by R. A. Mejia
Once we were done, the goblins followed me out of the merchant’s guild where we found the Divas waiting for us with big smiles on their faces. Devena ran up to me and excitedly said, “We’ve never made such a good profit from a day of mining before. What did you do to that ore?”
Dannie nodded her red-haired head and added, “Yes, the assessor said she’d never seen such pure tin before and gave us thirty-five copper a pound without even negotiating. We normally only get fifteen or twenty per pound for the raw tin ore.”
I hit my faceplate with the back of my hand, frustrated that they’d gotten a better price. Yet, as I saw the two dwarven women looking up at me, I knew that I needed to say something. “It's just another aspect of my class. Special skills and all. Some fight well, others mine well, and I can break down that ore into good metal.”
The ladies accepted my explanation without comment and both groups enjoyed their good fortune. A tall human woman from the Divas group even picked up Manny and spun him around and said, “Little goblin! We made a bet if you recall. How much ore did your group mine today?”
I recalled the bet of beers and food to the group that mined the most. When Manny answered, the Divas cheered loudly, and I realized that they’d won the bet. I’d known they would with their miner’s higher level and skills, but it was an easy way to make the mining more fun. Still, the goblins did not look sad at having lost the bet, and Greebo loudly invited all the Divas to come to his favorite bar for drinks and food. The ladies agreed and everyone walked through the crowds towards the Tipsy Minotaur.
As we traveled, I worried slightly at the reaction of the locals to a group of humans and dwarves walking through their neighborhood. The group got many curious looks from the goblins, trolls, and other denizens of the Northern District, but only a few looks of outright hostility. But we all made it to the Tipsy Minotaur and as Greebo opened the door, he was greeted by the normal patrons.
“Greebo!” They shouted, raising their mugs as he and the rest of the goblin miners and fighters walked through the door. When the dwarves and humans followed after, the room became eerily quiet and all eyes stared at the Divas. The Diva miners looked around nervously while Dannie and Devena’s hands rested on their weapons.
Chairs scraped against the floor as a group of trolls in the back of the room stood up from their table, and I heard whispered words, “What are them lighties doing here?”
I thought for sure there would be a fight, but Greebo climbed up onto the bar, raised his hands, and shouted, “I would like to introduce my close and personal friends to you lot! These are the finest ladies I’ve met and are among the best fighters and miners that I’ve had the pleasure of working with and I’m treating them to a round of beer.” His right hand dropped to the short sword at his waist, and he continued, “And as the new owner of this here establishment, I’m also expecting each of you to treat them with the respect they deserve as my guests.” There were a few grumbles from the crowd, but Greebo quickly added, “But of course, you won’t do it dry. The next round of drinks is on the house!”
A cheer went up from everyone at those words, even from the trolls, and the tension that had been building seemed to diffuse as patrons headed to the bar for their free drinks. The Divas, who had been standing together near the door, were pulled toward a group of tables by Innie, Meanie, Minnie, and Moe. They received polite nods and greetings from the patrons they passed and everyone sat down with a sigh of relief. Greebo joined us a few minutes later, having had to wade through a crowd of happy bar patrons.
As soon as he sat down, Gnarry, the goblin waitress with her spiky red hair and ample bosom visible in her low-cut top, arrived with a tray of beers and a scowl. She slammed each mug down in front of the Divas and practically spilled an entire drink as she slammed one down in front of Greebo. “Oh, these humans and dwarves are the finest women you’ve seen?”
Greebo was caught off guard by the obvious jealousy and wiped the beer that had spilled on him as he stuttered, “Gnarry… sweetie … baby.” She turned her back to him and she passed around the rest of the beers and then stomped away to get more for the table. Greebo turned to me, his eyes wide, and asked, “What did I say that was so wrong? I just didn’t want a fight to break out for bringing the Divas here.”
The Divas all laughed at his words as they knocked back their beers. The goblins looked impressed that they could drink so quickly and hurried to match their pace. Devena punched Greebo in the shoulder playfully and said, “That waitress your lady?”
Greebo thought about it and shrugged. “Sort of. We ain’t exactly said nothing about being exclusive or anything, but yeah.”
Devena shook her head and continued, “How do you think it makes her feel? You standing up for us and calling us the finest ladies you’ve met after spending all day with us?”
All of the goblins looked at each other with confused expressions, and the Divas all laughed again. There were shouts of ‘that’s why these guys aren’t married!’ and ‘no wonder they’re single’ and ‘the poor fool’ from the ladies but Devena shushed them all as Gnarry returned with another tray full of beer. Devena dropped down from her seat, her chainmail jingling, as Gnarry reached the table, still frowning. Devena looked the chesty goblin in the eyes, smiled, and said, “So, you’re the beautiful Gnarry that Greebo has been talking about all day? I see why he refused any of my loud and uncouth ladies. He said you were a sight to behold and that no other woman could hold a candle to you, but I didn’t believe him until now.” Devena turned to Greebo and said, “Congratulations on having such a fine looking woman. I can only hope to have such a fine mate as you one day.”
