Rowena frowned as she looked at the dilapidated building in front of her. The Jellied Eel looked like it was held together with spit and hope, and probably not a small amount of magic. It was a ramshackle wooden building, only one story, painted a gray that had probably been much darker many years ago.
Now, the sun had scorched the boards and the paint had bleached and peeled off in long strips. The shape of it was like a large boat turned upside down– bulging out on the sides but narrowing at the top to a little peak. The effect would almost have been friendly if it hadn’t been so worn down.
“Are you sure you want to go in there?” Kieran asked warily as they approached the building.
“You’re the one who told the stranger to come here,” Rowena replied.
“Yeah, but we don’t know if he actually did,” Kieran muttered, but followed along.
She realized her hand was clenching her truncheon tight enough to give her a cramp. It was a relatively short length of gnarled wood that was somewhat heavier on one end– the best she could do in the day since she’d selected that Proficiency. She’d never needed or wanted a weapon before, but if she had the Proficiency, she figured she should use it.
Rowena tried to relax. There was nothing to be afraid of, she thought determinedly, then said it out loud for Kieran’s benefit. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Um, he’s a ROGUE,” Kieran replied, then coughed. “Sorry.”
Rowena just shot him a dirty look, then turned back to the ancient looking Inn. She sighed, but then set her jaw stubbornly and strode forward. She didn’t wait to see if Kieran came with her.
She pushed in the creaky door and peeked inside. “Hello?” she called out, then took several steps inside.
The inside was… strangely comfortable, if she was honest. It, too, had the look of an old ship, with rounded porthole windows cut out intermittently and low chandeliers that seemed to rock and sway on their own. There was a large front room much wider than it was deep that narrowed into a central hallway that, Rowena could see, went all the way to the end of the building, where a back door would let one out the other side. She presumed the rooms were on either side of the hallway, and she guessed that, depending on the size of the rooms, the owner could accommodate three guests on each side.
It didn’t look like anyone had stayed there in a while, however. A layer of dust coated most furnishings, and spiders had made elaborate and comfortable homes in the corners. More like a ghost ship than anything else, she realized.
“Woah,” Kieran said behind her. “This place is–”
“Disgusting, I know,” Rowena wrinkled her nose and sneezed. She hated dust and mess.
“No, it’s beautiful,” Kieran whispered, eyes glazing over in the way that told her he was looking at things through his foggy MAGIC USER lens. “I can see everything… every spell, every– Rowena, this place is–”
As Kieran moved further into the space, Rowena felt a tickle at the corner of her brain. Her senses had been heightened since her Selection, to her great delight, especially when she sank into the half meditative state that seemed to tap into her Class and Subclass more directly. In the almost foggy state she’d looked over everything in her beloved shop with new eyes, noticing details and subtleties she couldn’t believe she’d never seen before. Calla had taken to trying to sneak up on her, delighting in her sister’s new Agility.
This practice came in handy as she felt motion behind them to the left before she could possibly have seen it. With a jerk, she turned towards it and quickly leapt to the side as she raised her hand with the truncheon, hoping she was prepared to actually use it.
She needn’t have worried. A wizened old man gave a rather impressive twirl as he moved easily out of the way and ended up in front of them both. He clearly hadn’t been trying to hide himself, which was probably the only reason she’d noticed him in the first place, since the deep, dark Sigils on his arm indicated that he was quite an advanced… whatever he was. She didn’t recognize the Subclass Sigil.
“Avast! Who are ye, and what do ye want with the Jellied Eel? A room, perhaps?” the old man added hopefully.
Kieran gave a surprised yelp and turned towards the two of them. Rowena looked the old man up and down. He wore crimson tights with a billowing white shirt that enveloped his slight frame. Still, the man was wiry and strong, and Rowena realized he had probably been quite large in his youth.
“Leo, you know us!” Kieran said. “Spirits Day? You used to leave sweets outside in a pot and we’d all dare each other to steal it?”
“Aye,” Leo nodded skeptically. “Ne’er saw this one, though.”
Rowena sniffed. “I have sweets of my own at the shop should I want them. I have no need to steal.”
“Now is that so?” Leo said with a barking laugh. “I’ve heard of ye, me pearl. The shopkeeper turned ROGUE.”
It was true, but it still stung. “What do you mean, heard of me? Who said something?”
Suddenly, the man had sidled around to her other side, and said into her ear mockingly but not unkindly, “Now I wouldn’t be much of a ROGUE, or an Innkeeper, for that matter, if I didn’t know what was going on in my town.”
Rowena jerked away. “Great. We’re here to ask you about the stranger.”
Leo nodded, unsurprised. “Come on, then.”
He beckoned to the two of them, pulling them towards the front corner where he’d apparently been sitting when they’d barged in. There was an elegant looking, tall-backed chair of burgundy leather tilted towards a window perfectly positioned to see the street outside. On a small stand next to it was a barrel with a tap coming out of it, and a tankard right next to that. A rather comfortable looking couch that matched the chair completed the furnishings in that part of the room.
