A Merry Longnight

It had been snowing for two months in the mountain town of Windbrucke.  The harvests were long in and stored, but the sages had already predicted a long winter, and there were pessimists who already spoke of running out of food during the cold, dark season ahead.  Such negativity cannot stop the celebration of 'Longest' night.  Music and song fill the streets. Food and drink flow freely and impromptu speeches are interrupted by jeers and applause in equal measure.

To the North, a stiff breeze has blown snowy drifts up against the high wall. The town is all but isolated from the rest of the country, at least for a month or two more. The howling wind is occasionally drowned out by the distant bray of winter wolves, but even such dark sounds cannot defeat the merriment, not tonight.

It is on this night that Brin, the innkeeper of the Three Hogs Inn; an old place that sits just outside the south gate of town, waits, warming herself by a well stoked fireplace. This is the night that she and her traveling companions of old agreed to meet for a well earned drink and to speak of the adventures that have taken place in the passing year.
The stomping of snow laden feet and the lifting of the heavy latch at the front door signals the arrival of the first of Brin's guests. Brin breathes a sigh of relief, never sure of how much company she will have on Longnight's Eve.
"I didn't say gabbin, I said goblins, I thought I heard goblins, is what I said," one of the new arrivals continues.
"Goblins live in these mountains too you know," the other responded.
"Just sayin, I thought I heard 'em."
"They didn't bother us, we shouldn't bother them, at least not tonight,  Brin, a merry Longnight to you. Crack open the Bayberry Wine."

Brin had served in the Senta Regulars with her brother during the second Beast War. They had both lasted long enough to muster out with honors and a reasonably hefty paycheck. Ellan had come out of the fighting more or less unscathed. Brin, however, had not  been so lucky. She had taken a gruesome blow to her left leg from a pissed off ogre. She hadn't been expected to live. The healers had done their best for her. They hadn't amputated, though on some cold nights she wished they had.  Her leg was a mangled knot of seized joints and cramped muscles. She walked with a cane and didn't like to walk far.
"it's behind the bar. Get it yourself you lazy oaf."
"Lazy! Oaf! I just walked up the side of a mountain to see you, through goblin infested woods apparently,"  the young dwarf grinned, walking across to the hinged portion of the polished oak bar. 
Rather than flipping the bar up, the dwarf ducked underneath and plodded to where Brin was pointing. He grabbed five crystal goblets from a shelf behind him and set them on the polished surface of the bar. He glanced under the bar and grabbed a two-pint bottle and set it beside the glasses. The bottle was made of a dark green glass, corked and dipped in tin. It was wrapped in a mesh of thick twine that was showing signs of age. An old parchment label was shoved between the glass and the mesh. All that was written on it in an elegant hand was, 'Cumbra, Leth, 98 AE, 21 of 47.' 
The dwarf unwrapped the metal seal and shoved a cork puller into the bottle top, "We're almost out. Three more bottles after this. We need to be looking for a new vintage."
"I'll look forward to the delivery. Not some cheap plonk though." Brin responded with a smile of her own.
"Are you kidding me? Kuohka the Dwarf spending coin on cheap wine, unheard of, sacrilege, he'd rather die," the dwarf's traveling companion screwed up his face, "he'd rather someone else die anyway."
The dwarf laughed, "true enough, may Ebrus bless my alcohol softened bones, I'll find us something good."
"Where are the others?" his companion asked as he pulled his damp hood and cloak off.
"Probably making sure no one saw your ugly northerner face coming in here."
"After last year, the villagers love me."
"Not sure they'd know you from any other elf. They'd probably figure it out after they strung you up."
The elf deflated a little and shrugged, "I don't like it in town anyway."
The cork popped as it came free from the bottle. A delicate aroma of fresh berries and cinnamon filled the room.
"My brother is always late. You'd best pour without him or we'll be waiting 'til after the last chime for our first drink."
"True enough, and after that trouble in Cumbra a few months back, maybe he's not coming."
Brin's smile sank a little. She and Ellan had bought the inn together, every penny from their retirement and then some. In fact, the 'then some' had come from these two Northlanders and Daram, who had also not arrived yet. No surprise there, if her brother had found trouble, Daram was probably at the heart of it, and if her brother wasn't coming nor was Daram.

Brin and Daram had bought the Three Hogs Inn from a halfling businessman named Gareth. Apparently, he had gotten caught up in some legal entanglements with a few of the more prominent townsfolk and had felt the need to make himself scarce. There had also, apparently been a woman involved, a half-Orc woman, whom he felt he must find before it was all too late. Brin had not felt any need to ask, sure that she would not understand or not like the answer.

The Three Hogs Inn was a robust thatch, stone and wood affair, two stories high for the most part. Its external whitewashed walls were accented by large darkly stained wooden structural beams and a number of small windows on each floor, currently shuttered for the night and for the season. A six foot stone outer wall connected the north and the west walls of the main building surrounding a large courtyard and a handful of small outbuildings including a stable, a well house and one of the three pig smokers for which the inn was named.

Brin ran the place and they did a brisk business, mostly legal, when the weather suited travel and commerce. Tonight there were twelve empty rooms of various sizes and levels of luxury on the second floor. The only inhabitants of the inn were the three friends sat around the fireplace drinking Bayberry wine. 
"... and so he asked us to hide the bodies while he made some inquiries and paid some bribes to some fellow he knew in the North Gate precinct of the city guard," Kuokha explained.
"He said he'd meet us here and not to worry," piped the elf.
"But someone had tried to kill him," asked Brin.
"Case of mistaken identity he said."
"Mistaken, is right!" proclaimed a bright voice from the front door, "mistaken for an easy mark."
"Get out of the doorway ya brute, it's bloody cold out here and you're letting all the nice warm air out."
The entrance to the inn was filled with a large man in a long brown leather coat and gloves. His youthful eyes were offset by a sharp black beard with a smattering of silver grey flecks that suggested a face that had weathered a few tough years. Behind him, a smaller man engulfed in thick furs, was trying to elbow his way into the warm room. 

Ellan and Daram were welcomed in with warm hand shakes and friendly hugs.  As they all settled down to warm themselves by the fire, drinking from freshly refilled goblets of wine, they heard the distant chimes of the bell at the Temple of Ianuar in Windbrucke. Before the last resounding ring went quiet, a distant cheer from the inhabitants of the town could be heard even within the walls of the Inn. The friends clinked their glasses in friendship.
"Just in time brother. Again!"

They talked into the night. Tales garnished with just a flavoring of falsehood to make them more entertaining were shared by all. Brin listened with interest. Her tale might be the most intriguing of all, but it would have to wait until the morning light and a measure of sobriety because it would offer a dangerous opportunity for adventure. After finishing all but one of the remaining bottles of wine the welmet comrades bade their goodnights and went upstairs in search of a place to sleep.

However, something moved out in the deep snow, several creatures moved toward the Inn with intent. They had it on good authority that the innkeeper would be all alone tonight, as she had been for several nights before and they had business with her.