Post by Yoshiko on Feb 27, 2006 22:34:43 GMT -5
The last one for now. =D
The Shadow of the East
Chapter Five
One Popular Guy
Lance looked upon the face of their apparent pursuer; a bony, caved in face stared out at them with black eyes, contrasting greatly with purely white hair. Lance held his sword at his side, careful not to get him or Jenna killed right away. There had to be a way out of this.
“Lance…” She whispered into his right ear from the corner of her mouth. “Do something. I’m too young to die.”
“Stop. Stop it now. If you die, he’ll be going with you.” Lance said grimly, slowly raising his sword with his right hand. If Jenna had known Lance in his earlier years, she would have been surprised to see him like this – the Prince of Darleanna hardly ever took on such a grim, cold disposition; not even when facing with his brother.
In a situation such as this, Lance would have actually said, “Stop now. No one’s going to die aside from him.” The fact that Lance was beginning to treat Jenna as a real friend scared him.
At this point, the hooded figure spoke once more. “Now, who first?” Ilyar asked, staring scarily at them with his black eyes. The old sage knew his King commanded him not to kill his brother or anyone else, but he figured if he did this, he would perhaps earn the respect he deserved.
And yet, at that present thought, Ilyar scowled.
“We won’t let you kill us.” Lance said firmly. “And you can tell my brother to give up, if you have the strength to return to Al’Syruuk after this.”
“Such brave thoughts, Prince Lance. It is so sad that you must die now.” And with those words, Ilyar began chanting, while drawing symbols in the air with his hands, which appeared as an eerie blue light after they were complete. One was a circle with two thunderbolts crossing paths, while the other was a large drop of water. First, Ilyar thrust his hand through the water drop symbol, and the thunderous sound of running water was heard overhead. Then, without warning, a large drop of water fell from the sky, and engulfed Lance and Jenna. Neither could breathe.
“I could let the two of you suffocate, but I’d rather not. Electricity is a far more… Quick and effective way to kill rats.” He said, pushing his hand through the thunderbolt symbol as the water drop sign disappeared. From a distance, lightning was seen, and thunder heard. Lance quickly began panicking, losing his cool demeanor; however, an idea quickly grew in his mind.
Yet Esperanza was back in Dramoor.
Curse me! Curse my foolishness and me… Lance thought gravely, as he began to try to conjure a ball of fire in his hands, but to no avail. He could always try to ignite his entire body, but that was unheard of magic – it had never been accomplished in history as far as Lance knew, but he knew of no other way to save his life.
Then, as Ilyar watched the lightning pleasingly, Lance began building up his internal temperature rapidly; then, as the Prince could see bolts of thunder jolting closer and closer to him, he took a hold of Jenna’s hand, gave her a comforting look, and then, his body burst into flames, evaporating the water almost instantly, as he pulled Jenna away from their spot of capture, closer to Ilyar. The space between them grew short, shrinking to about five or six feet now.
“Smart, Prince Lance. Smart, but indecisive. I could feel your hesitation of what to do while in my water bubble. Indecisiveness has been the death of many—”
“Silence!” Lance shouted as Jenna gasped for air. Then she realized Quizzle was missing.
“Quizzle!” She shouted, knowing the bird would not want to go far without her. Jenna looked to the skies, and picked out the crimson feather among the black wings of crows. Smiling with relief to herself, she turned back to Ilyar, standing beside Lance. The Prince held his long sword up high and proud, while Jenna beside him held her gnarled root staff in a defensive position.
“Such… Such defensive young whelps you are. If you truly want to see the legacy of the Etchidson family, very well!” Ilyar said, and began the drawing of another symbol, but immediately stopped.
Jenna noticed the absence of Lance and instantly called out his name. “Lance! Where… Where’d you go? Lance!?” She began to worry, but then realized things weren’t right with Ilyar. “Ilyar? Are you…?” Jenna realized he was the enemy, but things were rather off – until she saw the blade come right through Ilyar’s chest.
“Lance!” She called, taking a few slow steps to the backside of Ilyar. She gasped when she saw the Prince kneeling, his blade protruding directly from the chest of Ilyar Etchidson. Drops of blood dotted his face in various areas, but he was fine.
