Fantasy Assassin's Pledge: Convergence (Shaharan)

[GojiBean]

Audrey's senses were sharp as knives as they continued. Not only did this place creep her out, but it set her on alert every time she passed it. She never liked this place. It always felt off. Not just abandoned, quiet, or anything like that. Genuinely off. She wasn't one for curses. But if she were she'd say this place was top of the list.

No sooner had she registered what Jaali said before an arrow stuck in the cart by her hand.

Audrey flipped the cart onto its side and ducked behind it as the next volley came raining down on their position along with the fire drinks. One of which Jaali, rather impressively, whacked out of mid-air. Audrey flipped her gun from its place on her shoulder into immediate firing position on top of the cart which now lay on its side with the boxes of goods on the ground next to it.

Following the path of the arrows as they flew, she managed to pick out the faintest shadow of a silhouette ducking behind the side of a building about two stories up.

Taking a deep breath, Audrey steadied herself and waited. She barely registered another arrow coming at her from slightly to the right which grazed her left cheek as it sailed past cutting a fine line in her otherwise pristine bronze flesh. Blood dripped down her cheek and chin to the cart. But Audrey remained steady. The shadow poked out again.

Squeeze.

BAM!!

The instant the shot rang out, Audrey saw a spatter of fluids on the walls behind the shadowy figure.

"One down!" She called.

Ducking behind the cart, she set the gun in her lap and pulled the ramrod free as she brought out her powder. Pouring it into the barrel, and stuffing down a bullet supported with a cloth patch via the ramrod, she cocked the hammer and rose to line up another shot. However, another arrow from further right than the last struck the meat of her flesh in the right shoulder just above the junction of the bicep and tricep. Audrey flinched and growled loudly against the pain, but remained calm as she attempted to predict where the second bowman was coming from. The one who'd fired the arrow across her cheek was somewhere around fifteen degrees to the right of the first one she'd hit. But she saw no further shadows. Only another flash of an arrow from further right again forcing her to duck behind the cart again.

Wincing against the arrow sticking out of her arm, she reached across and snapped it just above the point of penetration with another growl against the ensuing pain.

She carefully glanced over the top and finally saw another shadow amongst the buildings. But it disappeared almost as soon as she'd seen it. However, the other one further to the right was really aggressive and fired yet another arrow into the cart. Audrey caught his position, and slowly brought her rifle up onto the top of the cart and angled herself behind it.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

The bandits obviously believed that they had the upper hand, moving forward confidently while deftly brandishing their weapons. Jaali moved forward to meet them, surprising them with his willingness to go on the offensive. The first bandit underestimated the gladiator's speed and reach. Seeing that Jaali was about to take a horizontal swing, the bandit hopped backwards, only to still be hit in the ribs by the full force of the hammerhead. Nearly smashed in two, he flew several feet before rolling to a stop in the dirt, motionless. The other two bandits approached with much more caution, but made the mistake of attacking one at a time.

The second, armed with a spear, dashed forward and put all of his force into a frontal thrust. Sidestepping the stab neatly, Jaali grabbed the haft of the spear and dragged the bandit closer. Releasing the spear and lifting the unfortunate thug by the collar with one hand, the gladiator delivered a savage headbutt, shattering the mans nose. Filled with the elation of battle, Jaali roared with laughter, his voice booming over the din of the small battlefield. "You'll have to do better than that! The dance has just begun!" Tossing the dazed bandit into the flames of one of the fire drinks, he hefted his hammer and searched around for the third attacker while listening to the screeches of the second.

In the background, Jaali heard Audrey's gun go off, followed by her declaration of a hit. In his moment of distraction, an arrow arced lazily through the air, puncturing his right foot and nailing it to the ground. Cursing loudly, the gladiator lost his focus as his knees reflectively shuddered, trying to relieve the tension on the impaled foot.

The third bandit, armed with a two handed scimitar, took the opportunity to steel himself and sprint forward. Fighting dirty, the man quickly grabbed a handful of loose sand and flung it into Jaali's face. Immobile and near blind, the gladiator saw the bandit preparing a powerful vertical strike. Betting his life on what his tear-filled eyes were seeing, Jaali gripped his hammer handle horizontally, using it to block the blow. With a clang of metal, the long handle effectively stopped the blade's downward momentum. Using his superior strength, Jaali shoved upwards, unbalancing his opponent. With the same horizontal grip, Jaali dropped his hammer handle and shoved forward, smashing it into the bandit's exposed throat. Dropping like a stone, the bandit gargled scratchily, grabbing at his crushed windpipe.

