Chapter 562: Merry Crescent

  The tavern was bustling with life. Every table was crowded with five too many customers. There was no music, the usual minstrels were nowhere to be seen. Stryg supposed it wouldn’t have mattered, no one would have been able to hear them over the hundred voices clamoring for another beer.

  When the barmaster spotted Stryg he immediately straightened up and shouted a set of orders to a pair of helping hands. The two young men hurried into the kitchens and came back with a small round table that was noticeably more polished than the rest. They placed it into an empty corner, then one began to wipe it down with a clean rag while the other jogged over to Stryg. “This way please, sir.”

  “Thanks,” said Stryg as he led Tauri and Melantha over to the table.

  “Special treatment?” Melantha noted with a playful smirk.

  He shrugged. “I’m sort of a benefactor to this place.”

  Before Melantha could push him on the subject, a barmaid skipped over to the table. She was pretty, for a human, Tauri conceded silently. There was a fresh cut across her cheek, not two days old, but it didn’t stop her from smiling wide. “Sir Stryg, you’re back! I didn’t know when I’d see you again.”

  “Hey, Carla, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see you’re in one piece.” Stryg reached up without much thought, placed a hand over her cheek, and cast a simple healing spell.

  The barmaid tensed in surprise, but did not move. “H-How has Feli been?”

  “She’s doing fine, thankfully. I’m glad this place is still standing after the siege.”

  “We got lucky. The savages only broke in and smashed a few barrels and bottles. I think they were too drunk after drinking our ale to do much else.”

  “No casualties?”

  “Uh-uh. The boss had us hide in the cellar.”

  “Smart man.”

  Tauri pulled her cloak a little closer, “I’m surprised there are so many people here this early in the day, it’s barely noon.”

  “People oftentimes drink to forget their horrid circumstances,” said Melantha.

  Carla bit her bottom lip and Stryg saw a flash of pain cross her eyes, but she quickly buried it as he channeled soothing White mana into her skin.

  Tauri grimaced at her own thoughtless words. The Commoner District had been hit the hardest. These people were suffering. How many had lost loved ones in the attack? “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

  “We get by,” Carla replied.

  Stryg lowered his hand. “There, that’s better.”

  Carla tentatively touched her cheek and her eyes widened when she felt the unblemished skin. “Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Um, what can I get you?” she asked eagerly.

  “Fire-breath,” Stryg said without missing a beat.

  “Always going for the strongest stuff,” Carla grinned. “Would you like a glass or the decanter?”

  “Decanter.”

  “And your companions?”

  “Do you have any wines from Murkton?” Tauri asked.

  “The barbarians smashed a lot of our bottles but I think we should have at least a few left, I’ll go check. And what about you, Miss?”

  “I’ll have whatever all these fine men and women are having.” Melantha gestured to the rest of the tavern-goers.

  “It’s just simple ale. Are you sure you wouldn’t want something better?” asked Carla carefully. “Master Stryg and his companions drink for free.”

  “Well in that case,” Melantha leaned forward and grinned, “I’ll take two mugs of ale.”

  That earned her a smile from Carla. “I’ll have them brought right away.” She bowed and hurried off.

  “So, you’re a ‘benefactor,’ huh?” Melantha glanced at the retreating barmaid.

  “Not that kind,” Stryg shook his head. “Taverns can get pretty rowdy in this district, but thugs tend not to cause any trouble when they know the barmaster is acquainted with a mage.”

  “Magic has its perks.” Melantha’s lilac eyes darted around the tavern, examining its wooden beams and several exits as if it were second nature. “The Merry Crescent, hm? It seems you've always had a fondness for the Mother Moon. Though, I’m not certain that sign hanging outside this place is flattering.”

  “Outright blasphemous,” Tauri muttered under her breath while sending a nervous side-glance to Melantha. She had a distinct feeling that Lunae would not approve of the sign’s painting depicting a crescent moon with two shapely feminine legs scantily clad.

