Rosie leaned on the counter in her tavern and halfheartedly tried to scratch off an old mead stain from the worn wooden countertop. With both Gilbert and Anastacia gone, her days had become considerably duller.
Though there were still plenty of interesting quirks and problems the rest of the inn’s guests brought with them, she wasn’t ashamed to admit that the necromancer was her favorite, and with Gilbert she had their shared history to laugh at, and could always talk about how Anastacia and Emilia were doing on their journey of becoming proper adventurers.
Emilia herself was still in the tavern, sitting next to the innkeeper as she often did when not up and about doing what she could as a priestess, but after a very awkward yet formal letter from the guild, the pair was forced to reduce their public displays of affection even when Anastacia wasn’t around – and so, Rosie’s days had become exceedingly dull for the most part.
What little orders for snacks and drinks they received during the quiet time of the day were easily handled by Yulia and there really wasn’t anything for Rosie to do. The tables were clean, the floor was about as spotless as it was ever going to be, the paperwork for any new orders for ingredients had been done and everything in the kitchen and behind the counter had been restocked – even the innkeeper’s own room was for once clean.
“I’ve trained her too well.” She muttered to herself in her boredom and yawned, revealing her formidable teeth. “There’s nothing for me to do with the lamb here. I don’t even get to be all motherly and stuff to Anna since she’s out.”
Emilia was inspecting the condition of the tonics and salves she carried with her. “What? Motherly?” She smirked. “Last time I checked; you laughed your ass off when you heard she punched a child. I don’t know your mother, but she must have had some interesting methods for bringing up children.”
“So what? If my kitten decides that some snot-nosed brat needs a bit of fist-to-face contact teaching, I’m fully behind her.” The tigress said proudly and without hesitation. “It’s what mothers do. You’ve already got whatever guidance she needs with feelings and such on lockdown, so I’m happy to make sure she learns to stand up for herself.”
“Oh?! So now I’ve got an adoptive daughter too? You do realize that Anna is only a handful of years younger than me?” The priestess pointed out and rubbed some salve on her hands; it was starting to look expired and did wonders to moisturize her skin after the dry, cold winter air had left them chapped. “To be honest with you, I was more going for a spiritual guide-type of a role, maybe a big sister if you wanted to stretch it like that.”
“She’s never had a mother that didn’t keep her locked in a cell, I think it’s fair that she gets two now.” Rosie shrugged and glanced out of a window.
There seemed to be some kind of a commotion going on outside, several guards and adventurers had gathered at the market square near the gate, many of them armed as if they were heading to war. Yet the mood was far from tense, in fact, the whole thing appeared as if they were preparing for a celebration or a festival. With cheery smiles on their faces, the adventurers sharpened their blades, restrung their bows, attuned their magical weaponry and prepared rituals for casting spells.
“I wonder what’s going on?” Emilia said and peered out as well.
Rosie resumed to her countertop scratching. “They’ve probably just found something troublesome in the forests nearby and the guild wants to get rid of it posthaste, happens every few years.” She sighed and appeared to lose interest in the commotion. “Feel free to go for a hunt if you’re bored, don’t let me hold you here.”
Emilia smiled warmly. “I’m good, but I was wondering if you’d be up for a walk? If you don’t have anything to do here, a quick stroll and a bit of fresh air wouldn’t hurt, no?” She suggested.
No matter how hard she tried, the innkeeper couldn’t remember the last time she even left the inn for anything besides getting something for the inn. Even whatever previous dates the pair had arranged, had mostly revolved around her needing to visit some other part of the city for her work. Though she was mostly content in doing it, her work had definitely become far too synonymous with her life over the years and it most certainly irked her.
Rosie dashed into the kitchen, told Yulia that she was in charge for the day and grabbed a bottle of blackcurrant juice from the storeroom, she also considered taking a bottle of wine for herself, but left it behind in the end.
With a few swift movements and swings of a knife, neither of which had a centimeter’s worth of inefficiency in them, the innkeeper crafted and packed some food for their outing. She then proceeded to storm out, leaving behind the confused lamb, who had never before been alone in the inn for more than a few minutes.
Their packed lunch in one hand and the priestess in other, Rosie stormed out of the in, violating her own rule for not slamming the door too hard on her way. However, they only made it a few meters out before running into a wall of excited adventurers, all peeking over the crowd to get a glimpse at the gates.
Rosie, being taller than your average adventurer, could see that there was a whole group of guards blocking anyone from exiting the city, which was definitely strange to say the least.
As a vehemently solution-focused person, the tigress grabbed the first adventurer she could reach and started asking questions. “Banthum, what’s going on?”
