Chapter 28 A Runaway
Isaac and Lenna sat side by side eating their food while hoping that no one took a good look at Lenna. They had pushed one of the tables the entire way into the corner and Lenna sat against the wall so Isaac could, hopefully, shield her from wandering eyes or curious gazes. Her faceplate was open so she could eat but she wasn’t about to take off her helmet in a place like that. Once the pair had finished Lenna had quickly closed her faceplate. They took their dishes back up to Jennie and then retreated to the corner table. Once people had started coming Isaac had made sure to put his hood up. The last thing he needed was Lisa knowing that it was him. Sure, everyone would gossip about a pair of strange wanderers hiding out in Jennie’s inn, but if they didn’t notice his silver eyes then this identity wouldn’t get back to Lisa.
Time ticked by and Isaac and Lenna tried to pass it quicker by engaging in quiet conversation. Isaac described Lisa the best he could to Lenna and filled her in on the little bit of internal politics that he was aware of. He knew that Lisa was the only daughter of the Guild Master of the local branch of the Adventurers’ Guild. The guild master’s level was estimated at sixteen but Isaac wasn’t sure how accurate that information really was. He did know that only double platinum level adventurers could become Guild Masters. Double platinum started at level sixteen and Aria had said that she didn’t remember a time where the Guild Master actually set out to do a job or train. That didn’t mean that he hadn’t been training the entire time in private however so it was still a good idea to be careful.
“I just realized something.” Isaac commented once he finished explaining everything he knew about the Guild Master.
“Oh?” Lenna prodded.
“What if the Guild Master is in on it?” He questioned. They had been quiet enough that no one should have overheard them but Isaac asked the question even quieter than he had been talking.
Lenna’s elven hearing barely picked up on it. She was quiet for a moment in contemplation. “This could get ugly if that’s the case.” She shook her head. “I still don’t understand what they would get out of it.”
“Working with the drow you mean?” Isaac asked.
Lenna nodded. “Yes. She’s been stealing right?” Isaac nodded in confirmation. “Then they aren’t paying her in gold.” She shook her head. “She must be getting something else out of it. Aria said that she is getting paid for the stolen stuff but there is no evidence of the gold afterwards.”
“Yeah.” Isaac agreed. “Something isn’t adding up. Why would she go through all the trouble of stealing stuff to get money to give to the drow of all people?” Isaac shook his head. “The one thing your kin aren’t lacking is gold.”
Lenna nodded. “Agreed. What is her motive? Where is the gold going?”
Isaac sighed. “Well, we won’t know until we track her down and see for ourselves.” He conceded. “Speaking of which, I figured out a way for us both to shadow her.”
Lenna narrowed her eyes at him. “Was that pun intentional?” She asked but Isaac just smirked at her. “Why do I feel like I am not going to like your plan?”
Isaac’s smirk turned into a full on grin. “Because you are definitely going to hate it.” He confirmed. Lenna wrinkled her nose. Isaac couldn’t see her face but he could read her reaction from the subtle shift in her body language. “Remember those scrolls of Shroud?” He asked.
Lenna nodded. “Yes, but that doesn’t fix the noise problem.”
“Then we just need to get rid of what’s making the noise.” He replied simply.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Lenna froze. “Please don’t.” She begged.
Isaac chuckled. “Sorry Lenna, I can’t think of another way. Unless you want to stay here?” He asked.
“No. Absolutely not.” She replied immediately.
“Then you are going to have to stuff your armor in the bottomless bag.” Isaac told her. “There just isn’t another way. We lack a proper spell caster and we don’t have the magic items to work around that fact. Once we get back to Safeharbor we need to raid Adventurous Tastes for some good gear.”
—
Jennie was getting ready to close up for the night as the final few patrons trickled out. Isaac and Lenna had been waiting patiently at the corner table for around three hours by that point. Once the last patron was gone Jennie called out to them from across the room. “Alright. Come on over.” She told them and the pair did as requested.
Isaac leaned against the bar and Lenna stood next to him. She glanced back towards the door. “Will anyone be entering?” Lenna asked the innkeeper.