“All talk, no magic, apparently.” Lance said quietly, as he pulled his sword from Ilyar, and wiped it on the sparse grass. “Let’s keep moving. The banshees left without a howl, and that’s a bad sign. Most likely Ilyar commanded them to fly to Tal’Salym and warn my brother of my survival.” Lance explained, re-sheathing his sword, and turning to Jenna. “Where’s Quizzle?”
“In the skies. He was waiting for us up there with the crows.” She replied calmly and coolly, as he dove back down onto her shoulder. As she spoke, Lance began walking once more on straight ahead, in the same direction they had been moving in before Ilyar Etchidson had appeared.
“Uh… Lance? What’re you going to do about the body?” Jenna asked curiously. “You’re not… You’re not leaving it here, are you?”
“Of course I am. Vultures have to eat, too, Jenna.” Lance simply said, before continuing their journey. Jenna didn’t even speak a word.
The day passed on quickly without many spoken words between the two travelers, but they both knew that they were weary, and they needed rest. Their need was accommodated when they came upon a small village. Lance knew it well as part of his country.
The village was called Allintia, and was quite large. Nobles of all sorts came to it to gamble, and various balls and fairs were held there. At the time, though, no events were taking place. So, taking advantage of their position, they both went directly to the nearest bar and inn, where they hoped they would find lodging. There was, luckily, one vacant room left, and they both took it, and returned to the bar to hopefully wind down for the night, and have a nice rest. Unfortunately, little to their knowledge, they’d actually be having quite a night.
When they retired to the bar, there was a man named Bryan Walker who seemed to be surrounded by various women and men as well, fans of all types. On at least four occasions within half an hour, he paid for drinks for the entire tavern, which, at that time of night, amounted to quite a sum of gold.
Lance and Jenna kept a low profile, watching the man with curiosity, while slowly sipping ale. The odor of ale was heavy in the air, making the smell old, stale, and thick. “He’s popular…” Jenna finally said rather cheerily.
“Yeah. Let’s not get involved.” Said Lance, putting aside the thought of the stranger for a while, as he leaned back in his chair; it had been a long day, and Lancelot was glad to get a nice break.
Jenna said nothing to Lance after he told her to forget about Bryan. She actually didn’t have to. Noticing the two in the corner all alone, the drunk Bryan Walker advanced towards the two travelers, and took a seat across from Lance.
The man had short, black hair, which fell an inch above his eyebrows. His eyes were a ginger brown, which stared half-lidded at the blue-eyed Prince. “Hello there! How’re you two on this fine, fine night?” He asked casually. Bryan’s breath smelled heavily of alcohol, and Lance held his breath whenever he leaned in to speak.
“We… We’re fine, thank you for asking.” Lance said flatly, feeling for the hilt of his silver dagger, but then recalled it was left in his room.
“Well that’s great to hear!” Bryan said cheerily. “Let’s see here… All right, you two better go to your rooms.”
“W-why?” Lance asked.
“There’s about to be a bar fight!” The drunk replied enthusiastically. Lance simply stood up right away; however, despite how quick he was to leave, Bryan was by far quicker. After he finished speaking, he leapt up, ran to another drunk man at the counter, and put his arm on his shoulder. “Hey, buddy! I hate you!” And with those words, Bryan’s left fist made a strong connection with the man’s jaw. He in turn turned to another drunk man behind him, and kicked him firmly in his side, and from there on out, it was total anarchy.
Several attempts were made at Lance, but they were all unsuccessful, for he wasn’t one to let himself fall victim to twenty or thirty drunkards. One would come at him from behind, but Lance would send his elbow flying back into their gut or chest, and then he’d flip them right over his shoulder. To tell the truth, despite the fact Bryan started the fight, Lance was the real show there – just some random wanderer off the street and into the bar, who was quite the fighter.
After a few minutes of fist fighting, bottles began breaking and flying through the air. Lance got a hold of a whole bottle, and simply threw it in Bryan’s direction. It wasn’t exactly that Lance wanted him injured or anything; it was simply that the Prince was expressing his anger towards the idiocy of the drunk.
When the bottle flew through the room, it hit squarely in the back of Bryan’s head, and he took it that the man behind him had hit his head with the projectile. So, turning around, he flung his fists in a haymaker, and bashed the man into the wall, knocking him unconscious. “Daft idiot… Thinking an attack from behind can knock me ou—” He was cut off in the middle of his sentence, when another two bottles came crashing down on his head. Bryan fell to the floor, a bit of blood dribbling from the back of his head, as he lay there unconsciously.
