Rolland seemed to pale, “It won’t make it here though... right, Dad?”
Ronald looked down at his son’s fearful face, a small smile coming to his lips as he ruffled Rolland’s hair. “No son, the Dead Lands are on the other edge of the continent. It would take months to walk all the way here from there. Moreover, it would end up going by many of the King’s forts and the King could rally the army to deal with it. And if that or anything like it got close to the city, I would go forth and make sure you are safe.”
Rolland nodded, his fear fading at his father’s words, “That’s right! You could probably kill it with a single spell, right, Dad?”
Chuckling, Ronald led his son back down the stairs. “One spell might not be enough, but two spells would probably do it.”
Rolland took off smiling and raced down the stairs, wanting to brag about how awesome his dad was to Kim, his fear forgotten.
~*~*~
Flora smiled when she saw the rest of the group hugging Almira. “Good to see you breathing again.”
Almira chuckled as she hugged Flora back. “I’m glad to be breathing. Who wants to go deliver the bad news to the commander?”
Alistern sighed, “It be me job as the leader, so ya all stay out of trouble.”
They waved him off as Alistern entered the fort, the others waiting outside some distance from the guards. Flora handed out some jerky and tea while they waited, then sat down next to Almira.
“Did you come to any conclusions after sleeping last night?” Flora asked quietly, as Grimgar and Stewart chatted nearby.
Almira smiled at her. “I say try it. If you hate it, then you can always know you tried your best.”
Taking a deep breath, she nodded and cleared her throat, “Stewart, can we talk for a minute?”
Stewart glanced over at her. “Sure. We’ll finish up the talk later, Grim.” He got up and extended a hand to Flora to help her to her feet. The two of them walked further down the wall to talk alone. “What can I do for you, Flora?”
Flora took a calming breath. “I have a request. This is going to sound odd, so please let me finish before you reply.” Stewart raised a single brow, but nodded his approval. Flora continued, “Okay... what I want to ask is if I can join you the next time you need to dominate Tabitha. It has been suggested that if I prove to her that I am the alpha female between us, she will settle down and ease up with her attitude about you and I being in a relationship. Maybe it will help me come to terms with you wanting to not alienate her.”
Stewart’s mouth was open in surprise as she spoke, his eyes going wide. He blinked at her as he tried to get his mind into gear. Of everything she could have said, this had been nowhere on the list. “Umm, okay… we can do that if that’s what you want, Flora. You know I care for you deeply, but I can’t just toss Tabitha away, either.”
Flora’s mouth went hard, but she nodded once. “So tonight, you will call her out. I am going to bind her with my spells, and then I will apply a paddle to her. If she tries to stop me, you need to set her straight.”
Stewart swallowed and coughed when his mind started wandering to adult ideas. “Yes. Of course, dear Flower.”
Flora’s mouth twitched slightly upwards at the old nickname she hadn’t heard in ages. “Good. I am sorry for all the troubles we have had, and I hope this step will help us.”
Stewart stepped forward and embraced her in a warm hug. His voice was husky with emotion as he quietly whispered to her, “Thank you, Flower. I will do my best for you. Please, just work with me. I know I am a Half-blood and despised by many, but none of that matters as long as you care for me.”
Flora held him, her own emotions choking her, “I will always care for you, my dear Fire-eyes.”
Grimgar glanced over as the pair embraced, a smile etching his own features. He was glad to see them making up again. He looked away from them and spotted Almira’s eyes watching him. He froze, his own heart starting to beat faster as he considered just telling her how he had felt for ages now, but she looked away and let her hair cover her face. Grimgar sighed softly at yet another moment missed to tell her how he felt.
Almira smiled briefly as Stewart and Flora embraced, before glancing to Grimgar. She considered telling him how she felt, but paused as his eyes met hers. She could see him wrestling with his own thoughts, so she turned away, hiding her face from him. She knew she was being stupid for not telling him, but she still feared what her family would say. She was only just sixty years old, barely an adult. Her family would tell her she was being rash. Grimgar was barely forty, about the same relative age, and she was sure his family would balk at the idea of an Elf.
It wasn’t as if the two races hated each other, but they held so many different values on life that it was hard to find common ground. As such, she felt it was right to deny what her heart yearned for if it might save him grief. It was for his own good, she chided herself silently. Little did she know, Grimgar was having that exact conversation with their roles reversed, thinking he was saving her grief.
As Stewart and Flora walked back over to their friends, Alistern came out of the gate, his face grim. “Bad news,” he stated as he got to them. “The commander has issued us a mandatory quest to help them slay Experiment 9. Iffin we turn away from this, it will have a huge negative impact to our standings with Stormguard. Bad enough tha’ we might very well nay be welcome there.”
Stewart’s head tilted to one side. “That can’t be right. No one should be able issue a quest like that.”
Alistern sighed, “He was messagin’ the head of the Stormguard guards. The commander was jus’ relayin’ orders from there. The only other adventurers in town are also going to be dragooned into this. They should be here tonight sometime.”
