Dragon Hero II: Bounty of the Blood Witch

by C Woodward

  Lugging the leftover meat, I replied, “We have a decent amount to last until we reach Golashe.”

  Talestria sighed, “I guess things are too expensive here anyway. Will you be taking Alpo?”

  I laughed at the name, “I am not sure, but might be a good idea.”

  Talestria shrugged, “What is so funny with that name?”

  I shook my head, “I will tell you another time.” Kalus was happy to see us, and wanted to show us what he had written. Talestria started to read it as he began decreasing the leftover meat. “Dwarves might be a tad crude but this is quite good” he said as he stuffed himself. He had been eating just dried fruit earlier since he didn’t feel like venturing out of his room. While wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, Kalus asked, “How do you like it Talestria?”

  Talestria smiled, “I like it. I can’t wait to read it when you get done.” Kalus grinned, “Glad you approve. How did things go with King Wotmire?” Talestria looked at me and then walked out of the room. Kalus stared after her and then looked at me, “Oh, did I say something that I shouldn’t?”

  I sat down and let out a long sigh, “No, I found a lead in Vunash and plan to leave tomorrow.”

  Kalus glanced out the door, “That isn’t bad news, why is she so upset?”

  I looked out the door, “She is staying here to be safe.”

  Kalus cringed a little, “Well, that makes sense then.” I excused myself and let Kalus finish his meal and go back to his writing. Slowly I opened the door to our room. She was mad and I knew it. As soon as I opened the door she grabbed me and locked the door behind us.

  That evening, Talestria and I took a stroll out in the city. We took our carriage and looking for anything of interest. “What time are you and Kalus leaving tomorrow?” Talestria asked while cleaning her nose. Earlier today, I decided that sometime I needed to have that talk with her about some of her habits, but didn’t want to bother now with such petty things. I tried to make a mental note of where we were going so we’d find our way back. We didn’t see too much traffic. The streets were well lit, but it still was difficult to see and I had no clue where we were going.

  Talestria asked me something that usually happens to every married guy, “Why don’t you ask for directions?”

  I paused for a moment, recalling how many times I had seen this go wrong, “Sure.”

  We found two dwarves dragging around a pushcart. I stopped Alpo and asked, “Excuse me, do you fellows know a nice, fancy place to eat at this hour?” The two dwarves looked at each other, “Down the block a ways there is a place I take my wife for our anniversary or when I get into big trouble with her.”

  The other dwarf laughed, “It is a bit pricy but nothing stops an angry woman better!”

  I just smiled at their humor while Talestria chimed in, “Let’s go!” I thanked the two and started the carriage again.

  I looked at Talestria, “Are you sure you are not mad at me?” We followed the directions given us. The restaurant was well lit and one of the few places that held colorful plants. I found there was a dwarf outside to just take care of your horse for you. Must have a nice place for valet parking, it seemed rather funny and I almost felt like I should hand him a set of keys. I helped Talestria down and the dwarf came walking up. Poor guy; he tried his best to not be fazed by our presence but he ended up wincing to not look so surprised. I thanked the dwarf and try to get out of his view to give his face a break.

  Talestria put an arm around me and gave me a big smile as we walked inside. There was music playing. We couldn’t see the source of it but it sounded a little classy. A dwarf woman greeted us. She greeted us with a cheerful and warm expression but then her jaw nearly dropped. Talestria looked around and asked, “Can we get a nice quiet spot?” She pointed to a booth with a sliding curtain. After Talestria nodded, she guided us toward the private booth.

  I couldn’t believe the prices! I wasn’t even sure what some of the stuff was but it cost enough for one meal to get several days rations. Talestria bit her lower lip while trying to make a decision. “What are you getting?” she asked while flipping through the menu to see if there are more items. I shrugged, “I don’t even know half of what is in here.” She giggled. “I think I know what I am getting but this looks good as well. Hey, how about you order this and I’ll order that and we can share each other’s meal?” she said cheerfully while waving franticly for a waiter.

