The Falcon's Nest opened up into a spacious, well-lit tavern bursting with energy.
Kage slipped to the side of the door for Shole to enter, taking a look around the room.
This place was apparently a favourite of the mercenary-types, because those represented most of the bodies in the room. Plenty of cloaks, armour, swords, and other weapons.
This was enough to make her tense up again, holding her arm in front of her defensively, other hand tapping on her side.
However, she didn't see the dark-haired boy from earlier.
Shole entered, taking a look around the room with more luck then she'd had because of his height.
His eyes met Kage's, and he smiled, pointing to the right of the room. Kage nodded, and followed him towards the area he'd pointed out.
Sure enough, there he sat, at a table near the back of the room. He looked just as displeased as earlier, though intrigued, probably that Shole had brought her along after all.
Shole motioned for him to move over, and he swapped over to the inside seat. Shole took the previous seat, leaving Kage with one of the two places opposite, of which she opted for the closest. She immediately regretted it, wishing she'd picked the more protected one next to the wall, but she couldn't well change it now, with the two of them watching.
The dark-haired boy, arms crossed and leaning back on his chair, was glaring at her. Something about him got on her nerves, so she stared back, though she did make an effort not to glare like he did.
Shole seemed to take no notice of the tension, or was doing a really good job of trying to break it. “Artlem, this is Kage. Kage, Artlem, my friend and, well, the leader of this ‘quest’.”
Artlem extended his hand, and Kage took it. Calloused hands, just like Shole.
“And? What good’s a skinny kid like this gonna do for us?” Artlem’s voice carried the same note of irritation his face gave off.
“She did perfectly on the memory test. Besides, I have a hunch about this one.” Kage didn’t miss him subtly touching his forehead through his bangs.
“Huh.” Artlem looked back to Kage, unimpressed. “You have a good memory for Calligriphics?”
Shole wasn’t going to answer for her for this one. “Apparently so. I don’t know much about Calligriphics, but I do know I have a good memory.”
“Sorry Kage,” He said, not sounding sorry at all, “But I don’t know if memory is going to cut it. Especially if you don’t even know any of the characters.”
“Art…” Shole cut in, met with a glare from Artlem. “Come on. Have my hunches ever been wrong?”
“…No.”
“Besides, “He smiled at Kage. “I bet she can still remember the characters I taught her earlier, so that’s a couple! Even if I didn’t explain what they meant.”
“We. Need. A fighter.”
“Good thing I can fight.” Kage said.
They both went quiet for a minute, until Shole laughed. “That makes sense! You wouldn’t be here alone if you couldn’t take care of yourself. I mean, Artlem can fight despite his stature. Oof!”
The last comment was met with a mean elbow in the ribs from Artlem. “I’ll take you out right now!”
“You wish you could!” Shole grinned, pushing his friend back.
Artlem smirked, taking a second to finger-comb his hair back into place. He turned back to Kage. “Well, you say you can fight, are you willing to prove it?”
“Depends. How am I going to prove it?” She didn’t trust this boy, and the last thing she was going to do was agree to something with him before hearing what it was.
“Easy! I’ll fight you, see if you’ve got any potential.”
Not in here, I hope. “Sure.”
Artlem smiled, but not a pleasant smile, a condescending smirk that said “you don’t have a chance.” She might have just refused and left if Artlem’s demeanor didn’t annoy her so much.
“Well, what’re we waiting for?” Artlem broke the awkward silence. “Let’s get this over with!” He pushed back his chair, followed by Shole, and then Kage. She’d been hoping for some food, but she could still wait for a while longer.
“Hey, buddy!” Artlem approached the man behind the bar, and Kage recognized his sudden change in personality into the polite, unassuming boy who had made an apology at the gate.
“What is it?” The innkeeper responded.
“Just wondering if there was somewhere around here a couple people could settle a disagreement, if you know what I mean. Don’t worry, nothing bloody.”
“Besides the street? Well, there’s an empty square down a couple streets. That kind of things tends to happen down there.”355Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH68nOJMahH
“Great! Point me in the right direction?”
Though grateful for the break from the noise and crowd from the inn, she kept her guard up as she followed behind Artlem and Shole as they made their way through a couple of dark streets.
“This seems like a really good way to get mugged. Following some guy’s directions down dark alleys?” Shole said.
“Relax, we can take anyone who’d try anything. Maybe Kage can take them on by herself.” He smirked back at her.
Watch it. She thought.
This time it was Shole’s turn to do the elbowing, which his connected at his shoulder. Artlem laughed.
The empty square was exactly what the name suggested. Only a couple streets down and hidden away behind a few buildings sat an empty space with abandoned construction materials like old broken stones and scaffolds laying on the ground.
