by Pirateaba
I grin at him. Well, I guess I can go for one parting shot. The runes at my feet glow—and I feel myself being dragged away by something massive. I open my mouth and say two words.
“Ryoka Griffin.”
Then I’m gone.
—-
Teriarch stopped and stared at the place where the Human known as Ryoka Griffin had just been. Desperately, he reached out but even with magic she was already out of his grasp. Short of casting multiple undirected spells that would teleport quite a bit of the city back here, she was gone.
Cursing silently in his own language, Teriarch berated himself for not observing basic etiquette. True, it was with a Human but—how was he supposed to know it was that exact Runner who would show up on his doorstep?
Ah, well. He knew her face, and that would make her marginally easier to locate. Teriarch was still unclear what strange power shielded her from his scrying spells, especially since Ryoka had no magical power or even classes of her own. She was a strange human, but now he understood part of Reinhart’s fascination with her.
It would be a truly problematic occurrence if she were to die delivering his message. If he’d known it was her he would have given her another item of far greater ability. If she died, Magnolia would have his hide.
That was one of his concerns. The other was that either the earth had lowered again in the last few years, or he’d miscalculated the exact coordinates of the city of Celum. To be more accurate, he’d been spot on in every geographical specification except one—
Altitude.
Teriarch winced as in his magical view of the city of Celum he saw Ryoka appear. She was more or less in the center of the city as he’d claimed, but she was definitely too high up. He watched her plummet down out of the sky from roof-height.
“Oops. Ah, well. This is why humans use healing potions after all.”
He turned. Ryoka would live, and he was busy. Teriarch made it a few steps, and then tripped again. This time it was over his robes. He growled.
“Flayed scales and hoard blight!”
1.10 R
Ryoka sat in an inn and munched on her potatoes and stewed meat. She felt guilty about it, but the dinner menu hadn’t exactly been diverse with options and she was hungry. Still, she felt guilty.
Her plate was about 80% potato and 20% meat. And it wasn’t great meat at that. The potatoes actually weren’t that bad – the people here spiced it up pretty strong with their unique blend of peppers and herbs so it was palatable, but it was definitely not the kind of meal a healthy runner should eat.
Plus, this was her second plate. The guilt was real, but Ryoka couldn’t do much about it. She took another bite of the steaming potatoes and tried not to think about dieting or proper nutritional intake.
Normally she avoided carbo-loading unless she was actually going to run a race but…she deserved a treat. Besides she was officially resting at the moment after all the healing she’d been doing. And again, the inn wasn’t serving anything else so she had to make do.
Potatoes and meat, with a lot more gristle than she was used to. Still, it tasted good and she was used to rugged fare, especially when she went camping.
Not modern-day camping, either. Ryoka disdained people who slept in their own car or worse, in a huge trailer they towed to campsites. No, she preferred roughing it with a sleeping bag, enough food for a few days and the bare essentials. That was living.
But she had to admit, it would be nice to have a hamburger once in a while. And fresh vegetables like kale. Right now harvest season had passed and it was late fall (although it certainly didn’t feel that cold), and vegetables were in shorter supply.
More meat, more vegetable, a lot less carb. That would be better. But you got what you paid for. Ryoka sighed and ate another chunk of potato. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great either. At least someone else was enjoying her meal.
Garia finished her third plate of potatoes and meat and took a deep draft from her mug before sighing contentedly. She had a good appetite. Well, she would. Ryoka surreptitiously eyed Garia’s arms and body. She might not have a six pack, but Ryoka hadn’t seen arms that thick on another girl outside of an MMA tournament.
Not that she was muscled like those idiots who used steroids. Garia was just a heavier girl, one who clearly was used to heavy lifting.
“Do you always do the heaviest deliveries?”
Garia paused as she raised her mug to her lips.
“Um, yes. Normally. I mean, I’m not too fast but I can still earn quite a lot on an overnight delivery.”
