The Blue Harp Curse, Page 2
Michael Sanderson
The next night found Rynzius and Grannum sitting in a corner of the Blue Harp not long after they went on duty. The place was mostly full and plenty were sitting at their tables drinking and talking very loudly. Serving girls would be walking by with plates of pork and bread, various kinds of stews, and, of course, mugs and mugs of ale.
Rynzius was pleased to see Avalyn was here again. When they got off duty, he thought to himself, he was going to ask her to the Lazmara Arena or perhaps a stroll through the extravagant gardens in the Tosharis District sometime. He thought for a moment about this though, some girls enjoyed watching an arena fight, but she might not. He figured if she did not respond to the gardens in Tosharis, then he would mention the arena.
They had been sitting at their table for nearly four hours now. Several empty plates of what had been complimentary food now sat there, as well as a few empty mugs; though those were in front of Grannum. A young bard stood near the fireplace playing a lyre and singing. Several people came and went, including the young nobleman who only barely recognized the two of them, but no one who looked like the man Lorvar had described.
Rynzius watched a few arena fighters sitting near the fireplace laughing and drinking. One was being slapped in the face by a barmaid after he grabbed her backside. Although she slapped him hard he just laughed some more and she giggled as she walked away. It may have been rude, but she seemed to enjoy the attention. This probably happened quite a bit here. Rynzius had trouble picturing Lorvar as one of them, but at some point he had been. He liked to think Lorvar would have been different, but more than likely…
At around what must have been one in the morning, a man dressed in a dark cloak, covered in dirt, with his hood up came through the door. Rynzius and Grannum watched carefully. The man casually walked over to his preferred table, and sat down. Not long after a serving girl went over and asked him what he wanted and quickly brought him a small glass of something to drink.
They studied him carefully and for a while it seemed he wasn’t really doing anything but looking around at everyone.
It would be stupid of someone to try and pull anything in a tavern like the Blue Harp. So many traveling adventurers, and sometimes fighters from the arena, frequented this tavern; it would not last long. However, it did not seem like he would. He had been coming to this place for almost a full week, according to Lorvar, and had not tried to cause trouble. The fact is he could simply be a quiet man who likes to keep to himself
Grannum leaned forward slightly and squinted a bit. He jabbed Rynzius in the side, “Hey, I can’t tell, but does it look like he’s talking to someone?”
“I don’t know, my sight isn't as good as yours.” Rynzius said a bit frustrated with the jab. As a human being Rynzius had fine eye-sight, but dwarves have astounding eyes. The only thing better would be an elf, but Rynzius would never say that to a dwarf; especially Grannum.
“Go to the end of the bar near his table and listen.”
“What reason do I have to go over to the end of the bar? No one is even at the end of the bar. Won’t that look a little suspicious?”
Grannum looked over at Lorvar, whom he told to keep an eye on their table in case they should need to talk to him during their wait, and nodded for him to come over.
“Do you see him over there? That’s the guy I mentioned last night.” Lorvar said as he came over to the table.
“Yes, we saw him come in. We’ve been watching him for a little bit now but it looks like he’s muttering to himself, and we can’t listen in over here. Get Avalyn to clean off the end of the bar near that corner and Rynzius will do the rest.” Grannum said.
“Sure thing.” Lorvar said as he picked up their empty plates and walked back to the bar and began talking to Avalyn.
“What? What am I going to do?” asked Rynzius looking over at Grannum with more frustration.
“Go and talk to Avalyn. Flirt with her. He won’t see a young man taking his chance to hit on a cute serving girl while she’s alone as suspicious.” Grannum said…while smiling.
Rynzius could swear that sometimes the dwarf could read his mind. He sighed, feeling a bit hot, as he stood up slowly. “I am going to hurt you later for this, dwarf.” He added as he walked over to the bar.
“Hmmpf,” Grannum snorted, “You were planning on talking to her later anyway I’m willing to bet.”
Rynzius walked down the length of the bar to the end where Avalyn was using a wet rag to clean off the counter humming to herself. As he made his way there he glanced over to the man in the corner. The man was of average size, a bit thin maybe, it was hard to tell, and no facial hair; that Rynzius could see under his cloak anyway. Everything about him seemed ordinary for the most part. Although, he was definitely moving his mouth a bit, like he was quietly talking to himself.
Avalyn looked up from her washing and smiled. “Can I get you something?” she said.
“No, I try not to drink when I’m on watch.”
“Well, you were on watch last night and you came in for a drink, didn’t you?” She replied with a little smile.
“Well, that was a little different, we were nearly off duty. Tonight we shouldn’t.” Rynzius said while trying his best to hone in on the guy in the corner. He was only about six or seven feet away, but the bar was fairly noisy.
“Hasn’t your friend had a few drinks already though?”
“Well, that’s a little different; he’s a dwarf.”
“Oh yes, that’s true. A few mugs of ale wouldn’t have much effect on him would they?” Avalyn said.
