Page 2 - Over the Bridge
Gusteau sighed. It was just rude at this point. It had been several hours and Old Jeremy still hadn’t arrived. The first hour had been lovely, Gusteau had been able to have a rest and stretch his back out to some degree. The second hour had been good for him to replace two of the bijous he’d used and exhausted one of his runes and packed it safely away. The third hour had passed quickly with an interesting discussion with Ana about the benefits of the plant-based magic in agricultural pursuits.
But now they were entering the fourth hour with nothing happening, Gusteau was getting itchy feet. He could only imagine how displeased Xolrun would be right now.
“Road has been quietening down recently, Gusteau.” Hoden observed. Hoden was standing at the steps of the porch not far from where Gusteau lay. Gusteau had become sick of the chair quite a while ago but had found solace in laying on his stomach on the stone floor of the porch.
Gusteau twisted around to have a look at the road. There was no one on the road where previously, there had consistently been one or two locals idly waiting at the dock. Now, the town had emptied with them being the only ones outside. Gusteau slowly got to his feet and stretched to and fro to limber up.
“So it seems. Hey Khlen,” Gusteau called out to Khlen who was laying in the sun on the lawn, “Mind cracking my back?”
Khlen nodded and wandered over. She hopped up and leapt up onto the porch gracefully and came in close next to him, “Go on, then. Turn around.” She asked him nice and close.
Gusteau’s heart fluttered and he stumbled over his words, “Well, if you, and if it’s ok with, yes yeah”
“Cross your arms.” She ordered gently and opened her arms out for him. Khlen was roughly the same height as Gusteau but she was built stocky and had strength beyond her size. She’d been a fighter since the day she was born she said and had the physique to show it.
Gusteau turned around and his arms were almost immediately pinned as he was lifted over Khlen’s head. A series of cracks followed as she shook him in the air. Euphoria swept over him with each crack.
“Ok, down down down.” Gusteau asked charily.
Khlen placed him down gently but held the hug for just a second longer than what Gusteau would deem fitting in a public place. That being said, he made no complaints.
“Ho,” Hoden called over to ruin their moment. Down the road was what Gusteau had been waiting for. Finally.
Down the road came ten of the thugs from the bridge, all armed to the teeth. It was nine humans and the biggest oruk that Gusteau had seen for a long time. The leader, Filette, was sauntering at the front with the hulking oruk at her side. When she spotted Gusteau and the others, she started beaming from ear to ear.
Gusteau ignored it and focussed on what was important. Two bows and three shields but one of the shields was on a literal child. No shield on the big guy and he was the only one with leather armour by the looks of it. Gusteau could work with that.
“Hoden on my left, Ana behind and Khlen,” Gusteau stopped when he saw she was already on his right. Hoden and Ana fell in without a word. Gusteau steadied his breath and waited for Filette to come into range.
“Well well well, who would’ve thought we’d meet again?” Filette called out to them from the gate at the road.
“Huh?” Gusteau called back. He motioned to his ear and tried to look confused.
Filette gave him a confused look right back and stayed at the gate. He waited for her patiently. She’d come to him.
“Are you serious?” she called back uncertainly. She hovered at the gate and eyed the four of them.
Sweat beaded on Gusteau’s head and he felt his heart in his throat. Just a bit closer would be perfect…
“He is getting older and he’s lost his hearing in his left ear from the wars,” Hoden explained for him. Dick, he wasn’t old. Gusteau turned to his left and then nodded slowly.
Filette sighed and turned to the big oruk. They exchanged a few words quietly but then began through the gate and onto the path.
Gusteau forced himself not to smile. They walked up the path blindly and delivered themselves right up to the bottom of the porch.
“Ah ah, hey, we don’t want any trouble,” Gusteau asked them abruptly. Filette stopped just shy of the porch and her thugs huddled in delightfully close behind.
Filette settled where she stood and smirked again. “Then you’ll be handing over that crate and any valuables you have.”
“Valuables makes sense but, trust me, you want nothing in that crate,” Gusteau told her honestly. He motioned back to the crate and continued before she could respond, “That crate has an owlbear cub. It would be a nightmare to fence to a trader that you’d meet on the road.”
There was no sense in hiding what it was. They’d never get to see the cub and Gusteau should probably at least try to haggle.
