I know my chapters are really long...sorry, and I apologize in advance for future longer chapters. So as a tip, it's easier to read when you make the font bigger (upper right corner)
-Chapter Three:
"What are we gonna be doing there?"
Hrimfaxi seemed slightly annoyed by the barrage of questions. "Are all human's this talkative?" But out-loud she said, "I'm going to meet my friends there; friends I haven't seen for years."
"What am I going to be doing?" Cleon asked. The centaur looked down at the boy.
"Well...I'll show you how to properly clean my armor and weapons and do the odd chore." They walked into Madame Shiva's Clothing Store and she added. "And while I'm glad that you're reasonably intelligent, we will have plenty of time to talk later on the road and so please refrain from conversation while you are being measured." An elderly woman, Madame Shiva, came in from behind the store.
"What can I get you dearie?" she asked. "Though we may not have anything in your size," she added, glancing at the centaur.
"It's not for me, mum," Hrimfaxi replied, shoving Cleon forward. I'd like two sets of work clothes, a sleeping outfit, and a set of traveling gear for the colt." Madame Shiva nodded and brought a small stool for Cleon to stand up on; she began measuring him with a knotted rope -the knots equaling a certain length- and Cleon, who had often been whipped with a knotted rope by Mr. Kutter, trembled a bit. But Madame Shiva gave him a friendly wink and slipped him a piece of rock candy. Quickly and skillfully she measured his arms, legs, waist and shoulders and hustled back behind the store to fetch the sets of clothing. Hrimfaxi was sad to see that it took very few knots to reach around the runty boy's waist.
"Why are you doing this for me?" Cleon asked.
Hrimfaxi paused before answering. "One, because I value human life, and secondly, the contract says I need to give you at least three sets of clothes."
"Really?" Cleon asked, surprised.
"Yes," and Hrimfaxi took out the contract from her money bag. "It also says I need to give you three meals a day, a visit to the healer twice a year, and an education." She showed him the paper. He squinted at it with blue eyes puzzled.
"Mr. Kutter never taught me to read," he told the bard, still staring at the paper. "He said I was too stupid for him to waste time and money on me for schooling; that all I needed to know was how to work."
"Well I'll educate you as best as I can and Felosial will probably help you too."
"Who's Felosial?"
"She one of my very good friends." Hrimfaxi said while accepting Cleon's new clothes from Madame Shiva. "One we will meet up with at Hensville." She paid the shopkeeper and they headed out.
"Why?"
"Why am I meeting up with her again? Because we -me and her and two others- haven't seen each other in years; we used to adventure together." They stopped in front of Murphy's Inn. "I want you to go inside and change out of those rags. I'm going to the blacksmith to get a new horseshoe."
Cleon went obediently to the door of the inn, but at the door he stubbornly turned around and made Hrimfaxi promise him to tell about her friends once she came back.
Hrimfaxi waited patiently while the blacksmith pounded the last nail into her hoof. He was a fine artisan and as she walked home the centaur was pleased with its stability. She trotted into the inn and opened the door outward, nearly running into Cleon who sat on the floor inches away from the door. Hrimfaxi -not used to having someone awaiting her return so eagerly- hesitated before entering the room.
"Have you spent the last half-hour staring at the door? I thought you were a kid, not a dog!" she asked sharply. The boy shook his head 'no' and the bard looked around and saw that the cot had been remade flawlessly, the spilled water around the bath-tub mopped up, and the fire built up. The centaur picked up her spear; it had been cleaned of all dirt and orc blood.
"Will you tell me about your friends now? The ones we're gonna meet tomorrow?"
"I will while I fix my lute." She went over to the cabinet and took out her broken instrument. Folding her long chestnut legs she knelt near the fire and with tattooed hands pieced the wood back together. Under her magic the frayed ends of broken strings laced themselves together and the chipped wood smoothed over. The centaur bard took the deep-bellied instrument and strummed the 6 strings experimentally; it let out a muted, soft sound. Cleon also sat down, but made sure to leave the centaur enough personal space and waited for her to begin. Hrimfaxi plucked the strings absently while she began. She was a masterful -and trained- storyteller and Cleon dared not interrupt.
