Chapter 18

Digging in to her dinner, Eya was content to silently observe the group. The camaraderie, the easy decompression after a job well done, their shared jokes and shorthand...it all summoned a wistful envy in her. Just watching them was enough to sate an emptiness that she'd forgotten she carried.

"You know," Kael interrupted her reverie, "not to tell you how to conduct your business but you really undersold yourself last time we ate here." Eya shrugged and picked at her vegetables. She looked up and saw that he was looking at her; really seeing her and not just making conversation while concentrating on his food. Suddenly self conscious again, she reached for her ale.

"You guys are easy to work with, it was nice." She took a long drink and set the mug back down. "Most groups that come through town? You can tell they've only been together off and on. Half of the time they hire me because they're missing someone who was supposed to be there but couldn't make it. Most of them treat me like I'm just there to patch them up after whatever harebrained ideas they have go sideways. Also, none of them ever took me flying, which by the way, WOW!" She laughed to herself and cut a chunk of meat. She chewed on it and shook her head, continuing to talk with a mouthful of boar. "Every once in a while we'll get a real pack of weirdos in here. The kind that pick fights with the guards, don't care about the people that live here...that sort of thing. Acting like a bunch of homicidal vagrants, like no one ever gave them a hug in their lives, know what I mean?"

"Can't imagine." Kael laughed while the others chuckled knowingly. "What happens to them? You actually try to work with people like that?" Eya shook her head.

"Nah. I try to gently dissuade them from sticking around. If they insist on getting out of hand..." She looked up and scanned the table with a knowing smirk. "...they'll usually end up getting really sleepy before they can hurt anyone." The foursome each looked at their own plates of food, briefly worried. Eya giggled at their concern. "Nothing too bad! They just sleep it off in the forest outside of town is all." She grabbed her mug again and mumbled into it before she drank. "...and maybe wake up wearing each other's clothes." Liriel kept a sidelong glare at her while she drained her mug. The half-elf studied a carrot on the end of her own fork, then shrugged with an oddly amused smirk and ate it.

"For the record, the only clothes that would fit me are Elara's. And I'm not an 'autumn'." Next to her, Theron choked and spit out his drink. He fumbled for his napkin and tried clearing bubbly alcohol from his nose.

"Hey!" Elara's indignant voice rose above the coughing and she gestured to her green cloak. "These are clearly 'summer' colors. And also for the record, I don't do black leather."

"Gods above us!" Theron finally managed to choke out between gasps. "Sundown, ya got her to make a joke tha' dinnae use the word 'fuck'! Tha's a miracle!" The whole table turned to him and Eya audibly swallowed another chunk of food.

"Sundown?" She asked. Theron finished wiping his mouth and beard.

"Aye, Sundown." He pointed to each member of the table in turn. "Shiny, Stickers, Daggers, and...Sundown." Eya beamed at him, wide enough that her ears moved a bit. He smiled back. "Ya shoulda seen yerself from where we were sittin' on tha' boat." He stood up and cast his arms out wide, mimicking her stance on the skiff. He even scrunched his face in fierce determination. "Robes all blowin' in the breeze, hair blazing in the sunset. Thought ya mighta been showin' off for a second there." He sat back down and reached for his mug again. "I swear I heard young Master Jory sprout a chest hair just lookin' at ya." Elara caught a bit of mistiness in the cleric's eyes before she looked down and blinked it away.

"Sundown...I love it. Thank you, Muffin." It was Liriel's turn to spit her beer out. She tried talking through her coughing fit, but was unsuccessful so Eya explained to the amused table. "When I was growing up, if I ever felt blue I'd go up to the roof of the abbey to watch the sun go down. My abbess- Mother Brigid- always knew how to find me and she'd bring warm muffins up. We would eat them and watch the sunset together until I felt better. I know you're all experienced travelers and I've only known you a few days but...you feel like a 'Muffin' to me. Besides, you shouldn't be the only one without a nickname." The din of conversation in the tavern felt subdued in the silence that followed. Only Liriel's occasional cough intruded until Theron raised his mug and leaned across the table to Eya. They tapped them together.

