by Pirateaba
“You’re really that famous, huh?”
Gazi shrugged and the armor on her shoulders rolled back.
“Some might say so. I apologize if the attention bothers you. Do you dislike such things?”
“Dunno. I’ve never been famous—or popular.”
Gazi nodded.
“I believe I am more infamous than famous.”
“I’ve never been that either.”
“I believe the difference between the two is quite minute in some senses. In other however—well, suffice it to say I appreciate staring as opposed to other reactions.”
“Right, right. I get you.”
Erin and Gazi stopped at a crowded intersection. Today seemed like a weekend—not that Erin had a good grasp of the week days in this world. She spotted several families out and about, which meant that they’d entered the residential district. She seldom went there, so the sight of children was—
They were so small. And cute! Well, the Gnoll kids reminded Erin of vicious puppies, but the small Drakes were terrifyingly cute. They ran about like normal kids, dragging their shorter tails about at they scuffled, played…did all the things normal kids did, really.
As they caught sight of Erin and Gazi, some of the adults stared. But a gang of Drakes and a few Gnolls pointed at Erin instead. One of the children ran up to the two and then away. It was a boy Drake—at least, she thought it was.
That was charming, especially the way the group of kids was clearly fascinated with her. Erin was smiling—until she saw the parents.
Two Drakes, both with lighter blue scales watched their offspring run about with his friends with affectionate interest. He ran up to her, and his parents called out, not wanting him to bother Erin. She was caught by the moment and the thought struck her before she could banish it.
Mother, father, and child.
Her smile flickered and vanished. But then Erin put it back on her face. She bent down towards the young Drake, not looking towards either of the parents.
“Hi there!”
Erin smiled at the Drake child. He immediately took a step back, but the other children pushed him forward.
“Can I ask you something?”
The boy Drake’s parents waved at him, telling him not to bother the human. But Erin smiled. She forced the smile, but it was a smile.
“Go on, I don’t mind. Ask me any question you want.”
The Drake grinned up at her. He had very sharp teeth. But it was a still an innocent smile. A mischievous smile, too.
“Can you really shoot blood out of your—”
—-
Pisces was sitting at a table in The Wandering Inn, sipping from a mug at his leisure as he put his feet up on one table. At his side he’d dragged over another table and organized a smorgasbord of cheese, meats, bread, and some sweet pastries Erin had bought for herself last time she’d been in the city.
He jumped as the door to the inn smashed open and Erin stormed in. She was wearing a terrific frown on her face, which contrasted sharply with the amusement on the face of the Gazer who followed her in.
She didn’t even have to say anything. One look and Pisces’s feet came off the table and he began industriously polishing the wood with his considerably dirtier robe.
“Greetings Mistress Solstice. Ah, are you well?”
Erin stood in the center of the room and glared at everything and nothing.
“I hate kids. I hate Drakes, and I hate people who don’t understand anything about female anatomy.”
That last comment was accompanied by a glare for Pisces. He opened his mouth to protest and then wisely shut up.
“In case anyone’s wondering, I cannot shoot blood out of my crotch.”
“I did not wonder. But it was quite amusing to see your reaction when the child asked you the question.”
Erin glared over her shoulder at the adventurer. Pisces eyed her. There was something familiar—
“Who asks that? Honestly!”
The adventurer shrugged. She was looking around the inn—with more than one eye? Pisces’s brows snapped together as he stared at her.
“Is it strange that other species do not know much about human reproduction?”
“Yes! No! I just—”
Erin threw up her hands.
“Forget it. This is my inn. I’ll get you some food. You can take a seat. Watch out for Pisces, the jerk over there. He steals stuff. Like my food.”
She glared at the half-eaten pastries on Pisces’s table and the mage flinched. Then she stomped into the kitchen, leaving him alone with…with…
As the adventurer took a table near him, Pisces’s eyes widened. If he had been eating food he would have choked on it. If he’d been drinking he probably would have sprayed it out his mouth and nose. Since he wasn’t doing either he just stared, wide-eyed at Gazi.
She smiled at him.
“Greetings, Necromancer.”
—-
Erin rattled around in her kitchen, looking for something to serve up. She put a pot of pasta on the stove, poured out some blue juice – which Pisces had also helped himself to – and sliced up some bread with cheese and sausage. She realized she had no idea what Gazi or her kind ate, but she took it out anyways.
Pisces was sitting in his seat, looking meeker than Erin had ever seen him as he chatted with Gazi. Well, it was more like her asking questions and him replying quickly and nervously. Another person who recognized the famed adventurer.
“Here you go.”
Erin put the appetizers in front of Gazi.
“Let me know if there’s anything you want or can’t eat. Also, this is blue juice. It’s…its blue. But it tastes sweet.”
“This looks delightful. Thank you for allowing me to impose.”
“No problem. I rarely get visitors—”
Erin stopped as the door opened.
“I rarely get visitors.”
She was expecting the Goblins to enter, or perhaps Olesm, or even Pawn and some Workers. But instead the last person she expected walked in.