“I don’t think you quite understand the predicament you are in. Five of you and ten of us; we’ll be taking whatever we like.”
Gusteau’s eyes bulged when she said it but he saw no recognition on her face. He quickly adjusted his rings and put his hands up.
“You got me! Alright, we’ll give you the owl cub.” Gusteau said as he squinted.
Despite it still being a few hours before dusk, the porch and the garden lit up with a violent white light. The flash was so brutal that, even through Gusteau’s squinting eyes, he had spots in his vision. Filette and her gang had fared far worse.
Filette’s first reaction was to scream and she recoiled away from him. The rest of her friends did the same, with none of them prepared for anything but Gusteau’s immediate and unconditional surrender. Amateurs.
Gusteau’s hands had already dropped to his belt pouches to continue his assault. While his hands searched for his botane bijous, he watched for Xolrun. No doubt she’d be first among them but Gusteau couldn’t see her yet.
Gusteau’s left hand found purchase in his second left belt pouch and he activated the bijou as soon as he got a proper grip. His right hand found the bijou he was looking for on his right side as well and, not an instant later, he activated it as well. He brought both of the bijous up and turned them on Filette and her large scaly friend.
A vibrant green mist shot out from his left hand and bathed the left side of Filette’s face and upper body. A solid splash of green clung to her and Gusteau felt a pang of guilt. Acid was going to be an incredibly painful way for her to die.
Gusteau moved on and aimed his right hand at the oruk’s face. The oruk had recovered somewhat already and had his right hand on his shortsword. Gusteau wouldn’t give him the chance. He concentrated on the bijou’s internal mechanism and formed the magic into a small dart. He held onto the magic, let the dart form and used the compressed magic at the back of the bijou to propel the dart out in the direction he wanted.
The botane magic flew out of Gusteau’s hand and the dart slammed into the oruk’s shoulder. The crunch of the magical essence striking bone was audible from where Gusteau was standing and the oruk twisted off balance with the force. The dart was stuck in his shoulder joint and he howled in pain as it ate away at his flesh.
Gusteau’s hands went back to his pockets and he finally spotted what he was waiting for.
The woman with the shield on the far left stood frozen in place with her throat fountaining blood down her shirt. A precise dagger slash was the likely culprit and the poor girl desperately clutched at her neck. Blood had begun to bubble out of her mouth with each attempt to catch her breath. Her eyes flitted erratically at the scene before her while her brain panicked at the strange and cruel concept of her imminent death.
One of her compatriots behind her had already met a similar fate. Xolrun looked to have moved onto the crossbows next with the man at the back of the group already laying dead on the floor. A slight feeling of relief began to creep into the back of Gusteau’s mind but he pushed it back. There was still work to be done.
Without another thought, Gusteau pulled another dart bijou out and leapt off the porch to join Hoden and Khlen. The two of them had been off the porch just after the flash and had brought a fury on the frontline. Khlen had already killed the shield on the far right of the group and her sword was now deep into the oruk’s knee, with her twisting her blade to bring him to his knees with expert precision. His howls were matched only by Filette’s who was desperately clawing at the strips of flesh that were falling off of her cheek. Gusteau solidified the magic in his left hand and shot a green dart into Filienne’s right ear to end her suffering.
Just before the dart buried itself in her skull, Lisette ducked and tucked her head into her chestf. Gusteau watched in horror as she instinctively grabbed one of her knives from a sleeve pocket and sprang from beneath towards his armpit. Gusteau was caught off foot. Time slowed for him but it did nothing to help him dodge.
With a snap of electricity, Gusteau’s salvation came from a shot from Ana behind him on the porch. A shot of electricity wrapped itself around Lisette’s wrist as she rose and dragged her off balance. The second section of the snare hit the ground and solidified as Ana had designed it to.
Gusteau wasted no time. He dropped the used bijou from his left hand and tore his dagger from his belt. Lisette was contorted before him, her body twisted by the snare forcing her hand across her body. Her face was a mess of confusion and anger with a considerable amount of acid still eating away at her cheek and even her bubbling away as it ate her left eye.
Gusteau couldn’t fault her tenacity, even with her face melting and her hand stuck, Lisette turned towards him and tried to donkey kick him with her left leg.
