Four sets of feet slunk away from the bar, leaving the landlady and barlady entwined as one standing alone.
*MOVEMENT OF FEET.*
The warmth of their seats faded away as Magio took interest in them all, ignoring the two embroiled in their own conversation. Byrnn and Gonf occasionally swigging from their glasses, the ale vanishing little by little in each movement, fulfilling its fate, no longer bound in the bottle.
The four once-quiet adventurers were now lost in the words of Magio, moving in sync like a disjointed centipede, each segment skirting around the propped-up chairs, trying not to knock over the slumbering wooden art pieces carefully nestled on the small wooden rounded tables, the chips and cracks in the aged grain in the wood clearly present.
The all slowly came back together by the inn's main door, far enough away to continue their muted conversation, their voices coming back to life, not realising they were being watched from afar.
Magio: I wonder? 'Interested.'
A curious gaze glanced over at them from the bar, still not free from the landlady's watchful eye, ignoring the inn's tenet just for a moment.
Hushed voices spoke in turn, one after another, and with Ayrell present at the forefront of the coming conversation, shooting their own questions that mulled over and over in their heads, they began to air their thoughts. First was the budding magician, her wandering violet eyes moving from person to person.
Yervel: 'Quiet.' So... Do you think he heard us last night? I mean, he couldn't have, could he? (Looking around at the other three, waiting for their response.)
The young man of the group shuffled his shoulderplate before speaking out.
Feryn: Honestly, I thought it was Magio. 'Confused.' I didn't know he was the one cooking all our food. 'Unsure.' It must have been him always behind the door. (Rubbing his neck.) Do you think he heard us?
A realisation came to mind in the shieldsman's thoughts.
Feryn: What about all the other times? 'Shocked.'He can't have; he would have said something, wouldn't he... (Looking to the others.)
Amanda leaned up against the bricked wall.
Amanda: I don't know... If I were a betting man, I'd definitely put my money on "He did." Also... 'Thinking'
The scout folded her arms, more perplexed than the rest, cutting into Amanda before she could finish what she had to say.
Rache: Well... at the moment we can't say what he did or didn't hear. 'Rattled.' Also, why didn't anyone hear him outside the door? (Hand on her chest.) I didn't, and I have the best ears of us all.
Rache looked at Yervel primarily for her coming words.
Rache: I didn't know Ayrell could move like that, let alone hide his presence; that really takes some skill. 'Forward.' Maybe he isn't as skillless as we all thought. (Looking at Yervel, then to the bar.)
Yervel felt the sting of those words while the leader of the group spoke up, her words holding a fragment of information as she held onto her once scratched arm, softly rubbing the now healing skin where the cream had done its work.
Put on by someone other than herself.
Amanda: I think... I think I saw him last night. 'Contemplating.' I'm not sure, but he didn't stay in the room for long.
Blue, violet and crimson eyes all locked onto Amanda, hoping for more information.
Yervel: Wait... you saw him! Wait why are you telling us now? 'Confused.'
Before Rache or Feryn could pile on, Amanda continued talking.
Amanada: Just wait a moment. (Hand up.) When I woke up... 'Resolute.' I think I saw someone standing by the table. 'Pausing.' I thought it was a dream at first. (Looking away from the other three.) But my arm... he must have put the cream on my wound when I was sleeping. It must have been Ayrell, it is the only possibility.
A hand slowly caressed the sleeve of the now healing arm, feeling a warmth.
Green squinting eyes looked away from the group, and Amanda halted the rubbing of the sleeve, thinking of the act Ayrell must have done the night before with the cream and the sheets, tucking everyone in, taking care of his comrade as he always did.
Yervel: I bet you any coin he heard what we all said... If I had any. If not, we would all be extremely lucky if he didn't. 'Wondering.'
Yervel looked around the bar, the tables and chairs all tucked away.
Yervel: But where is he? 'Confused.' We always have early morning meetings on what to do; he was the one who came up with the idea, which is one of his few smart ideas, I might say.
The four all looked around, their eyes ping-ponging off each other at the revelation that Ayrell had returned the night before but was nowhere to be seen in the bar or the inn's room. They were still wondering where Ayrell was now, ignoring Yervel's slight at the end of her words, all but one.
Rache: Yervel, for once, just shut up with the jokes, Feryn, I get, but I expect more from you. 'Angry.'
The little magician went quiet, speaking her mind before she thought about her words, recoiling into herself.
Rache: (Looking at Amanda.) So he did come back last night; that's a start... but why was his food left on the table untouched? 'Lost.' He always eats it, hot—no, I mean cold food; it's always been cold for him. 'Brooding.' (Eyes flicking to Yervel and away.) Come to think of it, was his bed even slept in at all?
Rache's words hit everyone in their hearts; the discomforting feeling moved to their stomachs.
Feryn: I don't know about the bed; it was already put away, so he might have. But I doubt it.
Feryn also turned to face Yervel.
