I ventured into the next village, this time mounted on a porky little pony held beloved by my sister. She had held firm in her conviction that this particular pony would not be so inclined to leave us in the haste my spirited stallion had.
I hoped she was correct.
I walked into the tavern, and as per our usual tradition Cander the barkeep called jovially to me, "Whiskey or ale, Kee?"
"You crusty old bastard, you ought know by now." With that my usual tall tankard of ale slid down the bar. "Haven't seen you out this way in weeks. No good jobs for the baron?"
"Nay." I hummed, betraying my usual accent. "A man sent me after his youngest. He intends to sell her hand and the lass will have none of it. Sordid affair, really." I sipped my ale. "It's cases like this that rather make me hate my profession but my sister is in need of care now more than ever and the pay was simply too good to pass up."
I took another long drought before pointing to my forehead . "Plus, the little wench stole my bloody horse after she whacked me."
Cander laughed his booming laugh. "You? The knight prodigy? How on earth did she manage?"
I sipped again, hoping to soothe the ache in my temple. "She can't be repressed when her gift resonates. Not even by me."
Cander whistled. "An irrepressible. How will you manage?"
"Oh, I'll repress her. There are ways, in theory. I just have to find her first." I griped, polishing off my tankard and flipping some coppers onto the counter. "You wouldn't have happened to see the girl? She looks like a faun with her roan head and spatter."
"A freckled lass? In a cloak?" His eyes widened. "She was rather odd. Some syllables growled in her throat when she spoke."
I flipped him another copper for the gossip. "She's a beast speaker. Irrepressible but young. She has to sleep sometime. And when she does, her dreams won't be protected in the slightest."
