Fantasy Assassin's Pledge: Convergence (Shaharan)

[Short Round]

Thoroughly immersed in a drunken stupor, Jaali was in the middle of a dream. It was a pleasant one, filled with sunshine and warmth. In his mind, he strolled through the Her'eshia marketplace. He stopped by a vendor and bought some exotic pipe tobacco for his father, an exquisite pair of dancers' shoes for his mother, and a set of vibrant paints for his sister. And when he looked over, he saw a figure walking beside him, half-visible through the vibrant sunlight. Shielding his eyes, he could make out a pair of green and blue eyes, followed by a mischievous smile.

Waking with a start, Jaali rolled out of the undersized bed and crashed to the floor with enough force to rattle the surrounding furniture. Untangling himself from the sheets, Jaali pushed himself into a squatting position, cradling his head. A sudden wave of nausea swept over him, and his mouth felt as dry as a bone. It felt like the floor was pitching and yawing beneath him.

Grabbing the edge of the bed, the gladiator heaved himself into a standing position. Rubbing at the sand in his eyes, he slowly cracked them open. Blinking rapidly in the bright morning light, he examined his hazy surroundings, eventually focusing on Audrey, who was standing next to her own bed.

"Ah. Good morning, you dirty drunk."

Using the back of his hand, Jaali wiped away some dried drool that was plastered on his chin. The memory of the previous night trickled in slowly, and Jaali smiled cheerfully as he stretched to orient himself.

"Guess who won the contest?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey frowned.

"'Dirty' drunk, eh?" She grumbled as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I shouldn't have had so much to drink before the contest." She mumbled.

Shaking her head slowly and giving her cheeks another slap to try and wake herself up a bit more, she blinked several times and glared at Jaali.

"I won, right? No way you downed another set of shots after my last five."

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Jaali scratched his chin thoughtfully as he took a seat on his bed, facing Audrey.

"If my liquor addled memory serves me correctly, I seem to remember one-upping your last mug and finishing it before blacking out."

Through his nausea and general discomfort, the gladiator assumed an air of mock superiority while he leaned over and grabbed a pitcher.

"I guess that makes me the alcoholic supreme around here, but you can ask Dh'eko if ya don't believe me."

Pouring water into two glasses, Jaali got to his feet and limped over, offering Audrey one while bringing the other to his lips.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey scowled.

"Bah. You may be for now. But next time I won't have so much to drink beforehand."

She took the water and gingerly sipped at it.

"Ugh... In hindsight perhaps it wasn't a good idea to do that before going to talk to more bandits."

She put a hand on the upper left hemisphere of her head, gently rubbing her hand back and forth.

"Head's throbbin' something awful right now."

She blinked and looked back to Jaali.

"You sure you wanna go through with that little wager? Or do you wanna postpone it?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Jaali turned and sat back down on his bed, then took a long drink from the water.

"I don't think either of us is in a position to go looking for trouble. Even if they don't attack us right away, we'll be lousy company, moaning and groaning while clutching our heads."

Pouring himself another glass of water, the gladiator squeezed out another smile. Audrey's wayward hair was an amusing sight to behold.

"Consider the bet postponed for now."

Drinking half the glass and setting the cup on a nearby nightstand, Jaali shifted his legs over and reclined in the bed with a sigh.

"I'm starving. Are you hungry?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey drank some more water and stood up to put her hands on her lower back and lean backwards until a nice "Crack!" emerged.

"I'm pissed off that Dhe'ko didn't get new beds for his guests like I told him to months ago." She grumbled.

She arched her back further, pushing her chest towards the ceiling as her fists found the center of her back between her shoulder blades. With a little lean back at the same time as a push from said fists on either side of the spine, another louder "Crack!" erupted from the depths of her body. Audrey let out a strained "Hooooooooo..." as she straightened up and rotated her torso left and right to stretch it out a bit further.

"These fuckin' things couldn't make a stone comfortable."

