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(Greenhill city) Annallee winced at the sound and smell of the tavern as they walked on stage. The place was packed, but not one of the men sitting around small tables had come for the music. The ale, however putrid smelling and, according to Alberto, tasting, brought men from all over Greenhill City after work. It was also one of the few place that, for university students, you could be expelled for being seen at. Her band mates tuned their instruments and Alberto gave her an expression that said he's try to find gigs at more pleasant locations in the future. She could hardly blame him, though. The inn's regular musician, who'd gotten too sick to work a few days before they arrived, had recovered and they no longer needed replacements. Unless they wanted to dig into their savings for a night's lodging and food, there was no other choice. The group exchanged nods to indicate they were ready to start and Pico began on the guitar. They never actually arranged which songs to perform when, so Pico would pick one, start playing, and soon the others would join in. Their starting song was a fast paced tune, which was mostly ignored by the patrons. The evening continued in the same way for every set. Annallee wondered why the owners even bothered with entertainment, with everyone present too plastered to even notice it's existence. At the end of their last set, they quickly packed up the instruments and walked off stage. In back, waiting for her upcoming performance, was the tavern's 'dancer'. She wore practically nothing but silk scarves and leather undergarments clearly visible underneath. Annalle saw the look she was giving Pico as the group walked past and found it very irritating. For once Pico seemed uninclined to take the offer, at least. Annallee tried to put it out of her mind so they could collect their pay and leave as soon as possible. Once in the manager's office, Alberto took care of the money since, like practically every other profession in the world, he knew the trade at least partly. The manager wasn't putting his full attention into the process, Annallee was uncomfortably aware of, because he was too busy appraising her. She tried to hide behind her companions but she still felt the urge to throw up. Several times. Not soon enough they were finally out of the establishment and on their way to a less expensive, but clean, inn. It was run by an old couple known only as Ma and Pops and the trio stayed there nearly every time they stopped in Greenhill. The inn was too small for entertainment, though, and Ma and Pops thought that it might bright bad sorts to their inn. Upon sight of them, Ma glided over, saying, "Alberto, you really should take better care of those poor children. Working them until so late at night without supper." Alberto was an old friend of Ma's and she always said the same thing whenever they walked in after working. The younger two of the band didn't mind being referred to as children because of the woman's pleasant nature. She didn't intend to insult them or anything of the sort. They had a warm dinner and want upstairs to their rented rooms to sleep. Now that practically all jobs for musicians were taken, they'd be moving on. As she drifted to sleep, Annallee wondered where the next night would find them.
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