Private Tales The Mountains Ahead

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim simply nodded and gave a short bow, then turned on his heel. "There's a stable boy that will take care of the animals."

He doubted the lad would have any problems with the Elk. In a village like this Dwarves were a common sight, and they had their own...interesting pack animals that one had to learn how to take care of.

Pulling his own saddlebags off the Horse Kasim did the same with Aviana's, putting both on his shoulders with only a slight amount of agony coursing through him. He hefted the weight and then motioned for the Half-Elf to follow, attempting not to hobble as they stepped inside.

As he had predicted, no one in the common room gave them a second glance as they stepped through it, most just looking once before returning to their own conversation.

Here they did not stand out. Here they were safe.

At least hopefully.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana had to make a conscious effort to not reach out towards Kasim, or to offer to carry the bags for him. It was best to not do anything unusual, or that would draw attention to themselves. With her head held high, arms folded against her chest to cradle the snoozing baby dragon in place beneath her cloak, she made her way across the main room and avoided meeting anyone's gaze that happened to glance up at her.

Once upstairs and safely locked away behind the closed door, Abiana let herself relax. She pulled off the cloak and wrapped the little dragonling in the garment, then set the bundle down by the hearth. It would keep the creature warm while he slept.

She turned back to Kasim with a faint smile, moving to take the saddle bags from him and to set them down on the table.

"We should get some food before you have to perform, yeah? A warm meal sounds lovely... And you need rest."

 

[Kasim Areth]

He grunted quietly, mostly because of the pain he was still trying to hide from her. The hurt was more than he had wanted to admit, and after a day of riding it was really only getting worse. He fidgeted for just a brief moment and then he took in a deep breath.

”I can get us something.” He told her with a smile.

In truth though, Kasim wasnt entirely sure that he would even make it down the stairs. The Jester didn't want to admit it, in fact he barely wanted to say anything at this point. Aviana had been good to him, and now this...well he didn't want the dragon to be found out either and her going down stairs risked that too. No. Better to just muscle through some of this.

”Something hearty.” He told her. ”Maybe they'll have some stew.”

He flashed a smile. ”Or fresh bed.”

Both would be grand.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Try as he might to hide the pain he was in, Aviana could see it in his eyes and the way his jaw tensed when he spoke. Her heart ached knowing that he was hurting, and her natural instinct was to do everything she could to help ease his discomfort.

"I can get the food. You need to sit down and rest, Kasim. For once, let me take care of you." She murmured softly, keeping her voice low so that it didn't carry through the walls or the shut door. During their travels together, the jester was always the one looking after her and mending her wounds. Now, he was the one in need of help, and yet he kept insisting on doing things himself.

He was stubborn as a mule, she would give him that.

She gestured to the comfortable bed that seemed beckon from the corner near the fireplace.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"A lady doesn't fetch her servant food." Kasim pointed out with a grimace.

The pain was getting to him now, there was no question in that. It was a struggle to even make it to the bed, and in truth he was grateful when he sat down on the mattress. A muted groan escaped him, though he tried to keep it together as best as he could.

For a second Kasim closed his eyes, then he spoke.

"I'll be fine." He insisted quietly. "Just need some time. Maybe some brandy."

The latter certainly couldn't hurt right now.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana moved over to the bed and pulled the throw blanket over Kasim's form once he sat down. "You can get us some food after you've gotten some rest then." She whispered quietly.

Her fingers delicately traced through his hair and she lightly kissed his temple, careful to not apply too much pressure. "But for now, I'm sure a place like this has some sort of room service. I'll have a servant bring us some brandy, and a meal."

Before the man could protest, Aviana turned to the door and stepped out into the hallway. Her eyes swept up and down the small corridor, before they landed on a servant walking towards the stairs with a tray in their hands. She waved a hand in their direction and smiled warmly.

The older woman smiled kindly in response, making her way over to the half elf. "What can I do for you, madam?"

"Could I please get three meals brought up to this room, and a bottle of brandy?" She asked, passing a few coins to the servant to pay for the food.

"Right away, my lady." With a small curtsy and a nod, the servant spun around and hurried back down the stairs.

Aviana stepped back inside the room and shut the door behind her. "I could try to make you something for the pain, Kasim?" She offered a few moments later, taking a seat next to him on the bed.

 

[Kasim Areth]

He shook his head.

While she had been away Kasim had mostly been spending his time simply closing his eyes and breathing. It was remarkable how much that simple little trick actually made him feel better. The bruises on his flesh still hurt, the cuts ached, but it was feeling better. Not being in the saddle helped.

"No salves right now." The Jester said.

There was too much to do just yet.

"I need to be at my best." Kasim told her. "In a weird way the pain will actually help me stay focused during the songs."

