Chapter 389: Onions

A scream echoed from the crowd of onlookers. Most of the commoners seemed surprised, shocked even, at the sight of the two dead orcs lying in their own pool of blood. But they were even more scared of the group standing over the corpses. Most were goblins, though there was a pair of humans and a drow. They had seemed harmless enough, teenagers walking about the plaza in the early morning. Now, with bows and daggers in hand, even a few spears, no one thought them harmless.

Jack kept his eyes on the crowd and slowly handed Melfyn a washcloth from his pocket.

Melfyn smiled gratefully and wiped the blood off his hands. Jack was a human, yet he had grown up in the streets an orphan like the rest of them. In Melfyn’s eyes, Jack was as much a Cinder Brood as any of them.

“Um, Mel…?” Mr. Meeves called out hesitantly.

Melfyn glanced at the old baker with a tired smile, “Sorry about the trouble. We’ll personally pay the Jagged Blades a visit and make sure they understand that your shop is under our protection. They won’t bother you again, I promise.”

The baker nodded satisfied. “Thank you, Mel. Your order is ready by the way.” The baker held up a sack filled with fresh loaves.

Melfyn grabbed the cloth sack and muttered a quiet thanks.

The familiar shouts of the guards echoed in the plaza. Melfyn heard the clanging of the guards’ armor before he saw them. His friends and tribemates glanced at him questioningly, wondering if it was time to run. He shook his head and gestured for them to stay.

Running from the guards wouldn’t help the image of protection they were trying to cultivate.

It took a few breaths then suddenly a dozen guards were surrounding them, swords drawn, and shouting for the Cinder Broods to drop their weapons.

Sandra looked at Melfyn with a raised eyebrow, “What now, genius?”

“Give us the word and I’ll stick a dagger in their necks,” Jack said confidently.

Before Meflyn had a chance to answer, the captain of the guard walked out of the crowd and took in the scene with a glance. The drow captain’s eyes lingered on Melfyn for a brief moment and recognition crossed his face.

Rorik Polamtal pointed a finger at him, “You’re one of Stryg’s orphans, aren’t you?”

Melfyn blinked, “You know Master Stryg?”

“You could say we’re old friends,” Rorik said proudly. “Men, put your weapons away,” he barked.

At the mention of the local goblin celebrity, the soldiers quickly sheathed their weapons. They had been under Captain Rorik’s command for long enough that they had all heard the stories of Stryg’s exploits. In a single night, entire gangs would disappear. Men, women, it didn’t matter, all that was left were mangled corpses and burned buildings.

It was wise to not get on the goblin mage’s bad side.

With that thought on their mind, the guards turned to the crowd and began to drive them away.

“Nothing to see here, folks!” the guards shouted. “Move along now!”

Rorik glanced at the Cinder Brood’s leader. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Melfyn but people just call me Mel.”

Rorik coughed politely and gestured to the two dead orcs lying on the cobblestone, “Ahem, Mel, why don’t you tell me what happened here?”

“They’re from a gang in one of the east sub-districts. They were giving my favorite baker a hard time, so we took care of them,” Melfyn explained carefully.

“I see, well, if anyone else tries to give one of our local vendors any trouble you just let us know next time before you leave a— mess,” Rorik grimaced.

“We’ll try, sir,” Melfyn nodded.

“Alright then, have a good day. Oh, and when Stryg gets back, tell him we should go drinking sometime,” Rorik said and walked off with the rest of his guards.

Melfyn glanced at Anika, the young woman he had just met. She had been so happy and eager to explore the city, but now she was quiet and withdrawn.

Melfyn smiled weakly, “It was nice to meet you, Anika. Goodbye.”

She nodded hesitantly and ran off.

She’s afraid of me…

“Who was she?” Jack whispered. “Do we need to take care of her?”

“What? No. She isn’t a threat. She is just someone else we need to keep safe from the gangs,” Mel said.

“Ah, understood,” Jack nodded.

Sandra whistled and stared at the guards marching off, “Wow, I didn’t think we’d get out of this so easily. Looks like Master Stryg has more sway than I thought.”

“Master Stryg is an incredible individual, never underestimate him,” Jack nodded sagely.

“Sandra, what are you even doing here?” Melfyn asked. “I thought you were supposed to be buying some muffins in the northern sub-district.”