"Oh, well I do love muffins." He said with a wink. Elara chuckled and cleared her throat.

"Hey, I have a question." She wiped her hands on her napkin and leaned in. "Why do you wear money around your neck? Seems like a risky habit for this neighborhood." Eya swallowed her food and nodded, her half-cocked smile taking on a wistful tilt. She pulled the electrum coin out of her robes and held it out.

"When I first came to the area I had one coin left and back then I wore it around my neck for safekeeping. I was down to this and the clothes on my back. I was so scared and so hungry that I was about to spend it for a spot on the floor next to a fire and any scrap of food that was left." She looked down at the small, silvery coin and tucked it away again. "Luckily, someone took me in. A very kind woman who didn't need to be as generous as she was. So I keep it with me now. It's a reminder of what desperation felt like but...also of how much compassion matters." Next to her, Kael smiled and nodded as he ate.

"That's beautiful." He remarked.

"You need to sell that story to a bard," Liriel remarked, "people eat that shit up."

•••

Their meal crept along while the jokes and alcohol flowed. Liriel waited, observing, until Eya had gotten slightly inebriated. For her part, the half-elf had mostly feigned drinking from her own ale and remained completely sober. When their mugs had been refilled and their plates were getting empty, she sensed the moment was right. Liriel sidled her chair next to Eya's left side and elbowed her.

"Hey. Neat trick with that big bastard at the wharf." She eyed the cleric, gauging her reaction. Eya, warmed by her drink and the convivial atmosphere, just grinned absently.

"Thanks." Her face darkened slightly as her brain caught up with the conversation. "Umm...it was nothing." She raised her mug to her lips and pointedly looked away from Liriel.

"Yeah, and those chains again too. It's funny though, that's not the kind of magic you'd expect to see from someone who worships a being calling themselves 'The Everlight', yeah?" Liriel turned her body and rested one elbow on the table, directly facing Eya who was still looking straight ahead. The cleric nodded shallowly and quickly, her own eyes darting to the side and finding Liriel's gaze directly on her. "Nothing to add?" She prodded, leaning in closer and dropping her voice. "No coy deflection? No...cute little joke?" Eya nervously laughed and shook her head, stuttering slightly and stammering over her words. Liriel put a hand up to stop her before she could form a complete sentence.

"Stop, I don't actually care. Our business is done and my friends are alive and well. Piece of advice though, Red: Don't bullshit me ever, ever again." Without breaking eye contact, she leaned in even closer. Her tone was predatory and smothering but her face was oddly friendly; an observer even a few paces away might think she was recounting a bawdy story. "Oh, and one more thing. Get your hand off that pigsticker unless you're looking to dance. In which case, I swear by those pretty green eyes you won't make it out of your chair." She sniffed and covered her reaction when she detected the warm, spicy scent of cloves near the cleric.

Eya's ears flushed warmly from a prickling and unfamiliar frisson that rose through her, as if commanded by Liriel's intensity and proximity. Her right hand returned slowly to the tabletop from the small of her back where it had been gripping her concealed stiletto.

"Sorry..." she said, "nervous habit." Liriel grunted and nodded, but remained very close. So close that Eya could feel the warmth of her breath on her cheek as her senses were flooded with an unmistakable mix of leather, sweat, and...applewood? Yes, applewood. The woody, slightly sweet scent instantly transported her back to the orchards of Northvale Abbey, wandering amongst the trees and watching the bees darting in and out of their flowers. She wondered for split second if Liriel, of all her strange new companions, actually indulged in delicate perfumes?

This thought caused the unfamiliar, prickling warmth to spread rapidly across her skin. She wanted to tug at the high collar of her armor, but found that her hands wouldn't cooperate...as if they were waiting for Liriel to allow it. Her words rang in Eya's ears, those pretty green eyes.

Eya quickly tried to cover her discomfort, but tripped over her words. Liriel's penetrating gaze had locked her eyes as well as her tongue in a frozen paralysis from which she was unable to wrest control. A nervous giggle almost escaped her lips, but she swallowed it down with an internal admonishment.