Jenna was sitting back in the corner the whole time, with Quizzle on her shoulder, watching everything. When she saw Bryan fall, she stood up, and walked calmly to his side, nimbly stepping around fallen men, and flying bottles. She reached his side safely, and bent over to look at the back of his head, which had now swollen a bit larger than its normal size.
Bending lower than she already had, she tried to lift Bryan up on her shoulder to carry him safely away, but he weighed too much. So, figuring it wouldn’t harm him much, she lifted up his feet, (which were oddly cold) and began dragging him along the ground, being especially careful when she came to an uneven bump in the floor.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to drag him into her and Lance’s room. She closed the door gently, lit the room up with the two given lanters, managed to pull Bryan onto the bed, and began tending to his wounds. A small cut here and there, which weren’t too bad; the real thing she was careful with was the injury on his head. She didn’t know how bad it was, so she just did the best she could to fix it.
Back down in the tavern, Lance was still knocking heads senselessly, throwing punches here and there, and an occasional kick, when the occasion called for it. Finally, he noticed Bryan’s absence, and then, more importantly, Jenna’s.
Taking another quick look around the tavern, he saw neither were there, and dashed up to their room, where he silently prayed the two were. When Lance burst through the door and saw Jenna sitting in a chair calmly, staring at the man on one of the beds worriedly, he sighed.
“Jenna, what’re you doing? I thought you’d been taken, or…Pasx knows what!” Lance exclaimed as he shut the door behind him and kneeled next to the bed, examining Bryan. He had a thick bandage around his head, and a light type of salve on his cuts. “What happened to him, and why’s he in here?”
“He was hit on the head with a couple of bottles, so I just… Thought I’d give him a hand.” Jenna replied casually, turning her gaze up to Lance.
“Jenna – All right, fine.” He didn’t feel much like arguing, so he gave Jenna her way. “But he only stays with us till he’s conscious again, got it?”
“But, Lance! Didn’t you see him fighting? He was so great in there, and I’m sure that when he’s not drunk, he’s even better.” Jenna replied quickly. And Lance thought her to be right.
The Prince nodded, and sat down in a wooden chair, pondering the chance of Bryan coming with him and serving him in his army. If he did, it could even bolster his forces quite a bit, considering how popular Bryan Walker was. Lance wondered how widely the name was known, and then shoved it to the back of his mind. Instead, he thought of Bryan himself; who he was, where he was from, how hard he fought, how seriously he could take a situation – all types of things that would be important in a person, especially when it came down to a life-death situation.
Lance stared at Bryan, finally looking at him, how he was dressed, hoping it would help him to identify which country he came from. He wore a green tunic, which loosely hung from his body, probably due to the heat of Darleanna, showing he wasn’t used to it, so he concluded he wasn’t native to Lance’s country. Then he looked upon his legs, on which he wore average, long black pants, which also hung from his legs loosely.
When Lance looked upon Bryan’s feet, he saw that he was wearing an odd type of metal war boots. Their color was an icy white-blue, and when Lance tried to touch them, they were far too cold for him without setting his own hand on fire, which he did not attempt. Finding this as a rather off thing for any native of other countries than Xiovi, Lance found his answer; Bryan Walker was a Xiovian.
Jenna soon fell asleep, as did Lance, without ever seeing Bryan wake up. As a matter of fact, neither person saw him wake up from that condition at all, because when Lance woke up before Jenna, he found Bryan not in his bed, yet up and about the room, going through the two’s possessions, which, might I add, were few in number.
Bryan was unaware of Lance’s awakening, so the Prince snuck up quietly, then, when he was within reach, lunged forward for his sword, drew it, and held it up to the back of Bryan’s neck.
“Move an inch, and I swear to Pasx I’ll relieve you of your neck.” Lance said coldly, being careful to apply just the right amount of pressure on his sword. “Now tell me. What’re you doing?”
“Well, you see… Hey, I haven’t caught your name, have I?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Okay, okay. Put the blade down, and I’ll talk.” Bryan said slowly and loudly, making sure Lance would hear him.
“Very well.” Lance replied, carefully lifting his sword, and replacing it in its sheath. “Now talk.”