Reaching down, Jaali snapped the arrow in half. Grabbing his foot, he gritted his teeth and pulled it free of the arrow shaft. Using his hammer as a walking stick, the gladiator hobbled as quickly as he could over to the cover of the cart, throwing himself into the sand next to Audrey. Seeing that she was about to take another shot, the gladiator held his breath and stayed quiet.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey's rifle was lined straight and true. And the instant the second bandit popped their head out of the shadows...

Squeeze.

BAM!

Another spatter. Another kill.

Audrey glanced over at Jaali.

"Two down."

Peeking over the top, Audrey just barely caught a hint of another shadow between the two she'd taken down.

"Shifty little shit." She growled.

She reloaded her weapon. And despite the blood pouring down her right arm from the arrow she'd snapped, and the blood dripping down her left cheek, she shifted her weight and set the gun over her shoulder.

"Wait here."

Audrey took her chance when the shadow disappeared again and darted out from behind the cart towards the buildings. Racing up a catwalk, she darted left around the front of the building the bandit had been behind. Pushing forward once round the corner, she slid to a half while bringing her gun up and at ready by the time the skid stopped... Nothing.

... Fuck... She thought.

The gun remained up as she slowly stalked deeper into the structures listening to any and every sound around her. She could hear the skittering and shuffling of quiet footsteps. The bandit knew she was here and was doing the same thing she was. So now it was a game of mental chess.

Audrey smiled.

"You're alone now." She said aloud. "You think you have what it takes when your friends didn't?"

Silence, save the echoes of more soft shuffling of feet. Audrey lowered her rifle to stomach level and pointed it to her left side with her finger on the trigger.

"I suppose you'll never know regardless, will you? Dead people don't need to think about what they're capable of anymore, do they?"

The skidding of boots in the gravel to her left caught her ear, and she instantly squeezed the trigger. A spatter appeared on the mountain face behind the figure while an arrow slammed into her heart guard over her left breast and partially penetrated. Audrey looked over to see she'd managed to hit him in the side just above the left hip. A nasty shot. But not fatal.

Pulling the arrow free from her heart guard, a tiny bit of blood on its tip, she tossed it aside and held the gun by the end of the barrel with the butt end over her shoulder like a club. Kneeling in front of the man, she gave him an empty stare.

"Was it worth it?"

Grunts of pain and a vicious glare were all that greeted her. And taking another look at the wound as the blood continued to pour from it, her thoughts about it not being fatal were quickly reversed.

"You don't have long." She mused calmly. "One's last thoughts should be positive if possible. Not many have that luxury, you know. So I'll ask again. Was it worth it?"

The man spat at her feet, and Audrey stood up slowly and put the gun over her shoulder as she turned her back to the man.

"Good luck."

With that, Audrey walked through the haunting series of structures back down to the cart. Putting her gun down gently on the grass, she sat down next to Jaali.

"So. How bad's the foot?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Still a little jittery from the adrenaline, Jaali watched as Audrey knelt to converse with her mortally wounded enemy. Try as she did to elicit conversation, the bandit apparently gave her nothing, choosing to spit on the ground in defiance. Even though the man had been trying to kill him, Jaali had to admire the guy's grit. Had the roles been reversed, he would've done the same. Looking around, Jaali observed the area. Besides the crackling flames that were beginning to run out of fuel to burn, the place was silent once again. A few corpses lay huddled about. The bandit he'd hit in the throat seemed to have expired and was no longer moving.

As Audrey returned to sit next to him, Jaali gave her a toothy smile and nodded in acknowledgment to show her that he was okay. Satisfied that the moment of danger seemed to have passed, he set his hammer aside and gently eased his boot off, examining the wound. Dark blood pulsed gently out of puncture injury, dripping onto the ground. The gladiator tore off a segment of his desert robes to wrap around his foot as an improvised bandage. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the two ends and pulled the wrapping tight. Putting the boot back on and sighing with disappointment, he let himself drop onto his back with a little poof of sand. Grinning, Jaali adopted a sarcastic tone.

