Chapter 38: Strangest Places
Yoshimo looked up as Minsc sat down heavily in the bar seat next to him in the Five Flagons. "Is it time for a drink, my ranger and rodent?" the bounty hunter asked in that bright tone of his which always seemed to bring a smile to anyone's face.
"Minsc and Boo are always ready for a drink," the giant ranger replied, smiling toothily. "And you, little man, are gracious to offer it. I will have a pint of the mead, and if they are still doing any of those small cheese pieces, a bowl of those will suffice for Boo." The hamster squeaked, and Minsc's smile broadened. "Boo likes those, doesn't he?"
Yoshimo raised an eyebrow, but passed no comment as he gave Thunderburp the order and silently observed how the apparently stupid Minsc had easily manipulated him into buying him a drink. "I think they still do the cheese things," he commented quietly, a frown furrowing his brow.
"Good. Boo gets fidgety when he is hungry, and biscuits make him portly. He is starting to become too fat for his pouch." Minsc raised the hamster so that the Kara-Turan could see. To Yoshimo, Boo looked exactly the same as he always had, and definitely not fatter. But, then again, he was not mentally tuned to the rodent's mind.
"I see," Yoshimo commented quietly. There was a pause for a moment. "Have you seen Anomen since this morning?" he asked at last. He wouldn't normally care to admit it, but he was worried about the squire. Except for the encounters with Edwin and the Cowled Wizards earlier, Delryn had not emerged from either his room or his pit of depression since they had returned from the magistrate and his father.
"No," Minsc replied, also frowning. "He is in mourning. Boo says to let him mourn. Minsc was sorrowful for a long time after Dynaheir's death. I am still sad, of course, but instead of closing up inside my own head, I now kick evil's buttocks in my witch's name." He smiled a sad smile.
"Perhaps," Yoshimo conceded. "But it seems to me as if he has been closed up inside his head far too long. I think he may need someone to bring him back outside." And I don't know why that person should be me, but it really seems like it's going to be.
He looked down at his ale – really he had little taste for Western drinks, and he had no idea why he had ordered it – then drained it reluctantly. It was no better than the cider he had tried earlier. "I shall go see him. I have some news to deliver to him anyway, and it may help anyway."
Without waiting for Minsc to reply, the bounty hunter stood and started up the stairs, heading towards Anomen's room. The door was closed, and he considered barging right in. He reasoned that Delryn would not be too happy if he did as such, and he knocked at the door.
There was a while before Anomen opened the door to him. He was dressed in just a simple blue tunic, and his hair was sticking in all directions. He looked as if he had been trying to get some sleep, but the bags under his eyes told of his lack of success in his endeavours to achieve the absent bliss. "What is it now?" he asked irritably.
"I am here to offer my counsel, whether you desire it or not," Yoshimo told him stubbornly, sensing how the cleric was about to slam the door on him. "And do not attempt to shut me out, either physically or emotionally. There are few locks I cannot pick, either on doors or brains."
Anomen visibly sagged, and he stepped back, leaving the door open for Yoshimo to step in. As the bounty hunter closed the door behind him, he flopped onto the bed, looking more fatigued than he had in a while. "I have little desire to share my problems with you, brigand," he snapped, but the venom was sapped from his voice by sorrow and exhaustion.
"You still need to," Yoshimo responded quietly, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. "For who else will you go to? Harrian is too wound up with the business of the Cowled Wizards. He is too focused on finding Imoen, and too preoccupied with Jaheira. The druid has her own problems, one of which is our vaunted leader. Minsc? You would go to Minsc with a problem like this? His advice would be to get a hamster."
Delryn looked ruefully at the Kara-Turan. "And that leaves Haer'Dalis and yourself. You're right; you are the best that is available. It doesn't mean that I am about to open myself up to you. Just because everyone else is unacceptable does not make you ideal."
"Perhaps, but I also met your sister," Yoshimo reminded him. "Though that may count for little. Tell me… how and when would she have learnt of my homeland and its culture? I was much surprised, for you Westerners seem to be preoccupied with your own existence and dismiss the rest of the world as barbaric."
This time Anomen smiled, but it was – as Yoshimo had expected – a smile tinged with sadness. "My mother had travelled far before marrying my father. I do not believe she had gone as far as your lands, but she was also a voracious reader. My sister was much like her, and would doubtless have travelled had she not been bound to taking care of my father. My mother taught her much of other societies and cultures beyond our own."