“Fine. When are we supposed to do this?” Flora asked.
“Tomorrow at first light. We’re to take rooms at the inn here, paid for by the commander. At daybreak, we be headin’ out with the rest of the fort— minus a skeleton crew to man the gates— to find the beast.” Alistern sighed and summoned Lilith to his side. “Let’s go get comfortable for our little down time, shall we?”
“Might as well,” Almira muttered. “You did advise him of what we had seen it do, right?”
“Aye, he wants me back there for another recap after dinner. I got him to exclude ya all from the meetin’,” Alistern replied with a grimace.
Grimgar gave a hard laugh, “Well, thanks for tha’. I’ll drink one in ye name while ye be talkin’ to him.”
The group shuffled into the fort, heading for the inn. The news about the march tomorrow had already begun to circulate amongst the troops. “That didn’t take long,” Flora muttered.
When they entered the inn, they saw the other group of adventurers sitting at a table. A Dwarf in plate was shaking his head, obviously having just been told about the hunt. “Bloody hell, we do nay want to go fight a beast like tha’.”
“If we don’t, it will hurt our standing with Stormguard too much,” the Elf in chainmail with the holy symbol of the god of Light replied.
“It doesn’t matter, me and sis will carve it up,” said a black haired Human male as he touched a pair of short blades on his hips. A woman with very similar facial features seated next to him smirked, touching a similar pair of blades on her back.
“Still, I wonder what the other group will be like,” the Elf remarked, turning toward them when she realized that the door was open. “Oh, here they are now.”
Alistern smirked. “Aye, here we be. Ya lot must be the other group tha’ got dragooned, eh?”
“Aye, tha’ be us, lad,” the Dwarf said and got to his feet. Stroking his grey-streaked beard, he looked the group over. “Aich, no real healer amongst ye?”
“No need,” Stewart said, pulling out a chair at the next table for Flora. “We have a Druid and a Paladin, which is more than enough when you know that most of our tanking is done by Destroyers. Add in the crowd control of two Succubi and the damage input of a fe
w Imps and... well, we do alright.”
“Ah, Summoners,” the Elf said, her lips curling in distaste. “If your kind and the Necromancers hadn’t been bad, then the Dead Lands wouldn’t even exist.”
Almira took off her helm. Shaking out her hair, she gave the other Elf a snarky smile. “If the rest of my kind had more civility, we might not be viewed as elitist assholes. Did you have a real point?”
The Priest got to her feet, looking almost disgusted. “An Elf serving as a Paladin of the Dark Lord? You have fallen far from the grace of the Light, haven’t you? Next you’ll tell me that the Dwarf or the Half-blood is your lover.”
Almira’s eyes blazed. Instead of answering, she turned to Grimgar, snatching him off his feet and planting a deep kiss on the stunned Dwarf. Grimgar froze solid, feeling conflicted. He had wanted this for a long time, but was upset that he was being used as an object lesson. When Almira put him down, her face was flushed and her breathing was unsteady as she turned back to the Elf. “At least I have a man who wants to look after me. How long until you can find someone who cares for you?”
Alistern and the Dwarven Defender yelled at the same time, “Tha’ be enough!” Pausing, they locked eyes for a second before giving each other grudging nods.
Alistern turned away from the other group to address his friends, “Tha’ is enough. We have to work with them on the morrow. So settle down and iffin ya can nay be civil, then keep ya mouth shut.”
Almira clenched her hands and stomped over to the innkeeper to get a key, promptly vanishing up the stairs. Grimgar watched her go, his mind racing over what had just happened and wondering if he should confront her. In the end, he took a seat and put his head down on the table. The others sat with him as a round of ale was delivered to them. “Why?” Grimgar asked himself softly. “Why did she have to make the first kiss like this?”
Lilith gently touched his shoulder, “She doesn’t know either, Grimgar. If you want to see if she will return your feelings, go to her now with an open heart. Otherwise, stay here with us and drink for a bit.”
Grimgar looked up to find his friends all nodding in agreement with Lilith. He could feel himself on a razor’s edge, as if this moment was pivotal in his life. Shaking his head, he chose the coward’s way and downed his mug. He avoided looking at his friends so he wouldn’t see their disappointment.
After a couple of rounds, Almira came back downstairs without her armor. She joined them just as food was being delivered to the table. “Good, made it in time,” she said, ignoring the looks from her friends. She knew Grimgar deserved an explanation, but she didn’t have the courage to face what she had done.
“Dig in,” Alistern said, shaking his head. He had hoped that the kiss would be the spark that started them on a relationship, but could clearly see all it had done was drive a larger wedge between them, as both were even more on edge. “I suggest we all get some good sleep tonight. Tomorrow is going to be hell.”
Once everyone had finished eating, they went up to their rooms, ignoring the snide comments from the other group. The sun hadn’t gone down yet, which meant they had plenty of time before striking out, so Stewart put his gear away and headed out to find the baths. He saw Grimgar and Alistern also coming out of their rooms without their gear. “Baths?” he asked, getting nods of agreement from the other two.
