The two young men were absolute bundles of nerves as Thatch threw open the doors of the Tavern. The group of thirty or so Guild members inside cheered at the sight of Thatch walking in. Auron noted there was a large bar set into the sidewall in the large rectangular building. In the far back, instruments were being played as rowdy patrons swayed and danced.
Set into the side of the wall opposite of the bar were tables and booths for lounging customers.
"I brought a couple of greenhorns with me. Let's show them how we celebrate the lives of our fallen members!" Thatch shouted to the group. That was met with raucous cheering that shook the entire building. It seemed most of the occupants were guild members.
One group at a booth did not seem to join in or enjoy the cheering. Their finely polished steel armor stood out to Auron even more than their sour expressions.
Pushing through the crowd, the young men felt many hands slap them on the shoulders or backs. Auron even felt a small pinch on his rear. Looking toward the source, he saw a huge, muscular woman give him a slight wink and walk away.
Auron blushed and turned forward, meeting eyes with the bartender. "What will it be, Thatch. The usual for yourself and the same for your guests? Unless the two lads want some milk? Bahaha." The man had a smile, but he looked the type to be able to quell any issues that may arise from a group of drunk adventurers. Heavily scarred arms served as a clear testament to a life of battle. "You know it, boss. Three fire-hides." Thatch slapped a handful of silvery cubes down on the table.
The bartender poured three glasses of pale amber liquid from a barrel set into the wall behind him. When he finished, he put the drinks down and then brought out a glowing red stone. Auron's eyes lit up at the appearance.
Ruby shard. This shard contains concentrated red mana. Rubies are the natural collector of red mana from the ambient mana contained in the air.
The man's hand took on a soft white glow. As if using a metal grate on the shard, it splintered off into small bits. The pieces of gemstone settled into the foam at the top of each drink. Thatch grabbed his and chugged it down as the crowd continued to party. "Down the hatch just like Thatch boys," He smiled wide at them, oblivious of the rhyme. Auron and Leon grabbed their drinks and obliged.
As the smooth liquid ran down Auron's throat, he tasted a robust cinnamon flavor. A rush of heat followed that warmed his belly and made his face scrunch up. The young men both coughed violently as the crowd cheered. Guild members slapped thin squares of metal down on the bar and screamed for more.
After the first drink, Auron felt slightly lightheaded but less tense. His red mana concentration seemed to flare up as his vision and hearing amplified randomly.
Even touching the bar in front of him, he could feel not just the rough wood, but the life the wood used to hold. At times the music flared so loud he worried he was right in front of the instruments or heard a conversation from across the room.
Auron did not want to say no to the offers of drinks from the members Monsterbane. The more he drank, the less he noticed the increased sensory input.
Several drinks later, an arm slinked around his shoulders. The massive brute of a woman from earlier offered him a drink. Thatch sped over and flicked her on the ear playfully as Auron's face turned a deep vermilion.
"No touching the recruits, Thora. Thatch steered her away. Leon leaned in wobbly, "Not much experience with women, eh?" His words slurring slightly from all of the free drinks the two had received.
"Not much at all," Auron responded. The heat in his cheeks moved to his ears.
"Well, I have never liked women in that way!" Leon shouted to the rafters.
Auron was shocked at the bold admission, but the few others that heard only cheered and slapped the young man on the back. The guild members began to break into song as Thatch made their way back to the two. The band started to play a jig in tune with the melody, and the Guild members exploded with merriment.
Auron and Leon did not know the words, so they both banged their fists along with the beat. Each line was punctuated by foot-stomping and fists slamming on wood.
We fight, We fight, We show the beasts our might.
We fight, We fight, Then we drink all night.
That's right, That's right, They take in all the light.
The monsters will choose!
Whether or not to lose!
On the day they prove!
Their souls are their own to reuse!
The slurred song's details were lost on Auron, but all of the singers had the red haze of mana around them from the drinks. The bartender sat smiling as the song went on. His body was aglow with a large amount of red mana. The energy seemed to push away the usual constraining mass of purple mana that invisibly dominated the Kingdom's air.
After a few verses of that song, the surly group of grey-clad men stormed out of the Tavern in a huff. The guild members took no notice and continued to party.
After hours of drinks and songs, Auron felt exhausted. Thinking back to the start of the day, he felt as if a week had passed. Even the battle earlier felt so long ago. The pain of loss was hiding around the corner, though. As he sat at the bar, he pulled out the rock Gregory gave him from his pocket and held it in his palm. The worn stone gave him an odd comfort.
Thatch, noticing this change in mood, gave him a light check with his shoulder.
"Let's get you two home." He said as he picked up Leon from where he was passed out on the bar.
"Auron, are you able to cast stealth on more than one person?" Thatch asks as they make their way out of the Tavern.
"Nopes, Just me." Auron slurred his words a bit and did not notice the slight flash of concern on Thatch's face. "Let's be quick about getting him home then." The man spoke as quickly as he moved through the crowds. The rogue did his best to keep up.
Leading Auron down toward the shop district while carrying Leon, the first few minutes of the trip occurred smoothly. That is until they ran into the group of wall guards that had left the bar earlier. Auron was mindlessly following Thatch down the road when a gruff voice called out.
