Chapter 14: Pleasant Company

As much as I loved my sister a bit of time all to myself after several weeks was an extremely welcome thing. However I can’t say that I was much in the mood for celebrating. Instead dark thoughts dominated my mind as I walked back downstairs.

A cursory look told me a few patrons had come and gone but mostly all of the same people were still present. Not in the mood to bother with them I walked over and sat down at the bar which was surprisingly empty. The bartender came over after a few moments, still glaring at everything like the world itself owed him money.

“Give me a Dark Goodnight,” I told him, referring to a popular drink throughout the empire that was a mix of ale and whiskey. The man grunted and tapped the counter, asking for payment first. I rolled my eyes and payed the coppers for the drink. Soon enough a tall glass was before me. I took a deep pull, enjoying the strong bitter taste. If I were being melodramatic I would say that the taste of it nicely matched my mood.

I felt like I had already gone over the situation a thousand times in my head and a thousand times I’d failed to come up with any plan worthy of the name. The bitter drink helped take my mind off of the situation for a moment. I asked for a second Dark Goodnight and then a third. Still, no matter how much I drank, I couldn’t fully get those all important questions out of my mind.

What now? What did we do next? What could I possibly do to leverage the tools I had at my disposal to keep Catherine safe and free? No new great insights came to mind no matter how much I willed it and it was infuriating. I was supposed to be the one who knew what he was doing, the one who had all the answers. I was competent, and experienced, but right then that didn’t feel like nearly enough. As I continued to drink I couldn’t help the treacherous thoughts of what would happen if I failed. Then again, I thought darkly, experience didn’t have to leave me wondering. I knew very well what would happened if we were caught. I’d seen it far more than I would like, again and again. The smells and sounds of weapons clashing and men screaming suddenly invaded my mind. When I screwed up, people died. My men died.

Though it should not have come as any surprise drinking wasn’t helping me to get any answers. In fact, it was only exponentially increasing my anger and frustration at the situation. Who could help us? Would anyone? What was the path forward? I was willing to do whatever it took. I just had no idea what that something was.

“We’d like to have a word with you, mate.”

The voice that spoke up behind me was colored with malice, and it was plainly obvious that whatever “word” he wanted to have with me was bound to not be anything good. I narrowed my eyes, the adrenaline of a coming battle starting to pump through my veins. The last thing I needed was some assholes trying to shake me down.

I stood up out of my chair and turned around. The four men who had been sitting in the corner wearing matching black sashes on their upper arms were now surrounding me in a semi-circle. I noticed the barkeep had gone missing at some point and everyone else in the tavern chose that moment to very studiously examine the contents of their drinks. Figures. I didn’t have either the time or the patience for this.

The lead thug was practically a caricature, all long greasy black hair and crooked teeth. I’d been feeling so frustrated and angry that suddenly I wanted nothing more than to draw my sword and cut this man down where he stood. Him and all of his friends. I didn’t even have to use my [Observe] skill to know I wouldn’t be impressed at all by their levels, but maybe four against one might present some small challenge. Unbidden, my memories flashed back to a memory of a sky barbarian screaming and running at me with a huge gore covered axe in his hands. My hand moved to rest casually on the pommel of my sword.

“Can’t you lot see that I’m drinking? What do you want?” I asked while keeping my voice bored and neutral.

A surge of uneasiness went through the tavern at my words. I idly noticed how silent the whole building had suddenly become.

The man’s grin widened. It was almost like he actually believed he had the upper hand. “Well you see, me and my boys here just wanted to introduce ourselves, welcome you to our humble neck of the woods. We’re the local tax collectors around these parts you see. It’s our duty to charge anyone who passes through here a reasonable fee.”

Greasy hair’s goons chuckled like it was some clever wordplay and not the most transparent attempt at a shakedown that I had ever heard of. While I was looking at them, though, behind my eyes I was seeing barbarians coming over a hill, overrunning our position with crazed bloodlust and superhuman strength granted to them by their shamans. I kept my expression bored, hoping that this savage in front of me would give me an excuse. “Tax collectors?” I asked, my tone studiously disinterested and dry as the desert.

“That’s right,” greasy hair said, pulling out a dagger and using it to clean his nails. I had to make an effort not to laugh at his attempt to come across as intimidating. “Everyone saw you come in weighed down with all those heavy bags. Bags full of all sorts of valuables, no doubt. Why don’t we go upstairs and take a look through your things together, friend? I promise, we’ll only take a small fee in taxes for the sake of our little community here in snake town.” His tone made it clear that he was not just making a suggestion. The other three men hemming me in stared me down as their hands began to drift towards obvious or concealed weapons.

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They wanted to go upstairs. They were making it clear they wouldn’t take no for an answer. I had to protect my men. I suddenly grinned, the suddenly crazed look on my face made the leader take an actual step back. Cat was upstairs sleeping. I would never let these men in the same room with her. But they wouldn’t take no for an answer. My fingers touched the hilt of my sword as I felt my grin grow even bigger, as I grew excited at the prospect of cutting down more barbarian scum who richly deserved it. Cat was sleeping upstairs and they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

They were all going to die.

