The Journal of Me (workin title) - Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

The best way to find work, especially in a town such as Khrist, is to listen. Go to inn, a tavern, a pub, or whatever, and sit down. Listen to those around you, and eventually, you will hear something of interest. You’ll hear a story about some giant demanding gold from a local farmer, or maybe a demon haunting someone’s basement. Maybe you’ll hear about a band of outlaws blocking a local path, or a witch who has been kidnapping local children to use in evil spells. The point is this: If you listen long enough, you will hear something.

Gordon and I, still in Khrist, were very far from Forg’s inn. Not really Forg’s inn, I suppose, but the place he tried to rob us. What really made me mad about the whole situation is that he expected to get away with it. At least one of those thugs got what they deserved.

“We should eat,” Gordon said as we walked down a not-too-busy street. The road was narrow and made of dirt; there were some shops to either side, but not many apartments or houses. Only a few people traversed the road and none of them on horses.

“Aye,” I replied. “And drink, too.” As I thought about where to go for our food and drink, I realized that it was getting rather late in the day. Some lamps were lit, and the approach of night explained the lack of traffic through the town’s streets. I decided it was time to find a place to sleep.

We passed a run-down inn, but found a good looking one further down the road. I entered first, and Gordon followed. The innkeeper was easy to spot out as she was the only person standing up and wearing an apron. She stood behind a bar at which only one old man sat. There were a few other people sitting around the room, most of them close to the fire.

Upon walking up to the bar, she greeted me, and I returned the favor. It was eight coprums for the two of us to stay the night in addition to whatever food we ate and drink we drank. Gordon ordered some lamb to eat, however

I wasn’t very hungry; I helped myself to a mug of beer.

After Gordon had finished his meal, he proceeded to our room upstairs. I delegated the task of further drinking to myself, and sat at the bar a stool away from the old man.

I had maybe about four beers when the old man finally spoke, saying “You belong here.”

His remark perplexed me. I never thought myself to have the look of a criminal, or any other type of man who would reside in Khrist. “Excuse me, sir? I belong here? In this town, in this inn, or in your place?”

“All three,” he replied. I ignored him and continued drinking. I thought about the day’s events. I had never fallen into a scam like Forg’s before. Then again, I had never run into a ghost either. I thought at the time that perhaps I was growing old. I looked at my hands. They were hard and callous from years of use of the bow and magic. There were not many that I knew of as skilled in either of those arts as me; through my travels and adventures and various jobs, I had become very proficient in each. I’ve always tried to push myself to become better at everything I do, everything I am. Perhaps my earlier folly had been due to my tired mind…

I looked over at the old man. He stared at the flask in front of him. “You’re greedy,” he said.

“Greedy?” I asked. At times, talking to people interests me if only to hear what they will say.

“You want too much.”

“What do you know about me?”

“I know you want too much.” I waited for him to continue, and it was a few minutes before he did. While I waited, I had taken out my journal and started to write out the days events. I find that reminding yourself what happens each day keeps your mind sharp. “Why do you write?” he asked.

“To remind me of my mistakes.”

“There are other reasons.” I stayed silent. “You are ambitious. You seek fame from your writing. You seek money, women, and little else. You believe that there is honor in what you do: Traveling the world and ridding it of its demons.”

“Isn’t there?” I almost couldn’t speak. This old man sitting a stool away from me at the bar was listing my faults. I was in awe, and could only listen to him continue.

“There is a spy on this world.” I shook myself to clear my mind. I was drunk. The old man was obviously drunk. It was the second time today I had been fooled. “It is more evil than any demon you have ever come across. Its existence depends solely on black magic. If you were to destroy it, you would be saving countless lives, including your own.”

“Aye,” I said. I was getting tired. “I see…and what is this demon called, sir?”

“A dragon.” At this point I could only laugh. Dragons are legends, folklore, myths, and nothing more. The thing that made me laugh, however, was the fact that this man suggested that I hunt an imaginary creature for free.

I looked around the room to see no one else—even the innkeeper was gone; whether in another room or to bed, I do not know—and turned to look into my beer. I looked at the old man again. He was still staring at his flask, and he did not seem to share my jubilance. “A dragon?” I asked.

“Yes,” the old man replied. I shook my head and went to sleep.

Later that night I waken by the sound of our room’s door opening. Moonlight was shining in through the open window, but it was still fairly dark inside. I stared at the door, which stayed cracked, and then looked over at Gordon. He was a huge hump on a small bed that was on the verge of snapping in half. His snoring was so loud that I was surprised I was able to fall asleep, although I’m sure the beer helped. I heard the door shut, and I looked at it once more.

A few years ago, when I traveled with Bool, a thief, I learned to always hold my instincts in high regard. Everything that man did was based on a hunch. He once pointed out a not-too-good looking woman, dressed in rags, to me in a busy street in Wernstown and told me, “That woman looks poor.” I agreed, and said that we should continue on our way (we were merely passing through the town) and not bother to rob beggars. Ignoring me, he walked by her while I waited on a corner. A few minutes later, he came back with a purse full of draenii. I asked Bool if he had gotten that from the woman dressed in rags, and he replied, “No, I got it from the man standing behind her.” My point is this: You will never know what you will find unless you look.

I got up out of my bed and pressed my ear to the bottom of the door. You can always hear easier if you listen through the crack there. I heard a few men talking; one of the voices was Forg’s. I grabbed a spare arrowhead from my quiver and took a few moments to enchant it so that it would shine like a mirror. I stuck the arrowhead through the crack and scanned the hallway. There were a total of six men—all of them with weapons and all of them looking ready to fight.

