The Wandering Inn_Volume 1, page 242
“Hrr. Yes. Young Mrsha.”
Krshia gets up from her chair. She bends down and Mrsha scoots back, but the other Gnoll’s face is nothing but kind. She growls something low and soothing and Mrsha’s death-grip on Erin’s arm slowly releases.
Mrsha doesn’t speak—she can’t—but she does reach out with one paw. Krshia lets Mrsha put a paw on her cheek, and then nuzzles the smaller Gnoll gently. White fur brushes against dark brown and I look away.
“Human.”
Brunkr looks at me, his eyes serious. I stare back. I don’t like Brunkr. He’s probably a solid, serious guy, but he doesn’t strike me as smart. And it’s smart I need right now. Smart, and willing to talk and compromise.
“What of the other tribes? Did you run and warn them? Or are they at the mercy of this Goblin army?”
Krshia steps back from Mrhsa and looks disapprovingly at her nephew.
“If it is Shivertail, he will have had the Gnolls in his army howl, yes? The tribes will be warned. This Goblin army will not catch them so easily.”
She shakes her head.
“No. They are warned, but a meeting must be called. The tribes must either flee or band together to destroy this threat before a Goblin King arises.”
“I will lead the warriors south, to defend our tribe—”
Brunkr rises, but Krshia glares him back down.
“And do what? A few spears will make no difference against such a horde. Besides, you are weeks away and our tribe is secure. You are needed here.”
“To do what? Guard ashes?”
Brunkr’s hackles raise as he stares at his aunt. She glares back, and the mood in the room goes sour again. Mrsha edges away, and Erin looks worried. She hasn’t said much—I guess she’s worried about saying the wrong thing.
But I? I don’t care if the mood’s wrong. I just want to resolve this. So I clear my throat and get the two Gnolls to break off the staring match.
“That’s the second thing I need to talk to you about. Krshia Silverfang—”
She waves a paw.
“You are a friend of Erin’s. I am Krshia.”
I nod.
“Krshia, Mrsha here is without a home. I don’t know anything about Gnoll customs, but you’re the only Gnoll that Erin knows. Is there any way she could stay here?”
I’m not prepared for the look of horror Mrsha gives me. She tries to struggle out of Erin’s arms towards me, but the girl holds her. She’s giving me a look too. What?
Krshia hesitates. She casts an eye at Mrsha, and I see her expression as she looks at her white fur.
“Brunkr. Will you go and give Mrsha some food? I have some snacks from home she may like.”
It’s the cheapest of tricks, but Mrsha’s ears perk up at the word ‘food’. Brunkr glares, but he stands up and walks into the kitchen. Erin’s the only one who protests.
“Mrsha’s had a big breakfast, and a lot of these cubes. Maybe she should—”
I glare at Erin and jerk my head towards the kitchen. Her face goes slack and I nearly slap my head as I see her put the pieces together.
“Oh. I’ll uh, let’s go eat something, Mrsha!”
She leads Mrsha into the kitchen. But the kid still looks over her shoulder at me twice on the way there, and I see her peeking back to make sure I’m not leaving.
Damn it. I didn’t mean I’d just run off. But I just meant that—
Krshia moves towards me and lowers her voice. I focus back on her, leaving recriminations aside for a second.
“Ryoka Griffin. The situation is more complicated than it seems, yes?”
“It is.”
I keep my voice low as the Gnoll sits next to me so we can talk. I can sense her body heat, and her fur makes me feel like I’m next to a bear. But her eyes—her eyes are just like any person’s eyes. I focus on that.
“This news you bring is terrible. My heart hurts for Mrsha. And yet, the situation here is complicated.”
I nod.
“I know. Your people want to kill Lyonette, and Erin’s protecting her.”
Krshia nods.
“Among other things. It was a terrible thing Lyonette did.”
“She destroyed your store, yes. And she did a lot of damage to other Gnoll’s shops. But there’s something else, isn’t there?”
