forum The Fat King Tavern and Inn // CLOSED

Started November 30, 2019 by @GoblinKing

tune

“I won’t hesitate to claw your eyes out, dragon boy.” Shadul hissed, gritting her teeth and bracing herself for the pain.

Myrin felt like retching at the sight of the wound, but managed to keep the bile inside of her mouth. “I’m gonna go scout over there,” she said weakly, gesturing broadly. “See if there are any orcs left.”

"Do that, yeah." Shadul looked up at Myrin, clenching her pants leg.

"Do you want someone to go with you?" Caspian asked Myrin before she walked off. "You know, just in case there actually are some orcs still out there."

“That sounds great.” Myrin gagged. “Do you think we could move quickly, though? The stench is getting to me.” She shuddered, pulling the hen of her cloak up over her nose.

"Get out of here, you two. This is a bad spot to be."

"Oh, of course!" Caspian replied, glancing back at Shadul before she walked away. She really hoped this dragon-man knew what he was doing.

"I swear, if you fuck up my leg any more than it already is, I'll wring your neck so hard it'll pop off. Don't. Fuck. It. Up." Shadul snarled, glaring daggers at Yama.

“Gladly.” Her voice muffled by thick fabric, Myrin speed-walked away. Gods, she hated injuries. Seeing anyone get hurt was just… not good. At all.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem to really not like blood or injuries." Caspian asked bluntly as they moved away from the others. "Which I guess is understandable. After all, blood is supposed to be inside your body, not outside."

“You get it,” Myrin chuckled, lowering her cloak. “And yeah, it’s just not for me, y’know? I was considering becoming a traveling medic before I realized just how much blood I would have to see on a daily basis. Yuck.”

Caspian looked at Myrin curiously. "A traveling medic? I didn't know that was a job." She considered it for a second. "That could be fun! You'd get to travel around and meet new people and go to new places, but you also get to help people along the way. It seems like a win-win."

“Yeah, it was a pretty good option for me except for the whole gore thing.” Myrin took a thoughtful pause. “I don’t tend to stay in one place for long.” She turned her head to look at Caspian and smiled. “But enough about me. What about you? Any dream careers?”

"Not really." She admitted, shrugging casually. "I mean yesterday was really the first day I thought about getting a job, but I don't really know what options I have. I guess I could be a barmaid, but I don't like alcohol," Caspian scrunched up her nose thinking about the taste of beer. "Traveling medic would be interesting. Or I could open up a shop and sell something. Don't know what I'd sell though…"

"Goddamn it! Where are you all going?!" Yama cried after turning around to see that Caspian and Myrin were already cresting the hill. "Fff-uck it! Alright."

Raising a hand, Yama caused the soil around Shadul's hands and uninjured leg to swirl and clamp her firmly to the ground.

Before she had any time to object, the Half-Dragon already had the tips of his talons on the spearhead. "Alright, on three. Ready? One–" SHLNK!

Before the guttural scream of agony could leave Shadul's lips, Yama tossed the broken spearhead tip onto the ground and plugged her leg with the alcohol-soaked bandage, causing another wave of stinging pain to fly up her leg and into the small of her back.

Shadul snarled and thrashed like an animal in pain. “You fucking bastard! I could’ve done it myself with a quarter of the pain!” She roared.

Divine had vanished for a bit, reappearing at the sound of screams. "Wow, only been working together for an hour or so and you've already started to kill each other." They hummed, looking at their nails.

Shadul snarled and thrashed like an animal in pain. “You fucking bastard! I could’ve done it myself with a quarter of the pain!” She roared.

"Maybe so, but now we can at least get you to a doctor who knows how to stitch you back together, unless you also want to take care of that yourself?" Yama asked. He wrapped gauze around Shadul's leg, secure but not tight. Levitating a bottle out of his toolbox, he uncorked it and poured a bit of cream onto his hand.

"The alcohol disinfected it, and this stuff should not only numb the pain, but also provide a barrier against infection. I have no idea what the hell's in this bottle, but I do know that my surgeon friend saved my life with this shit," Yama said, carefully rubbing it on top of the gauze and letting it soak in. Shadul immediately felt a soothing relief, so whatever he used was certainly potent.

“I’ll fucking do it myself.” Shadul hissed. “I didn’t want your help, I don’t want your help. Not to be a bitch- but definitely to be a bitch- don’t fucking heal me again. I never wanted you to. Thanks, Yama, you’ve fucked me up completely and shat all over my traditions.” Shadul hissed, standing up. “Get bit.”

