The Windpeak was a small inn located on the outskirts of Detroit - most people would have mistaken it for an old abandoned building. It was perpetually covered in snow, even late in the season when most other buildings had been cleared or the snow had melted. This was due to the classic Dutch architecture of the place, with it's straw thatched roof and oak walls. A partially covered, raised porch fronted the building, providing cover from the weather for anyone wishing to have a smoke or just take in the view of Lake Michigan. 

The door inside was located on the right of the building, so that when one entered they would have a wall to their immediate right. Straight ahead were three tables pushed up against the wall, each with a wooden bench under it for patrons to sit at. Similarly to The Bannered Mare, the Windpeak had a central firepit. However, this one was larger and rectangular, and mostly used for cooking rather than storytelling. The menu consisted of Charred Skeever Hide, Sweet Rolls, and Snowberry Salad among other things.

They served all the same alcohols as Qahnaarin's other establishments: Black Briar Mead and Reserve, Alto Wine, Honningbrew Mead, and so forth. However the Detroit location was slightly different in that there was a basement. A staircase behind the bar led down to it, and there was a small black market skooma shop housed there. Peddlers and addicts frequented the Inn just to do business in a safe, secretive environment.

There were five rooms for rent; three basic rooms on the first floor and two suites upstairs. They were very cozy and well stocked with reading material.

Just like at The Bannered Mare, the old innkeeper Thoring was mysteriously found dead not long after Qahnaarin purchased the building. The doctors quoted the death to a skooma overdose. In his stead, his very attractive young daughter had taken over the Inn, where she had previously just been the bard. Redheaded and scantily clad, Karita had long been a target of many a patron's lustful eye.

Qahnaarin often stopped by the Inn when he had business up north, and local rumor was that he spent his nights there in Karita's personal bedchamber, although no one had been able to confirm.

Qahnaarin was stuck in Detroit for a few hours, waiting for the time to take care of a contract he had acquired up there. He had already visited a couple of places downtown, and decided to stop by his establishment on the outskirts of the east side. The Windpeak Inn was dead when he arrived around four in the morning. He walked in an smiled at the late night desk girl, whose name he was not sure of. She was marginally attractive, but Qahnaarin had another dame on his mind.

@Katria had been haunting his nights for about a week now, since they had last made love. Her voluptuous body, ample bosom, and fiery red hair were all he could think of. He craved her sweet embrace, her ragged breathing, her convulsing body. He snuck upstairs to her private quarters and picked the lock. 

She was sleeping. 

Not being a complete dick, he allowed her to sleep, and went back downstairs to have a beer instead.

Karita *

Baloo strolled into Detroit on his usual business and the cold really seemed to bother him, being from the jungle and all.  He noted the hotel with a peaked ear after the completion of his daily duties and figured it was as good of a place as any to hang his hat for the night.  

Baloo walked into the room and saw Qahnaarin sitting at the bar all flushed having a beer.  Baloo smiled and nodded at the man...

"My hat hanger is over there, sir."

He laughed as he sat up to the bar and ordered a beer all too eagerly.  It was his thing after all...

"How are you sir?  You look like you're waiting for something that isn't coming. If for some reason your lady shows up I'll be glad to leave you to your business."

Qahnaarin grinned at Baloo and shook his head.

"I'm afraid she won't be down. When she goes she's out like a rock for half the day."

He raised his bottle of ale to Baloo.

"At least I have my ale. Ale never passes out early on me."

Dino cursed under his breath as his expensive hand stitched Italian leather shoes were no doubt ruined from crunching through the wet snow all around this godforsaken neighbourhood. Where the hell was this place? He scoured from street to street until a thatched roof in the distance caught his eye. Heading through the biting cold wind wrapping his coat tightly as possible he reached the small obscure entrance of The Windpeak Inn.

Upon entering he was surprised at just how small the place was let alone how quiet. Just a few empty tables up against a wall and a bar. Then he saw what can only be described as a vision behind the bar. WOW she was a real looker and well out of Dino's league but he would try to use his charm anyways.

He smiled as he approached her. " Pretty quiet in here." he said quickly realising how lame that sounded.

