Tears of Liscor, page 3
part #9 of The Wandering Inn Series
“Hmm. Hmm. Hey Mrsha, get the ball you want. I’ll take five—no, give me eight of these. Not the expensive ones, but good, quality ones.”
“Of course!”
The Gnoll beamed, happy to make a sale. Lyonette eyed Erin.
“Are those all for Mrsha? And can we afford all of them?”
Erin dug around in her money pouch for a few gold coins. She shrugged.
“I earned a lot of money from the plays. And I get some of the bounty money for the Gnolls. And I can even put in a claim for some of the magical items!”
“Really? How does that even work? I know there was Ilvriss’ bounty, but who gets to say who gets what?”
Erin paused.
“I have no idea. Hey, can I get these in a bag? Lyonette, I just had a great idea. You stay here and get Mrsha whatever she wants. Or two of what she wants. Here.”
She dug three gold coins out and handed them to Lyonette. The Gnoll [Shopkeeper]’s tail wagged in delight as Lyonette stared at the gold coins.
“Erin—!”
“Come back to the inn when you’re ready! I’ll be in Celum if you need me!”
Erin raced out of the shop. By the time she got back to the Wandering Inn, the Halfseekers were awake. They were eating ravenously and in good spirits without reserve. Jelaqua was thumping Moore on the back as Erin came in.
“Eat up! Don’t be shy, you great big oaf. Erin doesn’t care if you eat all her eggs! And you need your strength after you nearly got gutted by those damn Raskghar. Anyone want the sausages? Then take the platter, Moore! I told you—oh, hey Erin.”
“Jelaqua! Moore! Seborn!”
Erin beamed. The Horns of Hammerad and Halfseekers both turned. They stared as she emptied the hide-wrapped balls onto the table. Jelaqua pointed.
“What’s that? Toys for Mrsha?”
“Nope! Toys for me! Oh, and eat everything you want, Moore. Hey, I’m going into Celum now. Can one of you change the door back to Liscor and check for me in like…thirty minutes?”
The Horns nodded. Ceria was sitting with the others. She looked relaxed, but tired. Erin strode over to the door and blinked as Yvlon stood up. The woman scratched at her arms. She was wearing her gauntlets and vambraces for some reason, despite not having bothered to put on her breastplate or any other part of her armor.
“I’ll go with you. I could use some sunlight.”
“Sure, thanks! I could use a pair of hands. Remember, let Mrsha and Lyonette through! I’ll be back soon! Oh, hey Octavia.”
The [Alchemist] looked up as Erin and Yvlon came through. She waved.
“Hey, everyone’s alive over there, right? I didn’t get to ask—”
“They’re all good!”
The Stitch-Girl sighed in relief. Erin spent a few seconds with Octavia and then walked out of the shop. Yvlon nodded to the [Alchemist] and walked with Erin down the street.
It was different in Celum. Sunlight shone down from above, disconcerting after the pouring rain Erin had just been walking through. She felt her hair and clothes begin to dry. After a second, she turned and looked at Yvlon.
“So, how’s Ceria doing?”
Yvlon looked up at the bright sky. People were passing by on the street. Humans, giving Yvlon an odd look now and then. People who had no idea of what had happened. Erin felt like a stranger with Humans all around her. After a moment, Yvlon shrugged.
“I don’t know. I think she’s okay. She told us what happened.”
“And?”
The woman let out a long breath.
“I…I’m surprised she can recall it. Calruz, the Raskghar—there was something truly awful down there, Erin. The ritual, Calruz—I don’t know how Ceria will handle it. I’m surprised she let him live after all that happened. And Mrsha…”
“That bad?”
“She was there for all of it. She looked okay to me, but I’d stick with her. Those Raskghar were monsters.”
Erin nodded seriously.
“Well, Lyonette is with her. And I’ll find tons of fun stuff for her to do. I just had an idea in that vein, which is why we’re out here. Hey, you know Celum, right? Can you help me find a shop?”
“Really? Well, why am I surprised? What are you looking for?”
“A [Carpenter]. Know any good ones?”
“Hm. Well, the Runner’s Guild would know the best ones in the city. Why not make a stop there?”
“Good idea.”
