“Gods above, girl! What have you been doing in those things?” Kethas asks her.
“I went hunting,” Emlyn replies blandly, and Benger smirks, since it was the bandits that she’d been hunting.
“Come on, then,” Kethas says, leading her through the kitchen to the courtyard behind the inn. “I don’t have a circle marked, but we can use the whole courtyard.”
Kethas takes a grip on his quarterstaff and grins, “You ready to dance, girl?”
Grinning back, Emlyn nods, “Let’s see what you have, old man.”
Kethas laughs while Benger and Atres look amused.
Emlyn rolls her shoulders, preparing herself, when Kethas lunges suddenly with the quarterstaff. Emlyn side-steps the lunge and makes one of her own with the blunted blades, but Kethas lifts the staff into a sideways sweep. The sweep forces Emlyn to duck, so she tries to hook his foot, but finds that he’s too heavy and solid for her to be able to pull him from his feet.
“Nice try, girl,” Kethas grins, stabbing downward with the staff and forcing her to roll out of the way.
Rolling to her feet, Emlyn circles Kethas and seems to reach a decision. Eyes narrowing in concentration, Emlyn begins to dodge around him, probing with her swords while Kethas keeps his staff moving.
Finally, Emlyn manages to land a strike on Kethas, but the speed taxes her, and soon enough, she’s faltering, so Atres and Benger wade in to stop the bout. One of Emlyn’s knees starts to buckle, but Atres steps over to her and grabs her, pulling her into his side and keeping her on her feet, as she mumbles, and a blue nimbus rolls over her.
Grinning, Emlyn looks at Kethas, “Well done. I haven’t had anyone push me like that in a while.”
“You need to work on your physical condition,” Kethas advises her, “Leave the fighting for now and focus on getting stronger and having more endurance. Start with running. When you can run as far as you used to be able to, start adding bits of armor.”
“You’re doing better,” Benger tells her, “That was about twice as long as your bout with Urlin.”
“I’m still paying for those damn bandits,” Emlyn shrugs.
“It’s been a setback,” Benger agrees.
“How did you manage to underestimate them so badly?” Kethas asks.
“I didn’t know that I can’t sense my opponents when they’re hiding in a cave,” Emlyn frowns, “I didn’t realize hiding like that was even possible. I have learned a valuable lesson, but the price has been steep.”
“It seems to have something to do with the blind helms that she was trained with,” Benger explains, “She can sense them without having to see them.”
“Unless they’re in a cave,” Emlyn nods grimly.
Looking down at her, Atres grins, “Now that’s done, what else would you like to do with the rest of the day?”
“Are there any libraries or other archives here?” Emlyn asks.
“The Duke’s Palace,” Kethas shrugs, “That’s about the only other. Some of the other Temples might have a few things, but they don’t always like to share with competing sects. Even if they had something, they might not tell you.”
“I still need to go see Abato,” Emlyn shrugs, “He might know where to find Vadoma, and I’d like to see how that thing at the inn turned out. I’d like to know if I was right about that or not.”
Grimacing, Atres nods, “The Duke’s Palace it is.”
“What’s that grimace for?” Emlyn asks.
“He tried to sneak into your bath,” Benger frowns, “Going there is only going to encourage him. Who knows what he’ll try next time?”
“Nothing at all,” Emlyn says sunnily, “if he knows what’s good for him. Of course, I’d have to apologize profusely to the duke because I mistook his man for someone else. Depending on what sneaky thing he was trying to pull, I’m almost certain that I could pass off a good bit of retribution as an accident.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Kethas snorts and shakes his head.
“Besides,” Emlyn says, still smiling brightly, “if we go to the palace, I can leave word for Jessop and Dru as to what he gets up to when no one’s watching. I’m certain that his orders didn’t include sneaking into my bath.”
“Now that’s got a bit of teeth to it, girl,” Kethas nods, “Duke Arnet won’t like that one bit.”
Smirking, Atres nods, “Very well, lass, I concede your point. Let’s go see if the ducal archives have anything to say about our quarry.”
“I’ll need to go change first,” Emlyn says with a smirk of her own and flounces off.
Looking on, Kethas chuckles, Benger seems amused, and Atres looks confused. A little while later, Emlyn returns in Temple colors, wearing a red linen chemise topped with a heavily embroidered black outer dress fastened at each shoulder with a large brooch. A thick, embroidered woolen coat in dark grey is thrown over her arm, and she’s wearing her boots with daggers in them and her sword belt.
“Atres, my boy,” Kethas grins, “Abato’s in for it now. Now she really looks like she’s barely out of pig tails.”
Emlyn smiles at Kethas and nods. “Shall we go?” Emlyn says brightly.
“What’s your plan?” Atres says, “I’d like to know how to act when we get there.”
“Everyone keeps telling me how young I am,” Emlyn grins, “so I’m going to use that tactical advantage.”
“She’s going to make Abato look like an absolute pervert,” Benger chuckles, “I can’t say he doesn’t have it coming. You should have seen him on the staircase, calling out for the Radha to his Vishnu. The whole inn heard him.”
“Radha, eh?” Atres frowns, “Hmm… I think I like this even less.”
“I’ll leave a note with Jessop’s valet on the way out,” Emlyn shrugs, “We’re all going to see Abato. You can stand there and smile a lot. Mostly at me.”
Atres and Benger chuckle.
The trio arrives at the castle, and the guards promptly stop Emlyn. A page is called to escort her to Abato. Emlyn arrives at Abato’s basement lair, but when she goes to enter, the guards stop Atres and Benger.
Emlyn stops almost at once and calls out, “Abato.”
At the warning tone in her voice, Abato relents and waves the two men in with her.