They found the bathing room on the bottom floor and down a hall. Entering, they discovered a maid setting out towels and soap. “Here are the items you will need. When you are done, please tell me so the women can have their turn.” She curtsied before leaving them.
They had stripped down and started with the showers to clean up when the door opened, admitting the Dwarf and Human from the other group. The pair paused for a second after seeing the three men already showering, and closed the door behind them. Stripping down, they took the two showers near the end, staying silent the whole time.
When Alistern had finished washing, he climbed into the big heated tub with a sigh. Grimgar and Stewart joined him a moment later, all three letting the hot water relax them. Alistern heard the showers turning off. “Ya know, I want to apologize for earlier.”
The Dwarf paused next to the tub. “Tha’ be generous of ye. One of me own was to blame, as well.”
“Almira should nay have done as she did either. Shall we call it a truce for now?”
“Aye. Life might be very short soon, after all.” Climbing in, the Dwarf sighed. “Name is Braxton, and the lanky one here is Frederick.”
Introductions were exchanged, and Alistern cleared his throat. “On another note, we be sorry a second time.”
Braxton frowned, “Why?”
“We were the ones who found Experiment 9 in the wastes,” Stewart chimed in. “It killed Almira, but luckily, it was not her final death. We felt we needed to warn the commander since it was only a day from here.”
Braxton let out a soft whistle. “A day only? Tha’ beastie normally roams the far side of the ruins. Mayhap it followed us when we left there last week.”
“Well, iffin the whole garrison plus all of us go for it, we should take it down without too much trouble, aye?” Grimgar half-asked.
Frederick shrugged, “Who knows? Stein made it, after all. Who knows what all it can do?”
“The commander told me to come to his office after dinner, so after this bath, I’ll go see what he has to say,” Braxton sighed.
“Aye, me too. Said he wanted me to recount again for his sergeants what we saw of it.”
“Well then, ten more minutes and we should head out. Sound good to ye?”
“Sure,” Alistern replied, just letting his muscles turn to liquid.
Ten minutes later, the men all got out and dried off. Alistern and Braxton went out first, heading for their appointment with the commander. The others all filed out slowly to discover the four women standing in the hallway in frigid silence. Exchanging a quick glance, the men all shuffled out of the way. Once the women were all in the bathing room, Frederick sighed. “Well, looks like some of us are still upset.”
“Aye, Elves do be known for holdin’ a grudge,” Grimgar agreed as he went to his room. “See ya in the morn.”
“Of course. Good to meet you both,” Frederick agreed as he went to the tap room to get a few more drinks in.
Stewart just waved as he retreated to his room. He was nervous and wondering if Flora was still up for what she’d suggested earlier. “Just breathe,” he told himself softly, “this will work out.” With butterflies in his stomach, he waited for Flora to show.
Almira and Flora did their best to ignore the other two as they showered. Instead of listening to them, Flora mentioned to Almira that she was going forward with Stewart.
“That will be good for you both,” Almira replied. “I'm sure he was appropriately shocked.”
“Yes, he was. I'm a little nervous about it, though,” Flora replied.
A snicker was clearly heard from the other two. “Aw, a little scared cat,” the Human said loudly.
Her Elven friend smirked. “Seems about right. That isn't as bad as the wet cat smell in here, though.”
Almira's face went hard as she stood up, “Would you like to come closer and say that again, twig?”
Flora grabbed her friend's arm. “Stop, Almira. It’s fine. Their words don't hurt me. Only those with low esteem lash out at others in this way.”
Almira glanced down before seating herself again. “If that is what you want, then I will desist.”
The other two women finished rinsing, got dressed, and left. As they did, the Human tossed one last comment over her shoulder, “We'll let the maid know she needs to clean the hair out of the drain after you’re done.”
Almira glared daggers as the door closed behind the laughing pair. “Bitches. I hope they die tomorrow.”
Flora shook her head. “Now, now, Almira. You don't mean that. The final death is no joke. Now, if they have to respawn tomorrow, that will be enough for me.”
&nbs
p; Nodding, Almira replied, “Fine. I hope they have to respawn.”
The ladies spent the next hour lounging in the tub, just relaxing in silence. When they eventually got out, Almira went right back to her room to get some sleep. Flora paused outside of Stewart's door, anxious over what she was planning.
She raised her hand to tap on the door when a snort caught her attention. The Elf from the other party was down the hall, looking at her with a smirk on her lips. “Oh, so the cat has courage after all? The Half-blood, right? Guess he would be the only one desperate enough to bed a Lunari. Have fun... though I bet he prefers his Succubus, doesn't he?”
Flora went rigid with anger as she locked eyes with the Elf. “I hope you get what you richly deserve tomorrow.” She knocked with force on the door, opening to reveal Stewart's puzzled face. Flora glanced at the Elf before she lunged at Stewart, kissing him deeply, breaking the kiss only to glare back at the Elf. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was busy with my man, but don't worry: one day, someone might take pity on you.”
Tales from the Dead Man Inn Page 4