Gusteau grabbed it with his right hand on the way through and dragged it to his side while his left dagger pierced through the back of her head. There was nowhere to turn and no options for her; Gusteau felt the resistance of her skull for a second before the bone caved in. She went limp immediately.
Gusteau kicked her body to the side and ripped the dagger out of her head. He gave a quick smile back to Ana behind him but she’d already moved on to sending bolts of electricity and ice at the remaining bandits on the left side. Not that they would last much longer against Hoden.
Hoden’s mace had all manner of brain matter stuck to it most likely thanks to the dead man now dead at the side of the porch. Hoden hadn’t waited around and was already ripping chunks out of the shield of one of the remaining three thugs still standing.
Xolrun was finished with the other crossbow in the back and was strolling up to Khlen and the oruk quietly. Khlen had retrieved her sword and hacked deep into the giant’s arm. He now lay on the floor with his arms protecting his face and begged for his death. The last two were the youngest of the group and handling them seemed to be Gusteau’s job.
Gusteau moved towards them and found them both pitifully idle. Both were scrawny and hadn’t even begun to put on muscle yet. They were two boys playing men and had only just realised that they’d picked the wrong friends.
The closest boy to Gusteau was standing with his mouth agape and shield loose at his side. He was no issue but something nagged at Gusteau about the other one. Nothing about the boy screamed danger but the fact he’d not been blinded was weird. He was on the chubbier side and he had his head buried in his little satchel that sat on his hip.
Something else was bugging Gusteau about him that he couldn’t put his finger on. As he walked towards the two of them,the answer was on the tip of his tongue. He might have seen the kid in Ol’Haran or somewhere up north a lifetime ago.
Watching him struggle with a giant bag in the middle of a fight would’ve been humorous if it didn’t make Gusteau feel so damn disconcerted. He’d seen the bag somewhere, but he couldn’t pick where and the way the kid madly rummaged was bizarrely familiar.
In the interim, Gusteau launched his dagger into the face of the stupefied boy. Barely taking any notice, Gusteau heard the dagger hit its mark with a sickening crunch. The dagger had lodged itself into the boy’s open mouth and he desperately tried to pull it back out. He didn’t manage to pull it out and instead collapsed to his knees.
Gusteau stepped past him and let him faint. It was a horribly painful way to die but Gusteau had bigger fish to fry.
Was it the bag or the boy? Gusteau’s brain whirred until it found purchase on what had him so perturbed. Gusteau felt sick almost instantly.
Gusteau had been that boy before. The boy was desperately rummaging for bijous. The kid had not realised that charms were stored better on belts than in a giant cumbersome bag. Gusteau’s right hand rushed for a dart bijou and he channelled his magic to activate its gate as quickly as he could. It didn’t need to be full strength but it needed to be fast.
Good Gods only knew what this kid had in his bag but it would surely be nothing good. Gusteau ran towards him and raised his right hand but barely made it one step further. The boy looked up and then time stopped for Gusteau.
Gusteau’s bijou activated and the magic exploded in his hand. He moved forward, then got shot backwards fast. Gusteau felt like he stayed in the air for an eternity and all he could see was the kid looking almost as terrified as him. Gravity returned and Gusteau slammed heavily into the steps of the porch. His back seized and he bucked and bayed in pain. Gusteau’s head swam with vertigo and he crawled up the steps in a panic. His left hand was burning with the acidic aftershock of his failed casting.
“What? Ah, I ah,” he stammered. He looked over at Khlen but she was just as shocked as he was.
“I got it, I got it,” Ana spoke to him urgently, her hands in his back belt pouch.
She quickly found the vial and poured out a good measure of the base that Gusteau kept for these situations onto his left hand. Gusteau reeled at the pain but tried not to fight Ana’s help. Gusteau managed to scramble up the porch and took heavy breaths to calm the shock running through his body. Time passed slowly for Gusteau but he managed to sit up with her help.
The front yard of the house was in an absolute state. Nine bodies lay on the ground in front of him; none of them were from Gusteau’s party. Hoden stood in the middle of the thugs and was wiping Gusteau’s knife on the tunic of the now-dead lanky young boy.
“Go through the pockets and check their gear. Anything of use that we can carry, take it but be quick.” Khlen ordered the others. She was on the porch with Gusteau and had taken command in his absence. Good Gods, she was brilliant, Gusteau quietly gushed while his hand melted.
