Tavern scene (character study)

"I've spent far too long in other people's dreams" Jin said. He drank down his mug until his cheeks were hot and flush and said nothing more to them.

"Too long in people's dreams?" Eric asked

"Because I've got none of my own. I'm old and ain't never dreamt a single thing that I could call mine." Jin swiveled on his stool and met their questioning gaze with glassy eyes. His face was muted all but for his eyes which asked us to refute the Jin before us.

Ben sipped on his mug and watched with a raised eyebrow. "Jin, I heard you say spin wild threads before, but this is new."

"S'the truth." A waitress topped off Jin’s stein which he pulled to his lips almost instinctively. If he wanted, he could kill the whole thing in one spell, but he savored the bitter sting and the clouding foam that he washed into his mouth. Laughter from the inn was dying down save for Jin, Eric and Ben, where it had never existed that evening.

Jin set down his mug and swiped some foam from his upper lip. "Ya see kiddos, I specialize in a certain type of magic. You've got your elemental, your summoning; cute parlor tricks compared to what I got." Jin tapped on his skull and smiled. "I'm a scrimmer."

Eric nearly spat out his ale. "You're a scrimmer?"

"True as a mother's love." Jin pressed a hand to his breast.

Ben finally spoke up, his voice appearing out of the haze and dim light of the inn. "Say you're a scrimmer..."

"Say you’re a rabbit?" Jin laughed.

"Say you're a scrimmer..." Ben continued. "We've known you for two weeks now and never once seen you do anything magical. Not once. This is just the ale talking."

Jin’s sullen face lit up. It was unnerving to see a man who never smiled finally crack shell and flash a toothy-one. "So glad you mentioned the ale dear boy. Been meaning to ask you: You gents remember your coin purses?”

The Seekers nodded.

“Good, cause I didn’t.” Jin folded his arms across his chest and looked rather smugly at the two.

“Clever trick Jin, we’re not paying for you. At least I’m not. You’ll have to work something out with the owners.” Ben nursed his drink.

“Well I sure ain’t.” Eric’s scowl couldn’t shatter Jin’s newfound confidence

“Quite alright ‘gents. Nobody is paying for my drinks tonight. In fact, I’ve never paid here. Why do you think we come to the same place every night? Why not somewhere new? I’ll tell you why, because I got a good thing going on here.” Jin hunched lower and shielded his mouth with his palm. “These rubes think I’m paying them. All of this?” Jin glanced about lively tavern. “It’s make-believes. Dream stuff. Poof!”

Eric cocked an eyebrow. “What? You mean the whole time this has been a dream?”

“Not quite you little idiot, not quite. I’m most certainly drunk, so the ale is real. And the bar is all real. And the people-” Jin trailed a waitress with his eyes before giving the young Seeker the rest of his rapture. “They’re real. But my money ain’t.”

Ben had snuck into the conversation unexpectedly. “So what you’re saying is you’ve been abusing your talent for free drinks.” He concluded. “Cheating these people out of money they deserve?”

“That’s exactly right my hard-assed friend!” Jin chuckled. “I ain’t dropped a single physical coin in this place for years! Time comes to pay, I work my magic, drop a ‘coin’ in the tray and say goodnight.” He threw his remaining mug down his throat as the spoils of his conquest over decency and local businesses owners everywhere. His eyelids were pursed shut and eyebrows thrust to the top of his skull, for he was drinking heartily tonight on the ephemeral currency of his own craftiness.

Ben’s face drained. “C’mon, we’re going.” He grabbed Eric by the arm, causing his half-pint to slosh around and splash on the floor.

Jin followed them to the door. “C’mon, it’s a harmless trick. No need to get all upset about it!”

Ben looked at Jin and dismissed him, stopping to deposit three coins on the counter. “This is for me, him-” he shook Eric by the arm. “And him.” He jabbed a thumb at Jin who earnestly trailed behind them.

The night was cool. Dead moonlight poured into the cracks between neatly clustered homes. The sky opened up and gray clouds lifted, a symphony of pinholes in the inky sky shone above them, and all was quiet.

“Look, Ben, I- I’m sorry alright?”
“Sorry for what?” Ben asked, looking around for Kage.
“Sorry for abusing my talents. It’s...It’s wrong!” He clarified.
Ben was silent, glassing between rows of houses. He turned to face Jin who looked on the verge of tears.
“My family back home lives in squalor because of people like you. You know that? How many people who work there at that inn go home hungry at night because people like you?”

Jin’s lips trembled. He was old, but now he was a sniveling child. Some blinding light of humanity was driving through the cracks in his weathered skin. “I had no idea…” He whispered.

Ben scowled. “Actually I’m sure you do. You’ve been lying for years. And you’re probably lying now! How do we know the rest of this isn’t just some trick, some dream we’ve strayed into? And you say you want to come with us to the Vaalsen? You’re sick in the head!”

Eric put his hand on Ben’s shoulder and stopped the young Seeker from spewing his bile. “Lay off the guy, Ben. Look at us. We’re traveling with a former smuggler for God's’ sake. An old man getting free drinks is nothing. How many times have I had to steal to have something to eat?”

“KAGE SET THINGS RIGHT!” Ben snapped. “And you had no choice! I look at that Inn and I don’t see ‘Honey Flower’s’ on the top up there, I see ‘Taven’datter’. I see Mom working till her bones ache and I see my sisters juggling mugs of ale for a bunch of ungrateful pissers like him.” Ben swallowed the night air down and opened his mouth again, but felt hands at his back give him a tight shove.