Business Unusual
Disclaimer: I don't own Ys: Ark of Napishtim or any of its characters.
The little boat drifted lazily on the sea. Its sole occupant leaned back and shaded his eyes with a hand to admire the equally clear sky above.
Then a piercing shriek from above made him start so violently he almost fell in the water.
"That's Jue's! Give that back!"
"It's Xisa's now! Haha!"
The two sprites each clutched the end of a thrashing, gasping fish. They yanked on it so hard that it ripped in half. Jue stared down in horror at the tail in her hand before flying at Xisa in a rage.
"Hey, stop!" Xisa cried, struggling to defend herself from Jue's claws. "Not my fault you didn't let go! Ouch!"
Geis swore to himself and picked the fish guts out of his hair. They ignored him.
"That's enough!" the third fairy finally cried, rushing to intercept a few minutes later, when the fight became too intense. Then she said the magic words.
"What would Lord Ernst think if he saw you now?"
Jue looked down and Xisa sniffled.
"And you ruined a perfectly good fish!" Geis shouted. He waved the fishing rod, and they hovered a little higher so he couldn't poke one of their eyes out. He took his fury out on the bait instead, jamming it on the hook so hard that it went entirely through and the metal bit his hand. He swore and threw the pole down.
For the past few weeks, Geis often wondered whether his older brother had really meant to punish him when he told the sprites to stay with him. The sprites wondered the same thing.
"So rough," Jue whispered to Xisa, who nodded. She sniffed again when she remembered Ernst's impeccable manners and equally beautiful, silky hair. Then she looked down at Geis, who looked like he gave himself trims with pruning shears.
"Whatever!" the mercenary snapped. "I'm not putting up with you today. There's got to be something better in Rimorge."
"Wait for us!"
When he arrived back at the dock, Geis headed for Isaac's tavern. The bartender was thrilled with his new customers as traders from the outside world began arriving to do business with Baslam. He was so confident that he even planned to borrow some funds from the Altago merchant to add a second floor to his building.
Tise opened her mouth to greet Geis, then quickly shut it again when he swept by her and slammed the door to his room hard enough to shake the glasses behind the counter. He still wasn't completely recovered from the injuries he'd received during his fight with Ernst. He and the homunculi managed to escape with Isha and join Captain Ladoc on his ship, but his wounds soon caught up with him after he returned to Port Rimorge.
He only knew what happened then from what people told him. That huge man, Dogi the Wallcrusher, slung him over his shoulder like a rag doll and carried him to the tavern, still coughing and spitting blood. It was smeared on his face, matted in his hair, and the makeshift bandages he'd made with his cape were drenched. The town didn't have a doctor, but Professor Raba was just as skilled. Everyone had great faith in his abilities after watching him singlehandedly stop an epidemic on Quatera a few years before.
Ur balked at each of the Professor's attempts to get him out of the room. "Come on, Professor! I'm old enough! How am I supposed to learn anything if you keep kicking me out?" They'd had the same conversation when Raba went to Quatera to help deliver twins a few months ago. "And we don't need any more herbs! Can't you come up with some better excuses?"
Raba was about to threaten Ur with complaining to his father when Dogi intervened.
"Why don't you come with us?" he asked, spreading his arms wide to indicate himself, Terra and the rest of the pirates. "We're gonna look for Adol on the beach."
Ur eagerly followed them out, and Raba breathed a sigh of relief. Sera, Xisa and Jue had followed everyone back to Rimorge, and hovered by themselves in a corner of the tavern, looking lost. The others glanced over at them and edged away nervously, but the sprites didn't seem to notice. They still couldn't believe that Ernst was dead. It was bound to happen eventually - the sprites would exist indefinitely until something killed them - but all three felt as if their world had fallen apart. Now their new master lay dying of wounds they themselves inflicted while begging Ernst to let them put him out of his misery an hour before. They watched his chest rise and fall shallowly with each breath.
"Hey, old man!" Xisa called. "Is he going to be all right?" Several of the townspeople gave them dirty looks, but the professor didn't mind. He gave the question serious consideration.
"With the amount of blood he's lost, I couldn't say for sure," he said, stopping to thread his needle. "But he certainly is stubborn enough."
He went back to work. A few minutes later, Dogi returned with Adol, who, aside from a scrapes and bruises, was unhurt from his battle with the Ark. Terra was still berating him loudly, and he finally ducked into the weapon shop to get away from the adoring populace. The homunculi tried their hardest to hate him, but couldn't. There was just something about Adol that made him impossible to dislike.