Gnarry looked from Devena to Greebo, a widening smile appearing on her face as Devena spoke. At the end of Devena’s speech, Gnarry practically threw the tray of beers on our table and tackled the sitting Greebo. The two fell to the floor with Gnarry kissing and hugging a surprised Greebo. “Is what the ugly dwarf lady says true? Do you really think I’m the prettiest and that I’m your woman?”
A surprised Greebo only nodded, the kisses stopping him from saying anything. Gnarry squealed in delight and got back to her feet and tried to fix her hair and put all the dangling parts of her body back in her skirt and top. She gave one last kiss to Greebo before walking away with a bounce in her step.
Greebo stared at her as she left, then smiled at Devena and said, “I’m not sure what you did, but thanks. Another round on me!” The entire group cheered again and spent the remainder of the evening drinking and eating.
The alcohol and food flowed freely through the bar. Goblin-made pub food seemed to be a specialty and I saw: fricassee Moleikin, spicy Salamander tongue served with a sliced fried potato-like plant, and diced Cactucus mixed with pink meat and served with bread. The human members of the Diva group blanched at some of the dishes, but the dwarves gobbled up everything with relish.
The earlier tensions were forgotten, and everyone had a good time. The goblins, dwarves, and humans in our group bonded as they recounted the trials of the day and told their own stories. The dwarven women appreciated the drinking ability of the goblins and even thought the goblin moonshine was tasty if not quite as good as some of the dwarven spirits they’d had.
The group even played some drinking games. Some I'd seen before, like saying something you’d done and anyone that hadn’t had to take a shot or trying to land a coin in a shot glass. But the goblins, dwarves, and humans each had unique games too. The goblins had a game where they whispered something rude or vulgar or shocking into someone else’s ear. If the listener could keep a serious expression on their face, they win and the whisper loses, but if they laughed or couldn’t keep serious, they lost. Devena and Dannie introduced a game where they drank an entire mug of ale and then charged at each other from opposite sides of the room, slamming their bodies into each other. The dwarf that kept her feet won and got to take another drink of ale. The human women from Diva’s group had their own game that involved drin
king a mug of ale, spinning, and then trying to pick up a jar of pickled Squirrel feet with their teeth. I wasn’t sure if it was a penalty or a reward to eat the Squirrel feet after, but everyone seemed to be having fun.
It was fun to watch but part of me also felt distant from everyone. They ate fried foods, drank alcohol, and caroused drunkenly and I could do none of those things. Still, I was among friends and had as much fun as I could.
Late into the night, as the bar started to empty, Greebo pulled me aside to a corner of the room and asked, “How are you doing Bolts? You having a good time?”
I patted my tipsy friend on the back and nodded my head. “Yes. I’m having a grand time.”
“Good, good,” He said, a slight slur to his words. “I didn’t want you to be upset after today.”
“You mean the fight with the condors? No, we lived through that, and I have some ideas about how to make sure we can fight better.”
He shook his head. “No! ‘Bout the thieves that stole all our stuff. I know you liked those crystals a lot and how rare they are. Sorry those thugs stole them from you.” His expression darkened and he added, “Can’t believe the rumors were true, that a Scavenger helped rob us. I’m gonna find out who in the guild has turned to robbery and make sure he pays for it!”
It took me a moment to recall the ‘rumors’ he was referencing and remember the conversation we’d had outside that weapons shop before my impromptu date with Niala. “So, those were the rumors you’d meant?” He nodded angrily, and I continued, “You sure this is connected? Yeah, I saw the backpack and how it got bigger as he stuffed all of our loot into it. But someone else could have that kind of bag. It doesn’t have to be your guild.”
“That bag had the mark of the Scavenger’s guild too. It's the same kind I have.” He pointed to the bag that he’d dropped under our table, and I saw a small image of the profile of a raven in a circle embossed on the leather of his bag.
“So, what? Someone in the guild is a thief?”
He threw his mug to the ground angrily, splashing beer over us. “Yes. And it burns me up to know it. My father did not start the guild to have us become thieves. He started it to give us a way to use our skills at stealth to make an honorable living. Taking extra from the things others discarded or carrying more than any other so that everyone in the group made more coin.” His expression dulled for a moment as he tried to take another drink from his empty hand. He seemed surprised that the mug was gone and looked around sleepy-eyed and confused.
“I’m getting tired, Bolts. I know you don’t sleep but the rest of us do. I’m going to put my head down for a while.” He staggered away then sat in a chair and was quickly snoring as his head hit the wooden table.
I shook my head looking around the room at the rest of the patrons that had mostly fallen asleep too. The Divas were no exception, and they were all slumped in a corner of the room, snoring peacefully.
