Page 3.  To continue........

The road leading from Ilipur to Eversult was wide, well made and carried a steady stream of travelers and commercial traffic in both directions.  Our merchant's wagons made good time along it and so it only took us a couple of days to reach our destination.  Normally I would get pretty bored just trundling along with nothing to do and thoughts would turn to ways of keeping myself amused but the events of the previous few days onboard ship had been more than exciting enough for me and I was glad for a bit of a rest.  I found my favourite wagon full of the comfy rolls of cloth and got my head down.

We duly escorted the caravan right into the merchant's district.  Job done.  The merchants were suitably impressed with our party's dedication and services above and beyond the call of duty on the waters so we got paid a bonus which cheered everyone up no end.  We took our leave and went to find somewhere to stay and to have a few drinks to celebrate the completion of a successful mission.  After wandering around the city for a while and making enquiries we settled on the Mermaid's Fin.  I was looking forward to some more of that very pleasant beer stuff and was not disappointed.  The others were also glad to be back on dry land where you could have a drink and something to eat without worrying about that horrid rocking and swaying motion bringing it all back up again later!  Thrin and Cordyr especially made the most of it and before we knew it the afternoon had stretched into the evening and everyone was becoming suitably well fed and watered!  As the evening progressed I was somewhat distressed to notice the gentle swaying motion had not just returned but seemed to be getting progressively worse and that walking in a straight line was becoming increasingly difficult.  Being ever helpful I attempted to demonstrate this odd effect to my friends by trying to walk along the edge of the table whilst balancing a small pot of ale on my head.  To my surprise the table shifted suddenly and I fell to the floor in a heap of tangled legs and wings with the beer emptying out on top of me.  This was met with a gale of raucous laughter and I was plucked from the floor and plonked roughly on the bench between Thrin and Theo who reassured me that it was a perfectly normal occurrence in such places and that it could be lessened by just staying sat down as much as possible, so I took their advice.  The only one who seemed largely unaffected was Tanith who maintained her composure and sat radiating that beautiful but cold 'look but don't touch' aloofness.  The evening wore on and the hum of conversation and clinking tankards rose as the tap room steadily filled with patrons of all shapes, sizes and races.

Not far from our merry table a group of humans were being quite rowdy and paying rather too much attention to the serving maids as they came and went, calling after them, pinching their bottoms and trying to grab them for a kiss.  This all seemed like harmless fun however and the maids, obviously used to this sort of thing, shrugged them off with practiced grace.  However, the status quo was about to be upset.  Into the smoky, dingy lamplight of the tap room walked a beautiful young elf maiden, kitted up for adventuring, and all heads turned as she flowed past.  My eyes went as wide as conkers and I spat my beer out in shock across the table, much to the disgust of Cordyr who gave me a very black look.  I couldn't believe it - Cordelia was back!  As Cordyr turned to see what had caused me to decorate his jerkin with ale, a chorus of "Ello darlin!" arose from the rowdy table and a pair of rough hands made a grab for her.  She nimbly avoided the fumbling grasp and with a withering glance she continued on.  Although she looked in our direction she gave no sign of recognition which I thought very rude but then I wasn't that keen on meeting her again anyway.  No one at my table made any comment at all which I also thought most strange, not even Tanith who was sober.  Cordelia made her way to the bar and after getting a drink just leaned nonchalantly with her back against it, sipping and surveying the room.  She had obviously made quite an impression on the rowdy table as after some discussion with his pals, the one who had made a grab for her decided to get up and follow her to the bar and try his luck.  Sitting where I was I had a good view as he swaggered and swayed his way to where she was.  I couldn't hear the details but I could see from Cordelia's manner that his company was definitely not required.  However her potential suitor as he no doubt saw himself, wasn't going to take no for an answer and pressed his advance.  Things began to get a bit animated and Cordelia eventually had enough and gave him a good shove.  Being drunk he staggered and fell down amongst the beer sodden sawdust to the amusement of all around.  The man got up and embarrassed in front of the crowd, he made a clumsy lunge to slap her.  She ducked neatly aside and then delivered a good punch to his guts which caused him to double over.  Things then suddenly took a turn for the worse as he spat her a foul curse that most people in the room must have heard and drew out a knife.  At the same time his table full of lackeys got up and went to join in.

