They reached a beach side road. A sign advertised the Swimming Shark inn. They passed a small harbor and a shore laden with small wooden boats. A stone building with a wooden roof stood across the road following the shore. It was a much larger, better kept building than the cottages seen so far. A great healthy plume of thick gray smoke rose from its chimney. Josh stood the bike against the wall while Nadia went in ahead. The floors were a fine yet worn hard wood with many opening seams and abraded spots. Plaques of large trophy fish lined the wall.
There were shark jaws, giant clam shells, and a collection of brilliantly colored tropical fish. A white-haired man stood behind the counter before a heavy shelf displaying kegs of liquor, ale, sake, and wine while; he busily conversed with two other old men. They were patrons of the emaciated, feeble variety with white beards and no teeth who nursed ale from thick pewter mugs held with both hands. The rest of the counter, and all the tables in the establishment, were empty. Josh entered after Nadia and stood behind her as she approached the bar.
“Welcome fellow travelers,” greeted the barkeep. “A vibrant young couple that would hail from... hmm?”
The barkeep put his fingers over the counter and stared keenly at them, as he wished them to finish his sentence.
“It doesn’t matter where we’re from,” Josh said.
“And we’re not a couple. We’re merchants, business partners. I’m looking to meet with Lord Nostrum.”
“And what would this be about, love? Strangers just don’t walk into town and simply meet the Lord.”
“I need to get to the Tramen continent.”
The barkeep raised an eyebrow, “Considering your middle accent, I figured you for a team of explorers from Doran maybe, but not for a couple of fools. What business would you have on the Tramen continent? Leave it to the goblins, trolls, and wizards. You’ll be better off.”
“If I have to swim there myself I will.”
“That would be a fool’s death unless you can tread a thousand kilometers of water. What you need is an explorer’s ship, one large enough to take on stores. That costs plenty, and you have to provide your own crew as well. As for now, you both look hungry to me. Why don’t you both take a meal here to build your strength?”
“Not right now. Does this Lord Nostrum ever come by here?”
“Not too often since his wife took ill.”
“Do you know where we could find him?”
“Were you not listening lass? You don’t just find him. He’s a very busy type, but he’ll send someone for you if he’s interested. Why don’t you wait here? For a few silver tethers you can stay the night.”
“I don’t have that much time.”
“You young people, always in a hurry.”
At this the barkeep returned to his former conversation with the other patrons. Nadia took the hint and sat at one of the empty tables. Growling issued from her stomach the minute she sat down.
“We’re out of food,” Josh said.
“Not so loud,” Nadia whispered. “If they think we don’t have money we’ll never get to see Lord Nostrum.”
“What’s the point in seeing Lord Nostrum if we don’t have money in the first place? Sitting around doing nothing certainly doesn’t seem right. If we sit around here without ordering anything, they’ll know we have nothing. Let’s order something, I’m starving to death.”
“I have a plan, let’s say we have money saved for the trip but can’t spend any of it.”
“But we don’t have any money saved for...”
“We know that, but they don’t. We’ll do some honest work and replenish our provisions. We really don’t need shelter, since it’s been warm and we’re used to camping out. In the meantime, we can search out an opportunity to get across the ocean. There must be trading ships coming here all the time, maybe we can hitch a ride.”
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“You heard what he said? Nobody goes there. That means until somebody decides to go to Tramen and let us tag along, we’re stuck here, aren’t we?”
“I never thought that we might need so much money.”
“Hey mister, over here,” Nadia signaled to the barkeep. He came to the table promptly. “All our money is needed to secure a trip across the ocean, to the Tramen continent. That leaves very little for anything else... so I was wondering if there was any place we could get some work around here.”
“I am in desperate need of a hostess, won’t pay much, but your meals are free if you want the job.”
“That’s great, but what about him?” She pointed to Josh.
“We’re always in need of a good cleaning boy, that is, unless he’d rather work loading the daily catch. He could even do both.”