Feryn: Well, we know who to blame for the cold food, don't we? (Shooting a dirty gaze at Yervel.) Always forgetting... like how you forget how to keep that mouth of yours from running off, I will never know. 'Irked.' Probably saw his food was cold and did a runner for better pastures.
The charred cloak whipped around, clipping the back of Rache's legs, not waiting for the words to settle.
Yervel: Hey! Don't put all this on me—steel for brains. (Hands on her hips.) Yeah, I forgot to keep his meals preserved. But I wasn't the only one who ripped into him—your words from last night, if I remember clearly, were the same as mine, Amanda's, and even yours, Rache.
The night that had passed reared its head once more.
Yervel: (Getting louder.) We all had enough to say about his uselessness and rightly so. 'Furious.' So keep your mouth shut, Feryn! If I knew he was there listening to us, I wouldn't have said anything. I'm not an arsehole like you!
Feryn was now on the defensive, unfolding his arms as a slender, tanned finger was now being pointed into his face. It recoiled as a gloved hand slapped away the pointing finger with a firm push.
Feryn: At least I had the balls to say what needed to be said. 'Annoyed.' Or would you prefer for him to die out there in the shit of it, or, in old age, doing something far safer than this? (Gesturing towards his attire.)
Feryn lowered his hand, as did Yervel from the sudden batting of her wrist.
Feryn: Yeah, I rag on him; for good reason, I will add. 'Firm tone.' He is my friend to, even if I am an ass about it. All it takes is one bad day like yesterday again and we won't worry about him being in our party any longer; he will be six feet under and we will have to live with it. 'Angry.' Your worries, then, would be heartbreak; do you want that? Well, do you? Unless you have a spell that brings back the dead... I'm all ears! 'Shouting.'
Yervel recoiled away, her head down.
Rache moved in front of the little form, trying to calm things down.
Rache: Hey, come on, Feryn, that's enough of that. She gets the picture and so do the rest of us.
Magio turned, now grasping the context of the conversation's growing loudness, seeing the shifting of the little body from the group being hidden by Rache.
The woman's attention from behind the bar was fully captured when someone shouted up even louder, trying to overwhelm the others, attempting to interrupt the conversation that was spiralling out of control.
Even the two men at the bar glanced in the directions of the four before returning to their waning drinks.
Byrnn fumbled in his pocket for something just after Amanda began to speak.
Amanda: ENOUGH! 'Sharp.' Arguing about it now isn't going to find anything out; we need to find Ayrell...
A hand form the bar lifted up.
Amanda: We need to... (Turning to the bar.)
Amanda leaned off the wall, squinting her eyes, now standing between Feryn, Rache and Yervel's boiling tension, no longer speaking; her words faded off as a swinging motion caught her gaze. With her words no longer parting the rising tides from either side, she began to stumble forward in a daze fixated on something. Lulled towards a treasure...
The other three didn't notice Amanda's strange actions and fumbled words until silence took hold. They all turned to look in the direction Amanda was now aiming for.
At the bar, Byrnn was twiddling something in his hands—a necklace, of sorts—and the soft brown cord slipped between his fingers, made from an animal hide.
A thumb-sized, solid onyx oval stone rocked in the air in a pendulum motion, catching the loose light of the room. The surface was perfectly smooth and free from any imperfections as the man stared at his own reflection in the black stone, frowning at the realisation of what he held.
Byrnn: 'Muttering.' Just another dumb stone... why do people wear this crap? At least let it be something good—gold, silver, a precious gem. No, just another fucking stone... and not the valuable kind. (Putting his head down.)
*GROANING COMING FROM THE MAN.*
Byrnn: At least it isn't a holy necklace... 'Worried.'
Gonf glanced to his side; seeing the necklace in the worn hands of his fellow guard, an eyebrow shot up as a blur came into view from his left, moving into his peripheral vision.
Magio's eyes went wide upon seeing the necklace, reaching out for it and snatching it from Byrnn's loose grip.
Before Amanda could speak up, another voice overpowered her recent calls for peace between Yervel and Feryn, reverberating far louder in the bar than anything Amanda could muster.
Magio: 'Yelling.' WHERE DID YOU GET THAT! (Holding the necklace in her hands.)
Gonf looked at Byrnn more out of curiosity than desire at the situation unfolding next to him; something else mulled in his thoughts, it was the name once more being spoken.
As the ringing in his ears subsided, Gonf glanced at the black trinket before looking up at Byrnn in a warped disgust, knowing full well where it was from, watching the man who buried his head in the wooden island lift up and look directly at the landlady.
Byrnn: Whoa, calm down. 'Interested.' Why do you want to buy it? I could trade it for more Ale... (Catching Gonf's continuous stare.) Maybe a glass... or two.
Gonf shook his head in disgust, squinting his grey eyes, forcing the man to come clean with his gaze.
Byrnn: You are a hard read, Gonf. Sometimes you are stuck up and others you are bleeding heart. 'Shrugging.'
