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Interlude 5: Quiet Fury
Dorcas stared into his mug. He'd been away from Natalie for a month now, after three spent by her side and a month returning from Caelin. Briefly, he spared a thought for the girls he'd left there. They were just children, really, and they'd taken so much onto their shoulders. It made him proud to think that he'd managed to keep them safe enough. It had been the least he could do after they'd helped Natalie so much.
But the money had still run out. Medicine was expensive, and people who knew how to administer it even more so. So here he was again, on the road, looking for work more lucrative than farming.
"Please, sir, I'm just a waitress... if you want that, you'll have to go somewhere else..." The girl's voice broke him out of his reverie. Putting the mug down, he saw that one of the innkeeper's daughters - there were two of them, both blonde, though the older was considerably more developed - was being harassed by a customer.
"Hey, come on, girly. Your sister's open enough to offers." The man jeered, and Dorcas sighed. He stood up and moved over to tap the man on the shoulder when the girl was moved out of the way by a man even larger than he was. The newcomer wore a blue shirt and what looked like a studded metal band around his head. His short brown hair sat atop a face that had seen better days, and his nose had been broken at least once.
"She said no." He growled. "You wanna make it a fight? No-one fights Barte and wins."
"You'd do well to listen too him." Dorcas murmured from behind the man, and he nodded, looking scared as the two massive axe-carrying men looked down at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't..." he muttered, and stood up before making his escape.
"Hey. I like your style." The man who called himself Bartre looked at Dorcas with a cocky grin. "Wanna fight?"