He almost smiled at how dumb that was.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

She gave a quiet sigh, nodding once. Feeling so useless was difficult for her to come to terms with, but she could hardly force the jester to let her help. Still, while he was downstairs singing she would have time to brew up a poultice for him that might help a bit more than a salve.

"Is there anything I could do to help?" She asked, rubbing at the back of her neck with a slight frown.

Her head was still throbbing from whatever the dragon's spell had done to her last night... perhaps she would make enough poultice for herself too.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"No." Kasim said with a shake of his head. "I'll be alright."

At least he was pretty sure of that. "It's just a matter of making it through the night."

The Jester didn't really know what else to say, there really wasn't much else that could be done. His wounds were ones that would heal in time, and for now he just had to work through it. They didn't have much of an option otherwise, lest they get kicked out of the inn.

"Just rest." Kasim leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'll get through the night."

Then a featherbed awaited.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"Would it be best if I stayed up here while you're performing?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer to the question. She had to stay in the room to take care of the dragon.

There was a soft knock on the door. The servant had been quick about fetching the requested food and drink. Aviana gestured for Kasim to stay seated for the time being with a wave of her hand; then she went to the door to answer it. The pair briefly exchanged pleasantries and Aviana inclined her head as she took the tray from the servant, shutting the door behind her with a bump of her hip.

"Before you go anywhere there, let's eat."

 

[Kasim Areth]

He nodded with a smile. "It would be best."

It wasn't that Kasim didn't want her there, it was just that he was weary of them getting caught in a situation where the Dragon...well was seen, heard, or otherwise captured. The Jester would rather not have a situation where they had to fight for their lives because of the creature.

Not that he didn't appreciate it's existence, he was just...weary. Dragons were valuable in this part of the world, really any part of the world, and if they were found the thing could likely be sold for entire tons of gold.

"That I can agree to." Kasim said with a smile, nearly toppling as she bumped into him playfully.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

She placed the tray in her lap, handing Kasim a plate of food. It was still warm, surprisingly. Steam rising off the potatoes and vegetables. The beef looked to be cooked with and smothered with some sort of gravy. It was the first proper meal that she'd seen in weeks -- her mouth watered at the smell of it.

The bottle of brandy was set down between them, not bothering with the glasses that had come with it.

"Sorry... didn't mean to knock you over." She frowned a little. There hadn't been that much force behind the movement, and she was skeptical that he was in any sort of shape to be performing.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Its alright." Kasim said with a smile.

He knew that she hadn't meant to hurt him, in fact Kasim was pretty sure at this point Aviana would never hurt him even if he was about to kill her. Part of him wondered what that would look like, why he would even...his thoughts suddenly died and his lips thinned.

The Well.

It had touched his mind, a brief brushing darkening his thoughts, but it had been there.

"Maybe we'll rest a bit longer down the road." He suggested quietly, clearly wanting to but unsure. "A cabin or something."

It was the only thing he could think of as safe.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana noticed the strange expression that crossed over his features, but she didn't know what the cause of it was. All she could assume that it was something that she had done or said. Both of them were under so much stress, they were exhausted, and injured. She couldn't blame Kasim for being annoyed.

His remark about finding a cabin didn't quite match up with the expression that she saw moments before, which only left her more confused as to what was going on in the jester's thoughts.

"If we can manage to find one, that would be lovely. Give us a chance to get our feet underneath us and unwind. We've been on the move for weeks now... I think we could use a few days to regroup."

 

[Kasim Areth]

He smiled. "I think we can take those days, especially since we'll be going back by ship."

The journey across the Wilds had taken them almost two months all be told, all at a constant and quick pace. A ship would do that same journey in a matter of days.

It was why he had brought it up in the first place. If they were going to make it to Minaris then a boat was really the only option that would allow them to do it in any amount of time at all. It helped that the wind usually pushed towards the East too, and the currents would let them go even faster.

A few days in a Cabin wouldn't be too bad.

"I'll ask around." He told her. "People talk to bards."

A small smirk touched his lips.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"You do have that charm about you." She chuckled softly, taking a few bites of the potatoes and then chased the food down with a quick swig from the brandy.

For a few minutes, she ate in relative silence, simply savoring the taste of a freshly cooked meal that hadn't been salted with the intention of preserving it for days on end. It was a much deserved treat, she thought. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth at the realization.

Not too long ago, she would have been hard pressed to imagine that she'd find inn food so appealing.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim ate quite a bit more than one might have expected, though perhaps in his state it wasn't really.

"How is he doing." He gestured to the Dragon.

The Jester wasn't entirely sure if either of them would even be able to tell the state of the animal. Dragon's were exceptionally rare, and he expected that Aviana knew as much about the creature as he did. Unless Minaris had a special Dragon education class that he didn't know about.

