Darci was the first to recover. Sitting up with a few pieces of straw stuck to her now slightly tangled hair, she began to brush herself down. She was getting hungry and she did not want her meal to get too cold. Taslessian got his giggles under control and joined her, talking about all that had happened since Darci had come into this world a week ago. Darci ended up telling him about how the man in the barn had been controlled by Domati. This was almost the first time she had been alone with anyone in the group since the incident.
A pained look on his face interrupted the alcohol-induced merriment as he told her that somehow, he already knew. He could tell that some magic had been used in that area, but he had not put his intuition and the attack on Darci together. He was ashamed that he had not picked it up earlier, before she had been put in danger.
The conversation soon turned to Darci’s life back on earth, making her mood soon change from mildly happy to depressed. If she were back in her world, she would be in Bendigo playing basketball with Kellie. Not only did she miss her home, but she also missed her friends. What really upset her, however, was how her parents must feel. Their only daughter had disappeared without a trace for over a week. The thought made her feel physically ill. With a deep sigh she put down her almost empty plate of food, looking aimlessly at the bite marks she had left in her meat.
“Don’t be sad,” said Taslessian. Waiting for her to look up, he stuck out his bottom lip, giving Darci the sad puppy look. This made her smile slightly, eventually finding it hard not to laugh at his self-debasing methods of trying to cheer her.
“I have a present for us.” He picked up the bottle that the lady had left behind, giving it a slight shake to show that it was full of liquid.
“It’s not ale,” he told her as he eagerly poured some liquid into Darci’s empty mug. She looked at it dubiously not sure whether to try it or not. When he drank his with a smile, she decided to give it a go. Putting it up to her lips to take the smallest of sips, Darci was pleasantly surprised. The liquid tasted kind of like a dessert wine, except that it was both sweet and tangy at the same time. After a few more taste tests, she drained her mug in no time at all, happy when Taslessian did the same, before quickly refilling both mugs. Soon, both of them were talking and giggling about nothing.
Darci was not entirely drunk – at least that’s what she thought, considering she had never been drunk before. She was just happy, yet she needed to get away from her present situation, so she had fallen into the intoxicating mood with ease. On the other hand, Taslessian was almost slaughtered by the ale. Even though he was sitting down, he could not seem to stop himself from swaying from side to side, jolting upright on the odd occasion as if he had inadvertently fallen asleep. His eyes had gone all red, and every time he spoke his words came out slurred, his drunken gibberish becoming harder and harder to understand. He had obviously consumed one almighty mug of ale before coming upstairs.
As he half fell, half leaned back on the rolled up blanket he used as a pillow, Taslessian began to tell Darci his life story. Through the tumble of words she could make out that he had a little sister called Tess, an older sister called Gabe, and his mother’s name was Ita. His father had died when he was very young so his mother had remarried within the small village they had lived in – life being very hard in that area without a man to support the family. The man Ita had married was two- faced and mean. When his mother was around, the man fawned on her children as if they were his own, but when Ita was away, Taslessian and his sisters were forced to make themselves scarce. Yoman, the stepfather, was very abusive and he had beaten Taslessian for the slightest of upsets. Yoman never seemed to touch the girls, which was why Taslessian was glad to be taken away to become an apprentice wizard.
This news swung Darci back to feeling sad. Noticing the frown on her face, Taslessian smiled. “It’s okay,” he said. “I heard that soon after I was taken away, Yoman was accidentally killed by one of the villagers. The villager had seen Yoman chasing after Tess like a mad man with my little sister crying terrified. When he tried to calm Yoman down, the villager was set upon for interfering, in the end being forced to kill Yoman in self-defence.” Taslessian nodded his head in satisfaction of something that needed to be done, yet he could not stop his face from changing back to the sad and mopey one of only moments before.
Darci placed her hand on his shoulder to try to comfort the now depressed young man. With the dramatic way Taslessian’s mood had changed, it was clear these memories still hurt him deeply. His eyes had filled with water making him look as if he was about to cry, which made her want to cry also.
