The Longest Lament

Chapter X

Corwin paused, his brow bunched in consideration. "What do you want?"

"Well, as you probably noticed, I don't know my way around very well. One reason I made such a nice target for a would-be con artist, I'd wager. First and foremost, help me find a place to eat. Then, after, I have to find a certain shop. Nothing more than that, lad." He gave a half smile as he said, "I probably won't even ask you to kill anyone."

"Good. I don't like killing people.”

The man raised an eyebrow. "It was a joke, lad. I assure you my business is purely legitimate. In fact, it might be the only time you've ever earned coin under a pretense that was not false. Unless you have something against honest work?" The hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

After a moment of consideration, the boy shrugged and shook his head.

"Good. Call me Gane."

"Corwin."

Gane grunted. He paused and gave a long look up the street. "Well, Corwin, where are we heading?"

Corwin thought a moment. "There's a tavern not far from here. The Thornless Rose. People say it's good if all you want is food. They always complain about the ale, though."

"Hunger’s the problem, not thirst." He gestured the boy ahead. "The Thornless sounds just fine, lad. Lead on."

The Thornless Rose, despite its rather eloquent name, was not one of the city's finer establishments. Or so he'd heard. Personally, he'd never set foot in a tavern of any kind. Corwin led the man down a few streets until they came to a large sign. Corwin supposed it was meant to look like a rose, but really it came out looking more like an ale mug with petals. Too clever to be intentional, he decided, as he stopped in front of the building.

"Here," he said, gesturing the man towards the door. He moved a few feet from the entrance and squatted on his haunches, readying himself to wait outside while the man had his meal. Places like The Thornless Rose were not friendly to street children.

Gane walked over to him and grabbed him by the shirt. Corwin squawked as he was jerked to his feet. "You stay with me, boy. I don't have time to go find myself another dirty urchin if you decide to wander off."

Gane entered the tavern, dragging a somewhat reluctant Corwin behind by the shirt collar. He caught the eye of a pretty tavern maid as he entered and waved her over.

"What'll ya have?” she asked, flashing a cheery smile.

"Two servings of whatever you have hot and ready. The faster I'm eating the more coin I leave on the table," he answered in a somber tone. He paused, remembering Corwin. "Oh, and fetch something for the boy, too."

The waitress' smile fled as she found herself with a no nonsense customer, and she quickly scurried off towards the kitchen.

Corwin's eyes brightened at the prospect of "something" to fill his belly, and he happily followed the man to a table in the corner of the tavern. He sat, his wariness abated but not forgotten; Gane was still an unknown, but the mention of a free meal was something for which any half-starved child would forgive much.

The food soon arrived, and Corwin was startled by the quantity. The waitress set a heaping plate of roast lamb with roasted potatoes in front of Gane. His own portion was smaller but still massive to Corwin’s shriveled belly. His every impulse was to dive headfirst into the meal, but he knew from past experience what a mistake that would be, coming off an empty stomach. Instead, he forced himself to chew each bite carefully, savoring a quality meal for the first time in recent memory. He distracted himself from the desire to stuff food into his mouth as quickly as he could by watching the man eat.