Khlen turned her gaze onto him and her face softened, “Oh, don’t you look at me like that. I am doing your job, old man.” she gently chided him. She rested her hand on his shoulder and asked quietly, “Are you good?”
Gusteau honestly didn’t know. He was still trying to piece together what had happened with the boy.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Where did that kid go though?” He asked both Ana and Khlen. The two of them shared a look.
“He ran before we could catch him. He was crazy quick,” Khlen added.
“No no, it’s fine. Let him go,” Gusteau reassured her. He didn’t want them anywhere near that boy.
“Did you see it?” he asked Khlen pointedly.
“I didn’t.” Khlen responded.
“See what?” Ana followed up but got no response from either of them.
Ana was smart enough to drop it for now but no doubt she’d bring it back up later.
“So, the boat?” Khlen changed the subject.
“Yep, I’ll drag myself down there, you mind sorting the others?” he asked while he pulled himself up by the porch pole and reached for his water canteen that Ana was already holding. She gave it to him with the lid open.
“Thanks Ana.” He poured the water on his left hand and clenched his jaw. A few seconds of water to wash it and his hand should be ok eventually. He wiped his hands on his pants and avoided thinking about how much his left hand hurt already. For now, they needed to get out of the village as soon as possible.
Khlen didn’t answer but instead turned back to the others, “We take the boats at the dock. Xolrun, grab Gusteau’s bag for me and I’ll take Hoden’s and Ana’s. Ana and Hoden, pile the bodies up and use one of their packs to carry whatever you find on them.” She turned and grabbed Ana’s bag before she walked down the first few steps of the porch and offered her hand to Gusteau.
Gusteau took it and gently walked down off the porch.
Khlen walked with Gusteau towards the road. At the gate, Gusteau rushed to open the gate for her. With a nod, she thanked him and led the way to the docks.
“So, we get paid less for the jobs that we do because we are new to town?” Ana tried to wrap her head around the ridiculousness of it all, “Even though we risk our lives the same as the Southern Adventurers and the Red Damnables?”
“Well, they technically go on riskier jobs than we do at this point. The contracts are attributed a coin grade, bronze, silver, or gold by the Board and then they offer the different grades to the parties they have on hand and they adjust the price for how many mages you have and how many days the contract is predicted to take, including logistics. We’re in the capital of the south so we have some steep competition and the Board is very busy.” Hoden explained with his drink in hand.
“And yet, we have to deal with a mob of bandits and it is still a bronze contract? It just doesn’t feel fair.” Ana refused to understand the injustice of it all. They risked their lives for twenty silver each. Ana got better pay as a workshop tutor at the Academy when she was a student.
“Still feeling scared about those scary bandits, Little Dove?” Xolrun smirked at her.
Ana flushed and forced herself not to take the bait. They’d teased her all the way home about not joining in on the fight. The insinuation of it all made her blood boil. She’d saved Gusteau’s life and joined them in the fight not a second after the rest but still got mocked as if she was some novice.
“I wasn’t afraid. I got blinded when Gusteau flash-bombed the entire village!” Ana seethed indignantly. She’d never seen someone be able to release heat in such a wide range without singeing themselves and others. Her mad old brilliant uncle.
Hoden guffawed, “Yeah, you have to know that when Gusteau raises his hands like that, there’s a real good chance he is using one of those rings.”
Gusteau watched them absentmindedly with his empty drink in his hand.
Hoden put his hands up and pretended to be Gusteau, “You shan’t proceed, pap pap pap.” He waved his hands in the air like an idiot.
Gusteau moved gracefully forward and snatched Hoden’s drink off of the table. Hoden moved far slower and shifted forward on his chair to try and grab it back, “Hey hey, Gust. None of that.”
Gusteau returned his drink and Ana took her cup off the table for a sip. She winced at the taste of the wine, it was so dry but she forced herself to drink it down. She’d never really enjoyed drinking alcohol but it was a prerequisite at a tavern like this.
“So what did the Board say about the bandits, then?” Xolrun asked Gusteau.
Ana’s heart skipped a beat at the idea of what the Board said.
Gusteau scoffed, “Not much really. They’d already had reports of them but hadn’t drawn up the contract yet. The village was furious that we’d stolen the boat and left the bodies but the old lady had been an elder of theirs so the Board are more angry at her than any of our conduct.”