“I was or I did.” Sandra shrugged, “The muffins weren’t ready when I got there. So I asked for them to be delivered straight to the temple.”

“Will they arrive in time for breakfast?” Melfyn asked.

“Yes, yes, everything will be fine. Honestly, you should be thanking me. If I hadn’t arrived here on time my arrow wouldn’t have saved you from these bastards,” Sandra said.

“I had them under control,” Jack said annoyedly.

“Sure, that’s what you guys say every time,” Sandra grinned.

Melfyn stared at the orcs lying on the ground. “You think it’s okay to leave the bodies here?”

Sandra’s smile faltered but she nodded nonetheless. “Yeah, the undead sentinels we’ll pick them up come evening. I’m sure the mages will find some use for them.”

“As always,” Jack muttered.

Melfyn patted his friends’ backs, “We still have other ingredients we need to buy. Let’s hurry and get this food back to the temple. I’m starving.”

The rest of the Cinder Broods nodded in agreement.

Sandra put away her bow. “Lead the way.”

~~~

An unlucky man hummed an upbeat tune to himself as he chopped away at a batch of freshly peeled onions. He danced a little jig and checked the sauce on the stove, before tossing another log into the fireplace underneath. He brushed his shaggy brown hair away from his eyes, careful to not touch them with his hands, and went back to chopping.

“Oi, Witt! We brought your stuff!” Sandra called out from the kitchen doorway.

The cook paused his morning routine and glanced up at the pair of goblins standing in the doorway. “Took you guys long enough,” Witt said with a merry tone.

“Sorry, Mel got in a scuffle in the Trade District. Some of the others and I had to save him,” Sandra sighed dramatically.

“How heroic,” Witt smiled.

“It wasn’t like that,” Melfyn frowned.

“Knowing you I’m sure you were in the thick of things. Put the food on the table over there, will you?” Witt said.

“Sure thing,” Melfyn said.

“Sandra, can you go and wake up the little ones? Breakfast will be ready soon,” Witt said.

“Jack and the others are already on it,” Sandra said.

“Perfect. Hey, wait a sec,” Witt furrowed his brow, “Where are the muffins?”

“That’s what I said,” Melfyn stared at Sandra pointedly.

“Look, they're coming, alright. I had the bakery deliver them to the temple,” Sandra crossed her arms.

“After all your talk about their amazing muffins they better be worth the wait, otherwise why do I even pay you guys?” Witt shook his head.

“You don’t pay us,” Sandra said.

“Karen is the one who gives us the money to buy food or whatever else the temple needs,” Melfyn added.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Witt shrugged.

“Someone talking about me?” Karen poked her head into the kitchen. She took a deep breath and sighed contently, “That smells delicious, what is it?”

“Just a new sauce I’ve been working on. I got it from the nice dwarf ladies down the road.” Witt winked, “Soon my cooking repertoire will be the greatest in all the district and you’ll have to finally acknowledge me!”

“Is that so…?” Karen waltzed into the kitchen and went straight to Witt, until their feet were almost touching. He stumbled back a step but Karen took another step forward. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward, looking straight up at him.

Witt blushed and swallowed, “W-What?”

Karen smiled smugly, “Are you crying?”

“Eh? N-No, it’s the onions!”

She stepped back with a grin, “Heh, what kind of cook cries when chopping up a couple of onions?”

“E-Everyone cries!” Witt shouted indignantly.

“Goblins don’t cry,” Melfyn stated as if matter-of-fact.

“That’s just what Stryg says,” Witt frowned.

“Are you saying Master Stryg lied? Are you calling him a liar?” Melfyn crossed his arms.

“No, I’m saying he’s a crazy person.”

“Take that back,” Meflyn glared at him.

Sensing a stupid argument on its way, Sandra turned around and headed out the door, “You boys can bicker on your own. I’m gonna go find something better to do with my time. Call me when the food is ready.”

“Running away when the going gets tough I see,” Witt frowned. He turned to Melfyn and raised his hands in surrender, “Look, I’m not saying Stryg is a bad guy. He saved my life once, although he did also try to kill me…”

“This sauce is too salty,” Karen interrupted as she licked the ladle.

“WHAT!?” Witt said in abject horror. “That can’t be possible!” He ripped the ladle out of her hand and licked it. “Oh. What do you know, you’re right. Shit.”

Sandra suddenly ran back to the kitchen, “Hey, everyone, guess what!?”

“Now what do you want, you little gremlin?” Witt frowned.

