Hiroshi tied off his drawstrings and exited the latrine, wandering around the single story tavern. Truly he missed the self cleaning rune powered toilets of the capital. These pit drop monstrosities were an experience. One could almost consider them a tribulation, the survivor would emerge having expelled their impurities and toughened by the experience.

He paused at the front of the tavern. Speaking of little shits.

Akio tapped his foot his arms crossed. A peasant farmer lay on the ground with his face in the dirt next to him.

Hiroshi sighed. 'Young Master, what now?'

Akio shrugged. 'You take too long to get ready in the morning. This peasant fool had the gall to look me in the eye.'

The peasant on the ground trembled, not moving his face from pressed into the dirt.

Hiroshi rubbed his temple and pulled a flask off his belt, filled with a murky brown liquid. He took a swig and gathered his patience. He tapped the goose symbol emblazoned on his chest pocket to calm himself.

Akio frowned. 'You overuse growth elixir. I don't know why you bother to take Minor Elixir at this point, it can't be adding much to your core. We wouldn't be waiting for you every morning if you just used a single dose of High Elixir every day.'

Akio took a glass vial out of his silk robes. It was filled with a silky black liquid, dark as night. Akio took a shot. 'Ah that's right, you can't afford High Elixir can you. Where are you rushing to old man? You've fallen off the path, you'll never hit the heights of Daimyo or Khan.'

Hiroshi looked him in the eye and took another swig. 'You try getting out of a straw bed at my age without a few shots of growth elixir. You know what bed I never have trouble getting out of? My storm-goose feather bed back in the capital.'

The young master, Akio, shrugged. 'Didn't ask you to come with me, uncle.'

'Yes but your father did, after the last incident.' Hiroshi said.

Akio looked away. 'They had it coming. They spilled my drink.' Flecks of power danced over Akio's fists and the peasant on the ground trembled.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Hiroshi pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Tell you what, I'll cut back on the growth elixir, and you let that man run off. He's probably got to spend all day weeding or harvesting chicory. That's plenty punishment right?'

Akio pursed his lips. 'Yes. Mediocrity is its own punishment.' His smirk grew wider. 'But you'd know that wouldn't you uncle.'

Damn you brother, how did I end up playing wet nurse to this pup. Hiroshi put a hand on his gammy hip and leaned down to the peasant. 'Listen...what's your name?'

'Toby.' Came a quivering voice.

'Toby, you've got about a thirty second window until the Young Master changes his mind. I'd run if I were you.' Hiroshi said, slipping a small carved figurine into the man's pouch.

Toby nodded, and with shaking limbs stood, breaking into a limping gait. His right ankle had clearly been damaged by the Young Master, but not enough to stop him fleeing.

Akio watched him leaving, lightning crackling over his hand. The smirk grew wider.

'Akio....' Hiroshi said.

Akio looked at Hiroshi. 'He looked me in the eyes. Me.'

Akio whipped his hand up and lightning shot forth. It flashed towards Toby, crackling through the air in a yellow flash.

A shield of black symbols caught it a foot from Toby. Spinning runes and sigils floated in the street, the lightning crashing against it. Toby limped around a corner and out of sight. Hiroshi waved a hand and both disappeared.

'Huh, look at that, he had a protection charm on him.' Hiroshi said.

Akio cracked his head to look at his uncle. 'Yes. What are the odds?'

Hiroshi took a swig from his elixir. 'Still, you'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one over on you Young Master.'

Akio's fist trembled and he strode up to Hiroshi. 'You're just lucky you're family old man.'

Hiroshi nodded solemnly. 'Of course Young Master, of course.'

The tavern keeper timidly pulled two horses out of the stables. One was a fine white stallion, and the other a donkey. Akio leapt atop the stallion and looked down the street. 'Where are we off to next anyway. This wild goose chase has yielded us nothing so far.'

Hiroshi shrugged. 'Your father's Oracle sensed something in this section of the coast. A source of elixir.'

'If he could have narrowed it down to more then a couple hundred miles it would have been great.' Akio snorted.

Hiroshi pinched the bridge of his nose and though about all the wealth finding another source of elixir would bring. Just a few more towns to check. Odds were they'd stumble across it soon enough. Then he could return to the capital and sleep on his feather bed to his hearts content and never have to deal with his brother's wretched spawn again.

Akio charged off, as though riding into some grand battle. Hiroshi followed at a slow pace atop his donkey. This town, Riversbend had turned out to be just another wild goose chase.

That was the thing about wild goose chases though.

Eventually one of them turned out to be a storm-goose.