Ana tilted her head to the side in surprise. The idea of getting away with murder made her sick. But she couldn’t quite decide whether she felt sick from relief or disgust.
“And thugs, let’s not give the benefit of a title like bandits or renegades to a pack of incompetents.” Gusteau added petulantly.
“Thugs, bandits. Don’t matter now they are dead in my mind.” Hoden added impassively.
Ana turned to look at the front door. A wave of weariness struck her and left her exhausted. She was excited for some downtime at home but she wouldn’t get any reprieve tonight. Lillian had accidentally organised a party at their house for the night and her friends were currently in their house drinking and cavorting. The Silver Spoon was a comparatively quiet spot until about eleven at night.
“... their bodies?” With the noise of the tavern, Ana hadn’t quite caught what Xolrun had said. Ana leant in to keep up with the conversation.
“Finder’s fee, it seems. We won’t be getting paid for taking them out because it wasn’t formally a contract but the Board didn’t ask about the gear and I don’t think we tell.” Gusteau whispered to the group and raised his glass for a gentle cheers.
The Board wasn’t angry about the bandits and Ana should just thank Telli for that. Ana clinked her glass with the rest of them and downed the awful wine.
Hoden finished his faster and belched before standing up, “Well with that, next round is on me.” Ana tried to hide how repulsive she found his behaviour.
Ana looked across to Gusteau to find him lost in his own thoughts with the goofiest grin.
“Look at you, uncle. Grinning like a fool again,” Ana teased him when he looked across at her.
“I personally miss grumpy Gusteau,” Xolrun added languidly.
Gusteau stuck his tongue out at Xolrun but said nothing back.
Concern flickered over Gusteau’s face for a second when he met Ana’s eye, “So, we have a few days off but I did have a bit of a look at the new contracts on the Board on the way past. An old haunted temple that has some cultists, there’s a mysterious tunnel blockage a day or so hike down south, or maybe a trip to the mountains of House Hilan to hunt down a pack of exceptionally big wolves?”
House Hilan was way up in the Central Mountains. Most of their province bordered the Sarik lands to the south and Breisachia to the east. It meant at least three days of travel by foot which meant it would be a nice pile of coins for whoever trekked up there to kill the wolves. On the other hand, it would be a week of camping in the sticks and Ana didn’t know if she had it in her to go for an extended camping trip. She went to drink from her cup but found it frustratingly empty.
“We won’t be getting either of the contracts for a good four days so you can resupply and get some proper time in a real bed.” Gusteau prompted eagerly.
“How much more is the trip down to the mountains?” Xolrun asked before Ana could.
Gusteau relented, “It is thirty extra silver more than the mysterious tunnel problem, but think of the walk there. Those mountains are gorgeous.”
“Those mountains are freezing!” Ana added. She couldn’t believe he wanted to go back to the mountains already, “And we damn near died the last time we were up there.”
Xolrun patted her sympathetically on the arm, “Oh dear, we haven’t seen real danger since you’ve joined.”
Ana narrowed her eyes at Xolrun but said nothing.
With a thunk, Gusteau’s bandaged arm sat in the middle of the table and he pointed at it pointedly. It looked far worse than it was but Gusteau had been so moody about it since he had it properly mended.
“Well, I vote for the mystery tunnel. Quick in and out and the same sort of price.” Ana decided.
Xolrun grunted her agreement and Gusteau sat with his defeat for less than a second.
He turned in his chair to look towards the bar and his mood brightened when he saw Hoden returning with drinks in hand.
“There he is, big man. You love a good adventure, yeah?” Gusteau began the discussion once again.
Hoden stopped before the edge of the table and cautiously responded, “I don’t know where you would get that idea. I hate adventuring.”
“Oh, you love a good romp in the mountains. A nice hike up to the snow and then a fight with a wolf about twice your size?” Gusteau tried to sell the adventure by indicating just how big the wolf was meant to be.
Hoden approached the table and dropped the beers on the table, “Twice my size? The hells if I do like that!”
“Well, maybe just one and a half your size, you’re a big lad and so very strong.” Gusteau adjusted perfidiously.
