Archives: New Marmo Republic
Chapter 16: Morning at the Highland Inn
It was early morning when Gaidrich opened his eyes. Sleeping in a actual bed was a rare experience for the mercenary, and he was glad to see it hadn’t messed with his internal clock. Uneventful night, he thought. Hope his Highness got a good night’s rest.
Sitting up and stretching, Gaidrich scanned the room, glancing towards Itoya and Alm’s beds. The erratic grassrunner wandering off had been a concern during the night, and it returned now that Gaidrich thought about it.
While the other two had slept, Alm burrowed into his bed, cutting into the mattress a hole big enough for him to sleep into, so it looked like the grassrunner was never in his bed in the first place. Having found himself quite comfortable within the bed itself, Alm slept exceptionally well, and his presence would have been completely concealed if not for the fact that he was snoring loudly from within the bed itself. Itoya had passed out. Exhausted from more excitement then he had known in his life, the boy of a prince could not help it and, even with the snores of Alm and the rising of Gaidrich, nothing could break his heavy sleep.
Glad that Itoya and Alm were safe and asleep—though how the grassrunner had pulled his latest trick off was anyone’s guess—Gaidrich left his bed and got dressed. Shrugging into his shirt, the mercenary tried to plan the day out. Silemria’s probably back by now. Hopefully she found something, but since we slept the night through, probably not. We need to get Ultarik back from the priests, and decide where Itoya should hide out. After that, where?
Gaidrich shook his head as he pulled on his boots. It was too early in the morning for this. Once he was ready, he’d wait a bit to see if his roommates awoke. Then, either together or leaving a note to tell them where he’d gone, he’d round up his allies and prepare for the hunt.
* * *
Zira awoke in bed, still fully clothed, and unaware of how she even got there. The last thing she remembered was being in Itoya’s room. After laying in bed, thinking for a moment, she recalled snippets of being carried to bed. The dark elf lifted her head to look over at Edwin in his bed. She would have to figure out what went on the night before after she fell asleep, which she felt horrible for. It couldn’t be helped though, as exhausted as she was.
Slipping out of bed, Zira stepped over to Edwin’s side and sat next to him on the bed. She shook him awake gently. “Hey Edwin...”
Slowly opening his eyes as he felt a gentle touch shaking him, Edwin could not remember much after speaking with his old friend as he smiled up at Zira. “It looks like you are doing much better, but a good night’s sleep will do that. I am surprised that I even made it to bed after last night...”
“It was a long day, and you lost a lot of blood,” she replied softly. The dark elf stood up an stretched her arms over her head. “I hope you got enough rest, because I think today might be just as busy.”
After sleeping all night in her dress, Zira had to get out of it. She went back to her side of the room and found her traveling pack, then took her secondary outfit out—a pair of breeches and a top. Now that they had a moment’s respite, she was tempted to tease Edwin and perhaps give a little push to the budding relationship she had forming with him. She sat down on her bed, with her back to him, and pulled her breeches on under her dress without saying a word to him about privacy. Once her pants were on, she began unlacing her corset so she could get her dress off.
Sliding off his bed, Edwin could not help but watch Zira. He had to admit to himself they had grown very close over the short time they had been traveling together. Moving over to sit next to Zira and helping unlace her corset, Edwin laughed softly. “I am hoping that you got enough rest as well, you pushed yourself to your limit.”
Zira looked down in surprise as Edwin actually began to help her with the unlacing. “I guess I did,” she replied, acting nonchalant about his assistance. “I woke up on my own, so I suppose my body got all the rest it needs.” Once the laces on her corset were loosened, Zira stood up and pushed it down over her hips to get it off. As it hit the floor, there was a slight muffled ‘clank’ from her daggers hidden in between the ribbing. With her back to Edwin, Zira pulled her green dress over her head. She didn’t wear anything underneath on her upper body; the corset and dress worked together to give her chest the support it needed. The dark elf covered her breasts with her arm, then she turned to pick up her top before putting her back to Edwin again.