"The foot? I'm sure it'll be okay. If not, it'll get infected, I'll lose the leg, and I'll become a drunken cripple. No biggie."

He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders while looking up at the increasingly bright stars that dotted the sky.

"Ah, I'm more upset that the guy ruined my boots. I was already walking with a limp before this. Anyways, thanks for being such a sharp shot. I saw you playing mind games with those sharpshooters up in the roofs and catwalks. I don't have the tact for that stuff, they probably would've turned me into a big, fat, barbecued pincushion if you hadn't been here. Remind me to buy you a drink when we get the chance."

Looking over, Jaali noticed the stream of blood ebbing down Audrey's shoulder. Pointing a finger at it, his brow furrowed in concern.

"What about your arm? Are you going to be alright"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey chuckled at his little joke about the leg and becoming a cripple. And as he moved to ask about her shoulder, she waved him off.

"Eh. It'll be fine."

Reaching over to grip the tiny bit of the shaft that was still present, Audrey closed her eyes, clenched her teeth behind relaxed lips, and slowly pulled the arrowhead free and dropped it to the ground.

"I guess we're in the same boat now. Either this'll be alright, or it'll get infected, I'll lose the arm, and then I'll become a one-armed drunk mooching off Dhe'ko until the day I die. Which would probably be sooner than later since I'm pretty sure he'd kill me himself if I let that happen to me." She chuckled.

"Anyway." She stood up and reached down with her left arm, offering him a hand up.

"We still have goods to deliver, mister. Unless of course you need a nap before we press on?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Closing his eyes, Jaali plopped his head back against the sand. Cracking his mouth open and feigning sleep, he pretended to snore loudly in response to her sarcastic nap offer. Realizing that Audrey would probably club him in the head with her rifle if he kept playing around, Jaali opened his eyes. Reaching up, he grasped her pro-offered hand and hauled himself upright.

Testing his leg, a sharp hiss of breath left his mouth. It felt like a spike was still being driven through his foot. A little flash of worry crossed his mind. What if the arrow had messed ups some of the bones in his foot? No, it wouldn't do to worry; there was still work to be done. For now, it would bear weight, but just slightly. Reaching over, he grabbed the side of the cart to steady himself. Once he'd found his balance relying on his left leg, the gladiator squatted down, grasped the edge that was laying against the ground, and tipped the cart right side up with a grunt. Checking around, the gladiator retrieved a box that had come loose, carefully blowing the sand off of it and depositing it back into the cart. Dusting his hands off, he retrieved his hammer and used it as a walking stick.

"Alright! Let's get a move on."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey nodded with a smile.

"Indeed."

She made sure both boxes were okay in the cart before giving it a little kick and moving forward.

Her right arm burned from the flexing of torn muscles beneath the surface. But it was nothing she couldn't tough out until she got some medical attention and the chance to rest her arm.

"We're still about an hour out. So if you need to hop in the cart to rest your foot, let me know."

Pressing on, the pair made their way along the mountains to the entrance of the mountain pass. And from this point on the ground, it looked quite ominous. Massive walls to either side carved by man-made explosions and weathered down over time by the wind and rain. It was almost as if the mountains could fall in on themselves at any moment, trapping anyone unfortunate enough to survive the collapse in stone until their dying breath.

She hated going through that place...

Thankfully, their destination wasn't through that pass. Going through would take upwards of two full days. Tonight, their destination was just ahead near the entrance.

"That little piece of shit for a cottage is our destination." She said with a point to the cottage in question.

"Call it that again and I'll make sure ya never attract a man again!" Came the shout of an aging woman who opened the front door and scowled at Audrey.

"Hey there Yola! Got your shit!"

"You call anything that's not yers "shit," youngun. I swear. With yer attitude the only things men must like about ya are yer breasts and yer ass."

Audrey laughed heartily.

"Aww. What about my face, Yola? Surely it's worth something too, right?"

"You overestimate yer looks, youngun. Now git. It's cold enough out here without yer insults."

"Okie dokie! Don't forget firewood in the fireplace! Doesn't really work when you try using stone!"

"Fuck off!" Yola squawked as she slammed the door behind her.

Audrey chuckled and put her hands on her hips.

"Well, that was it!" She said, turning to Jaali and pointing a finger at him. "We got an hour and a half to get back, and you owe me a drink! So let's get moving!"