“You’re not going cry are you?” she asked. “I’m not any good when one of my friends cries, because it makes me cry too, and I don’t want to cry…” Now it was her turn to use the puppy face.
Taslessian looked into her deep blue eyes and he smiled. “I’m not going to cry, because now I have you.”
Darci had a distinct feeling of déjà vu as Taslessian moved his head closer to hers. This time, she did not have the reflexes to back away. Instead, when their lips finally met, she paused for a moment before eagerly returning his kiss. His touch sent pleasant tingles up and down her spine, the sensation making her body warm with excitement. It was uncomfortable to kiss someone sitting down and twisted, but she hardly noticed. Taslessian stood up then, unsteady on his feet, as he helped her to stand also so he could embrace her properly; arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close to his warm presence.
Darci had her eyes closed as she fell into the soft tranquillity his arms provided. She had to tilt her head upwards so she could reach his mouth with hers, pulling him down slightly with her arms around his neck. He tasted like the sweet tangy wine they had been drinking and he smelt much like the hay they had been sitting on.
What seemed an eternity later, the door swung open again, banging into the wall, breaking them apart. Defyance stood in the doorway, halting momentarily as she realised what had been happening, but if Darci being in Taslessian’s arms surprised her, she did not show it, or seem to care about it in the least. She stood tall though without the usual threatening presence of hands on hips and serious eyes. A slight smile on her face was the only indication that she also had been enjoying the Blazing Unicorn’s wares.
“You’d better get off to bed, Tas,” she said, quickly putting a hand out to steady the youth as he stumbled, trying to lean against the wall.
“Okay, here we go.” The warrior woman put her arm around his waist, the youth automatically placing his arm around her shoulder. His feet dragged along the floor as the strength of the warrior woman almost carried him to bed.
In no time, Defyance was back with Darci, shaking her head with rare amusement. “Poor lad just can’t handle his drink,” she said, taking off her armour, placing it beside her bed and pushing her dagger carefully under her pillow. It was a ritual she undertook every night.
Darci took off her pants and rubbed her legs. It had been a week since she had shaven, and the hair on her legs had been able to grow unchecked. “What do you do about this?” she asked before hopping into her straw bed. The warrior woman reached out from under her bed with a mumble, placing yet another one of her daggers on the floor between the two beds.
“Oh… that’s okay,” Darci said, knowing the sharpness of the warrior’s blades would do more than shave her legs. How she missed a hot bath and soft soap. After wriggling around to get comfortable, Darci had one thing left on her mind.
“Defyance?” she called.
The warrior woman answered with a grunt, not even bothering to move. She had found a comfortable position on the meagre offering of straw and was not going to upset it.
“Would you be able to teach me how to handle myself the way you did downstairs?”
“Sure,” she answered sleepily. “Later…”
With the muffled sounds of a continuing party seeping through the floorboards, both women settled down to sleep, Darci blowing out the c
andle sitting on the small chair.
Chapter 4
Someone was again shaking Darci’s shoulder. When she rolled over to see who it was, the brown eyes of Defyance met her sleepy gaze. The young girl’s head felt fuzzy as her muscles struggled lethargically to do as they were bid. Her mouth was dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she tried to gather her thoughts. Finally, she struggled to roll over, her joints clicking and groaning as she wriggled underneath her warm if somewhat musty blanket. A disjointed thought passed by, wondering when, if ever, she would get used to the strenuous exercise of horse riding.
“You sleep much too heavily,” complained Defyance, standing above Darci with her hands planted firmly on her hips. Already dressed for the morning, the warrior woman heaved a sigh of frustration. A stray strand of blond hair fell in front of her eyes, only to be blown back by an impatient huff.
“If you wish to handle yourself like me, your first lesson is to try to sleep lightly. There is no easier a way to get killed if you’re not expecting it. Now, get up so that we can go through some exercises that you will have to do every morning from now on.” She turned her back on her sleepy young comrade to sit on the stool while she brought out a small flat stone to sharpen one of the many daggers that she possessed.
