Chapter One: Old Friends and New
The next morning, a young black magician cursed to himself as he stood in line, waiting to get in to the city. He glared again at the back of a bitchy old merchant who was ahead of him, taking forever to have all his things checked, arguing with the guards over every item he was and wasn't allowed to take into the city.
I swear if he keeps this up for much longer, I'm going to belt him over the head with my staff, he thought to himself as he glared. He had no idea what was behind this sudden filtering of people inward and outward bound of the city. He'd only heard rumors from those leaving that something serious had happened at the castle last night. At first he thought it might have something to do with the strange attack on the bridge that led to Provoka, but that had been several days ago from what he'd heard and the main reason why he even bothered to stop at Coneria in the first place.
He turned around out of boredom to find the guy behind him staring at him. The mage frowned.
"What the Hell are you looking at?" he demanded in an angry tone.
"N-nothing," the man said, shrinking back from him.
Annoyed, the mage turned back around and once again considered bashing the old man over the head with his staff. Just as he was amusing himself over the details of explaining it to the guards, the merchant was admitted into the city.
"Finally," said the mage aloud, walking up to the desk the solider was sitting at and practically shoving the old man out of the way.
"Sorry for the delay," the soldier said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, just get on with it."
"Right, name?"
"Thollatos Zescalland."
"Birthplace?"
"Crescent Lake."
"Reason for coming to Coneria?"
"Work."
"How long do you plan on staying?"
"Depends on if I find work."
"Do you have any friends or relatives living in the city?"
"No."
"What will you be bringing into the city?"
"My staff, some traveling supplies, medicine, and some gil."
"Do you plan on making any major purchases while in the city?"
"Most likely not," Thol began. Irritated, he asked, "Are we just about done? My patience is running thin."
"Almost. Can you open up your bag so that I can verify its contents, please?"
Thol wordlessly complied. The soldier glanced inside, moving a few things about, then jotted a few notes on the parchment he was writing on. "You may close it now." Again, he did so without comment.
The soldier looked up from the parchment now and gave the mage a good look over, noting on his pad his appearance. He stood about six foot tall, seemingly of a thin build, though it was hard to tell with the faded, travel worn robes he wore that may have been dark blue at one point, but was now merely grey and stained. His face was shrouded in darkness due to the hood he wore, the only distinguishable feature his eyes, which glowed a mysterious silver color as he regarded the soldier in front of him. The sack he carried was slung over his shoulder carelessly, his fingerless gloved hands clasped around the staff he carried, one overtop of the other. Adorning the fingers on his right hand were several expensive looking rings that also glowed with their own color, no doubt enhancing his magical powers. Around his neck hung an ornate pendant, just as powerful as the rings the soldier had guessed. He briefly considered asking the mage to take off his hood so that he may see his face, but he thought it wise not to anger the obviously irate man further.
"Alright, you may enter the city. Please try to stay out of any trouble and refrain from using any magic or edged weapons during your stay. If you have any problems, please see one of the city guards. Enjoy your stay in the Dream City."
Thol snorted at the words 'Dream City', knowing that despite it being the capital, Coneria was a backwater city populated by mostly farmers and small time merchants of little notoriety, making the merchandise available the worst on the planet.
As he entered the gates, he noticed another line headed by a similar desk like the one he was just at leading out of the city. He groaned inwardly as he realized that he'd have to go through all that again when he left. Shaking his head in annoyance, he made his way to the nearest pub, intent on finding out if the city had any work for one such as himself.
As he stepped through the doors, all conversation stopped for a moment. Thol didn't bother to pause with them, used to getting such a reaction from the people of Coneria. It wasn't often they saw a mage in their city, let alone one as imposing as Thol, who seemed to carry with him an aura promising trouble if angered, which he was well on his way to being. People made room for him to pass as he purposefully strode up to the bar to stare down the barkeep.
"What can I get ya?" the man said after a moment, to his credit, not stuttering like most people did when under his intense gaze. Thol guessed the bartender was used to getting all kinds of people.
