CHAPTER TWELVE: ABALON IS A FISH I GUESS

Ten minutes later found Carter and Rann walking out of the Famed Arsenal. The dark-haired man was thirty-five silver lighter though he more than made up for it with the weight of the new weapons strapped to his belt. He found it rather strange that the new weapons cost much, much less than the items he had bought from Logher’s store. But he guessed that Logher’s was a more up-scale establishment and thus charged a higher premium for its products.

“Where to now, Ser?” Rann asked.

Carter looked up at the sky and saw that it was nearing dusk. The sky had darkened from a bright blue to a stark orange as the sun set. The streets were also not as busy as they had once been, the crowds of previous hours thinning out quite noticeably.

“I guess we should grab something to eat,” he told Rann. It had been a few hours since his last meal and he was feeling a bit hungry.

“Oh.” The young guard frowned. “I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with the fancy places to eat. If you want, we can head back to base and I can ask one o’ the officers to suggest a good place.”

Carter shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. Just take me somewhere that you know has good food. I don’t care if it’s high class or not.”

“Really?” Rann asked in surprise. “Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind, Ser, I know a great place that serves the best abalon stew!”

What the hell was an abalon? “Sounds good. Lead the way.”

The young guardsman lead Carter through the city in the dimming light, headed south and away from the more up-scale part of the city. Carter noticed that the streets here were much narrower than in the Merchant’s Quarter and that the buildings’ architecture was a bit more utilitarian and less decorative. They were most likely in a more working-class area of town as could be seen from the people in the street who wore rougher spun cloth in their clothing. Several people eyed Carter as he walked by, most likely noting his finer dress. But they kept their distance since he was being escorted by an armed guardsman.

The two of them eventually reached a nondescript structure in the middle of what seemed like a residential area. A sign hung over the door. Unlike those signs of the shops at Finan’s Circle, this one didn’t have any lettering in it; instead, it showed a picture of a sea monster eating a ship. Carter guessed that this place was some sort of restaurant or tavern from the music and loud voices coming from within.

Rann opened the door for him and upon entering Carter was bombarded with warmth and the pleasant smell of cooked meat. The interior was large, with a spacious open floor filled with several tables and chairs. There were larger tables in the corners as well as a bar at the front. The place was lightly packed, but the patrons seemed lively and were busy talking and laughing amongst themselves. A pretty young woman was on a nearby stage playing a hurdy-gurdy and singing a pleasant tune.

A middle-aged barmaid who was scrubbing down an empty table saw them enter and called out. “Good evening, good Ser! Please sit anywhere you like, I’ll be with you in just a moment!”

Carter did as he was told and found a seat at an empty table near the back. After taking off his backpack and placing it in the seat next to him, he sat down and looked around the merry tavern, taking a moment to enjoy the warm, bustling atmosphere of the place. The people here seemed to be of the working class, though there were a few finer-dressed individuals here and there. Carter glanced over at the bar and noticed someone that seemed completely out of place in the jolly scene. It was a dark figure, clothed all in black, seated on a stool at the far end. A long, billowy cloak covered his form, which was wearing a full set of black plate armor. The hood of the cloak was pulled up, hiding his face in the shadows. The dark man sipped from a mug of frothy ale and seemed to be staring directly in front of him at an empty wall.

“Weird,” Carter muttered. He turned his attention away from the man at the bar and noticed that Rann was standing stiffly behind him from where he was seated. “Um, Rann?”

“Yes, Ser?” asked the guardsman. He stood diligent and straight, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword, his eyes alert and scanning the room for danger.

“Aren’t you gonna sit?” Carter motioned to one of the empty seats at his table.

Rann looked aghast. “Oh no, Ser! I couldn’t possibly. It would be terribly inappropriate for someone of my lowly station to do so!”

“Come on.” The dark-haired man coaxed him, trying to get the guardsman to have a seat. “You’ve been running around town all day showing me around. The least I can do is get you something to eat.”

“That’s very kind of you, Ser Lee, but I’m fine!” Rann said, looking embarrassed. “I wouldn’t be doing my duty if I wasn’t protecting you!”

“You can protect me while eating, now come on! Sit down! I insist!”

Eventually, the young Rann sat in the empty seat across from him. He looked uncomfortable as hell, but at least he was sitting. The barmaid that had greeted them earlier sidled up, a wide smile worn on her pleasant face.

