The Wandering Inn_Volume 1

by Pirateaba

  Zel bared his pointed teeth in a grin.

  “I hate his scales. But he wanted to know what happened to his lieutenant and I thought it was curious too. Because—and I’ve gone off track—I saw you during the battle. Aside from the fact that you managed to either defeat Periss and a dozen elite [Soldiers] or lose them—which some Couriers would have trouble doing—there was the battle with the Goblin Lord.”

  “Yeah. That.”

  The [General] stared at Ryoka.

  “I’m sorry about that Gnoll tribe. I did all I could to save them, but that Goblin Lord—did you know he was in the area?”

  Ryoka’s hand clenched on the edge of the table.

  “I had no idea.”

  “I thought so. But you saved Mrsha.”

  “One of them. Just one.”

  “More than I could with an army. The rest of the tribe went down fighting. Every last one of them.”

  Zel sighed. Ryoka felt as if she’d dropped through the floor. She reached for the hot drink Erin had given her and took a sip. It felt like she was drinking death.

  All of them. An entire tribe. That was Ivolethe’s price.

  Ivolethe. Ryoka turned her head. The faerie had vanished after the Gnolls had grabbed her. She might not have wanted to interfere, or known Ryoka wouldn’t be in trouble. Where was she…?

  There. She was riding on Mrsha’s head, laughing as the white Gnoll cub snuck up on something on the floor. Ryoka felt worried until she remembered that Erin’s inn was built with copper nails. Ivolethe was free to enter and exit here without danger.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

  Ryoka started. She glanced at Zel and saw him looking at Mrsha. He shook his head.

  “I don’t want to burden you. It’s just that I saw you using that potion—or was it an artifact—after the battle. You ran faster than I’ve ever seen anyone go. And then during the battle—I saw you freeze your way through part of the Goblin Lord’s army to get away. You were running like a Courier then, too.”

  The Frost Faeries. Ryoka opened her mouth and then closed it. Zel eyed her calmly.

  “Please understand, I’m not accusing you of anything. I am simply asking how you did all that. Do you have some kind of benefactor who supplies you with magical items? Did you have to defend yourself? Is that how Periss died? Ilvriss won’t give up until he knows the truth behind her disappearance.”

  Hesitation. Ryoka looked down at her hands. Her two missing fingers. She took a deep breath.

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “May I ask why not?”

  How could she answer that? What was the safest way? Ryoka grabbed a fry and bit into it. Zel did the same as he waited patiently.

  “It’s…complicated. If I told you, you might be in danger.”

  “Me?”

  Zel looked amused by the notion.

  “Miss Ryoka, I’ve been in danger since the first Antinium War. You might not know who I am—”

  “Zel Shivertail. The Tidebreaker. I know.”

  He shrugged, looking embarrassed by the title. Zel reached for a handful of fries, chewing them down as he spoke.

  “I’m not the best [General]. My reputation’s overinflated by stories, but I am a seasoned warrior. I’ve had [Assassins] and angry idiots after my head for over a decade. I think the Assassin’s Guild has given up trying to claim the price on my head. Even if an army were after me—or Ilvriss—”

  “You’d still be in danger. I know who you are. And I’m still telling you that.”

  Ryoka stared at Zel. He stopped chewing and looked at her.

  “Really now?”

  “Really really.”

  “Huh.”

  Zel’s tail flicked in interest. Behind him, Ryoka saw Ivolethe flying about, dragging something through the air as Mrsha chased and leapt after it. Both Frost Faerie and Gnoll were loving the game of tag.

  “So it’s dangerous to us, hm? What about you? If you need protection—”

  “Telling you would make things worse, believe me. I—look, I can’t tell you much. At all. But I call tell you this. I didn’t kill Periss. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t lure her into a trap on purpose or tell someone to kill her—she followed me and she died. I’m sorry it happened, but it was an accident on all sides.”

  “In the forest. There was some kind of enchantment there that made me lose my way.”

  Zel looked thoughtfully at Ryoka. She bit her lip.

  “Don’t ask me anymore. And don’t go looking, please. For your sake. Just let it go.”

  “I can let some things go. But my, uh, friend won’t. Ilvriss…that idiot won’t admit it, but I think he and Periss were a couple.”