The adventurer called Banthum was a half-elf leader of his own party. Though neither he nor his party stayed in Rosie’s inn, they were all frequent visitors in the tavern, and so their leader knew the innkeeper well. He greeted Rosie with a happy grin. “Come to see the fireworks, have you?” He asked and glanced at Emilia.
“Fireworks? In the middle of the day?” The innkeeper frowned.
“Not literal fireworks, Ros. We’re being sieged and there’s rumors that a black order will be issued.” Banthum explained with a smile and lowered his tone. “Our aerial support tells me that the negotiations are not going well.” He whispered and pointed at an eagle that was circling over a spot on the other side of the wall.
Rosie laughed, though she hadn’t seen a black order herself, she was more than aware how much of a joke trying to siege Valor was. “What kind of an idiot would even try?” She asked and attempted to keep her composure in vain.
“Some poor sod called Duke Filippos Beppo the Third. Don’t know what his deal is, but if he has mustered quite an army.” The adventurer shrugged.
Upon hearing the invader’s name, Emilia’s eyes widened and she started tugging on Rosie’s sleeve. “Rosie… That’s the guy whose kid Anna punched.” She whispered, trying to keep the information from reaching the mass of adventurers.
The half-elf picked up on the whisper regardless and rubbed his chin. “Anna, you say? Isn’t that the wee little one that ate nothing but pure sugar for like three days, didn’t sleep a wink and then finally crashed under a table? The one with a gargantuan case of objectophilia.” He asked, remembering a girl called Anna that frequented the tavern as well.
“That’s our Anna alright.” Rosie admitted and turned to the priestess. “You know, I’m not entirely happy with what our daughter is famous for. She has done plenty of amazing stuff, but people always remember her from shit like this.”
Emilia laughed awkwardly. “I mean, we’re apparently being sieged because she punched a five-year-old and molested the statue of someone’s mother. So…”
“I must say, I respect her idiosyncrasies. Regardless, if you know where she is, tell that girl she’s probably never going to have to pay for a drink again once this is over – it’s just what we needed with the cold weather and all that.” Banthum said, winked happily and turned back to his party, which was eagerly preparing to defend the city.
With her plans for a leisurely stroll ruined by the crowded streets, Rosie looked around for any kind of a free spot they could sit in and at least watch the adventurers warm up. However, if there was a downside to living in Valor, it was the complete lack of sights to see or parks to visit. Being packed about as full of high-maintenance people as possible, every inch of the walled city served a purpose determined by the guild, and scenery for dates was hardly at the top of their list.
As they waded through the masses, Emilia would suddenly realize how highly regarded innkeepers actually were in Valor. Even if only a fraction of the people on the streets lived under Rosie’s roof, no matter how mean or rowdy-looking, every adventurer and guard stopped what they were doing and gave way to them, happily nodding if they noticed the priestess looking at them.
Beginning to get ever so slightly crestfallen over the failed outing, Rosie’s gaze happened upon the guards posted on top of the ancient wall of Valor. “Fireworks, huh…” She muttered, took a sharp turn towards the gates and began escorting her significant other there.
When they reached the front of the crowd, they were met with a several layers deep line of guards, armed with halberds and shields, but mainly only using them to remind the adventurers to stay back by tapping the blunt ends on the ground when someone got too close.
In the middle of the first rank, there was a guard whose uniform slightly deviated from the others by having a small emblem on his chest and bronze trimmings on his helmet, both signaling his position as the commander of the guards in the area. Naturally, being a loyal patron of the tavern himself, the officer recognized the innkeeper and gestured his men to hold back while he stepped out of the formation.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Rosie told Emilia to hold still while she met the guard commander halfway between the guards and adventurers.
The commander took off his helmet and nodded politely. “What brings you here, Rozhmarie? I know you can probably take most of the people here, but this is not the place for you right now – with all due respect, of course.” He inquired.
Rosie grabbed him by the shoulder and huddled together to negotiate with a bit more privacy. “Look, cap, I’m trying very, very, very hard to have a date here. It has been a while, so how about you don’t fuck me on this and let us get up on the wall?” She whispered and squeezed the guard’s shoulder a bit harder, letting her claws dig into the fabric of his purple uniform.
Immediately in on the deal, the guard captain lifted his head to have a look at the priestess and quickly pulled it back down to whisper. “Nice, nice. I had heard you found someone. Technically no one is supposed to go up there right now, but who am I to stand in the way of love?”
“Just name your price, geezer.” The innkeeper hissed.
“I’m a simple man. I want a week of free lunches with a bit of extra on the portions, served by the lamb, a few drinks on the house for the lads once this debacle is over and wipe my current tab.” He bargained, listing what he wanted as if he had them readily though out just in case. “Also, if you promise to convince my slacker of a son to finally move out, I’ll command my men down from there.”
