II - The Redhead

The sun did not appear to have moved at all by the time Minos and his company arrived at the mouth of the village. The silent huts and empty streets welcomed them as they passed by. Minos figured most of the village-folk were still busy working in the fields at that hour. One of the huts opened its window, catching his attention and a villager took a peek and waved at Ashvell. The driver waved back.

     "So this is it, this is my spot." Ashvell remarked as he pulled the horses to a stop.

     "Thank you," trilled Minos once again. He rubbed the young boy's head one more time before jumping off the wagon. Rei followed behind. Ashvell stepped down from the driver seat to strap his horse on a dead tree, Minos walked up to him, looked around, and spoke in a whisper. "What happened earlier, you felt that, right?"

     "Oh.." Ashvell's eyes already betrayed an answer before he can even finish speaking, "yeah, uhm..." he glanced at Robb who was busy preparing the merchandise they were going to sell that afternoon. "Robb has a talent for magic. I think he got it from his parents."

     "Did you see his parents do magic?" Minos inquired.

     "Not really, they're kind of a recluse, both of them. Rumor around town is that they're runaway sorcerers from The Tower, and they're in-hiding, hence why they chose to live outside the village."

     "Then three years ago, they just disappeared?"

     "Yeah, no one has seen them since then."

     "So who's with the boy now?"

     "Nobody. He lives alone. He comes by to our place every now and then to have dinner with me and Pops, but that's it."

     "He's all alone? Why don't you just take him in?"

     "We offered, but the boy declined. He's still hoping his parents will return one day and he wants to be in their home when they do."

     Minos nodded then tapped Ashvell on his shoulder before thanking him for the ride. He walked back towards Rei while kept his eyes glued at Robb. The foreigner handed him the reins of his palfrey and they stepped into the main road. The little boy peeled his eyes up and met Minos' stare.

     "Bye Minos! Bye Rei." Waved the boy.

     "Oh I believe we'll see each other again." Minos waved back.

     "And thanks again for the book, I promise I'll read it."

     Minos and Rei started walking down the road, tugging their horses behind. "That kid can do magic," Minos said to his companion. The masked foreigner tilted his head at Minos. "What? I'm just saying... you know... a kid who can do magic, in a village in the middle of nowhere. What are the odds, right? Come on." Minos looked at his companion, still hoping this time he'll be intrigued enough to offer a response.

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     After a few minutes of walking the pair finally arrived at the square, right smack at the center of the village. He looked around and found the Kingspost on a corner. He stood in front of the life-size statue of the King, which was spread across the kingdom, some made in granite, some in marble. It's a sign that the place was under King Domitius' authority. He studied the effigy for a moment before remarking "Oh look this one looks like him. They even got the nose right. He's missing an ear though."

     Minos felt Rei's glare right from under his headdress. "Fine, fine, let's move on. Eirene's sake... always in a hurry. We're already here, look," he pointed towards the tallest structure in the village, a two-story inn and tavern standing at the western side of the square. In front of it, above the door hanged the sign that read HIDDEN SCABBARD. "See? Come on." Minos hurried off towards the building.

     As they approached an old man greeted them. He stood up from the stool he was sitting on and walked towards them with a limp. "Travellers?" he asked, "fàilte tae th' Hidden Scabbards. If ye'r keekin fur a steid tae bade, we hae plenty o' rooms am free." The old man spoke with an almost incomprehensible accent. He gestured towards the stable while reaching for the reins on one of their horses. Minos handed him his, and the old man limped away tugging the horse behind. Minos studied the building, the tall structure stood mightily like a tall man amongst a crowd of dwarfs. It looked old but sturdy, and he could almost hear every piece of wood that held it together creaking under its own weight.

     His eyes followed the old man to the stable and he noticed the half-a-dozen horses it was hosting. He stepped forward to take a closer look at its tacks, and he recognized the emblem that adorned them.

     "Duke Owen?" Minos asked the old man.

     "His son 'n' his retinue. Juist 'ere fur dinner, na fashes, git plenty o' rooms aye. "

     "You're not the owner, are you?"

     "Na, na, juist a helpful auldjin. Th' gaffer is ben." The old man seemed to forgot to help tie Rei's horse and went back to his stool instead.

     "Thank you." Minos sang, almost bowing his head. Rei tugged his horse to the stable and began to tie it himself, to Minos' childish delight.