She began the walk back, and then paused to glance over her shoulder with a mischievous grin.

"Need a piggy back ride there, gimpy?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

A faint wind was blowing through the mountain passage, resulting in a slightly unsettling howling noise that reminded Jaali of the stereotypical moaning of spirits. With moon and starlight being the only light available, visibility was limited. From the outside, the passage looked like it receded into a yawning pit of darkness; a valley that might've led to the underworld itself. Diverting his attention away from the mountain passage, Jaali focused on the quaint "little piece of shit" that was the destination for their trip.

Leaning on his hammer, Jaali watched the exchange between Yola and Audrey with interest. The old woman returned Audrey's taunts with equal sass, if not more. The two obviously had a colorful history. Although he would've loved to talk to Yola, the woman slammed her doors shut without even acknowledging his presence. Thoroughly amused, the gladiator smiled at Audrey's reminder about drinks, only to hear her jest as she turned to push the cart back the way they'd come.

Jaali snorted, then started walking along in Audrey's wake.

"Gimpy? That's kinda hurtful, I'm limping along as fast as I can. You know what? Yola was right about your face."

Backtracking through the twice-cleared bandit camp, Jaali stopped to loot a few purses from the dead bandits that were within reach. Aside from a few gold and silver coins, they didn't have anything else that was worth carrying. Splitting the sum, he tossed half to Audrey before pocketing the rest. Although he'd already exchanged some of his Shaharan barter goods for a large amount of gold and silver, he still needed as much of a monetary buffer as he could build, given how much Audrey apparently drank.

Although the pair made good time despite their wounds, the moon was already rising high in the sky before the pair reached the door of the inn. The worn wooden threshold had seemed unassuming and regular to Jaali earlier that day, but now that he was tired and sore, the anticipation of sitting down and getting drunk made it look like the gates of heaven. Swinging the door open forcefully, ducked his head entered before turning to hold the doors open for Audrey.

Apparently unamused by the sudden entrance, Dh'eko yawned and cast a bored glance at the pair. In the middle of wiping down the front desk with a rag, he continued while talking.

"Well well, if it isn't the giant and his little slave driver, Audrey."

The innkeeper's eyes ranged from Audrey's cheek injury to Jaali's bloodstained cloak. Turning to Audrey, Dhe'ko cocked an eyebrow.

"Based on the bloodstains and wounds, I trust your little job ended well. Here to drink, are ya?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey walked in relative silence on the way back. She enjoyed the night time. And thankfully Jaali seemed okay with silence as well as he sifted through the bodies and found some extra coin to throw her way which she was none too displeased about. Extra coin was extra coin. And given that she only had a set number of free drinks in a given day before Dhe'ko would charge her, she was happy to have a buffer zone for tonight.

Her arm was throbbing and the alcohol, once it finally got to her, would help ease the pain.

When they got back, Audrey sat down at her usual table, set her rifle down, and flipped off Dhe'ko earning her the finger in response.

"Get up here and get your drink, young lady. I'm too tired to walk it over and Issac went home for the night."

"Bah. You lazy old fuck. Fiiiiiiiine." She groaned.

Walking over and putting her elbows on the desk she waited for him to pour a mug which she picked up immediately, turned around so her back was to him, and pointed with her thumb at Jaali.

"He's paying."

And with that, the chugging began.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Not to be outdone, Jaali set his hammer and pack down, then slowly made his way up to Dh'eko. Although it wasn't too late, the inn's bar/common area was gradually emptying of patrons. In groups, pairs, or singles, they trickled off to their rooms or left the inn. The cook, done with work for the day, was seated in the corner with his feet up on the table, sound asleep with his arms crossed and his chin resting on his chest. A few tired looking trading caravan guards clinked mugs, seated at a table in the middle of the room. Other than that, Jaali, Dh'eko, and Audrey were relatively alone. The fire in the fireplace was beginning to die down, painting the entire scene a cozy shade of orange. Flipping a gold coin into Dh'eko's hand to get them started, the gladiator cracked his neck and rubbed his hands together.

"Alright! Line up three, I'm about to show you two why they call me the Bottomless Pit in Her'eshia's taverns."

Dhe'ko snorted, then picked up the gold coin to examine its authenticity. Satisfied, he tossed it into a nearby money box.