Chuckling to himself, Edwin realized Zira was better defended then he was, and that was one of the reasons Edwin enjoyed her company; he never had to worry whether or not she was going to be safe. He did not care that he was mostly going to be a passing fling for Zira, Edwin was going to enjoy every moment he could as he watched her strip out of her dress, taking in the lovely form before him. He stood up behind her and rubbed her shoulders gently. “You do have a point, even with the healing and the rest. I am sure I still look like I am right from the battle.”
Zira paused in her dressing as Edwin began to rub her shoulders, and she glanced back at him over her shoulder. Her muscles were a bit knotted after the all the exertion of the night before, so she wasn’t about to complain about a little massage. Just how far would this go though? “You seem a little pale still,” she said. “If I could have stayed awake, I might not have let you go in your condition. I know it takes more than just a healing to rejuvenate after losing a lot of blood. At least you made it back safely.”
Letting his fingers work against Zira’s shoulders, Edwin smiled a little. “I am glad you would have not let me gone like that, I will be trying my best to take it easy the next few days.” Slowly working his hands down over her back, he leaned forward to whisper into her ear, “If I was to bad off my friend would have made sure I did not do anything foolish. He taught me to fight and would clearly knock me out if I was going to do something foolish and get myself hurt. And I know you would not let me live it down if I got myself hurt more after getting me healed.”
Zira relaxed as the massage continued and gave a soft moan as he worked down to a tight spot. “I sure as hell wouldn’t,” she replied softly with a small smirk. She so rarely got to enjoy this treatment, so she was reluctant to stop it. Itoya was probably chomping at the bit to get going, and as Zira thought of the young prince, she realized that she couldn’t just stand here and enjoy a massage, or whatever else Edwin had to offer.
Reluctantly, she pulled her top over her head, and down her body, pushing Edwin’s hands out of the way. The dark elf turned around and pressed close to Edwin, wrapping one arm around his shoulders, a leg around his. She slid her other hand against his cheek and kissed his lips softly. “We’ll continue this later,” she said as she drew back from the brief kiss. “But, we need to get moving.” Zira withdrew from the young man, then stepped back into her corset on the floor, bent over to pick it up and pull it back on.
Edwin watched Zira after the kiss. She did have a point, though he did not want to admit it, there was no choice, and he moved to change his clothes. “Yeah, I am sure the young prince is pacing the hall, wanting to get a move on.” Walking back over to rub Zira’s back with a smile, he would wait until later to continue this, once it was a better time. He moved to open the door. “There is a lot we have to be doing today, isn’t there?”
Zira nodded, and suddenly there was a weight on her shoulders again. The road ahead was intimidating, seeing as how easily they failed last night, but she would help the prince any way she could. Stepping out the door, she slung her pack over her shoulder and stepped out into the hall.
* * *
Linda made her way down to the common room and over to the innkeeper. She rested her head on the counter a bit and tried to think of something to eat.
“Excuse me?” the innkeeper asked as he stared down at the young mage. “Would you be needing something?”
Linda looked up at him and sighed. “Can I get some breakfast please?” she asked with a sweet smile.
“Of course, what would you like?” he responded and gave her a little grin.
“Well, I would like a cup of water, a ham and cheese sandwich, and I guess that will be all,” she told him and took out a little change from her pocket. She handed him her money and quickly left to go take a seat. Looking around the common room, she walked over to a table near by the entrance and took a seat.
Despite last night’s failed excursion, Sil was in moderate spirits. After all, at this point there was nothing to do beyond start searching overland paths. And overland paths left trails that were harder to cover than ships. She had returned to the other inn to collect her items, had bathed, changed, and was in the middle of her breakfast, which consisted of a ham broth with bread, and some water. It wasn’t filling as a full course breakfast, but she had found traveling and heavy eating generally didn’t work well together. She had changed her outfit somewhat, now with a high necked black shirt with long sleeves, and some leather riding gloves. She had opted for some dusky leather pants just in case it was a long ride. Her supplies and most of her cloths now sat in a bag on the floor at her feet. She was clearly expecting a long trip, although the destination was still uncertain.