Darci got out of her comfy bed begrudgingly. Back home, she used to get out of bed early so she could work on strengthening some of her muscles for basketball. This was one part of her world that she did not miss. With a resigning sigh, she dressed herself in plain brown pants and a dark green shirt, and without a word of complaint, followed Defyance out the door and down some narrow stairs at the end of the hallway. Her feet thumped statically on the slightly uneven woodwork, her stiff muscles not assisting in the descent. At the bottom, a dilapidated door creaked open to reveal the blinding first rays of sunlight. Blinking, Darci cleared her eyes of the brightness to see before her a disappointingly dingy little backyard that doubled as the inn’s stable area.
She could see their horses tethered inside a rundown, ramshackle stable. It looked as if it had been well made once upon a time, but the elements had had their way, tilting the wooden roof to the left, looking as if it could fall over at any moment. Maledorian’s charger was half sticking out from under the roof, stomping its foot as usual, protesting at anything – which was usually everything –it found unsatisfactory.
Defyance passed her evaluating glare over the area as she stood in the middle of the cobble-paved courtyard. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned to face Darci, who was busy stifling a yawn. “I want you to hit me,” she said, waiting for her command to be obeyed.
Darci lifted one eyebrow to question this, but there was no hint of humour in the woman’s eyes, so the Offworlder did as she was told. Balling her hand up into a fist, Darci launched her hand at the middle of Defyance’s ribs. She knew that if she hit the right spot, she would at least wind her rather confident friend. But then again, she realised it would not matter; she knew Defyance would have something up her armoured sleave.
Just when Darci thought she might actually connect with the punch, Defyance turned sideways, grabbing Darci’s wrist with one hand to pull her off balance, swiftly drawing a dagger with her other hand. Before the young girl knew it, she was being held firmly by her mentor with her own arm wrapped around her chest and neck, a knife held at her throat.
“Well, at least you seemed to be aiming for one of the right places to hit,” the warrior woman said, more to herself than anyone in particular. “That gives me something to work with!” With a swift motion the dagger was placed back in its sheath and Defyance released her vice-like grip.
Motioning for Darci to go back to their starting positions, Defyance began to re-enact what she had done, slow enough for her pupil to see, and so continued their morning.
When they had finally finished the lesson, Darci felt only slightly more confident in the taproom than she had before; still not willing to do what Defyance had done the previous night, but satisfied she was at least trying to do something about it. The warrior woman had shown her a few simple effective things to do in case of an emergency, though her main strategy was to always distract and run, a tactic that Darci was very comfortable with. Feeling tired all over again, both from lack of sleep and the morning exercise, she retreated upstairs back to bed.
* * *
It seemed like she was only asleep a couple of minutes before being awoken again. This time it was Maledorian reaching down to shake her shoulder. His smile was bright and his eyes were clear, making her wonder if the knight had actually joined the others last night.
“I don’t want to get up,” Darci mumbled as she turned her back to him. She pulled the blanket over her head only to uncover her bare feet at the other end. Despite her now chilling feet she was comfortable, a sensation that had been difficult to achieve.
“You and Taslessian both,” he replied. Taslessian appeared in the doorway opposite with his head hung in an attempt to hide the dark bags under his eyes. His feet dragged on the floor as he stumbled to lean against the doorframe. The knight walked around her bed so that he could face her again. Kneeling, he reached down, with one hand, smiling as he started to poke and prod Darci in the ribs with a large calloused finger until he found the right spot. He smiled in satisfaction as he won an involuntary squeak for his efforts. “All right, all right, I give up!”
Maledorian’s grin widened at the victory, stepping back as the young girl struggled to get to her feet. Barefooted, she followed the knight out into the hallway. His gangly arms reached over her head behind her to shut the door. He pulled on it hard, closing it with an overly loud bang. His grin turned to mischievous as Taslessian brought his hand to his head with a groan.
