Races: Online

The scent of rum and beer filled the entire tavern despite it far from the evening. It was barely lunch time and yet the shouts of different men and women boomed here. The crowd gathered in the run-down place of shoddy floors and creaky tables. Liam even saw some beady black eyes from rats knocking themselves past their holes in the walls, escaping with some moldy bread. The apprentice Bodyguard looked around the place with a nervous look and followed the old man that walked towards an empty table.

"Are you sure that we're in the right place?" Liam weaved in between passing busboys and barmaids, serving ale to waiting patrons. The sound and sea of bodies was disorienting. He tried to keep himself right behind the man, but had to duck from flailing hands and bottles, letting the women pass in front of him before he collapsed into the seat.

The old man gave him a look, "Of course, this is where we'll meet our Beast Tamer."

Compared to him, Gesth had a calm and even relaxed demeanor here, unlike their time in the Sleepy Cat's Inn. Somehow the high-class inn made the man uneasy, but this was fine for him? Unbelievable. Liam inwardly sighed and kept to his business, trying not to make a face and wondering what it was that got stuck beneath his boot. He kept his hand on his belongings and tried to relax, but it was hard.

Unlike the lands under their sovereign's direct rule, the capital was a melting pot of numerous kinds of people—and the ones right now were the unsavory kind. Liam thought he had seen a Pirate even if they were far from sea. And there even had been an old man who winked at him. He fought the shudder that ran up his spine.

Why, out of all the places that one could choose to meet up, it just had to be here instead of a nice-looking restaurant or even a parlor to have tea? Liam would have been fine if the meeting happened at the Adventurer's Guild either, but what he did was already done. He glanced for one of the people running around the tavern. He tried to raise a hand, "We should order now, shouldn't—"

"No, don't bother." 

Liam pursed his lips, not exactly understanding why the old man didn't want to get something, "It's for our possible contract? Maybe we could get something for them to eat…?"

"A drink is enough, boy," a loud laugh erupted behind him, "You there lass—get us three of your best alcohol!"

The young man shot a look at Gesth before he covertly glanced over his shoulder. Except it was too late. The hulking form of a man stood and overshadowed him, with long dark hair flowing over his tanned chest. The man draped in nothing but a shawl and some kind of skirt tangled with animal bones; he made a move to his seat and plopped down. "You two are my clients? Good day to you!"

Liam would have sent another look at his senior if it weren't because the newcomer stuck more to him than Gesth. It was apparent that this person was going to address the older man more, even when the drinks were finally placed in front of them. The man reached for the mug and took a sip.

Gesth would do the same, and Liam wrinkled his nose.

Drinking this early of alcohol was…

A slap came behind him and nearly dunked his head into the mug. The guffaw of the man beside him sounded, "What's the problem, boy? Drink up, it's best to be in good spirits before we discuss anything."

If somebody had asked for his opinion—time was the essence. Liam frowned and tried to ignore the searing pain in his shoulders. Every minute they were standing around here allowed more chances for their ward to get endangered and yet saying something would only get him reprimanded.

He needed to see what his senior would do and learn. That was what they instructed him to do. Sucking it up, Liam took a sip of the drink and coughed, "It's bitter and tastes weird," What did everyone enjoy about this? It wasn't as good as fresh juice.

"Hah! What's a little kid doing here," the man shook his head and glanced at Gesth, "so what is it that brings you all the way here, Gesth?"

"Byron, how long has it been since the two of us last saw each other?"

Liam furrowed his brow and felt a frown tug on his lips. The two knew one another—was this like the time that Gesth sent him on an errand, but it was a fool's one? He thought he was delivering an important package, but it was the old man exchanging notes with the Knight of Idalus?"

The middle-aged man scratched the back of his neck, "It has been indeed some time, haven't seen you since we both took a mission under… but it's indeed been too long. I heard that you're doing quite a lucrative contract, is this your ward?" Byron nudged him with an elbow.

He blinked for a moment and then narrowed his eyes, "I am the apprentice to Sir Gesth, I am learning under him and not someone who needs a Bodyguard."

Byron tilted his head and shrugged, "If you say so, things have been pretty nasty this week." he addressed Gesth, "Trying to redirect the migrating wyverns back to the Endless Passes is a pain in the ass, I ended up leaving the camp to relax and kick back. It was painful to hear all the yapping from the Beast Master, she shrieks more than those hatchlings."

Liam listened to all of this without a word, but everything that left the man's mouth was just something to worry about. This guy would leave his contract, badmouth his superior, and do all of it to relax?

Now he could understand why this man was cheap to hire.

"I was supposed to go home but got a message from my daughter that she'll be heading here."

Gesth took a sip of his drink, a long one before he managed a small smile, "I think I can remember meeting your child once or twice. You used to bring her along for the missions."

He sounded kind of sad to Liam, and that only made him feel a bit bad too. Someone around his age surely has a family, right? Or maybe not. The man never talked about anything at all. Liam looked down at the dark drink in the mug, he wanted to chug it down but he'd only spit it out.

And yet the other man didn't notice it.

"Until it got too dangerous, at least that's what the others insisted on, those louts," Byron made a face of disgust and shook his head. He then took out a parchment from his skirt. It was a letter, "Well, Rebecca's a fine lady now, my wife and I leave her back at our place and she manages just fine. You should see her now, I get that this contract is a little too hard for your expertise?" the man joked with a grin. "Too bad my wife isn't anywhere close, we could have had a small reunion."

Gesth nodded, once again taking another sip. He chuckled lightly, "I would have almost thought that I'd see Rowena as well, if I were to be honest."

"Hah, did you think that she'd be the one who'd handle this?" the man laughed, he finished his mug in one go and reached out another one from a passing busboy, "The woman's going to places that even I haven't reached, tried to tell her to stay home with our daughter but got rashes instead when she hit me with her staff."

The old Bodyguard stayed silent.

Was he getting lost in his thoughts? Liam interceded between them and smiled, "So ah, Beast Tamer Bryon is it?"

"Yeah, that's right, Bryon is just fine too if we're close," the man chuckled, "What's your name, pipsqueak?"

"Liam, sir."

"Sounds fancy, well—you really don't look like the type who'd be doing work similar to old Gesth here."

That remark was something that he'd have to brush over. Instead, Liam felt for Iolanthe's handkerchief in his pocket. He shrugged, "It's a work in progress, didn't think you'd also be a Beast Tamer since I haven't seen your animal either, sir Bryon."

The man's lips twitched slightly.

Whether or not that was a good thing, Liam ignored the shudder that ran down his spine. Direct and straight to the business so that he and Gesth could finally leave here. Drinking at the man's age wasn't any good for him. He placed his mug down and stared back into the man's eyes.

He was so huge that Liam couldn't help but think if the man had Giant's blood, or maybe a Minotaur. And yet he didn't say a word, let the silence draw between them—well, at least in their bubble. Everyone was rowdy in the background, but this time he would be the one controlling the conversation.

This was intimidating, wasn't it?

He bit down on his tongue and fought the urge to reach for his mug and place it in between them.

"Well?" He asked first, but this was still keeping up with appearances.

A small guffaw left Bryon's face, "You got some spunk for a boy who looks like he can't even wipe his own ass. If you want to see what animals I use then you're in luck." the man tapped the bottom of his mug on the edge of the table, "they're everywhere."

Loud and multiple squeaks erupted inside the tavern.