After having gotten a room the night before, Ultarik came down and sat with Linda after getting some water and porridge with honey. He was well rested and ready to go as he looked to Linda. “Morning. I just got in last night, priests finally let me go,” he explained. At least he still had his gear, and he was alive after that rather horrible situation. “Where are the others?”
Linda looked at Ultarik and smiled. “I’m glad to see that you’re much better,” she told him and started to think. “Well, that lady over there,” she paused and looked at Silemria, “She is here, and as for the others... They must still be in their rooms,” she told him as a barmaid came over with her food and drink, then placed it on the table. “Thank you,” she told the woman and started to eat slowly.
* * *
Zira knocked on the door to Itoya’s room and waited. He should have still been there, the last thing they needed was for him to be seen downstairs.
Gaidrich jumped slightly at the knock. Taking up one of his daggers, the mercenary crossed quietly to the door, opened it a crack, and peered out. He relaxed when he saw who it was and returned the dagger to his belt, holding a finger to his lips for silence. “They’re both still sleeping,” he whispered as he opened the door completely to let his allies in.
Zira glanced to the sleeping prince and grassrunner and sighed. She was a little happy that Itoya was getting his rest, but also disappointed in the fact that she could have enjoyed her time alone with Edwin a bit more if she had known. Yet, he probably didn’t want to sleep, considering all that had to be worrying him. Zira was torn between waking him and letting him sleep on. “Well...I suppose we should eat while we can,” Zira suggested.
As she waited in the door way, two men stepped out of one of the rooms, looking a little battered. They seemed confused when they saw Zira, Edwin, and Gaidrich at the door of Itoya’s room. “Hey, have you guys seen a pretty blonde girl in a brown dress?” one of the men asked. His partner hazarded a glance at Zira’s chest, but drew his eyes away quickly. Little did the three mercenaries know, but these two men, and a third partner, had harassed Linda the night before. They weren’t so confident in their ‘charming’ ability with a woman when she had two capable looking men on either side of her, or perhaps the fact that she was a dark elf added further intimidation.
“Once or twice,” Gaidrich answered in a non-committal tone. Something about these two rubbed him the wrong way. Gods don’t let them be after Linda, the mercenary thought glumly. We’ve got enough on our plates today!
Alm woke with a start, the nightly reminder of his nightmares caused him to scream and jump up out of the hole in the bed with the blanket still draped over him. “Great ghost of Falis! They gone and buried me alive!” he screamed, rushing to get out from his delirium induced fear of the blanket being loose soil against his skin. Tripping over his own feet, he unceremoniously crashed off the bed and onto his face. The blanket having just fallen off the grassrunner, the blond sprite stood up and dusted himself off. “Damn, that was a good sleep!” He laughed, having forgotten the last few moments already. “Hey! It’s the busty dark elf from before! Didja come to wake me up with a li’l kiss sweetheart?”
“So, what would you gentlemen be wanting with a pretty blond...” the crashing and screaming from the room interrupted Gaidrich, and he watched as Alm emerged, definitely his usual self. The mercenary sighed. This morning was running too long already.
The cry of the grassrunner soon become a chorus as Itoya screamed—perhaps a bit too high for a man—as he was jarred awake by Alm’s crashing and yelling. Very ceremoniously, Itoya threw himself from his bed in fear. The prince waited but a few seconds before bringing his head up to face his fate, but finding only the bewildered stares of a group of mercenaries with their eyes upon one of the least manly things they had seen yet. Itoya’s face turned bright red and he froze in that position.
“Holy...!” Zira began to curse when Alm woke with a scream, followed by Itoya’s scream. The dark elf was already on edge with these two strangers asking about a girl that sounded like Linda, and being screamed at didn’t help. In response to Alm’s remark, she frowned and gave him a rap to the head.
The two men looked on to all the shrieking, but once it died down, it was of little concern to them, and the first who spoke replied to Gaidrich; “She got into a little trouble last night and we bailed her out. We thought she was sleepin’ in this room.”
