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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7331710" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 118Bredan put down the dirty washcloth and stared at his face in the tiny mirror that hung from the wall above the basin.  There were black hollows under his eyes, and he needed a shave.  There were a few bruises visible across his bare torso.  His body still felt sore, even though Quellan had healed the worst of the wounds left over after the encounter at the mine.  None of them had escaped that wild fracas unscathed.He looked down at his hand and made a fist, then looked back at the bed, where his father’s sword lay in its scabbard.  He started to reach for it and then stopped.  He wasn’t sure if he wanted the magic to work, or for it not to work.It had saved his life, once again, in the depths of that cavern where he’d fought the giant mother beetle.  Yet he still had no answers about what was happening to him.  Quellan could offer him no help, no explanation.  The cleric had promised to continue looking into it, but Bredan could see in his friend’s face that he was unlikely to learn anything more in a place like this.  He’d gone over to the temple, where apparently they had a small library, but he wasn’t optimistic that there would be some secret bit of lore in one of the ancient books that explained his situation.A knock at the door shook him from his reverie.  “Come in,” he said.The door opened, and Rodan stepped into the room.  On seeing Bredan half-dressed, the ranger said, “I’m sorry to bother you.  If you’re busy, I can come back later.”“No, it’s fine,” Bredan said.Rodan came in and shut the door behind him.  “Are you all right?”“Yeah.  Quellan took care of the worst of it.”“I’m sorry it took so long.  For us to get to you, I mean.”“It wasn’t your fault.”“But somebody from Wildrush had to be involved,” Rodan said.  “That ambush… it was carefully set up.  They knew you woud be there, somehow.”“I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t mind a few minutes in an alley with that magic-user,” Bredan said.  He reached for the clean shirt he’d set out on the table wedged into the corner at the foot of Quellan’s bed, and grimaced slightly as the move caused a painful twinge in his shoulder.“You are young to have so many scars,” Rodan commented.  “I did not mean to make you self-conscious,” he added as Bredan quickly pulled on the shirt.“No, it’s fine,” Bredan said.  “I guess I’ve been in a lot of fights over the last few months.”“Why do you do it?” Rodan asked.  “The fighting.”Bredan looked thoughtful.  “My father was a warrior.  He died when I was a child, but my uncle told me some things about him.  My uncle—he was the one who trained me.  So many hours, practicing.  I think I spent more time with a practice sword in my hands than a hammer.”“He was a blacksmith?”“Yeah.  I was his apprentice.  I have that to thank for my strength, I guess.  I would have inherited his shop, eventually.  But I didn’t want to spend my life in a smithy.  I wanted to do something.  Get out, see the world, do something with my life.”“And slaying monsters… this gives you what you need?”“I don’t know.  I mean, I’ve done some fighting for money.  Quests, that kind of thing.  I guess that makes me a mercenary.  But I’ve also helped villagers, protected people.  That made me feel something.  A sense of purpose, maybe.”“So you volunteered for the king’s army, to join the war against the warlord Murgoth and his raiders.  To protect people on a larger scale.”“Yeah.  And ended up here, about as far from the war as you can get, I think.”“I don’t know if that’s true.  I mean, I doubt the chimera was working for Murgoth or anything, but this magic-user…  from what you said, he was involved with both the giants and these men who ambushed you.  I don’t think that is a coincidence.”“Well.  Maybe Caleron brought back the personal effects of the miners, including the two that died.  Maybe he will find something that can help make sense what happened at the mine.  Those bugs were definitely not normal.  And while the magic-user helped rile them up as part of the ambush, I’m pretty sure they were there before he showed up.”“From what you said, I’m almost sorry I missed it.”“Don’t be.  The whole thing was creepy and scary and that mother bug was like nothing I’d ever seen.  Or want to see again.”Rodan laughed.  “I’ll take your word for it, then.  Care to go down and get a drink?  I’m buying.”“I don’t think our money’s good here anymore.  Between that head you brought back, and the miners who are glad to be alive, I’ve had plenty of folks try to buy me a drink since we got back.  Though I’m not sure the miners are going to be happy when they find out that their jobs are at risk.”“I thought we burned out all the bugs.”Bredan shook his head.  “I wouldn’t be sure about that big mother.”  He went over to the bed, but Rodan stopped him with a light touch on his arm.“You know… you don’t have to be alone, Bredan.”Bredan stared at him for a moment, then Rodan finally said, “I… I’m sorry.  I… let’s go down and…”He started to turn toward the door, but Bredan caught him and pulled him back.  They met in an embrace that ended in a tender kiss.  Rodan started to wrap his arms around Bredan, but abruptly pulled back.“What’s the matter?” Bredan asked.Rodan reached up and touched the amulet that he wore around his neck.  “There’s something… there’s something that you need to know about me.  Before… before this goes any further.”Bredan nodded.  “Okay.  You can tell me…”He was interrupted by a knock on the door.  The two of them each took a step back, and Rodan tugged his coat closed.Bredan went to the door, and opened it to find Darven Caleron standing there.  The mine boss was holding a small leather book, bulging with sheets of loose parchment stuffed between the pages.  “I found something,” he said.</blockquote>

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