The bounty hunter regarded him with a curious expression on his face. "You did not learn similar things? I would have thought you home-tutored and thus being educated in the same matters." He had found a hole to burrow into, and intended to make the most of it before Anomen realised what he was doing and slammed back shut.
"No… even then I was grooming myself for the Order and when my father refused to be my patron, it was the clergy. Helm may encourage knowledge in his Watchers, but there was never a course on other societies." Anomen did not meet Yoshimo's gaze, and he seemed too lost in his own thoughts to catch onto what the bounty hunter was doing.
"I see," the Kara-Turan mused thoughtfully, nodding. "How do you feel about what happened? Do you regret not taking vengeance on Saerk?" he asked at last, deciding that he had dodged around the matter too much and that it was time to dig into the deep stuff.
Delryn didn't reply for a few moments. "I… no," he confessed at last, shaking his head. "Harrian was right. Killing for vengeance is murder, not to mention against the tenets of the Order. If Saerk is guilty, he shall meet justice one way or another, be it justice of men or justice of gods."
"Do you truly believe that?" Yoshimo queried. He knew the look on Anomen's face. It was the expression of a man speaking what he knew was right but which he disagreed with most utterly.
The cleric sighed, bowing his head. "I do not know if Saerk is guilty," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "But if he is, he has the power to evade the law and shall continue to do so until his death. The Gods may punish him, but… I am not sure if that is enough for me." He looked up at Yoshimo eventually. "Even if he is not guilty, Moira's murderers walk free. And all I can do is sit here idly."
The bounty hunter paused for a moment, considering how to make his next move. He stepped forwards and perched on the edge of the desk. "Not necessarily," he murmured. "I have spoken to Tellis. He says he has information that may be of use to us. If we meet him in the Sea's Bounty tomorrow, he may give us a link to Moira's murderer, whoever it is."
Anomen looked up at him sharply. "Why did you not say so before?" he demanded, his eyes blazing as he glared at the bounty hunter, and Yoshimo was a little taken aback as all of the fury the squire felt was directed at him.
But Yoshimo was a man capable of handling himself, and showed no trace of his surprise. "Because I was unsure if you were in the state of mind where, upon finding out, you would go and murder those responsible. As your friend, I am here to help bring your sister's killers to justice, not to help you end their lives."
Delryn paused a moment, and his expression softened. "You are my friend?" he asked, rather tonelessly. Yoshimo wasn't sure if he felt surprise, disgust, or pleasure at the declaration, and, to be fair, the bounty hunter wasn't sure how he felt about the situation.
The Kara-Turan shrugged. "I suppose, yes," he admitted. "Or, at the very least, I don't really want to see you get imprisoned or thrown out of that Order you love so much for something as empty as this."
Anomen regarded him for a few seconds, then they both nodded at each other, leaving the remaining words unspoken. "You have my word that I shall not do as such." Then the solemn expression disappeared, and his slightly mocking smile – which Yoshimo had found so aggravating but was no glad to see on the squire's face – returned. "But may I ask, why is a thief such as yourself so willing to bring fellow brigands to justice?"
Yoshimo bristled a little, and for a moment regretted having ever extended the hand of friendship towards this rather callous man. Then he remembered what the cleric had been through, and calmed himself down. "I do not see them as fellow brigands," he replied, not bothering to keep some of the sharpness out of his voice. "I am a bounty hunter, not a murderer. I did not know your sister particularly well, but she did not deserve to die. And whilst I may not live by a code of honour like our esteemed leader, I do happen to have a moral compass. That moral compass does not agree with killing harmless young ladies."
Delryn sagged as he heard Yoshimo's words, and his expression flicked to one of regret as he sighed. "I'm sorry," he mumbled at last, scrubbing his face with his hands. "The past few days have been… well, I am sure that the Abyss would hardly be better." He looked up as he realised the Kara-Turan was smiling at him. "What?"
"I think that is the first time you have apologised to any of us – or at least, to me," the bounty hunter mused, moving for the door. "I suggest you get some sleep now. We shall head for the Sea's Bounty relatively early in the morning, and it would not do for you to be very tired."