"Nice work detective. no doubt you'll be promoted with observation skills like that!" she retorted icely.

This wasn't good and rather than try to make a sarcastic quip he just went red as a beetroot cos he knew he was out of his depth here.

She seemed to realise he was no match for her verbally and softened slightly towards him. They needed all the custom they could get so for the sake of the business she would humour him for an hour or so as there was nothing better to do.

"Come and sit down here with me at the bar and you can tell me all your problems." she said beckoning him to a stool.

"I'm only here to find Qahnaarin and give him a package from my boss." he blurted.

Her eyes narrowed as she asked him " Who's your boss and what makes you think he's here? He has a lot of different businesses and he can't be in the same place all the time." Checking his reaction to her terse statement.

"HyacinthBucket from South Side Chicago. She has sent me to hand deliver a letter." His voice was wavering and getting higher and higher. He paused to compose himself before continuing.

"I was originally sent to Seattle but just missed him. They told me there that he was on his way here." He looked at her imploringly.

RING RING........RING RING......

He felt himself jump as the phone rang suddenly. She held her hand up and answered the call. Turning her back to him so he couldn't here the conversation.

After a few moments she hung up and turned to face me.

"Well speak of the devil! It looks like you've had a wasted journey as that was the man himself." "You are correct he was meant to be coming here but his plans have changed so he won't be here until later in the week now." she frowned sympathetically as she saw Dino's demeanour spiral downwards.

"I shouldn't be telling you this as he is very secretive about his movements but maybe you should head back to Chicago and see if he's there."

"Here have a drink on the house before you set off." As she placed a beer mat down.

All Dino could think was that he was blowing his first ever job for his Boss and this could mean the end for him.....

Seeing Dino sitting with a depressed look on his face, Paul headed towards his, raising two fingers towards the barkeep to indicate whiskeys was needed.

Whats up Dino, you face looks like a chickens ass so uptigth is it, here i got us some drinks. Tell Mr.T whats putting you down.

Getting the drinks he hands Dino one and raises two fingers once more to the barkeep, saying.

Just keep em coming ok...

Dino was thoroughly depressed and his head was spinning. What the hell was he going to tell his boss apart from he had failed again!

He heard a familiar voice and raised his head to see his buddy Paul.

"I'm in trouble mate. The boss gave me my first job which should have been easy but I just seem to keep messing up." he blurted out a little too loudly.

"I've got this letter I have to hand deliver to Qahnaarin but I keep missing him. I've been to Seattle and now here only to find out he's back in Chicago!"

He continued...

"Thanks for the drink buddy but I better head to the airport and head home and face the music."

With that he dragged himself up off his stool and solemnly walked to the exit with his shoulders slumped not knowing what fate awaited him when he returned to his home HQ

Qahnaarin had been travelling all day, doing the circuit of his businesses across the country. He had meant to stop in Detroit earlier but made a pit stop back home in Chicago to make sure a very important deal went through without any issues. After doing so he went back to his intended route, chartering a quick flight up to Detroit.

When he arrived at the Windpeak he found business was doing well. Karita was handling the guests well and doing a fine job of spurning those with the nards to hit on her as always. Qahnaarin walked over to the bar and had a seat, smiling at his soulmate.

"Hello darling, how are you? Could you grab me an Embershard? I'm feeling a bit chilly." 

As Karita grabbed the drink for him, she mentioned that someone had been in here earlier looking for him. A young man by the name of Dino, who said he worked for Hyacinth. Befuddled by this news, Qahnaarin finished his drink rather quicker than he had intended, making his eyes water from the burning sensation.

"I'd best be off then, love. I'm sure it's something important."

Again cutting his stay at the Windpeak short, he got up and made his way out the door and back to the airport.

Paul seing another familiar faces coming and then leaving for the airport swiftly, he made his mind up that this was the wrong place to get drunk, when he was pissed Paul ran his mouth so he needed some friendly faces around him to talk to. He chucked his drink and put a nice dollar bill down for the waiter and left the place.

