Wren
Ch. 1
Ah fuck, midday already?
Rich had developed the habit of passing out on the east side of the road, so the buildings would keep the sun from waking him up for as long as possible. More time asleep meant less time hungover.
Nope, there’s The Old Ox. I didn’t even make it ten yards before passing out. Can’t be past ten. Well, at least I’m in one piece and I’ve still got—
Rich’s heart skipped a beat. His sword was gone, not even the sheath was still there. He felt a twang of pain and his hand reflexively jolted to the back of his head, dried blood. And pain. A lot of pain. He ran back towards the tavern and found the door locked. He knocked hard, there was no response.
“Dammit! Mags I know you’re in there!”
“Fuck off! We’re closed.” Replied a voice from inside the building.
“I need to talk to you! If you don’t open the door, I’ll have to find somewhere else to drink.”.
There was the sound of footsteps approaching the door, “Whaddya want, Rich?” She opened it halfway, blocking the opening with her body. “You know we’re not open til sundown.”
“I need to ask some questions about what happened last night.”
“You got attacked.”
“Yeah I need to know by who.”
“Rich, you know that I don’t discuss my customers with anyone, not even my best one. Isn’t that why you drink here?”
“It’s important.”
Mags slowly started to close the door. “It’s always important to some— shit!” She withdrew her hand from the door handle, with mild burn marks on it. “Alright, bastard, it must be important if you’re using magic for it.” She pushed the door the rest of the way open, being careful to not touch the handle. “Follow me.”
That could have gone a lot worse for me. At least it only cost me a day, not a day and a beating. And one I’d earned too. Rich didn’t know it, but he’d gained a single new gray hair with his trick.
He followed her inside. The tavern was different during the day. There were no people, that’s to be expected, but it also seemed less miserable. Then again, when he drank there the other customers never seemed as miserable as he was. He didn’t want to think about what that might mean about him. They walked towards the back of the room. Halfway through, Rich noticed a faint smell of burning wood. Shit! He thought, and extinguished the beginning of a fire started by his heating of the door handle. There goes another couple days.
Once they got through the back door into her office, she took a seat on the far side of a desk that was remarkably ornate, given the rest of the tavern. “Sit,” she said, and she gestured towards a chair. Rich sat.
“So what could possibly be so urgent that you’d sacrifice time for it?” she asked, “I saw you passed out down the street when I locked up early this morning, you can’t have gotten in that much trouble since then.”
“My sword’s gone. Stolen, I think. There’s dried blood on the back of my head, I must’ve been attacked for it.”
“What’s so bad about that? Sure it’ll be expensive to replace, but I’ve seen how much you drink in a night, and you never leave with an open tab. You can afford it.”
“It’s enchanted.”
“By you?”
“Yeah”
“Shit. It’ll hurt business if you die. Why’d you enchant it anyway? I know you don’t like to take risks. And enchanting something is a huge risk. All it takes is tripping with it in your hands, and you’re dead.”
“I’d prefer not to talk about it. Can we get back on topic?”
“Fine. What do you need from me?”
“If you could tell me anything you know about my attacker, it’d be a start.”
“I already told you I don’t discuss my customers.”
“I’ll start drinking somewhere else then. You just said it’ll hurt business if I stop drinking here.”
“I said it’d hurt business, not run me out of business. And you may not believe it, but a large part of my success is because of my policy.”
“Fine. I’ll make a donation to the business then. So large you could buy every building nearby and make the largest bar anyone has ever seen.”
“Now I’m interested. I’ll tell you what I know, but I’m not sure how much help it’ll be.
“Try.”
“I think someone might’ve been following you. She came in not long after you, and was watching you all night. As soon as you were out the door she paid her tab and left.”
“What did she look like?”
“Auburn hair and brown eyes, maybe five and a half feet tall. Covered in either dirt or shit, like most of the people who come in here. She looked like she came straight from one of the villages, except her clothes. Had a red cloak, over a white tunic. I’ve never known the villagers to wear white, too hard to maintain, stains show too easily. She could’ve stolen that from someone else before she stole your sword. I assume she’s not an ex-lover?”
“Maybe she was planning on stealing it and selling it, you know, help her family with the extra gold. What was she doing?”
“She spent the night moving from table to table, making conversation and drinking everyone else under the table. She seemed to be a happy drunk though, everyone’s best friend the drunker she got. She seemed pretty clear headed when it came time to pay her tab though, as if she hadn’t been drinking at all. I did think it was odd, but you know me. I don’t question my customers.”
“How did she react when you told her the tab? If she’s drinking that much, she probably isn’t motivated by profit.”
“She didn’t even flinch. Just paid it like it was nothing to her, and then went outside, and I assume had her run-in with you.”
“So we’ve got a peasant who spends like a king, stalking me, and stealing my sword. The only thing I can think of is a shape changer, but I’ve never heard of them doing anything like this. I’ve got to go talk to someone. Thanks for your help.”
“Just don’t die. I can’t afford to lose your business.”