Alex followed the rest of the company into the main bar, his thoughts still on the old man from the stable. He wanted to talk to Bregnest right away, but knew he would have to wait.
“The bargain,” toasted Tantic, lifting a glass.
“The bargain,” Bregnest and the rest of the adventurers repeated, raising their own glasses.
Alex swallowed the liquid from his glass and his throat began to burn. The drink was something he had never tasted before, and for a moment it took his breath away. His throat tightened and he had to struggle for a minute to catch his breath.
“To trouble for the magistrate,” said Tantic, raising his glass a second time.
Alex was unable to repeat the words because he couldn’t seem to find his voice, but he did manage to raise his glass.
“A strong brew,” said Skeld, slapping Alex on the back.
“Yes,” Alex managed to reply with a cough, his eyes watering.
“You should be more careful when you don’t know what’s in the glass,” said Skeld, laughing happily.
Alex nodded. He set his glass down and left the rest of the drink untouched.
“You seem troubled,”
said Arconn, stepping up to Alex’s side. “And by more than the strong drink.”
“I need to speak with Bregnest,” replied Alex, lowering his voice. “There was an old man in the stable. He says he has information.”
“Hold your thoughts,” said Arconn. “I’ll let Bregnest know, and we’ll find a quiet place to talk.”
Bregnest collected their payment from Tantic and turned to face the company. As he turned, Arconn spoke softly into his ear. Bregnest nodded but didn’t look in Alex’s direction. He moved to a round table near a large fireplace and sat down. The rest of the company spread out around the main room, taking seats and ordering drinks for themselves.
Bregnest called them to him one at a time to give them their share of the payment, calling Alex last of all. As Alex approached Bregnest he noticed that Arconn remained seated next to Bregnest.
“Here you are,” said Bregnest, pushing a pile of coins toward Alex. “Sixty-seven gold and six silver. Not bad for so little work.”
“It seems a fair price,” replied Alex, taking a seat and putting the coins into the small pouch he’d bought in Telous.
“What do you have to tell me?” Bregnest questioned, leaning toward Alex and lowering his voice.
“There was an old man in the stable,” Alex reported. “He said to tell you he had information about Varlo, and that it would be profitable for you to listen.”
“It seems our adventure has been guessed by at least one,” Arconn commented softly.
“And profitable information is seldom free,” Bregnest added. “What more did this old man have to say?”
Alex thought for a moment, trying to remember the exact words. “He said he would come tonight, after we had eaten and the local people had left the inn. He said he would come and speak to you, Bregnest.”
“Did he call me by name?” Bregnest asked, concerned.
“No,” Alex replied quickly. “He said he would speak to the leader of our company. I tried to tell him that I didn’t know if you’d talk to him or not, but he didn’t seem to care.”
“Well, then, we can do nothing but wait,” said Arconn.
“We will wait,” Bregnest repeated. “And tonight we will see what this old man has to say.”
“He will want money, of course,” Arconn said flatly, echoing Bregnest’s own words. “Information is almost never free.”
“We will hear what he has to say before we agree to pay for anything,” replied Bregnest, a stern look on his face. “For now, let’s see what Tantic has for a midday meal.”
Tantic had a great deal for the company’s meal, and Alex was pleased that his nose had not lied to him earlier when he had smelled such wonderful things cooking. He was surprised the food looked as good as it smelled, and tasted even better.
“It is only simple Techen cooking,” said Tantic in an apologetic tone. “We don’t often serve a midday meal, though tonight there should be a fair crowd. And if you had arrived on a feast day, well . . . If you really want to experience Techen food, you should visit on a feast day. But it has been some time since we’ve had a proper feast day.”
“The food is most excellent,” said Bregnest. “A blessing on your ovens, we shall all spread their fame.”
Tantic seemed pleased with the praise and bowed to Bregnest and the rest of the company before leaving them to their meal.
As Alex and his friends were finishing their meal, the city magistrate appeared in the doorway. He was a tall, thin man dressed in dark green robes. He had a gold chain hanging around his neck and an annoyed look on his face. His face grew tight with anger when he learned that Bregnest had already sold the horses to Tantic, but he managed to control his feelings and the tone of his voice.
“No law against that,” said the magistrate stiffly. “And if you did indeed kill a number of bandits, we should be grateful to you.”
“You are very kind,” replied Bregnest in his most businesslike tone.
“Yes, well, it is no small thing,” the magistrate continued. “The city guards seem unable to do anything about the bandits, who have ruined our trade with the south. Perhaps the city should hire you and your company to hunt down the rest of these troublemakers.”
“A noble task,” commented Bregnest, as if considering the offer.
“So you would be willing to take the job?” the magistrate asked hopefully.
“Sadly, we have other business to attend to,” answered Bregnest. “However, we will happily remove any bandits we encounter along our way. Though I suspect they will avoid us in the future.”