Gonf stared on.
Byrnn: I might as well just tell ya. (Shrugging his shoulder far back.) Yeah, I took it of that poor sod; it looked expensive to me in the dark, but it's just a dumb pebble now I can properly look at it in the light. (Now holding the glass in his right hand.)
Byrnn looked into the glass, seeing the last of his drink at the bottom.
Byrnn: Where he is going, he won't be needing it. 'Joking.' It might just buy us a few more rounds if I can fob it off to some poor smuck. So, you could say his loss is doing some good in the world.
Gonf gave a disgruntled reply, reflecting on Byrnn's callous words.
Gonf: Yeah, I am a hard read; I have more faces than you know, but I am not that warped to see the world in such a way. 'Pausing.' Though I never took you for a thief. 'Displeased.' A smidge of an idiot, not a thief, now you can add swindler to your growing career as a piss poor lesser guards repertoire. (Knocking back the last drops of Ale.)
*THE CLINK OF AN EMPTY GLASS.*
Gonf: You wanted me to feel bad for him. (Looking up.) In this moment, I only feel bad for you. (Pushing the glass away.) You won't catch me drinking off another man's treasures or misfortune. 'Sighing.'
Gonf saw Maigo holding the stone and thought back to the prisoner in the deep end of the abyss.
Gonf: Yeah, he will need all the help he can get where he is going. (Looking at Byrnn.) If they catch you stealing, you will be on the next carriage back to the tower in chains. The Luminarum don't take to kindly to thieves, or the Lord of the guild for that matter. (Looking back to his empty glass.)
*LOUD LAUGHTER ERUPTED.*
Byrnn: You know, you crack me up at times. That is rich coming from you, and who is going to tell them? You know what happens to rats in the guild. So I wouldn't say anything... If you know what is good for you.
Gonf's fist tightened at the veiled words.
Gonf: Oh... and is that a threat? 'Cold.'
The guttural laugh blurted out quickly came to an end before Byrnn could dance on the words of Gonf's swaying attitude that moved like the wind coming and going. He tried to diffuse the situation growing between the two men, he lifted up his glass wanting to taste the last drops clinging to the bottom.
Brynn: Hey, calm it. I am not going... (Cutting off.)
The woman behind the bar moved again like a blur.
*TWHACK.*
A solid lump of muscle and bone came from behind the bar, striking Byrnn square in the face and sending him tumbling off his stool and back onto the old floor behind him. Gonf turned, now seeing his fellow guard no longer in the spot he was once in.
Four sets of eyes watched on at the commotion and the necklace now in Magio's held-up hand, swinging from the force and movements of the panting angry landlady. The four halted, no longer approaching the bar, and stopped in awe as Magio breathed in and out, fuming and grunting from the blow that sent a full-grown man flying several feet.
*CRASH AND SHATTERING OF GLASS.*
The ornate glass fell to the floor, not escaping its imagined demise by Magio; its fate remained unchanged as it slipped from Byrnn's grip and spun in the air. The remaining ale splashed back onto Byrnn's armour as the glass came crashing down onto the wood below.
Broken pieces skittered across the wooden floor, small shards nestling in the wood planks' open gaps, glistening like crystalized rain drops.
*LOUD THUD.*
Byrnn fell on his ass, tumbling backwards from his stool in awe, the pain now making itself known, luckily avoiding the tables behind him.
The lump of flesh and armour landed on the solid wooden beams of the floor, splayed out with his arms and legs wide from the shock. Byrnn eventually moved to his now-bleeding nose. Looking up at the wooden beams above, trying to staunch the bleeding and clipping his nose shut with his two fingers, he could feel warmth drip down his face and past his mouth, tasting the metal on his lips and then his tongue.
A loud, angry voice bellowed out from the floor as the guard arched up from the floor.
Byrnn: 'Muffled.' WHAT WAS THAT FOR? 'Shock.' MY NOSE, YOU NEARLY BROKE MY NOSE, YOU BITCH! 'Raging inside.'
A river of blood dripped from Byrnn's chin, streaking down the leather chest armour and metal plating, mixing with the spilt ale to make a honey-metal concoction, then onto the wooden floor, falling where the ale soaked into the wood.
Magio was now staring deeply into her right hand, looking at the reflection of herself in the necklace just as Byrnn did and the furling of her brow tightened into furious anger and gritted teeth.
Amanda's heart sank when she saw Magio's reaction to the necklace and the black stone connected to it, which she clearly recognised.
Amanda's slender hand slipped to her own neck, reaching for something.
She was reaching for the same necklace and stone that Magio was holding; it was more crude and rough on the edges and not as dark in shade, as if carved by a novice's hand, a child's hands long ago.
Byrnn's words of the procurement of the necklace struck her soul and all those around; Amanda's and Magio's eyes locked, and they spoke in sync.
Amanda/Magio: Ayrell! 'Heartbroken.'