Ana smiled and watched Hoden sit back on the table. Her eyes drifted back to the front door afterwards and she settled on something truly horrid. At the front of the tavern was the Ghost of the North, Thredrin Shipeur. Ana couldn’t believe she was seeing him down south.
Thredrin wore his trademark midnight cloak and his eyes searched the tavern. Ana sunk into her chair and watched as his eyes scanned and locked on hers. He walked towards them and Ana’s heartrate spiked.
He was an unscrupulous monster. There were a thousand rumours of his misdeeds that circulated constantly around Kudraul from when he was younger and the warnings to stay out of his way hovered wherever he went in the capital. He was an Ahlaf son and he was seen as a fixer in the court. The Second Families of Kudraul knew to fear him and Ana’s parents had taught her as such.
None of the others around the table had noticed the coming storm in a cloak approaching them. Hoden landed heavily in his seat at the table and shook his head playfully, “Nuh uh, still too big. I vote with whatever the other two chose.”
Ana barely registered the conversation anymore. Her eyes were locked on Thredrin and his companion. Behind him was a large woman who had brazenly brought in a large handaxe through the front door somehow. The fact that Lukas hadn’t stopped her and taken her axe made Ana feel even more apprehensive.
“Very brave,” Xolrun started to talk but stopped when she saw Thredrin approaching.
Thredrin walked up to the table and cleared his throat behind Gusteau. Gusteau leapt a foot high from his chair and turned to Thredrin.
“Gusteau Vent?” Thredrin asked. He looked just as he had when her mother first warned Ana of him. He had wavy jet black hair and a perfectly manicured face.
Gusteau raised his hand nervously, “That would be me.”
Thredrin smiled disingenuously, “Good. I am here for the delivery.”
Gusteau visibly looked him up and down and responded, “What delivery are we talking about?”
Ana took her hand off the table and sat it in her lap as inconspicuously as possible. She began to slide her hand to her left bijou pouch but caught the eye of Thredrin’s companion. The woman shook her head ever so slightly. Ana stopped reaching for the pouch.
“Let's not play this game, Gusteau. Viera is indisposed.” Thredrin swept back his cloak to reveal the variety of weapons he held underneath. His trademark knives were strapped across his chest below the House Threnfeld crest.
Gusteau relented and stood up with a nice long stretch, “Alright, Thredrin, I believe you. It’s just sad that I didn’t get the chance to see my old friend, Viera.”
Thredrin sneered back, “Funny, she’s never mentioned you.”
Gusteau shrugged nonchalantly and he and the two of them moved off towards the back of the tavern, leaving Ana with Xolrun and Hoden at the table. Ana watched them leave and watched for any reaction from the table..
“Shouldn’t we go with them?” Ana asked with a mixture of confusion and concern.
Hoden shook his head, “Nah, we go out there and things get ugly fast, those two don’t seem the type to welcome surprises.”
“Something like the fact we murdered a bunch of people on their contract?” Ana tried to keep the panic out of her voice.
“Huh, yeah. Like that” Hoden responded brazenly.
“We stay here. Gusteau will sort it; He will be fine, Khlen is waiting out there for him anyway like Gusteau has planned.” Xolrun asserted firmly.
Ana looked at her sullenly but didn’t argue back, “I thought we worked as a collective.”
Xolrun gave a halfhearted sigh back and peered at the bottom of her drink, “So, what will the two of you be doing with your time off?”
Hoden beamed at the question and Ana waved him to go first.
“I will be continuing to build the treehouse I started last month in the West Woods. I got the ladder all nailed last week and now I have found a carpenter that is willing to give me the wood I need for the base of the treehouse at a good price. So, I will be out there on the weekend getting it set up.” Hoden spoke with such zeal, it surprised Ana. Building a treehouse was a wonderful, if not slightly confusing, passtime, she supposed.
“Is it a treehouse for Adelayde and Jerem?” Xolrun followed up politely.
“You have kids?” Ana followed up less politely.
Hoden continued to beam, “I do. I have a little girl, Adelayde, who is ten, and Jerem is fifteen as of two and a half weeks ago.”
Father was an interesting lens to see Hoden through for Ana. He didn’t seem… She struggled to find the exact word but mature and responsible were close to what she was thinking.
Xolrun touched his hand lightly, “I am sure they will really love the treehouse.”
