Blades of Grass

A Ruse

I press through the inn doors, it's bustling with people enjoying a late night drink. Ralph is still on the ground, dirty and dusty from the dragging. I grab the rope that ties him and stand him up.

"If you cooperate, we won't hurt you too much."

Aggressive nods and submissive muffles were his response.

We walk through like a farmer walking his cattle into a barn, Presz following behind me. The people that were once laughing and drinking are now silent, turning their heads towards the unusual and alarming scene I have created.

"Room 3." I tell the lady at the counter.

"Go... Ahead, Sir." She says with a hint of fear in her voice.

"Ay, pretty lady, we can share a bee-" I grab Presz by the collar and drag him with me upstairs.

"Once you tell us everything you know, you're free to do whatever you want."

"Ok, ok, geez. What a cockblocka."

Upon reaching upstairs, I hear Aesar and Freyja talking.

"They're speaking so loudly, I wonder what's going on with those two."

"So these are the gals ya were talking about?"

"Yeah, as you can probably tell, they aren't the type you want to mess with."

"The best kind of gals." Presz says with a smile.

"Qura is calling", I knock on room four's door.

The room goes silent, and Freyja opens the door.

"You finally came ba-" She glances at Ralph and Presz. "Who are these two?" She spurts and takes a step back while pointing.

"Don't worry about them", I push Ralph into the room and walk inside, Presz follows.

"Hey ladies, the name's Presz with a z. Nice to meetcha" He bows.

"Who is he?" Aesar asks, "And who's that tied up person?"

"I'll explain everything." I reply, putting my stuff away and washing up in the bathroom.

The blood on my wrist has crusted, and the lash on my back still hurts. I wonder how Qura has felt about the whole thing now.

'Hey Qura. How's it going.'

'I'm fine, the pain went away as soon as I settled down in your mind again.'

'Well at least one of us got rid of the pain.'

I dry my hands and head back into the room.

"So regarding Presz, He knows about my bloodline." But no one heard what I said.

Presz is on the floor with a rag spread out in front of him. On it are multiple trinkets and small artifacts.

"And this one came from the kingdom down south." He picks up a metal ornament, "The engraved sigils are a trademark of Phavell. The king mints just 10 of these ornaments every 5 years."

In front of Presz, Aesar and Freyja are on the bed paying attention to what he is saying. While Ralph is laying on the ground, shriveled up in surrender.

"It seems you guys have become acquainted." I say, louder.

"Oh hey Alvinny Ann." Freyja waves.

"This guys knows a lot, and we shouldn't trust him easily." I walk towards Ralph. "And this guy is a member of the bandits that were chasing us around." I remove the cloth shoved in his mouth, "He'll talk with some... persuasion."