Lillia had added two more lanterns to the tavern in the time he’d been gone. The first hung in the center of the room from the ceiling, illuminating the room with just enough light to make out the food any prospective customers might be eating, while the other was situated near the side of the bar. He headed over to the bathroom and cleaned the grime that had built up from the day’s work off before returning to the common room.
Arwin could hear Lillia working in the kitchen, but his attention was caught by a plank of wood resting on the bar countertop. He approached it, squinting in the dim light to see the words burned into its surface.
The Devil’s Den.
It looked like Lillia had finally decided on a name for the tavern. A grin crossed his lips and he bit back a laugh. She’d chosen to run with the street’s ill reputation instead of trying to avoid it entirely.
The name certainly rolls off the tongue, and it fits the theme pretty well.
Arwin headed into the kitchen, clearing his throat to announce his presence. Lillia looked up from the sandwiches she was preparing, then quickly broke eye contact with him as she resumed her work.
“I saw you got a nameplate,” Arwin said. “Did that come in today?”
“Yeah,” Lillia replied. She finished the sandwich she was working on and wiped her hands off on her apron. “Just a few hours ago. I’m going to hang it up tomorrow. What do you think of the name?”
“It’s good,” Arwin said. “Really fits the street. Playing into the rumors might be a really smart idea. People will be less wary if we’re directly addressing them instead of skirting the topic.”
“That’s what I was thinking as well. Have you thought of a name for your smithy yet?”
Arwin coughed into a fist. “I haven’t really been thinking too much about it. Other stuff on mind, you know?”
“Yeah,” Lillia said, her voice growing distant for a moment. “I do.”
“I’ll get around to it once Ridley finishes his work. There’s no need to rush it before then. A name isn’t something that can be rushed. You have to find it the right way. How’d you come up with yours?”
“It kind of just came to me while I was trying to distract myself.” Lillia slid the sandwiches she’d made onto a wooden board, then nodded over her shoulder toward the darkness of her room. “Do you want to eat?”
“I’d be thrilled to. What were you trying to distract yourself from, though?”
Lillia just shook her head in response and headed into the darkness, leaving Arwin to walk blindly after her. He held his hands out, following the wall until he passed the doorway and inched his way into her room.
“I have not yet memorized the exact position of your bed,” Arwin said, shuffling a foot forward in an attempt to locate his seat. “A slight amount of guidance would be appreciated.”
There was no response, but Arwin heard something shift a few feet away from him. He followed the wall over to it until his foot touched straw. He lowered himself down carefully, not relaxing until he was seated.
He let out a huff once he managed to sit without accidentally stubbing a toe. As comforting as the darkness was, it was a pain trying to do anything in it without a guide.
“Is something going on? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Arwin asked.
“It was funny.” Lillia pushed a sandwich into his hands and he nearly jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. Her muted laughter echoed through the dark and Arwin rolled his eyes. It sounded like Lillia hadn’t gotten enough entertainment throughout the day.
He took a bite out of the sandwich, taking a few moments to savor it. The flavor wasn’t close to anything he’d been expecting. The meat in it was buttery and flaky, with a strong undertone of sharp lemon. It had been paired with a bed of something crunchy and, if his guess was right, green.
“What is this?” Arwin asked once he’d swallowed the mouthful of food.
“Do you really want to know the answer to that question?” Arwin could hear the smile in Lillia’s voice.
His thoughts drifted back to the dungeon, where she’d proclaimed a certain type of meat would go well with lemon. A moment passed. Then he took another bite. “I think I figured it out.”
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“And?”
“It’s good,” Arwin said. “Maybe not the most appetizing sounding meat, but I like it. Tastes a bit similar to lobster. Did anyone else try yet?”
“Yeah. I was thinking I could really push the monster theme by having odd dishes like this one,” Lillia said. “You know, really lean into it. My goal is to have people that are consistently here, not just swinging by for a day.”
“You’ll certainly attract a certain type of clientele, but I can see it. Are you adding this one to the menu?”
“I’m not sure if I’ll add anything specific to the menu since I don’t know where we’ll be raiding in the future. I’ll probably do unique offerings every week or so – or however often we end up going looking for materials. Reya picked up some big backpacks for all of us so we don’t have to leave so much behind in the future.”
“That’s a great idea. I was starting to think we should try to bring the wagon to the dungeons, but I get the feeling the old thing wouldn’t make it more than a few feet out of the city.” Arwin chuckled and shook his head. “Bags are definitely a wise choice.”