Rynzius smiled for a moment as he concentrated harder. He began to hear something now. The man in the corner was not speaking anything that he recognized. It sounded more like chanting. Rynzius tried to peer around his shoulder and saw that the man was looking into his drink as he did this. Nothing about him seemed stressed or tense. He wasn’t looking at anyone.
This was just strange.
“Well,” Rynzius went on, “I wanted to ask you if you wouldn’t mind going to the gardens in the Tosharis District with me? Lorvar told us you only came to the city a few weeks ago and I thought maybe you would like to see them, if you haven’t already.
“Hmm,” Avalyn looked intrigued by this. “Aren’t you here because there is a killer out on the streets? Do you think it would be safe?” She said with another coy little smile.
“Well, we would go during the daytime. And even if we went at night you would have a trained city guard by your side the whole time.” Rynzius said.
Avalyn giggled. “I have been asked to accompany a lot of the men here to all kinds of places. I have said no to all of them.” She looked at him and smiled even more. “I think I will say yes to you, but do you know why?”
Rynzius was stumped by this. It was a question he was not prepared for. “Umm…” Was all he could get out.
“It’s because you asked me to the gardens. Do you know where everyone else asks me to go? To that arena down the street, as if I don’t get enough of pit fighters here every night. Or they get straight to the point and ask me upstairs to their room when I’m done with my shift,” She looked up at Rynzius with a look of almost relief. “That’s why I said yes.”
“Well,” Rynzius said, feeling a little better about not asking her to the arena now. “I’m pleased to be different from the rest then.”
Rynzius listened to the man one last time; he was still doing his little chant. He peered over to Grannum who looked annoyed at how long he was being kept waiting.
“I should get back to my partner. What if I stopped by tomorrow?”
“That would be perfect, I get off early tomorrow” Avalyn said.
Rynzius made his way back to the table with a very frustrated Grannum sitting at it, and yet another empty mug in front of him.
“Well! What took you so long? Is he talking to himself?” Grannum said trying to keep his voice down.
“Yes, he is.” Rynzius said sitting down. “It sort of sounds like chanting. All he is doing is
sitting there staring at his drink and chanting.”
“Chanting? Did is sound like a spell, or was it just some stupid lullaby or something?”
“I couldn’t hear it that well, I don’t know. Why didn’t you go, you’ve got bigger ears than me?”
Grannum grumbled at that last part. “Ok, either he’s a mage or he’s just weird. Let’s just wait a bit longer and see what he does. When he leaves we’ll follow him and see where he takes us.”
Eventually the man in the corner finished his drink, but still looked downwards most of the time. Every now and again Grannum could swear he would look up directly at him and Rynzius, but he wasn’t sure.
***
Rynzius was pleased to see Avalyn was here again. When they got off duty, he thought to himself, he was going to ask her to the Lazmara Arena or perhaps a stroll through the extravagant gardens in the Tosharis District sometime. He thought for a moment about this though, some girls enjoyed watching an arena fight, but she might not. He figured if she did not respond to the gardens in Tosharis, then he would mention the arena.
They had been sitting at their table for nearly four hours now. Several empty plates of what had been complimentary food now sat there, as well as a few empty mugs; though those were in front of Grannum. A young bard stood near the fireplace playing a lyre and singing. Several people came and went, including the young nobleman who only barely recognized the two of them, but no one who looked like the man Lorvar had described.
Rynzius watched a few arena fighters sitting near the fireplace laughing and drinking. One was being slapped in the face by a barmaid after he grabbed her backside. Although she slapped him hard he just laughed some more and she giggled as she walked away. It may have been rude, but she seemed to enjoy the attention. This probably happened quite a bit here. Rynzius had trouble picturing Lorvar as one of them, but at some point he had been. He liked to think Lorvar would have been different, but more than likely…
At around what must have been one in the morning, a man dressed in a dark cloak, covered in dirt, with his hood up came through the door. Rynzius and Grannum watched carefully. The man casually walked over to his preferred table, and sat down. Not long after a serving girl went over and asked him what he wanted and quickly brought him a small glass of something to drink.
They studied him carefully and for a while it seemed he wasn’t really doing anything but looking around at everyone.
It would be stupid of someone to try and pull anything in a tavern like the Blue Harp. So many traveling adventurers, and sometimes fighters from the arena, frequented this tavern; it would not last long. However, it did not seem like he would. He had been coming to this place for almost a full week, according to Lorvar, and had not tried to cause trouble. The fact is he could simply be a quiet man who likes to keep to himself
Grannum leaned forward slightly and squinted a bit. He jabbed Rynzius in the side, “Hey, I can’t tell, but does it look like he’s talking to someone?”
“I don’t know, my sight isn't as good as yours.” Rynzius said a bit frustrated with the jab. As a human being Rynzius had fine eye-sight, but dwarves have astounding eyes. The only thing better would be an elf, but Rynzius would never say that to a dwarf; especially Grannum.
“Go to the end of the bar near his table and listen.”
