I Am Warrior

Seventeen

SEVENTEEN

As soon as he entered into the tavern, the room silenced. Niamh and David must have been up early, he thought, studying the miraculously tidy tavern. The sun was still in its accent and already the tavern looked spotless. Notably, there were three less tables and a few hastily concealed stains on the floor, but it looked almost as if whatever had happened last night had never occurred.

An middle-aged woman with salt and pepper hair looked straight at him from her seat in front of the doorway. He heard he whisper darkly to the tittering women surrounding her something about wishing she was still here to protect them. Whoever 'she' was.

Scowling and shaking his head slightly, Blake weaved his huge frame nimbly around the tables until he was able to slide into a booth in the back, by himself. As soon as he was seated, he heard the furious whispers of his neighbours, though not what they were whispering about. They continued to shoot him furtive glances until David slid into the hard wooden bench opposite him.

'Uncle Blake,' He grinned, looking so much older than the last time Blake had seen the kid. 'What are you doing here? Where's Pa?'

Blake rolled his eyes at his inquisitive nephew. 'Your Pa is fine, kid. Fit as a fiddle and stubborn as  mule, as always.' He purposely avoiding the reason why he was here, knowing it would lead to more questions with this particular young lad then he'd care to answer.

'You missed the biggest action, ever, Uncle!' He enthused and even though Blake had heard the basics of the story, he humoured the kid and leant on his elbows, the picture of an attentive listener. Seeing that he had his uncle's attention, David began, eyes bright with the fever of the story.

'It was supper time, here is this very tavern, Uncle, I saw it myself! We were all sitting eating our meals, I was with a beauty, Uncle. Really, she was the most exquisite thing I ever saw! We were eating together, having a ball of a time, when suddenly, boom!' David slapped his palms onto the wooden tabletop, imitating the opening of a door. By now, he was aware that all the eyes in the room were drawn to the spectacle his nephew was making and Blake was about to object, tell the kid to tell him outside, while they played with the massive Tosa Inu that the family owned when the woman who had been warily watching him interrupted.

'Three giants,' she continued on as if David hadn't spoken. The boy didn't seem to mind though so Blake let the interruption slip, 'Burst into the room. They demanded a young woman, then went about roughing us all up, trying to find her.' Her cheeks turned a little pink. 'One thought perhaps I was the young maiden,' She giggled at the proposterous idea, 'but then they found her. Tiny thing, scared out of her wits.'

'Just then, a woman-- a slip of a girl, really-- pretending to be a waitress turned her platter into a shield, jumped in front of the first man and ripped him to shreds!' A third voice piped up, joining the hysteria the wild tale was creating. Blake looked to see a young fellow, a few years younger than himself sitting up straighter. The thought of a female fighter tickled the corner of Blake's mind, but he dubiously pushed it aside. The young man seemed a little disbelieving at the statement, but at the eager looks of encouragement shot at him, he continued. 'She jumped onto the second, threatened the last man to leave the girl alone or she would kill the second man. When he demanded that she prove it, she didn't waste a second and stabbed him right through the heart.'

The tale was reaching unbelievable heights and Blake knew that town gossip tended to exaggerate the whole affair. He wouldn't be surprised if the 'woman' they mentioned was built more like himself and was only facing off one man. Possibly an untrained robber or some such nonsense. Arching his brows in disbelief, he turned back to David, his expectant look enough to prompt the lad back into his story. 'One of them had three throwing stars!' He continued as if he'd never been interrupted.