The flight from Chicago to Detroit wasn't that long. In fact Lizeth could read all the notes her mother left for her in regards to the city. Once she had gotten herself settled, Liz went out to look for a spot her ancestors had never been to. A little old fashioned was something that appealed to her and when she came across The WindPeak Inn she knew she had found something different.

Walking through the doors the place seemed rather quiet and it made her feel comfortable almost immediately. Not being a fan of large crowds Liz found herself a quiet spot to sit. Settling herself close to the fire so she could take in the scenery before she tried to order anything. A moment to take the cold out of her bones.

Thomas came in with his men and John they picked a table, ordered 3 bottle of whisky, enjoyed the night and talked about the marijuana's these days price and their last trade.

smoked their cigarettes... chilled a little after the long day they had, far from home Chicago.

and then they reserved 3 rooms, and spent the rest of the night there.

till the sunlight hit the Windows and its time to fly home.

Exquisite flew back into Detroit and makes her way to The WindPeak Inn. She rented one of the upper suites for the weekend, it was what she needed. With her overnight bag in her hand, she hurries to her suite to unwind.

She was lying on the bed dressed in cut off jean shorts and oversized Mickey Mouse T-shirt waiting, she glances over at the clock on the wall it was almost 3 in the afternoon. Her pretty brown eyes with a hint of green in them looked around at her surroundings which were pretty decent, she was happy the inn was still running.

All of sudden, all kinds of bad thoughts try to invade her mind but she pushes them out in the cold, giggling she says out loud to no one in particular. “Not today”

Finally, there was a knock at the door, Ex hops out of the bed and hurries to the door, opening it, the delivery guy smiles and hands her two large sacks. Ex gestures for him to wait but the young man informs her that her order and his tip was already taking care of.

Exquisite is a bit surprised but thanks him and close the door. She heads into the living room to sit and unpack the sacks which one of them had a family size four cheese lasagna in it with garlic bread.

The food was hot and smelled great as she pulls out next a disposable plate and fork. When there is another knock on the door.

A look of frustration instantly pops up on her face as she gets up and goes to the door once more, slowly she opens it

“You are a hard person to keep up with you know” Uriel smiles at Exquisite.

Exquisite frustrated look quickly turns to delight “I have not seen you in weeks…were you tracking me?” she said in astonishment.

Uriel shakes his head “No” he answered, “I saw you at the airport, I tried to get your attention but you were in such a hurry”

“Oh, I am sorry” Exquisite responds with remorse in her tone. “Please come in then, Uriel”

“It is ok Ex; it is clear you didn’t see me” Uriel replies in a comforting tone.

A smile softly appears on Exquisite face as she steps to the side to allow another one of her faithful warriors to enter her suite. Uriel does but not before giving her one of their special fists bumps it was something Ex came up with years ago.

 “À Vaillant coeur rien d’impossible.” he says subsequently causing Ex to giggles. He was keeping her on toes which she respected that about Uriel.

“Merci, mon vieil ami.”

Uriel enters her suite; Ex locks the door and invites him into the living room to eat with her. Inside the living room, she makes both of them a plate of lasagna while Uriel has a seat in one of the chairs. He pulls out the old amulet that once belongs to the preacher who met his demised a while ago. Exquisite notice it as she passes him a plate and a bottle of water. Uriel hands her the amulet, Exquisite examine it as she takes a seat on the couch.

 “Je vois que vous l'avez trouvé. Était-ce difficile à localiser?”

Uriel response back in between bites because he is actually famished from not eating since lunchtime yesterday.

“Un peu, le prédicateur a été enterré dans une tombe anonyme. La pauvre âme n'avait ni famille ni rien.”

Exquisite look sad for a second as she kept examining the amulet. She lost her appetite at the moment, she would eat later.

“Oh bien, il aurait dû être plus prudent avec le chemin qu'il a choisi. Ce n’est pas un pour les faibles et le dossier que j’ai eu le concernant, c’était ça et plus encore. Je suis content que vous ayez pu récupérer cette amulette avant qu'elle ne tombe à nouveau entre de mauvaises mains.”

