Chapter 5: Rallying the Troops
The next morning, Jaheira eyed the stairs leading from the Mithrest Inn's rooms to the tavern section of the inn with intense trepidation. She was certain that sleep would restore some of their leader's usual vitality and energy, but how much she was eager to see.
Beside her sat Minsc, indifferently feeding Boo crackers. The rodent would nibble at some crumbs, look as smug as was possible for a hamster, then eye Yoshimo with an air of something bordering on wariness.
The bounty hunter was, externally, more at ease than he had been the previous evening, yet his inner turmoil had not been appeased. Talking with Jaheira had merely confirmed his suspicions on how hard it would be to betray these people.
"Boo wonders what is taking Harrian so long to awake on this fine day," Minsc declared suddenly. Jaheira looked on sceptically. To her, it seemed as if Boo was wondering how many crackers he could eat before getting too fat to fit in the pouch on the ranger's back, and certainly didn't care about their leader's internal clock.
"He has earned a rest," Yoshimo interned gravely, saving Jaheira the trouble of pointing this out to the masses.
"I am sure that, once he has slept soundly, he shall be invigorated and ready to lead us onwards. There is much for us to do," Jaheira concurred, though there was a touch of doubt and suspicion in her voice.
"Good morrow friends! I trust you have all rested well?" a familiar voice boomed from behind them as Harrian descended from a staircase different to the one the druid had been stubbornly watching.
In response, the swashbuckler won Minsc's curious glance, Yoshimo's surprised look, and Jaheira's slightly venomous glare. Nobody answered him. "Well?" he asked, far more quietly, pulling up a chair next to the druid with a slightly sheepish expression on his face.
"You are more… animated than we had anticipated," Yoshimo told him cautiously.
"Harrian is back in full butt-kicking form!" Minsc said to the bounty hunter loudly. "Minsc and Boo shall join the hero in mopping the floor with evil's buttocks this day as we strive to find little Imoen!"
Their leader smiled, albeit a little wanly. "You said it Minsc," he concurred, though Jaheira noted he spoke with less aplomb than was usual for him. At her questioning glance, his face became more serious. "I've been doing a lot of thinking," he told her quietly. "Moping won't get us far. It shall take action to rescue Imoen from the Cowled Wizards."
"Granted, though I am unsure was to what action will get us to our goal," the druid confessed. "We shall need more information before we can safely make any further decisions."
"True, and that shall come," Corias assured her, though a little dismissively. "But first, we must strengthen ourselves. We have need of a skilled spellcaster – now that Imoen's gone." There was a trace of sadness in his voice.
"Any mage of ours will go the same way as your friend, without a license," Yoshimo protested instantly.
Harrian managed to dilute the withering look he threw the bounty hunter before speaking. "Then we will get a license," he pointed out impatiently.
"It is not a simple case of applying and then having one given to you," Yoshimo insisted, with a little exasperation. "The wizards are very selective… it usually takes a gold contribution before they even consider it."
The swashbuckler rolled his eyes. "This is the City of Coin. I shouldn't be surprised," he muttered, more to himself than anybody else. "Alright, we'll work on that," he conceded at last. "But there's a second thing we'll need –"
He stopped as a shadow fell over the table, and looked up to see the portly bartender's form blocking the stream of sunlight from the window. "Here's your bill," Pugney muttered gruffly, stubby hands pushing paper across the table towards them.
Corias looked blankly at them. "This was settled last night!" he declared indignantly, as he finally read the paper. "You're charging me that much for tea?" the thief continued, a slight note of panic in his voice. "We don't have that much!"
He spoke a little too loud, however, and caught the nobleman whose purse he had picked the evening before, who was sitting up by the bar and snickering a little. Corias's eyes narrowed, and the streak of pride and stubbornness that had got him into much trouble before raised its ugly head. He smiled belligerently at Pugney, and the bartender raised an eyebrow, a slight look of worry in his eyes…
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Chapter 5... finished. Next, the party get out of a sticky situation, attempt to gather themselves and set about a plan of action, in the course of which encountering someone who could either be a valuable ally or irritating foe...