CHAPTER FOURTEEN:TREPIDATION IN THE TAVERN

  Having sat in the The Bloody Lance for almost an hour, Garrick and Deelah fidgeted with their now empty mugs of ale.

  “I tell you, he is not coming. Something is wrong,” said Deelah, as she slumped back deeper in her chair.

  Garrick looked at the door as Deelah lamented. He was concerned, but unlike the thief, the mercenary knew meetings like this did not always come off perfectly. Sometimes it took longer than expected. And worse, sometimes the individual wanted more money.

  “It is not time to worry yet, girl,” replied Garrick. Then his voice quieted. “Be patient.”

  Deelah sat forward and put her elbows on the wooden table. Then she gave Garrick a dirty look.

  “How can you be so patient?” whispered Deelah sternly. “Elias is barely alive. If we do not get this flower…”

  Garrick had had enough and he did not hide it. “Look, I know your feelings for him, but do not for once think I am not worried about the man I have laughed and spilled blood with.” Then the mercenary pointed a finger in the thief’s face. “And before you knew him.”

  Deelah sat back again, rubbed her head and sighed, “I am sorry, Garrick.” Then she patted his hand.

  “Think nothing of it,” Garrick whispered, as he looked at the young woman that had been taking this adventure much better than he’d expected. Both her and her sister.

  Garrick patted Deelah’s hand back. “I still do not know how she did it. Let us just be happy Anya brought him back...somehow.”

  Suddenly, the door opened and a shaggy-looking drunk ran in scared. “He is coming here!”

  Garrick and Deelah looked at each other, while everyone else looked at the drunk and then went back to their business. Then the drunk looked at the crowd again and yelled, “Avenal the Relentless is coming!”

  Instantly the room fell silent.

  Instinctively, Deelah pulled both her knives out, one in each hand, but kept them hidden under the table. Garrick’s face turned serious as his hand grabbed the hilt of his sword. Then he let it go. He leaned over to Deelah, who leaned in to meet his whisper.

  “The bounty hunter is not after you,”replied Garrick. “Still, be on your guard...”

  Deelah jabbed the mercenary in the side with the handle of her knife and smiled. “You were saying?”

  Garrick looked down at the knives the thief brandished under the table and gave an amused grin. Then he went on. “There is no doubt Avenal could be after any number of low-lifes in this room. Let us just hope he is not after our man, because if he is...”

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  “He is late because he is not coming,” sighed Deelah.

  The volume of voices in The Bloody Lance had gone from raucous to silent, and now with the news of the arrival of Avenal the Relentless slowly starting to sink in, the volume had risen once again. Horror mixed with excitement. Worry mixed with anticipation. Then the sound of a sabercat snarling brought the room to silence once again.

  The tavern door opened and in walked a big half-elf, with a bow on his back and a massive war hammer in his right hand. He was well-muscled, bearded, and had rings in his pointy ears. Tied around the the half-elf’s head was a red bandana that covered his left eye.

  After surveying the patrons in The Bloody Lance, Avenal The Relentless rubbed the head of the sabercat at his side, his hand slightly touching the cord of the beast charm that hung around its neck. Then he commanded sharply, “Galaban. To the back.”

  Almost everyone watched as the sabercat walked to the back exit of the tavern. Partially because of its majesty, but also because they were almost never seen outside The Barren Wastelands.

  Deelah looked from Galaban to Garrick. The mercenary hadn’t taken his eyes off the large half-elf. Garrick kept his hands on the table. He had them clasped, looking calm and nonchalant, though his mind was racing.

  The owner of The Bloody Lance, a thin, grimy man, nervously cleaned a mug with shaking hands, not knowing what to do. Then the mug fell from his hand and crashed into pieces onto the dirty wooden floor. The sound woke the patrons back into reality and they looked again at the bounty hunter.

  “I am looking for a man named Bennell!” announced Avenal loudly. “He has something that belongs to me.”

  “No...no,” spoke Deelah through clenched teeth.

  Avenal walked forward to the first table and looked at the three men sitting and looking down at their drinks.

  “We...I have not seen him,” whispered one as the other two looked over again at the back door, where Galaban laid watching the room with sleepy eyes.

  “I see,” replied Avenal, as he let the handle of his war hammer hit the floor, causing all three men all looked at him.

  “Truly. We have not seen him for at least a week in here. Right? Right?” said the first man again, only this time to his friends, who nodded quickly and repeatedly.

  Avenal the Relentless moved to another table and then to another. The answers were basically the same. No one had seen Bennell. The big bounty hunter walked up to Garrick and Deelah’s table and stopped. He dragged the handle of his war hammer back and forth, slowly and repeatedly, across a small crack in the wooden floor in a sign of annoyance.

  “What of you two?” asked the large half-elf.

  Garrick didn’t flinch, his hands still clasped on the table.

  “I do not know the man,” spoke the mercenary.

  Avenal gave a short laugh in unbelief. He looked over at Deelah then back at Garrick. “So, like me you are not from around here?”

  “That is correct,” said Garrick. “I am passing through on my way to The Crossroads.” Then the mercenary grabbed his empty mug as if to take a drink.

  Avenal looked at Garrick closely. Slowly, he squinted his eye in thought. “Have we met before? You seem familiar to me.” Then he brought his war hammer to a stop. Instantly every eye, including Galaban's, was on them.

  Garrick sat back and put his arm around Deelah. “Perhaps if you frequent Aubrelon. I am a sentinel. However, I am not on watch tonight, as you can see.”

  Deelah, fighting back fear, mustered a small smile up at the big half-elf, as Garrick started to caress her short blonde hair.

  Avenal smiled back and then opened his eye wide. “Well sentinel, enjoy yourself. But know this. I never forget a face. Let us just hope you only remind me of someone.” Then the bounty hunter, still looking at Garrick and Deelah, called out to the back of the room. “Galaban. Come!”

  Everyone in the tavern watched as the sabercat rose to its feet with a snarl and strode over to the front door to meet his master. Then when they were both out the door all that could be heard were sighs of relief.