"I'm looking for work. I heard you might know of some available to someone of my talents," Thol said, knowing that barkeeps generally know most of what went on in a town.
"Ya've come at a good time, stranger. There was a ruckus up at the castle last night and it seems to have set the military back a few men. There's been rumor of some sorta special patrol leaving the castle soon after the commotion. Ya might want to head over to the castle and see what's goin' on."
Thol nodded his thanks. "Do you have food here?"
"Yes, sir. Finest in the city!"
"I'm sure," Thol said with mild sarcasm. "How much for a light meal?"
"15 gil."
Thol tossed the appropriate number of coins on the counter and went to sit down at an unoccupied table to await his meal. As he waited, he glanced around the room, noting that most people who had the gall to be looking in his direction quickly looked away when his gaze fell on them. Typical, he thought, shaking his head.
His meal arrived soon after and he waited only long enough for the waitress to leave before digging in ravenously. After a few mouthfuls, he was forced to concede that the barkeeps overzealous claim may in fact be true. Either that or it's because I haven't had a real meal in weeks.
As he neared the end of his meal, a new customer entered the pub. Thol could tell by the man's gait that he was either extremely large or clad in armor. Not particularly keen to find out, he didn't bother to look. Similar to what he had done, the new arrival made directly for the bar.
"What can I get ya?" Thol heard the barkeep ask, exactly the same as he had done with him.
"I need information. I've been told you're the man to see," a deep but weary voice said. Thol paused in the middle of a bit to look up at the man, the voice far too familiar to be ignored. He laughed lightly to himself, thinking it odd to run into him here. Quickly finishing off his meal, he stood and made his way back to the bar.
"I may be able to help ya. What're ya looking to find?"
"Bikke," was the man's only reply. The entire pub went silent, causing the man to look around, missing Thol where he continued to move toward them.
"Captain Bikke, the pirate. Why'd ya wanna find him, stranger? That old dog is nothing but trouble," the barkeep said in low tones.
"He killed my brother. He must be brought to justice," the man replied with a steely determination.
"Sorry, stranger. No one's seen hide nor hair of Bikke for over six months now. It's like he's disappeared. Some have heard rumors that his cursed ship went down in a storm around Elfland."
The man sighed. "Thank you for your help, kind sir." He was just about to turn away from the bar and leave when Thol stepped up to him.
"Still looking, eh Tor?"
A rare smile broke out on the man's face. "Thol. It's been awhile. Yes, I'm still looking. I've found nothing. It's like the barkeep said. It's almost as if he disappeared after sacking Provoka."
Thol nodded, taking in the changes Tor had gone through since he'd last seen him a little less then a year ago. He still stood a full two inches taller then himself, though it didn't show as he was slumped over, be it from exhaustion or defeat, he didn't know. His reddish brown hair was unkempt and not neatly trimmed like he usually had it, same went for the beard on his face, the reddish hairs a blatant sign he had been on the road for some time. His usually strong face was slacken, dark circles under his brown eyes a testament that he slept rarely and never very well. He still wore the same armored vest with the same broad sword slung over his back, the sword being the main reason he was of muscular build. Thol knew first hand how heavy that sword was. He had attempted to move it once when they were on a job together and he practically had to drag it just to move it.
"What are you going to do next?" Thol asked him after a moment.
Tor sighed again. "I don't know. I've been everywhere. There's nowhere left to check."
Thol patted the other man sympathetically on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Tor. You'll get him one day."
Tor nodded, his head hung in contemplation. After a moment, he shook himself and stood up straighter. "And how about you? What brings you to Coneria, Thol?"
"The usual. Work. Not much work for an independent mage these days. I've been living off scraps for quite a while now."
Tor nodded. "Aye. As have I. I've got less then a hundred gil on me at the moment. Not much to work with."
It was Thol's turn to nod. "I'm going to go to the castle to see what all the commotion was last night. You could come with me. If there's any work for me, I'd feel better with your sword to back me up."
Tor thought about it for a moment and again nodded. "I think I will join you. I'd also like to find out what happened. I've got nothing better to do now that I'm out of leads, and besides, we could pool our resources."