"It was years ago that I left my tribe to learn the skills of a bard in the city. There was a famous half-elven bard, Thames, that had agreed to be my mentor. I was lucky I had found such a good tutor. But Thames was also a wizard and had another student, an elf apprentice. This young elf -well, young in elven standards since she's at least 100 years older than me- was named Felosial and at first we hated each other. I thought she was haughty and she labeled me as monstrous. We both wanted to be our mentor's best student and were constantly jealous of each other; always trying to outdo the other in studying, combat, etc. Thames knew of this rivalry, but never stopped it for because of it Felosial and I learned very fast. We both studied for hours on end to beat the other, practiced until we were sore so that the next day Thames would give an extra, treasured, compliment."
"Well, Thames finally drew the line when he had to unfreeze me from a spell Felosial had cast and he had to heal her broken shoulder; we had gotten into a fight. Thames was very disappointed in us; and we -the two students- were very ashamed. So ashamed that we agreed in secret to not fight anymore; and believe it or not we became inseparable friends, I helping her with combat skills, she teaching me some more finer parts of magic. We were so inseparable that once Thames declared us finished with our studies, we set off adventuring together; only most big cities already had heroes so we traveled to a small city, -named Fenei- a city overrun with criminals; in fact, on ur first day there we nabbed a small halfling -named Eldon- who was trying to pickpocket Felosial purse; we wouldn't have noticed him except Felosial had cast a very advanced warding spell."
"We brought this young halfling thief -he was only about your age- to the constable of the town -a dwarf named Rurik- only he wasn't the real constable, he was really a cleric of Moradin, only acting as sheriff while they tried to find a man to dill the job; the previous constable had gone insane trying to control all the criminals. We saw Rurik was nearly insane, he had been sent here from his temple to be a healer and didn't have any training as an officer; only the people in Fenei were desperate for someone to fill the job and so he volunteered. I won't say much of Rurik's intelligence...but his conscience gets him into a lot of trouble. We decided to help this poor dwarf."
"Thank Boccob that the new constable came quickly because the work was quite hard - I don't think we would have stayed except that Felosial and Rurik became friends and I pitied the poor dwarf. But we didn't leave immediately for we didn't really like the new sheriff. He was a half-orc and well-trained but also violent and ruthless. We feared he might punish some of the criminals too harshly; like Eldon who was only a young halfling. He and Rurik had become good friends while Eldon was in jail and we felt sorry for him because he had been forced into thievery by poverty. So we paid Eldon's bail and rescued him from the half-orc."
"Is that when you guys started traveling together," Cleon asked. "And fighting monsters?"
"Yes," answered the centaur, slightly miffed at being interrupted. "We went off together...and we did fight monsters; tribes of orcs, bands of ogres, a dragon or two...it went like that for awhile until we became quite wealthy -at least I was, Rurik gave most of his money to temple charities, Felosial spent it all on magical artifacts and Eldon...well, I don't know what he did with his- and after that we didn't need to adventure anymore and went different ways. Rurik's superiors at the temple summoned him and he took Eldon -who he had practically adopted- with him, probably hoping to turn him into a cleric though no temple would initiate a thief like him. Felosial was given a very prestigious job in the Wizards' Guild and I went back to my tribe after they elected me as their leader. We still corresponded through mail, and a week ago I received a leter from all three of them saying that they were planning to meet up in Hensville and would I like to come?"
"Tomorrow," finished Hrimfaxi. "We travel to Hensville -it'll be about a day;s travel- and I'll introduce you to my friends. It seems Felosial has taken a small break from her job -probably wearing down her health- Rurik has been sent here by his temple and Eldon...well, his letter was brief and I assume he's coming with Rurik." Hrim faxi got up now and put away her fixed lute. She took off her leather arm and legs bands along with her should pads; straightening the tunic and belt she wore underneath. "Aren't you going to bed yet?" she said sternly.
Cleon immediately jumped up and settled in his cot. Hrimfaxi trotted over to the cot and looked down at the boy form up high, fidgeting with her braided and beaded mane nervously.
"I don't know much about human foals, er...kids," she said, a bit shyly. "So if you need anything...tellme."
It looked like Cleon was already asleep. Hrimfaxi tried to walk over to the fireplace quietly and she too, not used to sleeping with another person in the room, fell asleep; standing up on all four legs and rocking back and forth peacefully.