Rosie quickly calculated the rough losses she would take and winced at the amount she came up with, but after glancing at Emilia she couldn’t decline. “Deal, but you’ll have to toss out your brat on your own.” She said and shook hands with the commander.
Allowed to pass into the staircase leading to the top of the wall, the innkeeper and priestess hastily climbed up before anyone got the chance to complain about them getting a head start.
Before even getting a chance to look over the ramparts, a freezing gust of wind hit them. Rosie’s fur immediately stood up to shield her from the cold, making her look unusually fluffy and amusing Emilia to no end.
The priestess herself had her deity’s affinity with fire to thank for her relatively high resistance to cold and standing right next to her, even Rosie could feel the unnatural warmth emanating from her.
“What are we doing here? I’ve never been in a siege before, but shouldn’t we look for cover or something?” Emilia asked worriedly.
Rosie smiled. “We’re here to watch the fireworks.”
Gazing at the frozen field on the other side of the wall, both of them were stunned by the sight of what was probably at least a couple of thousand soldiers lining up in the distance. Though they were still very far away, the pair could make out a few trebuchets and a large battering ram.
“That’s an impressive army to gather for such a petty reason.” The innkeeper commented and leaned on the cold stone rampart.
Emilia pressed her hands together and prepared to pray for the adventurers below. “Are you sure this is fine? There’s a lot of them.” She worried more.
The tigress took another lazy glance at the army lining the field. “They’re only outnumbering us by what, ten to one? That’s nowhere near enough. Poor bastards didn’t even bring cannons.” She laughed and moved behind the priestess to embrace her and bask in the divine warmth, like a cat next to a fireplace. “Just relax and let the folks down there handle it.”
Roughly halfway between the army, a single guild guard and an official were speaking to a large man on horseback and his two bodyguards, who had hopped off their mounts and were standing worryingly close to the official.
For a while, the negotiations continued and Rosie was able to lay out the food and drink she had prepared for them, but suddenly the man who was presumably in charge of the army, wearing a golden armor that glistened in the sun, turned around and began to slowly return to his men, leaving behind the two soldiers that had accompanied him.
Making it clear that the talks had failed, the soldiers drew their swords and began closing in on the guild official, who didn’t even bother to back down as the guard beside him stepped forth. Neither of the soldiers had clearly expected the singular guard to make a stand, as they could barely act before the guard’s shield jabbed the closet one in his unarmored throat. The other soldier only managed to lift his sword up in a pointless attempt to stop the halberd blade crashing down on him in a blink of an eye. The blow was so heavy that it cleaved deep into the soldier’s shoulder, completely ridiculing whatever armor he had been issued when the army was mustered.
With one of the soldiers dead and the other prone on the ground, the guild guard pointed his halberd at the living one and appeared to ask for an order to either kill or spare him. By the looks of it, the official told him to ignore their helpless opponent and both started to head back at what was a strangely relaxed pace considering that they had just stricken the first blows of a war.
The near instant defeat of his bodyguard had given some fairly understandable urgency to the one in command of the army that was still laying in wait and he quickly reached his ranks and started giving out commands for advancing.
As the war horns droned, the army took its first steps towards the wall and one of the trebuchets immediately released a massive piece of stone that slowly barreled through the air, so slowly that time itself felt slowed for a moment, only to hilariously crumble when it hit the wall fifty meters away from Emilia and Rosie.
For a while, the adventurers gathered on the square quieted down and the only sounds to be heard were the approaching marching of the soldiers and someone complaining about the guard stealing kills that could have netted a bit of gold for the adventurers instead.
As the guild official and his guard finally reached the safety of the walls, a second, far more ominous hum echoed from the streets of Valor, followed by the adventurers letting out a deafening cheer as they watched their pearls turn black.
“Ah! it’s show time.” Rosie said and took a sip of juice.
Within the next ten seconds, countless rituals and spells sparked, flashed and blinked as they used various aspects of the arcane arts to transport adventurers on top of the wall so that they could gain a proper view of the field. Next up were the more agile types that scaled the wall with or without the aid of contraptions built for them by the craftsmen of Valor. Readying their bows and spells, they waited for their helpless preys to get close enough.
Emilia watched in awe at the arrangement of enchanted and cleverly engineered weapons in the adventurers’ hands, until she heard a familiar crackle in the sky. Far above them, the clouds gathered into a vortex of storm clouds and lightning began to arc between them. “They’ve got lightning mages! We’ve got to get inside!” Emilia panicked remembering the storm they went through in the keep of the baron of iron, but was hesitant to pry herself out of Rosie’s embrace.