"Indeed. We should head over to the inn and get a room before we do anything."
Tor nodded his agreement and they both set out to the inn. When they arrived, Thol paid for the room, then they stood off a ways to discuss the next step.
"Okay, I'm running a little low on supplies, so I'm going to head over to the shop and stock up. Do you need anything?" Thol said.
"I'm going to head over to the blacksmith's and get my bracer repaired. One of the buckles let go on me in my last scuffle."
"Alright. We'll meet back here in the lounge when we're done. If you get back before me, see if you can find anything out about what happened. I'll do the same."
"Right," Tor replied. They both exited the inn, intending to go separate ways when they ran into a trio of men, all of them looking rather unsavory.
"Watch where you're going, jackass," Thol said in irritation, pushing back two of them with his staff.
"You foreigners have no respect. Someone should teach you some manners," the man in the middle said, apparently the leader of the group.
"Hey, guys. Just let it go alright. We don't want any trouble," Tor said, trying to diffuse the situation.
"No one calls me that and gets away with it," the lead man said again, pulling a crude looking knife out from his belt and pointing it toward Thol. He yelped in sudden pain, Thol knocking the knife from his hand as quickly as it had been drawn.
"Care to try that again?" Thol asked in a dangerous tone.
"Hmph... You'll regret this. I promise you. Come on boys," said the man, bending down to retrieve his knife before striding away from them.
"Morons," Thol said, letting the butt of the staff touch the ground again.
Tor gave a quick laugh. "Still as irritable as ever I see. You know, Thol, one day you're going to get in a heap of trouble over your temper."
"We'll see about that. I'll meet you later," the mage replied, striding away from the inn in the direction of the general store.
"Be careful on your way. Those guys could come back."
Thol replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. He made it to the store without any difficulties and then remembering that he was running low on potions, he decided to make a quick stop at the clinic. On the way there, he noticed that there were constructing a new building. Thol took a close look at the structure and decided it was going to be a library. He then caught a glimpse of the largest man he'd ever seen working on the compound. Thol guessed that he was roughly seven foot tall and was a walking pile of muscle, easily able to life a giant support beam by himself. It was hard to make out details from a distance, but he appeared to be clad in a tank top and baggy pants, his light brown hair held back by a bandana.
Observing the construction site as he was, he wasn't watching where he was going as he rounded the corner and for the second time in an hour ran into someone, this time knocking them right over and dropping his staff in the process.
"Damn it! Does anyone in this hovel watch where they're walking?" Thol grunted in annoyance.
A small bottle rolled to a stop at his feet. Looking down at the person he just ran into, he was rather surprised to see a girl about his own age sprawled out of the ground trying to gather all the bottles that were rolling around. Miraculously, none had been broken. Thol gave himself a mental slap and bent over to help her.
"Sorry," he told her, helping her finish gathering them before picking up his staff.
"No, it was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going," replied the girl.
"Neither was I," Thol said, both of them standing.
The first thing Thol noticed about the girl was how incredibly beautiful she was. He almost dropped his staff again at the sight of her. When he got over his initial shock, he began to take in other details. She was notably shorter then him, by maybe half a foot or more. Her hair was red, like Tor's, except it was pure red and by the looks of it, much longer, the hood she was wearing obscuring most of it. The rest of her was hidden behind the cloak she wore to fend off the morning chill, though by her posture, he could guess about a few things. By the looks of it, she was an amateur white magician.
"You're a mage," Thol said, more of a statement then a question.
"As are you," the girl replied with an impish smile that made her look even more beautiful.
"So I am," Thol said with a slight chuckle, finding it hard to take his silvery eyes off the girl's sea green ones.
"Well, I hate to be rude, but I really must be on my way. I've got much work to do."
"It's no bother. I myself have things to do," Thol replied with another dismissive wave of the hand. "It was nice to meet you."
The girl nodded. "Farewell," she said, stepping around him.
Thol turned to watch her walk away as she passed. I guess there's something good about this hole after all, he thought as she rounded a corner out of his sight. Turning back the way he was going, he continued on to the clinic. . . .