Audrey suddenly seemed to remember something and started searching the area around her bed frantically. When she leaped up onto the bed and leaned over to the far side and looked down on the floor, her brows furrowed, nose scrunched, and she bared her teeth in a growl as she yanked her gun off the floor and examined it from butt to barrel.

"... Whoever put you on the floor's gonna get my foot up their ass." She growled.

Her eyes slowly slid to Jaali.

"You wouldn't happen to know who threw us in here together, do you?"

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Audrey sure did enjoy cracking her joints. Jaali found that it was a useful intimidation tactic sometimes, but Aaminah always got on his case for doing it, saying that it would wear his bones down. Kneading his eyes with the palms of his hands, Jaali shrugged.

"I don't remember a single thing after drinking that last mug of poison, but I'm willing to bet that Dh'eko didn't drag us up here by himself. He probably asked those caravaneers to move us. Besides us and the cook, they were the only ones left."

The gladiator furrowed his brow in concern, looking over at Audrey, who was in the midst of intently examining her rifle. Had the men taken something from her? Leaning over the edge of his bed, he made sure that his hammer and traveling pack were beside his bed, which they were. Looking back over at Audrey, he noticed the anger in her voice and facial expression.

"What's wrong?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Audrey's eyes burned as she flung the rifle over her shoulder by its strap and stood up, faltering a single step before catching herself, and took a deep breath through her nose with pursed lips.

"The heart of my rifle is missing." She growled.

Audrey stomped towards the door and pulled it open forcefully, glancing over her shoulder.

"No offense, but I don't need you for this and your foot's gonna slow me down. They can't have gotten far. And it won't take long to retrieve what was taken once I catch em."

She began to leave. But just as the door was almost closed it stopped. Audrey then peeked her head back in and gave Jaali a new look. Her lips were still pursed, but with the lower lip pushing up further than before. Her eyes had also softened considerably and the furrow in her brow was gone. Rather, her eyebrows were almost flat with the faintest upward curve as she met his gaze and then quickly looked away.

"Thanks for the drinks, by the way... I doubt Dhe'ko's gonna give me any more until next month after that. But still... It was fun."

She gave him a much softer smile than she'd given before with all the confident smirking, and closed the door softly behind her as she exited the room.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

Opening his mouth to protest Audrey's decision to go after her target alone, Jaali prepared to make a show out of getting to his feet. After heaving, puffing, and failing to get up, he sighed and waved off her thanks for the drinks. After seeing her performance the previous night, he was confident that she would be perfectly fine on her own. Looking up, Jaali saw Audrey's furtive gaze and smile just before the door shut behind her. Interestingly enough, her expression had lacked the sarcastic confidence it usually carried. For a moment, the headache faded as he puzzled over what the change in attitude signified. After a while, the gladiator convinced himself that it had just been the booze.

After a late breakfast downstairs, Jaali hobbled out of the tavern to take a look at the surrounding area. Now that the sun was up, he could get a clearer picture of where he was. The mountains, which he'd gotten pretty close to the night before, were visible in the distance, tall enough to scrape the clouds. Shielding his booze pickled eyes from the sunlight using his hand, the gladiator used his hammer as a walking stick and hobbled off down the street. A couple of giggling children ran by, chasing after a small dog. Through his headache, jaali smiled at the cheerful sight. There was an assortment of buildings arrayed on either side of the main road, the tavern being one of them. Turning left, Jaali, started walking.

The gladiator paused in front of a small, low building. Based on the echoing sound of pounding metal and the smoke blasting from a furnace chimney, it was the residence of a blacksmith. There was a fine selection of weapons, armor, shields, and other pieces of metalwork on display on closely guarded racks. A small figure staggered out of the work area, burdened by a stack of newly forged spears and swords. Jaali guessed that it was the blacksmith's apprentice; the kid wore a heavy forge apron a few sizes too large and was covered in a thick layer of soot. Based on the number of bored-looking mercenaries crowding the place looking over the wares, it looked like the blacksmith would be busy for a while. Jaali looked over at his own hammer, which suddenly seemed quite plain; maybe it was time for some modifications. But, that would have to wait, at least for a little while.