  Ryoka’s heart hurt as it sank.

  “He—was?”

  Zel nodded. He drummed his claws on the table, which made them cut into the wood until he noticed it and stopped.

  “Damn. Sorry. Yes, well, it would be a scandal for a Wall Lord and a lowly officer in his army to be together, but I think that’s why he’s so obsessed. He loved her.”

  “I’m sorry. But I still can’t tell you anything.”

  Ryoka whispered the words. Zel looked at her. He stared at Ryoka in a way that made her think he was looking into her hidden heart. Then it was done and he nodded.

  “I guess that’s all you can tell me for now. I’ll tell Ilvriss what you said, although I can’t promise he’ll stop coming after you. I can stop him, but perhaps…well, we’ll leave it at that for today. I know you’re busy, Ryoka. It was a pleasure to meet you again, regardless.”

  He stood up, and pulled something out from a pocket. Ryoka blinked as she saw a dangling piece of metal shaped to look like a slow spiral. There was a large gem in the center, and evenly spaced smaller gems—diamonds perhaps—set along the curving bit of metal. Like a progression. Each one of the gems was glowing a different shade of green—some bright green, one a very pale green, almost yellow. But the biggest gem shone bright and green.

  Zel inspected the gems critically for a second and then shook his head.

  “Hm. You were telling the truth about all of that. Ilvriss might not be happy, but at least he won’t try to cut my tail off.”

  “What—is that—”

  “Oh, this is a truth detector. It’s a bit fancier than the truth gems—it records a number of statements so I don’t have to keep looking at it. It’s not very useful, considering you can do the same with a single gem, but Ilvriss insisted.”

  “You—”

  He put her through a lie detector test! Ryoka gaped at the [General]. He smiled wryly.

  “Sorry, but I had to be certain.”

  He pocketed the artifact and walked towards the entrance of the inn, smiling and speaking to Lyonette briefly while Ryoka sat in shock.

  Truth gems. Ryoka closed her eyes briefly. This was why lying and keeping secrets was so much harder in this world! She really needed to buy something that would negate the effects of such spells. Was there such a thing?

  “Hey Ryoka, are you okay? What did Zel want?”

  The young woman opened her eyes. Erin hovered next to the table, looking concerned. She had a pair of full mugs in her hand and Ryoka eyed the alcohol with no little degree of temptation.

  “What did he want? Uh—well, he was asking about a time when I met him, Erin.”

  “You met Zel before? Really?”

  “Yep. On my run. I met him and Ilvriss. It’s uh, complicated.”

  “Wow.”

  Erin looked impressed. She glanced towards the door, but Zel had already left. Still, she leaned down and whispered conspiratorially to Ryoka.

  “He’s a pretty big deal among the Drakes. He’s some kind of war hero, and he’s really scary, in a grandfather-type way, you know?”

  “I…guess?”

  Ryoka couldn’t exactly see that. Then again, she’d met Zel when he was slicing people apart with his claws. Erin nodded.

  “He’s cool, though. I
uh, think he doesn’t like me as much, but he’s really nice to Lyonette and Mrsha!”

  “Oh. Right. He stays here.”

  “That’s right!”

  So she’d be seeing him around. Ryoka’s heart sank. Erin eyed her friend, and put the mugs on the table.

  “Is everything okay? Are you in a big trouble with that Ilvriss guy? Because if you are, I can talk to Zel—”

  “No, I can sort it out. I think.”

  Ryoka didn’t want to get Erin involved. She knew a bit about the Necromancer—Ryoka had told her in a moment of idiocy. But she couldn’t get Erin involved any more. Ryoka wasn’t sure how dangerous telling people about Az’kerash was, yet. So she wouldn’t tell Erin.

  There was a pang in Ryoka’s chest as she thought that. Wasn’t the key problem in every stupid B-grade film keeping secrets? Only, there were some secrets that needed to be kept.

  Even from friends? Ryoka cleared her throat and looked at Erin. Her friend. But how long had it been since they’d had a chance to talk? So much had happened…

  “Hey Erin, I know we haven’t gotten a chance to talk. I just wanted to say thanks…”

  Erin waved a hand at her, looking awkward.