X X X X
Thol returned to the inn to find that Tor had already arrived. He was sitting in the lounge listening to a local band playing some soft music while drinking a cup of what was most likely ale. Thol paused long enough to get a cup of water from the barkeep before walking over and sitting with his friend.
"I see you got your bracer fixed," Thol commented, noting the armored plate on his arm where there was none before.
"Indeed. I haven't been able to find out anything more about the commotion at the castle though. Seems like they're keeping it a secret up there."
Thol was about to reply when he was interrupted by a voice from the adjacent table.
"You wanna know what's been happening up at the castle?" asked an oily voice.
Thol glanced over at the owner of the voice and frowned. The man looked to be of average height, though it was hard to tell from his sitting position. He had a sly grin on his face that was obviously fake, immediately making Thol distrust the man. His dark grey eyes were shadowed slightly by the tilt of his head, his dark colored hair, which appeared to be of an odd bluish color, was slicked back and neatly kept, aside from the stray hair or two that fell upon his brow. He was clad in a matching peasant brown shirt and pants with a black vest and belt which housed a pair of daggers and no doubt many other objects of unsavory origin. On his hands were fingerless black gloves almost identical to those Thol wore. Right now they were clasped around a cup of ale like that of Tor's. Thol took an immediate disliking to the man, the mischievous glint in his eyes not helping matters.
"Do you know?" Tor asked before Thol could get a word in.
"Indeed I do," the man said, getting up to sit at their table. "It seems as though someone from inside the castle kidnapped one of the princesses at about midnight, decimating the guards and taking her right out of the city."
"And how did you manage to find this out?" Thol asked, somehow already knowing the answer.
The man grinned even wider. "I slipped by the guards at the castle and did some strategic eavesdropping."
"And how did you manage that?" Thol questioned further, not sure if he really wanted to know.
His reply was to touch his finger to the side of his nose and say, "Trade secret."
"Un huh," Thol commented sarcastically. He turned to Tor and asked, "Well, what do you think? Should we check it out?"
"It couldn't hurt. I've noticed that the guards that patrol the city seem to be a little thin. Maybe the king would welcome our aid."
"Take me with you," the blue haired man said suddenly.
Thol looked at him again. "Why should we?"
"I did supply you with the information. Besides, I'm a little strapped for cash at the moment. I figure there'll be a pretty decent reward for rescuing the princess."
"Ha. Honest work for someone like you? That's a first," Thol commented.
The grin fell from the man's face. "What are you implying?"
"Come on, admit it. It's blatantly obvious that you're a thief. I'm surprised the guards haven't beaten you down and arrested you yet."
"Hey, hey. That's a little harsh, isn't it? I'd prefer to think of myself as an opportunistic entrepreneur."
"Right, and imps fly."
"It wouldn't hurt to take him along, Thol. I'm sure he's no stranger to battle and we may need the help when the time comes," Tor said.
"I suppose so," Thol agreed. He looked to the blue haired man. "Okay, you're in, but don't even think about taking anything or I'll hunt you down myself."
The grin returned to his face. "No problem, boss. Keza Kran, at your service," he said, extending a hand.
Thol ignored it. "Thollatos Zescalland. You may call me Thol."
"Tor Zakon," the armored man said, shaking the hand offered to him.
"If we're going to the castle, we'd better go soon. There's no telling what could happen if we wait," Thol suggested.
"Good idea," Keza said, gathering his things from the other table where he had left them.
Tor downed the rest of his ale and stood to follow Thol who had already begun making his way to the exit, Keza right behind them. As they stepped out of the inn and made their way to the main street a troop of bloodied and battered troops entered the town, headed for the castle. At the head of the column was a middle aged man who was walking with a limp, obviously from the rather severe leg wound he sported. Nonetheless, he still walked proudly.
"That's General Cid, commander of the Royal Guard. I overheard that he was heading up a team to rescue the princess. Judging from the state of his men, they failed," Keza commented as they watched them pass.