"Daggers!" Theron's boisterous voice caused both of them to look away. He shoved his chair into place at Eya's right side, opposite Liriel, and shooed Kael away. Climbing into his seat, he set down his freshly refilled pint. "Quit hittin' on Sundown!" He added with a wink "Tha's my job."

Liriel rolled her eyes and returned to a relaxed, seated position before taking an actual sip of her drink. Eya looked gratefully to Theron, her eyes conveying what she could not say in words.

"How ya doin' there? Looking a little red around the ears." Theron observed, jokingly. Eya self-consciously shook her hair loose to cover her ears.

"Umm...yeah. Good." She raised her drink again, hiding her knitted, contemplative brow.

"Aww, don't mind Daggers, she's a kitten once ya get inside her circle." Theron nudged her and looked toward the rogue. "Isn't that right?" Liriel, who had pushed her chair onto its back legs with a foot propped on the table, simply flipped him off.

"No, yeah, we're good. I'm good. Everything's good." Eya stammered awkwardly, as though lost in thought. "How're you?"

"Better by the minute!" He roared with laughter and tapped his mug to her drink. Their celebrations attracted a bit of attention, which they noticed when a shadow fell over their table. Looking up and over Elara's shoulder, they saw a broad, well-dressed half-orc approach their table wearing an oddly juxtaposing dress shirt with dark blue vest and pants. His clothing, well-groomed salt-and-pepper hair, and trimmed beard stood at odds with the square jaw, sloping brow, and tusks of his ancestry.

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"Good evening." His voice was low, smooth, and measured; again contrasting with the image that most would have of a half-orc. He scanned the table, taking in each member with an appraising, experienced eye. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Grantham Harwick, owner of this tavern. Is everyone enjoying our fare?" His eyes slid to Eya, who peeked at him over the rim of her mug. "Everyone...playing nice?" He pointedly inquired. Elara cocked an eyebrow at this and glanced toward the cleric, who gave a little wave to the man.

"Hi Grant." She quietly mumbled into her mug. Elara cleared her throat.

"We're doing fine, thank you." She said, warily. "I expect your cook is famous in this city, the food has been superb." He grunted and his gaze lingered on Eya a moment longer before he turned and addressed Elara.

"She is, I will convey your compliments. Before I do though, I would like to have a word with you and your associates. I assume you speak for them?" The ranger looked around the table and when no one protested, she nodded. Grant gestured to the open seat next to her. "May I?"

"It's your table, by all means." Elara responded and shifted her chair to make room. The proprietor settled into the seat and rested his large arms on the table. He rubbed his broad, green hands together, contemplating his words before he quietly spoke.

"Unless I am mistaken," he briefly glanced toward Eya again, "and I don't believe I am, you lot are responsible for the chaos at the docks this evening?" The air at the table changed instantly.

"We were near the docks today, yes." Elara's cagey response carried the tone of an implied question. "Word moves quickly around this city." Grant chuckled, a deep baritone that rolled out of his chest.

"The Saltwrights took a beating and had their 'shipment' stolen by a plucky band of five strangers. Or rather, four strangers and one very conspicuous local." Eya shrank down in her seat a bit. "Yes, that sort of news has legs." A commotion at the front of the tavern distracted all six from their discussion. They couldn't make out what it was, but Magda appeared to be chasing after someone or something unseen.

"Sister Alia! Sister Alia!" A high, squeaky voice cut through the crowd. It was a halfling child, too small to see over the crowd and too quick for the aging Magda to catch. She was dashing and ducking around furniture, her blonde hair buns and simple dress standing out among the chair legs and surprised patrons.

"Brina??" The cleric exclaimed when she finally caught sight of the girl. Brina ran straight for Eya and leapt into her lap, just as her pursuer caught up and shot another dirty look at the infamous local troublemaker. Eya rolled her eyes at the half-orc woman. "Really? How is this my fault?" The little girl had a crumpled piece of paper contained in her tiny fist and shoved it into her rescuer's face.

"Sister Alia!" She was out of breath, but eager and loud. "Mama Althea said to give this to you!" Confused and cross-eyed at the paper in her face, Eya reached up and took the note.