     Minos didn't wait for his companion to finish and stepped inside the inn. Looking around, he was surprised to find that the interior was more spacious than he expected. The tables were empty, aside from the two tables shared by a group of uniformed footmen wearing the sigils of Duke Owen's estate. A young woman, presumably the tavern-wench, glanced his way as he walked towards the bar, while two or three of the footmen watched over him intently.

     She's pretty for a tavern wench, Minos thought to himself as he watched the young woman trot to the back of the bar, clasping a serving tray in her hands. The dim light coming from the candles hid the young woman's red hair, but Minos could see her face clearly. Her demeanor spoke of an intimidating aura, but her eyes and mouth revealed a welcoming expression. She smiled at him as he approached.

     "Welcome to Hidden Scabbard's," she greeted him cheerfully, eloquently, with barely any accent, "how can we serve you?"

     "I'm looking for the owner."

     The young woman's eyes moved somewhere over Minos' shoulder, to the group of young footmen huddling on their own little corner. A smile crept up her face, before returning her gaze back at Minos. "I am the owner," she proclaimed, wiping her hands clean and placing them over her waist. Minos' face brightened with amusement and surprise.

     "Oh..." he said, "I'm sorry, I thought you were just a tavern-"

     "Wench?" She finished his sentence abruptly.

     "Yeah."

     "Wench." she repeated with disdain. "I don't like that word. Do you like that word?"

     "It's a..." Minos paused to think, "word to describe women. What's there to like or unlike?"

     "Don't you think it sounds derogatory?"

     "Not really? I can think of a few worse words to describe a woman: bitch, cunt..."

     "Good point. But would you use that word to describe your sister? Or wife? Perhaps your mother?"

     "Wench, bitch, cunt. In that order. Except I don't have a wife yet, so.. That will be way ahead in the future." Minos smiled to himself, feeling amused for his own retort. To call my mother a cunt. Yeah, that will be the day. The sound of the door opening interrupted his line of thought, and everyone else in the room turned towards the door and the person stepping in: Rei.

     If Minos' entrance only caught a few onlookers, everybody's eyes glued towards Rei. The murmuring of the foot soldiers grew silent. Minos looked back at the girl behind the bar and he watched as her green eyes glowed with wonder.

     "Would you look at that," the girl exclaimed. Rei beelined towards Minos. The lack of expression from his face revealed that they know each other. "You two together?"

     "Not together-together," Minos answered, "we're travelling companions."

     "Is he legitimate? Is he from-"

     "The lands of Khieram, yes."

     "What is he doing here?"

     "Why don't you ask him."

     "Can I? I mean, can he understand me? Does he speak our tongue?"

     "Oh, is that it? Is that why you don't respond to me? You don't understand my language?" Minos mocked, he knew the real reason why, but his immature sense of humor enjoys making a fool of conversations. He laughed to himself, while Rei stared him daggers enough to make him bleed to death. The foreigner turned towards the girl and gave a polite nod.

     "You do understand me? Awesome," replied the girl, almost blushing, "So, if I'm remembering this correctly, you're doing your mak-na, right? Your religious pilgrimage?"

     Minos' eyes popped out from his skull. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, this girl was too knowledgeable for her status. Rei gave another polite bow, and he could tell that his brown eyes were smiling from behind that mask.

     "So why are you here? What does your mak-na involve?" the girl continued.

     Rei motioned his head towards Minos. Minos looked at the girl and flashed his most affable smile, while pointing his index finger to himself.

     "He's your mak-na? What's that mean?"

     "Look, miss", Minos interjected, trying to sound confident, "you seem to know alot about our eastern counterparts, so I'm sure you know how complicated their religions and rituals are. So, don't bet that he knows what it all means. I myself am unsure, most of the time. But this one has proven himself to me, I trust him, and now, here he is." Minos tried his best to be as vague as possible, while struggling to make a point, but the girl came out more confused.

     After giving it a serious thought and consideration, the girl finally looked back at Minos, "So what you're saying is, I should pay attention to you, instead of him, right?" she leered. Minos felt a rush of blood pumping through his veins. It's been a while since he last got excited conversing with another person. He was starting to enjoy the back and forth.

     "If that's your take on what I said, I will concede," he mocked.

     "Okay. Fine. So, Mister Full-of-himself Noble from the capital, what do you want from me?" Because I'm assuming you're not here to rent a room, right?"

     "You're right, we're not. We are here looking for a person named Tullius, who from our latest inquiry, was supposed to be the owner of this establishment."

     "He did own the inn." The young woman answered. "I own it now."