Adol stayed in the Canaan Islands for a week. The Rehda tribe threw a huge celebration in his honor the day before he left, and it lasted well into the night, but everyone watched him go with heavy hearts. He returned the three Emelas swords to Chief Ord and gave back the Gratios Talisman, but it was as if he had taken a piece of everyone with him. Several of the townspeople still jumped with shock when they happened to look out across the sea and the Vortex of Canaan wasn't there.
"I'm worried about Olha," Ur said one morning, as he helped Tise with her sewing. Ur had laughed when the professor told him he would teach Ur how to sew, but after seeing Raba stitch up people's wounds as easily as if he was working with cloth, he realized that it might be a good skill to pick up after all.
"Why?" Tise asked, sucking her finger where she jabbed it with her needle. She normally wasn't careless, but Ur made it hard to concentrate.
"She spends all her time down at Moonset Shore," Ur said. "She says she just likes how peaceful it is there, but we all know what she's really looking for. It's driving Silva nuts. He's gone back to picking on Kevin again."
"Well, I'm sure Sir Adol misses her just as much," Tise said firmly. Lady Olha was so beautiful that she took the girl's breath away. She sighed to herself, imagining Adol staring out over the sea at night, leaning over the ship's railing. Isaac blamed August's ballads for putting such romantic notions into her head. Ur imagined Terra beating Adol with a stew pot and smiled, too.
Isaac had gone out to buy more supplies, and he left Tise in charge until he returned. The girl was immensely proud of this, although Ur looked around and reflected that Isaac only let her because there wasn't any trouble to get into. It was the same sort of deal the professor or his father made with him all the time. What fun was it getting to carry Levart around for a day if he wasn't allowed to go out into the forest and find monsters to use it on? The tavern was almost empty. The only patrons at the moment were Agu and Gazel, who had just gotten back from a hunting trip. Cloa stopped in for a quick drink before his sister caught him, and Tise got up to pour it for him, but that was all. Ur was disappointed. Usually there was something going on. The hunters had just finished and headed back to Gazel's house to help Sophia with the meat.
"How's that black-haired guy doing?" he asked. The three sprites were nowhere in sight. Tise was about to reply when they heard the click of a door opening down the hall, where the guest rooms were. But they currently didn't have any guests. Ur had his back to the hallway, but Tise jumped up and dropped her work. Ur turned to see what had shocked her so badly.
Geis walked over to them hesitantly, taking each step as though he wasn't sure if his legs would continue to support him. He kept one hand against the wall.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Tise cried. "Professor Raba said you wouldn't be up for at least a week yet!"
The mercenary was fully dressed, and had even attempted to strap on his armor, although it was dented and cracked from his fight with Ernst. Steel was simply no match for black Emelas. Tise pushed him into a chair.
"I know you," he said huskily after a moment. "You're..."
"Tise," she said, wishing Isaac would hurry back. "But do you know who you are?"
"Of course. If these damned sprites hadn't been there..." He saw the children staring at him and stopped cursing. "There's no way he could've survived, is there?" He held up a bandaged hand. "Forget it. I saw his body disappear myself."
Tise and Ur exchanged glances. The few times they'd seen Geis in town before, he'd never been exactly forthcoming. He sounded like he was talking to himself, trying to get things straight, and he did look a little feverish.
"How about Adol?" he asked suddenly. "Did he make it?"
Ur grinned at finally being asked a question he could answer. "Of course he did! It would take a lot more than that to finish him off." He was about to elaborate on the virtues of Adol Christin (he'd never forget the stories Dogi had regaled him with earlier) when something caught Geis's eye.
"Show yourselves!" he shouted. The three homunculi flew over from behind some barrels.
"Pathetic," Xisa said with a sniff. "Just pathetic. Sure took you long enough! Whatever was our master thinking?"
"Jue remembers! Jue remembers how our dear lord squashed him like a bug!"
"Maybe he'll improve with age," Sera said. "We can always hope for a miracle!"
"Damn you!" Geis roared, jumping up as if to tear them apart with his bare hands. But his newfound strength failed him and he collapsed back into his chair. The three sprites forgot their game and flew closer to investigate, but he swatted them away feebly with one hand.
"I wish I never came to this damned island in the first place," he muttered. "Let Ernst have his way and activate Napishtim for all I care. Not like I was much help anyway - Adol got all the glory. Quit staring at me like that."
Tise, who was used to consoling people who turned maudlin after having too much to drink, was at a loss. Luckily, Isaac returned at that moment, along with Lloyd and a few more of Baslam's men to help him carry in the crates of supplies. Isaac was in a good mood, having haggled a promise of bacon from the merchant the next time he slaughtered one of his pikkards.
"How'd it go?" he asked Tise cheerfully. "Anything happen while I was - " he broke off when he saw Geis with his head on the table. "Uh, sir? Are you okay?"