“All right, you see… I woke up, and I just found myself in here, the girl from last night in that chair there.” Here, he motioned behind him, right to Jenna’s position. “And I saw you, sleeping like a baby, and so, I went about checking out my wounds from last night. By the way, did you fix those? If you did, then—”
“You’re changing the subject again, and no. I didn’t. Jenna did.” Lance said quickly, and then stopped, allowing Bryan to pick up from where he stopped.
“Well, tell her thanks for me. Anyways, I was looking at my wounds, then remembered, I needed a bit of silver for a little something I need by tonight. So, I went about, searching for some. Please don’t kill me.”
“I shan’t kill you, but Bryan, you owe us severely for such a treachery as thieving.” Lance said coldly.
“I don’t even know your name!”
“Lance. Lance O’Rien.” The Prince said, stepping back from Bryan so he could stand up fully.
“Thank you, Lance. But, pray tell, what will you have me do?” He asked curiously.
“You’re coming with us to Xiovi. We’ve business there. And, if I’m correct, you live in Xiovi, do you not?”
“Aye, that I do. But I came here to Darleanna to do business, sir, and if I’ll be unable to do it…”
“Your business is not as important as mine, I’m sure.”
“What business could you have that’s possibly more important than – oh, never-mind. It’s not that important.”
“Precisely. Now, act like you’re asleep again, and I’ll wake up Jenna.”
“What’s the point of tha— Okay, never-mind.” Bryan said cautiously, when Lance gave him a sinister leer. Walking quickly, the black-haired man watched Lance the whole time, then lay himself down on the bed, closed his eyes, and pretended to be sleeping. Then, Lance made his way to Jenna, and prodded her firmly with the index finger of his right hand.
“Wake up. Wake up!” He said gently in her left ear, and she leapt up. Lance backed away, and gestured at Bryan. “He’s still asleep. We should just leave him.”
“What!?” Jenna said, her eyes opening wide at the mention of leaving Bryan. She was oddly awake for someone who just awoke. “We’re not leaving him! Just look! HE’S HURT, LANCE, WE CAN’T LEAVE HIM HERE IN THIS CONDITION!” She then screamed at the top of her lungs, glaring at Lance afterwards. “I can’t believe you…” She muttered, as Bryan sat up, acting dreary and tired.
“Wha--? Hey, where am I? Who’re you two?”
“I’m Lance. This is Jenna.” Lance said flatly.
“Are you okay? Here, let me look at your head…” Jenna hurried to Bryan’s side, and looked at the back of his head. “You look fine. You should be good and ready for a long walk, then.”
“Long walk? Where’re we going?”
“Xiovi.” Lance and Jenna blurted out in unison. They then stared at each other, and nodded.
“All right. What’re we waiting for? Let’s get a move on!” Bryan said cheerily, climbing out of bed. “Grab your stuff and let’s go!”
“What about your stuff?” Jenna asked, perplexed.
Bryan grinned mischievously, as he tapped his left side, then his right. At his left appeared a large, steel mace with spiked edges, and on his right appeared a long sword. What was odd about the weapons was the both of them gave off the same icy coldness, and carried the same color as the boots on his feet, so Lance figured they all had the same properties.
“Your equipment – they’re all cold. Really cold.” Lance said. “Jenna, how’d you get him up here?”
“Carried him by his feet. They were awfully cold, now that you mention it.”
“You can touch him but I can’t. Why not?” The Prince asked, rather confused.
“I’m not native to Darleanna, so I’m not used to such heat. I’m used to colder things than you, Lance.” Jenna answered easily. “It’s quite easy.”
“Eh. I understand now.” He nodded, picking up his large, cloth bag which held all of his provisions, and Jenna’s. Considering they had no extra, and bought supplies as they went along, Lance knew Bryan would have to pay for himself. He hoped greatly it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Let’s hit the road, guys!” Bryan said happily, opening the door for all of them. He was the last out, and, as they all proceeded down the stairs, they found the tavern to be in the same position as it was when Lance and Jenna first arrived last night. They were astonished as to how quickly it had been cleaned.
And, as everyone in the tavern saw Bryan Walker emerge from the upper floor, they all cheered, and mobbed about him, asking how he was, and if he’d suffered any serious injuries.
Bryan Walker was a very popular man.
