The Omen, page 17
part #5 of Eden's Gate Series
“We already told you,” I said. “You… or someone… stole our mounts.”
The Barbaros sighed. “Well, I guess there’s nothing more to say then.” He immediately lowered his head and started cutting into his food again.
“On with ya,” one of the others insisted again, flicking his hand towards us.
“Let’s just eat with them,” Sung said low and near my ear. “Play along.”
I turned towards him and rattled my head in confusion.
Sung shrugged. “Just to keep the communication line open. It’s a first step.”
I was anxious to retrieve Sora and get my group back to grinding, but I could see Sung’s reasoning in playing along with Mylynzen. I remembered the time I had played Pig with Adeelee and the scoundrels in Knuckle Bay, and the key to that encounter had been taking our time making the right moves. Perhaps this was another time where the best course of action was a little more patience. Besides, Sung was supposedly a pro gamer back on Earth. Why not take his advice?
I took a deep breath, threw on a big fake smile, and turned back towards the Barbaros. “Fine, we’ll eat.”
“Oh, great.” The patched man waved his hands towards the empty seats again, then glanced up to the female Barbaros. “Why don’t you get them each a plate, Jenzyn?”
The female sat her meat down, rubbed her pawlike hands on a cloth resting near her plate and nodded as she stood.
As we sat down, Jeremy scoffed. “Mylynzen, Jenzyn, Trynzen? Do all Barbaros have similar sounding names?”
The female stopped in her tracks and turned towards Jeremy. “Trynzen?” Her eyes softened, and she spoke low. “Where do you know that name from?”
“Haven’t heard that name in some time,” Mylynzen added.
Jeremy glanced towards me then turned back to the woman. He shrugged a little and smiled. “Ehh… I can’t remember. Maybe I made it up. Just sounds similar to your names is all.”
The man with the patch chuckled. “I’ve always found human names rather interesting myself. Jack, Donald…” He raised his brow towards me. “I suppose you all have names?”
“Gunnar,” I said.
“Jeremy.”
“Sung.”
“Keysia.”
“Ahh, I like that name, Gunnar,” the Barbaros said as he nodded. “It has power to it. He straightened his back and lifted his chin. “I am Mylynzen. Some people refer to me as The Great Tamer.”
The female Barbaros seemed confused, but she lowered her head and turned back to fetch the food.
I gave a slight nod. “Nice to meet you.” It pained me a little to say that it was nice to meet him. It actually wasn’t, and I wanted the encounter to be over as quickly as possible. I couldn’t stop wondering how Sora was fairing outside.
Jenzyn returned with another female Barbaros, each carrying two plates piled with meat, vegetables, and thick brown broth. They slid a plate in front of each of us, along with forks and knives, before Jenzyn sat back down. The other Barbaros scuttled away.
The food smelled even more delicious up close. The brown, seared meat in the center had to have been at least two pounds, but the fibers looks as delicate as the most expensive filet mignon. Black specks of seasoning covered the meat, vegetables and broth.
“Eat up,” Mylynzen said with a smile. “You’ll love it.”
Jeremy’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head. Keysia and Sung both looked entranced by the food.
I gave a slight nod and a subtle grin before picking up my food and cutting into it. The knife cut through it like butter, and once in my mouth, the meat melted in my mouth. For a split second, I almost forgot that we were in Barbarosia, and that Sora was possibly endangered outside—it was that good. Perhaps it wasn’t quite as delectable as elven pie, but it was hearty, delicious, and absolutely satisfying.
Jeremy groaned loudly and opened his mouth after he took his first bite. It was as if he were having an orgasm.
Sung and Keysia both chewed slowly and closed their eyes as they ate. Everyone was enjoying the meal.
Mylynzen leaned back and stretched his arms out. “So, some hours ago, I was brought a Great Beast and two horses—all supposedly abandoned. Five-thousand gold I paid for the lot.”
