Feral Mage 3: Chapter 31

Bryce was still rattled from his fight with Isabelle by the time he left the Rim. He still felt angry about what she had done, but another part of him knew deep down she was right. He probably wouldn’t be alive right now without Ciarra’s intervention.

He kept walking when he arrived in the guilds section of the city, despite the gathering storm clouds in the sky. He needed to cool his nerves more before returning to the mercenary guildhall, so he continued on the path, planning to inspect the harbor and then return to his girls.

The wealthier districts of the city were starting to come to terms with the pending invasion, and he saw more than a few shops with windows boarded up as he walked through this section of Witchbrook. There was also an increased presence of guards in this area since times like these, rioting wouldn’t be uncommon.

Then there was the other side of the impending invasion. The taverns were loud and rowdy, full of those having what they believed could be their last drinks or hoping to escape the current bleak atmosphere of the city.

Bryce passed by one such tavern when the sky finally started pouring. He looked up at the falling rain and sneered, wondering which Divine he should blame for this, then he turned and entered the tavern.

“We’re full,” the bartender barked as Bryce stepped through the door.

He saw the man’s eyes running up and down his tattered clothing. Bryce was sure he looked like a bum who had just walked in off the street. His conversation with Isabelle hadn’t left him in the best shape.

“Just getting out of the rain for a bit. I’ll leave when it passes,” he promised.

The bartender squared his shoulders, and Bryce waited for him to either threaten to call for the guards or try to throw him out himself. Instead, he heard another voice call out.

“There’s plenty of room at our table, friend.”

Turning, he saw a man with a rapier and a woodsman’s axe hooked to his belt sitting with a larger man wearing a cloak. Bryce thought he recognized the man with the rapier and moved over to their table.

“Are you sure I won’t bother you?” he asked.

The man with the cloak looked up at him and smiled. Bryce saw that he wore plate armor under the cloak.

“Not at all,” he said, pulling out a chair. “A hot meal and a round of ale is the least we can do after the aid you gave us on the ship and at the party.”

So they are the knight and the fencer who were guarding nobles.

“I’m Jack, Sir Jack of Wellington, but my friends call me Jack, and I consider you a friend after all you did,” the knight said.

The fencer flagged one of the tavern maids, asking her to bring ale and food, then turn to Bryce.

“I’m Carlos from the Selkie Isles. No titles like Jack, I’m just a humble fencing instructor who eventually got roped into guard duty for the noble family that hired me,” he said.

A tankard of ale appeared before Bryce as the tavern maid passed by. He grabbed it and took a deep swig.

“I’m Bryce. Just a merc here in Witchbrook.”

Carlos smirked.

“Who’s the bodyguard of a Princess and defeated the Frozen Rose?” the fencer added. “Not to mention kill that thing at the—”

Jack cleared his throat and glared at Carlos.

“Remember the Duke’s orders,” Jack said sternly.

Carlos grimaced, then took a swig of his ale. Bryce picked up that the Duke didn’t want either word to spread that he was attacked at his estate or about the abominations Harold Volson was creating.

“Anyways, let’s not sour the mood,” Jack said.

By the time Bryce’s food arrived, Jack was in the middle of telling a story about the time he dealt with a group of incompetent bandits who were trying to rob the noble he was guarding on the road.

Carlos roared with laughter, and Bryce shook his head.

Jack chuckled as he continued the story.

“The worst part of all of it was after I defeated the bandits and had them kneeling, begging for their lives. My liege started clapping and cheering, then had a servant give each man a gold coin. He thought the bandits were traveling performers and the whole fight was a show.”

“Didn’t you kill one of the bandits?” Bryce asked.

Jack nodded.

“Lucky bastard got a gold and a silver for his great acting skills,” he answered with a smirk.

Carlos waved his hands.

“I’m calling bullshit on this whole story, Jack.”

Jack smirked as he lifted his tankard.

“I’m just telling how I remembered it,” he said, trying to hide his shit eating grin by taking a drink of ale.

“Well, if there is any truth,” Bryce laughed. “Hopefully, they took that as a sign to start a new line of work.”

Jack wiped the suds of his ale away from his upper lip.

