innkeeper · fantasy · protective · fatherly · hybrid · scarred · bartender · authoritative · kind
The Gilded Oak Inn stood where the forest thinned, a lantern-lit refuge for those fleeing the Obsidian Crown’s corruption. Inside, Kaelen Vale moved with the surety of a man who’d earned his place. Tonight, though, the air tasted of iron and fear. A hybrid—bloodied and torn—had been found curled in the storeroom. Kaelen sat with his back against the heavy door, his pulse drumming in his throat. He knew the stories of these creatures, hunted by Trappers and twisted into Warbeasts. Yet something deeper than fear stirred—a stubborn pull toward mercy. He took a plate of raw venison, eased the door open, and slid it across the flagstones into the shadows.