Pearls of laughter caressed Emily's ears as they entered the tavern. This time from the front entrance, the full layout of the place came into view. The many mismatched tables were filled with merry people drinking, playing card games, and conversing happily. It would have almost seemed normal if not for the fact that every person in here didn’t carry a weapon on their person like they were armed for combat at any point.
Fetu led the way and Emily readjusted the pup in the harness she had made for them. Which was made of a scrap of cloth she had repurposed into a baby carrier by fastening it to her chest so that she had her hands free—allowing the three pups to dangle there as they took in their surroundings sleepily.
The sight might have looked comical to some but Emily had worked hard to secure these pups. So there was no way she would stumble at the finish line.
Fetu continued forward and Emily followed with Alex in tow. Their entrance went completely unnoticed but when people noticed their small group moving through the room towards the back rooms, they couldn’t help but stare.
The room was significantly quieter by the time they made it to one of the side doors.
When Fetu opened the simple wooden door Emily had expected to see something more that a bust kitchen. But that's what it was, all around them half a dozen Cooks rushed around peeling potatoes, making sandwiches, and working huge pots on stoves. Emily was a little taken aback when Fetu moved through the place ushering them after him. The men and women in here glared at Fetu, who raised his hands in surrender.
“Just passing through Fox, the boss wanted to see them right away.”
The sound of a pan being sent crashing across the room magnetized Emily's eye to a plump, bald man with a blond beard.
“You think that’s any excuse to interrupt my production line! If you fat shits and your beasts wouldn’t eat so much maybe I’d be less stressed! Get out of here!”
Fetu pulled them past a multitude of scowling faces but they saw Emily and Alex with the pups Fox just about had a hernia.
“You’re bringing animals into a titled Chief’s kitchen are you daft, come here you little shit! I’ll ring your neck!”
Fetu’s eyes widened as he glanced back and muttered “Run!”, before taking off towards a door on the other end.
Emily laughed as she ran after him the pups protesting the sudden movement. Alex arrived through the door slamming it shut on the tirade that was now raging on behind it.
“Sorry bout that but this really is the fastest way.”
After which Fetu led them down a couple of hallways until they reached a set of doors at the end.
Fetu knocked.
“Boss, I’ve got them.”
There was silence inside for a time after which a voice Emily didn’t recognise called out.
“Send them in, and fetch Vivan.”
Fetu glanced at Alex and Emily before tilting his head towards the door and turning to leave.
Emily decided that no good negotiation started with meekness, so without hesitating she turned the doorknobs, flinging the set of doors open as she strode in. Alex followed closely with his spoils of loot, though he’d opted to bundle his pups up.
The room opened up to Emily and where she had expected Kael and perhaps one other, Emily spotted a total of four individuals in the room.
A room that was already quite small with the addition of the single largest, black Rime wolf she’d seen to date. And that was after returning from a literal pack of the creatures. The only reason the room could even contain such a beast was because it was partway joined with another structure.
One end of the room contained draws and cabinets strewn about with maps plaster over every available surface. While the other looked like someone had attached a barn to the other end. A large hollow chamber made entirely of wood and stalls similar to what horses would have used in her old life. Only three of them were occupied but they held three beautiful she-wolves that calmly louged about.
The further they stepped into the room the more like a kennel it smelled. Emily tore her eyes away from the strange mishmash of a room, in time to see Kael sitting up in his chair.
The man wore his usual businessman’s smile as he slammed a ledger the size of Emily's torse shut.
“I have to admit, I'm once again impressed. I gave you five days and you did it in four. If everything’s in order I think we can just about call it even.”
Emily stepped forward and began unwrapping the harness.
“I gotta say, this litter was not easy to get our hands on, we had to just about burn down a forest to get 'em. I even lost four of my fingers, I feel like I should claim worker's compensation.”
Kael looked at Emily with a slow smile.
“First, I'm not sure what that is, but if it's what it sounds like, it ain't happening. Secondly, hand the fresh ones over to old Gerade over there he’s our resident Beast Guide.”
Emily walked over to the short man with savage features and scruffy-looking sideburns before depositing the pups into a wicker basket he had prepared.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Alex came forward with his pups and then turned to Kael.
“Now that that out of the way, maybe now we can actually discuss terms.”
Kael leaned forward in his chair as he leaned against the desk with one elbow.
“Eger to get to business, I see. Well, fair enough. These three men are my captains. They’ll be joining us for this first ‘official’ meeting. That’s Marth my second in command, I’ve introduced Gerade he’s my third, and that's Atticus my fourth, though I believe Emily is already acquainted.”
Atticus was just how Emily remembered him with his untamed beard and suspicious gaze.
Marth was a taller man with greying hair neatly bundled up in a bun. His eyes remained fixed on Alex, with a darker light churning behind them.
“Not in name, but yes, we’ve met.”
“Wonderful, now onto Alexander's request to get you two to Lorethil in a timely fashion. Honestly, you couldn’t have picked a worse time. Moving through an active battlefield is more likely to get us mixed up in this war than anything else.”
Emily could see Kael was trying to get somewhere but she needed more information.
“Wait. I’ve been in the forest the last couple of days gimme a breakdown on what's going on in the city.”
Kael looked thoughtful but nodded and pushed the large ledger to the side of his desk. Beneath it was another map.
“We’re here,” he said tapping on a large red dot pinched between two mountains.