"Don't mind me," Geis replied, not looking up. The bartender shrugged and busied himself storing things behind the counter.
"He's asleep," Xisa said, jabbing Geis's shoulder in disgust.
"I said, go away!" Geis snapped. But his presence still made everyone uneasy, and somebody fetched Professor Raba, who didn't seem surprised at all. He helped Geis to his feet.
"How embarrassing," the mercenary said, once they were back in his room. He tried to shake off the professor's hands.
"It's not as uncommon as you think," Raba told him. "I remember someone else who reacted much like you, a girl named Rose."
"Rose? From the weapon shop?"
"The very same. When she and her brother washed ashore three years ago, she hit her head against some rocks. Poor Cloa wouldn't stop crying, but she tried her hardest to put up a good front for him. I believe she overdoes it - if she showed her human side once in awhile, I think he and many of the others here would love her more for it. As for you," the professor paused to reapply a bandage, "you lost so much blood that it might take months before you fully recover. You mustn't overtax yourself. I can see in your eyes that you don't believe me, and you're going to do something dangerous - I'm familiar with that look. My apprentice rolls his eyes at me like that at least three times a day. But he's an apt pupil. Chief Ord will be proud of his progress."
"What about them?" the mercenary asked, turning his head slightly on the pillow.
"The homunculi? I was just about to ask. Very interesting creatures - your brother must have been quite the accomplished magician to create such beings."
"You're welcome to them."
"Don't be so hasty. They'll make good companions for you yet."
Geis couldn't suppress a snort at that. There was no way for him to know how bitterly they had wept over him while he was unconscious, and the Professor wasn't about to tell him. The four would have to work it out on their own.
Geis hated accepting Isaac's charity, but had no choice. Before being injured, he'd slept and hunted in the woods, but that was no longer an option. Isaac begged him not to worry about it, but Geis knew how hard it was for the bartender to make ends meet, and swore to pay him back for everything, even the bloodied sheets. But it didn't take long before Geis realized that it was next to impossible to get work in the little seaside town. Baslam still held a grudge against him, which wasn't helped by Geis's inclination to goad him back at every opportunity, and he got his revenge by forbidding all of his subordinates from hiring Geis to do even the most menial tasks. He couldn't even help Anice untangle her fishing nets. The townspeople all knew Baslam's temper, and didn't dare defy him. Geis and Isaac finally worked out a compromise, and now the tough, battle-hardened mercenary spent his time mopping the floors and helping Tise wash the dishes. Sometimes he bit back his pride and served the customers. Most of them weren't bad, but a few of Baslam's men went out of their way to antagonize him. Isaac was relieved that Geis managed to control his temper enough not to throw punches, although he was clearly tempted to. Lloyd was embarrassed by his workers' attitudes, and often apologized to Isaac afterwards.
All of this would have been bearable if it weren't for the homunculi. The three sprites clearly believed that they had been created to do much grander, bigger and better things than household chores, and found their new master's willingness to do them utterly disgraceful. Jue and Xisa often sabotaged his efforts, dumping a bag of flour over the floor after he finished sweeping, or ripping up the pillows, scattering feathers everywhere. Sera clucked her tongue in disapproval of the other two, but made no effort to stop them.
Today, Geis and his three companions had gone out to catch fish for Isaac to fry up for dinner, only to come back empty-handed, thanks to Jue and Xisa's bickering. He forced himself to put up with them because they were all he had left in the world, besides his newly healed scars, to remind him of Ernst. But the homunculi painted such a glowing picture of the dead man that it was obvious they thought he was a god. Then they looked at Geis with narrowed eyes, barely trying to hide their disdain. That bothered him enough when he and Ernst were growing up, and he certainly didn't want to deal with it again now. Now he fell gratefully onto the bed, looking forward to finally having a decent night's rest.
"Let us in!"
"We're sorry!"
"We'll behave! We promise!"
Geis rolled over to face the wall and ignored them. He felt some guilt at shunning his brother's dying wish, but put it aside at the thought of finally getting some rest without their fighting. However, he found sleep impossible, no matter what he tried. Finally, he gave up and went in search of them.
"Well, I never!" Sera said indignantly. "He locked us out!"
"How could he?" Xisa cried. She put her hand on the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn. "Ooh! How rude!"
"Jue can't believe it! He..." Jue froze. "Jue wants to know why we put up with this!"
"You're right!" Xisa said. "He obviously doesn't want us."
They spent the night at the dock, discussing ways to punish Geis for his disrespect. The only person they would ever accept such boorishness from was Lord Ernst, and he would never have acted this way. It was often impossible to believe that the two men could possibly be related. When Geis slept, the resemblance was much more noticeable. They could see their former master in the shape of his eyes and the line of his jaw, but the illusion shattered the moment he woke. Sometimes his voice made them start, because it sounded so similar to their dead creator. Even some of their mannerisms were the same. The three sprites tried to ignore that and spent the rest of the night at the pier, muttering mutinously under their breath.