“Shouldn’t be. No.” Jennie replied simply.
Lenna looked to Isaac for confirmation. “Go ahead.” He told her.
Lenna took off her helmet and tucked it into the bottomless bag. “I feel like I’m merging with the armor.” She commented. “You’ve spoiled me.”
Isaac chuckled. “You shouldn’t have to live in it in the first place.” he told her.
Jennie turned around from doing the dishes to get a good look at Lenna. The first thing she noticed was the silver eyes that were the exact same shade as Isaac’s. She then noticed silver hair that reminded her of the moonlight that she hadn’t seen in nearly two decades. Lenna’s sharp features were striking and Jennie could see why Isaac had fallen for her. When their eyes met Jennie’s hair stood on end. She got the feeling that Lenna was subconsciously sizing her up. “Thank you for the food.” Lenna broke the short silence that had formed. “It was good.”
Jennie snapped back to her old self and huffed. “Glad it was to the Lady’s liking.” She said sarcastically.
“Before we get into my whole story, I have a question.” Isaac spoke.
Jennie nodded to him. “Alright.” She agreed to answer.
“How long ago did he die?” Isaac asked.
Jennie seemed to recoil like she had been hit in the chest. She turned around and went back to doing the dishes. Water ran and wooden bowls, cups, and spoons rattled against each other. “Eleven years ago last month.” She answered honestly. “Chris barely remembers him and Gregory doesn’t remember him at all.” Her voice was quiet but loud enough that the pair could still hear her over the rattling dishes.
“Thank you.” Isaac replied.
Jennie nodded. “Now tell me what led to all this.” She told the mage.
Isaac nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “Alright. It all started when I was on my way to Ben’s End.”
—
“A runaway huh?” Jennie eventually said after Isaac was finished recounting a heavily abridged version of what had happened to him during the time he had been away.
“More or less.” Lenna agreed.
“How many raids have ya been on?” Jennie questioned.
“Ten.” Lenna replied.
“Why?” Jennie asked. Isaac wasn’t sure if it was a rhetorical question or not.
Lenna answered anyway: “It was the minimum requirement to be knighted in Contantis.”
“Did ya kill any guards during those raids?” Jennie continued her questioning.
“Yes.” Lenna replied.
Jennie was silent for a while. “What are ya going to do to make up for it?” She asked the older woman.
Lenna seemed taken aback. “No one has ever asked that before.” She eventually replied. “What do you wish for me to do? I will not die nor will I disgrace myself but I will do what I can.”
Jennie laughed. It was clear that it was devoid of all humor. “Then what do ya think the families of those ya’ve killed are going to want from ya?” She questioned.
“I have lost people close to me because of your people as well.” Lenna replied. Isaac’s eyes went wide in surprise. That was the first time he was hearing about it. “If I find the man responsible, I will challenge him to a duel. If I lose then so be it. I was too weak to save him then and I would be too weak to avenge him as well. If any of the families that I have wronged seek retribution then let them do so with their own strength.” Lenna wasn’t sure how to handle the situation that she was in. Who could know how to handle a situation like that? So she just said what she felt. She spoke from the heart and answered honestly. If that caused more problems then all she could do was apologize to Isaac. She just hoped that the woman in front of her would be able to understand her feelings. Lenna knew that she wasn’t the best at expressing herself. She also knew that the only reason her and Isaac could even work was because he was good enough at reading her to be able to fill in the blanks that she left.
Jennie searched Lenna’s face for a long moment before sighing. “You can stay in the same room as that one.” She said and gestured with her thumb towards Isaac. “But I better not hear you two. The walls are thin.”
Lenna’s face flushed. She was completely blindsided by the comment. “W-What?” Lenna stammered. “I, no, you won’t.”
Jennie seemed genuinely surprised by Lenna’s reaction and she looked at Isaac with a questioning gaze. “Huh?” She asked.
Isaac chuckled. “She’s always like this. It’s the only thing I can tease her about so don’t push it too far and ruin it for me.”