(Fuck)

Fuck, Yama thought. A look of harsh realization crossed his face, but he had a feeling that saying "sorry" wasn't gonna cut it.

Shit, shit, shit, God-fucking-dammit! the Half-Dragon screamed in his mind. He was unaware of whatever traditions Shadul had, but he really should have listened when she said he could handle it. In trying to help her, he completely steamrolled over whatever plan she made for herself. Unfortunately, this was a terrible habit of his.

Then again, I wasn't kidding when I said I was more bull-headed than her, Yama thought, but that only made him feel sick to his stomach. He quickly packed his tools and sent his toolbox back to the forge. As it disappeared into the ground, Yama stood up and turned back to Shadul.

"I'm…" he croaked. "… so sorry." He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but the glare in the Half-Orc's eyes made him think better of it. Without a word, he unfurled his wings and took off into the sky and back into town.

"Not really." She admitted, shrugging casually. "I mean yesterday was really the first day I thought about getting a job, but I don't really know what options I have. I guess I could be a barmaid, but I don't like alcohol," Caspian scrunched up her nose thinking about the taste of beer. "Traveling medic would be interesting. Or I could open up a shop and sell something. Don't know what I'd sell though…"

“That sounds lovely,” Myrin replied. “Well, how about family? Any vengeful exes or jealous siblings I should be aware of before I start traveling with you?” She twirled the end of her braid around her finger, a soft smile dancing on her lips.

Caspian's expression immediately dimmed. "Well…yes actually. There might be someone looking for me that we should watch out for, just in case he decided to follow." She wasn't sure if Myrin had been joking with the question, but Caspian figured she would have to give a serious answer. What if he did show up and she hadn't told anyone? It was better to let them know.

(she’s surprisingly quick to forgive, if that helps! especially to people she feels like she’s committed to- like guild members)

Shadul grunted as she walked off, hauling her battle axe in tow. She made her way through town, stepping into the swampy bayou on the outskirts. An alligator lurked through the water, its driftwood-esque facade ready to entrap and devour any animal that would fall for it.

The day after the orc raid, Yama spent most of his time in town and as far away from Shadul as possible. He decided to buck up and continue selling his wares as he intended, but whenever he noticed Shadul out of the corner of his eye or walking down the same street as him, the Half-Dragon would duck away or try and move his current conversation somewhere else if possible. People began to notice his wariness around her, an older woman finally asking him what was wrong when Shadul accidentally brushed up against him during a business transaction on a crowded street.

Yama ended up pouring out his heart on the matter over a cup of tea, the woman listening intently.

"I feel like a complete jackass and I have no idea what to do!" Yama said, slumping deeper into the armchair in the woman's living room.

"Well, maybe she's had time to cool down a bit," the woman said. "You should try to apologize again. Tell her like you told me, minus the coarse language maybe."

"Oh, uh… My apologies," Yama said.

"Simply say that you were unaware of her customs and were merely trying to help. You should have asked, but I'm sure she can understand that it was the heat of the moment and you weren't certain if she was going to be alright," the woman said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well… I'll try it! Thank you very much for hearing me out!" Yama said. He pulled out the shiny blunderbuss he was trying to sell and handed to her over the table. "Here, for ten gold and no more."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly!" the woman cried. "You still need to make a living, don't you?"

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I'm a Half-Dragon. My family is loaded. I do this as a hobby, and I couldn't possibly charge you that much after what you did for me," Yama replied. "What was your name again?"

"Muriel, dear."

"Well then, Miss Muriel, I hope you have a wonderful day! That blunderbuss will never let you down, I swear by my work."

And with that, Yama left Muriel's house and went to the Fat King Tavern in an effort to ameliorate his situation with Shadul.

Shadul sat at the bar, deep in a clearly amusing conversation with a few other half-orcs and dwarves. They were loud and raucous, like every other patron, and drank like absolute monsters. Shadul held up the severed head hanging from his belt, her and her group’s voices turning into triumphant roars at the sight of the trophy. She had gone out that night with her cleaver to harvest the heads, keeping them in a large basket in her home until she was ready to clean them. The container was woven from enchanted wicker, a spell placed on it to ward off any.. rotting smells.

“I’m telling you, they got me good, but I got ‘em better!” Shadul barked, throwing her head back in laughter before taking a gulp of her beer.