Relc.
He grinned at her, and sauntered into the inn, spear over one shoulder. And he wasn’t alone. Four more Drakes—all guardsman by the look of them entered the inn, looking around warily.
Erin wasn’t sure what to say. She stared at Relc. The Drake met her eyes and then looked away.
“Hi Relc.”
“Miss Erin. How’re you doing?”
“Good. Um. You brought friends?”
“For a meal. Mind putting something on for us? I’m hungry.”
“Of—of course.”
Flustered, Erin retreated into the kitchen to double up on her dinner preparations. She reemerged to find Relc and his friend sitting close to Gazi. Since she’d chosen to sit next to Pisces, there was an odd triangle in the center of her inn.
There was also dead silence. Awkwardly, Erin put out drinks and appetizers for the guardsmen and Relc. The other Drakes accepted her drink and stared at the blue juice warily, but they were polite. Relc on the other hand was boisterous and noisy, thanking her and gulping down the juice quickly. He looked everywhere—except at her and Gazi, that was.
That was Erin’s first clue, but she was so busy running around the inn that she didn’t pick up on it. But as she began draining boiled noodles and mixing it with sautéed onions she heard Relc get up and walk over to Gazi.
“So. You’re the famous adventurer entering our small city. Nice to meet you.”
Erin peeked her head out of the kitchen just in time to see Relc leaning over the table. He stuck out one massive hand.
“I’m Relc. A Senior Guardsman here in Liscor.”
Was it just her or was Relc…bigger than before? But Gazi just smiled up at him and shook his hand with her gauntleted one. She saw the muscles in his arm tense, but Gazi didn’t even blink as she shook his hand.
“I am Gazi Pathseeker, a travelling adventurer.”
“Oh, an adventurer? That’s nice. I thought
about being one, but it sounded like too much hassle.”
“The life of an adventurer is not for everyone.”
“No, there’s all the dirt and mud and monsters trying to kill you.”
“It becomes occasionally unpleasant.”
“Right, right.”
Erin didn’t need any special skills to sense the underlying tension in the air. She saw the four guardsman Relc had brought surreptitiously eying Gazi. Meanwhile, Pisces had scooted around the edge of the table to get away from the two.
Relc paused. Then he cleared his throat and eyed Gazi.
“So…mind telling me what you’re doing in my city? And uh, how long you’re going to be staying around here?”
Relc put a heavy emphasis on my. And he was leaning over Gazi in a not-so-subtle way. She didn’t seem to be bothered, though.
“I am merely exploring this continent. Rest assured, I mean to cause no disruptions while I am here.”
The big Drake nodded agreeably.
“That’s good. I’d hate for any of that. It seems like every other day I have to deal with uppity adventurers causing trouble. It’s because I’m the highest-level [Guardsman] in the city, you know. All the guys always call on me for help.”
“It sounds like you have quite a tough job. I am impressed.”
“Yeah, well, I’m just that good.”
“Indeed.”
Gazi seemed content with that. Relc scratched at his scales. His tail twitched a few times on the floor.
“So—what I’m saying is, I’d hate for your visit to get unpleasant, understand? This isn’t a good place for you to cause any trouble like the kind you get up to in your continent. You get—”
Erin tapped Relc on the back of the head with a plate full of food. Hard.
“Ow!”
He turned and glared at her. She glared back.
“Oi. Stop harassing my guest.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Stop harassing. My guest. And sit back down. The food’s ready.”
Relc glared, but he seemed to have finished. He glanced down at Gazi and walked off. The Gazer smiled at Erin.
“Ah. Pasta? It looks quite delicious. Thank you Erin.”
“Yeah, looks good!”
Relc began digging into his food the instant Erin left it at his table. After some hesitation, the other guardsman did as well. Their wary expressions changed, and they soon began slurping down the noodles with good humor.
Pisces glanced around. Everyone else was eating—and Erin had even brought out some food for herself. But he was notably bereft of a plate and food.
“Ah, I believe you missed someone.”
“Did I?”
Erin eyed him balefully. She quite pointedly stared at the remains of her pastries on his table.
“Too bad. I guess I only have food for paying customers.”
He smirked at her.
“As a matter of fact, I believe today is the day I will pay off my tab. I have come into quite a bit of money as of late.”
“Really?”
Erin raised a skeptical eyebrow. Pisces pulled out a bulging pouch and showed her the contents.
“If you would observe.”
She stared.
“That’s a lot of gold. Hey! Did you steal that?”
He looked insulted.
“Not at all. I merely performed a complex bit of magic and received remunerations. But I believe this is more than enough to pay off my tab many times over. Allow me to repay my debts in full and tip you for your time.”
He reached a hand into the pouch, but before he could take any gold out the bag disappeared from underneath his hand. Relc pulled it away and deposited the bag on his table.
“Yoink.”
“Hey!”
Pisces shot to his feet. He grabbed for the money, but Relc raised the bag out of arm’s reach.
“Give that back! It is my property!”
“Nope! Confiscated by the City Watch!”
