes averted, as the dark-eyed man escorted the girl out of the inn.
Meanwhile, the man in the back continued to pay the proceedings as much attention as he had his beer so far.
Two unrelated things happened after this: Someone was killed at the edge of the forest and an untouched beer suddenly found itself bereft of company.