Missteps V.2

Chapter Eight - Truth or Pay

Iados reached out and carved two circles in the dirt with the hilt of his dagger. “Alright, everyone roll the die in this circle.” He pointed to the largest circle. “And money goes in this one, if you choose not to answer.” He pointed to the smaller one.

“Are we talking gold, silver, or copper?” Ander asked.

The akudaem shrugged. “Your choice,” He moved back to his place around the two circles. “From my experience, the people who pay with a gold are cocky, while those who pay with copper are desperate. Silver seems to be a good middle ground.”

Elaine raised her hand. “Are we going to put limits on topics?”

Lia shook her head. “I don’t think we should since we’re doing this to find out more about each other.”

Kerri nodded in agreement. “Besides, we don’t know enough about each other to even know what topics to limit.” She smiled. “So, who’s gonna start us off?”

Jun held up the dice in his hands, and rolled them in the circle. They all took turns, and after a couple of rerolls, it was decided that Carric was the first to ask.

“Ok, let’s start with an easy one.” The ranger grinned. “What’s your favorite color?”

Iados groaned and hung his head.

Lia laughed and patted his shoulder. “I tend to prefer shades of green, mostly on the lighter side. I won’t turn down a nice blue however.”

Carric nodded. “I’ll join you with the greens, but I like them a bit darker alongside some browns, better for camouflage.” He glanced over at Elaine.

“When I was kid I liked purple the best.” Elaine smiled and held up her sun charm. “Nowadays I lean more towards yellow and gold.”

Kerri scoffed. “Nah, give me a nice turquoise. Something not quite blue, but not green either.”

Iados reached over and high-fived the bard. “I’m right there with you. I love anything that makes a person look twice.” He nudged the halfling next to him.

Ander stroked his chin. “I’m not sure actually. Sometimes I lean more towards darker colors like purple or black, but then there are days when I’m all about a good red or yellow.” He shrugged. “It just depends on my mood I guess. What about you Jun?”

“White.” Jun’s face had a soft smile, while his voice held a hint of wistfulness. Kerri’s face twisted in mild curiosity, and Jun caught it. “Did you expect me to say ‘red the color of blood’?” He asked the bard with a playful smile.

She shrugged. “Honestly, yes. You are a berserker, and they do have a bit of a rep.” She mimed out a two-handed attack.

Jun smiled. “I’m a berserker, yes, but only as far as I can use the power of my rage. I wasn’t raised in that culture. I grew up as the child of servants in a noble house in the Nydag Empire. It wasn’t till I joined the army that I began to embrace my berserker instincts.”

Kerri pursed her lips. “So, white as in nothingness?”

Jun shook his head. “It’s a story you all might as well know, in case you have to calm me down one day.” He sighed. “The first time I truly let the berserker rage overtake me was during a battle while I was in the military. It was our first real battle after my squad had finished our training. We were called in as reinforcements to some territory dispute with another lord during the middle of winter.” Jun’s gaze fell to the ground. “Before then, I’d spent my entire life reining in my rage. As a child I was quick to anger, and for a servant that’s a bad trait. It was my parents who were punished for my outbursts so I had to learn to control it. When I turned seventeen and joined the military, my captain told me to channel that energy. So during that battle, I did.

“I let the anger and rage wash over me. I remember hearing the sound of my heart beat fill my ears. The edges of my vision went red, and it was as if everything I saw suddenly snapped into this ultra-sharp focus. I felt this power flow into my arms and legs. I could feel my muscles swell. My whole body tingled, and it became impossible for me to even think about staying still. The last thing I remember is running towards the first person I saw in a different colored uniform than me.” Jun gulped.

“When the battle finally slowed, it was like I came back to my senses. Bodies were all around me, and I was covered in blood. I honestly couldn’t tell you how much of it was mine and how much wasn’t. None of my comrades would approach me, and when I tried to approach them they backed off. I ended up stumbling away from the battlefield, more drained than I’d ever been in my life. Finally, what little strength I had left, just left me. I fell to my knees and leaned against a boulder.

“It started to snow, but I was so tired that I couldn’t feel the cold. I don’t know how long I sat there, but it was long enough that I saw the snow fully hide away my bloody footprints. The more the snow fell, the more muted everything became. Soon, it was just me in a silent white forest.” Jun looked up. “It was my captain who found me. He laid a blanket around my shoulders, and then sat down next to me. We didn’t talk for a long while. Finally, he told me that I couldn’t lose control like that again. He told me I’d nearly taken out my own comrades while blinded with bloodlust. After that, I vowed to be the one in control of my power, not the other way around.”

After Jun finished speaking, no one knew what to say. They’d all seen the power Jun had shown in the fights so far. Finally, Kerri reached into her money pouch, took out a gold piece, and tossed into the circle. “Alright, next round.”

