“So, you gonna drink something or only blockin’ my tables?!”

As the two young men were conversing, a disgruntled voice suddenly startled them. Tenro reeled back in shock. He feared that someone overheard their dangerous conversation.

Meanwhile Tepo only eyed the burly woman wearing a greasy apron.

“Sure, bring us two jugs of beer.”

Tenro’s eyes shot open.

“Eh… I… Tepo…”

“Two jugs of beer it is!”, interrupted the woman with an amused grin. She shot a glance at Tenro before turning around.

Tepo furrowed his brows as he looked at the man opposite him:

“What was this?”

“Ah… nothing.”, answered Tenro with an embarrassed smile.

Shaking his head Tepo tried to listen to the other guests again. But he didn’t get much gossip other than their win/lose record with dice.

A short while later, two jugs of beer were slammed on their table. A bit of golden liquid splashed over their edges.

“Two crystals.”

Tepo was just about to rummage through his storage bag when Tenro hastily paid.

“My treat.”, spoke the man with a bright smile.

“Thanks.”

Tepo wasn’t overly polite. He didn’t have that many crystals. Most of his wealth was just some pocket money given by Anvil together with her trinkets.

The fresh warrior nodded at the opposite man, raised his drink and took a sip.

Tenro hesitated slightly but copied Tepo after a moment.

Continuing their conversation the two men stayed seated at the table for at least two hours. The atmosphere shifted a bit as old customers left, and new ones arrived.

Gradually Tepo understood why Tenro showed such a strange reaction earlier. The man had such a low resistance to alcohol.

Tenro’s voice rose gradually as his tongue got heavier:

“Tepo. Tepo, llet me… are you listening? Tepo?”

“Tenro. Don’t you think it’s better to end the day now? Let’s just go to bed, ok?”

“NO!”

Tenro opened his eyes wide as he hiccupped.

“Tepo. Have you already forgotten why we’re here? Haha, you are prop… probap… drunk, right?”

Tepo sighed as he looked at the foolishly smiling Tenro. How could it be that a warrior got drunk from a single jug of beer?

Or is he… wait!

“Tenro?”, asked Tepo carefully. “Can I ask you something private?”

“Haha. Of course. Teprno. You are my goodest friend. Jusst ask!”

“You… you are a warrior, right?”

“Haha. Of course not. *hic* My celemny is in five months.”

Now it was Tepo’s turn to be shocked. He studied his opposite’s tall frame, the sharp face with a light, stubbly beard. This man was only… fifteen?

Now the earlier scene makes more sense. Obviously, the waitress knew about Tenro’s age.

Tepo sighed, annoyed about the problem he caused for himself. What was he supposed to do now? He didn’t know where Tenro lived. He could only book some rooms for them both.

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After this realization Tepo wasn’t in the mood to wait for some warriors which might or might not come. He was prepared to leave and get Tenro out of here.

Just as the young man wanted to stand up, a new group of customers arrived in the underground tavern. Tepo frowned. Those newcomers wore tidy uniforms and each of them had a lightning bolt tattooed to their face.

The moment the group stepped into the room, the other warriors’ faces turned serious. Some unconfident looking ones quickly hid the substances they had been smoking or the empty glasses standing on tables before them.

Fierce eyes scanned the room. Some of the newcomers scattered, talking to other warriors in an almost berating tone. Suddenly the leader’s eyes lit up. He pointed and two warriors approached Tepo and Tenro.

The former investigator glanced at his new friend’s face. An expression as if caught doing something bad by one’s parents was on the young man’s face.

Shaking his head, Tepo cursed his luck. Trouble was obviously on its way.

“Hey! You, kids! Don’t you think you are too young to drink?!”

One of the two warriors spoke up in an accusatory tone. He wore a clean leathern armor and had accurately trimmed, brown hair. He looked a bit older than Tepo.

Frowning, Tepo just wanted to answer when Tenro was quicker:

“Sir. I… I’m sorry sir. I won’t do it again.”

“Mhm. But do you think that’s enough?!”

Tenro fell silent, his face grimacing.

“Hey! What’s got our drinking to do with you?”, asked Tepo in annoyance.

