“So you’re telling me that you and Kealy are not from this realm?” Dilo asked, her eyes narrowing.“No Dilo, we are not,” Rex agreed with a slow nod, “We are from Dracoterrum.”“So you were brought here via portal after a fight with someone who wanted you dead?” Venya asked, her face scrunched in concentration.“Correct,” Rex said, darting his eyes to Kealy quickly.“That still doesn’t make you special enough to heal the way you do,” Dilo growled.“Grub from Dracoterrum and not heal like wonky leg, Grub once bend arm to almost break, couldn’t steal from fat merchant men for long time,” Grub said, peering at his arm and flexing it at the elbow.“So how did you even get here Grub?” Rex asked.“Grub tell you he join army with friend. Grub make another friend who help him join imperial army here after I leave home again, big battle on capitol every month make me not want to die before more skin marks, so Grub starts searching for heroic monster to battle.”“And then proceeded to get swall
As Rex and his companions stopped atop a slight grass-covered rise in the ground, the outer row of houses that surrounded a small-sized town came into view. “I will have to disappear before we get close enough to the town for me to be recognised,” Kiri announced. “Are you an outlaw of some kind?” Venya asked, eyeing Kiri suspiciously. “No. But could you imagine how good your reception would be at the township of many years’ worth of people entering into your domain to do me harm and you killed them for it?” “Even if that was the case of self-defence, I can’t see it being too good a welcoming party,” Rex said, inhaling and then expelling the air loudly. “Do you have some sort of invisibility trick to remain unseen?” “No,” Kiri replied, shaking her head. Turning to Rex with a smile, she reached out and touched one finger to the top of his sternum, dragging it down to stop at the necklace she had gifted him earlier. “So the necklace?” Rex said, swallowing the rising lump in his thro
Once Rex and Kiri had rejoined the group, everyone looked at them expectantly, Kealy with one hand on her hip.“Er, what’s going on? Why are you all staring at us like you’re expecting an announcement?” Rex asked, looking around at his companions with a smirk and one eyebrow raised.“Well, that might be because you two went over there all secretive and shit, said some things in hushed tones, got all smiley and grabby hands, and then came back here and NOT expected us to want to know at least something?” Kealy scoffed, her face full of incredulity.“We didn’t get all grabby hands,” Rex said with a chuckle and a slight head shake.“Since Rex won’t tell you, I will,” Kiri said in a light, airy tone, causing everyone to stare at her eagerly, all except Rex, who saw the quick flash of a devious smile before she coached her expression. He was keen to find out what she was up to.After a few moments of silence, