saw our battle. Actually he saw your
battle, because I was not there. In his vision you died.”
The
knight-captain was surprisingly nonplussed at being told that he should be dead
right now. “And when Sane put you in the middle of things he altered certain
events that saved my life.” Kellen laughed a big belly laugh. “That is typical
of him. Sane is one of the most powerful magicians in the kingdom and he sends
an untested boy to be my protector.” Kellen laughed again though Byrn failed to
see the humor. “Is Sane around? It is not like him to come to Colum and not
tell me.”
“ That
is why I am here.” Byrn handed Kellen a sealed message from his new master and
the knight promptly tore off the seal and began reading.
Kellen
read the message, but his face did not betray his thoughts. Once he finished he
looked up at Byrn sitting across from him. “Well it seems you need an
introduction to the Kenzai.”
Chapter
6
The
meal was lavish for tavern fare. The large table had a roasted goose with a
selection of fruits, pies, and flagons of wine and ale. At the head of the
table sat an elf maiden who looked to be in her mid twenties with luxurious
dark hair. Soldiers sat on either side of her hanging on her every word as she
entertained them with a tale of how she vanquished a gang of bandits intent on
ransoming some duchess or other back to her well-to-do husband.
“ So
the bandit was running down the hill chasing after his horse and he such a
promising target that I could not stop myself. I notched an arrow and let it
fly catching the bandit squarely in his right butt cheek. He jumped five feet
if he jumped an inch,” the elf jumped from a sitting position to a crouch on
her seat in one fluid motion to mimic the bandit in her story, “but he kept
running reaching awkwardly behind him as he tried to yank out the arrow for
fear that the next one would be through his scrawny head.” The men laughed
uncontrollably half from the picture she described and half because they were
drunk to the point of nearly falling out of their seats.
Seeing
that the pitcher of ale was nearly empty and it was her turn to buy the next
round Sari decided it was time to leave. “Fun was fun and all,” she said
wrapping up her story, “but I had a job to do.” She grabbed several pieces of
fruit and stuffed them into her backpack. “After watching him lope like a three
legged dog until he got near the tree line I readied another shot which hit him
in the back killing him outright.”
With
that she was up from her seat and halfway across the room before any of her
companions was even aware that she left. Her hand was on the tavern door when
she heard one of the men say, “She dinot leave again. Did she?”
Sari
was outside with the door swinging closed behind her when another complained,
“I thought she was gonna cover the tab this time!” promptly followed by a loud
thump that the elf thought might have been the man slamming his fist on the
table, but was just as likely that of someone passing out and their head
crashing on the table or floor.
It
was midday and the sky was a bright blue with the sun high overhead. Sari was a
bit surprised to see the sun and wondered how long she had been in that tavern.
It was not like her to lose track of the time, but it was a great celebration.
Being an elf she had an absurdly hardy constitution for alcohol. It surprised
her that humans did not seem to understand that liquor and alcohol were poisons
though not life threatening except in extremely high amounts, but elves tended
to have a higher tolerance for the stuff with their natural immunities to
poisons and diseases allowing an elf to almost uniformly drink any of the other
high races “under the table” as they put it. Of course not many people in
Aurelia were aware of that fact since the kingdom was largely made up of humans.
Shielding
her eyes Sari walked to The Broken Boar, the inn that she was staying at, a
battle, because I was not there. In his vision you died.”
The
knight-captain was surprisingly nonplussed at being told that he should be dead
right now. “And when Sane put you in the middle of things he altered certain
events that saved my life.” Kellen laughed a big belly laugh. “That is typical
of him. Sane is one of the most powerful magicians in the kingdom and he sends
an untested boy to be my protector.” Kellen laughed again though Byrn failed to
see the humor. “Is Sane around? It is not like him to come to Colum and not
tell me.”
“ That
is why I am here.” Byrn handed Kellen a sealed message from his new master and
the knight promptly tore off the seal and began reading.
Kellen
read the message, but his face did not betray his thoughts. Once he finished he
looked up at Byrn sitting across from him. “Well it seems you need an
introduction to the Kenzai.”
Chapter
6
The
meal was lavish for tavern fare. The large table had a roasted goose with a
selection of fruits, pies, and flagons of wine and ale. At the head of the
table sat an elf maiden who looked to be in her mid twenties with luxurious
dark hair. Soldiers sat on either side of her hanging on her every word as she
entertained them with a tale of how she vanquished a gang of bandits intent on
ransoming some duchess or other back to her well-to-do husband.
“ So
the bandit was running down the hill chasing after his horse and he such a
promising target that I could not stop myself. I notched an arrow and let it
fly catching the bandit squarely in his right butt cheek. He jumped five feet
if he jumped an inch,” the elf jumped from a sitting position to a crouch on
her seat in one fluid motion to mimic the bandit in her story, “but he kept
running reaching awkwardly behind him as he tried to yank out the arrow for
fear that the next one would be through his scrawny head.” The men laughed
uncontrollably half from the picture she described and half because they were
drunk to the point of nearly falling out of their seats.
Seeing
that the pitcher of ale was nearly empty and it was her turn to buy the next
round Sari decided it was time to leave. “Fun was fun and all,” she said
wrapping up her story, “but I had a job to do.” She grabbed several pieces of
fruit and stuffed them into her backpack. “After watching him lope like a three
legged dog until he got near the tree line I readied another shot which hit him
in the back killing him outright.”
With
that she was up from her seat and halfway across the room before any of her
companions was even aware that she left. Her hand was on the tavern door when
she heard one of the men say, “She dinot leave again. Did she?”
Sari
was outside with the door swinging closed behind her when another complained,
“I thought she was gonna cover the tab this time!” promptly followed by a loud
thump that the elf thought might have been the man slamming his fist on the
table, but was just as likely that of someone passing out and their head
crashing on the table or floor.
It
was midday and the sky was a bright blue with the sun high overhead. Sari was a
bit surprised to see the sun and wondered how long she had been in that tavern.
It was not like her to lose track of the time, but it was a great celebration.
Being an elf she had an absurdly hardy constitution for alcohol. It surprised
her that humans did not seem to understand that liquor and alcohol were poisons
though not life threatening except in extremely high amounts, but elves tended
to have a higher tolerance for the stuff with their natural immunities to
poisons and diseases allowing an elf to almost uniformly drink any of the other
high races “under the table” as they put it. Of course not many people in
Aurelia were aware of that fact since the kingdom was largely made up of humans.
Shielding
her eyes Sari walked to The Broken Boar, the inn that she was staying at, a
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