"He's certainly..." Well. "Bigger, is it even a he?"

Kasim had no idea.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

What Aviana didn't have in actual knowledge of dragons, she made up with the strange link that had been forged between her and the dragonling that was curled up in front of the fire. Her gaze shifted over to the slumbering creature, a fond expression settling over her features.

She leaned over, nestling her head gently against Kasim's shoulder.

"He's okay. A bit hungry, I think. I was planning on feeding him while you were downstairs. Little guy just needs a lot of rest. And yes. It's a male." She murmured softly, idly brushing her thumb along the side of the bottle that she was holding.

Since her and Kasim had made something of an unspoken agreement to be open with one another, she didn't see much reason to hide the fact that she had a connection with the creature.

"It's hard to describe though... like I can sense him."

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Interesting." Kasim said with a slight stroke of his chin, fingers running around the length of his jaw in thought.

He had never heard of such a thing before, but that didn't meant it hadn't happened in the past. The world was massive in scale, and there was more than one type of Dragon flying around the skies. He had no doubt in his mind that this one was different than those that lived in the spine.

Truth was though, that was little more than a guess. "Dragons are..."

He paused.

"An unknown really." A shrug rolled over his shoulder. "They've never been populace around Vel Anir. Not in any memory, even the history books."

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"Dragons were once heavily integrated into life in Minaris. Or at least... that's what the legends say. Much of that knowledge has been lost, unfortunately." She murmured, keeping her head resting on the jester's shoulder for the time being. Even if they only had a short while before he had to leave, she wanted to enjoy the peace that had finally settled. They were safe here.

"But they haven't been seen in generations. At least, not living dragons. We had the eggs, obviously but... they were dormant until his suddenly showed signs of life." Taking a breath, she finally lifted her head from his shoulder and brushed her hair out of her face.

"He won't stay this size for long though... not sure what we're going to do once he gets too big for me to carry."

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Presumably by then he'll be able to fly." It was an assumption, for all they knew Dragons didn't learn to fly until they were twenty years old.

That seemed somewhat unlikely of course but...it was still a possibility.

"In a weird way he might be safer then." At least he could get away if something happened, though if Kasim understood what Aviana had said correctly...the two of them might be linked in some way. Would one feel the danger of the other? His lips thinned for a moment, wondering the application of that. "There's a lot we don't know here."

The Jester said quietly. "Would someone in Minaris know more?"

A researcher of Archivist perhaps.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

"It's entirely possible." She mused, tilting her head slightly to the side as she considered the question. "If anything, the Repository has archives locked away in its vaults. My father spent a good portion of his time pilfering through the various texts and scrolls held within those walls."

She offered the bottle of brandy to Kasim with a wry smile.

"That and... I get the feeling that the little guy might have a few answers himself. Just needs some time." Her gaze drifted back to the ball of black scales that was slumbering by the fire.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked after a moment, reticent of unveiling the fact that she was nervous about the two of them separating again. Even if it it was only in the same building.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Hour or two." Maybe more depending on the crowd, perhaps less.

It was sometimes difficult to tell with a common room like this. He expected these folk weren't exactly used to bards popping through. He'd seen a few dwarves in the tavern though, and that meant the crowd would likely take up some of the singing eventually.

They tended to be a merry folk.

"It will be alright." He told Aviana. "I don't get the same bad feeling about this place as I did the other, and the Innkeeper was Kind."

For some reason that made him feel better about all of this. Standing, the Jester offered her a smile. "It'll just be a few songs, some stories. That's it."

Nothing too unusual for him.

 

[Aviana Sabel]

Aviana smiled a little more warmly after Kasim's reassurance. His instinct had kept them alive for most of this trip, she trusted him when he said that it was safe here. Further down the road, they may not be so fortunate as to find a place where they could earn some coin and relax at the same time. She might as well enjoy it while she could.

"You still need to sing for me sometime." She mused, taking his plate for him once he had finished, placed it on the tray with her own empty plate then carried them to the door. The dishes were set down on a table in the hallway for a servant to gather and take down to the kitchen.

When she closed the door behind her upon her return, she was starting to pull the pins from her long hair.

"I'll be waiting here then, singing to the dragon." She smiled slightly at the jester.

 

[Kasim Areth]

He smirked slightly.

"I'll try to be quick." The Jester assured her as he turned around and went rummaging through his things. A moment later he pulled out his flute.

It was the instrument he didn't use as often, mostly because it did not have the same effect, but it would do well enough for now. He knew that tonight would mostly be about the stories, not the music.

That was generally the theme with common rooms.

"Remember now to burn the place down." He joked with a smile as he headed towards the door. "Or break down the door."