“No problem, I can clean up around here. When do we start?” asked Josh
“The lass can start tomorrow. You can start tonight. You two hungry?”
Nadia smiled, “You bet we are!”
“I’ll fix you two some bread to hold you until supper.”
As soon as the barkeep was gone, she smiled, “Am I good or what? That worked out perfectly.”
-----
Josh busily wiped tables and cleaned stools when the late afternoon hours approached. He was finishing that task when the barkeep called from behind the counter with a question about supper. Since the inn had nothing that wasn’t made from seafood, Josh asked them to bake something and told them it would be appreciated. Nadia, who had been standing outside by the entrance guarding the bike, came in as soon as she heard it was time to eat. She made a point of ordering hot tea in lieu of the alcoholic beverages.
While they were eating, a band of four travelers entered the inn and took their seats at a table across from them. Two were gentlemen in fashionable robes, one of dark blue and the other a pine green. They carried swords which they kept sheathed inside the silken belts. The elegantly carved handles remained exposed for show.
With them was a heavy troll and a short, bent over goblin like being with an angry beak-nosed face. They both wore simple brown flax pants tied at the waist with heavy rope, and loose brown shirts without sleeves. All received wooden cups filled to the brim with their preferred spirits, then they ordered two meals of chicken, a rare steak, and a baked tropical fish. After their consideration of the spirits, they began to strike up a low conversation as fishermen from the village filtered into the inn. The short, angry looking, beak-nosed human-imp-goblin spoke first.
“As I was saying before we arrived, the Freelands need to be stirred up from their content little village fiefdoms. Once the protector of Sarsin consolidates the Delva coastlands under his domain, he’ll be on his way to establishing a new kingdom of the Plains that will rival even the power of Lothalos.”
The man in the green robe spoke with a skeptical expression, “Sarsin, he’s just another warlord. A little success in battle doesn’t guarantee domination of the plains. He’ll have enough trouble holding what he’s already taken.”
The man in blue robes sipped his sake, “The Freelands are rather weak because of the villages and their petty squabbles. They need someone strong to consolidate power, or they’re really no better than the barbarians.
Yet Sarsin still hasn’t taken full control of the fertile rice plains southwest of the coast. You can’t feed an army powerful enough to overpower the valley of men without rice, and Lord Fudri of the north is not one that is so easily conquered. Besides, the Delva coast is nothing, warlords have conquered it for decades and have been unable to hold it together.”
“Sarsin is different!” protested the short impish man.
“That’s what they all say,” said the green robed traveler as the food arrived.
“His plans are beyond our comprehension. I saw him in person once, and sensed immediately that he is destined for greatness. One thing I know for sure, he’ll bring the nomads and the farmers of the south to their knees. He has infiltrated even here.”
“The other villages must know something of his plans,” said the man in blue robes, “With so many loads of salt and ore from the mines of the Metis mountains arriving in Forensian plains, they must be suspicious.”
“They wouldn’t dare attack Sarsin openly. It would be foolhardy.”
The half-troll picked up his steak with his bare hand and shoved half of it into his gaping mouth.
“You might want to cut your steak before you eat it, and chewing would be advisable,” suggested the man in the green robe. There was no response to the suggestion, so the green robed man turned his attention to the half-imp, “Anyway, we hired you to ensure us safe passage north to the twin cities. Is the road up the Delva coast safe for us?”
“Sarsin controls the entire length of road along the populated coast. For a small toll his men let all who pass travel freely. There are some bandits, but Lobar and myself will take care of them easily.”
Nadia had been listening to their conversation circumspectly, but the half-troll’s swallowing of half a steak left her gaping wide eyed at the creature, and the men at the other table caught on. Josh tapped her hand, but the man in the green robe had already taken notice of her.
“This strangely attired maiden seems interested in our conversation. Surely she wouldn't understand or have interest in the business of men."
He adjusted his green robes, looking offended while turning his attention to Josh.
"What does your woman want from us?”