  “It’s just a coincidence,” said Stryg, ignoring Tauri’s words. “I didn’t choose this place because of its name.”

  “Then why is this your favoured tavern?” asked his sister.

  “I met Feli here, she was working here as a barmaid.”

  “Ah, you’re a romantic. Feli is your human wife, yes?”

  Stryg didn’t know what a romantic was. He made a mental note to himself to ask Feli about it later. “Yeah. I think you’d like her.”

  “Because she’s human?”

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  “...Maybe?”

  Melantha couldn’t help but chuckle.

  Another shiver of discomfort ran through Tauri. It was bad enough that she was standing next to a literal bonafide goddess of death disguised as an ordinary human woman, but now she was reminded of Stryg’s other lover. At some point, she’d need to speak to Feli about her relationship with Stryg. Just one more conversation she wasn’t looking forward to having.

  Thankfully, Carla returned before the conversation could continue. She handed them all their drinks with the deftness of an expert barmaid. “Anything else I can get you?”

  “No, this is fine, thanks,” said Stryg.

  “Please, don’t hesitate to wave me down if you need anything.” Carla bowed and walked off.

  Tauri sipped her wine cautiously. It was cheap compared to what she was used to, but it would do fine for a bit of day drinking.

  The glass decanter swished with a fiery orange liquid. Stryg popped it open and took a large swig. He grimaced at the usual burning taste of Fire-Breath, then his frown deepened after a moment. He glanced at the decanter as if something was wrong with it.

  “Not giving the kick you expected, huh?” Melantha smirked.

  “Something is off with this one,” Stryg muttered and shook the decanter a bit.

  “Are you sure about that?” Melantha asked before downing an entire mug of ale in a single chug. She slammed the empty mug down on the table and sighed in satisfaction. “Ah, that’s the stuff.”

  “You actually like cheap ale?” Tauri mumbled in disbelief.

  “What’s wrong with cheap ale?” she cocked an eyebrow.

  “N-Nothing!” Tauri panicked. “I just, um, I thought you would want something more— refined?”

  “Refined?”

  “I mean, something stronger?” Tauri asked hesitantly.

  Melantha crossed her arms behind her head and leaned back in her chair. “Due to our nature, poisons are too slow-acting to have any effect on my body.”

  “Then—?”

  “I may as well be drinking water. And I wager at the rate Stryg’s body is developing, alcohol no longer has much effect on him either, if any.”

  “What?” Stryg’s head snapped in his sister’s direction.

  “Then why even bother coming here?” Tauri asked.

  Melantha looked around the busy tavern and smiled to herself. “To remind myself.”

  “Of what?” she asked.

  “What’s it like to be human.”

  “But,” Tauri looked around conspicuously and leaned forward before whispering, “You’re a goddess.”

  “My birth mother was mortal. She was as human as that barmaid.”

  “What was she like?” Tauri asked without thinking. What kind of woman had managed to catch the eye of a god like Stjerne? She glanced at Stryg. When she turned her gaze back she almost jumped out of her chair, Melantha was staring right at her. The same lilac eyes as Stryg’s. Tauri felt as if the goddess was staring into her soul, reading every single thought like an open book.

  Melantha took one arm from behind her head, grabbed her ale, and sipped it while retaining her laid-back posture. “...I wouldn’t know, she died giving birth to me.”

  Tauri blanched in horror. “I’m so sorry, I meant no offense.”

  “It’s fine. My adoptive parents and my mentor were close to her. From what they tell me she was kind, selfless to a fault, and without a lick of magical talent to her name. Nothing like the women my father would usually prefer.”

  “Really?” asked Stryg.

  “Our father is very selective about his women. My mother should never have been considered, but then again, I was born from the union, so maybe my father knew exactly what he was doing,” she said in a heavy tone that left no room for speculation.

  Tauri cleared her throat. “I didn’t realize Stjerne was so… calculating.”

  Melantha chuckled. “Did you think he was a whimsical, carefree Traveler?”