“She’s my woman,” Alm stated blandly in regards to the men. He had no idea what they were talking about but if it was about a woman she was already his in his mind. “What sorts of trouble did my sugar-dumpling get into? But before that allow me to introduce myself, I’m Almerich Daidrich III, first Emperor of the Fourth Court of Estambuul, Alecrast. A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Alm stated with a flourishing bow.
“This woman you speak of, was she rude in offering her thanks for your help?” Alm continued. “If so, I shall give my utmost word that I shall have her stripped naked and beaten—nay flogged—with the ceremonial feather duster until she repents for such a disgraceful behavior to her obvious benefactors. I must admit, ’tis so hard to find good help nowadays. Women especially. It almost seems as though all the well-bred ones died out with Kastuul. Truly is a pity that you foul barbarian scum haven’t evolved past the brutish apish stage you lumbering hulks seem to be stuck in, a constant evolutionary rut where even the smallest and ugliest of snails seem to have all but surpassed you in both intellect and charm. A pity, if I do say so myself. Why, twas just the other day when I ran into such a foul breathed crew such as yourselves. My lord, they were ugly creatures, far higher in physical beauty than you three, but I digress, I believe you foul little monsters call them ‘goblins’. Yes, even they have more common sense and beauty than the mere likes of you, but that is neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is that such ugly people, such as yourselves, must find it excruciating to live life as scum lower than even the scum that one finds on the bottom of rancid water. Yes, an evolutionary standpoint of such utter ridiculousness, that I am appalled by the very sight of you and wish that your mothers and grandmothers did the world a courtesy and kindly flushed you miscreants from their wombs before you befouled the world with your putrescent filth that you call faces.”
Gaidrich stayed silent during Itoya’s hysterics and Alm’s speech, stony faced with the effort needed to resist gagging the grassrunner. When Alm finished, Gaidrich glanced between the two men. “Touched,” the mercenary explained gravely, tapping his forehead. “Not right upstairs. Never has been. Sad thing, truly.” He sighed and shrugged. “It’s been me, him, and the screamer in there all last night, Gods alone know how I got any sleep. Your blond musta moved off.”
Zira snorted and snickered through Alm’s spiel. At least the little grassrunner was good for laugh at times. The two would-be-rapists seethed at Alm, but Gaidrich’s speech seem to put them at ease. “Well then, I guess we’ll be on our way,” the main speaker for the duo spoke again, then began to head downstairs. At this, Zira felt a weight drop in her stomach. What if Linda was downstairs? Her first priority was to the prince though.
“Will one of you get breakfast for Itoya and myself? I’ll be keeping him company up here,” Zira said. She didn’t want to draw attention, being a dark elf, and all. The innkeeper never did get a good look at her the night before. “And keep an eye out for Linda. I don’t trust those two.”
“So I should go slit their throats and drop their bodies in the sewers?” Alm asked earnestly. “That’s what the code for ‘go get the prince and I’s breakfast and keep an eye on them’ means in assassin talk, right? Tch, whatever. I’ll be back with two morning specials and their left ears to prove that the contract has been completed,” Alm said beginning to walk past Zira to go take care of the men.
“I’ll go make sure nobody dies,” Gaidrich offered, and hastened after Alm, lengthening his stride to overtake the grassrunner and beat him downstairs.
* * *
Two men came downstairs, both scanning the common room. They had assaulted Linda the night before, and had the bruises to show for it. Their third companion was a little worse for wear, and was sleeping it off. These two were ready to get their revenge on the feisty little mage.
Linda drank from her cup of water, then placed it down as she saw the men come down the stairs. “Oh damn it,” she said softly as a smirk came to her face. She laughed a bit and looked at the men. “Well, well, well, it seems that someone had a rough night,” she said from across the room. “It looks like someone has been tap dancing on your face, or maybe you just look that way on a daily basis,” she said and giggled softly.
The two men were equally insulted by Linda’s comments and sneered in her direction. “Shut your mouth, you little wench! You’re gonna...” one of the duo said, striding toward her. He paused when he saw her company however, the large barbarian mercenary. The other hung back, but he gave a nod to a group at a nearby table.
