“There you are, enjoy your stay!” said the old man, before slowly hobbling back the way they came.
They each set down their belongings in their respective rooms before meeting back in the hallway.
“What do you think about checking out the pub and getting a bite to eat? We may find someone there who knows this Orin guy that we’re looking for.” suggested David. Erin agreed so they made their way down the stairs and out onto the mostly empty streets.
The pub was across the way from the Inn, but as they made their way across the street, they could already hear the clamor inside and exchanged looks of caution before entering.
It sounded like a drunken rally.
They heard a shout followed by a loud crash and a thunderous laughter broke out just as they entered the room. At once they were greeted with a thick, smokey haze that layered the room. Once their eyes adjusted to the smoke, they saw two men, obviously drunk, sprawled across the ground with a large man standing above them.
He was a massive bald man with elaborate swirling tattoos decorating the parts of his face that weren’t covered by his thick, brown beard. His large, muscular arms protruded from his sleeveless tunic and were folded impatiently across his chest He looked as if he could tear down the building with his bare hands, not to mention his stone cold glare that he had rested on the two drunks at his feet.
Strapped on his back was a massive double-sided axe that looked as if it had seen its share of battle, numerous small chips and dings noticeably layered down the face of the blade. David also noticed two small throwing axes hanging at his hip that had leather wrapped grips and small dangling tassels that fell from the bottom.
He was the most intimidating man that either of them had ever seen.
“And don’t come back until yer sober!” the man shouted. “Now give me an ale…no, make that two!” he said with a grin, walking back up to the bar as the men scrambled out of the double door into the empty street.
When he reached the counter, the bartender slid two mugs his way, each filled to the brim with amber ale and capped with a white foam that sloshed down the sides of the mugs when they came to a stop. The man grabbed the mugs in each of his hands and gulped them down freakishly fast, one after the other. David and Erin looked at each other and shrugged, happy the confrontation seemed to be at an end.
They looked around the room and spotted a small empty table in the corner before deciding to sit down and enjoy the opportunity for some cool drink and a hot meal.
As soon as they sat down a small, plump lady walked up to them and handed them each a menu before asking for their orders. Looking over the menu, Erin ordered a pint of their vanilla malt ale and a plate of hot sausage and eggs, and not recognizing most of the dishes on the menu, David followed suit.
After their meals arrived and they had finished eating, the waitress cleared away their plates and took the coin Erin left on the corner of the table as payment for their food and drink. Then, satisfied and their bellies full, they quietly discussed their next plan of action while they finished sipping on their malts.
“So, what next?” David asked, breaking the silence, and rubbing his full belly contently.
“I’m not sure…I suppose we could start by asking around to see if anyone here has heard of Orin of West Post” replied Erin, wiping her mouth after a big swig of her drink.
They both looked around at the people standing by the bar and sitting at the numerous tables dotted around the room. Not a single one of them looked very friendly, and they were all almost certainly drunk. Suddenly, the idea of talking to any of these people didn’t seem so great.
While they were quietly arguing about who to approach first, they didn’t seem to notice the man sitting nearby listening intently in on their conversation. He quietly got up and carried his chair over to their table before plopping down next to them, leaving a startled look on both of their faces.
“My apologies, but I overheard you say you’re looking for someone. I think I could be of some assistance.” said the man.
David and Erin shared a skeptical look before turning back to the man now seated at their table.
The man was tall and somewhat scrawny, with long black shaggy hair and equally dark eyes. He wore a crooked smile on his pointy, rat-like face that revealed three blackened teeth standing out like crows in a snowfield. What parts of his arms that weren’t covered by his long cloak were covered in bracelets, and his hands each had several rings, all clinking on the table top as he tapped them from what seemed like a life-long struggle with anxiety. He had a fragrant smell about him, almost like a perfume, but it didn’t compliment his appearance Erin noticed, leaning back gently to give herself as much space between her and the man as possible.
“Really…” said Erin skeptically. “And what makes you think we need any help at all?” She raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms defensively.
“Well…my apologies, miss, but I heard you talking just now. You said you were looking for a man named Orin. Or…was I mistaken?” he replied in an overly charismatic fashion.
“And if we were, what business of yours would it be?” shot back Erin, completely disgusted by the man. Besides his appearance, something about this man just gave her the creeps!
“Wait…Erin, what are you doing?” whispered David, kicking her shin beneath the table, to which she slightly jumped in surprise.
“Sir, would you excuse me and my friend for just a moment?” asked David, turning to the man.
“But of course, …” said the man who stood up and slightly bowed before taking a few steps back to his original table.
“Erin, this man says he knows Orin. Have you forgotten that we need to find him?” said David glaringly.
“No, of course I haven’t” replied Erin, rubbing the chills off her arms, “but something about that man is screaming danger to me…he really makes me feel uneasy…”
“Yeah, I get what you mean, he’s a real creep. But think about it. We were just talking about how we didn’t know where to start on our search for Orin. Now, this man has come to us with an answer to our problem. Don’t you think that’s worth giving him a chance?” he stopped, giving Erin a few moments to ponder what he had said.