That is all. Now be happy. Again. XD =D
The Shadow of the East
Chapter Five
One Popular Guy
Lance looked upon the face of their apparent pursuer; a bony, caved in face stared out at them with black eyes, contrasting greatly with purely white hair. Lance held his sword at his side, careful not to get him or Jenna killed right away. There had to be a way out of this.
“Lance…” She whispered into his right ear from the corner of her mouth. “Do something. I’m too young to die.”
“Stop. Stop it now. If you die, he’ll be going with you.” Lance said grimly, slowly raising his sword with his right hand. If Jenna had known Lance in his earlier years, she would have been surprised to see him like this – the Prince of Darleanna hardly ever took on such a grim, cold disposition; not even when facing with his brother.
In a situation such as this, Lance would have actually said, “Stop now. No one’s going to die aside from him.” The fact that Lance was beginning to treat Jenna as a real friend scared him.
At this point, the hooded figure spoke once more. “Now, who first?” Ilyar asked, staring scarily at them with his black eyes. The old sage knew his King commanded him not to kill his brother or anyone else, but he figured if he did this, he would perhaps earn the respect he deserved.
And yet, at that present thought, Ilyar scowled.
“We won’t let you kill us.” Lance said firmly. “And you can tell my brother to give up, if you have the strength to return to Al’Syruuk after this.”
“Such brave thoughts, Prince Lance. It is so sad that you must die now.” And with those words, Ilyar began chanting, while drawing symbols in the air with his hands, which appeared as an eerie blue light after they were complete. One was a circle with two thunderbolts crossing paths, while the other was a large drop of water. First, Ilyar thrust his hand through the water drop symbol, and the thunderous sound of running water was heard overhead. Then, without warning, a large drop of water fell from the sky, and engulfed Lance and Jenna. Neither could breathe.
“I could let the two of you suffocate, but I’d rather not. Electricity is a far more… Quick and effective way to kill rats.” He said, pushing his hand through the thunderbolt symbol as the water drop sign disappeared. From a distance, lightning was seen, and thunder heard. Lance quickly began panicking, losing his cool demeanor; however, an idea quickly grew in his mind.
Yet Esperanza was back in Dramoor.
Curse me! Curse my foolishness and me… Lance thought gravely, as he began to try to conjure a ball of fire in his hands, but to no avail. He could always try to ignite his entire body, but that was unheard of magic – it had never been accomplished in history as far as Lance knew, but he knew of no other way to save his life.
Then, as Ilyar watched the lightning pleasingly, Lance began building up his internal temperature rapidly; then, as the Prince could see bolts of thunder jolting closer and closer to him, he took a hold of Jenna’s hand, gave her a comforting look, and then, his body burst into flames, evaporating the water almost instantly, as he pulled Jenna away from their spot of capture, closer to Ilyar. The space between them grew short, shrinking to about five or six feet now.
“Smart, Prince Lance. Smart, but indecisive. I could feel your hesitation of what to do while in my water bubble. Indecisiveness has been the death of many—”
“Silence!” Lance shouted as Jenna gasped for air. Then she realized Quizzle was missing.
“Quizzle!” She shouted, knowing the bird would not want to go far without her. Jenna looked to the skies, and picked out the crimson feather among the black wings of crows. Smiling with relief to herself, she turned back to Ilyar, standing beside Lance. The Prince held his long sword up high and proud, while Jenna beside him held her gnarled root staff in a defensive position.
“Such… Such defensive young whelps you are. If you truly want to see the legacy of the Etchidson family, very well!” Ilyar said, and began the drawing of another symbol, but immediately stopped.
Jenna noticed the absence of Lance and instantly called out his name. “Lance! Where… Where’d you go? Lance!?” She began to worry, but then realized things weren’t right with Ilyar. “Ilyar? Are you…?” Jenna realized he was the enemy, but things were rather off – until she saw the blade come right through Ilyar’s chest.
“Lance!” She called, taking a few slow steps to the backside of Ilyar. She gasped when she saw the Prince kneeling, his blade protruding directly from the chest of Ilyar Etchidson. Drops of blood dotted his face in various areas, but he was fine.