Sandra flicked him off then turned to the others with a wide smile, “The delivery girl just arrived!”

“Perfect timing, call the delivery girl here will you?” Witt asked.

As if on cue, a young woman walked into the kitchen with a basket full of fresh muffins, “I’m actually an apprentice baker, I’m only handling the delivery today because I thought I might pay my respects to the gods while I’m here.” Louise shrugged abashedly, “It’s been a while since I’ve visited a temple.”

“No shame in that. You’re always welcome here,” Karen said in a formal tone.

Louise noticed Karen’s robes and quickly bowed her head, “Thank you, priestess.”

The ladle slipped from Witt’s numb hand and crashed on the hard floor with a loud clatter. Louise looked up at the sound and her eyes met the unlucky man’s stunned gaze.

Louise stiffened and her face paled in shock, “Witt…?”

“Oh, do you two know each other?” Karen asked with a smile.

“Is this where you've been hiding, Witt?” Louise mumbled in a broken voice. “I searched for months for you. Months! I came all the way to Hollow Shade hoping I might find some trace of you, somewhere…. Have you been here all this time?”

Witt swallowed hard, “I, uh… I…”

Louise narrowed her eyes. “You really have nothing to say to your fiancé after abandoning her, do you? Not even a FUCKING SORRY!?” she screamed.

Witt lowered his gaze and stared at his feet.

“Do you have any idea how the other villagers treated me!? How they looked at me!? They all thought that there must have been something terribly wrong with me because you left… They shunned me, all of them… because of you!”

“I’m sorry. My leaving had nothing to do with you. You were perfect. It’s just that I couldn’t stand a single more day in that village… I needed to get out… I didn’t mean to hurt you… I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Fuck you, Witt,” Louise said angrily with tears in her eyes. “I came to Hollow Shade because I thought I needed answers from you, but seeing you like this, I realize now I don’t need anything from you. Not a single goddamn thing! Stjerne damn you!” Louise threw the basket at his head.

Witt flinched as the basket struck his forehead, but he kept his eyes on the ground, unable to meet her gaze.

Louise scoffed at him and glanced at the others, “Don’t trust this two-faced asshole. He’ll walk out on you as soon as it’s convenient for him.” She turned around and left without another word.

“...Sooo, I’m going to go check on the kids, make sure they’re ready for breakfast and all that,” Sandra said.

“I’ll join you,” Melfyn said eagerly.

Karen waited until they both ran out of the kitchen before turning to Witt. “So, that was your fiancé?”

Witt nodded weakly. “…Yeah. Or ex-fiancé now, I guess.”

“Is what she said true? Did you abandon her?”

“...Yes,” he mumbled guiltily. He looked up at Karen, fear and uncertainty in his eyes, “But things are different now! I’m different now. I was wrong to have left her alone, I know. I get it if you hate me and can never trust me again but—!”

“What makes you think I ever trusted you in the first place?” Karen raised her eyebrow.

Witt grimaced and the light in his eyes dimmed. He took a shaky breath and nodded bitterly, “I understand… I’ll clean out my room and leave—”

“—I mean I can’t even trust you to buy some vegetables in the Trade District without getting lost five ways. I can’t trust you to clean the statues of the gods either, you end up taking twice as long to clean them than anyone else and there’s still always some dirty spots left.” Karen sighed loudly, “Luckily, I have the others to help me out with those things. As for a cook, well, you’re the only decent one we got.”

“What are you saying…?” he asked, confused.

“We’ve all made mistakes, Witt. I know I have,” she said wryly. “My mistakes almost cost me the life of my mother and little sister. My parents still haven’t forgiven me for that, but Stryg and the head priest Elm gave me a second chance. Maybe this temple can be a second chance for you too. Lunae knows we need them.”

His eyes widened with hope, “Does that mean I can stay?”

“I imagine you’d get yourself killed in less than a week without me. So yes, you witless man, you can stay.”

“Thank you,” he smiled tearily.

“You’re welcome,” she shrugged abashedly. “In any case, I don’t want old, spurned lovers coming to my temple and attacking our orphans with muffins. So I think you and I need to have a long chat about your past. Alright?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he sniffed.

“Hey, are you seriously crying?” Karen laughed.

“No, it’s the onions!”

“Sure they are.”