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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7212518" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 78Stayer’s Holding wasn’t much more than a village, but it boasted three inns and half a dozen taverns.  But after more than a week of tiny hamlets and isolated settlements—when they weren’t sleeping under the open sky of the wilderness—the place seemed crowded and busy to Xeeta’s eyes.Part of it was that the village—town, whatever—was busy.  Stayer’s Holding was less than a day’s travel from Adelar.  The latter place was a true city, the largest in the north, with more than ten thousand inhabitants.Xeeta had been in larger cities, but at the moment the thought of Adelar filled her with apprehension.  But that was where her new friends were going, to join the armies that King Dangren was gathering to fight back against the goblinoid hordes that had swept down from the mountains some months ago into the northernmost territories of the Kingdom of Arresh.Xeeta had no interest in joining the armies of Arresh.  It wasn’t just that she was from far away from here.  Her heritage marked her as an outsider, and there were many, if not most, who would see her as little better than the creatures that the army was preparing to fight.  She kept the cowl of her cloak up despite the heat of the afternoon, but that was an imperfect disguise, not quite able to conceal the bulk of the curved horns that jutted from her temples, or the ruddy tint of her skin, too red to be even the fiercest sunburn.  She rarely smiled, for that revealed that her teeth bore subtle points.  She had seen brave men recoil from that smile.A faint clacking of wood striking wood penetrated her thoughts and confirmed she was nearing her destination.  Stayer’s Holding was just large enough to get lost in, but she’d completed her errand and now it was time to make the decision she’d been dreading since she and her companions had left the troubled village of Northpine behind them.The inn was called The King’s Bounty, and while it boasted three stories and two spreading wings it wasn’t even the largest in Stayer’s Holding.  But like the others it was crowded with other travelers, many of whom looked as though they carried everything they owned on their backs.  Xeeta and her companions were in that category as well, but at least they had full purses, and each other to keep an eye on their backs.  It had been a while since she had felt that way.  For much of the time since she’d left Li Syval she’d felt more like the obvious refugees seeking shelter from the war in this place.The thought had her pausing again, but finally she let out a sigh and continued past the front porch of the inn to the stableyard.  It was crowded as well, with carts and wagons laden heavily with piled belongings hastily gathered.  But there was another yard in the back of the inn that was more or less empty, save for the clacking that grew louder as she made her way in that direction.As she came around the side of the inn she could see the source of the sound.  Two people were sparring with practice swords made of wooden slats bound around a rod of metal to add weight and strength.  From the looks of them they’d been at it for quite a while.They were the two she had come to see, but she drew back into the shadows to watch them as they battled.From a first glance it didn’t seem like much of a contest at all.  The man was young, a human of maybe twenty years, and the loose shirt he wore failed to hide the muscle that corded his arms and torso.  He had been a blacksmith, Xeeta knew, and he had only gotten tougher in his brief career as an adventurer.  The wooden sword he was using was only a fraction of the size of his actual blade, which was propped up against a pile of crates next to the back door of the inn.His opponent was a lithe young woman.  Even if one couldn’t see the subtle hints in her features, the slight points of her eyes or the tilt of her eyes, her part-elven heritage was clear in the fluid grace with which she moved.  She too had a real sword waiting for her, a slender longsword in a black leather scabbard.  But far more notable was the silver lyre standing next to it, carefully laid atop a leather scrip to keep it out of the dirt of the yard.  The lyre was impressive, but it was just a tool, a focus for the half-elf woman’s bardic magic.The woman was moving well, but to Xeeta the outcome of the fight looked inevitable.  And even as the thought formed the smith swung his blade around in a powerful arc.  The half-elf shifted into a parry, but too late realized she couldn’t absorb the force of that swing.  She let out a high-pitched sound and darted back, flinching as the collision of the swords launched hers across the yard almost to the back fence.“Damn it,” she said, shaking her arm to loosen the sting of the impact.  “I really thought I was getting the hang of this.”The young man straightened and offered a salute before he lowered his weapon.  “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Glori.  You’ve come along quite swiftly.  You’ve picked it up faster than I did when I started.  Far faster.”Glori grinned and rubbed her arm.  “You’re a good teacher, Bredan.”“With your speed, I think you’ll be a decent swordswoman before you know it.”“It’s strange,” she said.  “When we’re sparring, it’s almost like music.  As if the sound of the blades clashing are the notes of a song.  