Thol nodded and heard one of the soldiers mutter the words 'Temple of Fiends' as he passed as well as the name 'Garland' several times.. He frowned. Even at the best of times, the temple had a reputation of being a dangerous and haunted place and if he wasn't mistaken, Garland was the General of the Conerian Military.
"Garland, eh?" Keza said, apparently also hearing the name. "When I was at the castle, I heard the soldiers mention his name a few times, almost fearfully."
"Perhaps it was this Garland who has kidnapped the princess," Tor offered. "You did say that it was someone from the inside after all."
Keza nodded. "I'd definitely bet on that."
"And he's taken her to the Temple of Fiends. Not good," Thol said.
"With the bridge to Provoka taken out, there's no where else he could have taken her," Tor added.
"We'll take a more round about way to the castle," Thol said after a moment of thought. "They might be a bit suspicious if we walk in right behind them."
The other two nodded, then they turned to take the same route Thol had taken earlier to get to the general store. Unlike last time, there was a large group of men waiting for them as they entered into a secondary street. Thol groaned inwardly as he recognized the man at the front of the group to be the thug he ran into earlier.
"You again," Tor said as they stopped before the gang.
"Yes, me. I told you you'd regret disrespecting me. Now it's time you pay for it," said the man. He raised his arms and motioned to his men. "Get 'em, boys!"
All Hell broke loose at that moment as the whole gang of about fifteen of them surged forward. The three of them were hard pressed to keep them all back, most of the thugs having weapons, some with knives. Thol was faring the best as he had his staff to defend himself with whereas the other two were forced to rely solely on their fists. Things began to look bad when Tor went down, out cold after being hit in the back of the head with a pipe.
"The Hell with this," Thol yelled, pushing them back with his staff and readying a spell.
"No, Thol! You'll get arrested!" Keza yelled, taking a shot to the gut for his effort.
"Damn it!" Thol yelled, readying his staff again.
A large wooden beam that looked familiar suddenly crashed down on several of the thugs, coming from the general direction of the construction site. The fight paused for a moment as the large man Thol had seen earlier walked up to them. Up close, Thol could make out more details about the man. He was indeed almost seven feet tall and was even more muscular then Tor. His medium length hair was still wrapped up in a bandana, his black eyes shining with wisdom beyond his years. Around his waist was a simple cloth belt and his hands were wrapped up in simple white cloth.
The man walked up to the leader of the group, who had just stumbled back to his feet, only taking a glancing blow from the wooden beam. There was a disapproving frown on the man's face, making him look more menacing then Thol could manage in his worst moments.
"Gash. You and your gang of miscreants are starting to become a serious problem. Now you're attacking visitors to the city in broad day light. I'll ask you only once to disperse or I'll personally take you to the guardsmen," the large man said in a stern tone.
"Ha! What makes you an authority here? You're not even from this town," the leader, Gash, replied.
The large man's frown deepened. "You're incorrect as always. I may not have grown up here, but I was, in fact, born here. Now leave these people alone."
"Like Hell! Get him!" Gash yelled to his cronies.
The large man shook his head ever so slightly and dropped into a battle stance.
Thol was again surrounded by the thugs, so he wasn't able to fully catch what happened next, though from the sounds of it, the thugs were in for a rough time.
Thol and Keza grouped around the fallen form of Tor, who was bleeding quite seriously from the blow he took on the head. The large man from the construction site soon joined them and working together, they soon subdued the thugs until there were only four remaining, Gash being one of them.
"Had enough?" Thol asked.
"Hardly, you freak!" the man said, rushing forward to attack once more.
Thol expertly batted the club aside with his staff and wrapped the man on the skull, causing him to fall. Thol thrust the head of his staff against the fallen mans throat and glared down at him.
"Say that again and you'll be sorry," he said, angered by the comment.
It was then the city guard arrived. The large man walked up to the sergeant and explained the situation as the rest of the men rounded up the thugs. The soldier nodded and the man returned to where Keza was examining the wound on Tor's head and spoke to Thol.
"I've explained everything to the guards. You won't be held accountable. Gash and his thugs have always caused trouble, though usually not like this."