  “That’s what the priests say…”

  “In a way he is, only if you don’t know him. He has a dozen different thoughts coursing through his mind at a time though you’d never know it by looking at him.”

  “He sounds… complicated?” said Tauri.

  Stryg stared at the table, his eyes not really focused on anything. Something was clearly bothering him, that much Tauri could tell. Did he not want to hear about his father?

  “Unhand me, woman!?” a slurred voice shouted nearby.

  Stryg’s pointed downward ears perked up. His eyes searched the crowd and spotted a drunk Rorik futilely trying to shake a drow woman off him.

  “The healers said you’re supposed to rest in bed for another two weeks!” The woman slapped his shoulder. “What are you doing in this place!?” she growled.

  “I’m fine, Disah,” Rorik grumbled.

  “Captain Rorik Polamtal,” said Stryg, walking up to them, a smile forming on his lips. “It’s good to see you alive and well— Your leg! What happened?”

  The guard captain was sitting. Stryg hadn’t noticed the injury until he had come closer. His right leg was missing from below the knee.

  The drow, Disah, stepped protectively in front of Rorik and stared Stryg down, she was taller than him by almost two hands. “My husband gave up his leg defending the wall from those damned savages. He fought bravely to the end. What do you want with him?” she asked warily.

  Rorik finally looked up and recognized the familiar stranger. His grey lips broke in a loose grin, “~Stryg, where’ve ya been, ya beautiful bastard?~”

  Disah stiffened at his words and her blue eyes widened to saucers. She glanced down at Stryg’s hand and finally noticed the Veres signet ring on his index finger. She hastily curtsied, “M-My apologies, my lord, I didn’t recognize you. And may I say, congratulations on your ascension to the city council.”

  “You must be Lady Disah.”

  “You know me, my lord?” she asked with a mixture of surprise and fear.

  “Rorik has told me stories, but clearly he has downplayed your beauty,” Stryg recited the words Gian had coached him to say while among noble ladies.

  Disah blushed in sheer embarrassment and fidgeted with her dress.

  Tauri rolled her eyes at the display and kept sipping her wine from her table.

  “Jealous?” Melantha asked calmly.

  “Not at all.”

  “Oh?”

  “That woman clearly loves her husband and Stryg has no interest in her outside of exchanging pleasantries.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “If he did, Stryg wouldn’t simply be complimenting her beauty and giving her that fake smile.”

  “What would he be doing then?”

  “He’d tell her exactly how he felt about her, beauty, faults, and all. What he is doing over there is just flattery. I bet Gale put him up to it so he doesn’t say something stupid like usual.”

  “My, you seem to know my brother well. You really love him, don’t you?”

  Tauri coughed into her drink. “W-What? I…” She laughed forcefully and felt her cheeks grow warm.

  “So you don’t love him?”

  Tauri swallowed and steadied her breath. She looked Mel in the eyes and spoke in a soft but resolute voice. “I do…” Despite everything that had happened the last few days, she realized that whatever happened next, gods or monsters, she had no doubt of the answer in her heart. “I love him.”

  “Is that so?” Mel downed the rest of her second ale. And wiped her lips with the back of her sleeve. “I’m glad to hear that. I find myself with few kin left in this world; fewer even that aren’t enemies. Although I’ve only known Stryg for a few days, his existence is important to me. He’s a good lad, rough around the edges, but he cares. I’m relieved to know he has someone like you by his side.”

  Tauri relaxed her shoulders and realized she’d been holding her breath. When she had met Melantha all she could feel was terror, but now, she realized that perhaps a goddess of death wasn’t as scary as she thought.

  “That being said,” Melantha’s eyes grew cold. “I am not as lenient as my sister. If you and your kin betray Stryg I will murder every single one of you. I will burn House Katag to the ground and not even the foundations will be left to remember your family. Then I will take your souls and trap them in darkness for eternity, and even madness shall not be your escape.” Her expression abruptly turned warm and she smiled, “Have I made myself clear?”

  Tauri swallowed hard, “Perfectly.”