Shortly before sunrise, they heard footsteps. Xisa turned around and gave a little gasp when she saw Geis himself coming towards them, but quickly faced the water and pretended not to notice.
"Look, I'm sorry for locking you out already!" he said, after waiting five minutes for them to acknowledge him. When they still refused to look at him, he took a deep breath and tried again. "What I mean is, well..."
There was only the sound of crickets chirping in the distance.
"What more do you want?" Geis finally exploded, causing lights to appear in several nearby windows. "I said I was sorry, didn't I? Do you want me to go out and buy you flowers and chocolates or something?"
"That would be nice," Jue said, licking her lips. The others ignored her. Sera finally took it upon herself to break the awkward silence which threatened to last for several minutes, since they were all equally stubborn.
"I, for one, agree with him," she said, drawing shocked glares from her sisters, who murmured "How could you?" and "Traitor!" She paid no attention to them. "We all need to stop acting so childish. These haven't been easy times for any of us, but constantly tearing at one another's throats isn't going to fix anything."
Geis rather liked Sera, whose voice vaguely reminded him of his deceased mother. He wondered if Ernst modeled his servants after anyone in particular. She was the most sensible of the three, never succumbing to bloodlust like the others.
"So what should we do about it, if you're so smart?" Xisa demanded, and the situation soon disintegrated into another brawl. The mercenary broke it up by whacking out at them with his halberd. Jue and Xisa scowled, but even they had to admit that they were tired of the constant fighting. The four finally agreed to go back to the tavern, and try one last time for a compromise.
"No! I won't let you do this!"
Emilio stood in front of the pikkard sty with his arms spread, blocking the entrance. "I won't let you take them!"
Lloyd sighed and Xaxon rolled his eyes. A crowd of interested townspeople gathered behind them.
"Please, listen to reason!" Lloyd implored for the fifth time, holding out his hands. "You knew this day would come all along!"
"No!" Emilio cried, stubbornly planting his feet. "You're not going to slaughter my pikkards!"
"I was afraid this might happen," Lloyd told Xaxon. "I made such an effort to warn him that he might get attached to them when he started out."
"But that's what pikkards are for!"
"No!" Emilio said again. "Each one is a unique creature. Isn't that right, Cynthia, my darling?"
The pikkards themselves had no idea what danger they were in. Emilio stopped to stroke a particularly fat one flopped down on its side in a mud puddle, between its hairy ears. Lloyd blinked.
"Cynthia?" he repeated.
"Yes, Cynthia!" Emilio pointed to the others. "And Laurel, Darcy and Charles! They're my children! I never realized how important they were to me until we were separated, and I'll never let that happen again! Get some other pikkards if you must, but leave mine alone!"
"They're not yours," Lloyd pointed out. "They belong to Baslam. You're only the caretaker."
Emilio started another vehement protest, but then Baslam himself strode over.
"What's all the fuss about?" he demanded. "Aren't you finished with those pikkards yet?"
"There's a slight problem," Lloyd said apologetically. When he finished telling his boss, the trader's face resembled a thundercloud.
"That's simple enough to solve," he said. "Throw the miscreant in the dungeon!"
Xaxon reached to grab Emilio's arm, and the young man let out such an anguished wail than Isaac rushed out of the tavern, certain that someone was being murdered.
"My pickkards!" Emilio moaned. Xaxon shrugged helplessly.
By now, almost everyone in town was gathered in the square to watch the spectacle, including several Erasian merchants expecting to draw up a business agreement with Baslam that evening. Baslam noticed their curious looks.
"Forget it," he snapped. "We'll have dark fowl meat again tonight."
Emilio, giddy with relief, clutched a fencepost for support. Baslam glared at him.
"I'll deal with you later!"
Lloyd moved to follow his master. "You can say goodbye to your job with us," he said sadly. Emilio was too busy giving devout thanks to notice. The townspeople cheered heartily. Many of them had become fond of the pikkards, especially the children, and Baslam was the only person rich enough to afford to eat them.
"Never a dull moment, eh?" Agu remarked to Sophia as the crowd dispersed to go back to their daily activities.
Anice was buying some herbs from Cloa when she noticed the clerk staring over her head at something behind her. She turned around and saw Emilio walking towards the pikkard sty with an armful of blankets.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm staying here tonight," Emilio replied. "I'm not going to let that Baslam sneak over and steal my pikkards under the cover of darkness!"
