Chapter 2: Prick us do we not bleed

After putting out the fire and taking one last sip of hot tea, Baro was ready to head out for Marpin. Over by the door he grabbed a faded green cloak and draped it around his shoulders. A silver clasp held it around his neck and Baro walked out into the brisk morning air. Moisture was still thick in his breath as was the grass with dew. Baro's horse stirred as he drew closer to the cherry tree that it was tied too.

Baro smiled widely and untied him. "Miss me?" Baro said and patted his brown coat. Losing no time 'Whirl whip' got up to let Baro mount him and take up the reigns. As soon as he was saddled Whirl whip thundered out of the grove and into the bright plains, eager to stretch his long legs in the morning sun.

Life was born anew in the valley plains with the rising of the sun. Rabbits scurried out of hidey-holes only to dart back in as Baro past them. The sun soon began to warm the back of his neck and pleasantly alerted him to the world around him. In the distance, forested mountains peaked to the sky, and in front of them stood Marpin. Its great walls loomed in the distance but even from far out in the plains you could see activity brimming through the town.

Marpin, the rouges den and city of all trade in the plains, the hive of all business, art, and culture. Fancy shops and proud townhouses towered over the winding alleys and streets. Thatched rooftops hid black chimneys that puffed smoke occasionally as late night fires were scuffed out and the day began. Immense walls were viewable from all locations and matched the size and grandeur of the buildings within. Baromosa always wondered what would have forced them to build defenses as massive as the wall. 'It must be ten feet thick!' he thought to himself. No matter how many times he passed it, he always commented on its size.

Just crossing the gate was amazing. If you stacked four men, each on top of each other's shoulders, the highest one might be able to touch the walls battlements. Town guards watched overhead and greeted people at its gate, shooting the breeze as merchants carted goods to the market square. Dwarven travelers haggled in foreign tongues wearing colorful, outlandish robes while gnomish trainers rode strange beasts to be sold as pets to nobles. One such beast had the look of a cat but stuck a frogs tongue out at Baro and made him cringe.

Baro even laughed when he saw a group of teenage girls strolling across the sidewalks wearing the latest in elven fashion. Long dresses of robins egg blue and dark green flowed down their slender figures, accented by golden thread woven into mystic patterns. Other sights and sounds filled the air and the shuffle of city life moved Baro around the square until finally he reached his way into the Drunken Ogre Inn and Stable. It was well kept for a city the size of Malpin, modest but had a neat looks thanks to its owner's constant effort. Many times before had Baro stumbled his way into the tavern for a couple days work and many times more had he been friends of Tassadar, the Innkeeper.

After making sure his horse was in the stable hand's care Baro took a small leather backpack out of Whirl whip's saddlebags and a pouch to be tied on to his belt. On his way out of the stable he bumped in to a rather large man wearing a brown apron. He was at least six and a half feet tall and had large arms that stuck out from broad shoulders. His head was topped with thick, curly black hair and he wore a long frizzy beard on his chin. In a deep voice he laughed and said 'Baromosa!' gruffly.

"Well met Tassadar." Baro smiled and clasped arms with the muscular Innkeeper. "I see you haven't burned down your tavern yet. Business must be slow."

"HA!" Tassadar bursted out and led Baro into the tavern of the Drunken Ogre. As Baro opened the heavy wooden door the noise became so much more apparent. People engaged in conversation at the bar and at private tables in dimly lit corners as the more physical people arm wrestled for bar bets and showed old scars to each other. Beer was spilled over tabletops and many cheers and grunts were shouted up to the rafters as a blonde elf man tossed aside a fierce looking thug. Baromosa and Tassadar both took a stool at the bar and leaned back to watch the next match up: A gnome beast handler vs. sneaky looking rouge.

"With all of these travelers you wouldn't happen to keep a spare room?" Asked Baro while keeping his eye on an exotically dressed dancer.

"Of course! I always have a room for a friend. If you need some money while you're in town we could always use the help." Tassadar smiled. "Perhaps I could introduce you too one of those dancers, eh?"

Baro quickly blushed and answered "No no, I'd rather stay out of that kind of trouble for now." Even as he said it he saw the dancer who before was gracefully moving her slender figure around the floor brought a man who got a little to close with his hands to the floor with several quick pressure points.

Tassadar let one more laugh out and patted him on the back saying "Oh and let me get your key. It's the same room you used last time, the one with the bookshelves. I don't usually loan it out to anyone since I like to keep it for you, so if you want to leave some things here your more then welcome to. I'll give you the key to keep then so you won't have to worry about it."

"Thank you, that's very generous." And Baro shook his hand again.

"I'll get it then. Enjoy your self, I won't hear of any guest of mine leaving sober. Ha!" and with that Tassadar walked off across the tavern into a hall. For the rest of the afternoon Baromosa stayed in the tavern and caught up on current events. A very polite dwarf smith explained how the tension in the eastern empire has forced much of his clan relocate to the edge of Marpin and others even farther. Other races were apparently equally eager to escape the madness. Other men joined the conversation, spreading rumor that Imperial troops prepare to battle in the Krush swamps and that necromancers have become a mounting threat to King Anthoria himself.