     "And you are...?"

     "Cassana. Tullius was my father."

     "Was? He's dead?"

     Cassana nodded, "Two or three months ago? During the war."

     "He fought in the war?"

     "No, he's a healer. He tended the wounds of the fighters on both sides. Next thing he knew, he's in the middle of a skirmish. A group of soldiers returned his dead body afterwards."

     "I'm sorry..." Minos stammered.

     "Don't be. Unless of course you're the king responsible for the war, otherwise, it wasn't your fault."

     "Saying sorry is a gesture of condolences, alright? It doesn't mean that I'm taking blame for what happened to your father." Minos' voice trebled louder than usual, gathering the looks from the rest of the people in the room.

     "I know."

     "Then why rebuke my apology?"

     "Just to see the look on your face." Cassana grinned. "The point is, don't try to patronize me or anything, you don't know my father, you don't have to say sorry that he died. It's not gonna help him. He's gone, life happens, I've moved on, and now I own this inn."

     Minos' eyes took an eclectic study of the wench. She was more than what she looks, or at least what she proclaims to be. Her fair skin was uncommon in this region, her bright red hair was almost unnatural, and there was something with her green eyes, something peculiar and unnerving. Most of all, the way she spoke of her father, it lacked... empathy.

     "Fair enough," he sighed, "The thing is, I was hoping I could discuss with him a very confidential matter. But now, it seems we're lost." Minos drummed his fingers on the wooden counter and looked back at his companion.

     "If only we can bring him back to life." The sarcasm was pretty clear in Cassana's voice.

     Yeah, if only. Minos agreed, but only in his mind.

     She took a piece of cloth and wiped clean the serving tray lying on top of the counter, while kept a watchful eye on the two guests. The silence was broken by the door opening, Ashvell, the young driver from earlier, stepped in and approached Cassana, holding two bundles of charcoal with his hands.

     "Minos! Rei!" he greeted them. He lifted the bundles of charcoal over the counter and handed them over to Cassana.

     "Thanks. You know these two?" asked Cassana. She placed the charcoal on the floor and kicked them under the counter.

     "Yeah, I saw them heading to the village and I gave them a ride."

     Something is off. Minos thought to himself and he studied the man again until he found what he was looking for. His sleeves were now rolled up his arms, showing the decent-size biceps common to laborers like him. He was not as sweaty as earlier, and he seemed to have wiped off the gray dirt on his face. Most of all, there was a certain glow in him that he didn't notice earlier. He looked over to Cassana, and then back at Ashvell. Is this guy in love?

     The redhead grabbed her purse and handed off a few coins to Ashvell. "Thanks," he uttered, then started counting the coins on his palms.

     Minos watched over in elated silence, trying to see how well the young driver fare in his counting skills. He noticed his struggle after twelve, so he jumped into the rescue. "Thirteen."

     "Right, thirteen," Ashvell repeated.

     "Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen." Minos counted the rest of the coins. The young man echoed.

     "What's happening?" Cassana inquired.

     "Nothing." Ashvell blurted out.

     "I got him distracted while he was counting, my bad." Minos gave his new acquaintance an encouraging tap on the back and a wink before returning his attention to Cassana.

     "Is it true that your father was a Felwyr?" Minos asked abruptly. He was hoping to catch Cassana off guard, and by the look of her face, it seemed to have worked.

     "Where did you get that?" she whispered.

     "Doesn't matter. I just want to confirm if your father was indeed a member of the Felwyrs."

     Cassana glared at the young driver and then gestured to the three of them to follow her. She trudged towards the door to the right of the bar. Minos watched her take a step down a narrow stairwell. His companion followed behind, then Ashvell.

     Minos reached the bottom of the stairs and found himself in a cellar. He could smell the faint odor of rum and whiskey. Far to the other end of the room stood a wooden desk, paired by a chair behind it. On to the sides, along the barrels of ale, laid a bench. His eyes wandered the room and landed on Cassana, who was standing by the candle light beside the table. He watched her grab a staff resting by the wall. He could see a gemstone decorating the top of the staff, sapphire, if he would have guessed, but that requires a much closer look.

     Cassana held the staff high in front of her, facing Minos and his companion. Meanwhile, Ashvell stood quietly behind them by the stairs. The redhead recited some words and as soon as the gem on the staff started to glow, the driver drew his dagger out of his belt, laid his arms over Minos' shoulders and pointed the blade on his neck. All before Rei could even react.