Chapter 3 (Tiamus)- A Job for Two.
The darkest corner of The Rosweater Inn is rather comfortable for just the two of us. Our morning breakfast after a good night’s sleep has been a welcome respite. I look across the table at Navirah, my lovely traveling companion who I have come to care for slowly. She is hooded just as I am to remain somewhat private but it is hard for her to hide her slightly glowing skin, and deep bright amber eyes. Her softness is felt before it’s heard but her calm, timid personality makes me feel at home no matter where we are. She has bleach blonde hair which frames a gentle oval face. Like Yin and Yan we’re inseparable but completely opposite. It’s rather mind boggling how much I have appreciated her company. A waitress interrupts my thought momentarily, as a busty half-orc woman comes by placing a mug on the table. “Everything going well I hope, dears?” her voice drops to a whisper “Compliments of mr. Philton.” Now I see inside the mug is not ale but rather a bag of coins. I hand the bag to Navirah who stows it away in our belongings. “Thank you.”
Just as she begins walking away the door to the inn bursts open, a large man comes storming through looking wildly around the establishment looking for someone. Oh great, not this asshole again. Behind the hood over my head he still manages to spot me, likely from my horns. He locks gaze onto us and stomps his way over. “Devil toad mother fucker. Think you can steal from me!?” I remain seated sipping on a nog I bought previously.
“If you have any qualms you can take it up with Philton. I have no issues with you. You had a debt, I paid it for you, you should be thanking me.” Navirah remains quiet on the other side of the table. Which he punches as soon as he reaches it shaking the dishware strung out across it.
“You’re gonna give me my gold back.” I look up at him unimpressed, under the table I grab my shortsword in its sheath ready for a fight.
“Or what big boy?”
“Take it outside Brutus.” a voice calls from the bar.
“I’m not leaving my seat ‘Brutus” so you might as well take it up with your old boss.” I turn towards Navirah to show I have no inclination that he is a threat. Of course this infuriates him and he clocks me in the back of the head. Okay, now I’m pissed. I burst out of the booth and in one fluid motion draw, then slice across his chest twice. Navirah stands behind me placing a hand on my back to soften the blow I just received, a yellow and white light shines for a brief moment, then she mutters a word of blessing over me, something she’s done once before “Pock.” Brutus grabs a club on his side swinging wide trying to hit me, but I duck right out of the way before bounding right back at him for 2 more slashes right across his chest. The onslaught causes him to fall backwards into an unoccupied table tripping over it and falling to the ground. He stays there holding his chest which is bleeding profusely. “I TOLD HIM TO TAKE IT OUTSIDE”
“Sorry for the troubles ma’am. Navirah, please pay her for her troubles and to clean up this mess.” She nods silently and walks over to the counter placing a few gold pieces in front of the woman. I turn back to Brutus:
“Are you going to be any more trouble?” He shakes his head slowly in defeat.
A hand placed lightly on my arm tells me Navirah has returned to my side. “Ready to go Tiamus?” Her soft voice instantly calms my nerves from the quick fight. I nod, sheathe my swords, and leave the establishment.
“Let’s see if we can get any more work.” and we head back to our previous place of business, the local general store known as “Goldbeard Miscellaneous.’ A rather clean and put together place run by a ruthless businessman named Philton Goldbeard. Somehow he has racked up a long list of debts owed TO him by many denizens of Evercast and offered us coin to settle the outstanding accounts. “Good morning mr. GOldbeard.” I say walking up to the counter. Currently going through some ledgers, he did not see us come in but now looks up. “Come back for more work have ye? Did ye get yer payment for yesterd’y?” He’s a short but stout dwarven man, his white beard is cut short and he wears a monocle. He’s covered in fine clothes and smells of expensive perfumes.
“Yes to both, though I figured I should warn you, Brutus didn’t like that I had to break into his place to get your last debt settled. I took care of him but he may come back with a vengeance against you.”
He chuckles “Don’t worry about ol’ Brutus, I got ‘im covu’d. For the now, I’ve got anutha debt to settle with the ol’ smithy down the street. Y’intrested?” I nod for him to continue. “After his shop burnt down to the ground from a gnoll attack a few years ago, I ‘elped him rebuild out of the kindness of me ‘eart. He’s overdue on this year’s payment and I couldn’t bare to see ‘im accrue any more interest than ‘e already ‘as.” He grins a big toothy grin of greed. “250 gold should cover it for the rest of the ‘ear.”
“Very well you greedy coot, I’ll get your gold.”
“Splendid! Aaron is ‘is name. Middle aged fella’, always ‘angin’ a right grimace.” I nod and we leave the general store.
“Consider it paid.”
Upon stepping down the steps from the doorway I feel a tug on my cloak. On the ground beside me a man crawling on all fours grips tightly to me while gasping. His eyes are glossed over with blood which drips like tears down his face. “Get off me!” I shout before kicking him off and ripping my cloak out of his hand. I instinctively put an arm out to put Navirah behind me.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Please help, I can’t see” he manages to gurgle while flailing his arms to grab anything nearby.
“He’s taken Bloodsight Spores. We should leave him be, it will wear off soon.” I nod, unimpressed by the drug addict and walk away with Navirah on my arm.