I got up from the floor and looked out the window. There was a shed underneath that Gordon and I could jump onto, but due to my friend’s weight, the leap would make a great deal of noise. However, I saw it as the only sensible way out. I had seen Gordon fight several men simultaneously before (I have, as well), but I didn’t want to take the chance that there might be more waiting in places where I could not see. Also, there was limited fighting space in our room, and it would be difficult to use my bow if it was possible at all at such a short range.

I gently shook Gordon as I whispered in his ear to remain silent. He listened and woke up without a sound. I pointed to the door and held up six fingers. I pointed to the window, signaling that that was our only way out. He nodded and proceeded to dress himself and equip his weapons. Neither he nor I wore any armor, although we would at times if a certain job required it.

Upon dressing myself, I went over to the door again and listened. This time I heard nothing. I took out the arrowhead I had enchanted and peeked around the hallway but saw nothing. I thought maybe that they had gone downstairs, or outside. Really, I had no idea why they would have left and thought that they may have not been looking for us at all. I walked over to the window and looked outside but once again saw nothing. Gordon stood waiting for me to make a move.

I didn’t want to take any chances leaving through the door, so I grabbed my bow, quiver, and dagger and walked to the window again. On my way jumping out of the window I realized that the fall was much longer than it seemed. For a split second or two I thought I was going to break my legs, but then my fall slowed and I landed softly on the shed. I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I didn’t take the time to think about it. I jumped off the shed (a much shorter fall) and motioned for Gordon to wait while I looked around.

I was in a dirt-covered alleyway between the inn and an apartment building. I walked out of the alleyway and onto the street. No one was out this late at night and I went back to let Gordon know that it was safe to exit the room. However, when I started to walk back, I saw the old man from the bar blocking my path.

“Listen to me,” he said. “I will help you escape but you must promise me that will hunt the spy that resides on this world.”

By spy, I assumed that he meant the dragon that he spoke of earlier. As for receiving his help, I thought that he must have been crazy. “You’re an old man, so weak that you need a cane to hold you up. How can you help?”

“Are you so simple as to perceive by sight?” I noticed it then. Wizards are rare, and we know each other through a feeling that I cannot really describe. You just know when you see one; you can feel it. I felt it then, as I stood across from the old man. I probably hadn’t noticed it before because I was in such a rush to escape.

“You cushioned my fall from the window with a spell.”

“I will do the same to your friend if you agree with my promise.” I said I would; any wizard who can cast a spell like that is worth having around, no matter his age.

We walked back to the window where Gordon waited, but I did not see him there. I was going to shout his name, but the old man silenced me with a wave of his arms. “I will send you back up,” he said.

The old wizard then directed me to jump. I did so, but instead of falling back down at the highest point of my leap, I floated up toward the window. I looked down at the old man and saw him making no motions with his hands whatsoever; he was simply staring at me.

Once inside the room I had just hastily exited a few minutes before, I looked around and saw Gordon tied up on his bed. I saw two dead bodies on the floor and what looked like pieces of a third near the door. Without hesitation, I went over to Gordon and used an arrow to cut his ties. “How did you get back up?” he asked.

“You’ll see how in a few minutes,” I replied. “Jump out the window.” Gordon looked at me as though I had told him to eat his own foot. “Trust me. I’ll follow right after you.”

He merely grunted, and turned to look for his sword. His attackers had left it propped against the wall next to the door. “They left this room. I think they went to look for you in other parts of the inn.” To hear Gordon speak two sentences in a row stunned me.

“Right, well, let’s get out of here before they decide to check in on you.” Gordon then grabbed his sword, turned to the window and jumped out. I looked out to see him floating toward the ground with little surprise on his face. He trusted me more than anyone else I can think of…

I followed Gordon, as I said I would, and met him and the wizard in the alley. It was at this point that I decided to ask, “What’s your name?”

“We haven’t time for that now, and even if we did, you wouldn’t remember it,” he replied. I think he might have told me his name later on, but to this day, I can’t remember it. My belief is that he placed some spell on those who heard his name to prevent them from remembering it. For what reason, I am still not sure. Anyway, at that time while we were busy trying to escape, I didn’t pressure him on the matter.

“How do you plan on getting us out of here?” I asked.

“We will walk,” he said.

“Can you make us fly?” Gordon asked him. I have to admit, I was wondering the same thing, although I held myself from asking. If the wizard didn’t suggest that method right away, I assumed he must have a good reason for it.

“Not quite,” the wizard replied. “You must first travel the trail to draw the map, so to speak. I was able to send your friend back up to the window because he had already jumped down.”

“How did you slow my fall from the window?” I asked.

“It is a simple trick, but we will have to wait until we are safe out of this town in order to talk more about that and other things.”

“Such as the dragon?”

“That and your new enemy, Forg. He is more powerful than you think.” I remained silent at this, and we started to sneak out of the alleyway. I took the lead with the wizard behind me and Gordon in the back. I nocked an arrow and turned the corner of the inn. I saw two guards outside and no one else in the street at all. Although it was late at night, I thought the lack of people in the road to be odd. Perhaps the residents of the apartments and houses on this street knew that there was trouble.

Signaling to the wizard and Gordon that there were two enemies to our left, I exited the alley. I went to the right (the inn was on our left in the alley) and the old man whispered in my ear, “Forg will have sent men to search through the homes on this street as well as other inns to look for you and your friend here.”

I stopped to turn and give him a look that should have killed him, “Why the hell would he want us so bad? He didn’t lose any money trying to scam us.”

“No, but he did lose hired help, and therefore money. However, that’s not the reason he lured you to this town in the first place. There is more you must learn; not now, however, for we must avoid Forg’s men.” I stared at him for a bit and looked for some sign of insanity in his eyes, but saw none. I turned and continued to walk down the street, doing my best to avoid sight.