“We didn’t abandon them.” I shook my head as I chewed another bite of food. “We left them alone while we ran some errands.”
“Errands?” Mylynzen asked.
“A quest,” Jeremy blurted.
I turned towards him and glared. I wanted to send a message that I should do most of the talking to avoid handing over too much information.
Jeremy raised his chin, gave a half smile, and then lowered himself back down towards his food.
“From what I understand, they were found near the Peace Temple.” Mylynzen explained. “There’s not much to do around there unless…”
I took a deep breath, realizing I was going to have to give up more information anyway. “We went into the Peace Temple.”
Mylynzen creased his brow. “It’s toxic inside the temple… There was once a Barbaros who…” He paused and shook his head. “Let’s just say someone vile occupies the depths of the temple and it’s been off-limits for some time. From what I understand, it’s now overrun with vile monsters. Doesn’t seem like a place for errands.”
I sat down my fork and straightened my back. “Well, we had an errand there, and while we were inside, someone stole our mounts. Look, we just want to get this taken care of, and we’ll be gone.”
“I paid five thousand gold,” Mylynzen reminded me.
I shook my head and laid my arms across the table as I tried to explain the situation. “I don’t care how much you paid, and I don’t know who you paid the money to, but—“
“Jenzyn,” Mylynzen interrupted. “Is the seller still in town?”
“Likely,” she answered.
He glanced at the men at his side. “Go find him, and bring him here quickly. Just tell him I have a few questions.”
The two Barbaros stood, nodded, and immediately headed for the door.
“Back to what I was saying,” Mylynzen said. “We get a few traders here in Barbaros, but it’s rare for human adventurers to turn up. Where are you from?”
I’m not sure why, but I decided it was best not to tell that we were from Edgewood. “We’re from Highcastle.”
“Ahh,” the lion man nodded. “Highcastle denizens.” He turned toward Keysia. “Are dark elves living outside of the forest these days?”
Keysia shook her head. “I live in Edgewood.”
“And you are friends?” the Barbaros asked.
“Guildmates.” Though Sung wasn’t part of the guild, I didn’t feel the conversation was worthy of any more detailed explanation.
Mylynzen smiled. “You know, we actually had a couple bald-headed humans riding through here on horseback yesterday screaming ‘The Reborns have arrived!’ Strange folk in purplish robes.” He leaned forward on the table and scanned Sung, Jeremy, and me. “Are you sure you three aren’t Reborns?”
There was long, uncomfortable pause before Mylynzen and Jenzyn burst into laughter. Sung, Jeremy and I all slowly joined in and gave our best awkward, fake laughs.
“Reborns…” Mylynzen shook his head. “To think. I mean, there have been dragons acting odd around here recently, but that doesn’t mean much, right? They’ve probably got cabin fever from hiding out in their caves for so many years.”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah…”
The doors on the other side of the mess hall shot open, and the two Barbaros men walked in with another Barbaros between them. I recognized him immediately as the man who had been praying at the Peace Temple. As soon as he saw us sitting with Mylynzen, he turned and tried to bolt away, but the other two Barbaros grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back. As he was led towards us, he twiddled with his fingers, and his eyes darted around as if he were looking for another exit.
“Thanks for coming, Nymz,” Mylynzen said. He waved his hand at my party. “You’ve met these folks before, right?”
Nymz nodded slowly then pointed his eyes to the ground.
“From what they’ve told me, we—or rather, you—stole their mounts while they were running errands. What do you think about that?”
Nymz swallowed hard. “They entered the Peace Temple.” He raised his arms out to his side. “I mean, what do you think would’ve happened? I thought they had died after an hour or so… I jumped at the opportunity to make some gold.”
“You didn’t warn them of the dangers there?” Jenzyn asked.
“I did!” Nymz said and nodded erratically. “I did!”
“Whatever the case,” Mylynzen continued, “they’re alive, and you sold us property that didn’t belong to you. What do you have to say?”