  “Aw, don’t mention it. I heard an angry Drake was chasing you around the city with a sword, so I called in a few favors. We should talk—”

  “We should!”

  Ryoka wanted to say more, but someone—an angry Stitch-girl waving a mug—called Erin’s name and she had to rush off. Ryoka sank back into her seat. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned coming back. All she wanted to do was talk to Erin for a bit, but now here came…

  “Ksmvr?”

  It was still hard for Ryoka to tell the Antinium apart, but Ksmvr’s lack of a third arm helped in identifying him.

  “Good evening Miss Ryoka Griffin. I am here to politely inquire about the magical items my party loaned you for the purposes of identification. I am not seeking this knowledge in an avaricious way; merely in order to assist and participate in my adventuring group’s success.”

  Ryoka stared at him. She put her head in her hands. Ksmvr stared at her and then at her french fries.

  “Are you eating that?”

  —-

  “Dead gods.”

  “Tree rot.”

  “Silver and steel.”

  “I lack an appropriate expression for this moment. Comrade Pisces, assist me with determining one.”

  “I think, wow is probably all you need, Ksmvr.”

  Jelaqua Ivirith spoke drily as she peered over the shoulder of Ceria. The other Horns of Hammerad were frozen as they stared at the pile of weapons, armor, and other magical artifacts Ryoka had taken from her bag of holding and piled on the table. The other Gold-rank adventurers in the room were watching from a respectable distance, pretending to eat. But they couldn’t take their eyes off the sparkling treasure any more than Erin could.

  “Look at it all. There’s a pair of vambraces, swords—”

  “A magical robe, a wand—no, two wands, and a spellbook—”

  Ceria was gingerly touching the artifacts as if they might explode. She held up a spellbook, the color bright yellow and inscribed the dark outline of some kind of bird in flight. Pisces picked up one of the rings and stared at a second sword with a frown.

  “That wasn’t one of the items we recovered. Was it in the bag of holding?”

  “Was all of this in the bag of holding?”

  Ceria turned to Ryoka, wide-eyed. The Runner girl stood with her hands in her pockets, smiling awkwardly at the other’s dumbfounded expressions. Mrsha reached for the dagger and Lyonette grabbed her. Ivolethe did the same until Erin lured her away with a bowl full of raw meat and honey.

  “There’s no way. Look at all these items! There’s equipment for me, Pisces, Yvlon—there’s equipment for everyone!”

  “Amazing.”

  Yvlon picked up the buckler and stared at the faint scar, the seam of metal almost invisibly merged together. She tapped the buckler and nearly dropped it when a transparent, shimmering field extended from the sides of the buckler, creating a second shield that overlapped the first, creating a magical barrier in the air.

  “I note these swords are not reacting despite their apparent enchantments. May I hold both, or will I burst into flame and die in excruciating agony?”

  Ksmvr stared at Ryoka. His words created a momentary hush before Ryoka recovered her tongue.

  “It’s fine, Ksmvr.”

  “Ah, the enchantments do not conflict?”

  She shook her head.

  “Some of it is lower-grade stuff, but it’s all compatible or so I’m told. That’s the real benefit here. An expert [Enchanter] did the matching up so you should be able to equip any combination of items without the enchantments clashing.”

  “Dead gods.”

  Ceria breathed the words out. Her hands were shaking. Erin could understand her emotions.

  “I thought you could only use one or two artifacts or else they’d combine and explode!”

  “Only if the enchantments are poorly woven. But if an expert in the field were to select quality pieces, an adventurer may wear a large variety of enchanted items.”

  Typhenous remarked as he studied the ring Pisces had picked up with unconcealed envy. Ulrien nodded.

  “That’s a service a lot of Gold-rank adventurers and Named Adventurers pay for. Your group is exceptionally lucky.”

  “But how? I’m sure this all wasn’t in the bag of holding—”

  Ceria turned to Ryoka, looking bewildered. Ryoka took a deep breath. This was the part she’d been worried about.

  “I had to sell one of the items from the bag. It was valuable. Really valuable. The [Enchanter] I talked to agreed to exchange all of this for the item. He also says he owes you a favor you can call in at any time.”