"OI. Stop there." The man boomed out his words. Thatch froze so quickly Auron walked right into his back.
"Look here, men. We have a drunk and disorderly." The man pointed at Leon and then Auron in turn.
"He can sleep it off in a jail cell. How about you hand him over." The Guard took a step forward menacingly, flanked by his compatriots. Auron could smell the booze on their breaths thanks to his boosted senses.
Thatch propped Leon against a building. Turning to the men, he held both of his hands wide. "Gentlemen, how about we just let this one slide. We have all had a few. No need to take my friend in. His house is just around the corner. This was his first time at the Tavern. How about we give him a break?" He kept his hands away from his weapons and stepped in between the boys and the guards while speaking.
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"I don't give a goblin's ass what your plans are. You want to go have some fun with this boy, you should have been more sneaky. Freaks." Auron took offense at this, standing to confront them.
The guards all snickered at the joke and brought out rounded clubs from their belts.
Touching their clubs to the ground, a wave of grey mana illuminated the men. Auron, stepping forward, looked over at Thatch, and for the first time, he saw the cheerful man had a face gripped with fury.
As if alive, the ground reached up and clasped Auron's feet. Half of Leon's body sunk in as his surroundings took on the consistency of a liquid.
Thatch quickly evaded the attack as his feet took on a sparking yellow glow. "I am sorry, Auron, this is all my fault. Do not fight them. I am going to get help." Thatch babbled as his mana made its way up to his legs, and he zipped away.
Auron watched him go. His mind could hardly process the events in his drunken state. He prepared to fight despite the warning. As he turned back to the guards, one of their clubs collided with his temple. White overtook his vision, and he passed out.
Sometime later, Auron woke up in a small stone-walled room. His armor, weapons, and items were all taken from him. Leaving him half-naked, His pants the only thing they allowed him to keep. Calling it a room was generous, considering Auron had to tilt his neck to stand.
Through iron bars, he could see Leon was sitting against a wall holding his head. Before he could say something, a noise coming down the hall interrupted. A guard with pristine armor and a well-kept appearance walked down the aisle. Auron heard the man's metal footsteps echoing along the walls before he was able to see him.
As Auron prepared several venom-filled greetings, he was surprised to see the man was not one of the drunken brutes that caused this mess. The man slid a tray with bread and a cup of water through a slot in the bars. The man locked eyes with Auron, his face serious, and his actions seemed almost apologetic. "I set your friend's shoulder back into place and checked the bones on his face. He will be fine with time. I am sorry for the conduct of my fellow Guardsmen." The man spoke with a controlled and professional voice Auron had yet to encounter anywhere else in the Kingdom. Auron only nodded in response. The man slid an identical tray under Leon's bars and turned to leave.
"What is your name?" Auron whispered before the man got out of view. He needed to ask because something was stopping his inspection from activating as it should. "Arete." The man said before he left.
Auron knew as soon as he locked eyes with the man he had seen him somewhere before. Learning his name only confirmed he was the Guard from his trance of Lustron. Picking up his water, he took a sip as he wondered. That makes two people from his vision that he had met. Why did this man appear in his dream? Auron was pulled from his thought process as Leon looked up.
He dropped his water. The metal cup clanged to the ground as he took in his friend's swollen and cut up face. The next time he saw those guards, he would rip them to pieces. Auron was so angry he almost missed Leon's soft words.
"I am sure it looks better than it feels,"
Moving his jaw to speak seemed to cause him a great deal of distress. Auron gripped the bars of his cage as fury ripped tunnels through his chest. Immediately he cast Healing gale in the direction of his friend. Glowing specks of white stone around him dissipated the spell before it could do anything. The Gale turned into a useless light breeze that only served to move around the stale air.
Warning. Magic use is limited by a magical device. Range and proficiency severely limited.
"Damn it!" Auron growled. "It's no use. The Opal fragments they have set into the walls dissipate your connection to mana, and anything conjured into the air." After speaking, he began to cough. Auron tried his spell again and again until his head throbbed with the ache of mana deprivation.
Leon forced his ruined face to smile at the urgency which Auron had in trying to help him. "They will let us out in the morning. It is my own fault. I woke up while they were carrying us, and I saw you knocked out. Activating my mana on instinct was a bad call. They really let into me." Leon spoke. Auron noticed he seemed to be improving slowly. Perhaps his natural health regen was kicking in.
The rogue felt helpless in his cage. The walls seemed so tight, and he wanted to stretch out to his full height and go kick those Guards asses. They appeared to be on par with the strength of the average guild members, though. Auron did not want to hold what happened on Thatch, but the man was incredibly foolish for not thinking things. The man should have regulated their drinking if this was a possibility. One lousy night would not be the end of the world, though. Auron made a vow to fully heal Leon as soon as he could.
Sitting down and trying to find a comfortable position, Auron jumped right back up when a loud crash and the sound of heavy objects falling shook the ground. Shouts of men sounded out, and every so often, a metallic clang or resounding thump could be heard. Auron and Leon looked at each other wide-eyed, their minds assuming some monster was attacking the Kingdom.