“Those spices you carried here. All the way from Wales. They were heavy. I saw the size of your pack. Must have been thirty, forty kilos of weight. And you jogged the entire way here?”
Garia shifted and blushed a bit.
“Well, if you distribute the weight properly it’s not that bad. And sometimes I walk a bit if I get tired.”
“Hm. Impressive.”
Ryoka bit into another potato and eyed the browned onions as Garia turned red. She clearly wasn’t used to praise, but Ryoka was impressed by anyone who could run with that much weight.
“The Runner’s Guild requests are a mix between fast deliveries, safe deliveries, and heavy deliveries, right?”
“That’s right. Most deliveries people want fast over long distance, like the ones you take. But sometimes they want to make sure no one reads their message so that’s important too. But when they need something delivered quickly—well, faster than by cart or wagon and it’s small enough, we get the heavy requests. I take those, most of the time. It’s safe. No one wants to steal raw ore or a few bags of sugar. The most expensive stuff I carry are weapons and spices.”
“Hm.”
Ryoka wondered just how efficient Runners were compared to a wagon. But then, she’d seen the traffic jams that occurred in cities and how muddy the roads could get. Runners might be expensive, but if you needed something now they were your only real option.
As Ryoka lifted her fork to her mouth she glanced up and saw a man staring at her across the room. He immediately glanced back down at his plate as their eyes met, but he was far from the only one. Several other men and women of various ages glanced away or in a few cases, met Ryoka’s gaze as she looked around the room. Even the barmaids eyed her surreptitiously as they delivered another plate of food for Garia.
Ryoka scowled. Garia noticed the other runner’s expression and realized what was making Ryoka unhappy.
“They’re just interested, Ryoka. There’s no need to look like that.”
“If they’re so interested they can come over and talk or they can bugger off.”
Garia blinked. Sometimes Ryoka used the strangest expressions when she talked, but Garia could usually understand what she meant. The glare Ryoka leveled at her watchers was unmistakable, though. Garia tried to sound reasonable.
“Well, can you blame them? I mean, you are the only Runner to survive the High Passes for years – and without a scratch at that! And when you fell out of the sky—”
“Don’t remind me.”
Ryoka scowled down at her plate and tried not to remember. Her back still ached, even though the healing potions had done their work. At least she hadn’t broken anything again, or landed on her head.
“Damn elfish mage bastard.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Anyways, I didn’t get out unscathed. I got torn up on the way in and I needed serious healing or I would have died.”
“Oh, so you found a healing potion? Ceria was so worried when she realized she’d given you the mana potions.”
“…Something like that. And it’s odd. I could have sworn she gave me healing potions too.”
“She’s really, really sorry, you know.”
“I know. Anyways, it’s both our fault for not double-checking.”
Ryoka scowled at her half-finished plate. Garia fidgeted, clearly wanting to clear Ceria’s name
“She said she tried to contact
you several times. Didn’t you um, notice?”
Ryoka glared harder at her innocent plate. She tried not to let her voice get too defensive, but it was hard.
“How was I supposed to know I was supposed to touch those damn fireflies to speak with her? I thought I was being hexed or something.”
“Oh, no. That’s the way students at Wistram Academy communicate, apparently. Ceria doesn’t know other spells so…”
“I get it. I’m not mad at her. Anyways, I survived. It all worked out.”
Except of course that she had more problems than she’d started out with. Ryoka could still feel Teriarch’s words burning in the back of her mind. But she could ignore them, so long as she reminded herself she still needed to prepare. The strange potion he’d given her was locked in Ryoka’s chest upstairs.
“Come to that, where is Ceria? I haven’t seen her. I’d have assumed she’d be right here along with Gerial and Calruz.”
Garia shook her head.
“They’re all out of the city. Calruz came by and gathered all the members. Apparently they’re going to Esthelm to prepare to enter the ruins in Liscor.”
“Oh.”