All of that was bad from the way Erin described it, but it still doesn’t quite square with a Gnoll hit squad going out after Lyonette. Krshia hesitates, and I stare at her.
“I’m not Erin, Krshia. Let’s speak honestly.”
Her lips quirk into a bitter smile.
“It is something that I have wished for. But circumstances have conspired against me speaking so before now, yes? What you say is true. The thieving girl destroyed more than simply my shop. She destroyed something…precious to my clan. Something we have labored to accumulate for many years.”
Fuck. That’s not what I wanted to hear. But it puts the pieces together. I nod.
“So Erin, by saving Lyonette, is also preventing you from righting the wrong.”
“She has taken on the debt, yes.”
Krshia nods. I scowl.
“That’s bullshit. It wasn’t her fault. She did nothing that warranted an attack.”
Krshia’s eyes are steady as she meets mine.
“No, she did not. That was wrong. But the debt of the thief cannot be erased except by blood, and Erin Solstice bears the cost so long as she protects her.”
Gnoll customs. In my stay with the Stone Spears tribe, Urksh explained some of their customs to me. They take debts like this seriously, and their idea of guilt is transferable. I scowl into my cup of tea and drink some. Not bad, and it gives me a second to think.
“Do all the Gnolls in Liscor think like this?”
“Some. The young do. We who are older understand Erin Solstice. But even so, it is hard to accept. The thief must be punished. The debt must be paid.”
“But she has nothing.”
“Nothing but her life.”
The old customs. Blood settles all debts. The most ancient of customs. Sometimes I think the Gnolls are just like us—well, what the hell am I saying? That does sound like us.
Damnit. Fine. Let’s see just how bad this is.
“And what is the worth that Lyonette cost you? How many gold coins would it be equivalent to, for instance?”
“Fifty thousand gold coins.”
I blink, and stare at Krshia. She stares back. I open my mouth, and close it. If I’d said something like ‘you can’t be serious’ or ‘this must be a mistake’, I’d probably have to stab myself to erase the embarrassment.
Krshia is serious. And so I’ll answer her. I stare at Krshia.
“So long as Erin has that debt, you won’t help her, will you?”
“It would be…harder, yes. We have given Erin Solstice aid before, as we have you.”
I remember the Gnolls that helped fight Gazi and nod.
“You know she’s from another world. And you wanted her to give you something useful. Something you can bring back to your tribe.”
Krshia inhales softly. I hear Brunkr growling to Mrsha in the other room and her knocking about.
“You are quick, yes? You think differently than Erin does.”
“Not necessarily better.”
“No. but you are correct. We did hope. We offered much in exchange in hopes of receiving more. But—”
Krshia shrugged.
“The thief cost us too much. It was poor luck, but my tribe will pay for it. I do not believe Erin will be able to offer anything worthy of such a debt.”
“So you’re trying to talk Brunkr out of trying to kill Lyonette.”
Krshia’s eyes flicker. She inclines her head.
“Very quick. It would undo years of work in Liscor and do more harm than good. But the debt still remains.”
“Fine. I think I understand the problem.”
I sigh, and put down the tea cup. Then I face Krshia, and raise my voice so the Gnolls listening at the doors and windows can here.
“I will take on Erin’s debt. And I will pay it.”
The Gnoll blinks at me. Once. Twice. I grin, the wide grin of an idiot who’s betting everything with nothing in their hand.
“You are confident, yes? Do you have something of that worth?”
Eight hundred gold pieces, which I don’t actually have at the moment. 1.6% of Erin’s debt. I don’t say that out loud, though.
“I’ll find a way. I am from another world, just like Erin.”
Krshia blinks at me. But she doesn’t seem surprised.
“Mm. But that does not mean you have anything more than Erin Solstice, yes? And should this not be a great secret?”
“Things have changed.”
A certain group of idiots in Magnolia’s care proves that.
“I will pay the debt. I will find something that will erase Erin’s debt. I promise.”
Krshia studies me.
“You are confident, yes?”
“Yes.”
I hold her gaze. After a second, she nods.
