We stood at the entrance of the Watchhouse foyer. It was a challenging place to find, and we both resisted asking for directions. Eventually, the shadows started to lengthen, and after a challenge to Goito where I reminded him he was from this city, the Pigeon kept saying, "It's over here, or maybe there,".
We started to ask, and everyone we asked who would talk to us. The torn robe of Goito and what I was wearing were not helping us, we appeared to be a couple of homeless dispossessed looking to run a short con or just a bash and run. Still the people of this city were both hard and kind, you see that with hard lives. People who have nothing have little to fear about losing nothing. Many who did talk to us knew where the Watchhouse was. But I needed to spin around a few times and gesture with fingers curving right or a wrist flicking back like the somatic portion of a spell. The spoken portion of the spell was a call to find another business, and it was just a block down or across the road; then and only then, it was simple: hop, jump, and skip, and we would be there.
We were ultimately sent to a cozy coffee house run by a female Orc and another woman with horns; luckily, everyone seemed to know where that was.
The Watchhouse was built of grey stone walls. The people of the city gave the place a wide birth and room. The floors were timber inside the building reception area, and the walls were the other side of the grey stone. A couple of bench seats faced a sizeable free-standing countertop erected in front of a chunky door. A notice board with several notices, some yellowed, was attached to one of the walls. Two wrought rings were connected to the other wall. Sitting behind a counter about two meters wide and high was a bull's head and a man's body. I lent over to Goito and said. "I am going to make so many cow jokes,".
"Only if you want me to give you a legendairy arse kicking," The cow man said in what was to my ear perfect old Scottish accent.
"I don't like this. The Bullman seems to be quite angry. Let's go," Goito said.
"Cowman, angry? I am sure that he is," I said.
"Well, what do you want?" the large Cow Man asked.
Then he stood up. It was not so much that he stood up. He stood up from behind the two-meter-tall desk and was still taller. Then he walked out from behind the desk. The very tall desk clopping over to us on hoves. Great human arms and hands swung. I was pretty happy that he wore a uniform of light linen pants and a shirt; hanging at his waist was a club. The knob of the club was brass and would do a good amount of damage if he was to swing it at us. Luckily, this was a tall ceiling, and you could definitely swing a cat. If he wanted to harm us, the environment would not limit him. So there is that.
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"Ok! Let's get this moo-ving," I said and realized I seemed to have become a smart arse.
"Yes, that is it. Embrace your destiny," the Pigeon said. The little guy had walked in behind us.
"Did that pigeons talk," the Cowman asked.
"No," replied Goito.
"Yes!" The Pigeon and I replied in unison. Hang on just a minute, is that Pigeon influencing me? I thought. A Bing of a small bell rung out. A small message appeared in my brain. Or was that my awareness? "Failed intelligence check." So that is a no. That was lucky, I am really starting to trust that pigeon, he is a really good guy.
The Cowman was standing over us now, and I looked directly up into the two great and hairy nostril holes.
"What is that you want?" The Watchman asked his Scottish brogue, followed by a wave of hot and moist nostril air. I cringed, pulling back. I was not curious about learning what the breath of a Cowman's smelt like. I raised my arms and closed my eyes, then lifted my token. I glanced over to Goito, who also lifted his token.
We both stood in the refreshing smell of bubble-gum and fish left on the dock. Cowmen eat fish? I thought.
"What! Why did you not lead with that? Both of you sit there," The Cowman said, pointing at one of the benches. Then he turned and walked out the door behind the bench.
I want to say after a few seconds, someone came out to greet us. But it was more than half an hour. The Pigeon was singing drinking songs where there was a young, no matter which song, someone from a place that ended up in some compromised position. The best one was about a young Ferret from a vegetable farm near Chucklet. Goito and I just sat together. I wondered who the Pigeon was channeling. And why he kept referring to the Welsh pelvis?
"What is that you want from this experience? " Goito asked.
"I had not planned to be here. It seems I have had some of the worst luck. But I am used to that. My race killed a whole planet. For someone to have more money than someone else. And we never found out who that was." I said.
"Well, the multiverse is a strange place. And so you came here to start again with good, honest work," Goito replied.
"Not really. I went somewhere else to live a life of riches and luxury. But I ended up standing on a dock with a single coin and a bunch of I don't know nothing." I replied.
"Well, that seems ironic," Goito replied
"Yep, I could have done a lot with so many spoons. So what happened to you. Why did the church send you away?" I asked.
"I don't know; one moment, I run into one of the senior priests and the next, I am thrown out on my own. And I met you." Goito replied
"Justice, that is what you two are about. But whose justice? Eh," The Pigeon sitting on the back of the bench behind us shrieked.
"And you are also about revenge." The Pigeon leaned in to whisper in my ear.
The door behind the desk opened, and the Cowman stepped through and looked at us.
"Well, will you look at that? They didn't leave. That is great. The first test was completed. You are both serious enough to stay if we left you here alone. Not a high bar but one we respect, nonetheless," The Cowman said.
Behind the Cowman, another Watchman stepped through the door, holding a bowl of noodles and shoveling them into his mouth. He did look familiar.
"You that guy who got smacked around by the Unseen. And his friend who, I don't know what he did? But, you both got the coin," The older Watchmen said.
"Welcome on then, let's get you sworn in. Call me Ned," Ned said as he piled a few more noodles into his mouth.