“Thanks for waiting, young Sers! What can I serve you tonight?” she asked.

Carter looked over to Rann who seemed too uncomfortable to say anything. “What do you recommend?” He asked him.

“Oh!” Rann looked up from the table and seemed to only just notice that the waitress was there. “Uh, the abalon stew is great here! I’d get some of that!”

“Sounds good. Two abalon stews and two mugs of beer, please.”

“Certainly! I’ll have your order brought over to you soon!” With that, the barmaid sauntered off.

Silence descended upon the table. Rann kept staring down at the table acting as if his free dinner was a punishment instead of a reward. Carter sighed, knowing that he would have to start a conversation if he didn’t want an awkward atmosphere for the rest of dinner.

“So, Rann, tell me about yourself,” he said.

Rann looked up, surprised. “Um, me? Ser?” At Carter’s nod, the young man rubbed at the back of his neck. “Well, there’s nothing too much to tell, Ser. I’m a guard with the city. Um, I go to church every 7th Day. I, um…”

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“How long have you been a guardsman?” Carter asked him.

“Oh. About three years now, Ser.”

Wow. That meant that he had probably joined the guards when he was fifteen years old. That seemed tough. When Carter was fifteen, all he was doing was collecting comic books and playing video games.

“My dad, he got me this job,” Rann continued. “You met him earlier, actually. He was the senior guardsman that took you to see the Reeve.”

Carter nodded. He remembered the older guardsman with the red sash who had escorted him around the jail. “I remember him. He seemed quite diligent.”

“Yep, that’s my dad. He’s been serving Culvert’s Rock for over thirty years. He’s been doing such a good job that the Reeve has set him up to retire with honors in a few years.” Rann stated proudly.

A few minutes later, the barmaid delivered their order. She placed two large bowls of delicious-smelling stew in front of them along with a pair of mugs filled with frothy beer. Carter thanked her before he and Rann dug in. Sadly, he quickly found that the stew wasn’t as amazing as Rann had promised. Like all the food in the city, the stew wasn’t seasoned and thus had a somewhat bland flavor. The abalon, which turned out to be some type of soft, fleshy fish, added some much-needed saltiness to the meal. Otherwise, it was okay.

Thankfully, the beer was good and wasn’t a watered-down mess like he was expecting.

He and Rann continued talking as they ate. Carter asked the young guardsman numerous questions, which Rann answered happily. It seemed as if the teenager hadn’t had too many opportunities to speak with “upper-class folk” so he was more than happy to answer Carter’s questions, as inane as they may seem.

Rann told him that he and his family were worshippers of Valica, who was one of the twin gods of magic. He was also the god that the Benevolent Church of Untainted Magic worshipped, and seemed to be the deity that all those who practiced healing magics prayed to. Carter asked Rann if there were other forms of magic besides those that the Church practiced, but the young man stayed tight-lipped about the subject.

All he would tell him was, “Not anymore. At least not in Gloria.”

Gloria was the name of the continent they were in. The Western Empire, which was the nation that Culvert’s Rock belonged to, was located, of course, on the western part of the continent. There was also an Eastern, Central, and Southern Empire, which were all named due to their locations on the continent. There used to be a Northern Empire, but it was conquered over a century ago and its lands distributed between the West and East. Apparently, all these nations in the past were part of a larger body called the Gloria Empire, but five hundred years ago the big empire crumbled into littler ones that became the nations they were today. Rann wasn’t really sure what caused the Gloria Empire’s fall, and he really didn’t seem too interested in the events of the past either.

What seemed to concern him most was the current war that was happening.

“Your nation is at war right now?” Carter asked, somewhat surprised. From how calm and peaceful Culvert’s Rock was, he didn’t think that a war was actually going on.

“Yes,” Rann said while sipping at his beer. “With the Southern Empire. Well, the Emperor and all the nobles call it a ‘war,’ but it’s really more like a slaughter. The South’s been weak for a long time now, and both the West and East smelled fresh blood. So the two waged war on the South two years ago, and have been caving it up ever since. They don’t even need to send the whole army to the front, with the South being so weak.” The young man frowned, looking as if he had just bitten down on something bitter. “It shames me that the West is taking part in such a shameful act. The Church tells us that we Glorians shouldn’t be fighting against one another. That Valica loves all of us and that he weeps for all of the dead and the dying. Yet the greedy nobles in the court keep sending good soldiers down south to die, to steal land that don’t belong to them, and to murder innocent men, women, and children.”