Cordelia was good in a fight but she was now seriously outnumbered.  Thrin had been half watching the goings on and suddenly sprang up saying that a lady was in distress and in need of assistance.  The others responded and joined the fray.  What proceeded was a good old bar brawl as stools, tables and tankards went flying in all directions and other patrons got drawn in as the drunken fracas spread.  Being small and not much inclined to get embroiled in the widening conflict I stayed safely out of the way and cheered my side on from the tabletop, feigning punches and ducking imaginary blows from the kafuffle before me.  Then I remembered my magical skills, what could I do to help?  Fireballs are always my first choice as they are brilliant fun and look so impressive but in a wooden inn full of wooden furniture and mostly innocent people I thought better of it.  Then I looked down and saw a rind of pork fat left over from dinner and inspiration struck.  I chuckled to myself as I began to cast and it worked beautifully.  Suddenly the entire floor of the bar where the fight was ensuing was coated with a slippery greasy substance.  Anyone who wasn't seated or standing perfectly still started sliding about and falling over.  Makeshift weapon chair legs and bottles popped out of peoples hands like bars of slippery soap and the sight was so hilarious that I was crying with laughter watching everyone flounder around.  Of course the spell wasn't fussy who it affected so Thrin, Cordyr & Theo were all in the same predicament as everyone else.  Fighting in those conditions was pretty impossible but I had to admire the determination to keep slugging at each other.  A tankard was aimed at me but whistled harmlessly overhead and just served to make me laugh even more - this was FUN!

Eventually people gave up trying to fight and slipped and slid their way out.  The rowdy crew slunk off nursing their wounds and dragging their leader behind them - he was out cold.  My lot returned to the table as best they could together with Cordelia - except she wasn't!  In better light and without the haze of smoke in-between I could see, with great relief I might add, that the rescued damsel was not Cordelia at all.  She was obviously an elf, similar in looks, stature and ability to Cordelia but had shoulder length auburn hair instead of dark and after thanking us all for our assistance she introduced herself as Morigun of the Blades.  She told us she was a Bladesinger by profession and was looking for an adventuring party worthy of her skills.  This declaration meant nothing to me or Tanith but Thrin and Cordyr were almost beside themselves with admiration and pleading with her to sign up.  Whether this was due to her looks or her skills I couldn't possibly say but we did have a vacancy in the party and she appeared competent enough.  Thrin asked to see her guild tattoo but she said a girl didn't just show it to anyone who asked as it was in a delicate place, he'd have to earn the privilege.  He seemed both disappointed and intrigued but I just hoped she wasn't as touchy as Cordelia when it came to her underwear!

We had only been chatting for a few moments with our new recruit when a very smartly dressed man, carefully skirting the greased portion of floor, approached our table.  He congratulated us on our 'handling' of the situation and introduced himself with a florid bow as Waevor Talaphin, agent and assistant of Vaerana Hawklyn, a woman reputably of some high standing and influence in the city, who was looking for a band of worthy adventurers such as ourselves to perform a service.  He gave me a funny 'what on earth are you?' look but the man had a silver tongue alright and it was obvious that both Morigun and Tanith were quite taken with him.  Thrin was less impressed until he caught sight of a subtle emblem on his finely woven jacket, a harp surrounded by a crescent moon.  Apparently this was a good sign as Thrin gave him a nod and a wink and immediately warmed to his proposal.  We agreed to meet with him the following morning and he bid us good night by taking both Morigun and Tanith's hands and planting a delicate kiss on each.  He then graced us with another elaborate bow before breezing out into the night.  He seemed way too smarmy for my liking but I was in a minority of one - everyone else thought he was wonderful and the two women were swooning like schoolgirls after their very first kiss.  Things were winding down after all the excitement of earlier and the bar staff were clearing up the mess.  Everyone agreed it was time for bed.

Copyright © John Angus Walker 2005. All rights reserved