Ah! Alcohol, bad food, dust of recently-splintered wood, a constant barrage of ash and smoke, unmistakable body odor... By the Stone, it smelled just like home. Nostalgia had never been so heavy on his mind as the moment Rhocanth stepped into this dirty little tavern in this dustbin of a town. It so reminded him of his old Tapster's days that for a brief moment all of his nerves tingled in anticipation. Oh yes, no one knew that in his youth as a nobleman Rhocanth had occasionally been a bad boy... It was one of the few outlets a young man of his station might take up while teetering on the edge of trashing his reputation, and in fact the more daring one was in that seedy back room, the more often his name would find itself lingering on the tongues of his peers. Some iffier parents at least took it as a sign of their boy's health, though all of them doled out punishments on cue. Fraternizing with common folk? Canoodling with barmaids? What did he intend, to bring the entire lower caste into their house?! Oh, Azrunath had had a cruel way with reprimands, but had earned much respect from his younger sibling for it.
It had also been some time since he felt as though he was at all in his element, though he did not dare assume too much anywhere on the surface. If he only felt like he knew what he was doing for a minute, it would be a glad bit of relief. As Rhocanth stepped over the threshold and into the smoky tavern, he escorted Enchanter Thais. He had offered his arm to her to do it like a proper gentleman, but would not mind if she wouldn't allow him that. If she didn't like or didn't understand his adherence to protocol, that was alright, though along with everything else he couldn't help but let his mind wander towards spending company with some certain dwarven lasses. But enough of that. He had already missed them enough the very moment his eyes settled on the chantry in the middle of town. As it was, this was their last time in civilization before striking out into the wilds and eventually, to Ostagar. Stone only knew what sort of horror a broodmother might turn out to be. They should... well, they should just be prepared.
Ancestors willing, this would not be his last drink. He would make it back to Amaranthine with a great many stories to tell Falina and Signy. And he had Thais for company, who was surely the very image of the long-legged beauties he had heard tales of in Orzammar. Lovely, and very much a lady. Actually, many of the human women who accompanied them were very appealing. He still looked forward to proof of the myth of the elven beauty who quite possibly surpassed human competition, but such had not yet been found in Lothering.
The most obvious thing about the tavern was not the stench or the sights, but one drunken git who monopolized one area of the room. He was louder than anyone else, and very erratic in his behavior. Another fabulous reminder of home. Nevertheless, Rhocanth made an effort to walk Thais around the fellow in a quest for a place to sit without stepping into his radius of influence, and meanwhile smiled warmly at his companion. It still hurt a little to do so, but the salve had done him a lot of good. He was only sort of pink and patchy now, not flaking his face off.
“May I get you something to drink?” he asked her. Of course, drinking was the point of the excursion, but a lady of good status shouldn't have to fetch her own.