by Pirateaba
Selys looked from Relc to the adventurers anxiously.
“They must have gotten into a fight with the Watch. There will be trouble over this.”
Erin looked at Relc uncertainly. His tail was furiously lashing the ground as he argued with the other guardsman.
“Is he going to arrest them?”
“I hope not. Adventurers and the Watch don’t get along. If he does, there will be trouble. Well, there’s already going to be trouble at the Guild, but an arrest would really make things worse.”
Selys watched anxiously as Relc seemed to get angrier and angrier, despite the other guardsman clearly trying to calm him down. He tore himself away and began marching down the street after the adventurers who had already disappeared from view. Coincidentally, his path took him right in front of Selys and Erin.
The Drake froze up when he saw Erin. She hesitated, not certain what she should say, if anything. Before she could make up her mind Relc whirled around and marched in the opposite direction, dragging the hapless Guardsman along in his wake. He didn’t look back once.
Selys breathed out softly.
“Well, that was lucky. It’s a good thing he decided not to do anything. I’d hate to see a fight break out in the market, especially since we’re not done shopping. Good thing seeing you calmed him down, right Erin? Erin…?”
She looked over at Erin’s face. The human was wiping at her eyes. Selys’s eyes widened and her tail began to twitch.
“Oh. Um. Sorry. I didn’t mean—let’s—let’s go.”
Gently, she took Erin by the arm and led her away. The crowd stared at the human curiously, but lost interest now that the adventurers and Relc were both gone. Only a few Gnolls stared after Erin’s back, but quickly looked away when a certain Gnoll shopkeeper stepped out of her shop and glared at them.
—-
“Here. Have a cup of this.”
Selys handed Erin a steaming cup of something bittersweet. Erin sipped at it gratefully and tasted what she imagined was a root-vegetable. Well, it wasn’t bad and it was warm.
“Sorry about that.”
“…It’s fine. I just—I guess Relc wasn’t expecting to see me. He looked angry.”
“Well, yes.”
Selys bustled around her small home, fetching another cup of root-tea for herself as she made Erin at home. The room she’d brought Erin into reminded Erin of a normal apartment, except it was quite open and spacious. The chair she was sitting on was also sized differently, so that the legs were higher off the ground than normal.
At last the female Drake took a seat next to Erin.
“I guess it was another incident with the adventurers. I didn’t recognize them from the Guild, so they must be from further south. And the ones we’ve been getting lately, well, they don’t like to obey the laws as much so we’ve been getting a lot of complaints at the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Mm.”
Erin had almost forgotten Selys was a receptionist at the Guild.
“They were all Drakes. Aren’t there Gnoll adventurers too?”
“Oh, a few. But that was probably an all-Drake team. Gnolls—well, Gnolls don’t like working with other races as much. And not as many become adventurers, so we haven’t been getting as many.”
“What about humans? Aren’t any of them adventurers?”
“Lots. Most, in fact. But this group is from down south.”
“…Right?”
Erin frowned at Selys. Selys frowned back.
“They’re from down south, so they’re all Drakes.”
“Right, right. Because all Drakes live in the south…?”
Selys paused.
“…Erin. Do you not know the local geography?”
“Um, no.”
Erin fidgeted in her seat. Selys sighed, but smiled.
“You really need to pay more attention. Wait here for a second.”
She put down her cup and bustled about her home, rummaging around in drawers. Erin sipped at her tea until Selys came back with a piece of paper.
“Do you know anything about this continent?”
“I know we’re on a continent. How’s that?”
Selys jabbed Erin playfully with one claw. Erin yelped and nearly knocked over her tea.
“Sorry, sorry! I forgot how soft you humans are! Sorry!”
“It’s okay.”
Embarrassed, Selys picked up a quill and unscrewed an inkpot.
“Here, let me show you. The name of the continent we’re living on is Semariss—well, I know the humans have another name. It looks…like this.”