She finally nodded in agreement and David waved for the man to come back over and join them.
The man quickly walked over to their table and sat back down before speaking. “So, have you decided then?” he asked.
“Yes, we have. Thank you for your assistance, it is greatly appreciated!” replied David quickly, ensuring Erin didn’t have time to muster up a snappy response.
“Excellent! My name is Elbert Raymond. And you might be….?” He asked, holding out his hands to each of them.
“I’m David, and this is Erin.” said David, continuing the conversation.
“Great! Okay David and Erin…. where were we? Yes…that’s right. You need to find a man named Orin, right? Well I just happen to know of an old man that goes by the name of Orin. He lives just outside of town down a path to the East, a couple of hours walk from here. He comes to town every week or so to gather supplies before disappearing again. He seems to be a hermit, enjoying his solitude, as you never see him mingling with the locals except to attend to his business of buying and trading supplies.”
“Okay, what’s the catch?” asked Erin skeptically.
“There’s no catch, just a bit of gold…say, three pieces?” he said smiling. He turned to David and glanced at his hand, noticing the orb embedded deep within his skin. “Oh….and how did you come by something like that?” he asked curiously, rubbing his ring encrusted fingers.
David glanced at Erin who exchanged a similar look of caution. They both knew they needed to find the Elder’s friend, but also remembered what the Elders had told them. They couldn’t let anyone know about the orb.
After Erin finally nodded, David turned to the man.
“Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.” said David, hiding his hand and changing the subject. “
But you get one gold coin now, and the other two when you bring us safely to the old man. No funny business.”
Elbert stood and immediately took up David’s other hand before shaking it eagerly.
“Deal, when will we be going then?” he said, with a cheesy grin on his face.
“As soon are you’re ready, but we’ll have to stop by the inn to grab our belongings.” said Erin, handing Elbert the gold piece from her pouch and looking cautiously at David. He only shrugged and started for the door; he knew they had no other options.
As they were walking out of the pub, the barbarian turned and watched them exit with a suspicious look at Elbert. He quickly gulped down the remaining ale he was drinking then followed quietly in suit, leaving the travelers completely unaware of his pursuit.
After they grabbed their packs from the rooms, David and Erin followed Elbert to the edge of the town and out of the gate to a small path that led into the forest. Elbert walked a few paces ahead while David and Erin followed at the rear, talking quietly to one another.
“David, are you sure about this? We don’t even know this man and I don’t trust him one bit.” said Erin, not at all trying to hide the frustration in her voice.
“I know, I don’t either. But we don’t have any other choice. This man knows where we can find Orin and if we see any sign of trickery, there’s two of us and only one of him. Just trust me.” replied David, feigning confidence.
“Okay, but if you’re wrong and we get caught, it was your idea.” said Erin with a threatening glare.
Erin remained silent the rest of the way, so David focused instead on the surrounding forest and listened to the sound of the animals echoing around them. It was peaceful and left him longing for his days at the orphanage when he would wander the nearby forest.
They continued down the path for about an hour before a small cabin came into view. It was run down and looked as if no one had occupied it for years, the garden was over-grown and thick vines were growing up nearly the entire outside of the structure.
Elbert seemed confident though and walked up to the door before knocking. A few seconds passed before a sound came from inside the house and the door slowly opened. A man who looked aged beyond time appeared in the doorway, confused and apparently very irritated for being disturbed. He was thin and frail-looking, using a twisted cane to support his weight as he stood in the doorway.
“What is it? What do you want?” croaked the man.
“There are two young travelers here to see you.” said Elbert. He stepped aside revealing David and Erin a few steps behind him. The old man leaned forward and looked them up and down with his cloudy eyes before responding.
“Well, what do you want, and it better be worth my trouble.” he said with a threatening glare. Something told David and Erin that despite this old man’s appearance, he could make good on that threat.
Elbert stepped aside and let David and Erin stand before the door. David stepped forward first.
“My name is David, and this is Erin.” said David, gesturing towards Erin. “We were told to seek out a man named Orin.” He started shuffling on his feet briefly, feeling increasingly uneasy in the heavy silence and the old man’s constant glare.
“We were sent by the council of the Elders in Eldergate.” continued David.
With that, the old man’s expression changed completely. He looked down at Erin and David as if he were seeing them for the first time, sizing them up from head to toe, despite his eyes being cloudy like a blind person.
“What did you just say, child?” he asked intently focused on David.
“I said, we were sent by the Elders to find a man named Orin. Are you Orin?” repeated David, somewhat annoyed at this point.
“I see…I see…” replied the old man. “Yes, I am Orin. Orin Nightingale, formally. Or at least that is the name I now go by, so that will suffice. Please…come in” he waved to David and Erin, ushering them inside his cabin. When Elbert tried to follow, the old man stuck his cane out across the doorway, blocking his entrance. “Not you!” he said sternly.