-Chapter Three:
"What are we gonna be doing there?"
Hrimfaxi seemed slightly annoyed by the barrage of questions. "Are all human's this talkative?" But out-loud she said, "I'm going to meet my friends there; friends I haven't seen for years."
"What am I going to be doing?" Cleon asked. The centaur looked down at the boy.
"Well...I'll show you how to properly clean my armor and weapons and do the odd chore." They walked into Madame Shiva's Clothing Store and she added. "And while I'm glad that you're reasonably intelligent, we will have plenty of time to talk later on the road and so please refrain from conversation while you are being measured." An elderly woman, Madame Shiva, came in from behind the store.
"What can I get you dearie?" she asked. "Though we may not have anything in your size," she added, glancing at the centaur.
"It's not for me, mum," Hrimfaxi replied, shoving Cleon forward. I'd like two sets of work clothes, a sleeping outfit, and a set of traveling gear for the colt." Madame Shiva nodded and brought a small stool for Cleon to stand up on; she began measuring him with a knotted rope -the knots equaling a certain length- and Cleon, who had often been whipped with a knotted rope by Mr. Kutter, trembled a bit. But Madame Shiva gave him a friendly wink and slipped him a piece of rock candy. Quickly and skillfully she measured his arms, legs, waist and shoulders and hustled back behind the store to fetch the sets of clothing. Hrimfaxi was sad to see that it took very few knots to reach around the runty boy's waist.
"Why are you doing this for me?" Cleon asked.
Hrimfaxi paused before answering. "One, because I value human life, and secondly, the contract says I need to give you at least three sets of clothes."
"Really?" Cleon asked, surprised.
"Yes," and Hrimfaxi took out the contract from her money bag. "It also says I need to give you three meals a day, a visit to the healer twice a year, and an education." She showed him the paper. He squinted at it with blue eyes puzzled.
"Mr. Kutter never taught me to read," he told the bard, still staring at the paper. "He said I was too stupid for him to waste time and money on me for schooling; that all I needed to know was how to work."
"Well I'll educate you as best as I can and Felosial will probably help you too."
"Who's Felosial?"
"She one of my very good friends." Hrimfaxi said while accepting Cleon's new clothes from Madame Shiva. "One we will meet up with at Hensville." She paid the shopkeeper and they headed out.
"Why?"
"Why am I meeting up with her again? Because we -me and her and two others- haven't seen each other in years; we used to adventure together." They stopped in front of Murphy's Inn. "I want you to go inside and change out of those rags. I'm going to the blacksmith to get a new horseshoe."
Cleon went obediently to the door of the inn, but at the door he stubbornly turned around and made Hrimfaxi promise him to tell about her friends once she came back.
Hrimfaxi waited patiently while the blacksmith pounded the last nail into her hoof. He was a fine artisan and as she walked home the centaur was pleased with its stability. She trotted into the inn and opened the door outward, nearly running into Cleon who sat on the floor inches away from the door. Hrimfaxi -not used to having someone awaiting her return so eagerly- hesitated before entering the room.
"Have you spent the last half-hour staring at the door? I thought you were a kid, not a dog!" she asked sharply. The boy shook his head 'no' and the bard looked around and saw that the cot had been remade flawlessly, the spilled water around the bath-tub mopped up, and the fire built up. The centaur picked up her spear; it had been cleaned of all dirt and orc blood.
"Will you tell me about your friends now? The ones we're gonna meet tomorrow?"
"I will while I fix my lute." She went over to the cabinet and took out her broken instrument. Folding her long chestnut legs she knelt near the fire and with tattooed hands pieced the wood back together. Under her magic the frayed ends of broken strings laced themselves together and the chipped wood smoothed over. The centaur bard took the deep-bellied instrument and strummed the 6 strings experimentally; it let out a muted, soft sound. Cleon also sat down, but made sure to leave the centaur enough personal space and waited for her to begin. Hrimfaxi plucked the strings absently while she began. She was a masterful -and trained- storyteller and Cleon dared not interrupt.