The next building he stopped at was a clean looking two-story building constructed of white stone. A small sign next to the road advertised it as a physician's clinic. Looking down at his feet, the gladiator tried to wiggle the toes on his injured foot. Gritting his teeth as a wave of pain traveled up his leg, he decided it was time for a visit to the doctor. He would just have to hope that this one was half as good as Aaminah. The short path that led to the clinic's front entrance was flanked by a small, orderly garden, which was filled with rows upon rows of medicinal herbs and plants. The smell was quite pleasant and had a calming effect. As he reached the front door, Jaali found his path blocked by a tall man who seemed to be in charge of guarding the entrance. Although the figure wore a set of impressive armor, it had obviously seen better days. The skin underneath it was completely swathed in bandages, and his face was hidden by a cloth covering. A crude copper warning bell hung around his neck. Jaali cocked an eyebrow as he realized he was looking at a leper. Although Shaharanian culture generally discouraged prejudice that would normally be thrown at individuals like lepers, the sufferers of the disease were still sometimes discreetly denied service, work, or treatment. Aaminah was no such case, and often helped lepers at little to no cost. Jaali had seen enough of them at her tent to not be fazed.

"Good morning!"

The guard said nothing. Jaali waited a few more moments, then kept talking.

"The sign said that this place offers medical treatment. Is the doctor in?"

The guard tilted his head forward in the most subtle of nods. Jaali smiled apprehensively, noticing the large sword slung over the man's shoulder.

"Excellent! May I, uh, go in?"

The guard nodded, but pointed at Jaali's hammer and shook his head. Realizing that the man was telling him that no weapons were allowed inside, Jaali nodded and handed the hammer over. Satisfied that the gladiator was disarmed, the guard stepped aside. Pushing against the wooden doors, Jaali stepped inside the dimly lit clinic interior. A small bell attached to the door tinkled, announcing his arrival.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

From further inside behind a closed door opposite Jaali came a scream by a woman... Wait, no. A child? Silence followed for an uncomfortably long time accompanied by a few faint murmurs. And when the door opened a young man around Jaali's age, Cre' Itian by the looks of him, hobbled out clutching his stomach and waving a thanks at a barely visible figure inside.

"Pardon me." He said to Jaali as he cautiously walked around him and exited to the outdoors.

"Well, don't just stand there young man. Come in and let's take a look at that leg of yours." Came a scratchy voice as the resident physician walked further into the light covered in bandages of his own from head to toe not unlike the guard outside.

His mild skin tone which peeked through the bandages here and there and reflected by the light of the sun creeping around Jaali showed signs of small red spots and other discolorations to the base tone.

"Well?" He asked.

Short Round

 

[Short Round]

When the interior door opened, Jaali was surprised to see another leper. Through the gaps in the man's bandages, he could make out the tell-tale scars and lesions that were associated with the disease. A guard at the door was one thing, but a doctor that would be dealing with an open wound was another. He had no idea how the disease was spread. Could he get it from touch? Taking a deep breath, Jaali calmed himself. There were patients besides himself, and the clinic looked like it had been established for some time. If no furious mobs had burned the place down yet, it was probably okay.

Prompted to action, Jaali limped into the inner room.

"You've got a sharp eye, sir. What gave it away, the limp or the hole in the shoe? A bandit got lucky and nailed my foot to the ground with an arrow last night."

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

The doctor followed him to the room and shut the door.]

"Little of both, young man."

He pointed to a bed and motioned for Jaali to sit and raise his wounded leg up onto it.

"Take the boot off, and we'll get started."

The doctor then began to gather a few bottles of preserved leaves, a bowl of water, a grindstone, and a bottle of booze.

"Haven't seen you around this place before. So I doubt you travel between here and Cre' Est often, eh? That, or you just don't get hurt except this one time?"

Short Round