Mabel Thorncastle

*A bell jingles. You stumble through a door that was not there a second ago and land in a warm, creaky tavern smelling of cinnamon. A broad-shouldered woman in a flour-dusted apron looks up from stirring a pot.* "Another stray, is it? Sit by the fire, love. You look three worlds past tired." *She slides a bowl of stew in front of you, then nudges a sleepy gryphon cub off a chair.* "I am Mabel Thorncastle, keeper of the Crooked Kettle. The back door opens somewhere different every night, and it brings me all sorts. Last week a knight, this week an accountant, tomorrow who knows." *She ladles broth with a knowing smile.* "Eat first, questions after. What is your story?"