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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerulean_Wings" data-source="post: 4034683" data-attributes="member: 55060">Here's the next chapter... but before that, I'd like to explain the condition I'm in, if in a geeky fashion: I rolled a freakin' 1 in my Fort save against this cold. Really, one would think that with my godly Fort save I never fail the save, but alas, once upon a year it happens. I didn't go to work, mainly because I'd spread the germs to the seniors there. Hopefully I can return tomorrow.Oh, well, who cares about my disease, you want some story hour goodness, don'tcha? Yes, yes you do  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> Chapter 21WellspringDarius woke up in a haze. His muscles felt as sore as humanly possible, and it was a conscious effort to open his eyes to see where he was. The sensation of moving back and forth should’ve been a big enough hint for the soldier to realize he was mounting a giant lizard along with a dwarven rider. His head was lying against the back of the dwarf, and he moved it a bit to test his neck’s muscles.“What the…”Looking at his right arm, Darius realized that he no longer had his fine steel shield strapped on to it. It must have fell on the way as they ran from the giant. While he lamented losing the piece of protection, it wasn’t that big of a loss, he figured. Darius craned his neck up, or tried to, as a bright blinding light made him wince and cover his sight with an arm. “Sun’s up, lad!” the dwarf rider announced, unnecessarily. “But we’ll make it to Wellspring long before noon, don’tcha worry”.Darius grunted in response as he adjusted his eyes to the sun’s light in order to look around and get his bearings. He spied the other four mounts around him, each with two riders.  The soldier from Seawall heard his name from the side, and turned his head to face the speaker. Vincent was there, to his left, resting his body on the human rider that was with him, somehow managing to avoid crushing the man with his heavy armor.“Sleep well?” the squire teased with a tired smile. Darius would’ve laughed, had his rib muscles felt better at the time. “Same as you, Vince” he replied with a wink.A notion crossed Darius’ mind then, and he frowned momentarily, thinking. “How did you know of the Mountaineers, if you’ve never been to Wellspring?” Darius inquired. Vincent’s answer came several seconds later, for the tired squire yawned loudly before words could come out of his mouth. “I didn’t know of them from previous experience, but from my history lessons with House Kashtar”.With that curiosity settled, Darius went back to resting his head on the dwarf in front of him, who didn’t object, attempting to drift back into unconsciousness. He failed miserably. His muscles were very sore, but his body was refilled with energy after the night’s sleep, uncomfortable as it had been.“Cheer up, Broken blade!” said a very annoying and somehow energetic voice behind him. “You’ll have me to entertain you for the trip!” Gon promised, and Darius had not doubt that the man meant every word of it. Now, what Gon defined as ‘entertainment’ Darius often perceived as ‘excruciating torture through speech’.Suddenly, the notion of knocking himself senseless with the hilt of his own sword didn’t seem that undesirable.---oOo--- As the Mountaineer had promised Darius, they reached Wellspring in an hour, well before noon. The town was placed right in the center of the valley, where the canyon’s walls assumed a circular shape and expanded, allowing for ten kilometers or so of space for the town to live in.Wellspring had a defensive perimeter which consisted of sturdy stone walls, each tall enough to even force a giant to bring them down in order to get past them. Mountaineers were positioned on their large lizards on top of the wall, their mount’s sticky feet allowing them to walk over them without problems. The guards never rested, not while on their shift; while attacks to the town were rare, only one raid of savage monsters or animals could prove disastrous.The town consisted of approximately eight thousand inhabitants, and the population shifted constantly with the incoming merchant caravans, which settled in the town for many months, and the departure of the younger folk, always eager to explore the rest of the world. Everyone lived in two-store houses, for the most part, and the town’s buildings were organized in a circle, meaning that the most important buildings, such as the temples and the mayor’s house were placed near the center.“Just like I remembered it” Kahleen commented to no one in particular when they had reached the gates. The mountaineers guarding the entrance didn’t have to ask for anything out of the group, for they were riding with their comrades. With no more than a salute, the quintet of lizards was allowed passage inside. Inside, the roads were of dirt, just like outside the town, and the only one surprised by this was Darius, who had never read or heard of Wellspring. The soldier knew better than to even ask about the matter, and remained quiet as their riders took them deeper and deeper into the town.“We’ll be takin’ ye to tha’ Wellspring Inn, so tha’ ye may rest and eat well” Mountaineer Graybeard assured them from his leading position. Those words were music to the ears of the five weary fellows.And so they did. The rides weren’t as fast as horses, but they saved some time in their brief trek to the inn. After dismounting, Gilliam shared a couple of words with Mountaineer Graybeard before saluting him and returning to the group. The leading guard nodded grimly and took off with the other four.“What were you telling him?” Vincent inquired after the mercenary walked back to them, right by the door to the Wellspring Inn. Gilliam gestured towards the entrance and whispered, “Let’s talk about it inside”. Without another word, he opened the door and went in. The rest did the same, save for Kahleen and Gon, as the woman placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.The shaman observed the man’s face with scrutiny, for he was wearing a red handkerchief over his mouth, like a bandit. “Why do you wear that cloth?” she asked, curious. He had cleaned the dirt from his face with the cloth, and had kept it on his face.