“As you wish…” replied Elbert, bowing slightly before stepping away a few paces and leaning against a small wooden post that once supported a gate to the old man’s garden.
The old man closed his door and abruptly turned to David and Erin, who both stood in complete awe at the scene around them.
The inside of the cabin wasn’t unkept and decayed at all like they had expected, instead, it was clean and kept almost meticulously in order, with a complete set of cozy looking furniture and a warm fire in the hearth. They found it odd that from the outside, the cabin looked much smaller and they didn’t recall seeing any plume of smoke coming from the cabin’s chimney.
They also noticed that, despite the decrepit outside appearance, the cabin looked practically brand new from the inside.
The round windows were perfectly clear and free of the cobwebs and overgrowth they swore had covered the outside. The wooden planks that made up the walls were newly fastened, or so it seemed, as they still smelled of freshly cut cedar. As they looked around in wonder, their gaze abruptly landed on the old man who was patiently waiting beside them. He chuckled lightly to himself before politely asking them to sit.
They each sat down on the couch in front of the fire and immediately felt relaxed and at ease. The cares of the world seemed to sweep away to a distant time in the past and their tired legs and feet seemed to recover their strength as if they had been resting for hours.
Suddenly, the two of them were snapped out of their trancelike state when the old man slammed his cane on the ground.
“Don’t get too comfortable, you two. We won’t be here for long!” he said loudly.
They each looked at each other and stood up quickly, realizing there was more to the couch than meets the eye, suspecting it was somehow enchanted to provide extreme relaxation to whoever sat upon it.
“Yes, yes, I know. It’s a very nice couch.” said the old man, noticing the look they shared when they got up, “but listen to me when I say this. You are both in grave danger!”
Startled by the old man’s sudden change of subject, Erin asked the question that was on both of their minds.
“You know about the orb then?” she asked.
“Yes…yes I do. I’ve dedicated my life to the study of prophecy, and I’ve lived a long life, indeed!” he said. Turning to David he held out his hand, “May I see it?”
He held out his orb hand for the old man to see.
The old man’s eyes widened as he inspected the orb glowing slowly in David’s hand. “Yes. I knew you would be coming to see me, didn’t know when, but I knew this day would come.” he said hastily. “This orb you have, it is from the legends passed down by the Elders from generation to generation. It is said to hold extraordinary powers, but no one has ever been able to wield it, so no one knows what it is truly capable of. But I happen to know a little more of its history than most. I have come across this orb before. I was actually the one who helped the first Elders set it in that temple.”
Erin looked at David in shock. She was under the impression that the Elders worked alone and in secrecy. She didn’t know that they would ever entrust their secrets to someone outside of the council. If what he was saying was true, it would mean that this old man was thousands of years old.
“That…. that’s impossible!” Said Erin, wide-eyed in shock. “Tyrius told me that the orb dates back to the First Age. That would make you…”
“Two-thousand, seven-hundred, and eighty-six years old, and several months, actually” replied Orin, with a grin.
“How is that possible?” asked David, completely amazed at what he was being told.
“How? By the Creator God’s blessing, of course! I’m what you might call, an oddity, one of the first-born of the Mystics. I was once called by a different name, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was! Funny, isn’t it? How things like that can be forgotten with time….”
“So…what are you? I didn’t think the race of Man was created until much later, but you look like a man…you’re not an elf, at least not the kind I’ve seen in the books” replied Erin, looking him up and down curiously.
“No, no, I’m not an elf or a man. Like I said, I was once called something else…and at a time, there were more like me. But, sadly, I am the only one who survived the War of the Mystics long ago. But that is beside the point. I am here now, as are you, and our meeting is not by chance. We were meant to meet, you and I.” said Orin, looking at David.
“You see, like I was saying…I know much of the history of the orb. Would you like to hear it?” he asked.
“Of course, I would!” said David and Erin at once. They looked at each other and smiled, excitement sparkling in their eyes.
Suddenly, a loud banging erupted on the front door, causing everyone to jump in surprise.
“I thought I told that nincompoop to wait outside!” shouted Orin, annoyed by the sudden disruption.
He quickly walked over to the door and swung it open before quickly slamming it shut again. “Oh…” he said.
“What? What is it?” asked Erin, alarmed by the old man’s expression.
“There’s a company of men from the Royal Guard standing outside my front door” he said, “and they don’t look like they’re wanting to join us for tea” he added with a sheepish grin.
David and Erin quickly rushed to the window to take a look outside. Orin was right, there were at least ten soldiers standing just outside the door, each with their sword drawn and ready for a fight.
They could see Elbert smiling and holding something in his hand. It looked suspiciously like a large pouch of coins. He slowly backed up then turned around and ran down the path towards West Post.
“What are we going to do? There’s no way we can take on that many soldiers with just the two of us!” Shouted Erin, panicking. They were outnumbered five to one.
David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb Page 8