Linda stopped giggling when she saw one of the men coming over to the table. She quickly thought of a strong, but inexpensive spell that can handle these men.
Gaidrich came hustling down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. What he saw when he stopped at the foot of the stairs brought a soft groan to his lips. At least Ultarik’s back, the mercenary thought as he scanned the room. He was pleasantly surprised at the sight of Silemria. If these jokers decided to start trouble, they’d have a rough time of it.
Alm sauntered down after Gaidrich, displeased that the mercenary decided to help him on his commission. He scanned the room with a stoic face, making note of anyone who seemed untrustworthy. The grassrunner took his time in scanning. One was moving towards Linda, Ultarik and Sil, and the other stood off. There were a few rough looking customers at another table, most likely connected to the men that wanted Linda. Of course, any connections that Alm saw were a part of his delusion, whether or not they were part of the people Alm was to kill, would be found out when the other two went down.
Ignoring the possible conflict for now, he stayed in character, heading over to a table and hailed a maid. There was tension in the air, that was for sure, even the staff were being affected by it. “Two bowls of whatever the special is for this morn,” Alm told the maid. “Bread and a small bottle of wine with two glasses, if you don’t mind.”
The maid mentally jotted the order down and took it to the kitchen staff. Now all Alm had to do was wait for the men to make their move. The instant they did he’d make his. A smile crept across Alm’s lips as he licked them hesitantly. This is going to turn into a bloodbath.
All of a sudden, one of the men at the table next to Ultarik, Linda, and Sil erupted.
“How dare you say that about my mother!” one man shouted and stood up.
The man across from him stood as well, slamming his hands on the table. “I’ll say whate’er I damn please. She’s a dirty two copper whore!” he growled back. In response, his table mate hurled a half-full mug of ale over his shoulder—and Ultarik just so happened to be directly in the line of fire. The mug hit him square in the face, dousing him in ale.
Meanwhile, the men at the table continued their quarreling. The one who hurled the mug hopped up on the top of their table when his mug missed its mark and punched his friend in the face, though little did the others know that this was a pulled punch. His opponent fell to the floor, then was back on his feet for another round. The other men at the table, now with over turned breakfasts in their laps, were out of their seats and shouting, though a pair of them had moved near Linda, but seemed utterly enthralled by the fight. The inn staff’s attention was drawn to the scrapping patrons as they tried to break up the fight. The common room was erupting into chaos.
Linda sighed as she saw Alm and Gaidrich. She could finally relax and not worry so much on how to kick the men’s asses. A smiled came to the girl’s face as she quickly looked at a man who had stood up by a table that wasn’t so far from her own. She stared at the man as he started to shout to one of his buddies. The blond shook her head and turned back to look at the guy that was coming over to her. Eventually a fight broke out, but the girl did not pay much attention to it. She didn’t even notice that her companion had got hit in the face. The girl was just focused on the man that was picking a fight with her. What in hell just happened! Oh well, as long as they don’t touch me, she thought as she sighed. Now, to deal with this guy.
Alm ignored the fight and took the two orders upstairs to the prince and Zira. He’d return and take the ears of the men he had to slay after he did his first order, returning the food to the upstairs.
Gaidrich, attention focused on Alm, looked towards the yelling just in time to see poor Ultarik catch a mug with his head. The mercenary moved to the overturned table, intending to help the staff break up the scrum. “Here now, take it outside! People are trying to eat in here!” he bellowed, waving his arms to make his point. Gaidrich assumed Ultarik could survive such a blow, and so he barely spared another glance at his companions table.
At taking the blow, Ultarik stood up and cracked his knuckles. He was going to stop this fight himself, even if he got arrested for it. “They’re not going to listen to words, I’ll make them listen with my fists!” he growled. After pushing through the crowd, he walked over to the man who knocked the ale into his face. Glaring at the man he took a swing towards his face, aiming to knock him out in one blow.
