Away from the battlefield
A breeze blew through the open window, sending a wave of warm air over the bed. The warm air carried with it the smell of barnyard, ale, and the faint smell of excrement from those men who smelled worse. The wind carried a blend of the three smells to Emen's nose. She had to tip her head in an odd fashion to be able to smell them all, at the same time. A smile played across his face and his mouth held in a slight expression of glee.
The two immortals in his hand were bound inside a sack. They could not shuffle about and are completely unable to fight or even whimper with one leg tied to their arm. The elf rocked back and forth on his heels, a slight tone of laughter escaping from his throat. The town was small and there was not much work for a thief. Emen's ears twitched as he heard a sound in the distance. It was a smack, as well as a squeal. The town of Nairdaan was a simple one, with but one main attraction.
The Rat Queen Casino was the attraction and was the only business that was even tolerable to a thief. It was a guard's job to spot a pick-pocket, but it was another guard's job to not hit the thief hard enough to leave a mark. Emen had a knack for not getting hit hard enough. The sound from before was the sound of his winnings hitting the sack, that they shared as they slogged along, but such a loud drubbing sound was not one that Emen was fond of. The Rat Queen Casino's guard had his profit and Emen decided to pack it in for the night. The two immortals were not going to fall out of the sack, and were tied in a way that they can neither move or make noise. It was just excessive to keep two slaves tied up.
Emen would have to come back tomorrow and see if Rat Queen could use him again. The guard that caught Emen had placed him in the dungeon, and Emen did not want to much around that place. The shadows of a room seemingly took him on a quest for something to do other than steal. Emen took a heavy breathe in and grabbed the sack, with the immortals in it, as he sprinted out the door. The townspeople watched as the shackles did not even rattle the bag they were in. It seemed to move like a piece of cloth. Emen sprinted down the road into Rat Queen's hills.
Nairdaan's general store was his starting point. It was a small building with lanterns hanging from the windows and around the side. A few people filled the two small tables that sat outside. A peasant woman was scrambling over a top table to get out of the rain, and a man was stacking over by the wooden doors, upon which was a sign that read, "No Man's Business Is A Place To Stop." The man removed his hat as Emen approached the building.
"Hey, squire." The man said in a gruff voice.
"I'm making a run to Rat Queen." Emen said in a very calm voice.
"That's a long trip, so I've got a full coin purse. You've got to be careful out there. With the way your luck has been, you will run into a storm or a mishap or something." The man said.
Emen's nature confused the man, as Emen approached him and dropped a disgusted look on his face.
"I had a very lucrative night. The pot here to Rat Queen is full."
"Oh my. Well, I hope that you have a safe trip." The man fawned.
"Yes, I certainly wish for a safe trip as I only have a full coin purse to run with." Emen said with an annoyed tone.
The man gave a chuckle and turned back to the building. "Well, on behalf of the general store, good luck." The man said as he began to fetch a bottle of wine. Emen walked across the worn out dirt road, with the sack in tow. The dirt road opened up to a cobblestone run, which did not run smoothly. Slate quarry lay in small piles, along the side of the cobblestones. Two men struggled with a boulder, as the rain poured down upon them. The two men gave a thank you to Emen as he passed and took one of their shovels. Their wrists were swollen, and one of them had a cut on his arm.
The cobblestone run eventually lead to a path in the forest. The way was rugged and the branches of the trees would smack into one another above Emen's head. The forest would tower upwards and the sky barely visible. Emen's foot hit a dirt patch of mud and found a stable path. Emen looked down and though he was in no danger. Emen had run a pretty good distance, as the land terrain would be very forgiving. If a thief stole a purse, it would lead to a corpse soon. Emen saw smoke rising from the horizon. Emen looked up and realized that he had not traveled to the main intersection. Emen looked at the dawning of a new day and knew the sea pirates raided this village the last time they were here. Of course, Emen knew that the pirates lived in fear of Rat Queen.
They seemed like a very thuggish bunch, but only recently had they started raiding villages and fighting battles. Emen's perception of the pirates had been changed entirely in the last week. Regardless of whether or not the pirates had started in fear or not, they were not the men of peace they had once been. They were not so deep in love with alcohol that they did not want a bottle to hand, nor were they so greedy that they did not want their gold back. The pirates were no longer the pirates that were once upon a time.
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