"Funny. That sounds about right for Audrey too. Sometimes it feels like I'm pouring booze into an ungrateful garbage bin that calls me names."

Jaali chuckled at the man's dry humor. Filling up three mugs from a nearby rack of barrels, the innkeeper set them down in front of the gladiator.

Picking one up, Jaali glanced at Audrey, who was busy chugging her drink.

"Cheers. To a job well done, and the 6 suckers who made it interesting."

Working his way down the row, Jaali finished all three drinks. Hiccuping into his fist, he started feeling the first hints of drunkenness hit his system as a gradual warmth and relaxtion manifested.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

"Ha!" She laughed before downing the remainder of her mug's contents.

"Here's to marching through a den of rodents playing at being men."

She ordered another mug, and downed it in a single chug session before setting it down hard and giving Jaali a sideways glance.

"So, mister "Bottomless Pit," you wanna test your luck against me? The trip sobered me up from all my drinks before. So I'm ready to take you on if you're game." She said with a smirk.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Audrey certainly had a lot of confidence challenging Jaali to a test of booze swigging. The gladiator had almost never been bested in the art of drink; the only time he'd ever lost was when he'd challenged a half-insane desert nomad whose physiology had been altered by a combination of venomous snake bites and a lifetime of inebriation.

Besides, Jaali was a good deal bigger than Audrey. Anatomically speaking, he was supposed to be able to drink more. Right? Even still, he felt a slight sense of foreboding as he took out another gold coin and handed it to Dh'eko. Audrey's smirk was there for a reason, and he'd already witnessed how she could drink. The innkeeper had an amused expression on his face but said nothing as he grabbed a bottle of significantly stronger booze and started pouring shots into a row of small glasses. Shaking the doubt out of his system, the gladiator turned to Audrey and grinned confidently.

"A drinking contest, eh? Fine. What does the winner get as a prize, the top bunk in the drunks cell at the local jail?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey took her first shot glass and held it up to her lips.

"There's rumors of a bandit group that functions more like a typical Shaharanian Clan than bandits living in the mountains about four hours South of Yola's cottage."

She took her first shot and slammed the shot glass down.

"How about the winner gets to watch the loser try and get in to talk to the group? See if the rumors about them being more like a Clan than bandits are true?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Taking his first shot, Jaali downed it before setting the glass facing downwards with a light tap. Of course, Audrey's idea involved poking a potentially dangerous group of individuals with a stick. Chancing a glance down at the bloody bandage peeking out of the hole in his boot, he pursed his lips.

"Sounds like we're about to get a whole lot more holes shot in us."

Smiling cheerfully, the gladiator picked up his second shot and waited for Audrey to drink.

"Did I say we? More like you."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey's smirk remained steadfast as she picked up her next shot.

"That's a lot of confidence, there."

She downed her next shot and set the glass down forcefully like before while glancing down to his foot, then back to his eyes.

"Hopefully you'll still have feet when this is over."

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Jaali took his second shot, setting the glass down carefully. Although the liquor noticeably burned his throat, he didn't feel that much different. Yet.

"Feet? I don't even need those things, they were just slowing me down. Peg legs will make me much more aerodynamic."

Dh'eko raised his eyebrows and chuckled as he wiped down a few glasses. Jaali picked up his third shot.

"Better watch those arms too, then."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey chuckled.

"Peg legs might look good on you."

She downed her third shot and set the glass down forcefully as before.

"Even if I only had feet and used my toes to pull the trigger, my gun's going to get the job done. As for these guns," Audrey said while flexing her arm to show the musculature hiding beneath the deceptively soft upper layer of skin. "These babies aren't going anywhere any time soon from weak ass arrows like the one that pegged me tonight. If they don't aim for the head, they'll get nowhere."

She picked up her fourth shot, holding it up and gently rocking it back and forth while licking her upper lip.

"Startin' to feel the burn yet, Mixao?"

((Mixao, Shaharan slang. Pronounced: Mee - Shao. Meaning: "buddy," "bud."))

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Jaali scoffed at Audrey's boasts, cracked his knuckles, then flexed his own arm. The gladiator's large musculature rippled impressively. Huffing and puffing before holding his breath in a jokingly exaggerated fashion, Jaali used his free hand to poke his bicep.

"Forget arrows, I could probably crack one of your bullets using these bad boys."

