Far off in the dark crisp mist a shot of high laughter crosses the streets as somewhere a door opens and closes. Two cloaked figures roamed those very ominous streets, unsure, hesitant, closer to sounds. Glass crashed to the floor on the other side of a heavy hinged door. The figures, only separated by their difference in height, took a breath. As the larger figure moved his hand towards the heavy door, the smaller stopped it.

“Wait!” Whispered a frightened voice. “Why are we even here!”

The question was answered with a stare that could freeze the bonfires in the streets and came along with a long deafening silence. The frightened figures swallowed heavily once, then released their hands and stood aside.

The door opened with a grotesquely loud creak and revealed what was on the other side. Loud, out of tune, music grew silent as the two figures stepped inside. The silence became heavier with the many glaring faces of figures, some of them seemed misformed and some were simply filthy. Evil pouring from their very being. Each of them had horns, leathery wings and thin scaly tails. All different from each other and yet all so the same. Some horns were broken, some were short, others were tall and each shaped differently. Wings were large or small, torn or intact, some pierced or decorated with tattoos. The tails were the only thing about them that was most similar, although some were hooked and some were pierced. The two stood there, stiffened, awaiting what was going to follow. They tried to take in what was around them. It had the looks of an inn. One that you might find on a lonely road, where the most preposterous and scandalous would gather. An innkeep, with large twisted horns that started from his forehead, wings folded behind his back, stared at them from behind a high wooden bar, where jugs and glasses hung above his head. Bottles and jars of beverages that no one living would ever have heard of or even thought of drinking. The innkeep, after observing the newcomers, snapped his fingers to a man who sat with his back towards them. The man seemed uninterested in the situation and took a gulp of his drink. He slammed the jug on the bar and while he wiped his mouth on his muscled, bare arm he turned to them. He let his gaze fall over the two, still cloaked, figures for an unnervingly long time. He then stood and walked towards a door to the right side of his room, signing the two to follow. The two did not move at first, but as the big muscled creature moved towards his destination, they followed. Silently they observed their host. Tall, broad, most would call him handsome. With a sharp jawline, slim dark eyes that seemed to suck you to different worlds. His horns were tall and twisted similarly to the innkeep's, but these were hanging lower towards the end as if the horns themselves could not carry their own weight. The tips curled back up again, meaning the horns would still grow, which is unusual for a creature his age. His wings were amongst the largest ones in the room, one might even say the largest of all, but they were folded and one could not tell the size properly. His tail, long and thin, but smooth till the pierced and hooked tip. Messy, short hair, that looked like he cut it himself, dark and smooth to go alongside his dark eyes. His skin tone of a darker sort too.

Numerous scars all around his body.

A fighter? Warrior perhaps.

His steps were large and confident and as they approached the door, the man in front of them slapped a woman on her back.

“It is time.” the large man said with a low, deep and slightly husky voice. The young woman turned around and took her turn to stare at her visitors. She was a lot smaller than him, even her horns, wings and tail were by far no match for the large man. This, however, did not make her less threatening. Her hair as messy as the man's, but longer, tight back in a chopped ponytail. Her skin similar to the man’s, but smoother. She wore a ring in her nose that was connected to a ring in her left ear by a thin chain.

Copper…

Her eyes were brighter, almost a golden shade. Large tattoos covered her left arm. She stood up, without a word and while still staring at the visitors, she turned around to walk towards the door. The large man followed after her and the cloaked visitors after him. As the four figures moved towards the door, the silent stares from the others in the room continued until they finally reached the door and entered the separate room.