Out of curiosity, Rowena used her Detect Secret ability. Her attention was immediately drawn to the tankard– there was something odd about it– and the fact that the Captain’s chair was quite worn and used, but the couch was in pristine condition. She assumed Leo spent much of his day there, watching and drinking. He must not get many visitors, she thought with a pang, and wondered if that would be her fate, as well.
They settled onto the couch after Rowena brushed off the dust, Rowena perching uncomfortably, Kieran making himself comfortable like he was a regular visitor.
“Grog?” Leo asked, a twinkle in his eye.
“No, thank you,” Rowena replied even as Kieran let out an enthusiastic, “Yes!”
“It’s midmorning,” Rowena pointed out, but Kieran just shrugged.
With a grin, Leo reached for the tankard and pulled it away. They both gasped as a fresh one appeared in its place. Leo filled both and handed one to Kieran, taking the other for himself. A third tankard sat right next to the barrel, where the original one had been.
Magic must have been the ‘secret’ detected, Rowena thought. I wonder how Detect Secret differs from Detect Magic, then?
“That is a clever little spell!” Kieran said excitedly. He took a gulp of the grog and sputtered, coughing. “And that is a terrible beverage!”
“Are they just… endless?” Rowena asked, looking around as though she expected to see tankards littering every part of the inn.
Leo shook his head, his eyes gleaming with delight. “Nah, that’s the best part.”
Without warning, he dropped his full tankard of grog on the floor next to him. Rowena shot up in expectation of the foul liquid exploding everywhere, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the tankard simply– disappeared.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Leo grabbed a fresh tankard and refilled it for himself. “Gets cleaned in the kitchen and staged to be popped o’er ‘ere again. Much easier to create a simple loop like that than endless streams o’ anything. I got six of ‘em,” he added proudly.
Rowena wondered if he’d ever had six guests at once, and then reflected that he was quite chatty for a ROGUE.
Fortunately, Kieran was already asking the question. “What are you? I mean, how did you enchant this? I know you’re a ROGUE, but is there like a Subclass that lets you do enchantments, too?”
“I–” Leo stood up with a flourish and gave an elaborate bow, “am a Swashbuckler. Or I was. I’m an Innkeeper now.”
He proudly tugged down his sleeve to show a very faint Innkeeper Sigil, but sighed. “Aren’t many comin’ in so’s I can advance on that, though. Did too well as a Swashbuckler. Level Forty Eight! Always thought about gettin’ th’ last two, but I’m so busy with the Jellied Eel and all…”
“So how did you–” Kieran gestured, though Rowena noticed he was indicating not just the tankards, but the entire space. Just how much magic was in here?
“Ye don’t buckle swashes for as long as I did without earnin’ a few favors,” Leo tapped the side of his nose. “Or knowin’ how t’ keep a secret.”
Rowena shifted uncomfortably. “Will you tell us what you know of the stranger?”
Leo drew his index finger and thumb across his jaws thoughtfully. “And what will ye do for me in return?”
Rowena blinked. She’d assumed everyone in town would simply want to help in her quest. They may not feel comfortable with her– she tamped down the thought of the hurt, frightened look on her father’s face when she’d seen him after she’d accidentally used Influence Individual on him– but surely they all supported her goal to bring Tommie and Mason’s murderer to justice?
“What do you want?” Kieran was asking. He looked at his grog with disgust for a mere moment before a determined look came over his face. He took another swallow, and gagged.
“That’s it,” Leo reached over and slapped Kieran’s back, hard. “Yer alright.”
Then the old man was silent for some minutes and his eyes took on a thoughtful cast. “Come back ‘ere and spend a night before ye start off on yer quest.”
“That’s all?” Rowena asked skeptically.
“And ye have to train with me.”
“What? I don’t have time for that,” Rowena shook her head. “We’ve already given the man way too much of a head start.”
“Just a few hours,” Leo said defensively. “It can be that night before ye go.”
“Done!” Kieran said eagerly, and Rowena shot him an incredulous look.
“Hold yer horses. I need something from ye, too,” Leo pointed at Kieran. “A favor.”
“Done,” Rowena said facetiously.
Kieran looked at her in horror. “What have you done?”
“What are you talking about?” Rowena frowned. “You accepted on my behalf.”
Leo looked at Rowena sternly. “An’ that’s why ye need my trainin’! Ne’er say yes t’ something ye don’t fully understand!”
Kieran had gone unusually quiet. He simply stared at Leo and waited.
“Fortunately for ye both, I’m a reasonable man, else yer man here would have t’ do any favor I choose,” Leo said after downing his grog. He reached over and pulled the tap for another.
“That doesn’t seem fair. I don’t speak for Kieran,” Rowena said, cheeks burning with embarrassment and worry.
Leo shrugged. “The magic seems to think ye do, lass.”
Rowena looked at Kieran in confusion, but Kieran kept his eyes on Leo. “Can you just tell me what you want from me, already?” he snapped, anxiety woven throughout his usually jovial voice.