Ryoka’s expression didn’t alter noticeably, but she swore internally. She raised her mug to her lips, opened her mouth to ask another question, and this time swore externally.
“Damnit.”
Fals walked across the inn, flashing a smile at one of the barmaids and clasping hands with someone he recognized. He stopped at Ryoka’s table and hesitated. There were three chairs, but Ryoka’s foot had magically appeared in the third seat.
“Ryoka, how are you? I was hoping I could talk to you!”
“Were you?”
Ryoka stared as Fals dragged up another chair and sat next to Garia, who blushed and edged away from him. She wasn’t quite glaring – mainly because Garia was kicking her none-to-gently in the shins and trying to get her to play nice. She didn’t feel like playing nice.
“I just wanted to congratulate you on your delivery. Everyone in the city’s talking about it.”
“Good for them.”
Garia glared, and Ryoka toned down the rampant hostility in her voice. Fals cleared his throat, looking abashed.
“Look, I’m ah, sorry about earlier. We didn’t part on the best of terms, did we?”
Ryoka stared. Fals hesitated, and then went on.
“The Guild—and I—would like to apologize. Clearly, you’re a great Runner and we’d hate to lose you. We’ll talk to Magnolia, and if you’d like to take on more requests we’ll be happy to let you take any one you want.”
Mentally, Ryoka translated his statement. Since she’d won and she didn’t need the Guild, they’d decided to take her back. Well, she could live with that. And so would the Guild.
She didn’t respond, though. Instead, Ryoka slowly and deliberately took a big bite of potato and chewed slowly as she stared down Fals. It was awkward as hell, but she enjoyed his discomfort.
Fals cleared his throat and glanced at Garia, but the other girl was trying not to make eye contact with him and wolfing down her food.
“So, um, how were the High Passes? Did you see a lot of monsters or were you able to outrun them?”
“Saw a lot of monsters. Nasty ones.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“…Any interesting ones?”
Ryoka shrugged.
“Gargoyles, birds with teeth, killer goats, and wolf packs. You’d love it there.”
“Ah. Well—well done on avoiding them. What about the client? I take it you got the request from him in person, right? What was he like? Or is it a she?”
Garia looked up, curious. Ryoka glanced around. She felt like several nearby patrons on each table were listening. She nodded to herself and then looked at Fals.
“Confidential.”
“Ah.”
The conversation stalled. Well, it hadn’t really been going that well in the first place and Ryoka bluntly shot down all of Fal’s attempts to ask about the High Passes or her delivery. At last, he leaned forwards and gave Ryoka his most charming smile.
“I know you’re still recuperating, but I’d love to go on a delivery with you sometime. Maybe you, me, and Garia could do a request?”
“Maybe.”
That was Ryoka’s way of saying no, and all three Runners knew it. Fals didn’t falter though.
“Is there um, anything I can do for you? I know you’re probably still mad, but I’d love to make it up to you. Would you say, let me buy you a few drinks?”
Ryoka thought about this while Garia tried to signal her to say ‘yes’ covertly. She nodded at last.
“There is something you can do.”
Fals smiled in relief.
“Really? Well then, what is it?”
Ryoka nodded.
“You can clear out. I’m talking to Garia.”
He blinked at her while Garia groaned audibly. Fals tried to smile it off, but Ryoka’s expression was deadpan. After a few seconds he stood up awkwardly.
“Well, ah, I’ll be going. It was nice talking to you, Ryoka. And I’ll see you around, Garia.”
He walked around the table and paused for only a second by Ryoka. She heard him whisper just loud enough so she could hear it.
“Watch yourself. Persua left the Guild with her group this morning. She’ll probably try something.”
She glanced up. Fals gave her a Gallic shrug and walked off. Ryoka shook her head in disgust, and then received a sharp kick to her shin. She glanced up.
“You didn’t have to be so rude.”
Garia hissed at Ryoka, her normally amicable face clouded over by a frown. She looked at Fals as the Runner left the inn, disappointed. Then she turned back to Ryoka.