"Thank you," Thol said. "You fight well. I've never seen someone as large as you move so fluidly."
"Nor have I ever seen a mage fight so well with his weapon. Not to be rude, but most of you seem to be rather inept at physical combat."
"Indeed we are, but I've been on my own for a while, so you learn fast," Thol said. He extended his hand. "Thollatos Zescalland. Thol for short."
"Goro Ronin," the big man said, shaking his hand. He glanced down at the other two. "Your friend looks like he needs medical attention. I'll carry him to the clinic, you see if the little one needs aid."
Thol nodded and helped Keza up. He had taken a rather nasty shot to the leg with a pipe that would no doubt leave an ugly bruise. He then watched as Goro hoisted Tor up as if he weighed nothing at all and started to head to the clinic.
Amazing, he thought to himself, practically dragging Keza along. I'll give him credit, now thinking of the man he was helping walk. He was winded pretty good, but didn't let it show until I helped him up. He's a lot heavier then he looks, probably from all the things he's stolen. Thol frowned suddenly. I'd better check my pockets when I get him there.
When they arrived at the clinic, the elderly woman who Thol remembered from earlier gasped at the sight of them and rushed forward to direct Tor and Keza to the beds in the adjacent room. Goro gently set Tor, his head still bleeding slightly, down on one bed and Thol eased Keza into the one next to it, immediately checking his pockets and his pack for anything missing as he walked away.
"You don't trust me," Keza gasped out accusingly.
Thol just shot him a look in response.
Another person rushed into the room, no doubt drawn by the commotion created when they arrived. Thol was still busy looking through his things and didn't bother to look up at the person.
"Karel! Oh my! What happened?" said a feminine voice.
Thol whipped his head up at the sound of the voice and to his surprise, its owner was the same girl he had run into earlier. Makes sense. Every clinic needs a white mage, he thought. Now that he could see her without the cloak she wore earlier, he could see that her hair was, in fact, quite long, reaching down to the middle of her back. She wore a matching blouse and pants that were white with red trim, more proof that she was a white mage. As she rushed forward to examine Tor's head wound, Thol noticed that despite their apparent looseness, her clothes seemed almost to cling to her, showing off her shapely figure. Thol found himself blushing and for once thanked the fact that his face was hidden, berating himself for acting like a downy cheeked teenager.
"Gash and his thugs decided they'd cause some more trouble," Goro replied to the girl's earlier question. "The guards arrested them this time."
"Good. Hopefully this time they'll learn," the girl said with an approving nod. She turned to the Karel, the elderly lady. "Karel, could you start cleaning up his wound? I'd like to check the others."
"Of course, dear."
The girl smiled lightly and faced Goro. "You're bleeding," she said, noticing the knife wound he received to the shoulder.
"It is of no moment. Please, help the others first. The little one over there is in need of more help then I."
"Would you stop calling me that?" Keza moaned from where he was lying on the bed.
She moved to him and asked him where he was hurt. She carefully listened as he rambled off all his ails, then examined some of the areas, prompting Keza to grunt at times. She then waved her hands over his injuries producing a soft green light in their wake. Thol had seen enough white magic in his time to recognize it, but he was impressed by the power of the girls spell. Keza breathed in deeply and sat up, apparently free of whatever aches had plagued him.
"Thank you," the thief said, genuinely.
The girl nodded then moved toward Thol. For his part he just stood there and watched as the girl stopped suddenly, recognizing him. Her smile returned as she closed the rest of the distance between them.
"So we meet again," she said.
"Indeed we do, lady," Thol replied with a small, respectful bow. "Your magic is quite potent. I don't think I've seen magic quite as effective as yours."
She made a face suddenly. "Thank you, but my magic is limited only to a few simple spells. I can only learn so much here. I'd like to learn more someday though."
"You'll make a fine healer in time, I'm sure."
She smiled and looked up at him from where she had been staring at the floor, lost in her thoughts. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I managed to make it through without a scratch."
