Aebbe's Story
10. Holdstone

Holdstone was a large town, much larger than any I had ever visited before. The first thing I thought about it was: it stank. The closeness of many unwashed human and halfling bodies in a place didn’t lend itself to a sweet smell. Then add to that the smell of animal and human waste running down the center of most streets and, well, there was no getting around the general stench. Thornhill had too much green around it to get this bad. And my family had invested in some clever sewer canals that ran downwind of the town and out into the marsh. Plus, when the rains came, there was a way to flush the canals clean, so I was used to living with much fresher air.

Luckily, the Miner’s Folly was near the edge of town. I got a room on the second floor and people in the place were washed and generally smelled normal. There was a general smell of tobbac that lingered from the popular pipe smoking and the smell of cooked foods and spices that are usual in such places. The notice called on adventurers to gather the very next day to meet an Astro-Magi Annui about undertaking a quest. It would mean getting paid, so I thought I’d better at least check it out.

The day of the meeting, it seemed several people were interested in the job. We sort of found each other and sat together at a table with a round of ales while we waited to see if this Annui person would show and what the job would entail. Pency was there, muttering to himself as usual. Since he was my sort-of friend and as we both liked silence, I sat next to him.

We had joined a man named, Emmon, who seemed to think we’d be charging off on the quest immediately, since he wore his plate armor to the meeting. He kept his long blonde hair back in a low tail. He had a crooked nose and an easy smile. He only wore a chest and back piece of armor. Possibly he expected some trouble at the bar. He was a good head taller than most people and his bulky frame looked easily capable of wearing a full set of plate, if indeed, he owned one. He had a deep booming voice and he enjoyed talking. He explained for some time about how to properly drink ale and what it went well with which was, in his estimation, everything.

We were joined by a smaller man, with dark skin and shiny, short black hair, who sat next to Emmon. He wore a simple tunic but very fine tall boots. He smiled at everyone and introduced himself as Boyln, but remained otherwise quiet listening and watching the tavern with his dark eyes. He had no weapons that I noticed, but his upper arms were massive, maybe bigger than Emmon’s. You didn’t want these two guys to thump you. I felt sure it would not go well for you.

The last to join us was a tall woman named Meig. She had reddish brown hair to her shoulders, cleaned and combed but not fancy. Her hair color didn’t seem to match her skin tone in some way. She had sharp, angular features. She moved very quietly and was going to sit next to Pency and me, but she stopped and narrowed her eyes at Pency who was muttering to himself again. I explained about the spirits and she simply sat at the far end of the table as him. Not that I blamed her. She didn’t smile or say much. She was dressed in dark colored shirt and simple breeches of good quality. An intricate silver pin held a light cloak over her shoulders. She sat facing the door, her back to the wall and in that she reminded me of Gavendor since he always did that. She only seemed to carry a small dagger at her hip. They all looked like adventurers or travelers wearing (generally) sensible clothing for ease of movement. I hoped they were decent riders.

When the mage, Annui, walked in, we all knew it. She had light yellow almost silver hair that fell in waves down her back. Her blue eyes were striking in her pale face and she wore a blue band around her head that kept her hair back the same color of her eyes. Her gown was a slightly lighter color blue and shimmered slightly as she walked. I swear all the men and maybe most of the women had sudden thoughts of having a kissing date with her. Even I wondered if her lips would taste as sweet as the red strawberries they looked like. Her smile wavered and then it was like all of us with kissing on our minds got a sharp slap to the face. Even me. Well, that was one downright useful spell and I smiled in awe. Not that I felt I’d ever need it on such a scale as she just had, but, wow.

Now I could get past her red lips, I could sense an aura of power around her. The elements seemed to crackle near her. Aelfie had run up to her at first, but didn’t jump up on her like she would usually do to a stranger. Annui looked at me and her smile broadened and I swear the image of cold water came to my head. I wondered if that was related to the incantation she’d cast. I’d have to remember that one. Her gaze swept over us at our little table. She put a kerchief down on the bench in front of us before she sat down.

“Hello, adventurers!” she said flashing a bright smile around the table. “I’m so glad you have come to consider my quest. My name is Annui Elacca. Only a few hours from Holdstone is a place called the Bleak Manor, sadly now in ruins for many years. Hidden there, my sources tell me, are written materials and possibly some fragments of a fallen star. That is what I want you to retrieve for me. Any other treasure or money you may find does not interest me and you can divide among yourselves as you like. I only care about books and the star fragment. I will pay you two nobles each if you are successful and one guinnea apiece for expenses. I will also pay your rooms here at the Miner’s Folly for a week,” she said. I still wasn’t sure about how the money worked, but it seemed to be a decent amount given the positive reactions from everyone else at the table.

The group peppered her with questions since it seemed most of us were new to this part of the country. She explained a little about the falling star and that her research had uncovered a hint to finding what she wanted. Apparently, a star had fallen in the local area about 100 years ago and the pieces of the star had special magical powers that mages could access. A very powerful mage had built the manor, but it was destroyed about 50 years ago in mysterious circumstances, most likely due to violent magical means. That didn’t give me a good feeling, but at least it was 50 years back and plenty of people had already rummaged through the place.

