Jax contemplated the honeyed mead in front of him, at 52 he wondered if he should cut back on the honey, it certainly wasn't improving his ever more portly figure. What with the greying hair and his sword arm becoming more of a blob than a bulge Jax was halfway to convincing himself to swear off the taverns entirely. Casting his doubts aside he took a deep chug of the chilled sweet ale. With a refreshed gasp he turned his attention back to another, more important doubt across the table.

“So, your name is Morgan, you're a druid and that's an honest to Gorum damn dinosaur?”

The young man nodded demurely, taking a nervous swig from his pitcher to match the grizzled veteran in front of him. Morgan was fresh off a week long binge of sorrow drowning and soul searching, clearly shaken by a recent event and looking to escape. Just the kind of kid Jax was looking for. Morgan hesitated as he began to explain his origin to Jax but was thankfully cut off as Jax ushered him outside to more closely inspect Syldrak.

“Should I be afraid?” Jax inquired almost nervously. Hearing a negative response from Morgan, Jax approached the creature with awe and respect. “Hello beautiful” he whispered as he gently caressed the side of the lizard's face. Syldrak let out a contented noise, half screech half growl and kicked his back leg in excitement. Jax recoiled. With an even more hesitant hand Jax moved back towards the creature.

Jax's mind was racing with thoughts of adventure and treasure, a dinosaur could be just the thing he needed to rebuild the cruelly named Kippers, beleaguered as they were by dead end contracts and a reputation for being soft. Jax muttered to himself as he inspected the dinosaur in front of him, “I keep telling them, can't do anything heroic if all we get given are escort jobs...”

Morgan kept silent, not used to the quiet respect he was observing in Jax. Most people were scared of his friend Syldrak, or more interested in cutting off his skin to make armour for the nobles of this strange and violent land. Morgan's experience of Brevoy had been dismal so far, when Jax picked him up off his arse from a pile of his own vomit in the Colour Noun Tavern yesterday it was the first act of kindness he had witnessed among these strange people. Morgan's suspicions grew but he kept quiet, it was his nature as a druid to speak only when he had something to say. What did this man want with him? To fight apparently, but at least he'd be getting paid for it. He'd have allies to watch his back and reasons to travel all over the land meeting all kinds of people, Morgan couldn't see the downside but he kept thinking. Always alert.

As the minutes passed Syldrak warmed up to Jax with a rapidness Morgan never expected, perhaps he sensed something in the man only animal instincts could reveal. Morgan trusted his companion. He decided to accept the offer on the spot. He would become a mercenary, though he wasn't quite sure of quite how that was different from the bandits he had spent so long fighting. Apparently men made laws here and mercenaries followed them, bandits didn't. Morgan's understanding of this world was tenuous, but with Syldrak's approval it seemed like Jax would set him on the right path.

“Come on” Jax ordered authoritatively, “I'll show you to your bunkmates, they're an odd bunch but we do alright.”