They turned left down a street. Yvlon and Erin walked along in silence. Erin glanced at Yvlon. She hadn’t spoken too often with the woman, but they knew each other.
“Yvlon?”
“Yes?”
“How bad was it? I can ask Ceria, but—”
The woman looked away. Her face was shadowed when she spoke.
“Bad enough that I had to leave. It was that or ask Ceria why she didn’t kill Calruz. She let him live. But the things he did, the horrors he let the Raskghar commit—that was not the Calruz I knew. And there was something else. Ceria saw the heart of the dungeon. And what lurks in there—you don’t need to hear about it.”
Erin shivered.
“Maybe I do. But not today.”
Yvlon nodded.
“Not today. I’m just grateful that she’s back. And so is Mrsha. Thank you for doing this.”
“Hey, it was just—”
“No. It was more than that.”
The woman met Erin’s eyes. Erin hesitated, then nodded silently. That was all they said for a while. They visited the Runner’s Guild, got directions from the [Receptionist], and were walking down the street when Erin thought of something else to ask.
“So…about the treasure. Loot. Whatever. How’s that going to work?”
Yvlon blinked. Then she smiled.
“Right. I nearly forgot! Ilvriss did offer a huge bounty on the Gnolls. What was it, a thousand gold pieces per prisoner saved? And didn’t he double that? Plus, we recovered a bunch of artifacts from the Raskghar who were carrying them. At least twenty, I think. I didn’t see all of them, but everyone wants one.”
“I bet. So how’s it going to work?”
“I think it’s a lottery. Part of what Ilvriss and Liscor’s Council will do is assign merit based on who contributed what. The Gold-rank teams get most credit for all the fighting they did, obviously. But the [Soldiers], the Watch, Ilvriss himself, everyone gets credit. So do you. A lot of it, I should imagine.”
“Mhm. I guess.”
“So we’ll all be eligible for some share. But what Ilvriss is going to do is pay the whole sum for all the prisoners rescued into a pool. And the artifacts go into the pool as well. Then we make bids on what we want. You can just ask for gold—or try and claim an artifact. If multiple groups claim the same thing, I think there’s a random lottery. Or you might get it if you did the most and you don’t want anything else. It’s complicated. Dungeon raids usually end up with a lot of fighting over who gets what anyways.”
“Wow. So could I get a magic sword if I wanted it?”
Yvlon grinned ruefully.
“You could try. But I’ll bet all the Gold-ranks will get the artifacts. I’ll be pleased just to get some gold for our team. We could use it. And the levels we gained already were treasure enough. We—oh, here we are.”
She stopped. Erin stared at the carpenter’s shop and then pushed her way in. The shop was run by a master and his apprentices. Erin edged past the apprentice who came to ask her what she wanted and strode up to the [Carpenter]. She smiled at him as he looked up with a scowl.
“Hey, I’m Erin. Erin Solstice. You’re a [Carpenter], right? Can I ask how fast you can carpenter?”
“What?”
He looked irritated. The man had gnarled hands and grey hair. He glared at his apprentice and Erin, but she was undeterred.
“I have an order I’d like to make. Something custom.”
“I’m busy. If you have an order—”
Erin slapped a gold coin on the table the man was working at. He blinked at the gold piece. He opened his mouth, and Erin dumped a handful on the table. Yvlon’s eyebrows shot up. The [Carpenter] wavered. He glanced at Erin and tried to adopt a much more helpful attitude.
“Uh, how can I help you, Miss?”
“I want you to carve something. It has to be solid. One block of wood. And it can’t break. It’s not hard to make, but it needs to be good. It’ll look like this—hey, can I borrow that piece of charcoal? Thanks.”
Erin snatched the [Carpenter]’s drawing stick up and began to sketch on his piece of parchment. He blinked at her and then frowned at what she was drawing. He began nodding as she described what she wanted.
“That’s all? And you don’t want anything done with it? A wrap? Hah, that’s simple. Well, if it’s not engraving…I can get you a rough outline within the hour, no problem. Smoothing the surface takes a bit of work, but that’s an easy design. You’re lucky you came to me! My competitors can’t do quick work, whereas my Skills are far superior.”
He puffed out his chest a bit. Erin raised one eyebrow.