  The waiter walked toward us carrying a small notebook. “Oh, hi! Um… I will get one of these and he will have this.” The dwarf wrote down what she said. Talestria pointed at something on the menu, “Um, what is King’s Cider?” “It is the King’s favorite drink, and our specialty.” Talestria looked excited, “Oh! I’ll have one.” The waiter looked at me. I shrugged, “I’ll just have some water.” I didn’t want to rack up the bill any higher. I still had no clue what we would be eating.

  The food arrived and it was quite impressive. There was a soup that tasted a little buttery and slightly sweet. My meal was strips of smoked fish fillets with fried potatoes and something that looked like shrimp. Talestria had some fancy cuts of grilled meat with a healthy dose of what I hope was onions with peppers. The waiter also poured some of the cider into a tall goblet for Talestria. Talestria took a big sniff at her food and flashed a big grin. The food was great! Talestria took what she wanted from my plate like a hungry child. I countered and took a piece of meat and some vegetables from hers. I was glad there was a curtain to hide our poor eating habits. Talestria sipped a bit of her cider and her eyes widened, “Mmm, this is pretty good.” It felt like a perfect meal and it should put her in a good mood.

  “This cider is great!” Talestria told me for the fourth time. Each time she got a bit more spirited which made me assumed there was something else in the drink. I personally never saw the appeal of spirits. I recalled the time Jerak was hammered and called out a very angry Minotaur who then chased me down. I barely came out alive, ending up with a dislocated arm. My shoulder aches just remembering that. Talestria took the bottle placed near her goblet and begin to drink from that.

  “Um, sweetie? I don’t think you should drink that much,” I said and reached for the bottle. She already swigged most if the contents and just made a face at me, “Bug off!” I let out a big sigh as she finished it and then recalled a conversation I had with her about a month ago. She told me that she didn’t care for anything strong drink since she had little tolerance for it. As soon as I remembered that I really began to worry.

  I’d like to say I know a good deal about my wife but I wasn’t prepared for this. She gave me a sinister grin and said, “Hey, you and I should go and…” The waiter came through the curtain as she finished that sentence. Of course, he didn’t expect that. Heaven knows I didn’t. He looked at me and handed me the bill then quickly disappeared. I glanced at the bill and could only think of a four letter word to best describe it but I dared not utter it.

  “Look at me when I am talking to you,” Talestria sternly spoke while nearly on the table to lean close to me. I was speechless and tried to distract myself by grabbing her purse to retrieve money for the bill. Talestria was franticly rubbing my hair while I counted the correct amount plus a tip. The only thing I could think to do was take her out of there before she made a scene. She was laughing as I lead her to the front of the restaurant as if she heard some really funny joke. I handed a woman the bill and the money. Everyone was staring at us. How much liquor was in that cider?

  Talestria was able to walk well enough which might be a good sign, although she had her mind on other things. I guided her into the carriage once the valet came with it. I offered a tip but the dwarf said that they don’t accept tips. Good, since the meal pretty much depleted our funds. Talestria leaned over the other side of the carriage with her rear up in the air and started to laugh. The dwarf walked away and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was now sorry about not taking a tip. I do think from the view he had, he got a good enough tip. His view would
have been better if only he was taller. I climbed up and tried to get Talestria to sit up straight. Unfortunately, she was already trying to detoxify herself.

  The ride back was a pretty quiet. Talestria started to sober up a little which was good but, she felt really depressed. “I should have known they put spirits in it,” She said before letting out a big belch. Her hair looked a bit of a mess and she tried to fix it the best she could.

  “So, is that why you don’t drink that sort of stuff?” I asked while trying to find our way back to inn. I swear they need to post a map at every block with an icon that says “You are here.”

  Talestria reached for her little mirror and tried to gather her wits. “I am feeling a little better but I have sort of lost the taste of our dinner” she muttered while examining herself in the mirror. That was a pity since dinner was good but, I might have enjoyed it a bit more if it was cheaper, although it was her money and not mine. Maybe I am a cheapskate. Oh well, it seemed that’s what Talestria had wanted.

