LJ Idol Week 8

[i_love_freddie]

Knock, knock, knock.

Cory paused after the first knock, straining his ears to listen for any movement inside the room. His sharp elven ears heard nothing, and so tentatively he pushed the door ajar.

“Kane?” He said softly, stepping cautiously into the room. He had learned by now to tread carefully – there was no telling if his friend had a play partner in there, or was practising knife throwing, or was just in a really bad mood. It never ended well to disturb him in a bad mood.

However, it only took a very brief glance to ascertain that the room was empty. The narrow bed hadn't even been slept in. The remains of bread and cheese was left on the table, and the water jug was empty – but the warrior himself was not there.

Cory brushed a lock of blond hair out of his face and muttered several curses in the elvish tongue. This was not good, not good at all.

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Fifteen minutes later, Cory had located two of his other companions – the two still left whom he considered the most trustworthy. Riandur and Phellan were different from the rest; wolf-like in appearance, but with the intelligence and emotions of a human being. Their kind had been created by the God of Trickery, designed to be pure fighting machines. Terrifying in appearance, most people considered them on the same level as werewolves. But Riandur, though cold and naturally a loner, was extremely loyal to those he considered comrades. Phellan was the opposite, eager to embrace his human side, to learn everything that humans did, and he usually followed Cory like a shadow.

“What do you mean, our leader has gone?” Riandur seemed genuinely shocked. “How is that even possible - ”

“He's not in his room,” Cory said patiently. Even when anxious and concerned, it was not in his nature to be sharp. “I asked around the guild, but no one has seen him since last night. Apparently he was with you.”

“He challenged me to a drinking contest. I must say, while I don't understand why humans wish to put that poison into their bodies, I was impressed by how long he held out. But by the end he could barely stand up, so I put him in his room and left him there. How he managed to get anywhere in that state, I have no idea.”

“Maybe he crawled somewhere,” Phellan suggested.

“I don't think he would have gotten far by crawling,” Cory sighed and briefly rested his head in his hands. “Maybe he has passed out somewhere... We have to find him.”

Riandur yawned and shook his head.

“Come on,” The young half-elf pleaded, wondering why everything difficult always seemed to happen to him. “Something bad might have happened. And I don't know about you, but once Benny gets back, I really, really do not want to have to explain to him how we managed to somehow lose our leader.”

The two wolf-men exchanged a glance. Benny was known to most as Scarface, the shapeshifting assassin. He had demon blood in his veins, which gave him the power to change his physical form at will, and he was a skilled and ruthless assassin. He also happened to be Kane's foster father, and was fiercely protective of the young man he considered his son. Not a man to be messed with, by any means.

“Besides,” Cory put in his final argument, “he would do the same for us.”

“Oh all right! Where exactly do you suggest we start?”

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Usually the marketplace was the bustling centre of the city. Not only could items of all kinds be brought there – from jewellery and animal pelts, to basic weapons and various herbs and potions – but it was also the place where people gathered to talk, to share gossip. It was the place to go to hear rumours about things that happened within the city walls. As such, it seemed the logical place to start looking for someone who was lost.

It was still early, and the traders were only just beginning to open their stalls. Cory stopped to speak to a woman who was arranging the fresh fish that her husband had brought back from the sea only that morning. She had no information to give. Nor had the man managing the jewellery stall across the way. Finally he gave up and brought some bread to share with Phellan – Riandur would not touch human made food – while he sat down on a bench and wondered what to do next.

“Hey you, elf-boy!”

He looked up. The voice belonged to an elderly man, with a long grey beard but no hair on his head. His stall was tiny and tucked away in a corner, and Cory could understand why when he saw what the man was selling. Chamberpots, dozens of them. “Yes, sir? Can I help you?”

“Ah, bit of politeness, so nice to see that in the young.” The trader lowered his voice and looked around him before continuing. “You are one of those people, aren't you? The night-walkers, the killers.” Cory looked at him steadily, but made no comment. “You looking for a drunken, crazy lunatic, by any chance?”

“You've seen him?”

“Aye. Was closing up me stall last night, about eleven o'clock, or thereabouts. Then I see him come staggering out of the alley and start... well... emptying his bladder in the middle of the street. So I asked him what he thought he was doing. Then he laughed, pushed me aside, grabbed on of my chamberpots here, and ran off down the street with it on his head.”

“He did what?! Well, do you know where he went?”

The trader grinned. “Might have an idea. What's it worth to you, I wonder?”

Cory took two shiny gold coins from his pocket. “This'll pay for what he took, and you can keep the change.”

“Fair enough. My missus said something about some disturbance over at the Temple of Mehanna late last night. You might want to try there.”

“Stealing chamberpots? Public urination?” Cory muttered, as he and his two wolf companions headed for the back streets that would take them across the city to the temples. “Why do I have this horrible feeling it is going to get worse?”

Phellan pulled on Cory's sleeve with his teeth. “Does urination mean peeing? Why is it bad to pee in the street?”

“Public decency laws. Basically, it might offend people.”

Riandur snorted. “I will never understand you humans, you really believe in making life difficult for yourselves. Makes no sense. And now we have to go to a temple of all things! I didn't think he believed in all that.”

“I'm not sure he does, personally,” Cory said absently, keeping his eyes open for any sign of people. Within the city walls, Riandur and Phellen were supposed to be battle-wolves, wild wolves bred specifically for fighting. If people were to hear them speaking the common tongue, or walking upright, it would cause a wave of fear and panic. But very few people used the back streets in the morning. “If he was drunk, who knows what he was thinking. This whole thing is a complete travesty!”

Phellan's small voice pipped up again, “What's a trav... trev... trevesty?”

“Something that is so crazy, I can hardly believe it is true,” the half-elf replied. They were coming up to the temples now. “To be honest, there are moments when I think that description applies to our entire group. Come on,” he broke into a run, wanting to work off some of the tension in his stomach. “Let's go find out the bad news.”


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Entry for LJ Idol Season 8, Week 8, Topic: "A Traveling Travesty." I wanted to try something different this week, so here it is. This is part of a longer fantasy story that I am currently working on. Characters belong to me, Riandur and Phellan were created by my brother. The general idea was based on a quest from Skyrim.