Anice frowned. "You can't stay outside forever, you know. You'll have to leave them sometime."
"Then I'll get someone else to guard them until I return! Nobody is going to mess with my pikkards, you hear? Nobody!" He shook his fist at the sky defiantly.
"...I think I forgot something at the dock." Anice hurried past him, and Cloa watched Emilio try to rope someone into watch the pikkards without success. Many people felt sorry for him, but nobody wanted to offend the most powerful man in town.
Emilio was about to give up when he spotted Geis and his sprites leaving the tavern. They'd decided to drop any hard feelings and start from scratch. On that note, Geis bought them all drinks, although he knew in the back of his mind that he couldn't afford it, and it was just more to add to his debt. But as a result he was mellower than usual.
"You!" Emilio called, waving his pitchfork. "I say, can you spare a minute?"
"Sure," Geis said agreeably, stumbling a little on a loose cobblestone.
"Would you watch the pikkards? It'll only be for a few minutes. You will? Oh, thanks so much!"
"Glad to be of service," Geis replied, not really sure what had just happened. A few minutes soon passed, and turned into a few hours, but there was no sign of Emilio.
"I don't like this," Sera said. "It's too quiet."
"What do you expect, this late at night?" Xisa retorted. "Stop being such a worry- ooh!" She jabbed Geis with a claw.
"What?" the mercenary demanded. By now, the effect of the drinks was starting to wear off, and he felt the beginnings of a splitting headache. Sera pointed, and they saw several black-robed figures stealthily approaching the pikkard sty from behind.
"Should we fight them?" Xisa asked, visibly eager. Since Napishtim's fall, the only fights she had were with Jue.
Geis shook his head and she pouted.
"Come on, please?"
"Jue wants to crack some skulls, too!"
"My skills are getting rusty," Sera chipped in. By now, the cloaked intruders were almost at the gate.
"Fine, go ahead," Geis said. The sprites gave a gleeful cry and swooped down on their prey. "But don't kill them!" he shouted quickly.
"Aww, you just took all the fun out of it!"
In a few seconds, their opponents were all sprawled out on the ground, stunned. Geis knelt beside one and removed his hood.
"Baslam's men! No surprise there. Come on, help me drag them to his doorstep." He lifted Xaxon's muscular bulk with an effort. "It'll serve him right when he finds them in the morning."
"Let me out!" Emilio banged on the door until both fists went numb. "You have no right to do this to me!"
Nobody answered. Emilio slumped wearily against the wall of Baslam's storeroom, where he'd been imprisoned after an ambush. His throat was raw from shouting, which did no good. Baslam had finished drawing up a contract with his dinner guests hours ago, and now it didn't matter how much noise Emilio made. The guards thought it was hilarious and banged on the heavy wooden door to shut him up.
"Aargh!" Baslam's angry screech was unmistakable as he found his men lying in front of his house that morning, twitching and moaning. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Those...damn sprites," Xaxon muttered. "Just like before."
Baslam was dangerously silent for a few minutes as he had the men seen to, but the second he was alone in his room with Lloyd, he erupted.
"Geis!" he spat the name like he was referring to a repulsive and poisonous snake, one he longed to stand over and crush under his heel. "Who does he think he is?"
Lloyd didn't even try to reply. He just stood by respectfully and made sympathetic noises. His master still held a grudge against the mercenary for refusing his commission to reach the Zemeth Shrine, and secretly blamed him for being attacked by Ernst's sprites. Geis still resented Baslam for tearing up his talismans, despite knowing full well that they had only been a temporary measure. Lloyd tried his hardest to be a peacemaker, but even he had his limits.
"This isn't simply about those pikkards," Baslam said. "It's the principle! The principle, you hear?"
Lloyd nodded.
"Whatever got into that Emilio?" Baslam continued in a softer tone, more to himself. "If you told me to expect this defiance a month ago, I would have laughed! But I won't tolerate such behavior in my company, no matter how it is! And that mercenary had better watch himself. If he takes one wrong step..." He looked up and saw Lloyd.
"And what are you still doing here? Get out and do your work!"
"Y-yes, sir!" Lloyd quickly retreated.
"That's what I heard," Tise finished, staring up at Geis, her eyes huge with concern. "I heard it from Ur, who got it from Leav, who heard it from Sia, who got it from Maple, who actually heard Baslam ranting away while she was preparing the oats this morning. Leav doesn't usually gossip, but she wanted to make sure you knew."
Geis calmly thanked her for this tidbit of information delivered through the village grapevine. "Don't worry about me." He shouldered his halberd. "I can take care of myself."
"Any anybody who dares lay a finger on our master gets his eyes clawed out!" Sera added. Xisa and Jue nodded. Reassured, Tise went back to her work.