“All talk, no magic, apparently.” Lance said quietly, as he pulled his sword from Ilyar, and wiped it on the sparse grass. “Let’s keep moving. The banshees left without a howl, and that’s a bad sign. Most likely Ilyar commanded them to fly to Tal’Salym and warn my brother of my survival.” Lance explained, re-sheathing his sword, and turning to Jenna. “Where’s Quizzle?”
“In the skies. He was waiting for us up there with the crows.” She replied calmly and coolly, as he dove back down onto her shoulder. As she spoke, Lance began walking once more on straight ahead, in the same direction they had been moving in before Ilyar Etchidson had appeared.
“Uh… Lance? What’re you going to do about the body?” Jenna asked curiously. “You’re not… You’re not leaving it here, are you?”
“Of course I am. Vultures have to eat, too, Jenna.” Lance simply said, before continuing their journey. Jenna didn’t even speak a word.
The day passed on quickly without many spoken words between the two travelers, but they both knew that they were weary, and they needed rest. Their need was accommodated when they came upon a small village. Lance knew it well as part of his country.
The village was called Allintia, and was quite large. Nobles of all sorts came to it to gamble, and various balls and fairs were held there. At the time, though, no events were taking place. So, taking advantage of their position, they both went directly to the nearest bar and inn, where they hoped they would find lodging. There was, luckily, one vacant room left, and they both took it, and returned to the bar to hopefully wind down for the night, and have a nice rest. Unfortunately, little to their knowledge, they’d actually be having quite a night.
When they retired to the bar, there was a man named Bryan Walker who seemed to be surrounded by various women and men as well, fans of all types. On at least four occasions within half an hour, he paid for drinks for the entire tavern, which, at that time of night, amounted to quite a sum of gold.
Lance and Jenna kept a low profile, watching the man with curiosity, while slowly sipping ale. The odor of ale was heavy in the air, making the smell old, stale, and thick. “He’s popular…” Jenna finally said rather cheerily.
“Yeah. Let’s not get involved.” Said Lance, putting aside the thought of the stranger for a while, as he leaned back in his chair; it had been a long day, and Lancelot was glad to get a nice break.
Jenna said nothing to Lance after he told her to forget about Bryan. She actually didn’t have to. Noticing the two in the corner all alone, the drunk Bryan Walker advanced towards the two travelers, and took a seat across from Lance.
The man had short, black hair, which fell an inch above his eyebrows. His eyes were a ginger brown, which stared half-lidded at the blue-eyed Prince. “Hello there! How’re you two on this fine, fine night?” He asked casually. Bryan’s breath smelled heavily of alcohol, and Lance held his breath whenever he leaned in to speak.
“We… We’re fine, thank you for asking.” Lance said flatly, feeling for the hilt of his silver dagger, but then recalled it was left in his room.
“Well that’s great to hear!” Bryan said cheerily. “Let’s see here… All right, you two better go to your rooms.”
“W-why?” Lance asked.
“There’s about to be a bar fight!” The drunk replied enthusiastically. Lance simply stood up right away; however, despite how quick he was to leave, Bryan was by far quicker. After he finished speaking, he leapt up, ran to another drunk man at the counter, and put his arm on his shoulder. “Hey, buddy! I hate you!” And with those words, Bryan’s left fist made a strong connection with the man’s jaw. He in turn turned to another drunk man behind him, and kicked him firmly in his side, and from there on out, it was total anarchy.
Several attempts were made at Lance, but they were all unsuccessful, for he wasn’t one to let himself fall victim to twenty or thirty drunkards. One would come at him from behind, but Lance would send his elbow flying back into their gut or chest, and then he’d flip them right over his shoulder. To tell the truth, despite the fact Bryan started the fight, Lance was the real show there – just some random wanderer off the street and into the bar, who was quite the fighter.
After a few minutes of fist fighting, bottles began breaking and flying through the air. Lance got a hold of a whole bottle, and simply threw it in Bryan’s direction. It wasn’t exactly that Lance wanted him injured or anything; it was simply that the Prince was expressing his anger towards the idiocy of the drunk.
When the bottle flew through the room, it hit squarely in the back of Bryan’s head, and he took it that the man behind him had hit his head with the projectile. So, turning around, he flung his fists in a haymaker, and bashed the man into the wall, knocking him unconscious. “Daft idiot… Thinking an attack from behind can knock me ou—” He was cut off in the middle of his sentence, when another two bottles came crashing down on his head. Bryan fell to the floor, a bit of blood dribbling from the back of his head, as he lay there unconsciously.