“Hold up,” Ander held out a hand. “Why did you pay? You answered the question.”

Kerri shrugged. “Yeah, but after hearing what Jun said, my answer suddenly paled in comparison.”

Jun laughed.

“Next round!” Iados chimed and everyone rolled the die. Iados came out the winner, and he rubbed his hands together as he surveyed the group.

“I think it’s time we get a bit more personal.” He had a mischievous look in his eyes and made sure to catch everyone’s eye. “When was your first time, and yes, I’m talking about sex.” He clarified as he saw Ander start to open his mouth. It shut with a silent snap. “I’ll start us off. It was a barmaid in some bar in Osthom just after I’d joined the pirate crew. I’d won the pot at the card table, and instead of paying me in money, they paid me with her.” He grinned. “In actuality, they paid her the money from the pot to be with me, but either way the end result was the same.” He pointed to Lia next.

The elf rolled her eyes. “It was nothing really.” Lia recalled. “I’d just turned a 100 a few days earlier, and my boyfriend and I got a little wine drunk one night. He called it a late birthday present, I came to call it fast and sloppy.” The whole group laughed at that. “How about you Kerri?”

She shrugged. “An old boyfriend, and like you said it wasn’t anything special. We were just hanging out after a performance one night and I went for it. Looking back, I’d just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.”

Carric took a large swig from his wineskin. “Honestly I’d just as much rather forget about my first time.” He winced. “It was nothing but an underwhelming and awkward affair, and neither of us enjoyed it.” He tossed the wineskin towards Ander.

Before the halfling took a drink, he dug into his pouch, pulled out a silver, and added it to the pot.

Jun cleared his throat. “I did what all the young men in my town did: went to the local brothel and paid for it. First times are awkward enough, so I figured why not go to the professionals.”

Kerri, who’d been taking a drink from her own waterskin, suddenly laughed and dribbled water down her face. Elaine put a silver in the pot before she turned and helped her friend clean up.

The die was rolled again. Jun won.

“Alright, who taught you how to fight?” Jun finally said after a moment of rubbing of his chin. “I learned how to fight seriously while in the army, but I learned the basics from my older brother. Well, adopted brother. He needed someone to practice with, and I was the only other kid his size.”

“I thought your family were servants, how did your brother get to learn how to fight?” Ander asked.

“My family were servants, but he was Lord Shim Chin’s son and heir.” Jun explained.

Elaine’s head titled in confusion. “How did that happen?”

The berserker smiled. “In a nutshell, Lord Shim Chin had trouble conceiving an heir with either of his wives, or concubines. After nearly ten years, all he had were two daughters. He got so tired of not being able to knock anyone up, that one night while he was drinking, he grabbed my mother who had been bringing him more wine and forced himself on her. Now, he wasn’t drinking alone, a couple of his ministers were with him. Afterwards, the ministers put my mother in solitary just in case, and sure enough she turned up pregnant. Nine months later, she gave birth to a son. The baby was given to one of the Lord’s wives to raise, but the whole incident became an open secret within the Lord’s home.”

Carric’s eyes were wide. “Your family was allowed to stay in the house after that? That whole situation sounds like the kind of thing where the servants are packed up in the middle of the night.”

Jun laughed. “That’s what my father had been expecting, but his family had been serving Lord Shim Chin’s for generations. Lord Shim Chin made it clear to my father the baby wasn’t his, and my father didn’t fight it. So, my mother and father did what servants do, and kept their heads down and mouths shut.”

Kerri laughed. “Sounds like something out of a stage play.” She crossed her legs and leaned forward. “One of my past boyfriends was part of the Royal Guard. His sister had been attacked a few months before we’d started dating, so he was very adamant that I know how to protect myself.”

“You’ve pretty much already heard my story.” Iados threw a nut in the air and caught it in his mouth. “Learned martial arts from the monks, and then sword-fighting as a pirate.” He nudged Lia.

Lia reached over and took a handful of nuts from Iados. “The majority of my training was magic-based. I learned a little hand-to-hand, but not much.”

“Same here,” Ander said. “The only physical fight training I had was a lesson about how a dagger’s pointy end goes in the other guy.”

Carric sighed heavily as he set his hand on his fist. “While I was at the orphanage, there was a member of the city guard who would come around and take a group of us into the woods and teach us the basics. At the time we thought he was a cool. Now I know he was trying to get a recruitment bonus.”

All eyes turned to Elaine.

She cleared her throat. “Part of my cleric training included weapon practice.” She explained. “Since we’re expected to go out into the world, they train us to be able to take care of ourselves.” She picked up the die and rolled it.

Carric won again. “Let’s hit a few more basics. Family. Name then if you want, or you can just state if you have them.” Carric said. “No parents but I’ve got two siblings, well technically one now. My older brother died a few years back, but I found out I have a little sister a couple of years ago.”