"You know, you are free to do your own thing," Geis told the sprites.
"But I thought we agreed to be together forever yesterday!" Xisa protested, hurt.
"We did! But that doesn't mean you need to look over my shoulder every single second." He glanced at Jue.
"Jue didn't know you were taking a bath!" Jue cried. "Jue's sorry!" Geis remembered how hard it had been to get her to leave and looked doubtful.
August looked up from a scrap of parchment he just finished scribbling on. "You three are delightful," he told the sprites, who immediately perked up at his words and started preening. "I just finished composing a song about you. Would you like to hear it?"
Jue, Sera and Xisa happily settled down to listen. Geis took the opportunity and left.
"You know, these fellas are pretty cute," Anice told Cloa, reaching over the fence to pat one of the pikkards. "With all this fuss, nobody's even remembered to feed them today! That's strange." She paused. "Have you seen Emilio yet? He's usually here by now, isn't he?"
Cloa nodded. There was a rumor floating around, but he didn't listen to that sort of thing. He left that to his sister. He had other things to worry about - his biggest fear at the moment was that Rose would discover that he dropped a jar of blue potion the day before. He swept up the pieces and hid them in a clump of bushes by the bridge to Quatera, but was still worried. He jumped every time someone addressed him.
"Well, I guess I'll take care of them until he shows up," Anice said. "Maybe Isaac has some scraps."
She stood and headed to the tavern. Cloa started to say something but stopped when Rose strolled out of the shop. Something about this pikkard business made her happy, and that scared him.
"Hey, Cloa! Do me a favor, will you? If you see Geis, tell him to meet me in the shop."
Cloa frowned. "Geis?"
Rose rolled her eyes. She knew each and every one of her customers by name, especially the young male ones, and couldn't understand why Cloa didn't do the same. "Yes, the black-haired mercenary. Know who I mean?"
"Um... yeah," Cloa said, straightening an already-aligned stack of boxed tintonuts. Of course he knew who Geis was; he'd just wondered what his sister could possibly have to do with him.
"So make sure you tell him, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, Rose swept back into her part of the shop. "And don't think I don't know about that blue potion!" she added, before shutting the door. Cloa sighed. This was worse than when he first started out and Rose caught him eating the honey. Luckily for him, Geis happened to walk by a few minutes later.
"You!" Cloa shouted. Geis paused inquiringly.
"Me?"
"Yes! My sister wants a word with you." Cloa grinned at the thought of Rose scolding someone besides himself, but knew that wasn't likely.
"You came!" Rose said, stepping out from behind the counter to greet him. She even put up a "closed" sign on the front door, which made Cloa stare. It was the first time she'd ever used the sign. Even when he had the measles, she didn't do that. "Hey, let's go in the back room. It's quieter."
Geis followed her, feeling that he was being set up for something, but he couldn't guess what.
"I hear you're really in Baslam's bad graces now," Rose said, as she took down two crystal glasses from a cabinet, along with a container of wine. After she was done, he nodded and tasted it. It was extremely strong. Rose sat next to him.
"He's so heavy-handed and hard-headed," she complained. "It's getting almost impossible to put up with him. Don't you agree?"
Geis merely nodded again, not wanting to get mixed up in the town's politics more than he already was.
"Well, I have a feeling he's going to slip up soon."
"Possibly," Geis agreed cautiously, wondering where this was headed. Then he noticed a stack of pamphlets on ship building resting on her desk. "You're trying to start your own trading company?"
Rose smiled. "Yes! But don't tell anyone, okay? He'll never expect it. He thinks I like working for him, that codger. I'm sick of flirting with him to get my way. And that's why I asked you here." She put a hand on his arm. "How would you like to be a part of it?"
"Wait a minute! I'm not staying here - "
"That's all right," Rose murmured. "Even just a little help would be very appreciated."
"But - "
Rose leaned over and kissed his cheek. But instead of melting and agreeing to help her like she expected, the mercenary violently yanked himself free.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Rose shrugged, to hide both her disappointment and bruised ego. "My feminine wiles must need some work! Was that really so unpleasant? I guess it's a good thing I never got the chance to use them on those Romuns after all! Here, have some more wine."
Geis shoved the glass away from him and headed for the door.
Jue, Xisa and Sera left August in very high spirits. They loved his song, which was very flattering, full of flowery, glowing phrases about their beauty. They were still giggling about it when they arrived at the pikkard sty, where Anice was busy filling the water trough with buckets from the well.
"Hello!" the fisherwoman said cheerfully. "Fine day, isn't it?"
The sprites didn't have much experience talking to everyday humans, and frankly still thought it was beneath them, but Anice wasn't offended. "Oh, you're looking for your friend? He's talking to Rose."
