Seobaak

Part 10: The Faery Inn

Seobaak returned to his castle, arms full of stolen books, which he dropped on the dusty stone floor. He sat down on his straw bed with a sigh. 

It had been a long day, lengthened by the absence of a servant. He was quite unused to doing the dirty work for himself, but it had to be done. Summoning Acheron would have only resulted in a greater uproar from the elves. So he, alone, had made the journey out to Steelmoor.

The small town was unusually crowded, all the better for sneaking around unnoticed. It didn't take Seobaak long to find The Faery Inn, an old, shady bar in the center of the town. 

The cracked windows were caked in dirt and grime, and a sign hanging on the door depicted a gruesome, twisted creature with thin, torn wings. A small bell rang as Seobaak stepped inside. The innkeeper glanced up, irritated, then hobbled out of sight. Thin streaks of light shone through gaps in the straw roof, barely illuminating the inn. 

The few wooden tables were covered in at least an inch of dirt, and were occupied by a strange assortment of creatures. A gaunt old woman in a tattered red dress and filthy yellow skin glared at Seobaak as he entered. A drunk, drooling man carved obscene images into the rotting tabletop, laughing loudly to himself as he completed each one. 

Seobaak squared his shoulders and walked straight back to a small table in the dustiest corner of the inn, where a hooded man sat with a strange frothy drink.

"Seobaak of Oldetone?" The man asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Yes. Do you have the information I requested?"

"Of course I do. But at what cost?"

Seobaak reached into his cloak and produced a small bag of coins. The hooded man laughed loudly, causing the woman in the dress to jump and spill her drink.

"I have no need for your silly money; and even if I did, that would hardly be enough for my troubles," he chuckled darkly. "No...information for information, that's only fair. But first, come sit down. I don't bite...usually."

Seobaak laughed nervously and sat across from the hooded man.

"I have everything I could find about Drovyth in this book." The man placed a thin, leather-bound book on the table. Seobaak reached for it, but the man swatted his hand away. "Not quite yet," he grinned, "Before I give you this book, I want everything you can find about Mordicelli of Dragulin."