A look of disgust appears on his face

“Pourquoi pensez-vous qu'il l'a fait cependant? Le prix qu'il a payé pour son échec, je suis sûr que cela n'en valait pas la peine.”

Exquisite puts the amulet back into (beep locking it) Uriel's eyes look at the box with wonderment, he knew what it was but to some it was a just an old wives’ tale.

“La vengeance voir la première fois que j'ai traité avec le bâtard, il avait le culot de mettre un fusil chargé dans ma bouche mais il a baissé quand je n'ai pas bronché. La deuxième fois, j'ai traité avec le bâtard, il a mis un fusil chargé sur ma tempe, je n'ai plus bronché, je me suis retrouvé avec un pistolet qui le fouettait.”

Uriel knew that Ex was not someone to be taken lightly for sure. He finishes wolfing down his food, he apologized for his poor manners as he downs the water, Exquisite gives him an understanding look as she passes him, the box

“Je me souviens que Gideon m'en avait parlé. Merci de rafraîchir mes souvenirs. Alors, où voulez-vous que je prenne ceci.”

Exquisite quietly gives him a knowing look. Uriel nods and gets up with the Box. He hurries to leave.

“Je vais gérer cela, je serai en contact, s'il vous plaît profiter de votre week-end, vous le méritez.”

Exquisite gets up, seeing him out, she kisses his cheek.

“Merci beaucoup et je le ferai, mais pas de fuite, s'il vous plaît.”

Uriel nods and is off with a flash as Exquisite locks up behind him. She goes and cleans up lunch mess in the living room.

Staying in the heart of Detroit wouldn’t have been smart, especially after the accident. I always knew there wasn’t anyone in this town that I could trust apart from Elle_E_Ott and to a far lesser degree, Mitch and Margo. Besides, we weren’t looking for something flashy but rather something off the beaten path, some place where the majority of not all of Detroit had forgotten about. I was pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon The WindPeak Inn. It was far enough on the outskirts of the city and secluded enough that we wouldn’t be caught off guard here, even if word managed to get out that we were still in town.

Despite everything said earlier, M & M were still only a few steps behind us. Part of me figured they’d turn and run after the accident, they weren’t exactly the loyal type but then again, maybe they figured that Elle and I were the best chance they had at staying ahead of whatever mess they were in that they didn’t fully understand.

With the exception of the worker behind the front desk, the place was completely empty which made it a lot easier to rent both suites out in our name, Friese in this case. I certainly wasn’t stupid enough to be giving them our real name. After handing over more than enough cash to cover both rooms for the weekend, I offered Elle the crook of my elbow, “Well Mrs. Friese, ready to see the room?” 

I gave a sideways glance over in Mitch’s direction, still fuming about earlier, “Get settled in then be in our room.” I didn’t intended for my words to sound as harsh as they did but I couldn’t help it, “There is a lot we have to talk about.”

They'd fled the scene of the crime just in time. As emergency vehicles descended on the wreckage and bodies scattered around the intersection, the four ran as far as they could through the lesser-travelled side streets,  making a rough half-circle that brought them back around to the main avenue again, and not all that far from the club they'd left earlier. DickGrayson hailed the cab this time, not trusting the M&Ms with even this small task. Elle rubbed at her eyes tiredly, it was going to be a long night.

"Nice choice, John." Elle couldn't care less about what Mitch thought about anything, much less about what he thought of Elle. It was hard not to take the dig after his earlier statement, though, and she was glad that Dick was subdued enough now to at least take the joke for what it was- an attempt to lighten the mood.

"That lake out there is going to be beautiful at sunrise. Maybe we'll be awake to see it." This, from Margo. She seemed to be taking the whole evening in stride by now, which was good, if not a bit odd. Dick had paid for the two suites, and they were now ascending the stairs. 

"Do you think there's gift baskets or something? I'm famished." Elle yawned, then bumped into Mitch, who'd abruptly stopped on the landing ahead of her.

"Are you crazy? How can you even think about food at a time like this? People are dead, Elle, and we nearly joined them!" 

Elle stepped up onto the landing, forcing Mitch to take a step backwards. She didn't stop there, though. Another step brought her right into his face.