Having taken it a little too far, Jaali winced as he felt something in his arm twinge. Exhaling and relaxing the arm, he rubbed his shoulder before re-orienting himself.

"Anyway, Burn? This stuff just feels like mildly spicy water."

To prove his point, the gladiator took a shot in each hand, then downed them one after another. Sighing, he set the glasses down with a clink. His body was starting to relax, and the pain in his leg and side was gradually starting to numb. He could feel his tongue loosening as well. The warmth he'd felt after those first 3 drinks had fully encapsulated his body, and the sharp pains in his leg and side were little more than dull twinges.

"Ready to give up yet? I want to see how long it takes before those nomads get tired of your lip."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey arched an eyebrow when Jaali mentioned cracking a bullet with his biceps, and laughed when he winced.

"Crack a bullet, eh?"

He downed two shots at once, and Audrey arched the other eyebrow.

"Well now. If we're playing that way." She said calmly.

Audrey set her first shot down and rotated her head around in a circle. When it came back to neutral rest she pulled four shots in front of herself on the counter top. Her empty mug from before was still next to her, and she quickly picked up all four into her hands, dumped the contents into her mug, whipped it to her lips and downed the contents.

"AHHhhh!" She sighed happily with a tiny squeak in her voice.

She slammed her mug down with her left hand, turning towards Jaali with the most subtle and momentary falter in her posture before she used her right hand to grip the counter top and steady herself.

"How 'bout that big fella?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Jaali watched intently as Audrey downed 4 shots at once, using her mug instead of the glasses. Not to be outdone, the gladiator grabbed another mug, poured 5 shots in, and gulped it down. The singular shots by themselves were already quite potent, but 5 at once was something else. Jaali coughed into his fist and sniffed, wiping his nose as a single tear rolled out of his left eye and tricked lazily down his cheek. Although his first instinct was to reel away from the counter and curl up into a ball, he tensed his body and forced himself to remain still.

"See? Nothin."

Dh'eko looked at Audrey, then Jaali, then shifted back to Audrey again. Although the two were already locked in a duel of liver strength, it seemed like their egos were becoming quite involved as well. If they weren't careful, he'd be wiping their vomit off the walls before long.

The caravan guards in the center of the room had ceased drinking on their own, watching the contest from their table and apparently taking bets on who would win. Although two seemed to have favored Jaali, the third had put his money on Audrey. Turning his head, Jaali looked over and noticed. Smiling, he wiped the tear off his cheek. Although he still looked relatively composed on the outside, his speech had become a bit slurred and his grin was a little wider than normal.

"I don't think either of ush can handle another one a' those."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey's smile turned into a sly smirk as she looked to Dhe'ko and nodded to him. The man sighed with a nod, followed swiftly by a shake of his head as he poured five shots and set them all in front of Audrey. Lining them up in front of herself, she gripped the handle of her mug.

"Speak for yourself, mixao." She chirped.

She poured the first shot into her mug.

"According to mum, there's a few things I have to thank my old man for."

She poured the second shot.

"My skin."

She poured the third.

"My green eye."

She poured the fourth.

"My sense for battle."

And finally she poured the fifth, holding the mug up in a toast to Jaali.

"And an otherworldly tolerance for alcohol."

She chugged the mug's contents, slamming the mug down and nearly falling backwards before catching herself on the counter top again. Hoisting herself into a standing position, albeit somewhat unsteadily, she sneered at Jaali.

"So, mixao... Wanna push your lu-hic... Or do ya wanna quit while you're ahead?" She chuckled with a subtle rosy tint to her cheeks.

Dhe'ko took a deep breath and shook his head again before glancing to Jaali while his eyes almost pleaded for him to just call an end to it before something bad happened.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Noticing Dh'eko's warning glance, Jaali winked hard in an attempt to reassure the innkeeper's apparent concern. The action had the opposite effect, as Dh'eko bit his lip and poured out a few more shots. Leaning over, Jaali took a closer look at Audrey's face while carelessly pouring 5 shots of drink into his mug.

"Your dad musht've had really pretty skin. And a gorgeous eye. I mean, eyes. I really like green."

Chuckling foolishly at his own slip-up, the gladiator lifted the mug up carefully, making sure not to spill any drink as he maintained his balance by gripping the counter with his other hand.

