The day that Jonik and Dekram met was a sunny, beautiful day in the town of Kinubar. The birds were chirping, the streets were bustling, and Dekram's mother had taken him to the market to buy fresh ingredients for a stew she was going to make that evening.
As they examined the carrots, potatoes, beets and cabbages Dekram's mother would pick one up, give it a good look over, and hand it down to Dekram.
“What do you think of this one dear?” She would always ask him. “Is this Khasto’s famous vegetable stew worthy?”
Dekram would always examine it with all the intent he could muster in his body, and none would ever pass the test. They would stand there for hours and hours looking at every single vegetable in a market stall, so that by the time they returned home, it was already too late for dinner.
On this particular day, the pair were looking through every single cabbage when another small boy snuck up behind the stall.
The boy sat there for a moment, waiting for the perfect opportunity. He looked at the mother and son as he did, and couldn’t help but think about how much he truly desired that for himself.
“What it must be like to have someone like that in your life” He pondered for a moment before noticing that the stall owner was distracted.
He reached up, grabbed the first cabbage he laid his hands on, and quickly brought it down to his chest. With a smirk on his face, the boy quickly stuffed it in his coat. Just as he did this, the stall owner turned around and saw the little boy.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing then?”
The stall owner was clearly not happy about what he had just witnessed happen. The boy turned to run, but was caught by the arm and lifted into the air.
“A little thief we have on our hands now do we?” The stall owner said with gusto. “You know what the guard does with thieves around here?”
As this transpired, Dekram's mother had caught notice and began to dig in her coin purse. She took out a small copper coin and outstretched her hand to the stall owner.
“It’s no trouble at all, he must be hungry” She said with a closed eyed smile as she tilted her head slightly to the side.
“I don’t need your money” The boy retorted with a scowl, “I don’t need anything from you.” as he wriggled and squirmed trying to loosen the grip of the stout dwarven stall owner.
“What you need is a whooping” The dwarf added, with a small twinge of a grin perking up in the corner of his pursed lips.
With that, the dwarf reached into the boy’s coat, grabbing his cabbage back just before dropping the boy back to the ground. The boy frowned, rubbed his wrist which was red and rashy from the strong grip of the stall owner, and stuck his tongue out in jest.
The dwarf said assertively, “Now away with you!” and pointed his stubby finger away from the market.
“Well wait just a second.” Dekram's mother interjected, “What is your name, young one?”
The boy turned his head toward Dekram's mother and asked “What’s it to you?” as he walked around towards the front of the market stall.
With another smile, just as genuine as the first, she responded “I’d like to buy you some lunch, I know what it’s like to run out of coin”
“I haven’t run out of coin” The boy retorted, “I just haven’t got any on me” and he crossed his arms.
“Well then wouldn’t it be easier to let me buy you some food than run all the way home to get coin, so you don’t have to steal it?” Dekram's mother said as she crossed her own arms, and gave her best attempt at a serious face.
The boy pondered the offer for a moment, and then said, “Well, alright. But don’t think it’s because I’m not able to steal my own lunch!”
“Oh I’m sure you could steal the king's crown if given the opportunity.” Dekram's mother said as she let out a small laugh and another wide, toothy smile.
The trio then walked through the market, making their way towards the chefs’ stalls on the northern end. Dekram's mother looked down at the young boy who, though seeming to loosen up a bit, still crossed his arms and wore a serious face.
“Well there is one thing, I never buy lunch for someone until they give me their name.” she said. He looked up at her and responded “I never give my name to someone unless they give me theirs first”
“That’s fair enough I suppose” she said as she stopped walking, “I’m Vefni Khasto. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
The boy stopped, turned to her and gave her one more once over before regrettably saying, “Fine, my name is Jonik.”
Vefni smiled and extended her hand out towards the boy. Jonik cautiously put his hand in hers, and shook it lightly. Dekram added, “My name is Dekram! It’s nice to meet you.” and he gave a small wave.
The three of them continued walking through the market, as Vefni made small talk with young Jonik. She inquired about his family, and he told her that he didn’t have any. He explained that he lived with the Innkeeper of The Whispering Queen, and he’d never known his real family.
“Oh that must be terrible” she said, and asked how he liked living with Mera, whom Vefni knew casually through the various social circles of the town.
“She’s real nice, but she’s always busy” Jonik responded, “All she does is take care of the inn, and that doesn’t interest me at all.” Vefni shook her head slightly.
She knew exactly what he was talking about. Vefni explained to Jonik that her father was an Innkeeper as well, and that the profession had never interested her. “He wanted me to take over the family business one day, but I dreaded the thought” she explained. She explained how she met Hiam, and that they eloped together to Kinubar from her home, the city of Raven’s Peak.
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
“He was an adventurer” she said, “The type of man whose life was filled with excitement and wonder, treasure and glory.” She looked down for a moment and smiled,
“There was something about that I couldn’t refuse” she continued, “Something that sounded so much better than running an inn for the rest of my days”
Jonik, enthralled with the story that Vefni was telling, looked up and asked
“Did you ever go on any adventures with him?”
Vefni laughed, looked back at Jonik and said, “Once or twice, but I’m afraid the journeys he likes to go on tend to be a bit dangerous for me”
Jonik balled his fist, raised it up in the air and proclaimed,
“One day, I’m going to be a great adventurer, just like him!”
The group all laughed, and continued walking.
Over the next few weeks, Vefni, Jonik and Dekram would meet for lunch in the market every day. They would talk about the day, life in the town of Kinubar, and anything that came to their minds. Dekram and Jonik got along quite well. After lunch, they would often go running around the market chasing each other and playing games.
Over the course of the next several years, Jonik became part of their family. He spent more time at the Khasto home than his own, and both Vefni and Hiam became very accustomed to the boy being around.