As Gaidrich and Ultarik moved in, they were pulled into the fight. A stray fist clocked Gaidrich in the jaw, and Ultarik’s target showed that he was surprisingly paying close attention when he ducked and threw a punch at Ultarik’s gut. The two fighters no longer showed any care for fighting each other.
Meanwhile, Sil had enough of the conflict as well. The mercenary stood and slammed her hand on the table. “OI! Knock it off ye louts!” she shouted, and when the fighters didn’t listen, she took a hold of the hilt of her normal cutlass and hurried over to see if she could put an end to the fight.
* * *
Itoya sat on the floor next to his bed, the embarrassed red still fading from his face. He felt like a fool. And he screamed like a girl in front of them! Itoya’s head hung low. Some prince I am... Itoya thought. “I did indeed do that, didn’t I?” the prince asked Zira as she entered the room and the others left. “I don’t think I’m much cut out for this kind of thing...” Already, his courage from last night was waning.
Zira didn’t waste her breath trying to control Alm, it was too early for that. He was Edwin and Gaidrich’s problem now. The dark elf headed over to the table in the room—the same one she had passed out on the night before—and took a seat. Waving dismissively to Itoya, she tried to vaguely comfort him; “Don’t worry, Alm has that effect on everyone.”
“Do you think we will be able to find her?” Itoya asked quietly.
“Of course,” Zira said, without thinking. She wanted to put him at ease, but she didn’t know if the truth was soothing. At any rate, she didn’t expect that they would lose Elianna easily, though she wasn’t sure if this small gang could pull off a rescue that easily. In her mind, the chance of getting the princess back safely was high, she just didn’t know how long they could keep the kidnapping secret.
“Well, I trust your judgment then.” Itoya hung his head low again. What should he say to her? All of these people around him simply took him at his word and were helping him without a second thought, it seemed. Then again, he placed much trust in them without knowing much either. “I suppose in the midst of this, we never properly introduced ourselves. You know who I am, but I have yet to learn your name...”
“Well, we usually used pseudonyms when my sister and I left the palace. You know hers, or one of hers anyway. But mine never worked well.” Itoya scratched his head. “I am not the actor she was, as I’m sure you have become aware. Xander, Wren, Tristan, Torren, Morlyn, Jaiden, in one case even Aurelius. I don’t suppose any of the names are very fitting.”
Alm knocked on the door with his head. “Open the bloody door. I only got two hands and both are full with your meals,” the grassrunner growled.
Zira gave a start at the bang on the door, but relaxed—somewhat—when she heard Alm on the other side and not some thug trying to bash the door in. The dark elf hopped to her feet and opened the door, then took the trays from Alm. “Thanks mate,” she said to the grassrunner.
“You’re welcome. Now I’m gonna go kill me some chaps,” Alm said, having relinquished the food unto Zira. “I’ll be back with their ears.” With that said, he sauntered down to the common room once again. The fun was going to start whether they intended it to or not.
“Wait...” Zira tried to call after Alm, but the grassrunner was out of sight before she could say what she wanted. The dark elf muttered a few curses under her breath, and hoped that he wouldn’t cause as much trouble as he said he was going to. The others would have to handle him. Turning to Itoya, she laid one of the trays next to him on the bed, then sat back down at the table to eat her own breakfast. “So...a name. Tristan sounds good to me,” she replied to their previous conversation.
“Tristan it is, then,” Itoya replied, taking the meal. He looked down at it for a moment and waited for Zira to eat some first. It was certainly not what was served to him normally. It didn’t look very appetizing, but Zira didn’t seem disgusted. The young prince took up a plate and took a bite. It lacked flavor, seasonings, something to make it good. It was just... food, he supposed. Of course, he was sure no inn had his father’s cooks. Itoya went about eating it slowly, as he had been taught, one bite at a time, with every manner he could think of for eating dinner on a bed. Everything was thoroughly chewed, no bite too sizable, nothing out of place on his tray. For the first time, he felt like a fool for knowing every bit of dining etiquette. Never before had he been in a situation where knowing it singled him out. With nothing else to do, he blushed and kept going the only way he knew how.