Damn, that was quite the rant. Carter looked over Rann, slightly worried for the young man. What he had just said made it seem like he was against the actions of his government. Would he get in trouble for saying such things out loud? Carter certainly wouldn’t report on him, but if anyone else in the tavern heard there could be trouble.

“What about the Church?” Carter asked, trying to change the subject. “Can’t they help the South in some way?”

“Of course they could!” Rann said with a smile. “They have the greatest army in all of Gloria! Their clerics are strong, with magic that makes them more than a match for any normal soldier!” The guardsman looked positively proud, but then his expression soured and he sat back glumly in his seat. “Only, they can’t do much. Valica expressly forbids the Dei Gladius from intervening in mortal affairs, no matter how much the Church may want to. It’s one of the reasons none of the other countries would dare attack the Central Empire.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Hmm? Oh, the Church rules over the Central Empire. Its lands are basically holy.” Rann grinned. “If one o’ the other empires attacks it, then the Church would have a reason to go to war. They’d wipe the floor with all the empires, no sweat!”

Interesting. So the Central Empire was Church territory, much like the Vatican was back on Earth. He wondered just how larch this Church’s army was if it could keep the other nations on the continent under their sway. He was about to ask Rann some more questions when a commotion at the front door caught his attention.

A group of five men had just entered the tavern. They looked like a rough bunch and were clearly armed. What was worse was that Carter instantly recognized three of them: Ugly, Teeth, and Blondie. It looked like the bandits had caught up with him. And either they had more members of their gang than he realized or they had gone on a hiring spree to build up their numbers.

“Shit,” Carter cursed as he watched the bandits looking around the area. “Rann, we got trouble.”

The young guardsman seemed to have instantly recognized the threat as he shot out of his seat and drew his sword. He stood in front of Carter’s table, ready to fend off the five men if need be.

Several of the patrons gasped in fright at the guard drawing his weapon. The music stopped suddenly as the bard noticed the altercation occurring. The people quickly began to leave their seats and head towards the exit, shying well away from the five thugs who had just entered the tavern.

“Hey, now! We don’t want no trouble in here!” shouted the barmaid from earlier. She stomped up to the center of the floor, right between Rann and the bandits. “Take it outside if you wanna fight!”

Ugly turned his thick head to glare at the woman. “Shut the fuck up, cunt! Keep outta this!”

The barmaid looked angry but remained silent. She swiftly made her way to the back of the tavern where the kitchens and the back exit lay. The rest of the patrons quickened their feet as they fled even faster.

Ugly ignored her completely when he spotted Carter, still seated behind the form of Rann, who had his sword drawn. The big man grinned. “Finally found ya, you filthy lying squint. You’re gonna pay for what you did.”

The tavern was now completely empty of customers except for the five men, Rann, Carter, and, surprisingly, a few others. One was the black-clothed man who stayed at the bar, looking content to mind his own business. Two others remained seated at their tables, swords strapped to their belts. The armed bystanders looked to be eyeing the five bandits along with Carter and Rann, seemingly wondering whether or not they should get involved.

“This man is under the protection of the Reeve of Culvert’s Rock!” Rann shouted, aiming his sword directly toward Ugly’s face.

“Stay outta this, boy!” The big man grumbled. “This don’t concern you. I only want the squint.”

“Not going to happen!” Rann growled. “Ser Lee! Please, leave now through the back! I’ll hold these thugs off!”

Shit. This was a bad situation. There was no way Rann could hold off all five of them, even if one of the bystanders joined in to help. Carter stood up and drew his own weapons. With the knife in his left hand and sword in his right, he stood straight with his right foot forward and left foot back at a ninety-degree angle. He bent his right arm, aiming his sword up and to the left while his knife hand went behind him, ready to lash out. It was a classic en garde stance; at least Carter hoped it was since he’s been about two decades out of practice.

“Sorry, Rann. But where I’m from, we don’t leave a man behind,” Carter told him.

Suddenly, the back door to the tavern burst open and four more thugs entered. They looked even rougher than the five in front of him and were armed with knives and cudgels.

Carter cursed under his breath. He was suddenly regretting not leaving when he had the chance.