A long, awkward silence lingered between Rialta and Remmy. They caught each other’s eyes, then looked away.
“Oh, this is stupid!” Rialta shouted. “Remmy, can I come with you guys or—”
“Yes!” Remmy shouted, and his face lit up into the widest, silliest grin Rialta had ever seen.
The mere sight of his expression made Rialta burst into a fit of laughter. “I guess that settles it!” she said.
“You’re damn right it does!” Remmy said, hopping up and down. He immediately began pacing the sidewalk excitedly. “What do you think we should do next?” he asked. “We could just go right back to doing some quests—but, you know, not taking anything from folks who hang out around The Pit this time. I don’t know how many friends I can watch die before I start to go a little crazy, you know? Or we could look into forming a guild of our own, or—Ooh! Ooh! We could even rent out a little space for us to grow our own operation! What do you think?”
Rialta shrugged. “Whatever you want to do. I’m just in it for the adventure,” she said with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll pick whatever’s best for all of us. I trust you.”
Remmy slowed to a halt and smiled. “Thanks, Rialta.” He paused, looking a bit sheepish. “I don’t suppose you have any plans for dinner?”
“Lead the way,” Rialta said, nodding toward the city in the distance.
“Great! John’s going to meet us there,” Remmy said, and the two of them began to walk down the street together.
“So John was already assuming I’d be tagging along? Interesting,” Rialta said with a sly grin. “Where is he, anyway?”
Remmy shrugged. “Just said he had something to do and he’d meet me for dinner later.”
“Well he’d better hurry with whatever it is,” Rialta said. “I can’t wait for all of us to be together again.”
Epilogue
The Pit
The Pit was full of drunken sailors, washed-up adventurers, and vagrants, all of whom were busying themselves with slugging back massive steins of crude beer and grog. Or if they weren’t drinking, they were laughing at an obscene joke. Or if they weren’t laughing at an obscene joke, they were telling one. Or if they weren’t doing any of that, they were brawling in the dining room.
Jack, however, considering himself more refined than the common miscreant, simply sat with his drink in his secluded seat at the end of the bar. He watched the goings-on around him with a sense of detached amusement. The other patrons were nothing but a discordant troupe of fools who stumbled around and fought and danced for his viewing pleasure.
“That’s a quality whiskey you’ve got there, mister.”
Jack’s concentration was torn from the chaotic fray, and he turned to the cloaked figure who had addressed him. He looked down at his drink, then to the burly, obscured man sitting a few stools down from where he sat. Jack looked him over and sized him up. Whoever this man was, it was unlikely that he could be of any use to Jack. The signs were all there. Soiled boots. Torn, fraying robes over creased leather armor. To complete this picture of mediocrity, the man had peasant’s wheat beer to drink, and out of a comically large stein, no less. Clearly he was nothing more than another drunken ruffian. A commoner thinking himself clever enough to consort with the likes of Jack. All the same, there was something about the man recognizing a decent spirit.
“You know a thing or two about whiskeys, do ya boss?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. He took a slow, careful sip from his glass. He shivered as he felt the smooth burn of the drink as it traveled to his stomach.
The hooded figure shrugged. “Know enough to see your drink isn’t dyed brown, like most of the knockoff swill here. That there’s a genuine whiskey.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. This man wasn’t kidding. He did know something about whiskey. This was certainly an unexpected development.
“Interesting you would know that,” Jack said.
The hooded man shrugged. “Not all that interesting when you’ve been to places that really know their product,” he said.
“Oh yeah?” Jack asked with a derisive laugh. “Like where?”
John threw back his hood. “Places like the Chasm, Jack.”
Jack leapt to his feet, knocking over his barstool in the process. He stumbled backward, mouth agape as he stared at John. Suddenly, waves of disconnected memories surged through his head. The burly kid with that cocky mage girl and the scrawny cleric. It couldn’t be…
“Although if I’m honest, that’s not actually where I happened to learn about whiskey,” John continued. “I just really wanted to make the connection to Tyntala when I revealed myself to you. And now that I think about it, explaining all of this is making the whole revelation thing seem a lot less satisfying, so if it’s all right with you, I think I’ll just kick your ass now.”
“This isn’t possible. Nobody comes back. That’s what H said. Nobody could ever possibly come back…” He trailed off in a fit of gasping whispers while he scrambled away from John.
John simply smiled in response, advancing toward Jack. “Oh, believe it, Jack. I’m back.”
“Barkeep!” Jack shouted. His hands failed to find purchase as he repeatedly slipped and fell on the beer-slicked floor below. “Put an end to this! Throw out this hoodlum!”
John casually walked over to Jack, easily picking him up by the collar with one gigantic fist.
“This guy giving you trouble?” the scraggly, gap-toothed bartender asked, making his way over to John and Jack.
“Is he—is he giving me trouble?” Jack shouted indignantly, flailing around in the air. “Of course he is, you dumbass! Toss him out!”
“Not you!” the bartender growled.
“Nah, don’t trouble yourself, Larry,” John said, tossing a few coins onto the bar with his free hand before carrying Jack toward the front door. “I’ll take care of this one for you.”
“Be seeing you then, Johnny,” Larry said with a grin as he scooped up the coins from the bar.
“Damn straight you will,” John said.
A Quick Note From the Author
I truly cannot express how grateful I am that you have made it to the end of my book. Maybe you’re here because you enjoyed it, or maybe you’re one of those weirdos who can’t put down a book until it’s finished even when you think it’s a pile of garbage. Either way, I’m humbled by the indulgence of your attention.
If you’re at all interested in anything I write in the future, please do not hesitate to give me a visit over at GMReinstra.com, where I’ll be sure to keep you informed about my future books and other written works.
Wishing you all the very best,
-G.M. Reinstra
A Quest for Chumps (Departed Dimensions Book 1) Page 29
