Oddities

Chapter 166

Jarod surveyed the town laid out below them with a critical eye. Tucked in a valley of the Lorel Mountains appeared prosperous enough at first glance. The buildings lining the cobblestone streets were well-maintained, painted in neat colors with tile rooftops gleaming in the sun. Villagers went about their business.

The layout was strange, orderly in a way Jarod wasn’t accustomed to seeing. Pretty even, and it lacked a certain raw newness of a boomtown. He’d never been near a dungeon but he’d happened upon a town built around processing an old dragon’s corpse when it had been found dead out in the hinterlands when he was young.

This place had been around a while and despite the notice asking for adventures, nobody seemed to be particularly scared. He supposed that might change come sundown though. Creatures born of a dungeon were said to fear its light.

"Where's this supposed dungeon then?" Cord rumbled, voicing the question on all their minds. From their vantage, no dark stronghold or other ominous sign marred the charming landscape.

“Fuck if I know. Let's see about the guild first then worry we’ve been lied to,” Jarod said with a shrug. As they headed down it wasn’t long before they started running into folks who were happy enough to direct them toward their destination.

Once they reached the town proper, it got easier. The streets had sign posts which included symbols, a gray pair of cross swords being the one for the guild. They also found themselves the subject of curious questions and a not inconsiderable amount of food giving.

Bringing up the guild seemed to be like a magic word that caused people to smile and offer them whatever they had on hand. No matter if it was a fresh meat pie, a bit of vegetables, some really delightful cheese, everyone seemed to want to give them something.

It probably would have been off putting if Jarod hadn’t tried to be polite and tasted the first meat pie he was offered. He was hungry and he didn’t care if it were burnt or something. It was nice to be offered cast offs rather than them going to the pigs or something.

Food was food and when he bit into the juicy and genuinely meat filled crust he sort of lost track of things and started eating until he was almost sickeningly full. They all had, and anything they couldn’t cram down was quickly squirreled away in their packs for later.

“I think it was worth coming here just for that,” Pip said, doing what little he could to stifle a truly indulgent belch. It was still probably heard halfway to the town gate.

“Agreed,” Quint enthused. They’d found their way to a green and were laying about on the grass, enjoying life for a few minutes.

“Just me or are their a lot of folk with fucked up ears here?” Cord asked, pausing between bites of the turnip he was going at like it was an apple.

“Cord, fuck off, they might be a little fey,” Quint said, low and urgent. It wasn’t common for fey to join blood with mortals but when they did, it showed. The thin pointed ear folk were almost uncomfortably pretty and a few were odd colors so it was entirely possible.

“What he said,” Jarod agreed.

“They’re Elves,” a low, quiet voice offered. Quint gave a start, turning to look up who’d spoke. He didn’t have to crane his neck much to meet eyes with the little fella, only about the size of a taller child. Beyond his size he didn’t look a bit like one, even discounting the tail and larger ears. He had earther skin and bright white hair with the oddest vibrant orange eyes Jarod had ever seen. As if someone had placed jewels in them for color.

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“They're what?” Cord asked, dumbfounded.

“Elves, it's what they call themselves, and most of them aren't fey,” the little fellow explained. “For my part, I’m Reolus Oldbuck Humerus, at your service.”

“Pleasure tah’ meet you. I’m Jarod, this is Cord, Quint, Pip…” Jarod said, offering his hand on reflex at the introduction. Argent should have been with them but if their was one thing the man was good for, it was randomly fucking off without saying a thing.

“Something we can do for you?” Jarod asked, sitting up. The others followed suit.

“The opposite actually, I work for the guild and word got round there were adventures looking for us. If you’ll follow me, I’d be happy to get you settled in and answer any of your questions about the guild,” Reolus said.

“Settled?” Pip asked.

“Into the dormitory, if you’d like. We offer a few weeks' stay as a courtesy while people get themselves settled in. I’ll also explain the work opportunities and the situation with the dungeon,” Reolus clarified.

“Courtesy? You mean free?” Jarod asked, not believing that for a minute.

“For a maximum of two weeks. Lodging comes with meals and use of the baths, which I encourage as you might meet the guild master if she has time. Dawn makes a point of meeting newcomers,” Reolus explained. Jarod just nodded at that, getting to his feet which the others took as a sign to do the same.

“A lady’s in charge?” Cord asked, openly surprised.

“Indeed, the mayor is also a woman. You’ll find them in a great deal of positions of authority here,” Reolus said with a chuckle. Jarod belted Cord one openly in the kidney for being stupid.

“Ain't like they aren't outside of it too,” Jarod said, trying to smooth things over. Reolus nodded at that, apparently unbothered. The halfling man led them on to a rather grand looking building, and right past it to a more modest two story one.

The man at the desk looked up curiously, red eyes startlingly vivid.

“Kabenla? What you do to end up on desk?” Rolus asked the man with a bit of a grin.

“Gave Yagna a bit more of a kick’en than I should have,” Kabenla said with a shrug. Glancing at the rest of them he fetched keys and offered them to the group.

“Bath’s are that way, your rooms are all next to each other on the second floor, privy is at the end of the hall. If you want to use the washing service, it's a copper for an evenly filled basket we provide here at the desk,” Kabenla explained.

“I should probably dump my pack into one,” Quint said with a sigh. He was wearing his cleanest set, and it wasn’t clean by any stretch of the imagination. Kabenla lifted up a basket and gestured. Quint hesitated, but it was fairly large and it was a fair price, he took it finally.

“Bring it back when you're done getting settled. And feel free to put the pack in if it fits, they’ll do it too,” Kabenla explained.

“I’ll take one too,” Jarod said. Pip followed suit, only Cord not taking the offer just then. Jarod made a note to ask him how low he was on coin later when they were alone. He didn’t want to assume or embarrass the other man. Some additional fee’s and services were discussed, but it was all pretty standard and nothing was unusually expensive.

“I do suggest using the baths before you bed down, feels nice,” Kabenla offered in parting.

“Gentleman, there's a bar in the guild hall that serves food. Join me there whenever you feel like it and we'll talk more,” Rolus said, staying behind with Kabenla.

It was strange to be offered separate rooms but going by the doors, they weren’t all that big. Stepping into his own Jarod was still impressed, the space comfortable and not cramped despite its size. Accustomed to splitting one about twice the size with everyone, it was down right luxurious.

Throwing everything washable, including his pack, into the laundry basket he set aside his last decent change of clothes. As the leader he always made a point of reserving at least one clean set in case he had to talk to someone about work. Using the basin to wash up he felt halfway alive and looked a sight better in the copper mirror hanging behind it than he had coming into the valley.

Probably not decent enough to meet the guild master, but good enough to take dinner and not make a foul impression. He was half way out of his door when he heard a horrid screech noise from the end of the hall. A moment later turned just in time to see Cord burst from behind the door, pants around his ankles, before he slammed down face first.

“The fuck?” Pip asked. Jarod just nodded, that was his question too.