“You can’t blame a man for trying,” Abato shrugs, “What brings the lovely and fearsome Nia to my door?”
“Tell me,” Emlyn says, “how well did I guess about the bandits?”
“That, my incandescent goddess,” Abato grins, “is quite the tale. You were spot on about nearly everything. The one thing you missed was just how long this little lordling had been running his nefarious little scheme. Quite a few of his erstwhile victims have been returned to their rightful demesnes, and we’re on the hunt for yet more of them.”
“What about the Tinker-Folk? Have you found any of them?” Emlyn asks.
“No,” Abato shrugs, “I’m sure that we will, eventually, but these things take time.”
“I’ll have the Temple keep hunting for the Tinker-Folk, then,” Emlyn says with a frown. “Do you happen to know where I might find a Tinker-Folk seer named Vadoma? Kaven is her husband and leads their caravan.”
“No,” Abato says with a curious look, “Did they steal something from you?”
“Nothing like that,” Emlyn shakes her head, “but if you happen to run across them, tell her that the girl who smells of god-magic, blood, and steel needs a word with her. If they’re coming anywhere within a day or two of Harito. I’ll ride out to meet them.”
“If we run across them,” Abato nods, “I’ll be sure to pass the message on. Is there anything else that brought you to my door?”
“I was hoping,” Emlyn says conspiratorially, “that you might be able to help me with some research. I can’t say what it’s for exactly, but I can tell you what I’m looking for information on.”
Emlyn hastily scratches out a list and hands it to Abato.
“What? No… Oh, no… Not this… They shouldn’t be sending you on this,” Abato looks up at Emlyn, alarmed. “This isn’t something you want to take on,” Abato tells her, eyes widening, “Don’t they realize? Didn’t they tell you?”
“I’m well aware what this thing is asking for in tribute,” Emlyn shrugs, “What am I to do? Hide in Harito while my cohort faces it without me? Or try to bring all of us through this unharmed?”
Abato waves the scrap of paper at her, “This is why you want to talk to the seer, isn’t it?”
Emlyn nods, and Abato sighs heavily.
“We will see if we can find them,” Abato grimaces, “but it’s often like looking for a needle in a pile of needles.”
“Unless you know of another seer who’s truly gifted,” Emlyn shrugs, “Vadoma is the only one I know of here who truly has the sight. Conventional sources haven’t been… helpful so far.”
Abato gives Emlyn a strange look, “There is one, but I don’t know if she’d talk to you. I will ask her, though, and let you know what she says.” Abato waves the scrap of paper at her again, “I don’t know if we’ll have anything on any of this, but I’ll have whatever we find sent to your Temple so long as you promise to return it.” He pauses for a moment, waiting for Emlyn to nod, “You walk a dangerous path, my incandescent goddess. Do be careful. I would hate to see your path cut short. You have already proven to be one of the most interesting people to arrive in Harito in a very long time. I’m quite looking forward to seeing just how interesting you become.”
Grinning at her, Abato shoos her out, “I never thought I’d chase you away, my incandescent goddess, but it seems that I must. Go… Off with you now. You’ve just given me a lot of extra work, and if I’m to carry out these tasks for you, my luminous one, I’ll need all the time I can get.”
“Fy lleidr bach,” Atres says as the three of them are leaving the duke’s palace, “since part of my surprise for you involves riding, did you want to go and change?”
“Yes,” Emlyn smiles up at him, “Thank you. I wouldn’t relish riding in this.”
Emlyn changes into her hunting outfit of leather pants and a leather jacket before the trio heads out with Benger still playing chaperone to fetch their horses. Snowflake isn’t overly pleased to have a second passenger, especially one of Atres’s size and weight, but the pace is slow, so the placid mare only flicks an ear occasionally. They reach the King’s Guard stables, and Atres retrieves his horse before leading the way down to the riverside docks.
The barge captain has arranged some of the crates to make a private sitting area, and the whole thing is strung with lanterns. Leading the way, Atres dismounts and takes his horse to the back of the barge and ties him with a bucket of water. Returning quickly, he finds Emlyn leading Snowflake down the same path and helps her settle the horse. Benger’s gelding wants none of the planks used to get onto the deck. Finally, Emlyn squeezes past him and smacks him on the rump, causing him to jump forward and then scramble aboard. With the horses settled in, the trio heads to the seating area, which is strewn with large cushions and low tables laden with food.
Boltir’s Atres Watch Current Count: 1 "Incandescent Goddess" comment noted and hated.
Observation: "Did you see that palace scene? Nia dresses up like a 'luminous star' to trick that snake Abato, and Atres just stands there 'smiling a lot' like he’s won the lottery. Then, to top it off, he sets up the barge with cushions and lanterns! He’s trying to overwhelm her with comfort so she forgets he doesn’t have a proper dwarven chin-curtain. I’m giving him a penalty for 'Excessive Use of Atmosphere.' He’s lucky Nia is more interested in training than in his cushions, or I’d be out of a job before I even get to the stage!"
Boltir’s Tip Jar Current Total: 21 coppers, a silver button, and Snips (the crab) is currently trying to duel a piece of roasted fowl he found in the bottom of the jar.
Boltir’s Plea: "Did you see Benger’s horse jump onto the deck because Nia smacked its rump? That’s the kind of chaotic energy I like! Toss a copper in the jar so I can buy Snips a tiny barge of his own and maybe he can intercept Atres’s boat and nip some ankles before the sun sets. Also, leave a review if you think Nia should have spent the evening training with her uncle instead of floating around with the 'Tall Obstacle'!"
Had an interesting vacation? Where did you go? Let me know in the comments.