“Especially for the near future. We’re going to have a lot of Wyrm meat to officially launch the tavern with. I’m going to try to announce its opening after we take out the horde.”
“Isn’t it already open?”
“Yeah. It’s just a marketing trick that Rodrick told me about. It gets people excited because they think its new. And to be fair, the tavern has kind of been pretty devoid of much draw. Once we’ve got some Wyrm meat and I’ve finished furnishing the rooms, I’ll have a real product to sell people.”
Arwin nodded. They both finished off their sandwiches, not saying anything else. The peace was nice. Even though it had only been a night since he’d last eaten with Lillia, he hadn’t realized quite how much he’d missed it. It was a good change of pace from working through the whole day.
I need to go full force for the last few days before we head out to deal with the Wyrms. After that, I can let myself breathe a little more.
He leaned back against the wall but was surprised to find that there was a pillow already behind him. Lillia must have already set the bed while waiting for him. The thought caused the back of his neck to redden.
A moment later, she sat back beside him. Arwin thought about saying something for a few seconds. The problem was, he wasn’t sure what to say. All the words he could think of would take the conversation in a direction that they couldn’t afford – not when there was so much at stake in the near future.
Not tonight. This isn’t just about me. Lillia and I both have a responsibility to our guild and keeping them safe. I can’t risk all of that because I can’t control myself for a few days.
His shoulder brushed against Lillia’s and his determination nearly crumbled then and there. Arwin drew in a slow breath and let it out through his mouth to steady himself.
“Not too long until we head out to deal with the Wyrms,” Lillia observed from beside him. “You think we’ll be ready?”
“Yes,” Arwin replied without an ounce of doubt in his mind. “We’ll be ready. I finished the set for Rodrick today, and I’ll give it to him tomorrow. My bow is just about ready as well – I just need to make an arrow for it and some gauntlets to keep me from cutting my hand off with the string. After that, it’ll just be making extra gear until we set out. Maybe we can go back to Olive’s dungeon – there could be some more good materials we could get.”
“It’ll be a few days before we can. It’s only open on certain days to make sure the monster population doesn’t get cut down too hard. I already asked her about it,” Lillia said through a yawn. “I don’t think we’ll have time for another run before the horde.”
“Then we’ll deal with the horde as we are. I would have loved to get a few more levels in Apprentice before we did, but I can’t complain. Are you close to Apprentice 5?”
“Getting there. I might hit it before the horde – and I’ll definitely hit it after. My progression is slower because I need to cook rare monsters to get the most magical energy and, well, we haven’t exactly fought that much all that rare. Not much that was edible, at least.”
“Yeah. We did get a bit unfortunate in that regard.”
“It’s fine. I’m going to make up all that drawback when we take out the Wyrms. I’ve even got some iceboxes ready to store their meat,” Lillia said, a tinge of excitement entering her voice. She shook her head, and her hair brushed against the nape of Arwin’s neck. “I don’t want to start cooking my eggs before they hatch, though.”
“I don’t think that’s the saying.”
Lillia let out a soft laugh. “Olive taught me that one. Either way, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’m just looking forward to being done with this shitshow. If those Wyrms turn into a big problem, the Adventurer’s Guild might actually come out here. That’s the last thing we need.”
“We’ll stop them,” Arwin said, his jaw setting. “Well, that or we’ll find out that there’s no horde at all and we’ve completely misread the situation.”
“All the hints point toward a pregnant wyrm, but I suppose we’ll find out,” Lillia agreed. She yawned again, then slid down a few inches in bed to rest her head against his shoulder. “But we can worry about that when the sun is up.”
“And after I give Rodrick his armor,” Arwin added, a grin flitting across his lips. “He’s going to lose his shit.”
“I’m sure he’ll love it. I still like my set more, though.”
“You haven’t even seen his set.”
“I haven’t,” Lillia agreed. “But you made mine for me.”
Arwin’s heart skipped a beat, but it seemed like Lillia had already forgotten the words even after they’d come out of her mouth. She settled in, her entire side pressed against his, and her breathing slowed as she drifted off to sleep.
How can she do that so quickly? It’s unfair.
He let his head rest against the pillow behind him and let his body relax. Lillia was right. There would be enough time to worry in the morning. Right now, he needed to get some rest – and even if he’d want to try to think about anything else, Lillia’s presence at his side wouldn’t permit it.
Arwin’s eyes drifted shut. It wouldn’t be long before it was time to deal with the Wyrms. And, after them, they’d find a way to deal with Jessen. When he thought of it like that, it wasn’t all that bad.
All they had to do was survive the next week or so.