"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY RECRUITS." Gregory's voice boomed out. The sound of a stone wall collapsing rang through the halls shortly after the shouted question.
As he stomped a path down the hallway, he reached the two young men. While holding Arete by the neck, the Guild leader used one hand to rid the cells of having bars' burden.
The large man did not have mana's glow, which led Auron to believe he was doing this by his strength alone.
"Gregory, wait!" Auron shouted as he lightly clasped the arm, holding up the Guard. Gregory looked at Auron with a deceptively calm gaze. Auron knew all of his anger was seething beneath the surface. "This one helped us and showed us kindness, please release him," Auron spoke quickly in a calm tone. Gregory took a few slow breaths and reluctantly obliged. Arete gave a nod of thanks and stood before the man awkwardly. When Gregory looked over Auron first, he seemed relieved that he was unharmed. Looking over at Leon, and seeing his torn up and swollen face, he put a fist through the hallway wall as if it was made of paper.
"Bring me to the ones that did this. Now." Gregory demanded as he stared down Arete.
With a sheepish nod, Arete led them down the hall and into a courtyard. He did not seem reluctant to bring them at all. On the contrary, he seemed pleased to do so. While Auron helped Leon walk, Gregory waved them to stay back as Arete led him to a small square building on the courtyard's edge. Auron still could not use his wind magic with the dampening effects of the prison.
With the light of the moons, Auron could see that Gregory was not wearing his armor. He was wearing simple clothes and had his greatsword in its clasp on his back. If armor made most people look intimidating, it did the opposite for Gregory. He was an absolute unit of a man. Auron wondered if he needed a special tailor to make his clothes because he was inhumanely muscular.
"Go in and get them out here." Auron could still hear Gregory speak from where he and Leon were standing. Auron noticed Thatch standing pale-faced at a large gate connected to surrounding walls that separated the courtyard and prison from the rest of the Kingdom.
Arete ran into the building. When the door opened, laughter and the clinking of currency could be heard inside. Shortly after, the younger Guard returned.
"They told me to tell you to piss off... Sir." He told Gregory, his eyes downcast in shame. "Fine then," Gregory said as he hefted his sword off of his back and walked to one end of the building front.
With a sweep of the blade along the base of the wall, he ran its width.
Cut deep from corner to corner, the wall began to sag.
He then repeated the process near the top of the same structure. Walking calmly back a few paces, in line with the center, he ran forward and kicked.
The sound reverberated through Auron's bones as the entire wall collapsed inward. Screams of rage sounded as ten men fought their way out of the debris. Their grey magic was the only allowance in them doing so.
Coming out, they all were furious, that is, until they saw who the culprit was.
Moving his massive sword forward to point at each man and then the next he asked one question.
"Which ones of you stone head idiots put your hands on my recruits." The men all shuffled awkwardly until one stepped forward.
"When the royals find out about this, you are finished. They have no right to be walking in the upper quarters at that time of night. Filthy commoners deserve not-" The man was interrupted by Gregory kicking in his chest plate. After that, the outspoken Guard had no more words because he had not the air to speak them, and he was promptly made unconscious by a punch to the jaw.
"Do not make me ask again." The guild leader's voice thundered out.
"All orders came from me. The red-faced man who led those that arrested Auron and Leon stepped forward. Now leave here, and take those runts with you. You should dare not contradict me. I am the damn Captain here. I do not care what your lineage is. You can not touch a hair on my head." He spoke, spittle flying out with every word. Auron found the statement odd because the man did not have any hair near his cleanly shaven head. Those thoughts were interrupted by Gregory walking toward the man as the Captain continued his drunken tirade.
"Filthy guild members thinking they have any positio-"
Slamming his sword halfway into the ground in front of the Captain's feet in a great show of strength, Gregory clasped him by his armor's collar.
Now Auron had heard Gregory's favorite line about throwing a person over the wall many times. It seemed a cute euphemism for kicking some ass or setting a person straight. Auron did not know he should have been taking the threat as reality.
Gregory began to spin while clutching the man. The heavily armored Guard must have weighed several hundred pounds with his armor. Gregory whirled him as if he was a child.
Purple mana began to form around Gregory as he increased in size. With a hard step and a twisting motion with his arms, the man was thrown screaming into the air and over the wall.
If Auron was not so terrified, he would have held up a small sign reading 10 for the tosses form.
The other guards stood as statues frozen in their terror.
"Go get that idiot. He has more than enough durability to survive the landing. Let that be a warning to all of you. Do not touch my guild members." With that, he motioned for the boys to follow him out. When they reached the gate, Thatch profusely apologized, likely due to the tongue lashing he received on the trip over with their guild leader.
After a short walk, they reached the shop Leon's father owned. Typically he would be staying in the barracks on the felt-worth property, but the night before the festival was different, Gregory explained.
Auron asked the two guild members for some space, and they stepped around a corner. He then cast healing Gale on his friend. Leon looked as if he wanted to ask questions, but he just nodded in thanks. After a silent walk back, Auron collapsed into his bed and fell asleep.