Somber Lucent

Chapter Two The Thought of Adventure

The taste of the mead lingers on my tongue as the liquid goes down my throat. Hamon and I sit in silence at the bar table. Can this be it? Is this the shot we've been waiting for? The talk around us is just white noise to us. We don't hear any of it. "We're doing this right?" I hear Hamon ask.

"I don't know. What do you think best?"

"I say we do it. Think about it, Win." He leans in. "For five years we've been waiting for a chance like this. Ever since we lived in that gods forsaken tent, we've wanted to venture into the world. You wanted to see it in its beauty and lore and I..."

"Want to fuck your way around it" I answer and finish my glass.

"Not the phrasing I would use but. My point still stands. When will we ever get a chance like this again Win? So I say we take it."

"So there is wisdom in your foolery Ham? You surprise me even after a lifetime." I signal the bartender to refill my glass. "But I think it would be wiser for us to wait till their day of departure"

"Win, their day of departure is tomorrow, so I think we need to make up our minds quick"

I sit there and ponder. Might I learn more of magic and tricks that my father didn't tell me? Are there mysteries of the world that maybe I would answer? So many questions but one more important than all. Is the risk worth it?

After a few more moments of pondering I finally say to Hamon. "Let's do it!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Well then what are we waiting here for let's go pack."

We finish our mead and stand up.

"Finally! Trust me Win you won't regret this!" Hamon shouts in a happy tone.

"You better not make me" I answer in a teasing one.

I walk to the bartender. "It was two glasses and three refills. That's a silver coin if my memory is correct."

"Yes it is lad yes it is" The Bartender responds in a glad tone.

I hand him a silver coin and turn to see a silhouette in the door.

"What's this about adventure and leaving I hear," A rough and hard voice says.

"Ah, Garraq. Boss. How are ya?" Hamon says shakily.

Garraq is our boss and the one who rules the market with an iron grip. A big half-orc, Garraq had an easy time intimidating people. Yet me and Hamon never found him to be so. That could because we knew better than to argue with a man who killed his orc father, or we just decided to listen to our superiors.

"Well you see boss it's all easy to explain. You see..."

"YOU WILL ONLY TALK WHEN I TELL YOU TOO"

Or at least I thought we did.

"You two ain't going nowhere. You will stay here and sell your little fishes till you drop dead in the ground. Is that understood?"

I see that everyone else is scared. Yet I feel none. I mean I probably should but I don't think it of need.

"I SAID IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

"No, it ain't," I say. "Cause you see Garraq you don't own us. And if you do anything I'm sure the city guards will love to hear about it." I was bullshiting out of my ass. I was good at that."So why don't you move so we can be on our..."

"Shut it Unicorn! I do own you. You are my workers MY property and will do as I SAY!"

Unicorn. How original. "And what happens if we don't?"

I saw that Hamon was now behind me.

"Continue like this and you'll..."

"And I'll what? Huh? You forget that we chose to work here. You didn't buy us. We can leave whenever we want. So I suggest that you take your half-orc face and go bug someone else because you are not my master and am not something you can control."

Some who saw this might think I have a death wish. That's probably true but I say that I just have balls.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!!" Garraq shouts.

He swings at me but I doge. He falls a bit forward and I use that as a means to kick him in the gut. He falls quivering and coughing.

"HAMON! I DON'T THINK WE'LL BE LEAVING YET" I shout at him on the other side of the half-orc

"NOT AT ALL" He shouts back

With a nod, we both swing our legs and kick Garraq in the chest and gut. He stands up and we realize our mistake. He lunges forward and tackles Hamon to the ground and starts pounding him. Each hit sounds like a pound of meat being thrown on a table. Quite unsettling. Hamon grabs one of the fists and twists it and headbutts the green hunk.

I take this a shot to jump and kick the mass of green of Hamon and he falls to the ground. Garraq stands up with blood running down his mouth. He spits out a tooth. Nothing compared to the purple swollen mess that Hamon's eye had become and the broken jaw.

The half-orc runs headfirst towards me. In a panic, I think of a way to slow him down. The only thing that comes to mind is my last-ditch effort. I cross my arms and breath in. I throw down my arms and shout: "Eld Kúlur!" Balls of fire appear in my palms ready to be thrown.

I wait a bit longer for the half-orc behemoth to get a wee bit closer. Then I throw the left one. I aimed at the head but missed. Comes with being right-handed. I throw the right one and hit the bullseye. The half-orc plummets to the ground and cries in pain.

"HAMON! LET'S GO! NOW!!" I shout and start booking it towards the exit. I throw two dragons as payment for the damages and then push Hamon out the door.

* * *

We arrive at home and stop to catch our breath. "Th-That was close!" I say.

"Y-Yes" Hamon responds with blood running down his cheek.

"Shall we pack?" I ask

"We shall"

The next couple of minutes were spent packing and panicking. An hour later the cabin was in bags that we threw on our backs.

"Ready to go?" Hamon asks me.

I think it for a moment.

"Yes. Yes, I am. You?"

"Yes, I am!"