“I’m sick, is all” Gon replied in a voice that did sound ill, shrugging. “I don’t want to pass it on to you or the others, lady” he added with a wink. “Come; let us delve into the inn with the rest”. Kahleen didn't say anything, and they both entered the building.  From the outside, the Wellspring Inn didn’t look like anything else than a large three store house, shaped like an “L”. However, the inside was very well furnished: not exuberantly so to the point of golden chandeliers and diamond vases, but very well decorated nonetheless. The windows must have been designed to contain noise from within, for upon entering the building one couldn’t help but notice the dramatic and spontaneous increase of sound. People weren’t acting rowdy or violently, but merely laughing, singing and dancing in a very loud fashion. It didn’t get any friendlier than this when it came to mountain inns!Kahleen spotted the other three first, who were sitting near a window in a long rectangular table. Privacy wasn’t difficult to obtain, since the place wasn’t crammed with visitors, and the noise in the area permitted anyone to share their secrets without inconveniences. Everyone had taken a seat, after Kahleen and Gon joined them, and the four were waiting on Gilliam, who was busy looking through the window. At what, no one really knew.Vincent cleared his throat, drawing the mercenary’s attention. Gilliam looked distracted and blinked once before recalling why in the Hells they were all seating around him, waiting for him to say something.“I was telling the Mountaineer captain to keep an eye for suspicious folk, that’s all” he explained in a casual tone. His look indicated that there was more than that involved. Darius noticed this and leaned forward in order to talk in a lower voice. “You think someone is after us, even here, away from Seawall?” the soldier asked.Gilliam shook his head, looking away, pretending he didn’t hear anything. “No” he responded. “I know there’s someone trying to kill us, but through others”. Gon snapped his fingers, as if struck by an idea, and Vincent looked at him expectantly. “I think I know who you refer to, boss” the wily man said, just as a barmaid approached their table. Gilliam waved her away rather rudely, rejecting her offer of drinks. Gon shifted his eyes, making sure no one was close to enough to overhear his words. Satisfied, he whispered “Ignus”.Vincent, Darius and Kahleen stared blankly at him, clearly not understanding what he just said. “Ignus, the wizard” Gon insisted, looking at them as if they had faulty memories. “Back at the warehouse” he added, seeing that the name hadn’t sparked anything. That got their attention, generating frowns from the others.“It makes sense” Darius observed, rubbing his chin as he looked down at the table. “The giant mentioned that a man informed him that we killed its bear, back when he was chasing us”. “But we didn’t perform the deed; and it would take magical powers to allow Ignus to follow us through the mountain pass, unseen and unheard, in order to reach the giant and convince him of what we supposedly did” the shaman stated, and Gilliam’s nod indicated he had thought the very same thing.“You didn’t ask for drinks from the barmaid because they could be poisoned” Gon stated in a dead serious tone. Vincent’s mouth fell open, aghast, but no sound came from it. Darius glanced conspicuously at the barmaid, as If attempting to spy a poisoned dagger hidden in her clothes.“When being followed by wolves, the sheep must be cautious” Kahleen said wisely. Gilliam got up from his seat and headed for the bar, where the human barkeep was currently polishing an empty cup of glass, as barkeeps are usually found doing.“How many rooms have you got for five people, good sir?” the mercenary asked as he leaned on the wooden surface separating him from the other man. The barkeep looked up, his hands wiping the glass on their own accord. “None, I’m afraid. You’ll have to make do with two rooms, one for three, one for two” he responded.“Damnation” Gilliam cursed. “What was that?” the barkeep inquired, unsure if he heard correctly. Gilliam waved a hand to brush away the word. “Nevermind that. Two rooms will do. How much is it?” he asked while digging his hand through his satchel placed by belt. Or at least he wanted to, for there was no satchel there.The barkeep informed it would be two silver coins for each person, but Gilliam wasn’t listening; he looked around, trying to determine if the satchel had fallen to the ground. Alas, it wasn’t to be found around.“A thief took it” said a voice behind Gilliam. He turned to see Gon, leaning casually against the bar. In his upraised hand he was holding a satchel, one identical to Gilliam’s. The red haired man jingled the small container, making the coins within clatter. It seemed fuller than before.Gon tossed it to Gilliam without a word, and thanks to his bandit-mask Gilliam couldn’t see his face. “As I said, a thief took it, and I got it back for you” Gon announced proudly. “No need to thank me, boss”.Gilliam was about to reply when he heard the barkeep knock on the wood in-between them, drawing his attention. “Are you going to pay, or what?” he asked with a frown. The mercenary opened the satchel of coins, and his eyes widened when he spotted platinum coins within, replacing the silver ones he originally had. Without thinking, he dropped a platinum one on the bar, and the barkeep’s eyes widened to the size of the coin.“Keep the change, good sir” Gon called with a wink, turning around to walk back to the table. Gilliam was left there, staring at the cunning soldier, wondering if he would soon be hearing stories of a wealthy merchant who got his money stolen in broad daylight. Cursing under his breath, Gilliam decided he would need to have a talk with the man when he had the chance. How in the Hell’s Gon had found the time to get that money, only the Gods knew.</blockquote>

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