“He was trying to say sorry, Ryoka. Why’d you chase him off?”
“I’m not going to ruin my dinner listening to forced apologies and have him try to find out what I’m delivering. You know that’s what he was here to do.”
Garia hesitated.
“Not—necessarily. He uh—why don’t you like him?”
Ryoka blinked at the sudden change in topic.
“He’s annoying. I hate charmers, and he’s not even that charming to begin with. Whose side is he on, anyways?”
“No one’s. He’s trying to keep the Guild together, Ryoka.”
“By stepping on anyone who gets out of line? Good method. He didn’t stop Persua and her cronies from attacking me—and he’s not going to do it again by the sounds of it.”
“He would if you let him stick around. Fals can’t do anything to Persua except talk to her, but he’s trying to help. He likes you.”
Ryoka raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected that. Nor did she quite believe it.
“Good for him, but I don’t need help.”
“Not even with Persua?”
Garia saw Ryoka’s hand tighten on her fork, almost crushing the cheap pot metal.
“Not even with her. I’ll deal with Persua, now that I know what she’s like.”
Garia was doubtful.
“She’s like a dog, Ryoka. Even if you hurt her, she’ll keep coming back. And if you do get her mad, she gets vicious.”
“Oh, she’s like a dog. A female one. And you know what? I’m tired of her shit. If she tries anything again I’ll put her down.”
Ryoka was about to go on, but Garia started frantically signaling her to stop. Ryoka didn’t stop, though. She’d already seen the multiple reflections in her mug, but some things needed saying.
“She’s annoying, stupid, craven, and she doesn’t know how to run. I still owe her a broken leg. If she thinks she can try something else—”
“Hi Persua!”
Ryoka looked up. Persua stood in front of the table, smiling in a not-so-friendly way down at the two Runners. She had her usual group of cronies at her back, and Ryoka spotted a bigger guy behind them.
“Ryoka, Garia! I’m so glad you’re okay! I almo
st didn’t spot you, but then I saw Garia—she’s impossible to miss even in this crowd—and I decided to say hi!”
Garia turned bright red and looked down at her stack of plates while Ryoka looked up and met Persua’s eyes. A spark of hatred wouldn’t be enough to describe the look that flashed between the two.
Mean girls. Ryoka remembered them from school. Persua was a perfect representation of the school social climber who would tear down anyone she didn’t like.
And like the other girls Ryoka had clashed with, Persua didn’t need an invitation to keep talking. Her eyes flicked to Garia and then back to Ryoka.
“So sorry to interrupt your conversation. Were you talking about me by any chance?”
Garia flinched, but Ryoka’s expression didn’t change. She nodded, and raised her mug to Persua and smiled a tiny bit.
“Yeah, sorry, I just called you a bitch.”
Persua’s smile vanished in a heartbeat. Garia’s mouth opened in an ‘o’ of horror as she stared at Ryoka.
“That’s not very nice. I’d hate to think you were talking behind my back, Ryoka.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll do it to your face. I’m busy, Persua. Go somewhere else.”
“What if I want to stay? I’ve a right to sit in this inn, same as you.”
“Find another table. But if I were you, I’d get out.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Persua hesitated. She probably hadn’t expected Ryoka to confront her this quickly, but Ryoka knew how the conversation would have gone regardless. She nodded at Persua and her group.
“You lot gonna piss off or do I have to make you leave?”
If Garia could have edged any further back from her table she’d be sitting at the one behind her. For a second Persua and her friends hesitated. They might be Runners and outnumber the two by a good margin, but Ryoka had a certain edge about her. But then someone shoved his way through the group and stood next to Persua.
Ryoka looked up past Persua, and into a solid face. Solid, or ugly, if you wanted to be unkind. The adventurer scowled down at Ryoka and leaned forwards over the table.
“I’d watch your mouth if I were you, Runner. You should show more respect to your seniors and betters.”