I did not know where any of the Divas lived and the goblins around them would take forever to carry to their apartment. Gnarry must have guessed my thoughts though because she came up to me and put a hand on my arm, and said, “Why don’t you go home, Repair? These guys can sleep here tonight. Angus will watch over them and make sure no one tries to rob anyone.”
The minotaur bouncer, Angus, in the corner snorted once in agreement and crossed his arms. I shrugged. No one would bother the sleeping patrons with Angus watching them, and I still had to finish the repairs to my internal parts. I left the bar and heard the doors lock behind me then walked back to the Institute.
Chapter 27 - Explanations
It was a lonely walk back to the Institute. The magically powered lights gave the streets a shiny glow as a light bit of drizzle came down. The city was in that quiet time between the end of one day and the start of the next. It would be several hours before anyone rose from their beds for even the earliest of starts, and the only people out in the light rain were a few constables, whose job it was to patrol the streets. I was stopped only once as I entered the wealthier district, but I was released after showing the I.D. plate that identified me as belonging to the Gnomish Research Institute.
As I walked up to the Institute’s gates, I spotted two figures in the shadows of the gate archway and slowed. Having recently been robbed in the dungeon, I was wary of hidden figures.
One of the figures stepped out from under the archway, and held out a hand, “Hold and identify yourself!”
I stopped and chuckled in relief. It was one of the gnome guards. I’d been ready to summon my Flintlock Rifle and blow whomever I thought might rob me away, and it had just been one of the guards. I shook my head at my paranoia, swung my backpack off my shoulders, and reached into the pocket to get my I.D. plate and said, “I’m Repair.”
But before I could fish out my I.D. from the pack, a familiar female voice said, “This is the Metalman I told you about, Rosie. The researchers repaired and revived him.”
The other figure stepped out into the street lights, and I recognized Niala Applebrush. We hadn’t spoken since our last date at that restaurant that served the spicy Salamander soup. My hands made the thumbs-up gesture as I recalled the way she looked out of uniform that night in a long-sleeve dress that had given her an exaggerated hourglass figure. You wouldn’t know it when she was wearing her helmet, but she had beautiful, dark curly hair that contrasted wonderfully against her light skin and freckles.
“Oh, yes. The one that I saw you kissing at our doorway?” the other gnome guard asked with a wide smile while wiggling her eyebrows at Niala suggestively.
Even in the light of the streetlamps, I could see Niala blush. She turned to me and said, “Rosie is one of my roommates and a terrible busybody.”
In contrast to Niala’s dark hair and curvy figure, Rosie was thin and blonde. She said to me, “Well, I’ve been trying to get Niala here to go out on a date for months. I’m just glad she’s out there with someone.”
“Well, I’m glad that I qualify as someone,” I said with a chuckle.
Niala smiled flirtatiously and said to me, “You’re more than someone…” She didn’t finish her sentence, and her smile was replaced with a concerned expression as she finally took a step closer and was able to see me more clearly. “What happened to you, Repair?” she asked quietly. Her gauntleted hands reached out and touched the cracks and scorch marks on the iron plates that covered my body. I didn’t push her hands away as they gently touched me, but a cough from the other guard reminded Niala we were not alone, and she quickly withdrew her hands.
Niala asked again, “What happened to you, Repair?”
Niala’s hand gripped the sword at her hip when I mentioned the all-woman mining team, but otherwise, she was silent as I described the day’s adventures in the dungeon, the mining, the various monsters we’d faced, the explosive results of using my new weapon, and ending with the night of drinking at the Tipsy Minotaur.
“Is this ‘Rifle’ the new tool you said you’d been working on? The one that would double the damage you did?”
I paused for a fraction of a second and considered lying to the Institute guard. But no, from what she’d told me of her life, Niala was almost as much of a prisoner as I was to the Institute. She depended on the steady income she got from the job to help her parents pay for their medicine and for their farm. She could no more leave the Institute than I could. We were alike in that way, and I felt like I could trust her.
I put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Yes, it’s the weapon I’ve been working on, and it’s already proven a huge advancement over anything else I’ve seen in the city. Combined with a few plans I’ve yet to work out completely, I think it gives me a real shot at reaching level eight by the deadline.”
She looked up at me and gave me a smile that filled me with warmth, and there was a look of pride in her eyes--like my success was hers. She touched the hand I had on her shoulder briefly before stepping aside to let me into the Institute, “Then I won’t keep you any longer
from your work. I’m glad that you’re well and hope that you reach your goals.” Then, as I passed, she added more softly, “When you reach level eight, perhaps we can go out together for an entire night to celebrate?”
I stopped and turned to her. “I’d really like that, Niala. It’ll be one more reason to make that deadline.” I think I saw her blush at my words, but she turned her back to me, resuming her place guarding the front entrance to the Gnomish Research Institute.