“Unlucky, for them that is – meet Magdaleine the Storm Catcher.” Rosie said calmly and pointed down at the market square, where a single adventurer was suddenly given a couple of meters of room.
The adventurer in question had a dark red skin, a pair of curly horns sprouting amongst her jet-black hair and a long tail that coiled around her legs. She was wearing a fancy green dress that had a copious amount of metal bits and pieces sown into it.
As the moment of lightning strike neared, Magdaleine lifted up a white orb, about the size of a cantaloupe and began to laugh madly.
Instead of finding new targets, every single bolt lightning cast on the city struck directly at the orb in her hand and was rendered useless. Though she quickly began to smoke ever so slightly, the adventurer herself appeared uninjured by the strikes.
As the army marched on, a few more boulders were flung by the trebuchets, this time aimed over the wall, but all of them were quickly intercepted by the mages positioned on the walls. The first one to arrive turned into an equivalent amount of brightly colored butterflies that slowly faded into dust, the second never reached the ground as its trajectory suddenly curved upwards and it disappeared into the clouds. The third one would have hit one of the mages directly but centimeters before impact, it stopped, began contorting and twisting into impossible shapes and changing colors into indescribable shades, before simply popping out of existence. The fourth boulder was halted by Metalican, a dwarven elementalist that fancied using an axe as a staff. He tapped the stone with it, shattering it into pieces that slowly rearranged themselves into a golem of sorts, that then hopped down form the wall and began charging at the army that originally sent it.
Next, the first of the archers began releasing volleys of what can only be described as a hail of bullshit and divine punishment. As they arced of over the field, many of them left trails of light behind, and the sky was quickly filled with beautiful flashes and glitter that rained down on the army, causing explosions of fire, ice and lightning, implosions, clouds of poison and acid, sudden growth of plants and countless other effects.
Once their turn was over, the more offense-minded mages began lobbing their bolts, hexes and conjurations at what was left of the duke’s soldiers. Amongst the fireballs and shards of ice, great beasts made of various elements and materials appeared, each of them representing the personalities of their summoners and their origin.
Ice beasts clad in thick armor swiped at their foes like the bears of the north, apparitions of giant sandworms dragged soldiers under the frozen ground, divine-looking winged creatures grasped their foes and lifted them high into the air before casting them down again, giant trees appearing out of nowhere to entomb the helpless soldiers in their roots, all accompanied by several other beings.
Though there naturally was a degree of rivalry and competition, the more flashy adventurers held their end of the bargain, and in exchange for getting free reign over the area at first, they took a step back and allowed the up close and personal-types to get their chance to go at the fleeing remnants of the confused army that had dared to attack their home.
Several mages combined their forces to temporarily turn a part of the great wall intangible, so that the remaining adventurers could all rush out without clogging up the gate.
With their ten to one advantage dwindled to maybe three or four to one, the scattered husk of the duke’s force abandoned all they could and began retreating without care for order or rank. They pushed and shoved each other as they disappeared into the woods on the other side of the field – only to be later tracked by adventurers far more apt in traversing them.
Rosie had watched the entire battle begin and end within minutes with great excitement. It wasn’t every day she got to see adventurers in action and seeing such a massive amount at once was nothing short of exhilarating. “Well that was fun, what’d you think about it?” She asked and emptied her glass.
Emilia was stunned, in the back of her head she knew that the soldiers themselves likely had no say in the matter that turned out to be their demise and that hunting them down was probably not even morally all that gray, but at the same time, over her entire career as a priestess of joy, she had never felt like she did then. The sheer joy of battle emanating from the adventurers was so absolutely overwhelming that she could feel her connection with Sylvia strengthen tenfold, not by the deity’s will, but her own.
Strength she had never felt before coursed through her veins as her heart began pumping faster and faster, her entire body trembled and shuddered as the divine song in her head became louder and clearer than ever before.
“Emilia?” Rosie asked and reached out to Emilia as the heat rising from the priestess intensified.
Suddenly Emilia grasped the tigress with commanding strength and pulled her down for an intense kiss before dragging her down from the wall and rushing back into the inn.
Positioned next to them had been a team of two, consisting of a mysticist and an archer, who had followed the scene happening by them with much interest once they had caught the gist of it.
The mysticist, a half-orc called Féa, was well trained in the arcane art of thought absorbance. While not quite at the level of mind reading, she did get a good gander at the intentions and feelings of those nearby, which explained the bright red hue on her usually pale green cheeks.
“Ohh!” Gasped the mostly human archer called Thyme. “Which one was the secretly dirty one?” He asked and nudged his fried with his elbow.
“The third one, by a mile…” The mysticist muttered and stared blankly at the sky.