"It was years ago that I left my tribe to learn the skills of a bard in the city. There was a famous half-elven bard, Thames, that had agreed to be my mentor. I was lucky I had found such a good tutor. But Thames was also a wizard and had another student, an elf apprentice. This young elf -well, young in elven standards since she's at least 100 years older than me- was named Felosial and at first we hated each other. I thought she was haughty and she labeled me as monstrous. We both wanted to be our mentor's best student and were constantly jealous of each other; always trying to outdo the other in studying, combat, etc. Thames knew of this rivalry, but never stopped it for because of it Felosial and I learned very fast. We both studied for hours on end to beat the other, practiced until we were sore so that the next day Thames would give an extra, treasured, compliment."
"Well, Thames finally drew the line when he had to unfreeze me from a spell Felosial had cast and he had to heal her broken shoulder; we had gotten into a fight. Thames was very disappointed in us; and we -the two students- were very ashamed. So ashamed that we agreed in secret to not fight anymore; and believe it or not we became inseparable friends, I helping her with combat skills, she teaching me some more finer parts of magic. We were so inseparable that once Thames declared us finished with our studies, we set off adventuring together; only most big cities already had heroes so we traveled to a small city, -named Fenei- a city overrun with criminals; in fact, on ur first day there we nabbed a small halfling -named Eldon- who was trying to pickpocket Felosial purse; we wouldn't have noticed him except Felosial had cast a very advanced warding spell."
"We brought this young halfling thief -he was only about your age- to the constable of the town -a dwarf named Rurik- only he wasn't the real constable, he was really a cleric of Moradin, only acting as sheriff while they tried to find a man to dill the job; the previous constable had gone insane trying to control all the criminals. We saw Rurik was nearly insane, he had been sent here from his temple to be a healer and didn't have any training as an officer; only the people in Fenei were desperate for someone to fill the job and so he volunteered. I won't say much of Rurik's intelligence...but his conscience gets him into a lot of trouble. We decided to help this poor dwarf."
"Thank Boccob that the new constable came quickly because the work was quite hard - I don't think we would have stayed except that Felosial and Rurik became friends and I pitied the poor dwarf. But we didn't leave immediately for we didn't really like the new sheriff. He was a half-orc and well-trained but also violent and ruthless. We feared he might punish some of the criminals too harshly; like Eldon who was only a young halfling. He and Rurik had become good friends while Eldon was in jail and we felt sorry for him because he had been forced into thievery by poverty. So we paid Eldon's bail and rescued him from the half-orc."
"Is that when you guys started traveling together," Cleon asked. "And fighting monsters?"
"Yes," answered the centaur, slightly miffed at being interrupted. "We went off together...and we did fight monsters; tribes of orcs, bands of ogres, a dragon or two...it went like that for awhile until we became quite wealthy -at least I was, Rurik gave most of his money to temple charities, Felosial spent it all on magical artifacts and Eldon...well, I don't know what he did with his- and after that we didn't need to adventure anymore and went different ways. Rurik's superiors at the temple summoned him and he took Eldon -who he had practically adopted- with him, probably hoping to turn him into a cleric though no temple would initiate a thief like him. Felosial was given a very prestigious job in the Wizards' Guild and I went back to my tribe after they elected me as their leader. We still corresponded through mail, and a week ago I received a leter from all three of them saying that they were planning to meet up in Hensville and would I like to come?"
"Tomorrow," finished Hrimfaxi. "We travel to Hensville -it'll be about a day;s travel- and I'll introduce you to my friends. It seems Felosial has taken a small break from her job -probably wearing down her health- Rurik has been sent here by his temple and Eldon...well, his letter was brief and I assume he's coming with Rurik." Hrim faxi got up now and put away her fixed lute. She took off her leather arm and legs bands along with her should pads; straightening the tunic and belt she wore underneath. "Aren't you going to bed yet?" she said sternly.
Cleon immediately jumped up and settled in his cot. Hrimfaxi trotted over to the cot and looked down at the boy form up high, fidgeting with her braided and beaded mane nervously.
"I don't know much about human foals, er...kids," she said, a bit shyly. "So if you need anything...tellme."
It looked like Cleon was already asleep. Hrimfaxi tried to walk over to the fireplace quietly and she too, not used to sleeping with another person in the room, fell asleep; standing up on all four legs and rocking back and forth peacefully.