“Soon. If you would erase the debt, then you must do it soon.”
“Fine.”
I am so fucked. But it’s just one part of the debt I owe. I look at the kitchen as I hear Brunkr growling and Erin laugh.
“What about Mrsha?”
Krshia nods.
“We will take her. My tribe is far to the south, but we will raise her here until we journey back.”
I hesitate. That’s what I had planned, but I remember the look in Krshia and Brunkr’s eyes.
“And she will be safe?”
“Yes.”
Barely a flicker. But it’s there. I stare at Krshia.
“Her fur is white. I thought it had to do with the Frost Faeries who saved us, but does that mean something in Gnoll culture?”
Krshia’s gaze wavers. She picks up a cube of meat and pops it into her mouth and swallows it without looking at me.
“There is…significance.”
“You mean it’s bad luck. Or an ill omen.”
“…Yes.”
“What does it mean, exactly?”
Krshia pauses.
“Don’t lie to me, Krshia Silverfang.”
She glares at me. I glare right back. Krshia sighs and scratches at her neck.
“Too quick. You are prickly, like a thorny bush, yes? But you are right. White fur is a sign among my kind. No Gnoll has white fur, except those touched by disaster.”
“Disaster?”
“Those who have lost their tribe. Those who have survived calamity. And, it is said, those who bring it.”
My throat closes up. I’m suddenly very, very glad that Mrsha is in the other room.
“None of what happened was Mrsha’s fault.”
Krshia traces a pattern on her leg.
“I am sure you tell the truth. But my people believe in such signs. Can you be certain that none of it was due to her?”
The Frost Faeries. I clench my fist and feel my nails digging into my skin, puncturing it.
“No. But she is still innocent.”
Krshia studies me and nods.
“I will take her. She will be safe with me.”
I shake my head. Now everything’s changed again.
“No. She’ll stay with Erin. I saw the way Brunkr looked at her.”
“He is young.”
“But if he acts like that, so will the other Gnolls. Would Mrsha even be safe in Liscor?”
Krshia nods, but only after a second. I feel grim. Literally grim.
“If you can’t be absolutely sure she’ll be safe, she’ll stay with Erin. And anyone who tries to hurt her will have to go through me and every damn guard I can find.”
“She will not be harmed, Ryoka Griffin. But perhaps it would be best for her to stay in the inn.”
“Fine.”
I shake my head. This has been complete crap, but at least I’ve got something else to focus on. What the hell can I give the Gnolls? I know there’s something.
Gunpowder aside, there has to be something. Advancements in archery? I saw the Gnolls using shortbows and longbows, but what about composite weapons or compound bows? Can I even make that?
Some kind of medical advancement? Education? But it has to be something truly valuable. Damn it, how will I keep Mrsha safe? I haven’t seen Erin’s skeleton—she’ll have to keep him around the inn at all times. How soon is ‘soon’?
Krshia interrupts the whirlwind of thoughts in my head.
“Why do you offer to take up Erin Solstice’s debt, Ryoka? Is it merely friendship or something else?”
I look at her. The answer is burning in my chest. It’s the only thing I can do. What I must do.
“I have my own debt to the Stone Spears tribe. That’s why I’ll help Erin and give your tribe something of worth. I owe Mrsha more, though. Remember that.”
“And what do you owe Mrsha?”
Krshia’s brown eyes are fixed on me. I meet her gaze, my eyes serious.
“Everything.”
—-
Something else happened before Erin and Ryoka left Krshia’s house. Ryoka was just finishing her discussion with Krshia when she heard a yelp, and then a shout from the kitchen. She’d leapt out of the couch and was running into the kitchen before she knew what she was doing.
Brunkr was shaking his arm and shouting in agony. Ryoka saw Mrsha biting his hand, teeth gnawing at his flesh as he tried to throw her off. Erin was holding him down.
“Mrsha!”
“Get her off!”
“Mrsha, let go!”
