Meddling in Foreign Affairs

Chapter 7: The Beginning of a Journey

Dismas woke up to a knocking on the door. It was very loud and bothersome. He decided to ignore it and go back to sleep, but it just got louder. He sat up quickly, making sure that all of his belongings were still there, and then fell back down with a suppressed scream as his shoulder burst into pain.

"Dismas? Are you alright in there, young man?" he heard Dyomahai's voice from the other side of the door.

"No. Not really."

The door opened and the room was flooded with light, and Dyomahai came in armed with the same green paste as he had put on Dismas' shoulder earlier. "Calm down, it will feel better in a few minutes if you let me do this right." Dismas did his best to hold still as Dyomahai removed his bandages and cleaned off the old medicine before reapplying the paste and rewrapping it. "Byulat will be here soon, when you feel up to it you should gather your things and come out for some food."

Dyomahai walked back out of his room, and Dismas stared at the ceiling trying to ignore the pain. In a bit, it faded to a bearable amount and he slid off the bed. He glared at his large pile of gear that he certainly did not want to carry around on his injured shoulder. After rearming himself, Dismas noticed that someone had come into his room and put his old clothes on top of his backpack. The shirt was still a little bloodstained and there was a hole from the arrow, but he still put it in the bag along with his old trousers. He checked to make sure the rings were still securely under his shirt and then grabbed his backpack and left the room. He swore as it irritated his still not fully numb shoulder.

Dyomahai was sitting at his desk again, with some food sitting there as well. Dismas walked over and dumped his backpack to the ground unceremoniously next to the desk. Without even looking up from the papers he was reading, Dyomahai gestured for Dismas to sit and eat. He sat quickly and started eating, not minding the silence.

Suddenly, he looked up. "One of the jewelers in the market reported a thievery yesterday."

Dismas swallowed calmly before responding. "Oh yeah? What'd they steal?"

"Commitment rings. And not even the nicest ones there, so they must not have been stealing for money."

"Hmm. What's a commitment ring, and why'd one be so important that someone would choose it over a more expensive one? Seems pretty stupid to me." Dismas decided it would be best to act like he didn't know what a commitment ring was, since he didn't think it would be a good idea to not let Dyomahai know he'd stopped at a jeweler.

"Commitment rings are used by wealthy dwarves to show that they are romantically involved. They are sold in complementary pairs, and are usually considered to have significant sentimental value, even if they are not the most expensive. Different rings appeal to different people, I guess."

Dismas nodded and quickly finished his food as Dyomahai resumed his work. Byulat came in a few minutes later.

"Good morning, Otetsu Dyomahai. Are you ready to go, Rowell?"

"Sure," Dismas said as he picked up his backpack.

Dyomahai pulled a green cloak out from his desk and stood up, following him to the door. "I will go along to the entrance to the tunnel to Tselzo to see you off," he explained.

"Good. Don't think I'm quite ready to say goodbye to my favorite dwarf."

Byulat led them through the halls until they came to a grand tunnel entrance. "This is where I must take my leave, young man," Dyomahai said as Byulat started to walk into the tunnel. He held out the cloak he was holding to Dismas. "I brought this for you. We forgot to buy one in the market yesterday and I do believe it is a necessity."