Klay was moaning in pain while lying in the back of the carriage, clutching his wrapped arm with the broken shaft of the arrow sticking out between his fingers. "I'm gonna die. I'm done for." Mitch backhanded him before he could continue. "You'll be fine. Ya fuckin been saying the same shit for four days straight." turning back to the trail, he shook his head.
Lifting his head Klay groaned. "Well, y'all could remove the fucking arrow then!" he dropped his head again in frustration. "That ain't happening" Joshua looked over his shoulder the but of his shotgun on the carriage bench. "Your gonna do more damage than good doin that." He added, "you could also not be a pussy." a teasing smile spread across.
"Easy for you to say you fucking just blew 'em, bandits, away." Klay still couldn't believe what he had seen done with that stick. "Shit, if you had that kinda magic, why couldn't you spot 'em beforehand!" Klay was defensive in his retort. "Well, like I told you before, Backdoor Kate or whatever da Hell her name was showed up, it ain't magic." Turning back towards the road, he added. " you ain't gonna find no girl actin' like that." Mitch chuckled in agreement as Klay turned red.
The three (or rather the two) spent the last few hours of the trip entertaining themselves at Klay's expense. They could barely see the tops of the village houses behind a hill as they traveled along the trail. Once they finally crossed the hill, the village came into full view. A wooden fence surrounded the front of the village, and small grain fields on either side of the road did the same.
A villager leaning against a post with a spear perked up as he saw the light on the carriage. Mitch slowed the carriage to a stop. "Good to see you again, Mitch." Looking over, he nodded to Joshua. "Who's this now?" Mitch put his hand on Joshua's shoulder. "This is Joshua he's looking to join our village." Joshua stuck out his hand in greeting, "Good to meet ya." taking his hand, the villager gave a firm shake. "Names Harold, but" looking over to the back of the carriage, he noticed someone was missing. "You trade Klay for this guy or somin Mitch?"
"I'm back here, you son of a bitch!" Klay waved his good arm from the back of the carriage. "The fuck happened to you." Harold set his lantern on the side of the carriage. He also hung onto it, using the end of his spear to help lift him enough to see the blood-soaked cloth wrapped around Klay's shoulder. "We ran into bandits on our way back," Mitch explained.
"Well, shit!" Harold dropped back to the ground. "Yeah, I'd appreciate it if ya could take him to Jeremiah to get patched up." Mitch tapped Klay's opposite shoulder. "Get out, asshole." Groaning, Klay pulled himself up and jumped down from the carriage. "Fucking finally," Harold patted him on the back while they began to walk into the village. "Where's Robert, by the way?" Mitch called after them. Looking over his shoulder, Harold responded. "You know damn well he's in the Inn." they began to walk towards a small building that looked like a temple, torches next to the doors of houses and other buildings helping to light their way.
"Well, that's good." Mitch snapped the reins, and the horse began moving again, turning towards the inn. "We can get ya a temporary room for the night while we're there." they moved steadily toward a building a bit larger than the rest before stopping next to it. "Alright, grab that box." Mitch pointed to the one in question. "Be careful, though. Don't need ya droppin' it and the salt getting everywhere." Hopping down, he opened the door waiting for Joshua. Lively voices could be heard coming from the inside.
Mitch guided Joshua through the inn tavern. As the two men stepped inside, they were greeted by the scene of villagers enjoying their evening the smell of alcohol hung in the air. As they passed by other villagers, Mitch was greeted with cheers and the like. They eventually made their way toward a bar at the back of the tavern.
A heavy-looking man stood behind the bar prepping mugs and tabards alike, sharing friendly jokes and quips with people as he handed them their drinks and food. Although Joshua didn't notice when Mitch stopped and had him put the salt on the bar. As Mitch started chatting with the bartender, Joshua began to look around. He saw a few people at the bar that weren't human, whether it was tails sticking out the back of clothes or pointed ears. There was a mix of people in the tavern, and it drove home that he was in a fantasy world.
"Hey, Joshua. Joshua, hello?" He was snapped back out of his thoughts as Mitch slapped his back. "You're looking around like ya ain't been to a tavern before." Mitch joked with a smile. Smiling back, Joshua readjusted the strap on his shoulder from the smack. "Sorry, I just haven't been around..mmm, so many different types of people." the bartender chuckled at this remark. "Well, that ain't surprising if ya someone whos lived in Makaria all his life."