"Strange ones, aren't they?" Anice remarked to Cloa after they flew off. The shopkeeper just nodded and mopped the sweat off his face. How could Anice bear carrying those heavy buckets in this heat, when he was miserable just sitting still?
"Wait!" Rose said. "Hear me out, will you?"
Geis ignored the merchant and flung the door open. Xisa smashed into him hard enough to knock him over.
"So sorry, master - " Xisa began. Then she noticed the lipstick on his cheek and jumped off him hard enough that her claws gouged his chest. She glared wrathfully at Rose, who laughed. That just made the fairy madder.
"Relax," Geis told her, glad of the interruption and startled by the realization that he now had his very own fan club. "Trust me, it's nothing. Now come on." He dusted himself off and followed them out.
"At least consider my offer!" Rose called after him. She put the wine and glasses away, and headed back to the counter. "Damn!" However, even such an obvious refusal couldn't keep the future owner of the illustrious Rose Trading Company down for long. She just loved a challenge.
A ship arrived the next morning, carrying both passengers and cargo. Baslam's workers kept busy loading and unloading crates of goods, and the town square was full of strangers. Tise wanted to watch them with Ur, but Isaac needed her help handling the newcomers.
Cloa made twice as many sales as usual, and knew Rose would be pleased. He looked at the people nearby and spotted an older couple approaching. Both of them had red hair. Cloa forced himself to stare at a basin of kamio flowers. He tried not to remember his life before being stranded on Canaan, but everything about them made him remember his parents. They walked arm in arm, the way his parents used to on the path by his old house. Even their voices sounded familiar.
"Excuse me."
He looked up and saw the woman standing there, holding a jar of blue potion. "I'd like to - " She froze.
"What's wrong, dear?" Her husband came over. He also stared at Cloa. "Lad, what's your name?" he demanded sharply.
"Cloa," Cloa replied. Then he instinctively added, "I work for my sister, Rose. She's inside."
"Rose!" the woman cried. "This can't be a coincidence! Oh, Cloa, don't you recognize your own mother?"
Cloa ran out from behind the counter and hugged her. "Mom!"
They entered the shop together. Rose's jaw dropped when she saw the two adults, with Cloa happily between them. She'd been older when they were swept off the deck of a ship during a storm years ago, so she had a clearer memory.
"Look at my daughter!" their father exclaimed. "What a beautiful woman she's become!"
For once, Rose's face lost its smirk. "Dad!"
Later that night, the newly reunited family had dinner at Isaac's and was congratulated by everyone from Lloyd to Professor Raba.
Xisa, Sera, Jue and Geis watched the scene from their table on the other side of the tavern. Geis abruptly stood.
"Where are you going?" Sera asked, mopping up her overturned glass, which spilled when their master shoved the table.
"Out," the mercenary said over his shoulder. They watched him leave.
"What was that about?" Xisa wondered. They thought about it.
"Jue thinks he's remembering Lord Ernst," Jue said. They realized she was probably right, and decided not to rush out after him, although they would have to track him down eventually. Earlier in the evening, Isaac had to visibly steel himself before telling Geis that he'd have to go elsewhere for the night, to make room for his paying customers. The bartender was immensely relieved when the mercenary just nodded and said he'd expected as much.
"We should respect his wishes," Sera said, mindful of their recent truce. "What harm can he possibly get into around here that he can't take care of himself?"
Once outside, Geis decided to talk a walk to the bridge between Canaan and Quatera, looking for a suitable place to camp along the way. It was a beautiful, cool night with a full moon, and although he wasn't a romantic man in the slightest, it still appealed to him. The sprites were right that he was preoccupied thinking about his brother, but for the first time in awhile he wasn't the least bit angry. Instead, he felt rather wistful. He was wondering what it would have been like if he and Ernst had gotten along when he reached the bridge and heard whispers.
"So, you understand the plan?"
"Perfectly! It's in the gold goblet, the one he always uses. After Baslam's gone, the town'll be in shambles. We'll just walk in and take over. They're all a bunch of shipwrecked bumpkins anyway. I seriously doubt there's a single real warrior between them. On the off-chance that he somehow escapes the poison, we'll just rely on force instead."
Rogues down on their luck, searching for new victims to take advantage of. Baslam was arrogant, and he hated the mercenary's guts, but Geis was still obligated to warn them. He'd taken a liking to many of the townspeople, even if he didn't always act like it, and didn't want to see them so mistreated. He set off back for Port Rimorge at a sprint, cursing that he didn't have the homunculi with him at a time like this. A few other people were outside in the town square, also enjoying the moonlight. They stared as Geis shoved past them and ran into Baslam's house, ignoring the servants' openmouthed stares as he crashed into the dining room. Baslam was in the act of raising the gem-studded chalice to his lips when the mercenary knocked it out of his hands. It fell to the floor with a clatter.