Nymz took a deep breath. “I’m sorry… I, ugh…”
“Return my gold, so I can give it to these people,” Mylynzen interrupted.
“What?!” Nymz asked. “I mean, I already spent half the gold. I… I can’t—“
“What!” Mylynzen growled. “How did you spend half the gold already?”
Nymz shook his head. “I bought some mindsmack… I—“
“Drugs!? Damnit,” Mylynzen snapped. He placed his forehead in his palm and after a couple seconds looked up to Jenzyn. “How do you think we should handle this?”
“Let’s take him out into the wilderness and give him a proper beating,” one of the male Barbaros blurted.
Mylynzen snorted. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Jenzyn leaned forward, placing her chin over her furry knuckles. “We’re not thieves, Mylynzen. If the mounts were their property, it’s our obligation to return to them a full five thousand gold.”
“Gold?” I asked. I shook my head. “What do you mean gold? We don’t want your gold. We want our mounts!”
Mylynzen smiled hard and huffed loudly through his nose. “Mounts, huh? Well, if you’re really bound to the Great Beast outside, I’ll make sure he’s returned to you.”
“She,” I corrected. “And what about our horses?”
Mylynzen crossed his arms and nodded slowly before locking his eyes in to mine. “Very well. We are not thieves. We’ll return your horses as well.” He turned to Jenzyn. “Go fetch the horses, will you?”
Jenzyn raised her eyebrows and then gave a subtle nod before scurrying off.
“Hell yeah!” Jeremy said. He turned to me and threw me a high-five.
The celebration seemed a little early, especially with the culprit still standing near us and the other Barbaros were looking on, but I return his high-five anyway.
Keysia and Sung smiled.
“I hope you’re pleased with our generosity,” Mylynzen said.
“Yeah,” I answered. “The Barbaros seem fair. You do your people well.”
Mylynzen chuckled then turned towards Nymz. “You’ll bring me the remaining gold and any of the unused goods you’ve purchased. I’ll have your mindsmack burned.”
Nymz nodded subtly with his head bowed low.
“Thank you,” Keysia voiced.
“My pleasure, dark elf,” Mylynzen said.
I was surprised to hear him speak so kindly to a dark elf. Other than Reborns, it was the first time I had encountered someone who gave her respect. The Barbaros did indeed seem to be rational people.
Jenzyn returned to the table and slid two of the dishes from the shelf at the end of the room in front of us, then turned away and walked back towards the other end of the room. Another Barbaros slid two more trays in front of us.
I glanced towards my guildmates, then to the heaping piles of meat on the trays. “What’s this? We don’t want to eat anymore.”
“What do you mean,” Mylynzen asked. “You asked for your mounts back.”
“Huh?”
“The two horses,” he clarified.
“What?”
Mylynzen pointed towards one of the heaped dishes on the right. “This one was the horse that…” He shook his head. “Actually, they looked pretty much the same, and the pieces are probably mixed up by now.” He waved his hand, leaned back and pointed towards Jenzyn and another Barbaros bringing another tray filled with meat. “Most of the good meat is on these trays, and the rest of the parts are coming right up.”
“What?!” I asked again, finding his words unbelievable.
Jeremy suddenly lurched his head forward and made a gagging noise.
Mylynzen raised his chin. “The two horses are here aside from what’s been eaten already.”
“Sally?” Sung asked.
“Betsy?” Jeremy asked.
Mylynzen grinned. “They were very nices horses, but here in Barbarosia, most of us are only interested in riding Great Beasts. Normal beasts of any kind are generally reserved for food. Horses in particular are quite tasty and a great source of protein.”
“We ate Betsy?!” Keysia asked frantically.
Jeremy lurched forward and made a gagging noise again, and then a second time shifted his head awkwardly and started vomiting up the food we had just eaten.
The sight of Jeremy’s vomit and the idea that we had just ate Betsey and Sally made me lurch forward and heave as well. I tried my best to hold it in, but when Sung started gagging as well, I couldn’t hold it in and puked my guts up.