“Really? Well, can you give me a list of your competitors? I’m gonna get them to make some too. Unless you can make me…six within two hours? I need an oversized version too. Oh, and one with a custom grip. I’ll pay extra to get it done quick and good.”
The [Carpenter]’s jaw dropped. He stared at Yvlon, who gave him a curious, embarrassed, amused look. He looked at Erin. She smiled at him.
“Did I mention that I know Gold-rank adventurers? Say, do you happen to sell arrow shafts? Because one of my best clients is a guy called Halrac…”
A few minutes later, Erin walked out of the [Carpenter]’s shop, whistling. She looked at Yvlon.
“Okay, we’ll go to one other [Carpenter] shop. The guy had a lot of apprentices, so I think he can fulfill the order. Plus, he looked like he was going to work really hard.”
Yvlon looked back into the shop, which was a flurry of activity.
“I can imagine. Especially with what you paid him! What was that thing for, anyways?”
Erin raised her eyebrows mysteriously.
“You’ll see. Now I need to visit a tanner. Or a leatherworker.”
“We can ask about them at the next carpenter’s shop if you want. They tend to know other people in related businesses. But can I ask why?”
A wide smile was Yvlon’s only answer.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see what I’ve got ready in about two hours. Less, if I get everything ready. Hey, do you know where I can buy sausages? And I need more flour to make dough. Uh…how strong are your arms? I might need you to carry stuff.”
Yvlon flexed her arms as Erin eyed them with sudden concern. The [Warrior] smiled. Her arms looked bigger for some reason. Had she been working out?
“Don’t worry about me. But please tell me you’re not going to do something crazy. I can’t handle anything crazy.”
“Don’t worry! This is fun and good stuff. Besides—if I did do something crazy, could you even stop me?”
Yvlon paused.
“Yes.”
Erin hesitated.
“Right. You probably could. Well, this isn’t that crazy. Come on!”
——
When Erin got back to the inn, she found Mrsha and Lyonette had returned. Only, they didn’t have any new balls. And neither of them were smiling. Mrsha sat by herself, rolling something back and forth.
Her ball. Her worn, scratched little ball. Erin paused, looking questioningly at Lyonette. She and Yvlon were empty-handed, but Erin had spent a good deal of coin, and she hoped to have things to carry soon enough.
“Did Mrsha not want anything?”
Lyonette was sitting at a table, watching Mrsha with concern in her eyes. She shook her head. Apista was in her lap, and Lyonette was running her finger down the bee’s back.
“She started crying after you left and she had to decide on a new ball. She wanted her old one. I think it was too soon to bring her into the city, Erin.”
A bit of reproach entered Lyonette’s tone. Erin’s heart sank. She looked at Mrsha. The Gnoll was sniffing her ball, holding it. Not really playing. Erin nodded slowly.
“Yeah. That was my mistake. Uh—is everyone doing good?”
She looked around. The Halfseekers and Horns were still in her inn. Both had stuffed themselves. They weren’t saying too much. Ceria sat at a table with Pisces and Ksmvr. She had emptied two mugs. She wasn’t exactly looking happy either. She kept looking at Mrsha.
The optimistic mood of the morning had somehow gone wrong. Lyonette glanced at the adventurers and shrugged. Erin saw Seborn talking with Moore and Jelaqua. She wandered over and heard his slightly echoey voice.
“—It’s negotiations at this point. We could try for that armor, Jelaqua. But we owe Selys Shivertail a cut of whatever we get.”
“I know, I know. But if we get the armor, we can compensate her. And we do have a strong claim. Hell, maybe we could persuade Ilvriss or the Flamewardens to help us out if I agree to cancel my contract with Selys. But having a magical artifact like that we could own—oh, hey Erin.”
Jelaqua looked up. Moore sat up with a groan. He had a hand over his stomach where he’d been cut last night. The wound had healed, but the half-Giant still seemed tender. Or he’d stuffed himself. The mountain of dishes suggested that might be the case.
“Hey guys. I wanted to say thanks again for all you did. Really.”
Jelaqua raised one eyebrow.
“For what? Saving our hides? You gave us a victory. We had no way to beat the Raskghar. And you—”
Mrsha started and looked up from her ball. Jelaqua broke off guiltily.
“Sorry. What I meant was that we owe you, Erin.”