"Thank you Brina, thank you!" She laughed and gave the girl a quick hug. "You can tell Mama Althea you did it. Here-" She picked up a big chunk of herbed potato and gave it to the girl. "Eat up okay?" The girl nodded eagerly and Eya set her back down. Grant cleared his throat.

"Mother? I think there are some sticky buns left over from breakfast in the kitchen. Would you please see that this messenger is rewarded for her diligence?" Magda's expression softened and she held one hand out to the little girl. Brina took hold of her finger while munching on the potato and followed her away. Eya opened the crumpled note and began reading. Her eyes immediately went wide.

"Oh no." She said, reading faster. "Oh no, oh farts oh no no no." Without elaborating, she bolted up from her seat and looked around the table. "I need to go, umm, be back soon." She ran for the door, stopped half way, and turned back. Once again at the table, she jammed a hand into her coin purse and slapped a handful of money down in front of Kael. "Just in case." She dashed away again.

In the awkward silence, no one spoke until Liriel sighed dramatically. "I really wish that was the weirdest thing she'd done today."

"Me too." Grant spoke up with concern in his voice, peering at the exit. When the spectacle had faded, he returned his attention to the table. "I'd like to continue, if you wouldn't mind catching her up?" With no objections, he resumed from where he had left off. "As I said, word travels fast. Especially news like today's." He steepled his fingers and considered his next words carefully. "We've watched these...scum, these slavers moving in and setting up shop for months. Now, Marisfall has never been free of crime, far from it. But some of us, those out here on the fringes, have been trying our damnedest to turn things around. That's why I've put so much effort into-" he gestured around the room, "all of this. It's our home, and they're making it worse." Kael leaned in toward him.

"It's admirable, truly. We've seen a lot of places on the road; places on the outskirts like this. None of them hold a candle to your 'Copper Bowl'. How can we help?" Grant nodded gratefully toward the aasimar.

"That...is what I am here to discuss. Some of the local business owners, myself included, have pooled our resources to offer a reward...a bounty, actually. We've just been waiting for someone...well," he sighed and lolled his head around, "speaking plainly, someone crazy enough to take this on. We couldn't exactly advertise it, you see. The Saltwrights wouldn't take very kindly to it if they found out." The mood at the table shifted again, and the foursome all looked at each other, gauging the temperature before any of them spoke. Elara was the one to do it.

"Crazy isn't a problem. We've got enough to go around. How much are we talking and who's the bounty on?" Grant leaned in again, talking directly to her.

"Eight thousand." Liriel leaned back and let a low whistle escape between her teeth. She began slowly shaking her head, but Grant was focused on the ranger. "For Maruk Vane. Alive." The other three leaned back in their seats now too. Kael blinked and caught his eye.

"That's not a bounty on one man, friend. You're asking us to decapitate an organization. Do we even know how many Saltwrights there are?" Grant nodded back to him solemnly and placed his hands on the table top. He exhaled slowly, with deep consideration.

"We do not. Not exactly, at any rate. However, if the rumors are to be believed, you've already managed to put a significant dent in their numbers in the last few days. That's another reason I came to you. The way I see it, you've put a target on your backs. Kicked a real hornet's nest, so to speak. Now, you could run and maybe survive." He looked up again and slowly met the eyes of each member. "Or...you can take the fight to them and collect a tidy sum in the process." He could see that they were starting to consider it.

"Why alive?" Elara asked him. "If you want him out of your hair so badly, why not just have us take him out?" Grant regarded her, amused and impressed in equal measure.

"Some of the backers for this bounty have a vested interest in seeing justice done. An arrow through the eye socket- which I believe is your specialty according to those same rumors- wouldn't be justice. It would be a kindness." He chuckled darkly and Elara felt Kael tense up uncomfortably behind her.

"One last question then." She spoke up before anyone else could interrupt. "Why him? From what we hear, he's got a boss who's worse." The half-orc nodded, sat back, and scratched his beard. He was pleasantly surprised that they hadn't flat-out told him where to stick his bounty.