The girl seemed to notice something then, her smile replaced with a look of curiosity. She noticed that despite the illumination of the room, his face was still shrouded in almost total darkness, impossible for just the hood alone to accomplish. She reached up with her hand. "Why is your-," she began, but Thol was quicker.
He jerked back suddenly, grasping her hand in his own quite sharply. She let out a cry, more of surprise then pain, causing the others in the room, other then Tor who was still unconscious, to look over at them.
"Don't ever touch my face!" he yelled, suddenly angry.
"But I-," the girl began.
"Ever!" he shouted again, dropping her hand.
She took a step back, a hurt look on her face. "I just wanted to help," she said quietly.
"I don't need your help or your pity," he said, a lot quieter then before, perhaps realizing how ridiculous it was to yell at her. He winced as he noticed she was rubbing the hand he had grabbed suddenly. She looked as if she were about to say something, but he purposefully turned away from her, effectively dismissing her.
"I guess I was wrong about you. You're a horrible person," she said, suddenly angry at him. She then stormed away from him towards Tor so she could heal him.
Thol looked over to the others when she had gone. Goro stood with a slight frown of disapproval on his face and Keza was simply staring at him, confounded. The old lady was busy tending to Tor still, obviously trying to avoid the conflict by pretending it wasn't even there. He snorted in disgust suddenly and made his way out of the room. Just as he passed the threshold, he paused, turning his head back to the room.
"Who are you all to judge me? You don't even know me, or what I've been through," he said in a quiet voice. They all stopped to look at him, waiting for him to say more, but instead he just left, exiting the clinic with a slam of the door.
There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted several minutes, Goro and Keza merely looking about the room, at a loss as to what to say, while the two ladies busied themselves with Tor's injuries. Finished what they were doing, the red haired girl cast a healing spell to repair the majority of the damage done. That done, she turned to face Keza as if awaiting an explanation.
Shrugging, the young man cleared his throat and began. "Well I guess introductions are in order. My name is Keza Kran. The one lying on the bed unconscious is called Tor and the charming young fellow who so recently stormed out of here is Thol. It seems you already know the large, hulking man standing over there, but as to his name, I'm afraid I've not heard it."
"My apologies," he said. "It is Goro. Goro Ronin."
"A pleasure," Keza said, doing his best to bow from his sitting position. He turned to the red haired girl then. "And what shall I call this vision of loveliness who was kind enough to cure my ills?"
The girl blushed slightly at his words. "Melira Fedal. My father and I run this clinic, though he's at the castle right now after what happened there last night."
"Ah yes. The kidnapping of the princess," Keza remarked offhandedly.
Melira's eyes widened at his proclamation. "How is it you know of that? The guards said they were keeping that a secret!"
"Oops," Keza muttered to himself, a slightly ashamed grin coming to his face. "Well to be honest, I kind of snuck into the castle this morning and accidentally overheard some of the officers talking about it."
Goro raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing of it. "I'm curious, your friend, Thol I believe, what exactly was that outburst all about?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask our slumbering friend over there about that," he replied, motioning towards Tor. "I've only met them this morning so I'm afraid beyond their names and a few random details, I know nothing of either of them."
"Well this man will have to remain here for the rest of the day, or at least until he wakes up. There's a chance he might have a concussion and if so, I'll have to insist he stay here a little longer," Melira said. "In the mean time, you can all wait here for him to wake, but please do so in the other room." With that, she left to return to what she had been doing before.
Keza looked at Goro and shrugged, the larger man moving to help him to his feet where they then followed Melira into the lobby where there was a table and several chairs. They chose to sit there for the moment. Melira returned from the back several minutes later with tea for them all.
"So, who's going to explain to me fully what happened out there and why you were with a pair of men you've just met this morning?" she asked, the latter question directed solely at Keza.
Keza recounted how he had met the other two in the lounge at the inn and how they had agreed to partner up to save the princess from Garland. He then explained how they decided to take a more round about route because of the returning soldiers and their resulting run in with Gash and his thugs. Goro took over then and described the rest of the encounter from when he arrived.