Immediately Tenro’s eyes widened in shock.

“T…Tepo! Those are… executors of the Church of Punishing Thunder. Just go aloong with hem.”

“Kid. You better listen to your friend here! Who doesn’t know that the unweakened shouldn’t be allowed to drink! You deserve to be punished!”

“Right!”, proclaimed the second warrior, licking his lips with a disgusting expression on his face.

Naturally Tepo could try to argue that he was a warrior and should be allowed to drink by their own logic.

But when the former investigator realized that it was members of a church who wanted to berate him, Tepo immediately grew stubborn. Unpleasant memories returned to his mind as the young man gritted his teeth.

“And why would I listen to your sh*t rules?!”

“So, you dare to resist?!”, spoke one of the fanatics with some excitement in his voice.

The atmosphere subtly changed. It felt as if time had slowed down for a moment. The music had already stopped playing. Tepo watched the two warriors before him. From their faces, he knew their judgement was already made.

If you want to punish people, let’s see if you are good enough!

Tepo took the initiative. Suddenly he tensed his body. He grabbed the table and threw it to the side. Surprised shouts ran through the room.

The commotion instantly attracted everyone’s attention. Even some sleeping warriors woke up with a start.

Suddenly, one of them rubbed his eyes. The light in the room was still dim. The man had to narrow his eyes and look at Tepo’s corner for a few seconds.

A grin formed on his face. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and looked at it stealthily.

The man’s eyes lit up. He put the paper away and sneakily left the room when nobody paid him any attention.

Tepo had no time to care for anyone’s suspicious actions. He jumped up and darted towards the door with a loud shout:

“Come, T! Let’s leave!”

Tenro was shocked. He didn’t know how to act. Almost instinctively he followed Tepo’s shout and ran after his new friend.

The two warriors were cursing loudly.

“Sinner! Halt!”

“How dare you resist!”

Immediately the room turned boisterous. The battle-hardened warriors grew excited. Laughing loudly many of them also began to provoke the executors.

Seeing the situation, the believers’ leader immediately bellowed in rage:

“All of you! Stop! How dare you! We will blacklist all of you!”

The leader, a strong aspirant, was just about to act, when a small man appeared before them.

With a slightly crazy grace the man swung his fist:

“Blacklist? Haha. Wouldn’t be my first time!”

Tepo’s actions were the fuse that lit a fire. Immediately chaos ensued. Although the church was feared by many, those few small fries present still couldn’t boss around everyone.

Although the young man couldn’t have planned for this, he was elated. This was their chance to get away! Only a few meters separated Tepo form the door.

Suddenly a loud shout came from the left:

“Oh no, you don’t!”

A vicious punch raced at Tepo’s face at high speeds. But the warrior was prepared. He reacted quickly. His palm met the fist, deflecting its force.

With no time to lose Tepo didn’t care for the result. He dashed forward. Another shout sounded behind his back:

“Stay here!”

Tepo looked over his shoulder. He gritted his teeth. One of the executors had entangled Tenro.

Tepo stopped abruptly. He grabbed a chair and turned around. With one step he was behind the believer.

The latter had a feverish grin on his face as he gripped Tenro’s arm. He pulled strongly.

Crack!

Suddenly wood splintered. A chair crushed on the believer’s back. He screamed in pain.

Tepo shouted anxiously:

“Let’s go!”

The two young men dashed towards the door, weaving between other fighters.

“Stop right there!”

A hoarse shout reached Tepo’s ears, but he didn’t pause for even a moment. Entangled by another warrior the leader could only watch as the two troublemakers escaped through the door.

Only the two executors who originally approached Tepo and Tenro gave chase.

Running up the stairs, Tepo could still hear his pursuer’s footsteps. He cursed inwardly. How come he was chased two times in one day.

With a loud rumble the door towards the first floor was pushed open. Tepo and Tenro ran hurriedly. Suddenly a pleasantly surprised voice rang out.

“Young master! Finally, we found you.”

Tepo had just left the tavern when two female warriors appeared before him. He was confused at first, but he noticed that their gazes were directed at Tenro.