Jenna was sitting back in the corner the whole time, with Quizzle on her shoulder, watching everything. When she saw Bryan fall, she stood up, and walked calmly to his side, nimbly stepping around fallen men, and flying bottles. She reached his side safely, and bent over to look at the back of his head, which had now swollen a bit larger than its normal size.
Bending lower than she already had, she tried to lift Bryan up on her shoulder to carry him safely away, but he weighed too much. So, figuring it wouldn’t harm him much, she lifted up his feet, (which were oddly cold) and began dragging him along the ground, being especially careful when she came to an uneven bump in the floor.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she managed to drag him into her and Lance’s room. She closed the door gently, lit the room up with the two given lanters, managed to pull Bryan onto the bed, and began tending to his wounds. A small cut here and there, which weren’t too bad; the real thing she was careful with was the injury on his head. She didn’t know how bad it was, so she just did the best she could to fix it.
Back down in the tavern, Lance was still knocking heads senselessly, throwing punches here and there, and an occasional kick, when the occasion called for it. Finally, he noticed Bryan’s absence, and then, more importantly, Jenna’s.
Taking another quick look around the tavern, he saw neither were there, and dashed up to their room, where he silently prayed the two were. When Lance burst through the door and saw Jenna sitting in a chair calmly, staring at the man on one of the beds worriedly, he sighed.
“Jenna, what’re you doing? I thought you’d been taken, or…Pasx knows what!” Lance exclaimed as he shut the door behind him and kneeled next to the bed, examining Bryan. He had a thick bandage around his head, and a light type of salve on his cuts. “What happened to him, and why’s he in here?”
“He was hit on the head with a couple of bottles, so I just… Thought I’d give him a hand.” Jenna replied casually, turning her gaze up to Lance.
“Jenna – All right, fine.” He didn’t feel much like arguing, so he gave Jenna her way. “But he only stays with us till he’s conscious again, got it?”
“But, Lance! Didn’t you see him fighting? He was so great in there, and I’m sure that when he’s not drunk, he’s even better.” Jenna replied quickly. And Lance thought her to be right.
The Prince nodded, and sat down in a wooden chair, pondering the chance of Bryan coming with him and serving him in his army. If he did, it could even bolster his forces quite a bit, considering how popular Bryan Walker was. Lance wondered how widely the name was known, and then shoved it to the back of his mind. Instead, he thought of Bryan himself; who he was, where he was from, how hard he fought, how seriously he could take a situation – all types of things that would be important in a person, especially when it came down to a life-death situation.
Lance stared at Bryan, finally looking at him, how he was dressed, hoping it would help him to identify which country he came from. He wore a green tunic, which loosely hung from his body, probably due to the heat of Darleanna, showing he wasn’t used to it, so he concluded he wasn’t native to Lance’s country. Then he looked upon his legs, on which he wore average, long black pants, which also hung from his legs loosely.
When Lance looked upon Bryan’s feet, he saw that he was wearing an odd type of metal war boots. Their color was an icy white-blue, and when Lance tried to touch them, they were far too cold for him without setting his own hand on fire, which he did not attempt. Finding this as a rather off thing for any native of other countries than Xiovi, Lance found his answer; Bryan Walker was a Xiovian.
Jenna soon fell asleep, as did Lance, without ever seeing Bryan wake up. As a matter of fact, neither person saw him wake up from that condition at all, because when Lance woke up before Jenna, he found Bryan not in his bed, yet up and about the room, going through the two’s possessions, which, might I add, were few in number.
Bryan was unaware of Lance’s awakening, so the Prince snuck up quietly, then, when he was within reach, lunged forward for his sword, drew it, and held it up to the back of Bryan’s neck.
“Move an inch, and I swear to Pasx I’ll relieve you of your neck.” Lance said coldly, being careful to apply just the right amount of pressure on his sword. “Now tell me. What’re you doing?”
“Well, you see… Hey, I haven’t caught your name, have I?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Okay, okay. Put the blade down, and I’ll talk.” Bryan said slowly and loudly, making sure Lance would hear him.
“Very well.” Lance replied, carefully lifting his sword, and replacing it in its sheath. “Now talk.”