“There is a hidden chamber in a conference or meeting room and the access to it is through the star. I will be at the Gilded Swan for a few weeks. You can find me there when you are successful,” she said, as if she expected us to be done in an hour. The hint didn’t sound very helpful to me.

After she left, we decided to get some more information on exactly where these ruins were. There were plenty of people in the tavern willing to chat about it although some of it was clearly wild speculation and tall tales. We gathered that the Ruins were only a few hours out of town walking distance and we could easily get there and back in a day. From what we picked up at the tavern these old ruins had been fairly well picked over already by many travelers and adventurers. The likelihood of finding anything seemed low, but I figured a job is a job and at least the stay at the tavern would be paid up for a week.

I was particularly interested to speak with a woman in soldiers’ leather armor armed with a long sword. She intrigued me since I had been told specifically women couldn’t learn sword play. Meig and I spoke to her. Her name was Velana and she was in tune with some of the political workings of the town which made my eyes roll into the back of my head, but she also gave us confirmation of how to reach the ruins. She didn’t seem like one to exaggerate or repeat tall tales. Even she said that some adventurers that had lately gone to Bleak Manor had never returned. That was concerning, of course. But if it were an easy thing, I was sure Annui could just march into the place herself to find what she wanted as long as she wouldn’t get her nice slippers or gown dirty.

Velana also mentioned increased attacks by goblins on the roads around Holdstone which caught my attention. I found it odd that it seemed to be happening all over Ashlar. I wanted to ask her more, of course, but it didn’t seem appropriate. I hoped I’d get a chance to meet with her again. When I asked, she smiled and said she could usually be found in the tavern most days. I looked forward to hearing more about her story, but right now I had my first job to do. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Meig intercepted Emmon who was on his way to chat with a very good-looking woman at the bar. I suspect that Meig had noticed, like I had, her method of cutting off advances many men were trying with her. She hadn’t punched or thumped anyone yet, but clearly, she knew how to. I thought it was sweet of Meig to worry about him, but as I was pretty sure he was wearing a codpiece, he was likely not in too much danger.

I overheard a lot of that conversation mostly because Talviki, that was her name, was very loud. She had her arm around Meig in a moment and it looked to me like she wanted to have a kissing date with her. Meig was clearly not in that sort of mood, though, and, luckily, Talviki caught on to that and let her go. I wasn’t sure where you should punch a woman to remind her no meant no, but I reckoned Meig could handle herself.

I didn’t really understand a lot of what she said. She seemed to be hinting at some sort of bedroom games, but I had never bothered learning any. I think Meig understood better what she was saying, and turned her down flat. Talviki took it pretty well. Despite the strange talk, I liked her, she had a friendly way about her as long as she didn’t get too handsy. I chuckled thinking about how Gavendor had worried over the men with me on our overnight hunts and what he would think of Talviki.

To prepare for tomorrow’s trek, some of us went into town to get some supplies. I tagged along with Meig and we were quickly trading funny travel stories. I could use a lantern since I was more used to living outside and not going down into dark ruins. Emmon and Boyln found some cleverly enchanted lamps they could wear on their heads to be able to see and fight if necessary. Unfortunately, they were too far out of my budget, but I made a note on where to buy them in the future.

We stocked up on some dry rations and made sure we had rope with us. We really didn’t know how deep the ruins may go or how dilapidated they might be. I also got a waterproof long cape with a hood remembering how miserable I had been in the rain while traveling. The sky looked a bit overcast and some of the weather wizards were predicting rain on the morrow. I know you can never trust a weather wizard, but better safe than sorry.

I found a really good fletcher and couldn’t help but buy some new bolts for my crossbow. They were the best made I’d ever seen. After my weeks in the wild, I had lost a few and the ones I still had were looking rather worn down. That was my main expense and I used up of the money Gavendor had given me and the guinnea Annui had given out for expenses.

When we gathered back together over dinner, we decided to head out in the morning having now a clear understanding of where we were going and how long it should take us. I spent some time checking in on Lidly who I decided I wouldn’t take out tomorrow as she had already had a long ride into town. Besides, it didn’t look like the others had horses to ride. I made sure Aelfie had plenty to eat. She didn’t like the busy tavern much, but sat on my feet most of the time unless she was begging for scraps. She pestered Pency and Meig for food which I tried to dissuade although I was glad she took to Meig since I felt we could be good friends.

People gave Pency plenty of room like they do with people who smell bad and have hair mites. To be fair, the muttering was a bit off-putting and he would occasionally wave his hands like he was shooing a fly. Anyway, I hoped Baldric had stopped telling him my thoughts, not that they were bad, just that one generally expects ones thoughts to be private. And one often thinks things they would never say, so I didn’t need to get into any trouble over that sort of thing like about the hair mites.

<The Miner's Folly>

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