“What reason do I have to go over to the end of the bar? No one is even at the end of the bar. Won’t that look a little suspicious?”
Grannum looked over at Lorvar, whom he told to keep an eye on their table in case they should need to talk to him during their wait, and nodded for him to come over.
“Do you see him over there? That’s the guy I mentioned last night.” Lorvar said as he came over to the table.
“Yes, we saw him come in. We’ve been watching him for a little bit now but it looks like he’s muttering to himself, and we can’t listen in over here. Get Avalyn to clean off the end of the bar near that corner and Rynzius will do the rest.” Grannum said.
“Sure thing.” Lorvar said as he picked up their empty plates and walked back to the bar and began talking to Avalyn.
“What? What am I going to do?” asked Rynzius looking over at Grannum with more frustration.
“Go and talk to Avalyn. Flirt with her. He won’t see a young man taking his chance to hit on a cute serving girl while she’s alone as suspicious.” Grannum said…while smiling.
Rynzius could swear that sometimes the dwarf could read his mind. He sighed, feeling a bit hot, as he stood up slowly. “I am going to hurt you later for this, dwarf.” He added as he walked over to the bar.
“Hmmpf,” Grannum snorted, “You were planning on talking to her later anyway I’m willing to bet.”
Rynzius walked down the length of the bar to the end where Avalyn was using a wet rag to clean off the counter humming to herself. As he made his way there he glanced over to the man in the corner. The man was of average size, a bit thin maybe, it was hard to tell, and no facial hair; that Rynzius could see under his cloak anyway. Everything about him seemed ordinary for the most part. Although, he was definitely moving his mouth a bit, like he was quietly talking to himself.
Avalyn looked up from her washing and smiled. “Can I get you something?” she said.
“No, I try not to drink when I’m on watch.”
“Well, you were on watch last night and you came in for a drink, didn’t you?” She replied with a little smile.
“Well, that was a little different, we were nearly off duty. Tonight we shouldn’t.” Rynzius said while trying his best to hone in on the guy in the corner. He was only about six or seven feet away, but the bar was fairly noisy.
“Hasn’t your friend had a few drinks already though?”
“Well, that’s a little different; he’s a dwarf.”
“Oh yes, that’s true. A few mugs of ale wouldn’t have much effect on him would they?” Avalyn said.
Rynzius smiled for a moment as he concentrated harder. He began to hear something now. The man in the corner was not speaking anything that he recognized. It sounded more like chanting. Rynzius tried to peer around his shoulder and saw that the man was looking into his drink as he did this. Nothing about him seemed stressed or tense. He wasn’t looking at anyone.
This was just strange.
“Well,” Rynzius went on, “I wanted to ask you if you wouldn’t mind going to the gardens in the Tosharis District with me? Lorvar told us you only came to the city a few weeks ago and I thought maybe you would like to see them, if you haven’t already.
“Hmm,” Avalyn looked intrigued by this. “Aren’t you here because there is a killer out on the streets? Do you think it would be safe?” She said with another coy little smile.
“Well, we would go during the daytime. And even if we went at night you would have a trained city guard by your side the whole time.” Rynzius said.
Avalyn giggled. “I have been asked to accompany a lot of the men here to all kinds of places. I have said no to all of them.” She looked at him and smiled even more. “I think I will say yes to you, but do you know why?”
Rynzius was stumped by this. It was a question he was not prepared for. “Umm…” Was all he could get out.
“It’s because you asked me to the gardens. Do you know where everyone else asks me to go? To that arena down the street, as if I don’t get enough of pit fighters here every night. Or they get straight to the point and ask me upstairs to their room when I’m done with my shift,” She looked up at Rynzius with a look of almost relief. “That’s why I said yes.”
“Well,” Rynzius said, feeling a little better about not asking her to the arena now. “I’m pleased to be different from the rest then.”
Rynzius listened to the man one last time; he was still doing his little chant. He peered over to Grannum who looked annoyed at how long he was being kept waiting.
“I should get back to my partner. What if I stopped by tomorrow?”
“That would be perfect, I get off early tomorrow” Avalyn said.
Rynzius made his way back to the table with a very frustrated Grannum sitting at it, and yet another empty mug in front of him.
“Well! What took you so long? Is he talking to himself?” Grannum said trying to keep his voice down.
“Yes, he is.” Rynzius said sitting down. “It sort of sounds like chanting. All he is doing is
sitting there staring at his drink and chanting.”
“Chanting? Did is sound like a spell, or was it just some stupid lullaby or something?”
“I couldn’t hear it that well, I don’t know. Why didn’t you go, you’ve got bigger ears than me?”
Grannum grumbled at that last part. “Ok, either he’s a mage or he’s just weird. Let’s just wait a bit longer and see what he does. When he leaves we’ll follow him and see where he takes us.”
Eventually the man in the corner finished his drink, but still looked downwards most of the time. Every now and again Grannum could swear he would look up directly at him and Rynzius, but he wasn’t sure.
***