Melira put on a skeptical face, looking at Keza. "The three of you were planning on taking on the greatest knight in the kingdom and yet you couldn't even handle a minor gang of thugs? Forgive me if I sound rude, but don't you think you should have thought this through a little more carefully first?"
"Still jumping to conclusions I see," said a voice from the door. They turned to see Thol had returned from wherever he had gone. He walked over to them and took a seat across from Melira, which put Keza to his right and Goro on his left. "Tor and I are no amateurs. Had Tor been allowed to use his weapon or I my magic, either of us could have taken them all by ourselves. As it was, we weren't too interested in getting arrested right before our audience with the king, so we were forced to handicap ourselves. That and the addition of the edged weapons our foes were armed with caused our loss, not the lack of skill you seem to think we possess. Garland is one man, no matter how powerful he may be, he can be defeated."
Melira simply glared at him, trying to think of something to say to undermine the arrogant confidence in which he announced that he could fall an entire gang on his own. "Now you're the one jumping to conclusions. What do you know of Garland, other then he is a knight of supposedly great power? Nothing I'd bet. I've lived in this city all my life and I've seen first hand what Garland is capable of. I've seen him slay 4 ogres at once with his sword alone, and that's not all. I've never seen it myself, but long ago when Garland was still only a captain, my father watched as he cleared an entire pack of wolves out of town with his magic. The entire guard of the castle couldn't stop him. If you go after him, you'll just get hurt, or possibly even killed."
"We can handle it," Thol said between clenched teeth. She may be pretty, but she's beginning to get on my nerves, he thought as they glared at each other.
"Fine. If you still insist on pursuing this ridiculous task, I'll be going with you," she replied.
"Absolutely not. You'll just get in the way. By the looks of it, you've never been in a battle before. It's not all fun and games, lady."
"And what do you propose to do when, not if, someone gets injured? Potions alone won't be enough. I've seen it many times from foolish people who try and brave the temple. Why don't you just admit that you're going to need my help?"
"She has a point, Thol," Keza said from the right.
Thol sent his glare in his direction and watched Keza squirm for a few moments before turning back to Melira. He thought for a moment then sighed irritably. "Fine. You may come, but don't come crying to me when you find out the hard way what life outside the city is like."
"If she is going, then I'll be going too," Goro announced. Three heads turned in his direction, waiting for an explanation. "I know what the temple is like, I used to train there with my master. I will protect her from the dangers that dwell in that vile place. It's only proper if I am to call myself her friend."
"Why that's very kind of you, Goro. I'll gladly accept your protection," she replied smiling. She cast a victorious glance at Thol, who simply grunted.
"Whatever. We leave as soon as Tor is able," he said, no longer in the mood to argue.
"Well, if I'm to be going along, I shall have to inform the foreman and gather some things," Goro said, standing.
"And I think I should make a few stops as well. We'll meet back here later," Keza added, also standing. The two left together chatting about the upcoming adventure, leaving Thol and Melira to sit across from each other in silence.
"I suppose I should properly introduce myself," Thol said standing. He gave a slight bow as he had earlier saying, "Thollatos Zescalland."
After a brief moment of consideration, the manners her father imparted to her took hold and she also stood, giving a slight curtsy. "Melira Fedal."
Fedal? Of course. How unobservant of me, he though as her recognized the name. "Your father, he's also the foreign relations diplomat for the city, isn't he?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I've heard the name mentioned a few times back home."
They stood in an awkward silence for a moment.
"Well, I really should check up on your friend," Melira said, breaking the silence.
Thol nodded, sitting back down. Just as she was about to leave the room, he called out to her. She turned and looked at him.
"I apologize for hurting you earlier, but please don't ask me why I hide my face again."
She was rather confused by that. He said the words in such a sad tone that she was forced to once again re-evaluate her opinion of him, realizing that he was far more complicated then it initially seemed. She stood there for a moment, about to say something, but she noticed that he was no longer paying attention, instead, looking out the window away from her, lost in his own thoughts.
Who are you really, Thollatos Zescalland? And what is it you hide from? She thought before turning to check in on Tor. . . .
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