Cloaks

Chapter 16: Goldrak

Malakos woke up to a stinging in his foot. He cursed in Infernal and scrambled out of his bedroll, throwing back his blanket. A small centipede skittered out from underneath and escaped down a hole in the ground. The Tiefling watched it out of the corner of his eye as he drew his foot up for examination. Nothing serious—a bit of swelling, but nothing out of the ordinary for a simple bug bite.

"Well, not the worst wake-up call I've ever received," he muttered to himself, rubbing the area and scanning the sky. It would be daybreak soon—no point in going back to sleep. The group had walked a little further past the bridge until Bardy started complaining about the dark, so they pitched their tents. Malakos had stayed up some time, waiting for Ruby to rejoin them, but she had not, and he had finally fallen asleep. He looked around him now–still no Ruby. He surprised himself with how unconcerned he was, however. He knew her fairly well–she had likely just stayed up the whole night talking to her new boyfriend.

Quietly, he slipped his boots on, rolled up his sleeping bag, and put his cloak on over his clothes.

Deruque and Bardy heard him moving and sat up.

"Izzit time ta go?" Bardy asked, his speech slurred by sleepiness.

"If you're both awake," Malakos replied.

"Are Ruby and Patch back yet?" Deruque asked, glancing around.

"Not yet. But Ruby knows where we're headed, remember. They can meet us in Goldrak after her...tryst. If she runs into any trouble, we'll know," he indicated his sending stone.

They reached Goldrak by noon. Even before they could see the town, they knew they were nearing the mines. The air was filled with the noise of heavy machinery and minuscule ore particles.

"This can't be good for my lute," Bardy grumbled, pulling it off of his back and gingerly wrapping it in his red cloak.

When the trees cleared, they could see the area. It looked like a shanty town, filled with structures that were built to house the workers—but their humble construction and sparse comforts could not truly earn them the title 'home'.

"Do you see any stores?" Bardy asked.

"Not yet," Malakos answered. "Do you need another lute string? I don't think this is the place to find one."

"No, I need a shovel."

"What do you need a shovel for?"

"Ruby has our only shovel."

"Ruby's a ranger. What does a bard need a shovel for?"

"Bards need latrines, too."

"...I'm sorry I asked."

"I need a big shovel," Deruque said.

"Guys, there are bound to be toilets here--"

"A big shovel," Deruque insisted.

Malakos sighed just as an odd building came into view. There was a display of brightly-colored odds and ends in the window, and the sign indicated that it was a store.

They entered, a small bell tinkling to signal their arrival. Looking around, the party could see that it seemed to be a second-hand store, filled with whatever odds and ends the owner could find. Furthermore, everything was organized by color, with the items in red on prominent display closest to the door, followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and finally a small section of browns, grays, and blacks in a heap near the back corner of the store. Bardy approached the counter, where a parrot-colored Aarakocra woman stood to receive them.

"Welcome!" She squawked. "Can I help you find something?"

"Yes please—do you happen to carry shovels? Or a shield would be nice, too!"