“Jacklis. You know Gram doesn’t allow this kind of business at the Angry Hog.”

The man who suddenly stepped behind greasy hair surprised me as much as he did the four thugs. It was him, the hairless non human I had seen when I had walked in before. His eyes were white all the way through and his perfectly straight teeth as he smiled were also unnaturally white. He had his arms crossed across his massive chest, and I do mean massive. He was easily seven feet tall with a width to match and he didn’t look like he had so much as an ounce of fat anywhere on his body. I hesitated, annoyed yet also somehow relieved that this might not end in a spontaneous blood bath after all.

“Mind your own business, Aqra,” greasy hair said as he turned to face the virtual giant. And in the process turning his back to me. How stupid could you actually be and somehow still be breathing? He was desperately trying to put on a brave front but anyone with eyes could see that he was actually terrified of whoever this non human was.

The giant smiled at greasy hair, and it was the sort of smile a grown man might give if he found a misbehaving puppy. “Jacklis. I suggest you take your drinks and finish them somewhere else. If you keep making trouble for my friend here I might decide to take it personally. Then, after I throw you out in the gutter, I’ll let Gram know how you tried to rob one of his customers in his establishment the moment he stepped out. Do the smart thing. There will always be more marks for you tomorrow.”

Greasy hair Jacklis looked around for support. However none of his friends were willing to meet his gaze or none of them looked like they had any more appetite to keep pushingthe issue. Or to anger a bartender, apparently. Jacklis turned back to the giant and sneered. “Fine. We’ll go. But I’d watch my back if I were you from now on, Aqra. The Black Stallions don’t forget it when someone decides to cross us, even you.”

The so-called Aqra just smiled as if greasy hair had just performed a cute trick. I couldn’t tell if greasy hair Jacklis really meant his threat or if it was just some bluster to save some face in front of his men.

With that greasy hair and his three accomplices picked up and left while shooting me and everyone else dirty looks, trying not to look completely like whipped dogs leaving with their tails in between their legs. Which they completely were. Some of the adrenaline began to leave my system now that it looked like violence wasn’t going to start immediately. The ghosts in my mind slowly began to recede to where they usually haunted me in the background, under control for now but always ready to come out at just the wrong time. I didn’t relax completely however, as the giant and I were now the only ones left and he was now examining me with seeming curiosity.

Now that I could get a better look at him I noticed that his legs were very different from humans. He wore some strange tulip shaped pants of loose fabric that ended a few inches below the knee. The rest of his legs that were visible were completely unlike anything I had ever seen. They looked to be made of dark brown chitin, like the shell of an insect, and though he didn’t wear any shoes on his feet the hard shell was curiously shaped into what a boot might look like if it had been grown from the shell ofa crab.

The silence began to stretch too long to be entirely comfortable between us, so I spoke the first thing that came to my mind. “I didn’t need your help with those four,” I said gruffly. It wasn’t the most diplomatic response, but I was still in a pretty terrible mood.

“I never thought you did,” the man said, smiling with those unnaturally white teeth of his. “But while places like this will overlook quite a bit, four dead men on the floor of the tavern would have been a bit much. You looked like you were moments away from sending them to their ancestors. Or did I perhaps misjudge the situation?”

I grunted and felt even more sour, because I knew he was right. “So you stepped in for my sake?”

The man shrugged. “I might have, but no, that’s not why I did. One, we all saw that you have a young one to take care of. The repercussions of your extreme actions against those men would have hurt her too, perhaps even depriving her of her caretaker. So I stepped in for her sake more than anything else.”

I was a bit mortified to realize he was right. Here I was ready and eager to cut down some two-bit thugs and I’d never even bothered to stop and think of what the possible repercussions might have been. What the hell was I doing?

“And two,” the man continued, before leaning in and lowering his voice. “I noticed the sword you carry and admit that it piqued my curiosity. Perhaps if you feel my intervention helped you in at least some small way, you might be willing to humor a small request?”

My hand went to cover the hilt of my sword. That was twice now that people had called me out by realizing what the cross shaped guard on my sword meant.

“What request?” I asked, narrowing my eyes on the man.

Seemed amused by my hostile tone. “No need to be so suspicious. I simply wish for us to share a few drinks and perhaps a few bits of conversation. You’re certainly different from the usual sort that wanders through these parts. The name is Jafar. Jafar of the Azam, hailing originally from Iram. So what say you friend? Shall we swap a few drinks and stories to pass the long night?”

I considered. One the one hand, I was still in a bad mood and torn between gratitude and irritation that this Jafar had scared off those men. I also had no idea if he had some sort of ulterior motive. On the other hand, when was the last time I had simply sat down and had a pleasant conversation with someone? When was the last time I got to simply talk to another human being that wasn’t a bitter family member or an eleven year old girl? Hell, when would I even get the opportunity to do so again? Depending how things went it might not be anytime soon.

“I suppose there are worse ways to pass the time,” I said, trying not to sound as eager as I suddenly felt.

“Excellent,” said Jafar with what was now becoming that familiar blindingly white smile of his. “Then grab your drink and come share my table, friend.”