“Perfect!” Artlem exclaimed. “Shole, you wanna give Kage your attachment?”
Shole nodded, pulling out a small piece of cloth from his bag and gesturing her over.
He held out the piece of cloth to her. “This is something we use for training, the two of you will each attach one of these to your weapon. The calligriphic on this will dull the weapons so no one accidentally kills each other.” He smiled. “If not for these, Artlem and I would have killed each other a long time ago!”
Kage took it and drew her dagger, tying it tightly around the top of the handle as Artlem did. He tested the blade on his finger, so Kage did the same. Though the blade touched her skin, the movement felt blunt and didn’t cut.
Artlem snickered, and even Shole looked a little unsure. “Do you need to borrow a weapon? I guess you might not have much with you from the fire.”355Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhEuW5cDg4
There was that guilt from the lie again. “No, this is what I use.” She tossed her dagger and caught it as demonstration.
“Alright then!” Shole stepped back to the edge of the square, leaving Artlem and Kage in the middle “Honorable combat rules, you’re not trying to kill the other person here, but get them to surrender and the fight’s won! Even if the blades are dull, you’re expected to give if the other person would defeat you if the blade was sharp. They’ve got the sword to your throat, for example. No cheap shots, and I’ll be the judge!” He grinned. “Nice to be on the side of this for once. Everyone ready?”
Artlem set his feet apart and gripped his short sword with both hands. Even overconfident, the discipline of using the sword was natural to him, evidently the result of years of practice. “Ready!”
Kage too, spread her feet, one in front of the other in a crouched stance with her dagger held backwards in her right hand. She shifted her stance, resting on the balls of her feet and making sure her movement came easily.
She sucked in a deep breath, and let it out. It had been a while for her, and the knowledge that this was just a test didn’t much lessen her anxiety.
Breathe in, and out.
"Ready."
Shole's hand dropped. "Go!"
Kage shot across the square, Artlem's eyes widening at her speed.
Uninhibited by armor, her greatest weapon was speed and agility, but to take a hit from his sword would mean defeat
Artlem's sword shifted to defend against her attack, their blades meeting in a shriek of steel on steel.
He deflected her attack as her blade slipped to the right, and he followed her movements with precision as she dove back in for another swing.
This time she continued her advance, swiping her blade again and again. He couldn't kept up with her speed even though the force of his parries delayed her attacks.
Artlem's eyes widened as her blade connected on his cheek, but the dive forward left her open.
Kage fell back as Arlem's left arm struck her stomach, but she regained her balance in a moment, coming to a rest on one knee.
Artlem rubbed his cheek. There was no cut thanks to the Calligriphic, but a bruise was starting to form.
He grinned. "Not bad. I may have misjudged you."
He raised his blade again as Kage regained her stance, preparing for the next bout.
This time, he attacked.
Kage used her dagger to deflect, not block. It took was a slight movement from her knife to divert the blade and the quick movement from her feet to defend against his onslaught.
She caught glimpses of his face between strokes of his blade, and it carried a mad looking wide-eyed grin. This was someone who loved to fight, either the risk or the rush of adrenaline.
Her grip on the knife slipped, and his sword angled an inch closer than expected, connecting with her upper arm.
Kage kept her momentum from the dodge, jumping out of his range.
Not stopping, she rushed in again for another attack.
Her tension was dissipating as her body remembered the feeling of fighting and felt the space around her, how the air shifted with every movement.
She was starting to get used to his patterns, but so was he.
His sword met her knife with more ease this time, as he opted for a one-handed hold and used his left to try and catch her.
Suddenly, her leg caught on Artlem's kick and she fell. In that instant, she tangled her other leg with his, bringing him down with her.
The grip on either's weapons didn't let up for a second.
Kage's agility going for her, she tried to jump up, but Artlem grabbed her ankle with his free hand, keeping he from reaching her feet. He rolled over, pulling his sword up in the same movement Kage dived back towards him, dagger extended.
She fell straight on top of him, knife directly on his throat and sword against hers.
Kage's eyes met his, the annoying grin on his face morphing into surprise as the situation set in. Kage heart her own heartbeat in her ears, and felt his breath as their bodies and weapons presses against each other.
Shole was there in an instant. "That's a draw people! Good match." He helped pull Kage up, as she struggled to untangle herself from the uncomfortable position.
Artlem, too, took a minute to push himself up off the ground.
"Looks like we've got a draw on our hands!" Shole continued. "I think this gets rid of any questions about Kage's fighting ability."
"Seems that way, doesn't it." Artlem's voice had an amused note. "Well Kage, I take it back. You might make a good addition after all. Sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we should try this again." He held out his hand. "Artlem Solamir, from Fjonder in outer Rhoringdall. And since Shole is too casual to introduce with family names, he's Shole Ay-Naza, from Trys'ka in Tobryna."