The three of them met the seated Lief in his hood, and a stoic Defyance in the now empty taproom. The smell of the previous night had only lessoned slightly, leaving the scent of sawdust and spilt ale in place of the ripe body odours of the regular patrons. The silence of the morning was in direct contrast to the rowdy melodies of the night before, yet Darci could still imagine the bawdy tunes playing in the back of her mind.
One of the serving ladies had placed some meals on the round table where their comrades already sat. Lief stood up and pulled a chair out for Darci so that she could sit down next to him. He lifted his head so she could see his kind smile from under his hood, reminding the young girl about what he had said the previous night. Before she could feel uncomfortable at his interest, however, he turned his attention to Maledorian, leaving her to think that perhaps he really was quite content to wait. Defyance kicked a chair out for Maledorian to sit on, tilting her head in acknowledgment as he gave her a mock bow before sitting down, his hand already grabbing at the food.
Darci looked around at her strange group of friends. Maledorian was taking up the most space across from her, smiling as he began to dig in to his breakfast. The tall brawny man made the chair that he occupied look like a child’s, sitting legs wide apart, and leaning back as he took a large, vicious bite out of a bread roll. His plate was piled up with almost three times the amount on Darci’s. Defyance, as always, was brooding over something as she sat quietly next to the young knight. She cut her bread into edible portions with her own dinner knife, delicately using it to stab the cut portions onto the end of her blade so that she could place them in her mouth. Lief was again hiding under his cloak, sitting in the shadow of the stairs next to Darci, while on her other side, Taslessian held his head in both of his hands hunched over his part of the table. He had pushed his plate away without even touching his food. A flick of his finger gave leave for Maledorian to drag it towards his side of the table.
Darci was surprised to find out it was only time for a midmorning break, making her wonder what time she and Defyance had been out in the backyard. She would have thought it a dream if it were not for the red marks around her wrists and the fatigue coursing through her body. Going over the evasive moves she had had been taught in h
er mind, her thoughts were interrupted by Maledorian.
“First, you lot will go through the markets. There, you can pick up anything that we might need on the voyage. Whilst you’re all doing that, I’ll go look for a decent ship and crew to take us on our trip.” Maledorian established the day’s plans with the rest of the group as he gulped down his morning milk.
Taslessian moved his head closer to Darci’s. “How are you feeling?” he asked her with a gravelly voice.
Darci wrinkled her nose. His breath showed that he had not eaten, drunk or done anything since the previous night. “I’m fine,” she replied smiling, as she sat back in her chair. “It hasn’t given me any trouble.” The young wizard rolled his eyes in disgust.
“How about you?” Darci enquired, even though she knew the answer.
Taslessian told his friend that he was never going to drink so much ale again. However, he was still prepared to drink a bottle of wine with her any time, despite any consequences that he may face the next day. He smiled as he remembered what had happened the night before. Darci was the first person that he had ever kissed, and he had found in a flood of warming sensations that he really cared for her. When he considered their quest, his stomach clenched tight with fear, not for himself, but for his friend. His master had told him stories about the demons of old, who had done unspeakable things. He snapped out of his melancholy thoughts with a shudder as he realised that Darci was trying to speak to him. He shook his head to clear it.
“I said, what do you think we’ll buy in the market?” Darci had at first thought Taslessian’s laps in concentration was due to his hangover, but the strange, concerned look he had not quite managed to hide caused her to wonder.
“Well, we’ll probably get some new, warm clothes, maybe some new weapons as well,” the young wizard replied, glad for the distraction, “None of us have been on an actual quest before, so who knows what we need, aside from the fact that Menarik is cold.”
Still not in the mood to talk about such things as world-changing quests, she changed the subject, wanting to know what type of place Menarik was. Taslessian thought for a moment as he brought to mind everything he knew about the place they were headed to as best as he could, considering that he had also never been there.