Chapter 4: Moonlight Discussion
Yoshimo breathed a sigh of relief as he descended the stairs to enter the main bar of the Mithrest Inn. As he had suspected – or rather, desperately hoped – it was mercifully clear of nobles to gain distastefully upon him.
Not that he cared one jot for their opinions. He just knew that such an open clash of social standings could have disastrous effects. The damage dealt would be as if it had been dealt with a war hammer, and Yoshimo was a stiletto man.
Not for the first time, he wondered what he had done to fall in with this group of madmen. And a druid. It was night time, and slumber did not come easily to one under a powerful geas which forced an honourable man to break his word.
For Yoshimo was an honourable man. He was a Kara-Turan, part of a society built on honour, and to be forced into a deal such as the one he was now in with Irenicus did not bode well for him. He had no idea as to how he would proceed, how he would deal with this situation – if he would abandon his honour to live, or stand by his word and die.
A voice from one of the large chairs behind him saved the bounty hunter from having to answer the question in his head, and he whirled around to see Jaheira lounged in a seat, a steaming cup of something in her hand.
'Lounged' was, actually, quite an incorrect word to use. It seemed to suggest that she was at ease, and relaxed. Whilst she might physically be, the slight fidgeting, furrow of her brow and almost frantic drinking of the hot mixture in her cup displayed the lack of such a mental peace.
Finally, he was jerked from his reverie as he realised she had asked him a question. He shook his head to clear it, and gazed openly at her. "I'm sorry?" he asked quietly and a little sheepishly.
"I said that you seem a little lost," Jaheira repeated patiently, gingerly sipping the herbal tea she'd acquired from the bar. One bonus of residing in this expensive establishment meant that it was possible to get a hot drink late at night without being disturbed – the heavy drinking had stopped hours earlier.
"It is hard to sleep," Yoshimo replied warily, edging towards the chair opposite her, then sitting primly on it as she pushed it back towards him with her foot. The wooden leg scraped on the tiled floor with a loud groan that broke the restful silence of the room, and the bartender cocked an eyebrow at them, a vague expression of irritation on his face.
Jaheira took the thief's unhappiness as reluctance to admit how the recent situation had affected him. "That is why I ordered tea. It is quite soothing. Besides, if we are to stay at this luxurious establishment, we might as well take advantage of it." Twenty-four hours ago she might have smiled as she spoke, he realised with a jolt.
"Harrian and Minsc seem to be saved from our inhibitions," Yoshimo observed, declining the cup she offered him. He would not sleep; of that he was certain, and thus drinking vile substances would serve no purpose.
"Minsc could sleep through a thunderstorm, and has done so before," the druid assured him. "It is his way of dealing with loss. And as for Harrian…" Her voice trailed off, and the bounty hunter noted a crease of concern on her forehead.
"You do not believe he sleeps?" Yoshimo prompted cautiously.
She shook her head. "Harrian is not one to slumber during difficult times. Imoen meant – means – a lot to him. He shall not take her kidnapping lightly."
"The days ahead have the potential to be hard, verily," Yoshimo mused, leaning back in his chair.
"You are under no obligation to travel and fight with us," Jaheira reminded him, not unkindly. "I am sure Harrian would welcome your talents full-time, however, if you wished to stay," she added quickly.
The Kara-Turan pretended to consider this for a moment. "If your leader will have me, I shall follow. I am also curious about Irenicus," he lied. There was a long pause for a moment. "Why is Harrian your leader?" he asked at length, curiosity on his face. "I mean… you are older and more travelled; Minsc is physically superior, if, from what I have seen, not entirely sound in the head. Why do you follow a thief such as he?"
Jaheira contemplated this for a moment, already knowing most of the answer in her head, but unsure of how much to divulge to Yoshimo. He was their new ally, she knew, but she did not fully trust him; neither did she wish to tell him secrets that were not hers to tell. "Harrian is a born leader," she declared at last. "He may not be the fighter Minsc is, and I may be more experienced an adventurer, but that is not all that is needed to lead, especially a party like ours." She sighed. "He can be as stubborn as an ox on occasions, and mind-numbingly naïve when it comes to trusting people, but at the end of the day, he's intelligent, and a sound leader."
Yoshimo resisted the urge to narrow his eyes at her and throw her a very querying glance. "That is why you follow him," he repeated slowly.
She nodded stiffly. "That is why I follow him."