  Talestria’s head was in better shape by the time we found the inn. I know I got lost for a good period of time but, it gave her time to sober up. Alpo found his home in the stables while Talestria and I walked back to the inn. It was pretty late and the only person awake was the dwarf woman reading a book behind the desk. She waved without taking her eyes from her book.

  Talestria giggled as we walked through the halls. Kalus’ room was dark so he must have gone to sleep. Talestria took out our room key and unlocked the door. She let out a little burp and made her way in. I walked in almost half-expecting an attack but, nothing. She plopped herself on the bed and closed her eyes. I let out a sigh and took off my armor. I guess we are going to have a peaceful night. I laid the armor down and went into the bathroom. The little chain flushing mechanism made me a bit homesick.

  I walked out of the bathroom and Talestria was missing. I glanced around the room and saw the front door wide open. I ran to the open door way. I didn’t see her. Where did she go? Before I got out the door, it shut in front of me. She had been hiding behind the opened door. She latched the door and displaying nothing but a sinister grin. I froze there just before she pounced on me.

  I woke up to knocking on the door. The muffled voice belonged to Kalus, “Teltar is here and is wondering if you are ready to leave yet.” I got up slowly and started to gather my things. I felt sore all over. I won’t get into any details, but Talestria tried to make up for lost time. She was snoring, now face down on her pillow. I quickly tried to put my armor on.

  Talestria muttered, “I am going to miss you.” I walked over. She wasn’t in any mood to get out of bed.

  I just gave her a kiss and whispered, “I love you.” She muttered the same words back, closed her eyes and went back to sleep. I smiled and walked out the door. Kalus peeked around me and chuckled to himself.

  Teltar was further down the hall, waiting for me. He muttered, “It is almost noon and we should get going if we want to gain any ground. Outside, we retrieved the carriage. Teltar figured we would bring it so he brought his own mount, which was called a dwarven pony. The horse was pretty much bred for the dwarves. It was short and stocky. I doubt they were made to be fast but rather to be strong work horses. Kalus and I hopped on the carriage and followed Teltar out.

  “I didn’t know you rode a horse, Teltar” I said as we left the inn. Teltar muttered back, “Yeah, any high-ranking soldier has to learn to ride.” I looked back at the inn. I would miss Talestria. Hopefully, I’ll see her soon and hopefully our next trip will be back home.

  Teltar rode to the side of us, “So, we are heading to Vunash?”

  I nodded, “Yes. Wotmire told me the man who is likely after me is in Vunash.”

  Teltar stared at me, “You know we would be in trouble for calling our King just by his name like that.”

  “He told me to call him that!” I laughed

  Teltar shrugged, “Alright, then, I guess it is fine that you call him that.” He wasn’t even going to bother questioning it. The carriage took us outside of the city complex. We stopped to look back on the city. Teltar pointed, “We just stay on the road and should arrive late tomorrow.”

  Kalus let out a big yawn, “I didn’t get any sleep last night.”

  I looked at him, “We thought you were asleep in your room when got home.”

  Kalus looked at me, “I was, but you two were so loud last night you kept me up!”

  I looked away and laughed, “Ah, sorry about that.” Kalus gave a friendly punch to my shoulder, “No worries! I understand you and your woman were giving each other a great big farewell before your journey!” Teltar rolled his eyes and rode a little faster.

  Kalus put his hand by my neck as if he was inspecting something. I glanced at him, “What is it?”

  Kalus stared then sat back and laughed, “You have bite marks!” I put my hand on my neck and recalled the previous night. I didn’t say a single word.

  Kalus laughed, “I knew she has a fiery temper but seems she uses her fiery spirit in other things as well!” I blushed a little and stared straight at the road. Yup, I am going to miss her.

  Chapter 4

  As soon we left the stone walls surrounding the gateway of the road, Kalus took out his lute and begin to play. He felt more secure now that we were leaving the dwarven city. No one had made any threats to him in Trawlast but an elf in the dwarven capital never felt very welcome.

  “Trawlast isn’t a bad place.” Kalus stated as he tuned his lute. He tightened a string and plunked a string. “It wouldn’t kill them to add some hanging gardens or something.” Teltar let out a low grunt but didn’t say a word.