“Relc!”
Erin shouted at the Drake as Pisces grew redder and redder. The mage pointed a trembling finger at Relc.
“This is an abuse of authority! You have no right to steal my property—”
Relc grinned and waggled a claw at Pisces.
“I have every right. Or did you forget—you’re still wanted for all those thefts you did earlier. Scaring people—robbing graves—all of that should be nicely covered by this donation to the city, shouldn’t it?”
Pisces turned white, and then red again with outrage. He spluttered, but didn’t really have anything to respond with except unrighteous indignation. Relc laughed at the mage—until Erin punched him in the shoulder.
“Ow. Have you gotten stronger?”
“It’s a skill. Stop bothering my customers.”
“Fine. But I’m keeping this. Necromancer Pisces will be allowed back in the city and we won’t stab him with all his fines paid off—but I’ll be watching him.”
“This is unjust—not right—”
Pisces clenched his fists but Erin managed to get him back to his seat. He sat there in a huff, so she got him his own plate and food to calm him down.
“Honestly. I have a new guest here. Can’t you two behave for one night?”
“I am quite enjoying the spectacle. Do not mind me.”
Relc glanced sideways at Gazi. But then he ignored her and grinned at Erin.
“Sorry, Erin. I just wanted to say hi—after so long.”
She eyed him doubtfully.
“Really?”
“Really. I saw you just this morning and thought—well, it would be nice to see a friendly human again. I had to deal with so many rude adventuring types and annoying mages each day.”
Pisces muttered something darkly. Erin shot him a look and he shut up.
“I saw that. You were pretty impressive out there. I didn’t know you were that good.”
Relc grinned and put his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.
“I try, I try. I’m not the greatest guardsman in the city for no reason.”
The four guardsman stopped their meal and looked up at Relc. One of them snorted.
“Greatest guardsman? Sure, one who can’t even catch a human Runner.”
The other three chuckled. Relc thumped back down on his chair and glared at them.
“I was wearing armor, and I had my spear, alright? She got lucky!”
Erin blinked at Relc as the other guardsman made more jokes at his expense.
“You got outrun by a Runner?”
“She was really fast! I’ve never seen anything like it! Any other Runner I’d leave in the dust. But her—”
“Sure you didn’t lose while you were admiring her?”
“Too busy panting and not enough breathing while you were running?”
“Shut up!”
Relc glared at the two guards and threw a bit of food at them. That earned him another buffet from Erin. He glared at her, but then switched tone.
“—By the way Miss Erin. You…wouldn’t happen to know any female Runners, would you?”
“Me?”
Erin blinked at him. Relc nodded.
“Sure, I mean, maybe, right? She was about your age.”
“What did she look like?”
This question came from Pisces. The mage was staring with some interest at Relc. The Drake frowned and shrugged awkwardly.
“She had…black hair. And she was—tall? Taller than Erin. And uh, she was fast. Ring any bells?”
Pisces and Erin exchanged a look. Erin planted her hands on her hips.
“How am I supposed to know someone by all that?”
“Hey, I’m doing the best I can! All you humans—you’re sort of similar. Anyways, I just thought you’d know her.”
“Because I’m human? And all humans know other humans?”
Relc scratched at the side of his head.
“Um. Yeah?”
“Unbelievable.”
> Erin began banging together empty dishes she glared at Relc as the Drake spread his claws out innocently.
“Hey, I just wondered—that isn’t the only reason I’m here! I was going to tell you about the thief in the city.”
“I already know about the thief in the city! And before you cause more trouble, it wasn’t Pisces. If he were the thief you’d have caught him already.”
“Oh, we know that. There wasn’t any magic detected at the places that were stolen from. No, it’s probably just some human. But I wanted to tell you to hire some protection around here. You got lucky with those Shield Spiders, but you’re not going to be lucky forever. Hire an adventurer already.”
“And pay them with what? Adventurers are expensive!”
One of the guards nodded.
“They are. Unless you know one personally, the rates they charge are far too high.”
Relc glared at the guardsman.
“Way to help, thick-tail.”
“I don’t have money for that. Unless—”
Erin reappeared in the common room. She smiled at Gazi who was observing the argument with urbane amusement.
“Hey Gazi, want a job? I can’t pay much, but I’ll feed you if you stay. I haven’t fixed up the rooms upstairs, but I could work on that.”
Relc, Pisces, and all four guardsman both started choking on their food. Gazi smiled and shook her head.
“As tempting as your offer is, I must refuse. But I believe you would be wise to invest in some form of defense as you are no warrior.”
“Once I have the money from the Shield Spiders I’ll see. But I’m not made of money. I don’t even have much money.”
Pisces had been following the conversation while eating a huge helping of pasta. Now a calculating look appeared on his face as he glanced at Erin.
“I might be able to help in that regard. Miss Erin, seeing as how my funds have been confiscated…would you accept—alternate forms of payment?”
She glared at him.
“At this point, as long as you pay me something I’ll be happy.”
Erin paused and hastily amended that sentence.