Mitch gave Joshua a reassuring pat."If you don't let that be a problem, you'll get used to it, an we'll all get along like fish an water." leaning against the bar, Mitch turned back to the bartender. "So Tom, where is my sister at?" Tom raised his eyebrow at Mitch. "Watcha mean she's in the kitchen." Shaking his head, Mitch grumbled. " I keep telling her she needs to do something other than running this joint." getting up, he walked to the kitchen door with one foot in, and he turned back to Joshua. "Get a drink on me for saving our Asses." Before heading into the kitchen.
Sitting at the bar, Joshua could hear muffled voices from the kitchen. "So," Tom set the Tabard he was cleaning. "Whats ya poison?" Sliding his M97 shotgun off his shoulder, putting it against the bar between his legs, barrel down. "Got any moonshine?" Looking Joshua up and down and raising his brow, "I got Beer or Ale. I ain't ever heard of moonshine." with a sigh, Joshua shrugged. "Alright, fuck it, I'll go for an ale." Tom got a bottle from below the bar and poured Joshua's drink, sliding it and the bottle over to him.
The lively night continued around him as he began to drink his ale. The ale was disappointingly weak for Joshua's taste. "So what brings you out here? Tom spoke to Joshua while serving the other people at the bar. "Well, I thought it'd be better than working under some fat ass king," Joshua answered with annoyance at the assholes that had summoned him. "I hear ya there." "It's gonna take em a minute to assign some fat ass to govern us with the war front being at a standstill now." Tom passed a few more drinks to a woman carrying hot food from the kitchen. The stocky man could finally take a second to lean on the bar and talk more directly.
Joshua finished the ale in his tabard, setting it down on the bar, feeling like he just drank a warm cup of juice rather than ale. "You might wanna order something if your gonna be drinking like that." Tom chuckled as he poured more into Joshua's cup. "It's fine." He waved his hand, "I'm used to something with a lot more kick." the door to the kitchen swung open again while the two men were talking. Mitch stepped through the door and was followed closely by a woman in an apron. "Joshua, this here is my baby sister, Marry." he patted her head, ruffling her black hair and revealing some cat ears.
Looking the supposed siblings up and down, doubting that they were siblings. "Sister, don't ya mean daughter?" Mitch laughed at the question as Mary answered, "Our father was a horny bastard even in old age." Mitch wiped tears from his eyes. "I got a son a year younger than her cuz of that old bastard." Mitch turned his head to his sister. "Speaking of which, I didn't see him when we came in." He looked around as he asked.
"He went home early tonight." removing Mitch's hand, she shook Joshua's hand. "I'd like to thank you" smacking Mitch's chest, she put on a playful tone. "He might be a dumbass, but he's still the chief." She chuckled at her joke as Mitch gave a playful squint. "So you want to reward him with drinks and a place for the night?" a sly smile spread across his face.
Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Well, for HIM, he can drink as much as he likes, but your drunk ass needs to pay." she gave a nod to Joshua before turning around back to the kitchen Mitch gave protest. Marry stopped after hearing him. She turned around halfway through. "I ain't looking to go bankrupt because of your drunk ass." the door swung close as she walked into the kitchen.
"Bah," waving it off, Mitch sat next to Joshua at the bar. Tom had already set down his choice of drink. "You know you ain't gonna pull a fast one on her." Mitch took the downing a bit of it before talking again. "She's a bit of a brat. You think she'd be grateful for me practically raising her." Joshua also chuckled at the old guy's frustration. "So, where are ya from in Makaria?" Tom asked Joshua as he set down his glass. "I never said I was from there." Joshua wasn't too pleased with the idea of people thinking he was associated with a bunch of kidnappers.
Confused, Tom frowned. "Sorry, but then what were you doin there?" before Joshua could answer, Mitch cut him off. "I don't feel like talking about a bunch of religious nuts will go well with our drinks." Pouring more ale into Joshua's cup. "Well, worry about that in the morning. For now, let's celebrate our good health." Seeing Joshua almost instantly down the ale, Mitch didn't want to be left behind in a drinking game, something he would regret in the mourning.