It seems to come easier if I don’t think about it, just let it wash over me.”“Whatever works,” Bredan said with a grin.  “Hey, I got you something.”Glori had started to head over to recover her weapon, but at his words spun around with an eager look on her face.  “A present?  Give it over.”His grin matched hers as they made their way over to the crates.  Xeeta remained under cover, watching them.Moving in an exaggerated manner that made it clear he had planned this, Bredan moved one of the crates and picked up a package he’d left under it.  It was a small bundle, wrapped in heavy linen and secured with leather cords.  She quickly got it open and let out a surprised sound.  Xeeta couldn’t see what it was and almost stepped out around the building before she caught herself.A moment later Glori held up her present.  It was a shirt of fine chainmail, the links gleaming in the bright afternoon light.  “This is… you didn’t have to buy this for me out of your share of the loot.”Xeeta’s hand reflexively dropped to the full purse tucked into an inner pocket of her coat.  It was more silver than gold, but still a lot of coins.  Their explorations and clashes with humanoid tribes around Northpine had resulted in considerable treasure, and that was not even counting the writ of credit that Glori carried, to be cashed in when they got to Adelar.“It’s worth it, to keep you safe,” Bredan said.Glori hugged him, then carefully folded the shirt and tucked it back into the wrap.  “What about your armor?”“I can keep it up,” he said.  “Maybe I can rent some time in a forge when we get to Adelar.”“We may not have time,” Glori said.Bredan nodded, though he looked uncertain.  Xeeta knew that he was nervous about joining the King’s army.  Not that he should doubt his own skill, she thought, but his father had been a soldier, and the young man had set him up on a high pedestal in his mind.“It’s Quellan who needs new armor,” Glori went on.“I plan on helping him pick out a suit of half-plate when we arrive,” Bredan went on.  “If we can find one that fits him.”Xeeta smiled at the mention of the half-orc.  It was the cleric of Hosrenu, god of knowledge, who she thought understood her the most out of her new companions.  He certainly had faced more than his share of intolerance, yet somehow managed not to let it get to him.  That was a skill that she had not yet mastered.“Come on, let’s go get washed up,” Glori said.  As they started up the short flight of steps that led to the back door of the inn Xeeta realized that her chance to do what she had come here to do was slipping away.  She almost let them go, but at the last moment stepped into the sunlight and said, “Hello.”“Xeeta!” Bredan said, his smile as warm and honest as his greeting.  “We were just practicing.  We were going to go inside…”“I know,” Xeeta said, her nervousness returning with an intensity that caught her by surprise.  “I just… I just wanted to talk with you for a moment.”“Well, come on inside, I should just wash up a bit before…”“You’re leaving,” Glori said.Bredan blinked, looking between the two women before his eyes settled on Xeeta’s.  When she nodded he looked unhappy.  “You’re… why?” he asked.“You knew that this was coming, that I was reluctant to go to Adelar,” she said.  “Towns are not a place for me.  There are too many who would react with horror, if they saw what I was.”“We’d protect you,” Bredan said.“I know you have been very supportive, both of you, but I do not want to be protected.  Nor do I wish to distract you from your mission.  It is important, but this is not my war.”Bredan looked confused, but Glori nodded in understanding.  “Where will you go?” she asked.“Someplace quiet,” Xeeta said.“But you haven’t gotten your share of the sage’s gold yet,” Bredan said.  “If you just stay with us for one day longer, we can cash in that writ of credit…”Xeeta held up a hand to forestall his argument.  “That’s not necessary,” she said.“You have as much right to it as any of us,” Glori said.  “Even if you don’t come to the town with us, we can pay you out of the coin we got in Northpine.”  Bredan colored slightly, no doubt thinking of the money he’d spent on Glori’s new armor.“No, I mean it,” Xeeta said.  “You have given me enough, and not only my freedom.  The way you accepted me into your company… it means a great deal to me.”“I hope you will say goodbye to Quellan and Kosk… or at least Quellan,” Glori said.“Yeah, you can come in and have one last drink,” Bredan said.  “A proper farewell.  It’s late, in any case; you should stay tonight and get an early start in the morning, like us.”“I would, but I… I have made arrangements,” Xeeta said.  “For at least the first part of my journey.  I have to go now.”“It’s been good having you with us, even for a short time,” Glori said, coming down the steps to enfold her in a brief hug.  “I’d tell you to be careful, but I know you can handle yourself.”“I’m sorry you have to go,” Bredan said, replacing the bard with a hug tight enough that Xeeta let out a bit of gasp.  The boy did not know his own strength.“Try not to crush her,” Glori said.  Bredan released the tiefling and stammered an apology.  “I hope we’ll meet again,” he said.Xeeta nodded.  After one final look at each of them, she turned and headed back the way she had come.  Bredan and Glori watched until she disappeared around the end of the inn, but she did not look back.</blockquote>

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