“You’ll see, Bragh. No harm in having a drink before you head home.”
Braghaman grinned and nodded to the other paladins as the group made their way from the Cathedral towards Old Town.
“Exactly,” another one of the trainers said. “Its the end of the day, and the holidays besides. We’ve got the next couple of days off, so why not?”
“You don’t need to keep convincing me,” Bragh said, still grinning. “I agreed to come along. But don’t expect too much. I’m not going home drunk again. I’d fall off of Valiant and then I’d be in all sorts of trouble.”
“Sure,” said the first trainer. “One ale for the road. Besides, the recruits are doing really well so why not enjoy the moment at least?”
The three paladins made their way into the Pig and Whistle. As soon as they passed through the door, the sounds and smells of the bar struck them. The bar was crowded with people enjoying the evening with their friends and there was a loud drum of noise vibrating through the place. The paladins managed to move their way towards the bar and ordered their drinks.
The three stayed at the bar, nursing their ale and recounting the last couple of weeks and enjoying themselves. As they were comparing notes on various trainees, suddenly Braghaman stumbled forward as someone pushed against him. Turning, he saw large man holding a mug and staring down at his shirt which was soaked. The man raised his head, and looked at Braghaman.
“Ya’ old fool, look what you did!” The man stared with bleary eyes at Braghaman. The paladin could smell the ale on his breath.
“My apologies,” Bragh said calmly. “I’ll buy you another one.” The man looked up and down at Bragh and then at the other two paladins. All were wearing tabards, though unlike the two Cathedral paladins his was not Stormwind colors but those of the Dawn.
“High and mighty types, think you own the place, don’t you?”
“Sir, I’m not here to fight,” Bragh said stepping back slightly. “Let’s just enjoy our evening.”
“Telling me what to do?” the man asked, raising his voice. Bragh started to say something but was caught off guard as the man suddenly swung his arm around and punched Bragh in the side of the face.
Braghaman stumbled back, reaching out and grabbing the bar to steady himself. The other two paladins started forward at the same time as the man’s friends started grabbing his arms to pulling him back. Bragh shook his head and then looked back at the drunk man who’d punched him.
“Someone call the guard! Have this man arrested!” one of the paladins called out. The drunkard’s friends had worried looks on their faces.
“No,” Bragh responded. “Leave him be.” Bragh turned towards the bar and dug a couple of coins out of his pocket. Looking at the bartender, he dropped the coins on the bar. “This should cover us and these men as well.” Then, without looking at the man who had assaulted him, he turned and left the bar.
Outside, the other two paladins caught up to Braghaman as he was standing on the street and gingerly touching his cheek below his left eye.
“Why didn’t you have him arrested?”
“It wouldn’t change anything. He’d still be drunk and he’d still think that we’re arrogant or selfish or whatever. Hopefully he’ll calm down or his friends will get him out of there soon.”
“You’re a better man than I am,” the other trainer said.
“Like we said earlier, its the holidays. No need to punish someone for a momentary lapse. Anyways, thank you for the evening. I need to head home and explain my latest injury to the family.”