Selys drew on the piece of paper and outlined a body of land that looked vaguely like a triangle up top, but narrowed near the center and became vaguely shoe-shaped near the bottom. It was fairly ovoid in total though, or maybe that was just the result of Selys’s drawing skills.
“Okay, this is roughly where all you Humans live. See? The entire northern part of the continent except where the mountains start. From here…to…here.”
Erin peered at the giant squiggly oval Selys drew around the northern section of the continent. Then she added small triangles for mountains two thirds up the map, a long line of them stretching across the continent, nearly cutting the top third off from the bottom.
“And here’s Liscor. See, we’re the only way through the mountain range aside from the High Passes over here…and of course the coastal routes to the east and west.”
Selys drew arrows through two sections of the mountain range and circled the small dot where Liscor was. That was roughly in the center of the map, where the continent was narrowest. Erin wasn’t good at geography—or topography—or whatever maps were, but it looked like Liscor was in a valley of some sorts.
“See, that’s why Liscor is so important. Without us, any goods have to go by land or sea all the way around the continent, or brave the High Passes. And that’s not a good idea.”
“These High Passes aren’t safe?”
“Not even for high-level adventurers. Nasty creatures live around there—they make the local monsters look harmless by comparison.”
“Oh. But if all the humans live in the north, what about the south? Are they all…Gnolls and Drakes?”
“And Antinium, but a few other races live there.”
Selys shook her head as she began marking the bottom half of the map.
“Here are the six known Antinium colonies. Past this point is their territory. Now, it’s not dangerous there per se, but no one ever ventures there. For one thing, the Antinium there aren’t like ones in Liscor. They’re—wild.”
“Wild?”
“I guess I mean—well, it’s more like they’re hostile rather than just creepy like the ones here. I don’t really understand the difference, but the ones here have some sort of bargain with all the southern cities. They won’t fight and they don’t have an army, but the other colonies—”
“Bad news. Got it.”
“None of the cities will trade with them. Not that they do much trading, what with all the fighting that’s always happening down there.”
“Lots of war? Oh, wait. That’s where your army is, right?”
“Right. They’re always being hired by one of the cities or alliances that pop up. And there are a lot of them.”
Selys began to furiously mark the lower half of the map with cities and circles.
“Okay, it gets a bit complex, but the big groups are the Walled Cities over here, the Gnoll Tribes of the plains, and the independent ports and cities in this area. Most of the inhabitants are Drakes, it’s true, but there are other races. For instance, nearly a third of the population down there are Harpies and Naga. We even have a good portion of Minotaurs that come and go.”
“What about Beastkin? I keep hearing that they live around here, but I’ve never seen one. Unless they look exactly like Gnolls. Where do they live?”
“Not really anywhere. I guess you might find more of them among the Gnoll Tribes—but they don’t belo
ng there either. They come from another continent further south, but they’re peaceful and easy to work with.”
“Uh, are there other kinds of people like you? What about Lizardfolk?”
Selys scowled.
“No lizards. We wouldn’t tolerate their kind in cities, anyways.”
Erin stared at the map. Selys finished marking it and smiled at Erin.
“Well, does that make sense?”
“Yeah, I think so. You explained it all well, but the map is making my eyes hurt.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with my map?”
Selys glanced down at the confusing jumble of squiggly lines and dots on the piece of paper.
“…Oh.”
Erin tried to keep a straight face, but couldn’t hold it in. She laughed, and after a moment Selys laughed with her. That was a bit of happiness.
When they were done, Selys pointed to one of the dots near Liscor.
“Most of the new adventurers are coming from Lyszen. I bet we’ll get a lot more, and probably even some Human ones, but not for a few more days at least. Anyways, the reason all the adventurers are here is because of those new ruins. Didn’t you hear about them? Apparently, it’s some kind of underground temple—a huge one!”
Erin remembered hearing about ruins, but it seemed like a distant memory.
“Oh yeah. That’s a big deal, isn’t it?”