Kerri leaned back on her hands. “Only child, with both parents alive and well back home in Liratha.”

“I’m number five out of nine kids, and the only boy.” Ander grumbled as he placed his fist under his chin. “Dad’s still around, but my mom died when I was a teen. The triplets, who were all younger than me, all died within the same year from different causes, and my youngest sister went missing a few years back. We think she might have been abducted by a cult, but we’ve never found anything more. I guess you could technically say that I’m the youngest now.”

“What happened to the triplets?” Lia asked, concern on her face.

Ander held a hand and counted out his sisters. “Nedda died from plague when it swept through, Jillian was trampled by a horse in an accident, and Lidda was bitten by a werewolf. Hunters killed her the first night she turned.”

“A werewolf?” Iados leaned forward in interest. “As in turns into a hairy beast with the full moon and can only be killed by silver weapons-kind of werewolf?”

“I’m not sure there’s any other kinds of werewolves, but yeah.” The halfling took a drink of the wineskin that had been passed around. “We’re still not sure exactly how she got bit, but we know who killed her.”

Iados clicked his tongue. “Man, tough luck. My youngest sister, Nemeia, was also kidnapped when she was a kid. She was seven, and she just disappeared in the crowd of the market one night. Besides both of my ex-military parents, I’ve got a set of triplet brothers: Mordai, Morthos, and Melech. Mordai blames me for Nemeia going missing and won’t talk to me, Morthos and I are ok, and Melech doesn’t really talk to anyone. He got cursed with bad luck by a wizard he pissed off, so it’s safer for everyone if he keeps his distance.”

“What’d he do to piss off a wizard?” Ander asked.

Iados shrugged. “No clue, Morthos wrote to me while I was away, and he didn’t go into detail.”

Elaine went next. “Mom and dad aren’t in the picture. My siblings and I were all raised by my grandparents in Osthom. I’ve got six siblings: two dead, two who I don’t talk too much anymore, one who hates me, and one who tries to keep in touch. I’m the second oldest.”

Jun held up six fingers. “Including Lian, the Lord’s son, I’ve got six siblings. All of them are blood related, but I’m adopted.” Jun told them. “I don’t know anything about my birth family, and I don’t really care. Wen got cursed by a wizard and is recuperating in an institution somewhere, and Mei is a concubine for some noble back home. Everyone else I’m not too sure about.”

“Don’t people know not to piss off wizards?” Ander sighed heavily. “Also, how do you know that these guys weren’t sorcerers or warlocks who cursed them? Statistically, those kind of magic-users are much more likely to be all curse-y.”

Lia laughed. “Getting back on track, I too lost a sister when she was a kid. I’m not sure what happened, and no one talks about it. Out of my four brothers, one is dead and one hates me. Niall and Lael were twins, and Niall blames me for not saving Lael from the plague when it swept through town. I have a second little sister, but she doesn’t like me. My Uncle Himo raised me ever since I was a little kid, so I never really developed a close relationship with any of my siblings or parents. I’m only really close to Hadarai now because he’s part of the same organization as Uncle Himo and I.”

“That Sanctum group?” Kerri asked, and Lia nodded.

“What Sanctum group?” Elaine asked.

“It’s a quasi-secret elven society called the Elder Door Sanctum.” Lia explained.

Elaine went pensive for a moment. “I think I’ve heard one of the Paladins back in Liratha talk about it.”

Lia smiled, but didn’t say anything else. She picked up the die and began a new round.

“For my question, I’m going to say everyone has to answer.” The elf said as she won the round. “Before any one raises a fuss, listen to the question.” Elaine and Ander, who had started to raise their hands, quietly brought them back down. “In case the worst should happen, who do we tell of your death?” That question made everyone shut up. There was silence for a few moments as everyone thought of their answer.

“I guess, just inform the Shadow Totem Temple in Esterwill.” Said Iados as he brought his knees up. “As I said, my family lives on the grounds there.”

“Vowil’s Temple in Crystaliron.” Elaine said. “From there they’ll know how to contact my family.”

Kerri looked at her friend. “Not your family directly?”

Elaine shook her head. “Technically I’m out here as an ambassador of the church. As such they should be notified first, especially if I die here. They should be made aware of the undead in the area as soon as possible.”

Carric scratched his chin. “Does it specifically have to be the one in Crystaliron? I can think of at least three Vowil churches that are within a week or two travel from here.”

"I’d prefer Crystaliron as it’s my home base, but it doesn’t have to be.” Elaine explained. “As long as the information is conveyed.”

“Is it the same with you Ander?” Kerri asked. “Would we need to inform the Circle first and foremost?”

Ander shook his head and laughed. “Informing the Circle before Shenir of my death would be a bad move.”