Kagged accepted his hand. "Well, I'm still just Kage. I don't have a family name."
"Interesting! Well, you're definitely not from anywhere I know. Your features are pretty unfamiliar. Whereabouts were you from?"
"That's- that’s not important. I'd be more interested to learn what you actually need my help for. Not many things come to mind when I think of memory, fighting, and these Calligriphics." She said, changing the subject.
"If you say so." Artlem shrugged. "Well, let's head back to the inn. It's not too late, we should still be able to get some food."
Kage's stomach growled at the mention of food, and her face reddened.
"My manners must really be slipping!" Shole said. "Artlem, you're a bad influence." He turned back to Kage. "Sorry Kage, I should have asked you earlier if you were hungry! Well, either way, the food's on us!"
"What? I'm not made of money you know." Artlem exclaimed.
"Don't be stingy Art. You're going to make her think we can't pay her. Besides, you're willing enough to act like a gentleman if the girl's got a cute dress."
"Aw, shut up."
Shole laughed, and beckoned Kage to follow as he and Artlem started on their way back to the inn.
Artlem, Shole, and Kage sat around a table in their room on the third floor of the Falcon's Nest
After some convincing from Shole, Artlem had somewhat reluctantly shelled out the money for a second room for Kage after she'd admitted she didn't have any money.
Now they were finishing off some grilled pig from the bar downstairs, with some bread and oil. Kage was trying not to eat too quickly, because even though the meat and bread were both a bit burned, this was the first food she'd had that wasn't fruit since arriving, and the first food at all for a while before that.
She occasionally snuck food while spectating a world, but that was for curiosity, not hunger. It had been quite some time since she'd been hungry...a memory slipped into her mind, and she pushed it back again.
"So, what did Shole tell you about this job?" Artlem spoke first, breaking the awkward silence.
Kage brushed some crumbs from her face. "Not much. That you were looking for some Calligriphics, I guess. That's why you needed someone with a good memory. Though why Shole doesn't already fill that role I don't understand."
"Well, that's part of it. The catch is that the Calligriphics are in Mainspring."
The two of them seemed to be expecting a reaction from that revelation.
"What's Mainspring?"
"Huh? You some kind of idiot-"
"What he means to say," Shole cut in, "Is that it's a fairly well-known place, but no matter." He thought for a moment. "It's up North, near the mountains. Mainspring is the area, but the Mainspring itself is an actual spring inside of that area. Simply put, time runs strangely there. The closer you get to the peak, the faster time runs. Near the border, and hour there might equal two hours on the outside. But closer in, and hour would equal a day, or a week, or more. That's why no one's ever made it to the top."
"Or at least made it down again. Some crazy guy probably did it once or twice." Artlem said.
"Regardless," Shole continued, "we wouldn't need you to go up too far, but we'd need someone to get to a certain point, we have reliable information about the location of a couple key characters on the Spring."
"Wait, what do you mean location? Is there a library there or something?" Kage interjected.
"No, they're carved right onto the Spring...well, and, wait, I guess I didn't explain it well after all."
Shole pulled the book out of his bag, flipped it to an early page, and passed it to Kage.
The sketches across the two pages put the image together in her mind. A sketch on the left showed the Wellspring, a twisted mountain spire stretching up into the sky. The second page was full of smaller sketches, including what Kage assumed was part of the spire, stone with Calligriphics carved into it.
"Wellspring is also a storage point for Calligriphics. They say the Spire is unaffected by the elements, so the Calligriphics have been there for hundreds of years." Shole explained.
"And you have specific ones you want me to find? How am I supposed to guarantee that?"
"Well, from what we understand, there are different sections on the spire. So you'd have a specific area to search."
"I see." She paused. "What if something happens with time? If I end up getting stuck there for longer, say."
"Then you don't get paid." Artlem answered.
"Well, in reality, it shouldn't be a problem. We should have some time to spare, so unless you take a really long time it should be okay." Shole said.
"Right." Well, it didn't sound too bad. "So to sum it up, you need me to climb a weird mountain and find some Calligriphics as quickly as possible."
"Exactly!" Artlem exclaimed. "Should be easy, right? And we'll pay you 300 gold to do it. Minus expenses."
"Art..." Shole began.
"Right, right. We pay for the group's food. But the rest is your responsibility."
Kage watched Shole's expression, since he seemed to be the more honest of the two. He didn't seem to have any problems with the amount, and it did sound like a lot of money. Plus, she didn't want to show her ignorance by asking more questions about it, so instead she swallowed and held out her hand.
"I'll do it."
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