Selys nodded seriously.
“It’s huge. We’re getting a huge amount of merchants, adventurers, and business because of it. But of course that means more trouble when they get into fights with the Antinium, or break the laws. I hear the Watch is working overtime and now that Klbkch is—”
She cut herself off and tried to back paddle.
“Um, what I mean is that without—without enough guardsmen—”
“I get it.”
Erin patted Selys on the shoulder.
“So, there’s going to be a lot of adventurers? I might finally get some business in my inn.”
“Only if you can protect it. Like I was saying Erin—”
“I need protection. Got it.”
Erin sighed.
“It’s so weird. I guess I just got used to the inn and the local area, y’know? I haven’t seen any monsters so I just can’t get worried.”
“Well, you are in a place that used to have quite a few villages.”
Selys conceded as she marked a few x’s around Liscor.
“They all got abandoned or destroyed over time, especially after the Necromancer.”
“Pisces?”
“Who? No, not that human. The Necromancer. He was from a while back and—well, we lost a lot of the area around Liscor. But the place you’re in is safe. But if you go a few miles in any direction you can find a lot of strange stuff.”
Erin was intrigued She studied the second map Selys was drawing.
“Really? I guess I’ve never…huh. You know I’ve never really gone exploring. I mean, aside from finding the inn and a few other spots, I didn’t really go anywhere else. I started repairing that inn and…yeah, I didn’t ever really go any further.”
Selys shook her head.
“Good thing you didn’t. Some of those places are pretty dangerous. I mean, not now obviously since it’s not the right season, and the Watch was keeping it clear, but I’ve heard stories.”
“Like what?”
“Oh you know the adventurers. They always talk about treasure and finding magical artifacts in caves and so on. But the ones around here are always poor, so I wouldn’t pay attention if I were you. Most slither on back to the city before they get much further than your inn, anyways. They’re all low-level which is why none of them have dared enter the ruins yet. They’re waiting for the stronger-adventurers to clear the way before they flood in.”
“So what you’re saying is that there’s a lot of unexplored land out there?”
“If you stray from the roads, I guess. But who’d risk exploring out there?”
Selys paused, realized what she’d said, and stared suspiciously at her friend. Erin kept a perfectly straight face.
“Erin…”
“What?”
“No! It’s too dangerous! Don’t be stupid!”
“I just want to see what’s around the inn. I won’t go far. And I’ll run away if I see anything.”
“No. I won’t let you go alone.”
“Oh come on. I’ll be careful. I’ll only walk a few miles in every direction, okay? But I really don’t know what’s around the inn. I just want to explore a little.”
“Erin—”
“I’ll be fine, I promise Selys. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Knock. Knock. Erin rapped her knuckles against the table.
“You’re going to get yourself hurt! Or killed!”
“There’s nothing out there that can hur—catch me.”
Knock. Knock.
“We were just talking about you needing someone to protect you! Without Relc and Klbkch—Erin, remember the Goblins? And there are far worse things out there! Believe me, I work with adventurers. I know.”
“Nothing’s going to bother going after a lone human in an inn in the middle of nowhere, I’m sure.”
Knock. Knock.
“Why do you keep on doing that?”
1.06 R
Once, she’d broken her arm. When it had happened, Ryoka hadn’t even felt the pain of it. It was just the shock of it that hurt. Only when she’d dragged herself from underneath the motorcycle and waited for the ambulance did she feel the pain.
It hurt. But oddly, the worst part hadn’t been the pain.
Now, if her broken bones had actually pierced her skin at that time her arm would have hurt far more than it did. But back then, Ryoka had been more overwhelmed by the dizzy nausea of it all, and the feeling of wrongness in her arm. That had been the real trial as she waited for help.
She remembered that moment now. The memory floated up in her hazy mind like a bubble of the past. It was important to remember. She didn’t do it often enough.
Ryoka leaned on the table with the arm she’d once broken—her left. It was a pain in the ass to break your dominant hand. What was she thinking about? Oh yeah.
