Dragon's Blood

CHAPTER 2

Nine hours after the tavern was supposed to close, and a mere three hours before it was expected to re-open, Gregory stumbled through the door into his musty home.

“Tell a band of Dwarves they can drink their fill. Knowing I’m short handed.” He had mumbled various versions of this complaint, some more colorful than others, to himself most of the night. They had all gone unheard of course, until now.

“Oh quit your bellyaching.”

With a thought Gregory brightened the room while at the same time drawing his dagger, all before registering that the voice belong to Charles. “What the hell are you doing here?” He asked while dimming the artificial light.

“So much for keeping your magic hidden eh?”

“Had the intruder in my home not been one that already knew the powers I possess, their chances of sharing my secret with others wouldn’t have been very good. Now what do you want Charles, it’s been a long night.”

“Yes yes, and you were short handed as well I’ve heard. Come now it couldn’t have been that bad. Being short handed wouldn’t have mattered much anyway as I’m sure shortly after I left you would have had only one table left to serve.”

“Ah yes, running away the rest of my business, that makes up for it all.”

“I’m sure you made much more off of them then you would have on a normal night, even after the free 8 rounds. And besides for the next three weeks I guarantee business will at least double for you. More than likely it will start with that messenger, people will need a place to gather to discuss what went on tonight, or more importantly make up stories about what might have been going on tonight.”

“What do you want Charles?” Gregory asked again taking a seat on the edge of the straw covered bench he called a bed. He was too exhausted to argue the point, and too much of a barkeep to not realize it was true.

Charles looked around his friends home. It only consisted of this one room and the only other piece of furniture was an uneven table that tried hard to be circular. “Why do you still live in this hole my friend?” Charles asked, having seen slave quarters in better condition.

“Ah Charles. Trust me, when the time comes for it to matter where I am, I won’t be here any longer.”

“But the tavern is very successful. Where does all the coin go?”

“That, old friend, is none of your concern,” Gregory replied as he picked his long pipe up off the table. With a snap of his fingers the pipe was lit. He took a slow pull off of it before addressing his company again.

“I won’t ask a fourth time Charles.”

“Or a third it would seem. Alright then, I’m disappointed in you Gregory. You let me down tonight.”

“Ha!” The barkeep almost choked on his leaf. “And how is that might I ask?” he managed after the coughing passed.

“Oh come now, surely you don’t have to ask. How could you have not known they had a Whisp with them!”

“You surprise me Charles, letting the Whisp distract you like that. He only pointed out my weakness to hide his own. Do you think any of them knew I scryed their gear before you revealed it? I did not see him for the same reason he did not see me, because of the power of the Sigel. It took more energy then I have even come close to exerting in years to look at one bag and find Grauph’s map.”

“So you are certain he doesn’t know about you?”

“You worry too much, I am positive.”

“And about me?”

“My goodness Charles,” Gregory said as he extinguished his pipe. “How many times do we have to cover this. Yes, a Whisp is a physical being composed purely of magical energy. No one knows their origin and there are no stories of how they came to be. They are absolutely more powerful than any being who is merely able to tap into the energy. That does not mean they can detect what happened to you all those years ago. There are no traces. The magic does not hold you. It did what it was meant to do and left. There is no trace keeping you going and there is no residue.”

“You are certain?”

“I cannot fathom the power whoever brought you back must have had, but they did it right my friend. Now if you’ll excuse me, any other concerns you have must wait for another day as I am exhausted.”

The world might see Gregory as a mere barman, but Charles knew better than to ignore his dismissal. He was already snoring as Charles walked out the door hoping that his friend was right. If Gregory’s secret got out, he would merely no longer be able to keep bar and have to move from Thaile to avoid being constantly pestered. If Charles’ secret got out, well the fact that he wouldn’t be able to employ Dwarves would be just the start of his troubles.