----------------------------------------
As Dekram approached, Jonik caught sight of him coming.
“There he is!” Jonik exclaimed, “The man, the myth, the legend” and he held out his arms in a welcoming fashion.
Dekram gave a soft smile but didn’t initially respond. Dekram wasn’t too fond of Jonik using that turn of phrase, which he did quite often. “The man, the myth, the legend” That phrase came with so much weight.
Even if not to be interpreted in a literal sense, the jovial interpretation held high expectations as well. It was a sort of social pressure that Dekram wasn’t keen on. In a social situation, Dekram often did well. Maybe even sometimes befitting the title, but he never wanted the weight of the expectation on his shoulders.
Dekram flourished when he felt most comfortable. He could be the life of the party, but as soon as someone expected that of him upon arrival he would shut down. Dekram walked the rest of the way to Jonik and threw his arm around Jonik’s shoulder.
“How are you doing today brother?” Dekram said with a smile and a laugh.
“I’m doing rather exceptionally!” Jonik responded as he raised his mug into the air.
“It is a good night my friend” Jonik said with a rowdy look on his angular face that Dekram knew well.
“And why is that?” Dekram probed, knowing that some good news must have happened that day for Jonik to be in such high spirits.
“Well brother, I have found the love of my life!” Jonik hiccuped as he spoke. It appeared that this was far from his first mug of ale.
“Oh is this like the last love of your life then? Or maybe the one before that.” Dekram questioned in jest. “Or who was before that? I can’t remember all the way back to last winter”
Jonik quickly disregarded the pointed questioning and took a swig from his mug.
“I will have you know that she is absolutely perfect. Every small detail is beyond stunning.”
Jonik defended his previous announcement. “Her essence burns with the fury of a thousand stars. The mear smile of this fair maiden could charm even the lowliest of monstrosities” Jonik continued before trailing off into a short mutter of words.
“Is that so?” Dekram assumed a manufactured look of intrigue on his face. “Then do tell, what name could ever grace the lips of one speaking of a maiden as fair as this?”
Jonik paused and looked down at his mug for a moment. He then raised it, took what seemed to be an intentionally long sip, and smacked his lips as he lowered it back down.
“Here’s the thing” Jonik began before immediately getting cut off by Dekram.
“You don’t even know her name! Typical.”
Dekram boasted out in laughter at the thought. Jonik retorted,
“You don’t understand! I love this woman. I shall make her my wife one day”
“How are you going to do that if you don’t so much as know her name?” Dekram was quick to reply.
“Well I shall ask her tomorrow” Jonik said with confidence.
“Is that so?” Dekram came back, “And what if you don’t see her again tomorrow?” and without missing a beat Jonik replied
“Then I shall take my dagger in hand, and thrust it into my chest with a force equal to the pain I’d feel of knowing my beloved is out of my reach”
Dekram waved off the dramatization of Jonik’s last remarks and returned his gaze out to the crowd in the tavern. It was quite a lively night at The Wayward. Typically a night like this would see the likes of 20 or so patrons, most of them regulars, drinking ale and gossiping about the town. Tonight however, there were closer to 50 people drinking and dancing, laughing and cheering scattered throughout the room.
“What was the occasion?” Dekram wondered to himself. After listening to Jonik continue to swoon over the stranger he saw that day, he finally asked
“Why are there so many people here tonight?”
“Oh you haven’t heard?” Jonik asked in response, “The church is throwing a festival tomorrow, so many of the folks from nearby towns are staying in Kinubar tonight as to not have to travel in the morning.”
That would make sense as to why in the sea of faces before him, Dekram could recognize so few.
“Is that so?” Dekram asked, “What is the festival for?”
Jonik’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Have you no sense of calendar? Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the fall of the council.”
Dekram took that in for a second, trying to make sense of it all. When he decided that he couldn't, he asked,
“How could that possibly be worthy of a festival?”
Just as he asked this a drunken dancing Elf lost balance and stumbled between Dekram and Jonik. With beer sloshing out of his mug, and not a concern in the world about what he was doing, the Elf was gracefully pushed back out toward the dance floor by the both of them. Jonik, brushing ale off of his lap said,
“Well, apparently they believe that this could mean that our trial is over. That The Nine are coming back!” Dekram with a look of ambiguity on his face said “Well, I hope for all of our sakes that’s true”
The night continued, and Dekram and Jonik drank many more mugs of ale. Sometime late into the night, when all that was illuminating the town of Kinubar was moonlight, the pair decided to head back to their respective homes. Jonik left first, as he was always the type to quickly pay the tab, pack up and leave when it came time to go.
Dekram lingered for a moment as he finished his mug. When he had consumed all the drink that was served to him, Dekram reached into his coat and pulled out his coin purse. He reached inside and grabbed a gold coin and several silver coins. Setting them down on the bar, he gestured to Elyhn and said,
“This should cover my habit for another night, and there’s a bit extra in there to keep Rewyn off my back.”
With a wave, Elyhn smiled at him and returned to the mug she was cleaning. “Goodnight Dekram” she said, and with that he turned to walk out.
As he stepped out into the brisk night air, Dekram inhaled deeply. It was far too late to get the flowers he had intended on buying for Rohe, but he would instead treat her to a fine day at the festival tomorrow. Dekram stepped off the porch of The Wayward, and began walking toward his humble home.
He didn’t get more than a few steps before he heard footsteps approaching behind him.
“Forgot something again and had to go back now didn’t you?” Dekram said as he turned slowly around.
But just as he finished that question, a blunt object came crashing down on the top of his head. Dekram fell to the ground, dazed and unsure of what exactly had happened, but before he could make sense of the situation, one more swift strike to the temple knocked him unconscious.