"You're alive, aren't you?" She ground out, then pushed past him and took the door on the left, the one she assumed would have the better lake view in the morning. Sorry, Margo!

"Fantastic!" Elle said happily when she saw the basket of meats, cheeses, and fruits sitting on a table inside the door. She grabbed an apple, polished it on her sleeve, and took a monstrous bite out of it, staring hard at Mitch as she did it, while juice ran down her chin.

I leaned against the wall beside the large window with the view of the lake, rubbing at the bridge of my nose tiredly as Elle_E_Ott happily chomped away at her apple. The woman never ceased to amaze me. In spite of everything that had gone on, she kept a certain dignified air about her, something that I had always admired.

”Get settled in Mitch,” I spoke without bothering to turn and look at him, “Im guessing you want some answers and you may just get them in due time. For now, just know you’re a hell of a lot safer closer to us than you are farther away.”

Mitch huffed and puffed but he didn’t put up any fight. After that right cross, I doubted he would say something even if he wanted too. As soon as they were gone with the door shut, I turned with my back to the wall, propping up one of my knees, “Well, that was certainly an interesting end to the night now wasn’t it Elle? We’re going to have to figure this out. And...” I trailed off for a moment, “And were going to have to fill them in, on everything. It’s a risk for sure but it’s not fair to both of them to leave them blind. I get the sense that Margo would be alright but, Mitch, well Mitch strikes me as the type that will sell us up river as soon as he could to save his own skin. We’re going to have to figure out a way to make it so we’re his best chance at survival. That’s all he really cares about anyways.”

I let out a soft sigh as I looked Elle_E_Ott up and down before springing forward, knocking the apple out of her hand as I half tackled her onto the bed behind her, wrapping her in a warm embrace, “I’m glad you’re ok, Elle.” I brushed the hair out of her eyes with my free hand, gently caressing her cheek as I did, “I couldn’t do this without you.”

The next morning, Elle woke after only a couple hours of sleep. She was sore and still quite exhausted, but the sun peeking through the gauzy curtains was calling. Wrapped in a quilt she pulled from the bed, she left Dick's side and padded over to the window.

What a view! Mist crawled up from the water's surface, and despite the cold, the rising sun insisted on giving the impression that it was warm out there. Elle fell for the lie, wanting to believe. She lifted the pane, immediately stuttering a curse word when the frigid temperatures latched onto every bit of her exposed skin that it could find. 

"F-f-f-f!" Slamming the window shut again, she heard DickGrayson grunt his disapproval. Elle turned to apologize to him when a gentle knock sounded at the door. She tiptoed to it quickly, and when she opened it, a woman was there with a tray laden with a coffee urn, two cups, cream, sugar, and a handful of homemade pastries.

"Oh! Gosh, thank you, this all looks wonderful!" She backed up, allowing the woman to enter and set the tray on the table inside the door. As the woman left, she gave Dick's barely-covered, sleeping form a long look, then nodded her approval at Elle before closing the door behind her. Elle walked quickly to the bed, jumped on it, and sat on Dick's chest.

"Hey! The lady of the manor thinks you're hot stuff, Hot Stuff! Want coffee? We should rouse the M&Ms, I don't think we need to linger here much longer, do you?" 

The frigid temperatures outside roused me from my slumber which was punctuated with Elle_E_Ott resting somewhat awkwardly on my chest. I stretched my arms and legs as best I could with her atop me, letting out a long prolonged yawn as I did. Sleep was something we had t had much of lately, so even these few uninterrupted hours were welcomed.

“Coffee sounds wonderful, Love.” I spoke through the haze, trying to push through it as best we could, “I wanted to talk to you about that, Elle. There’s someone I know, or rather used to know in Chicago. It’s a rather long shot, we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms but, at this point, it might just be worth the try.”

I propped myself up on my elbows, knocking her to the bed beside me, “As far as those two,” I craned my neck in the direction of the adjoining room, “Do you think they can handle much more of this. Last night was rather...eye opening I’d say. Seems like Margo might be suited for this life much better than Mitch is.”