Keysia held her palm to her mouth while we three humans puked for a couple minutes, but once the puking and dry heaving was finished, she asked if we were okay.
I shook my head and turned towards Mylynzen with a glare. “You asshole…”
Mylynzen snorted and leaned back in his chair. “I gave you what you wanted… You’ll get your Great Beast back, and what’s left of your horses are right here. I could have offered you nothing.”
“Fuck you,” I said.
Mylynzen jerked back and reached for a hunting knife that was draped at his side. “Do we have a problem?”
“Mylynzen,” Jenzyn said calmly.
The eyepatched Barbaros turned to his companion.
“You know these people are not in the wrong,” she said. “You knew what would happen if you fed humans their pets. Be reasonable.”
Mylynzen grinned mischievously and eased his grip off of his knife. He paused a moment before letting out a hard exhale. “You’re right. We’ll make it up to them.” His body suddenly tensed, and he seized the hunting knife at his side. In a flash, he stood to his feet, turned, and grabbed the throat of Nymz. He held the hunting knife firmly below his chin. “Learn to respect your people, and quit making a fool of us.”
Nymz tensed and his eyes went wide. “Yes… Yes… I understand.”
Mylynzen shoved Nymz, turned and pointed his knife towards Jenzyn before returning it to the sheathe at his side. “Arrange accommodations for these men while I return their panther.”
Jenzyn nodded, stood, and started running for the door.
Relief fell over me at the words “return their panther”. No matter if I had eaten bits of Sally and/or Betsy, my main concern was getting Sora back. Communication may have worked, even if it had been a bad experience.
I could only hope that she was okay and hadn’t unbonded with me or worse.
“Come,” Mylynzen said, motioning his hands towards us. He started for the door, and we all stood up and followed, leaving our vomit and uneaten horse meat behind.
Chapter Nineteen
2/4/0001
Can you hear me? I tried to project to Sora as Mylynzen opened the cage that was containing her.
There was no response.
“Come on!” Mylyznen yelled and waved his hand once the barred door was open.
Sora glanced to me and then back to Mylynzen. I gave her a slight nod, and she slowly eased her way to the entrance of the cage then crawled out on to the ground.
She flinched as Mylynzen reached down and grabbed the metal collar that was around her neck, pressed something that caused a hissing sound, and quickly pulled the metal piece away.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I wasn’t clear if this Great Beast was already bonded when Nymz brought her to me, but given that she was found with two hitched horses and how unreceptive she was when we tried to capture her, I thought it highly probable. This collar prevents any sort of magic or magical commutation between masters and Great Beasts. You know how taming and domination works, right?”
“Sort of…” I replied.
“After some time apart, a Great Beast will unbond with you, and once free of your bond, a beast can be bonded by someone else or dominated with Mentalism magic. I figured after a few days sitting in a cage, she’d be weak enough that I could dominate her into serving me.”
I groaned.
“Pfft,” Mylynzen said. “You humans are too emotional.” He shrugged. “As a Barbaros, it would have been quite the opportunity to ride on a beast such as this. This creature has similar traits to us, but isn’t quite as… evolved?” He raised his pawlike hand in front of him and stared at it curiously.
So he says… a voice said to me.
Sora!
Sora moved up to me and started rubbing her head against my waist. Yes, father.
Thank god, you’re okay.
“How did you manage to tame a beast such as this, anyway?” Mylynzen asked. “It’s unusual to see anyone but an elf with these large great cats.”
“I found her when she was a baby,” I said.
“Stolen from her mother’s nest, I presume?”
“Not quite, but something like that,” I answered.
Mylynzen rubbed his chin. “Well, I must say I’m envious, especially for someone at your level. An excellent find, indeed.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
“Four rooms have been arranged at the inn,” Jenzyn said as she approached from behind me.
“Great,” Mylynzen said. “Jen will take you to your rooms, and you can spend the night here in Barbarosia.”
