Dragonborne

Chapter 15

Eris walked a few feet away from me, I made sure to hide among other people on the crowd avoid getting caught in his peripheral vision. Thankfully, my dark green cloak was quite common among the crowd.

Eris went up one floor and I took another set of stairs leading up to the same floor. He bought some fruits from a stand while I pretended to check out some of the vegetables in the stand near me. I ended up buying a lettuce and a cabbage, they looked so fresh that I just can't resist. By then, Eris was already moving and had about a good half kilometer distance from me.

Eris turned left. I peeked around the corner and entered the fourth door to the left. I turned and I asked a man where I am on the pretense that I was lost.

"This the seventh floor," he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The tenements are identified by numbers." He pointed at the sign hanging above the entrance to the alley where Eris entered and I saw the numbers 7/10-7/15. "The number before the slash indicates the floor and the next number after the slash the tenement number." I thanked him and he went on his way.

I turned back the way I came and descended to the floor where the tavern was. Apparently, we're staying on the fifth floor. I returned to the tavern and saw Alyse sitting on one table with the burly man I met a few hours ago. His name was Brick, I guess.

"So did you find him?" Alyse asked, taking a pause from her conversations with Brick.

"I did." I replied taking a seat on an empty chair at the same table. "He's going to be home tonight I guess. And his name is Magnus. I didn't catch the family name."

"Oh," Alyse said. "That's good then. By the way this is-"

"Brick was it?" I shook hands with the giant man. "We've made his acquaintance way back in Dragonfang."

"Right." Alyse said, she almost sounded embarrassed. "Well, you see, Brick here has been sent by the Tower of Wisdom. I actually have seen him there but I somehow haven't recognized him but that's probably because I didn't associate with him that much but the point is that he has come here to help us."

"Wait." I said. "This guy can do magic, too?"

Brick laughed. "I'm afraid I can't do magic, young lady."

"But that doesn't mean he's any less magical." Alyse interjected.

"I'm what is commonly known as a half-breed." Brick started. "Generally, we are identified as such if one of our parents are human and the other not human. Other famous half-breeds are werewolves, vampires, and pixies."

"And you are?"

"A golem."

"A half giant." Alyse clarified.

"I've gathered." I said. Seeing his bulk and brawn has convinced me. "So, do you have any special abilities?"

"Currently," Brick gulped a mouthful of his drink before continuing."Immense strength and heightened senses have manifested in me."

"You expecting more?" I addressed it both to Alyse and Brick. Then I called a waiter to order a plate of steak.

"According to books I've read," Alyse said, she looked dazed, like she was concentrating inwardly. "Golems have immense strength, aptitude for earth magic, heightened senses, and could increase their size to, well, gigantic proportions."

"I haven't done that yet." Brick pointed out. "Also we're less warlike than our pure breed counterparts."

"Are there still other giants?" I said as I finished telling the waiter my order.

"They usually resided in the northern mountains." Alyse said. "But I read that from a book that was pretty ancient itself."

"I hope it wasn't titled with 'Majestic Beasts'." Brick commented as he took another swig of his drink.

"Yes, it was." Alyse said her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to why Brick wouldn't want that to be the title of the book. "What's wrong with that?"

"The author Lord Barnstone," Brick said. "Was no authority, nor connoisseur, of the said subject of majestic beasts. His works are full of mistakes. I mean, giants don't eat humans, yes they may be warlike but they're not cannibals. Fact is, giants don't eat anything."

I paused eating my steak. "How do they survive?"

"The same way Faeries do." At the mention of Faeries, the mood on  the tavern changed. The people eating stopped to stare at us.

"I think we should tone down on such subjects." Alyse said with a hushed tone.

"But how do they survive?" The steak was very much delicious that I'm already halfway done.

"Simple." It was Alyse who answered. "There exists a certain crystal that exudes a magical energy that the giants use as sustenance. The same goes for the other pure breeds."

"Yeah," I said, finishing my steak. "Well, so much for that. Let's discuss what should be done tonight."

"What are we doing tonight?" Both Brick and Alyse said at the same time.

"Vengeance will be exacted tonight." I said non-chalantly.

"Oh hell not." Alyse said with a tone of finality. "You can't just rush in blindly, that's being reckless."

"None can stop me from taking revenge."

"And we're not," Brick said gently. "We're not stopping you we're just telling you to think it through."

"I have thought it through." I stood from th table. "And I'll have my revenge whether with your help or not." And I walked out of the tavern.