“I try to keep an eye out for troupes when we travel, just in case I recognize anyone.”

Carlos looked toward Bryce.

“So how’d you become the guard of a princess?” he asked. “And no bullshit story like Jack over here.”

Bryce rubbed his chin, piecing together how much he wanted to tell.

“She hired me from the guild,” he answered.

Carlos leaned toward him.

“I hope she’s not responsible for your sour mood when you came in,” he said quietly.

Bryce shook his head.

“That wasn’t related to her.”

Carlos relaxed.

“Good. I was a little worried. The way you came in, the look on your face. It’s the look of a man with woman troubles. Did you fight with one of your girls?”

Bryce almost went on the defensive, but Jack raised a hand.

“We’re all friends here. Carlos and I damn well have had our troubles of the heart.”

Lifting his ale and taking a deep drink, Bryce answered.

“Yeah, I got into a fight with a girl. Was it that obvious?”

Both men nodded.

“What about?” Jack asked, waving for a tavern maid to bring them more beer.

“Difference of opinion on religion.”

Carlos took a sharp breath.

“Oh boy. A cleric?” he winced. “I broke things off with a cleric once. She cast a Silence spell on me after that, which lasted for two days.”

Jack burst out laughing, then pointed at Carlos.

“I remember that. You carried around a piece of charcoal and paper with you, trying to communicate, but half the folks in the frontier town we were in couldn’t even read.”

Carlos shook his head at the knight, then looked to Bryce.

“Enjoy your drinks, eat some food, laugh with us a bit. Then go back and make amends with your woman.”

“There’s no making amends with this,” Bryce scoffed.

Jack clicked his tongue.

“There’s always a way to make amends, friend. Might be hard, but it’s usually for the best.”

He wondered what the two men would think if they knew he was talking about Red Isabelle. And the difference of opinion of religion was her making him the champion of a heretical Goddess.

You didn’t ask. I didn’t give. Ciarra chose you.

Isabelle’s words rang in his mind before he pushed them away.

Jack and Carlos would probably just think he was crazy and have the city guard lock him up if they knew.

“So, Jack,” Bryce said, trying to shift the subject. “Tell me more about Carlos’s two days of Silence. I can’t quite picture that.”

The knight laughed while the fencer groaned and lifted his ale.

***

A few hours later, Bryce left the tavern. Night had already settled in, and the number of guards on patrol had doubled, causing the streets to be alight with lanterns as they kept watch for looters or worse. They left him be for the most part, except for the occasional glance in his direction.

He cursed himself for letting the time get away from him and was worried his girls might have thought the worst had happened to him. Red Isabelle had that moniker for a reason after all.

They probably think I’m a corpse floating in the harbor right now…

When he arrived at the guild, the tavern was mostly empty except for a few still nursing their drinks. Callie was sitting not far from the door, watching it. Her blue eyes locked on him as soon as he entered, and she stood, approaching him.

“You got into a fight,” she said, softly, her hands touching the spots on his clothing that Isabelle’s blades had slashed.

“How did you think a conversation between me and Isabelle would end up?”

She said nothing as she examined one of the cuts on his arm.

“You also smell of ale,” Callie said.

Bryce nodded.

“Went for a walk to cool my head and ran into some of the noble guards from the ship when I stepped into a tavern to avoid the rain. They bought me a round, and time got away. Are Vex and Janna worried?” he asked, regret in his voice.

“The Fox was. Vex kept assuring us Isabelle wouldn’t hurt you,” Callie said, looking at the cut on his arm. “Well, not badly anyway.”

She took his hand and started pulling him toward the back of the guild.

“Janna and Vex are already asleep. I promised I would wake them if you didn’t return soon,” she said, leading him out of the tavern toward the rooms. “You may have had a drink, but I can tell you still want to talk about it.”

He did.

“I’d be lying if I said Isabelle didn’t make some sense during our fight,” he sighed.

Callie opened the door to her room, and they stepped inside. Her room was pretty bare, with only a bed, a wash basin, and a rack for her armor. When the door was closed, she started stripping out of her tunic and pants as she walked over to her bed.

“I thought we were talking?” Bryce asked as he watched the nude Callie sit down on her bed.

She shrugged.

“We can do both.”