“Nothin’ a pair o’ Adventurers like ye two cannot handle,” Leo said cheerfully. He reached around the back of his neck with one hand and dug into the chest of his billowing shirt with the other. Then, he pulled out what looked to be the ugliest necklace Rowena had ever seen, raised it over his head, and handed it to Kieran.
The necklace looked like a simple lump of fool’s gold that had been rotting away under the sea for centuries and the chain was simple and slightly rusted. Yet Kieran stared at it, curled in the palm of his hand, with nervousness, if not fear.
“What is this, some kind of curse you’ve passed along to him?” Rowena asked, suddenly scared for her friend. What had she gotten him into?
Leo laughed and slapped his knee. “Curse? Nah. Nothin’ o’ th’ sort. I just want ye t’ return this necklace t’ a… a friend o’ mine.”
“That’s it?” Kieran asked skeptically. He looked relieved, but still looked at the necklace a little nervously. “What does it do?”
“Do?” Rowena asked. She shifted in her seat. Unbroken-in leather was quite uncomfortable anyway, but she was also getting anxious to get the information they needed to go.
“It’s… it’s so magic, Ro,” Kieran said. “I don’t know anything else about it, it just… pulses with it.”
Frowning, Rowena slipped into her Secretseeker vision. She didn’t see anything.
“Don’t worry, it can’t hurt ye,” Leo said, waving his hands dismissively. “Not on accident, anyway. It’s not important what it is, it’s important that ye get it back to Ada.”
“Where is she?” Kieran asked. He hesitated, and then slid the necklace over his head.
“Ye’ll have t’ ask at th’ University,” Leo explained, sitting back with a sigh. “If I knew, I’d’ve gone t’ give it t’ her years ago.” He looked out the window moodily.
“The University?” Rowena asked. “Arcania?” It was the only university she’d ever heard of, about a week’s travel from Tunehlan.
Leo nodded. “That’s the one. She used to work there.”
“Used to work there? Used to?” Kieran asked, holding his hands out, fingers spread wide.
“It’s been a few years,” Leo grumbled. “They’ll know ‘er, though.”
“Kieran, we’ll just ask when we get there,” Rowena stated, wanting to focus on the more important matter of where the murderer had gone.
“Easy for you to say! Your obligation will be fulfilled in like a day!” Kieran exclaimed. With a sigh, he propped his elbow on the arm of the couch and buried his face in his hand.
“Fortunately f’r the two of ye, yer goals align,” Leo said in what seemed to be his attempt at a soothing voice.
“What do you mean?” Rowena asked, trying not to get her hopes up too much.
“Yer lad, th’ one what came into town last week. He’s a student at the University.”
Rowena frowned. A student coming here to murder a little boy and a Stonemason? That didn’t feel right. “Are you sure?”
Leo scoffed, insulted at the insinuation that he’d lied or been misled. “‘is name was Damon, he’s a student at th’ University. And that’s what I know.”
“That’s it?” Kieran snapped, absentmindedly tugging at the hideous necklace. “I have to go gods know where to deliver this… this thing to a person who may or may not even be alive, and all you can tell us is his name and that he’s a student at the University? Not where he’s from or where he’s going? Do you even know for sure that he was returning there?”
“It’s more than we knew an hour ago,” Rowena said. “At least now we have a lead.”
Kieran frowned and quaffed the rest of his grog, gasping and sputtering at the end of it. He then tossed the tankard in the general direction where Leo had dropped his and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Rather than the satisfying clank he’d probably been hoping for, the tankard, of course, just disappeared, waiting to be cleaned and queued up.
“We’d better go,” Rowena eyed her friend, worried he was going to be sick– or worse, drunk.
“Ye’ll be back f’r yer trainin’?” Leo said apprehensively as they stood.
Rowena nodded. “We’ll be back tonight. I want to leave first thing tomorrow.”
Leo nodded and settled into a moody silence, once again staring at the window as they left.
They walked uncomfortably for a few minutes, before Kieran said angrily, “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“What?” Rowena replied defensively. “You said yes on my behalf. And anyway… you don’t have to actually do it. You heard the man– he hasn’t heard from this Ada in years. You can… give it a try and then tell him you couldn’t find her.”
“How ROGUE-like of you,” Kieran said mockingly, and then sighed. “No, Ro, he was using Exchange Favors on us.”
“Without our consent?” Rowena said, aghast.
“Okay, again… ROGUE.” He was obviously getting rather exasperated at Rowena’s continued surprise at the less than savory antics of the Class. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“By the way,” Rowena decided to change the subject, “Sorel said she and Mattie talked to you about coming with us.”
“Well, yeah.” Kieran fiddled with the strange necklace he was wearing, rubbing his thumb over and over it.
“It’s not a good idea.”
“Why not? We could use a Shield. A Healer probably would come in handy, too.” He rubbed his thumb over and over the pendant.
“Can you stop that? It’s distracting,” Rowena said. She twisted her lips, worrying a little bit about this item Kieran had procured.
Suddenly, they heard a commotion from up ahead in the main square. Looking at each other in trepidation, they began to run, Rowena clutching her truncheon and hoping against hope, for the second time that day, that she wouldn’t have to use it.