"Without Anthonian aide we might have lost our stronghold in Beldahorde. Who knows how this will turn out with magic, eh?" chuckled the dwarf sadly. A few tears rolled own his red braided beard. Before staggering off to join the rest of his clan he toasted with Baro to honor his fallen comrades and took in one last gulp of ale. "Knullan!" he yelled and hit the tankard back down on the bar.

In the corner several bards came together and started playing soft music. First, a quiet mandolin strummed festively and was joined by a fife that captured Baro's ear. Drums were added and soon dancers were made more lively and stranger danced with newfound friend. A tambourine joined the mix when three dancers came unto the floor. They were triplets dressed in rather revealing silk clothing of red, green, and blue. Each had long brunette hair and tied it up with a golden comb that was in the shape of a heron.

'Thud, Thud, Thud' Beat a bass drum and the tambourines shook again. The girls swayed their bodies staying in step with each other towards the forming crowd and lured every eye to their movements. The center one would raise one arm and sway in a circular motion as if redirecting currents of energy while the other two would lie on their backs and stretch their legs up to the roof.

'Thud, Thud, Thud,' The tambourines went faster and the girls got up and spun in circles, making their dresses twirl around their bodies. Baro watched with fascination as the colors mixed with each other and almost formed a harmony of color. He wanted to look away but nothing could pull his eyes off the show before him. 'Thud, Thud, Thud,' The smiles of the dancers held him in a trance until after several passes stopped and fell to the floor as the music came to an end. Applause erupted from every corner of the bar and the dancers rose to bow to the audience. Hoots and hollers followed until finally an old man took up the center of the gathered floor. The sun had already set and the elderly man dressed in old green robes took up a chair near the fire so he might keep warm as he preformed. Before he spoke he took his long, white beard out of his belt and stroked in straight and looked deep in thought. Baro thought he heard someone whisper 'The storyteller!'

"Eighty years have I watched from this town time's slow passage…" the story teller began in a weary voice. "But tonight," he said getting louder, "I will tell you one of my favorites. It was told to me by my father, and his father before him, and is as old as the land itself. I give you, 'The Love of Zelana and the Moon'.

Long ago, before Antony marched on the Ondion shores and battled orc and beast. Before colonists settled to the reaches of Balor and beyond there was Zelana. The fairest of folk in her homelands, she sailed across the sea and passed the great void into our world to seek new adventures.

And that well does describe Zelana, adventurous and wild to the last. It was her force of will that convinced the gods to create the humans, and the dwarves, and every other beast of land and sea.

Baro then decided to go back into his room. By now only two drunken dwarves and a few sleepy inn regulars were left after the rather long and romantic folk tale. On his way back weaving through the remaining crowd Baro bumped into yet another teenage girl. This one was just a few inches shorter then he was and wore light leather pads around her legs and arms with fancy designs in red and blue paint around them. Everything was made so that joints could be stretched and folded and over toped a hard leather breast plate that exposed her tummy and a reddish skirt that covered down to her thighs.

Of course none of this was the first thing Baro noticed. Not her face, not her stomach, not even the many curves of her body. The first thing noticed was the midnight black wolf bearing its teeth as he accidentally stepped on his front paw. Its sleek fur on her back stood up and ruffled before she let out a fierce warning howl in pain.

"Watch it!" The now annoyed girl growled as she lost her balance and was sent tumbling into her wolf and a chair to the floor. Thud! Gravity slammed her down on her butt and Baro was pushed back against a wall. After a few seconds of recollecting himself from the shock of seeing a wolf this close up, he quickly went to her side.

"I am so sorry Mrs. Let me help you up." Baro stammered out apologetically.

"Its alright I guess." She said a little dazed. She took Baro's hand and lifted herself up. "My name's Crystal, this is Shadow, my friend and companion."

The wolf barked more friendly this time and licked the paw that was stepped on a few times before sitting up right. Crystal smiled sweetly and petted the she wolfs head and between her ears. "What's your name? I've been here awhile and I thought I new just about everyone."

"Oh, I'm Baromosa or Baro if you like. I just come here when I get bored with my house way out in the valley. What do you do here in Marpin?"

"Not that much anymore I'm afraid. Why don't you have a drink with me? We should talk more sitting down." Crystal motioned toward the bar and straightened her skirt.

"Maybe some other time, I'm really too tired from all this traveling. If you stop by tomorrow we can talk. I'd love to hear about you and your wolf friend."

"Ok, sleep well. Come on Shadow! Lets go find some fun!" And with that she skipped off with the wolf wagging its tail behind her.

Baromosa finally made it too his room in the back of the inn and locked the door behind him. He threw his backpack on top of the hip high bookshelf, literally falling on his bed while doing so. It was pretty soft, better then his bed at home even, and Baro soon was fast asleep against the cool soft pillows rubbing his cheeks. All the burdens and joys of today's journey melded away as quietness and peace replaced all the many doubts in his mind.