"I've heard that too. Truth is though, no one knows much about her. Maruk's the face, he's the one that we all know from his cruelty. Word is he came here from Ank'Harel. Made a name for himself there, which is saying something, then came over here to branch out and start his own 'endeavor'. Rivals, authorities, hells...anyone who tried to resist him getting his claws in our city...he didn't go straight after them. He came at them sideways, in their blind spots. Their families, friends, and coworkers were all fair game to him. See, he presses on your weakness until you give in or do something stupid enough to get yourself killed. I don't know when this mystery woman-" Kael leaned forward.

"Estera." He interrupted. "We heard them refer to her as 'Estera'." Grant nodded his appreciation.

"Estera, then. Thank you, that's more than we knew before tonight. Anyway, we don't know when she entered the picture, but we assumed she must be bad news if Maruk agreed to work for her." He crossed his arms over his broad chest and returned his attention to Elara. "The honest truth? Maruk's personally made a lot of people very angry. He's cruel, but he's smart. It might not be the most...strategically sound, long term plan but sometimes you need to get the most tempting target to keep people focused." Elara nodded, satisfied.

"We'll need to talk it over." She pulled from her mug once again and set it down firmly. The half-orc understood the meaning: this part of the discussion was over. He clapped his hands on his knees and stood up. After smoothing his vest, he pushed the seat back under the table and nodded to each of the four diners.

"I look forward to hearing your thoughts. In the mean time, please, enjoy our drink selection." Turning inward, the foursome waited to see who would say it first. Liriel, as was her custom, said what was on their minds.

"Fucking no." She firmly set her shoulders as she leaned in. "Like you said, that's not a bounty on one man, that's asking us to take on the whole herd of them. The fuck are we going to do? Stand outside his bedroom window and taunt him into a four-on-one ass beating? Have 'Muffin' here collapse half the sewers in Marisfall? They'll love that." Kael shook his head and looked down into his drink.

"I'm not liking this either, but I'm also not liking what he said about Maruk. Makes me think we really did put a target on Eya's back." Liriel scoffed.

"She can take better care of herself than you think." The dark tone in her voice was completely missing her usual undercurrent of humor. She drank again and leaned back in her chair.

"Wha's tha' supposed to mean?" Theron prodded her, his face caught suspended between confusion and indignation. Liriel just waved him off.

"Exactly what I said. She's more dangerous than you think. Trust me, I do two things and I do them well: Hurt people and know people. And look hot as hell. Three things. My point is, we don't have to coddle her." She drained her mug and set it down. "Look, for eight grand we could hire a whole team of mercs; subcontract the entire mess." Elara sighed and scratched her head.

"It'll take weeks to find that many willing and skilled fighters. Plus we'd have to front, I'm guessing what? Probably half before they'll sign on."

"At least half," Kael added, "and that's assuming they're not familiar with the Saltwrights and Maruk already. If they are? We might have to put it all up front." Theron had remained silent since his question to Liriel, but finally spoke up.

"I'm not likin' these options." He looked pointedly at the rogue. "And I dinnae ken how she got on yer nerves so bad, but we're no' leavin' her to fend for herself while we go raise a bloody army!" Elara gently put a hand on the wizard's arm and he sat back in his chair.

"We'll need to convince her to come with us. We can take her to Greenhome; lay low until we can put together a plan. Bramblefoot will love it, he'll just put her up on his shoulder and carry her around while he works. Theron, Kael? I think she might listen to you two." She released the wizard's arm and he nodded, slightly encouraged. Liriel pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"Then tomorrow we need to find an armorer and get stocked up. If you idiots are tying our fate to her choice, then I guarantee we're not leaving."

"Liriel." Kael's tone was short, he was obviously growing tired of the conversation. "Could you not do this tonight?" She shot him a withering look.

"Then prove me wrong, stud. In the mean time," she stood up, "I need to go water the weeds. Please, keep circle-jerking us into a gang war while I'm gone though." She left through the front door. After an uncomfortable silence, Elara spoke up again.

"When we get back to the Ebontide, let's just slip out tonight. No need to involve Cora in this, she's already stuck her neck out." The other two nodded in agreement, silently taking their drinks in hand to sit with their own thoughts.