The smithy is not far down the street, and I can hear Aaron’s hammer clear as day even from my current position. A small pillar of deep black smoke rises from the building with an outer portion for the anvil and forge, a large sign jutting out towards the street reads ‘Hammer and Tales’ with an intricate signaturized ‘H&T’ next to it. Aaron is as put, a gruff looking man, with black hair and a short trimmed beard which accentuates his ruggish features. His age shown on his face, though still a strong man. He currently wears many tools around his waist on a belt, thick smithing gloves, goggles, and a thick leather apron across his front while he works on what appears to be a pair of horseshoes. “Why do I have a feeling this is not a social visit?” he says, still focused on his work. I respond: “You know why we’re here then, so why don’t we do this the easy way. I have no quarrel with you, I just want to get paid, and so does mr. Goldbeard.”
He lets out a deep sigh. “Do you know the kind of man you’re working for?” He places his current project to the side and begins taking off his gloves.
“No, and frankly I don’t care.”
“Does she?” He looks at Navirah while taking off his apron. How dare he presume to know her feelings. I step between the two of them to block his gaze on her with my body. “That’s not your concern.”
“Very well, just a moment.” He shrugs off my remark before heading inside, a couple minutes later returning with a large bag of gold that he hands to me, I immediately turn around and hand it to my partner as we both leave.
“Thank you for doing this the easy way,” Navirah says, glancing back at Aaron. What is she doing? I grab her arm and rush her along back towards the general store.
“Tell Philton he will get what’s coming to him.” Aaron shouts after us as one last remark.
Upon returning to Goldbeard Misc, the addict is no longer outside, we are paid, and Philton is happy. After a relatively quick day we resolved to return to the inn. Just outside a small crowd has gathered. On a crate in an open area stands a man with bright yellow tattoos covering his face, to the side behind him, a smaller woman in a light blue robe stands with a veil covering her face silently watching. In front of the man on the crate are 3 figures, 2 large men hold a third tied up man on his knees. We join the crowd forming to observe what is going on. The man on the crate begins to speak. “People of Evercast! Bear witness to this day. When the Eternal Light will put to rest the darkness hidden, in this man’s sins”
He points to the tied man who remains silent on the ground. “You have been poorly tempted by the darkness in your heart, a lust for another woman who you have not been united with. Don’t fret my child. All will be atoned for.” He takes a small disk in his hand, a clear lens. With the sun behind him he holds it above his head, the heat concentrating on one point on the ground, smoke rises from that point. The men holding the sinner strip open his clothes revealing his back. “The light will heal you, let your scars be a reminder that you may be forgiven and never commit again.” He angles the lens towards the man and makes 1, 2, 3 passes over his back with the concentrated power of the sun. Nasty sadists, burnt flesh smells terrible. He screams as the light burns 3 lines clear across his back, instantly cauterizing over. The crowds reel back in pain. A few disgusting observers were enamored by the ceremony. The man is left on the ground in pain and untied. The crowd slowly disperses around us and the priests leave.
“That was interesting” I say
“I didn’t like it at all” Navirah remarks, something from her past resonates here but I decide not to inquire. We return to our dark corner in the inn and almost immediately are approached by another couple from the same group. A veiled woman and her male counterpart with similar yellow tattoos on his face. Oh great, recruiters, Before they even reach the table I halt their advance. “Not interested in your cult. Go away.” The two pause for a moment until Navirah adds on.
“You heard him.” Good girl! In extreme approval I smile at her, and the cultists turn around, give a defeated sigh, and leave. Once again alone. We spend the rest of the afternoon in relative peace. So I decide to take my shot at getting my companion to open up more. “Navirah.” She looks up with speed.
“Yes Tiamus?” I stare into her eyes for a moment before continuing.
“You never really told me much about your life before meeting you on the road?”
“Thank you again, for saving me by the way.”
“You don’t have to say that every time it comes up you know.” I put my hand on her arm to comfort her.
“I-I know… It’s hard to talk about my life before.”
“That’s okay, share when you’re ready.” I go back to eating my food.
“When I was young, I obviously stuck out from the rest of the town.” she gestures to her glowing skin. “So my loving parents were looking for answers to protect me from the bullying of the other kids. A monastery near my home took an interest in me and they figured it could help for me to go work at the monastery so with full visitation rights they agreed to send me off. I don’t blame them, they did it out of love, but the monastery was full of religious fanatics and…. It did not end well.” Her eyes burn with a mixture of disgust, rage, and fear. I feel each of the emotions on her face and am equally angered at her past.
“I’m sorry… you’re safe now though, I’ll definitely be keeping these cultists away from us.” She drops her head in thanks and my eyes trail off from the conversation. Towards the center of the tavern a peculiar scene unfolds. A VERY large woman, nearly 9 foot tall ducks her way into the tavern carrying a much smaller, unconscious scaly creature: an unusually colorful lizardfolk. It has a tall fin-like purple frill on its head which lays motionless in her arms. Her blue and green scales are outlined in dark red accents in various shapes and designs. A staff lays across her body which is more like a live branch with still green leaves sticking off in all directions towards the top, and half a dozen flowers cover it either grafted on or grown from vines tangled on it. She wears traveling leather armor in contrast to her heavily armored companion. This atta be good, I can’t overhear their conversation, but I imagine they’re just getting a place to stay as the tall woman nods, takes a key, and heads towards the back where the rooms are.
I turn to Navirah and say: “They must have an interesting story.” She nods back and I begin to clean our table to also leave for the night. “I’d like to hear it in the morning, let’s get a head start on our rest shall we?” I hold out a hand for Navirah to take and help her out of her seat. We head to our already purchased room and put in for the night.