Hoden’s hand shot out from under Xolrun’s and into his lap, “Yeah, they have been asking for it for a while now,” Hoden looked at Ana, “and what about you, Ana. Any plans?”
Ana rubbed her face and then responded, “My weekend looks pretty quiet, but that is for the best. Lillian leaves early tomorrow morning for work and she only gets back next Thursday so I will have the house to myself. I’d say tomorrow will be cleaning up the house a bit and then I’ll need to refill my runes and make new bijous before we head out again.” Ana tried to think of what else she was going to do to fill her weekend but came up with little else to add, “I will get my normal training in. And I have a few projects I want to work on.”
“Saturday, train with me. We can work on your close quarters fighting,” Xolrun offered amiably.
“And Sunday, you can both come visit my treehouse,” Hoden eagerly added.
“The training would be great,” Ana accepted the offer happily, “For the treehouse, I will have to let you know.”
Hoden didn’t look offended thankfully, “I’ll be out there from tomorrow to Monday, open invite.”
“What about you, Xolrun?” Ana returned the question.
Xolrun stroked the fur on the end of her chin, “Early to bed tonight and then a few days of rest with a bit of baking and then seeing an old friend for dinner on Friday night. My Saturday will be slow in the morning and then training with you and maybe Areli. And then, well, Sunday I will be building that treehouse with you, Hoden.”
Hoden slapped the table, “Ha! Absolutely you will. Better we get as much of the treehouse done on Sunday in any case. Gusteau will want us to leave for the mountains early on Monday, I would bet.”
Ana looked at him incredulously, “We aren’t going to the mountains, are we? I thought we agreed to the temple.”
Hoden looked at her confused, “After four days rest, you don’t want to go for a weeklong trip to Hilan lands?”
Xolrun tutted and interrupted them, “Hoden, leave the poor girl alone.”
Hoden took a drink instead of replying and Ana and Xolrun matched him.
“It’ll be good to be close to home for a bit though,” Hoden said as he put his drink back on the table, “Being away so much has been hard.”
“How is it all at home?” Xolrun asked quickly afterwards.
“I wouldn’t know, I’m holding up in the Great Flagon for a bit until things settle down.” Hoden said quietly while he stared into his cup.
Ana looked at her hands awkwardly. She still barely knew so little about the both of them.
Hoden stifled a yawn and finished his drink. “Alright, well. It’s getting late and I have a carpenter to visit in the morning.”
Xolrun checked for her backpack and checked her pockets, “Yeah, I wouldn’t guess the other two will be coming back after they sort out the contract. Ana, you want me to walk you home?”
Ana dry swallowed. The idea of going back home now filled Ana with dread. She was planning to sneak in when they had all passed out.
Ana cleared her throat, “I think I will stay for a bit longer, you know. Lillian has a few friends over and they’ll be peaking at this point. I wouldn’t want to intrude. Gusteau will be back and I’ll head back with him.”
Xolrun and Hoden shared a look and then both looked at her.
Xolrun gently tapped her on the shoulder, “I can go for another drink anyway. We have four days to recover anyway, right?”
Hoden smiled at her and got out of his chair, “I got this round but next one is on one of the two of you.” Before they could respond, he was on his way back to the bar again.
“Should we be letting him drink more?” Ana asked Xolrun, genuinely concerned.
Xolrun wrinkled her snout and winked at Ana, “He’ll outdrink the both of us.”
Ana laughed and finished the last of her drink.
Xolrun continued, “So I was thinking after training, we could visit the Jamill Markets for this new food stall I found the other week. It does steamed pork buns that are honestly just like the ones from the Northern Islands. Hand to God.”
Arriving at the table was the all too familiar voice of Gusteau, “St. Gernil’s Buns?”
Xolrun looked across to him as he and Khlen sat to join them, “You know them? How tasty are they!”
“Best buns this side of Kudraul.” Khlen confirmed before dropping a sizable pouch of coins on the table in front of Ana and Xolrun.
“We’re thinking of going on Saturday after training. Open invite.” Xolrun offered to the two of them.
Khlen nodded politely but didn’t respond. Gusteau was busy trying to get Hoden’s attention to order more drinks.
Ana sat for a few seconds before she couldn’t resist any longer, “Did it go ok with Thredrin?”
Gusteau looked back at Thredrin’s name but looked positively smug, “Oh, it went really well.”