Sam’eth, one of the religious centers of the continent just declared a holy war on Lorethil the city of sages.
Kael pointed at a yellow and blue dot respectively. Emily could immediately see from the proximity to the cities, that Targin’s keep sat smack-dab in the middle of the two.
“Which is why I’ll say right now boss, I’m against taking this job,” Marth said as he stepped forward.
“Noted, any particular reason?”
“Yes, we don’t know if this man can back up what he claims, we’re essentially taking his word for it. Right now the keep may be in a difficult position but it's one of the most defensible places for us right now.”
Kael nodded while scratching his chip. The large black Rime wolf stood and moved further away from their conversion as though annoyed by their talking, before plopping next to one of the females.
“Hmm. you have a point. Gerade, Atticus, thoughts?”
Gerade shrugged.
“In the coming weeks, these pups are going to need as much exercise as they can get to grow up strong. I vote we head out.”
Atticus seemed to take his time to respond but as he glared at Marth it was clear there was no love lost between the two.
“War is our playground, holing up is a stupid idea. The real issue is whether this is worth our time in coin or could we be making more somewhere else?”
Kael listened to all of their opinions and then turned to look at Alex
“Well? Care to make it worth my while?”
Alex glanced around the room and when his sight landed on Kael he pursed his lips.
“In addition to what we already discussed, I’m willing to throw in the location of a nearby Layline.”
Kael laced his fingers together.
“If it’s the same one you gave to the sister of my Jailer then I’m afraid she was already agreed to share that particular location with us in exchange for protection.”
Alex looked annoyed but he also seemed to expect this.
“You know the location, sure. But do you know how to get in? If my information is correct, it’s a fourth-tier Layline.”
Emily noticed Kael’s shoulder straighten just slightly when Alex said this.
“So what? With enough time I could have a Law Breaker force their way through.”
Alex nodded calmly.
With enough time you probably could. But the cost and time it would take would attract others. So let me sweeten the deal. I can get you inside and guide you through a majority of the dangers. In exchange, you can keep whatever we find in there except for one thing for my personal use. And who knows I might even know the location of a more powerful Layline when we get to where we’re going.
The room had become deadly quiet not even the Rime wolf's heavy breathing could be heard as all eyes were on Alex.
Emily tensed as she felt Kael's full focus on them. If she were in his place, and someone came to her with a deal while withholding pertinent information, she would have already had them carted off to extract the details through torture.
However, she couldn’t tell what Kael was thinking because he suddenly broke out laughing.
“That certainly is tempting, I hope you don’t mind if I confirm it.”
There was a knock at the door as Kael called them to enter.
“Ah Vivan, I hope your duties are going smoothly I need you to confirm a statement as true as we can no longer use Selia’s skills with our new ‘business partners’.”
Vivan just nodded pulling out his card made of glass and turned to Alex.
“I’ve only got two uses of this skill left for today. Please state in full what you are offering the boss and word it as simply as you can.”
As Vivan put the piece of glass up to his eye, Alex restated what he was offering.
The moment he was finished Vivan nodded towards Kael.
“He’s telling the truth. Oh and the woman beside him now has a title.”
Emily unconsciously took a step towards Vivan.
The room shifted dangerously as Kael’s voice came from behind Emily. He was standing right beside her, having gotten up from his chair without making a sound. His voice was no more than a whisper but in this room, it drowned out every other thought causing all the hair on Emily's arms to stand on end.
“This should go without saying, but if you kill another one of my men for no good reason. I’ll hang you by your guts and let them beat you till you’re a boneless sack of broken meat. That goes for both of you.”
Emily glanced out of the corner of her eye, no one moved save for the Rime wolves who were standing now with fur bristling.
Emily glanced over at Alex and then sighed letting the tension go out of her shoulders.
“Sorry bout that. I was under the impression you’d attack me on sight if you knew.”
“Oh? And, do tell. What title would make you think that?”
Vivan answered for her
“Her title is Scarlet sister, boss. I’ve never heard of it.”
Kael scratched his chin while looking down at Emily.
“Neither have I. However, that little escort inside the city walls is starting to make more sense. Care to explain at all?”
Emily glanced at Alex and saw him nod just slightly.
“I actually kind of like you Kael, so sure, but you gotta promise me you won’t turn our request down if you don’t like my answer.”
“I promise nothing…but you’ll find I have an open mind when it comes to titles.”
“Good enough for me. The name is just like it sounds, but near as I can tell, it's not all that different from a Blood mage.”
The room remained pretty calm at the revelation, only Marth showed dissatisfaction.
“I thought we were done with those freaks.”
To which Kael raised a hand to silence him.
“So you can use magic?”
Emily trained her gaze on Marth, then looked back at Kael and nodded. As far as they were concerned, Emily was a magic user.
Then I have a compromise for you. I’ve already determined that you’re capable fighters. Instead of lugging you around as precious cargo, why don’t you join our ranks for the duration of this trip? Lead us down into that Layline as my people, and in return, we’ll get you to Lorethil. Hell, I won’t even demand that you follow orders. But while you’re here, you’ll use your magic to help me with certain tasks. I’ll even throw in something to hide your title to an extent.
Emily's first thought was how well he had taken things, but then she remembered who their company had worked with before and wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. One glance at Alex was all it took for her to make a decision.
“I think you got yourself a deal”
“Hah! Then as the leader of the wandering fangs, I officially offer you both a place in our ranks.”
Blood points: 23