“Perhaps, when your business is completed, you will consider my offer further,” replied the magistrate, returning to his stiff manner.
“Indeed, yes, we will,” replied Bregnest. “It would be a great honor to work for the city of Techen.”
The magistrate smiled thinly, nodded to Bregnest, and without another word, left Tantic’s inn.
“To work for the city would be an honor, but to work for
him
would be a curse,” commented Thrang in a low voice.
Alex agreed with Thrang’s assessment, remembering Tantic’s comment about how the city guards didn’t take care of their horses. His feelings about horses had changed a great deal since the start of his adventure, and the thought of mistreating a horse made him more than a little angry.
There were several hours before the evening meal would be served, so Alex, Andy, Skeld, and Halfdan left Tantic’s inn and wandered back to the main square, which was now full of people selling various items from small tables.
The people of Techen reacted in different ways to Alex and his companions, and Alex noticed that all of them seemed a little nervous. Some of the people were anxious for Alex and his friends to approach their tables, hoping to sell them something, while others pretended not to see them at all. This second group would watch them closely when they did approach one of their tables and would not speak unless spoken to.
Alex and the others each bought a few small items,
more from boredom than from need. Alex purchased a small folding knife he thought would be useful, as well as a notepad so he could practice writing his elfin letters. He noticed Andy bought a few small pieces of jewelry, and he guessed they were souvenirs or gifts for his friends back home. It didn’t take long to browse the small market and they soon wandered out of the square, heading back to Tantic’s inn.
“A strange city,” commented Halfdan, as they walked past the squashed mud houses. “Not a tree or a bush to be seen.”
“And what would a dwarf know about cities?” asked Skeld, a wicked smile on his face. “I’ve heard you all live underground in vast, dark caves.”
“Dwarf caves are not dark,” retorted Halfdan, pushing Skeld into one of the mud walls lining the street. “Even dwarfs long for the wind in our faces and a bit of green now and then. If we enter the dwarf realm of Vargland, you will see you are wrong about our cities.”
“I shall make a point of visiting your country, whether we enter the dwarf realm or not,” said Skeld, laughing loudly.
They returned to Tantic’s inn and found the others waiting for them. It seemed there was nothing to do in Techen but wait.
L
ater that afternoon, Tantic asked if they would like to see their rooms. Alex and his friends followed the innkeeper to the back of the inn, where they entered a large suite of rooms. The main sitting room had several chairs, a few small tables, and a large fireplace. Two short hallways led from either side of the room into two smaller bedrooms with two beds each and a small table with a lamp.
“I hope this will do,” said Tantic, as he showed them around the suite. “We seldom have one company take an entire apartment, but you seem to fit perfectly.”
“This will do nicely,” replied Bregnest with a slight bow.
“About your evening meal, then,” Tantic began. “Will you want a private room, or would you prefer to eat in the common room? The common room will not be crowded tonight as we have so few visitors these days.”
“A private room would be best,” said Bregnest. “We have several things to discuss, and I would not want to trouble your other guests.”
“A kind gesture,” replied Tantic. “You know we Techens are often shy of strangers, though I doubt they would be put off by your company. At least, not once they know about your victory over the bandits.”
“You are most kind,” answered Bregnest, bowing slightly once more. “Perhaps we will join your guests after our meal.”
“As you wish,” said Tantic, returning the bow.
The company ate their evening meal in a dining room well away from the common room of the inn. Tantic promised to bring them something special, and when the food arrived, everything looked and smelled wonderful. Alex was hungry, but he was too worried about when the old man might arrive and what he might have to say, and couldn’t enjoy the food.
“You worry too much for one so young,” said Skeld, jokingly. “You should learn to let things be and to take things as they come.”
“Ignore him,” commented Tayo, sitting down next to Alex. “He never worries about anything and so he never plans for anything.”
“I plan,” replied Skeld with a laugh. “I plan to have as much fun as I can before I cross the wall.”
“The wall?” Alex questioned.
“The wall between this life and the next,” said Tayo, his face twisting slightly as though he felt a pain. “We should not speak of it.”
“It’s there for all of us poor mortals,” Skeld said, no longer laughing. “Worrying about it won’t make it go away.”
“Neither will laughing at it,” answered Tayo, and he fell silent.
“I’m sorry I asked,” Alex said in a lowered voice to Tayo. He knew Tayo seldom laughed, but he’d never seen him quite this way before. “I did not mean to trouble you.”
“It does not matter,” replied Tayo, though his pained look remained. “Perhaps Skeld is right and I do think too much on this thing.”
Alex didn’t reply, leaving Tayo to his own thoughts.
As they ate, Bregnest told the rest of the company about the old man who had approached Alex in the stable. He asked Alex to tell the story and repeat everything the old man had said. After Alex had finished, they were all silent for several minutes.