Memory.
Maybe if she’d remembered, she wouldn’t have made the same mistakes. But she repeated the same errors again and again. Pissing off everyone around her until they dragged her down into the mud. The same thing again and again. The symptom of madness—except that it wasn’t. That was one of the things idiots thought was true but was actually a lie.
Ryoka looked around. At this time of night, the common room of the inn was deserted. The innkeeper was in his bed and the barmaids were all gone. But he’d left a candle on for her. Not that he would have done it if she’d asked, but a Minotaur’s polite request is quite another thing.
She rested her head against the table. She felt hot. And tired. But mainly hot, in the bad, stifling air sort of way. Not the hot that made uppity Minotaurs try to invite themselves into her room sort of way.
It was night. It might have been dark and stormy, but Ryoka was sitting inside the inn, so she couldn’t tell. She wasn’t doing anything right now. Just sitting, and…waiting.
Memory. Pain. Broken bones. Ryoka felt time slipping around her. First she was waiting and then—a half-elf was talking to her.
“Ryoka? Time to go.”
Why was she talking so quietly? Oh. It was night. Ryoka pushed her chair back. With Ceria’s arm around her she stood up. She had to be helped to the door. Humiliation. Or was it practicality?
They helped lift her into the carriage. Another bit of shame, but there were no steps up. And they’d placed hay to cushion her leg. The other adventurers nodded to each other as Ryoka lay against a pillow of straw.
Credit where credit was due. For all the Horns of Hammerad bickered and their leader was a perverted cow-man, they moved fast. Within the hour of Ceria receiving her reply from the mysterious necromancer she
knew, they’d hired a carriage and horses and plotted a route to their destination.
It was a city far to the south by the name of Liscor. Ryoka didn’t know anything about it. Apparently there weren’t any humans there, just Drakes and Gnolls, whatever they were. She’d let them do it. In fact, Ryoka’s only actions since Magnolia had left were to agree to Ceria’s idea and then to sleep.
No—not sleep. Even as the carriage started with a jolt that banged Ryoka’s leg, she knew it hadn’t been sleep. The painful haze of dozing and waking couldn’t be called that. But now she was tired, mortally so.
The thing about broken bones? Ryoka blinked as the carriage rumbled down the cobblestone street. She was trying to remember. What was it? Back then, it hadn’t been the pain that was uncomfortable.
Yes, it was the other things. The pressure, the wrongness, the dizziness and nausea. All the things she felt now. Her leg felt hot underneath its wrappings. Ryoka’s mind was clouded. But the pain was gone.
Ryoka stared at the soaked bandages she could barely make out in the moonlight night. If she took the bandages off, she wouldn’t be able to think or move. Then the real pain would come back and her leg would dangle like a dead fish. She was still tempted, though. Just to do it to see her leg bend obscenely as it flapped about on her dead skin. Flop goes the piece of flesh and shattered bone. Flop, flop. Floppy the Leg-fish.
She was aware that she wasn’t…wasn’t thinking too straight. Sleep deprivation from the pain just made everything harder. But now the pain was gone. Gone, and far away.
Magic.
She could hear the other adventurers talking around her. Four of the Horns of Hammerad sat in the cart—or was it a wagon? It was big enough for five with room left over, so a wagon, then.
“Is she okay?”
That was Gerry—Gerial. The vice-captain. He liked her, she could tell. Ryoka didn’t like him back.
Ceria glanced at Ryoka. The mage was sitting next to her in the cart. Her eyes glowed in the light shining from the tip of the mage’s staff.
“She should be fine. I think.”
“She seems—odd. What spell did you cast?”
Calruz. Ryoka didn’t like him either. Not like that.
“It wasn’t me. Peminac cast [Numb], I think. It takes away pain, but it makes the affected slightly…odd. She should be fine, and it’s better than her feeling the pain. We just need to make sure to keep healing the leg every few hours.”