  Kalus smiled, “Oh, don’t mind me, Trawlast is a wonderful place” he muttered under his breath, out of Teltar’s hearing range, “If you are a dwarf.” I put on my helmet so I could smile without Teltar taking notice. Kalus sighed, “So did Talestria supply you with any funds for our journey?” Oh crap, there’s always something I forget.

  Kalus took notice of my reaction, “I have some money, but only enough to last for a short while. I might make more by entertaining.”

  Teltar spoke, “Entertaining? You might not make much in Golashe.”

  Kalus sighed, “You might be right. Dwarves don’t seem very big into the arts.”

  Teltar replied in a confused tone, “Arts? Strumming on a lute is art?”

  Kalus quickly reacted, “Music is art! It might not be a piece of stone or metal and it takes something more than a simple mind to appreciate it!”

  Teltar looked at him, surprised that it angered him, “I always thought it was just a means to play and have fun. I didn’t know it was something to get excited about.” Kalus looked forward again and started muttering under his breath. I looked at both of them and shrugged, “So, Teltar, how do you like being a captain?” We rode past the countryside and stopped at a small inn. The inn seemed to be more outfitted for feeding travelers than for offering beds. I felt bad not having any money, so Teltar offered to buy us each a bowl of stew. The stew was a bit bland and Kalus a bottle of some kind of sauce and started to pour into his stew. Teltar watched him. “Blake, you can pay me back later.” I grabbed the bottle and poured some in to taste. The sauce was a bit savory and spicy. Kalus poured in a ton. Teltar and I stopped and watched Kalus eat his stew. Neither of us wanted to say anything but waited to see the aftermath. Teltar just shook his head as Kalus took a big mouthful. Seconds later he jumped out of his chair to get more water. I tried not to laugh, Teltar just shook his head, “That was stupid.”

  After our interesting lunch, we started back on the road. We felt pretty safe since we saw plenty of travelers including dwarven soldiers. I let Kalus take the reins as I made an inventory of the supplies. We had a few containers of dried meat, no more dried fruit, and some tiny linen sacks of dried goods requiring the means to boil water, which I lack. The meat will tide us over until we reach Golashe but we didn’t have much left. I did found a few copper coins. I counted the
m and should have two left after paying back Teltar. I waved for Teltar to get closer. He questioned me, “What is it?”

  I smiled from under my helmet, “Here, now I don’t owe you,” and handed him the few coins. He grabbed them and shoved them in a coin pouch, “Thanks, but won’t you need to buy more supplies?”

  I shrugged, “I have a few left over but maybe I can make money by entertaining!”

  Kalus scoffed, “Very funny!”

  “I am just messing with you Kalus,” I assured him. Teltar cracked a smile and kept his attention on the road.

  The rest of the journey that day was mind-numbing. Kalus played a bit on his lute but didn’t sing. He spoke quietly to himself as he thumbed through his notes. Teltar was quiet but that was expected. I missed Talestria already. I was so used to having her with me all the time. Even when we were at home, the longest I’ve gone without seeing her was when I traveled to Silmuth to run errands for her which lasted most of the day. I’m still worried about her. I’m glad she’ll have a new project to keep her busy while I am away. She should be quite safe in Trawlast. The Blood Witch is most likely just after me, I hope.

  The sun was setting and we saw a large cluster of trees on the left side of the road. There was a small crossroad leading to the trees and a sign. It was too dark to make it out. Teltar mentioned as he saw that I was staring at the sign, “That is the lumber fields.”

  Kalus glanced at it, “A bit odd that you dwarves grow your own forest just to chop it down and grow it all over again.”

  Teltar replied, “We grow trees to use as lumber; nothing wrong with that. It is like a crop.” Kalus chuckled and went back to strumming away on his lute. We camped to the side of the road. Teltar told me that there shouldn’t be any chogul problems here. Since the raids stopped, there were more patrols in the area which was good, because I was in no mood to sleep in my armor again. The armor might look cool and can be very handy in battle but it’s heavy and under the sun it’s hot as heck. At night, the armor leave me sore if I have to sleep in it.