"This one'sh for all those times my old man beat the sand outta me for not paying attention to his lectures, or when he would call me a worthlessh meat-fisted thug, or, or..."

The thought that he'd gone too far crossed Jaali's alcohol muddled mind, as he looked down and saw Dh'eko regarding him with a confused squint.

"A whole buncha shtuff, I can't remember right now. Anyway, here goesh."

Throwing his head back, the gladiator brought the mug to his lips, and the liquor burned its way down his throat. Almost choking halfway through, he finished the mug and smacked it down on the counter with none of the care with which he'd treated the shot glasses. It felt like he'd been bashed in the head by a mace. Burping into his fist, Jaali turned and fixed his gradually unfocusing eyes on Audrey's increasingly blurry figure.

"Your...ugh. Your turn, mixao."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey's smirk never faded. But her head leaned back a touch when Jaali leaned in and started talking about how her dad must've had pretty skin and eyes, and that he liked green.

"Juss try not ta fall fer me, mixao."

Jaali downed five more shots from his mug, and Audrey nodded her head to Dhe'ko who begrudgingly poured her five more.

Audrey lined them all up, poured them into her mug, and raised it in a toast fashion.

"Hersh to yer talkin ta dem bamdips tomorra."

Audrey tilted her head back and chugged her mug. After slamming it down on the counter, Audrey's head began swimming. Her vision blurred. And her sense of balance had completely left her.

"Dhe'ko... Whysh thuh roommm spiinnnnn..."

Audrey fell backward to the floor, out like a light.

"Thank the Gods." Dhe'kto muttered.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Jaali watched Audrey's motionless form for a few moments, uncomprehending of what he was seeing. When it finally dawned on him that he was in the home stretch, he slapped his temple with the palm of his hand a few times to clear his mind. Taking the pro-offered mug of 6 shots from Dh'eko, Jaali downed it. Wiping a dribble of spit from his chin with the back of his hand, he summoned his dwindling brainpower to realize he'd won the contest.

The gladiator raised his fists in victory.

"Whooooo! I win!"

Jaali promptly fell forward and crashed to the floor, banging his head against the counter on the way down.

Dh'eko leaned over the counter to glance at the two unconscious bodies slumped against the ground. Walking around the counter, he crouched near the two and checked to see if they were still breathing. Satisfied that he wasn't looking at 2 corpses, he reached over and grabbed Jaali's purse. Whistling cheerfully, he took out another gold coin as payment for the entire bottle of liquor they'd consumed. Looking over, the innkeeper saw that the caravan guards were busy swapping money from their bets. Whistling at them, he got their attention.

"You lads lookin' to make a few extra coins before I close up?"

The leader of the trio, a scarred guard captain with graying hair and a grating voice, spoke up.

"What needs to be done? Want those two buried?"

Dh'eko snorted.

"No way, that woman's my best customer. I just need help moving them upstairs into an empty room."

The innkeeper grabbed a few more silver coins out of Jaali's purse and tossed them towards the captain. The man deftly grabbed the coins out of the air and tossed one for each of his friends, pocketing the third. With the cheerful dispositions of men with full stomachs and sufficient pay, the three caravan guards hauled the two drunks upstairs. Finding a room with two beds, they unceremoniously dumped one body in each berth before closing the door behind them. Notifying Dh'eko which room the two were in, the three guards left the inn. Before long, Dh'eko finished cleaning up, woke the cook, and the two went to their respective rooms, effectively closing up for the night.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey groaned as her eyes fluttered halfway open, squinting against the light of the sun peeking through the curtains of the window.

"Did I win?" She mumbled while holding her head.

Another groan escaped as she struggled to sit upright. On her first attempt she fell back to the bed from dizziness and shut her eyes tight as the sun rays landed right in her eyes.

"Dhe'ko?" She grumbled.

Try number 2 to sit up. A grunt. A push of her arm. A little unsteadiness from her still swimming head, aaaaaaand... Success. Audrey was sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes while just beginning to take notice of her bed head as random strands of hair all poked in front of her face in different directions.

"The fuck am I?" She mumbled.

Taking a quick look down she saw the bed and squeezed the mattress.

"Am I in a room?... Dammit."

Audrey slowly stood up and very carefully shook her head and gave her cheeks a quick double slap to try and shock herself into a more awoken state as she continued to take in her surroundings.

Short Round