A Criminals Respite, an Officers Solace

Chapter 3 - Celebration and Travel

A/N: imma keep it real with you guys, this chapter was supposed to be about half as long as it currently is, but i just couldnt find a good place to stop so i just kept on writing, that leaves us with ~3300 words, almost half of what the 2nd chapter(now split into three parts) was at. its far longer than i would have liked but it is what it is so, i hope you enjoy this chapter regardless!

Shawn's afternoon was very eventful to say the least. He had some much needed free time to pack his meager belongings, buy paints and dyes to recolor his armor, and get ahold of the various types of armor and weapon polishing he'll need for his departure. Whilst at the market Shawn had grabbed varying shades of blues, blacks, and whites, of which he was going to be applying to his armor in various amounts, until he found something that both popped, and stuck with him. Afterwards he stopped by his local and reputable blacksmith in order to pick up wax and grease, along with armor polish to maintain his armor down the line. With his shopping done, Shawn returned to the Keep that overlooked the small town that he and many others resided in.

Once back at the Keep, Shawn made his way to his room, eager to set down his recent haul of paints and dyes, among other things, on his small, wall mounted workbench. Champions were encouraged to try and improve their weaponry and armor without the assistance of forgerites and armor smiths so that should a time come when repairs are needed during a slight down time they aren't stranded. With his paints sorted, and the dyes set aside, he pulled out his right shoulder pauldron from his armor stand and prepared to paint.

Just before Shawn began applying his first, and presumably misguided paint strokes he heard a knock on the frame of his door. Turning his head to the left, his gaze was met with Darin's own. "Darin, you boulder, or should I say stone after your loss at our most recent duel." Shawn joked at his friend and rival. "What brings you here?" His attention was now squarely focused on the man at his door, all but completely forgetting about his armor on the workbench. Darin said nothing as he reached behind himself, and removed something from his waist pouch.

"Disregarding whatever you have going on with your armor," Darin spoke as he revealed the object he had been taking from his pouch, a waterskin. "I brought ale for your time of celebration!" Darin grinned as he walked towards Shawn and handed him the waterskin. With little hesitation, Shawn grabbed the waterskin offered to him and placed it on the workbench, not before shoving his armor and work materials to the side in order to make room.

Darin produced two metallic shot-like cups from the same pouch and pulled up the spare chair in Shawn's room, sitting adjacent to Shawn. Shawn pulled the cork out of the waterskin and gave the ale a whiff, it had a weaker than normal, yet still strong scent of earth and greenery from the hops used in its creation, no doubt putting it on the stronger side of the ales' available in town. "How did you get this in here? All ale and beer is contraband within the keep." Shawn questioned with a low voice, his room was rather close to the officers and trainers of the keep due to his role as the class leader. "And should we even? The sun isn't even in the middle of the sky."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Johnathan gave us his blessing." Darin said with a pause as he placed the two small cups on the workbench and grabbed the waterskin out of Shawn's hands. After pouring the first two of the several to come shots, Darin spoke again. "How else do you think I acquired the ale?" Shawn thought it over for a second, and then realized that it was a time of celebration, not pondering who a former smuggler got contraband into the keep. "Through Jonathan? You're lying is falling out of practice!" Shawn joked as the two grabbed their cups and toasted.

It wasn't long before the duo were cackling like mad men. Neither of the two were fully drunk, seeing as only a third of the waterskins ale had been drained. "Remember when that one girl- what was her name? It started with a J." Shawn bemused as he attempted to tell a story of a long gone classmate. "Jane? Jannet?" Darin aided as he too thought back to their old classmates. A silence settled over the two as they thought back to the year past in order to remember who it was that was in their class.