Chapter 92: Machinations of a Most Peculiar Sort (1/2)
”There has to be a faster way to get there!” Brenden exclaimed as the four of them sat down in a quaint café near the center of The Span.
After ordering a round of iced drinks and a set of something Mike's Communication Magic had translated as 'Spanwiches,' the group relaxed and recovered their strength.
Mike, however, felt fine, a combination of Vampiric Regeneration and the protection provided by his Salamander's Cloak prevented him from suffering from the trip. While he still accumulated a fair amount of mental fatigue, he was starting to wonder if he was really even human any more.
They had been walking for nearly two hours, and had only made it a part of the way to the University. When it seemed like Sera couldn't keep up any more, they stopped to rest.
A friendly waitress brought out four glass of a transparent, orange-tinged liquid that carried a slightly fruity scent, and tasted a bit like peach tea. The 'Spanwiches' turned out to be regular sandwiches with crouton-like support beams that lifted the center of them off the plate.
”I vaguely recall that there was some kind of public coach service, where you can pay to be shuttled to different parts of the city.” Sera commented while laying her head against the table.
Brenden shot her a disgusted look. ”You couldn't have thought of that before we walked halfway across this monster of a bridge?”
”I've never been here before! I only just remembered it.” She responded defensively.
”Sandwich tasty.” Tal told Mike, having already eaten half of hers.
Trying it himself, he was surprised to find that it was delicious. A combination of fresh vegetables, thinly sliced meat, a slightly spicy sauce that reminded him a bit of horseradish, and soft bread made his mouth sing with delight.
”Your right. This is great!”
He fed a portion of the sandwich to Audra who also seemed pleased with it. After a few days of experimentation, he'd discovered that she could eat just about anything. Mike had even seen her experimentally chewing on a piece of decking once, when he'd been a little slow to feed her.
He suspected that the dragon's digestive system was either magical or simply highly developed, enabling her to get nutrients from nearly any kind of organic matter. Unfortunately, there had no opportunity to really investigate.
Of course Audra did have a preference for meat, especially fish, and given the opportunity would devour at least twice her body weight with ease. So far she hasn't grown noticeably, which was starting to concern him a little, but he figured that a magical creature would probably have a slightly unusual life cycle.
Tempers improved after eating, and the discussion moved to possible solutions.
”We could just find an inn nearby, and start again tomorrow.” Brenden suggested lazily. He looked about ready to fall asleep in his chair.
”Let's go with that.” Sera agreed.
Frowning a little at his companions' laziness, Mike countered, ”That's one option, but we still have several hours of daylight left. I'd like to make some more headway if we can.”
””Ugh!”” Brenden and Sera replied simultaneously. Tal was quietly sipping her tea, evidently waiting for the group to come to a consensus.
”Why don't we-” Mike was cut off when a small child collided with his chair.
The girl had run into the café looking over her shoulder, seemingly more concerned about what was behind her than obstacles in her path. She slammed into Mike, bounced off, and collapsed dazedly to the floor.
”Hey, are you alright?” He asked in concern.
The girl looked to be about 8 years old and was dressed in a well-made and expensive looking dress that was currently torn and covered in dirt. Auburn hair fell in ringlets around her shoulders as she looked fearfully at Mike. Before she had a chance to respond, a trio of masked men burst in through the door, scattering customers in their wake.
They immediately started moving towards the group's table, as the girl frantically scrambled underneath it. Although it wasn't exactly clear what was going on, Mike felt he had all the information he needed to act.
He nodded to the others before standing and placing himself in the path of the three men, making sure to grab his spear, which had been leaning against a nearby wall. Brenden placed himself to Mike's right, while Tal and Sera moved protectively around the girl on the other side of the table.
Sensing the tension in the room, the rest of the customers made their escape, while the serving staff hid in the back room.
The lead member of the trio stopped, and looked him over carefully. He was treating them as legitimate threats, which was a nice change of pace in his opinion. A quick Appraise revealed some interesting information.
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Yoren
Age: 32
Race: Human
Class: Grey Knight
Title: Blooded
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Speaking in a low, gruff voice, the man named Yoren addressed the adventurers. ”This is none of your business. You don't understand what's going on.”
”Why don't you explain it to me, then? Because, it looks a lot like a kidnapping.” Mike responded lightly.
The man growled in frustration, ”You'll regret this, boy. You are meddling in things that are beyond you.” With that he led the other two back out into the street.
Sighing, Mike turned to look at the girl who was clinging to Sera's skirt while the Oracle consoled her.
[I'm not sure what's going on, but it smacks of some underhanded political maneuvering.]
”Do we need to move?” Brenden asked quietly.
”Not at the moment. They don't seem to want to cause a scene in broad daylight, but they haven't given up yet. Let's see what information we can gather.”
After a while the staff came back out, seemingly thrilled that a battle hadn't taken place in their café. Mike used this opportunity to order a piece of strawberry cake for girl, hoping to help bring her out of her shell with it.
She attacked the cake enthusiastically, almost immediately improving her mood. When she had finished, and was glancing around at the group curiously, Mike asked, ”Can you tell me your name?”
She stared at him for a moment, as if unsure how to respond and a little uncertain, ”I'm….”
[Hmm]
”I'm Mike, and this is Tal, Brenden, and Sera.” He said while pointing to them in turn. ”Now that you know who we are, can you tell us who you are?”
”I'm Elaine. What's that?” She asked with interest, while pointing at Mike's pocket. A small reptilian head was poking out curiously.