“Thanks. But you were fighting. I…well, I know you’re probably busy doing adventurer stuff, but I was hoping I could ask for a small favor.”
The Halfseekers looked at each other. Jelaqua shrugged.
“We’re only discussing business. It’s not like we can do anything now—it’ll be a week at least before we get to the actual dividing of loot, I bet. Gotta make sure we all get what we want.”
“Awesome. Then can I ask for you to help me deliver something? I need a few strong hands. Not you, Moore. I know you’re recovering—”
The half-Giant sat up. He smiled tiredly at Erin.
“I’m fine, Miss Erin. And if it’s lifting you need, I think I’m your half-Giant.”
He tried to rise, but Jelaqua and Seborn held him down.
“Relax, Moore. We have this.”
“But I—”
“No, no. Sit. Please. Let me get you a drink. You saved Mrsha. I owe you so much—Lyonette! Can we get the big mug for Moore? Fill it with something nice! Wine or ale? Something stronger?”
The half-Giant wavered, then collapsed back into his seat. Fatigue, that was it. He just looked tired.
“I suppose I could do with an ale. From Celum? Do you have any local brands?”
“I’ll check. Now, I just need four people, probably. I could do it with two, but—”
“Seborn and I are good. Who are the other two? Yvlon and Ksmvr?”
“I was thinking of making Pisces do it—”
“Hah!”
Erin turned and grinned at Pisces. The [Necromancer] had helped himself to a drink of his own. He sat next to Ceria.
“I will conjure you a skeleton to do the work if you desire, Erin. But you won’t get me to move for love or money. Threats of violence may suffice.”
Erin rolled her eyes.
“I don’t need skeletons, thanks. They’ll cause a panic. But just give me one second, and I’ll get everything in place. It’s for Mrsha, see.”
Both Mrsha and Lyonette looked up. Lyonette frowned.
“Erin. Mrsha needs some time by herself. I don’t think an outing is right. Not at all.”
She stared hard at Erin, and the young woman felt a bit of pressure on her shoulders. She blinked. Lyonette’s gaze felt heavy. And then Erin realized. She was using her aura! She met Lyonette’s gaze. Neither young woman raised their tone for fear of scaring Mrsha, but Erin silently pushed back until the pressure had left her shoulders. Jelaqua and Seborn looked from Lyonette to Erin in silence.
“It’ll be fine, Lyonette. It’s just a little outing.”
“No. Not another one! She just needs to stay here!”
Lyonette raised her voice. Mrsha looked up again. Erin sighed. She walked forwards, giving Mrsha a reassuring look. She turned away and whispered to Lyonette.
“I know. Lyonette, I know you’re worried about Mrsha. But believe me. I know what I’m doing. She doesn’t have to go anywhere right now. Neither do you. Just wait.”
She met Lyonette’s eyes, trying to be reassuring. The [Princess] glared—then saw Erin was serious. She looked at Mrsha and sighed.
“Okay. But nothing crazy, okay?”
“Why does everyone think I can only do crazy? This is just…okay, it’s a bit weird. But just a bit! Ksmvr, Yvlon, can I get you to lift?”
“I am quite proficient at lifting.”
Ksmvr stood up at once. Yvlon nodded.
“Just show us what you need, Erin.”
“Okay. We’ll be back in a few minutes! Don’t worry! It’ll be worth it!”
Ceria, Pisces, Lyonette, and Mrsha watched as the four adventurers plus Erin walked over to her door. Erin didn’t change the mana stone. She opened the door and walked through. The people in the inn heard Erin speaking to Octavia and then the [Alchemist] raise her voice.
“What? But Erin! I thought we were partners! This is really—did someone make you an offer? Hold on! Don’t touch it! We can deal! We can make—”
The door closed. The people in the inn looked at each other. Lyonette went over and gave Mrsha another hug. The Gnoll looked up at her. Lyonette tried to give her a reassuring smile.
“I’m sure it’s just Erin being Erin. She said she wasn’t doing anything crazy.”
She didn’t sound too convinced. But for some reason, that uncertainty made Mrsha feel better. She stared out the rainy window and bounced her ball. All was the same. All was different. She wished she could play, but she was a bit—tired. A bit empty.