I run to Mrsha and help drag her away from Brunkr. Her mouth is bloody and she struggles like a wildcat in my grip, snarling silently at Brunkr.
“That hurts!”
He roars at her and bares his teeth. I push Mrsha behind me, but Erin and Krshia block the way.
“Desist, nephew.”
“She drew blood!”
Brunkr snarls at Krshia, but Erin stands in front of him. She raises a fist.
“Get near her and I’ll punch you.”
That makes Brunkr hesitate. He eyes her, and I hustle Mrsha into the other room. I’m about to shout at her when I see her face.
Mrsha’s teeth are covered in blood and she’s still snarling. But she’s also crying. Tears roll down her face as she strains in my arms, trying to get free.
In the end, Brunkr goes back into the living room as Erin and I sit with Mrsha. I don’t know what Krshia said, but a few words from her in the Gnoll’s growling language made Mrsha stop trying to attack Brunkr.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know!”
Erin accepts a wet washcloth as she mops at Mrsha’s face. The Gnoll wriggles away from her at first, but then lets her clean up the blood. She spits onto the cloth and I offer her some tea to wash the blood away.
“All I know is that Mrsha was fine, then Brunkr growled something at her and then—she attacked him!”
Brunkr looks defensive as Erin pauses to glare at him. Krshia gives him a death look and his ears flatten.
“Brunkr. What is it you have done?”
He glares at the floor as he mutters a reply.
“I just told her…her tribe is gone. Gone, and never coming back. Gone because she brought disaster with her. Because she is cursed.”
Silence. I stare at Erin, and then Mrsha. She’s crying again.
Erin stands up. She doesn’t say a word. She just punches Brunkr hard enough to send him crashing into a wall. Krshia nods in approval.
“My deepest apologies, Erin Solstice.”
“I think we should go.”
Erin looks sadly down at Mrsha. She’s crying, and clinging to me. I feel her claws piercing my skin, but I just hold her. Krshia looks sadly at us, her eyes lingering on Mrsha’s white fur.
White as snow. A pure color. White, the color of purity, innocence.
And also death.
—-
It’s a slow procession home. I carry Mrsha, even though she’s heavy. She’s still crying. I have to stop twice for her to throw up. All the food she ate comes up and she just clings to me harder.
Another failure of mine. I’m not worthy of even staying around her. But if Krshia can’t protect her, somehow I have to.
Somehow.
Erin and I don’t talk much on the way back, just slog through the deep snow. It looks like it will snow more tonight.
“Aha! I see the mortal fool has met the one who serves food! ‘Tis good!”
“But they move so slowly! Like ants! Like bugs!”
“Should we drop more snow on them? An avalanche? Hail?”
Frost Faeries fly down out of the air. I stare up at them. Now’s not the time, but they laugh and grin as if nothing’s wrong.
“Ho, travelers! Give us your coin or we shall bury you!”
“Brigands, we! Victims, thee!”
Erin winces, but she doesn’t respond to the faerie’s provocations. I have no such inhibitions.
“Get lost, you lot. Now’s not the time.”
“Ryoka!”
Erin hisses at me, but I just stare at the faeries. They pause.
“Ooh, the mortal has teeth! Are we disturbing you?”
I point to Mrsha. She’s buried her face in my clothes and hasn’t moved. I feel her tears soaking through my layers of clothes.
“You’re bothering her. Go away.”
The frost faeries hesitate. They stare at Mrsha and seem to confer. Then, without a word they fly away.
Erin gapes at me.
“How did you do that? They never listen to me!”
I shrug, adjusting my hold on Mrsha.
“Hit them where it hurts. They like children.”
As if to spite me, I feel something gently smack me in the back of the head. Erin wipes away the snow as I grit my teeth.
“Little freaks.”
Another snowball taps me on the back lightly. Erin shakes her head.
“I think they like you.”
“I’ve reached an…understanding with them.”
“That’s so…uh, well, it’s good, right?”
“Who knows?”
We walk on. In a few minutes we can see the door of Erin’s inn at the top of the hill, and something else.