  Everyone went silent at the news. Yvlon glanced at Ceria and Ksmvr scratched at one antennae. At last, Seborn broke the silence. He and Moore were staring at one of the rings Pisces was holding with a frown.

  “It must have been some item.”

  “Indeed.”

  Pisces’ eyes narrowed. He glanced at the array of magical items Hedault had found for Ryoka.

  “The fact that you refuse to tell us is indication alone of its worth. Why not reveal its nature…unless you think you made a poor deal? Or perhaps one better than the quality of arms represented here?”

  Ryoka frowned, feeling defensive and feeling that she shouldn’t feel defensive. She turned towards Pisces as Ceria and Yvlon stared at her.

  “I don’t want to tell you because if I did, you might have gotten into a fight about it. It was an item two of you could use, and only one of you could have.”

  Ceria and Pisces traded glances, while Ksmvr and Yvlon stared at each other. The Horns of Hammerad looked at Ryoka. Pisces’ tone was accusing.

  “So one of us could have used it to great effect—”

  “But only one of you. And it would have caused a huge fight, believe me.”

  “So you sold it without consulting us.”

  “Pisces!”

  Ceria snapped at Pisces, who’d folded his arms disapprovingly.

  “We agreed to let Ryoka decide what to do. If she says it was better to sell the artifact—”

  “Again, without consulting us. She might have let us know what it was, first.”

  “But then we’d fight, wouldn’t we?”

  Yvlon frowned at Pisces. She stared at the items, thinking aloud.

  “No matter what it was…I bet it would have caused issues, even if we decided whose it would be. How fair would it have been to split the loot afterwards? What if someone wanted to take it and abandon the team? I’ve seen groups torn apart over that before.”

  Ceria nodded slowly, and Ksmvr stared at Ceria before nodding energetically as well. Pisces blew out his cheeks, looking annoyed, but someone else voiced their agreement.

  “I’ve seen the same thing as well. It happ
ens all the time and it can lead to bloodshed when people fight over the best artifact.”

  Jelaqua crossed her arms as she sat at a table with Ulrien and Halrac. Both Gold-rank adventurers nodded as the Selphid spoke directly to Pisces.

  “I think you’d better thank your Runner friend here, Horns of Hammerad. She might have spared you an ugly argument.”

  Revi, Typhenous, Moore, and Seborn all murmured in agreement. Pisces looked around for support and found none. He sighed dramatically.

  “Very well. I suppose I must withdraw my issue. But let us at least find out what we paid for.”

  Ryoka smiled, feeling relieved and grateful towards the other adventurers.

  “It’s worth it, believe me. Hedault—the guy who did all the appraising and buying—found some quality stuff for you.”

  She began to list out the items from memory, handing each one around as the Horns of Hammerad clustered around the table. They were practically shaking with excitement, and the other adventurers drew close, taking the item after the others were done with it and looking it over and talking softly. Erin and Lyonette got a chance to investigate the artifacts too, although Mrsha was banned from touching, much to the Gnoll’s quiet grievance.

  “The biggest items are the sword with the weight enchantment, the Flamespread Dagger, the Forceshield Buckler, the [Barkskin] ring, the Ring of Jumping…and the ring that shoots the attack spell. There are a few potions and the bag of glowing stones and monster lure…”

  Ryoka showed the Horns of Hammerad the ball with the angry face. Mrsha leapt up onto the table to touch it. It began shrieking and scared Mrsha so badly she fled into the kitchen, crying, until Lyonette went to cuddle her and pour a bit of healing potion into her sensitive ears.

  “Ow. Okay, so that’s the stuff we recovered. What’s the rest of this?”

  Ceria rubbed at her own ears. Ryoka smiled.

  “Nothing too good according to Hedault, which means decent protective enchantments on all the gear. Yvlon—you’ve already got the chest plate, right. I have the vambraces and greaves for you…a helmet as well, and there’s gauntlets somewhere…”

  “How strong are the enchantments?”

  Erin remarked with interest as she peered at the plain steel gauntlets Yvlon was trying on. The woman winced as she struck part of the metal in her skin with the edge. Jelaqua struck the chest plate with the head of her flail experimentally and nodded in approval.