Before Baslam could react, another man at the table jumped up, his face contorted with rage. "Whiny little do-gooder!" he cried, lunging at Geis, who easily knocked the sword out of his hand.
"I guess I am," he said, as he moved to place his foot on the sword before the thief masquerading as a nobleman could reach it. It seemed like forever since he called Adol Christin that in the Mythos Path. But he didn't have time to reflect on what a hypocrite he was. In a few minutes, the thief was bound, gagged and locked in the storeroom. Geis was about to close the door when a hoarse voice asked,
"You're just going to leave him in here with me?"
Geis grabbed a torch off the wall and took a closer look in the room. Emilio walked out, his hands scabbed and bloody, but otherwise unhurt.
"I don't appreciate your sense of humor," he sniffed. "Giving me nothing to eat but salt pork and bacon for two days!" Emilio tried to look dignified, but failed when he ran outside to check on his beloved pikkards. Several of Baslam's guests looked at each other in confusion, but before anyone could speak another scuffle broke out at the entrance.
"Was that it?" Xisa pouted. "No fun at all!"
"When can we finally find opponents of our caliber?" Sera asked. They flew over and joined their master.
"If Lord Ernst was here, he would have let Jue bite their heads off!" Jue cried, still fuming that Sera had insisted that they stop short of killing the remaining would-be assassins. Geis just rolled his eyes at their bloodthirstiness and tried to tell them that Sera was right, that the men would have to be put on trial.
"Why, so someone else can have the fun of killing them later?" Xisa asked. "Your human rules are so pointless!"
"There is a chance that they're innocent," Geis explained, but they were no longer listening and after what he heard in the forest, that was highly doubtful. He was about to leave when Lloyd stopped him.
"Sir Geis!" he called out. "Sir Baslam would like a word with you."
That didn't sound good. But the mercenary's blood was still pumping hard, and he didn't mind the promise of some verbal sparring. With a nod to the sprites to tell them to stay put, he followed Lloyd to Baslam's back room. The merchant was waiting for him, arms crossed.
"Thanks to your actions tonight, you've completely ruined my negotiations - "
Geis immediately opened his mouth to protest. Was this man for real?
" - but even I can't deny that you did save my life, even if you were rather overdramatic about it. I owe you an apology." Baslam looked like he was sucking a lemon. Geis understood completely. He gave a curt nod and turned to leave.
"Go on, name your reward. You are a mercenary, right?"
The offer stunned him. He looked at Baslam's desk, where an assortment of Emelas weapons were laid out, originally meant for his guests, who were now busy watching Emilio's tearful reunion with his pikkards. Geis looked at his halberd, whose blade had been snapped clean off during his fight with Ernst. He'd repaired it the best he could, but the shining spearheads and blades had never looked as appealing. Baslam watched him with amusement, thinking that Geis was still very young, despite his outward demeanor.
Geis reached out, as if to pick up one of the weapons, but instead clutched at the table to keep from falling. Very dimly, he heard Baslam call for a doctor.
A day later, Geis opened his eyes and found himself lying on a strange bed. He instantly knew that he wasn't at the tavern, where the pallets were stuffed with straw. He tossed the sumptuously embroidered quilts to the floor and rushed to the window. It looked out over the town square, where Sophia and her daughter were drawing water from the village well, watching Emilio roll in the mud of the pikkard sty. The events of the night before came flooding back to him, and he realized that Baslam put him in one of the guest rooms intended for important visitors. He remembered Professor Raba's warning and clenched his fists. Fainting in the tavern in front of the homunculi had been embarrassing enough, but doing so in front of Baslam seemed infinitely worse. Before he could dwell on that further, there was a perfunctory knock on the door and Maple entered.
"Why, good morning!" she caroled, ignoring the way he stared as she set a tray laden with enough breakfast for five on the nightstand. "The master sure will be glad you're awake. Maybe now those fairies will stop making such a racket! They've been driving everybody crazy all night."
"They have?" Geis asked.
"I'll say! You should have heard them wailing. When Xaxon carried you out of the master's rooms, they thought you were dead. It took Professor Raba half an hour to convince them otherwise, and after that, they still wouldn't be quiet. The blue one even threatened to blast the door down a few times. Well, shall I send them in?"
"Wait a little while longer," Geis told her. When he thought that the sprites cared about him that much, he couldn't stop a slow grin from spreading across his face, but he still wanted to have a few more minutes of quiet before they bowled him over. He helped himself to a slice of toast and poured a cup of tea, glad that things were finally looking up.