And so it came to be.....

"What are you doing walking in these woods alone?" boomed a voice behind her. Tiare L'Roisto quickly turned around and spied a figure leaning against a tree, partially hidden in the shadows. Just as she unsheathed her dagger the figure stepped into the light and began laughing. "Joseph! You nearly scared me to death." she said. He merely laughed harder and exclaimed "Didn't I teach you to arm yourself quicker? Do it like this". Within seconds he grabbed the dagger and held it close to her throat. Tiare pushed Joseph away from her with a friendly shove and smiled at her old friend. "If you came around more maybe I'd be in better practice now. I don't lead the same life you do and have little need for such teachings. Besides, I've never seen you stick around in a fight for very long". A dark shadow passed over his eyes but was quickly replaced by that animated gleam that had always shown through. "I'm here now and I have some information to share with you. Would you care to take a stroll with me?" They began slowly walking through the woods, quietly talking of the past. Although there was a cleared path nearby Tiare knew Joseph well enough to understand that at times the camouflage of the trees was a better place for him to be.

In an hour they reached his establishment, The Dead Dove Tavern, and he bade her inside. She looked in dismay at the damage that had been caused by the guards of Lord British. The guards had assaulted the Tavern's facade with heavily-armored boots and sharp halberds, leaving large cracks in the walls. Most of the furnishings were scratched or broken beyond repair and a chair still lay on the ground from a recent fight among the patrons. "Do you still work for him?" he spat out. "No!" she cried, "I resigned as soon as I heard what happened to you. I could no longer scrub the floors that vile man walked on". He shrugged as if it didn't matter (it was always his way) and slumped into a dusty chair. They drank ale and caught up on each other's lives, for it had been some time since they had last seen each other. "…But murder? I've never known you to resort to such a thing. You must go into hiding immediately!" she pleaded. He shrugged again and insisted it was unavoidable. "I'm quite able to attend to myself" he said "But I do need to go away for awhile on business. With Hugh gone, this place needs someone to look after it and it could be quite a long time before I'm able to return. Would you attend to the Tavern while I am away?". Tiare looked around at the dust and cobwebs that covered the walls and furnishings. "Looks like this place needs a woman's touch. Go off on your business and I'll try to fix this mess up as best as I can. Just don't be gone so long this time" she admonished. He only laughed and stated "I'll be around from time to time when you least expect it. However, it is time for me to depart". He walked towards the door but turned around once more and whispered "See you around, Shorty" then quickly shut the door before she could protest.

She glanced around the tavern once more and grabbed the bucket on the floor. "Time for us to get to work", she said to the Tavern's resident black widow, and commenced scouring the dirty walls.