Jun looked at the wizard. “Who’s Shenir?”

“My girlfriend.”

“The same one who gave you the focus?” Lia asked.

Ander nodded. “She’s a warlock. We’ve been together a year in a couple of months.”

“Is she a part of the Circle too?” Lia followed up.

Ander shook his head. “She uses the library at the Circle, but she mainly travels. She’s been given a task by her patron.”

"Who’s her patron?” Kerri asked. “Anyone we know?”

The halfling shrugged. “Probably not unless you have contacts in the Fey Realm.”

“Wait, if she travels a lot, how are we supposed to track her down to inform her of your death?” Iados asked.

Ander paused. “That’s a good point. Ok, go ahead and tell the Circle first, and then you can track down Shenir.”

Lia turned to Jun. “Should we send word to Lord Shim Chin?”

Jun laughed. “Go ahead, but I highly doubt he’d even know who you’re talking about.” He explained. “Send word instead to Madame Lang’s, a brothel in his territory. Tell them that Jun, father of Kai, who is the daughter of Sulhee, has died. They’ll pass the message on.”

Carric choked on a nut. “You have a kid?”

Jun beamed. “Yep. She’s three years old this year. She lives with her mother.” He dug into his pouch and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Inside was a charcoal drawing of a little girl with a flower crown on her head.

“Does that mean you’re married?” Elaine asked.

“No, Sulhee was a ‘woman of the night’ when we first met.” Jun explained as he watched the picture get passed around. “She got pregnant after a night together. When I found out, I offered to marry her but she refused.”

“Is she still a ‘woman of the night’?” Carric asked.

Jun nodded. “She’s one of the more requested girls, even though she has three children now.”

“Is that normal? To keep working even after having children?” Carric continued.

The berserker shrugged. “Sometimes. Sulhee works as a courtesan for the higher nobles nowadays rather than as a working girl.”

“Not to be rude, but how are you sure that Kai is yours?” Elaine handed the sketch back.

“It’s a fair question, and when Sulhee was pregnant there were a few other possible candidates.” Jun said as he put the picture back in his back. “At this particular establishment, if there is a chance of conception for the woman, they keep track of the men she’s with just in case. Because I’m adopted, my brown hair is more of an oddity in those parts than the norm. So, when Kai was born with brown hair, they attributed her to me.”

“But you’re not completely sure.” Elaine pressed.

“Honestly, I don’t care.” Jun said strongly. “I’ve accepted responsibility of her, and to be perfectly blunt, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Well alright then. To Jun’s daughter!” Iados held up his wineskin. Everyone followed suit and they drank.

Ander wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Back to the question at hand, Lia, how do we contact this Elder Door Sanctum?”

“Just send a message to Lord Himo of Stonepine.” Lia said with a wave of her hand. “He’s my Uncle.”

“That’s it, ‘just send a message to my Uncle’?” Ander pouted. “We don’t get to find out anything else?”

“Not much else to say.” Lia turned to Kerri. “What about you?”

“Not sure really.” Kerri reached back and pulled out her lute. “Before I left Liratha, my parents said that they were thinking of doing some traveling outside the kingdom. No idea where they would have gone, and with me being exiled, I highly doubt the Entertainer’s Guild there would be of much help.”

“What about getting word to Maron?” As the name passed Elaine’s lips, Kerri seemed to shrink for a moment. She didn’t answer for a minute, until finally she shook her head.

“No, for the time being, if the worst were to happen to me, tell Elaine.”

Elaine reached over and enveloped her friend in a hug. “Don’t worry, as long as I’m around, I won’t let the worst happen.” She whispered, and she felt Kerri nod. They let go of each other, and Kerri began to pluck a sweet tune on the lute.

Lia turned to the ranger. “You’re the last one.”

Carric stretched back out onto his bed roll. “Find my sister in Osthom and let her know.” He yawned. “Her name is Jazale, and last I saw her she was a part of the city guard.”

Iados stood and stretched. “Was someone writing any of this last bit down?”

Lia smiled and dug into her bag and came out with a leather-bound book along with pen and ink. Flipping to an empty page, she titled the page ‘Worst Case Contacts’. Starting with herself, she went back around the group and made sure she had the correct information for everyone. Kerri’s name was written down last, but Lia left her space blank.

The group played a few more rounds, with the questions ranging from the obvious (favorite weapon) to just bizarre (out of this group, who would you eat first?). Not much was added to the pot, so by the time the game ended everyone just collected their money back.

By the time night settled in, the group found themselves more relaxed in each other’s company. Kerri played the group a few songs from home on her lute, while Elaine told a couple of stories about her deity. Even Carric relayed a few stories about humorous mishaps he’d seen, or experienced, while working as a guide.

All in all, they spent a peaceful night in the cave, and eventually the rain outside lulled them all to sleep.