“All right, you see… I woke up, and I just found myself in here, the girl from last night in that chair there.” Here, he motioned behind him, right to Jenna’s position. “And I saw you, sleeping like a baby, and so, I went about checking out my wounds from last night. By the way, did you fix those? If you did, then—”
“You’re changing the subject again, and no. I didn’t. Jenna did.” Lance said quickly, and then stopped, allowing Bryan to pick up from where he stopped.
“Well, tell her thanks for me. Anyways, I was looking at my wounds, then remembered, I needed a bit of silver for a little something I need by tonight. So, I went about, searching for some. Please don’t kill me.”
“I shan’t kill you, but Bryan, you owe us severely for such a treachery as thieving.” Lance said coldly.
“I don’t even know your name!”
“Lance. Lance O’Rien.” The Prince said, stepping back from Bryan so he could stand up fully.
“Thank you, Lance. But, pray tell, what will you have me do?” He asked curiously.
“You’re coming with us to Xiovi. We’ve business there. And, if I’m correct, you live in Xiovi, do you not?”
“Aye, that I do. But I came here to Darleanna to do business, sir, and if I’ll be unable to do it…”
“Your business is not as important as mine, I’m sure.”
“What business could you have that’s possibly more important than – oh, never-mind. It’s not that important.”
“Precisely. Now, act like you’re asleep again, and I’ll wake up Jenna.”
“What’s the point of tha— Okay, never-mind.” Bryan said cautiously, when Lance gave him a sinister leer. Walking quickly, the black-haired man watched Lance the whole time, then lay himself down on the bed, closed his eyes, and pretended to be sleeping. Then, Lance made his way to Jenna, and prodded her firmly with the index finger of his right hand.
“Wake up. Wake up!” He said gently in her left ear, and she leapt up. Lance backed away, and gestured at Bryan. “He’s still asleep. We should just leave him.”
“What!?” Jenna said, her eyes opening wide at the mention of leaving Bryan. She was oddly awake for someone who just awoke. “We’re not leaving him! Just look! HE’S HURT, LANCE, WE CAN’T LEAVE HIM HERE IN THIS CONDITION!” She then screamed at the top of her lungs, glaring at Lance afterwards. “I can’t believe you…” She muttered, as Bryan sat up, acting dreary and tired.
“Wha--? Hey, where am I? Who’re you two?”
“I’m Lance. This is Jenna.” Lance said flatly.
“Are you okay? Here, let me look at your head…” Jenna hurried to Bryan’s side, and looked at the back of his head. “You look fine. You should be good and ready for a long walk, then.”
“Long walk? Where’re we going?”
“Xiovi.” Lance and Jenna blurted out in unison. They then stared at each other, and nodded.
“All right. What’re we waiting for? Let’s get a move on!” Bryan said cheerily, climbing out of bed. “Grab your stuff and let’s go!”
“What about your stuff?” Jenna asked, perplexed.
Bryan grinned mischievously, as he tapped his left side, then his right. At his left appeared a large, steel mace with spiked edges, and on his right appeared a long sword. What was odd about the weapons was the both of them gave off the same icy coldness, and carried the same color as the boots on his feet, so Lance figured they all had the same properties.
“Your equipment – they’re all cold. Really cold.” Lance said. “Jenna, how’d you get him up here?”
“Carried him by his feet. They were awfully cold, now that you mention it.”
“You can touch him but I can’t. Why not?” The Prince asked, rather confused.
“I’m not native to Darleanna, so I’m not used to such heat. I’m used to colder things than you, Lance.” Jenna answered easily. “It’s quite easy.”
“Eh. I understand now.” He nodded, picking up his large, cloth bag which held all of his provisions, and Jenna’s. Considering they had no extra, and bought supplies as they went along, Lance knew Bryan would have to pay for himself. He hoped greatly it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Let’s hit the road, guys!” Bryan said happily, opening the door for all of them. He was the last out, and, as they all proceeded down the stairs, they found the tavern to be in the same position as it was when Lance and Jenna first arrived last night. They were astonished as to how quickly it had been cleaned.
And, as everyone in the tavern saw Bryan Walker emerge from the upper floor, they all cheered, and mobbed about him, asking how he was, and if he’d suffered any serious injuries.
Bryan Walker was a very popular man.
That is all. Now be happy. Again. XD =D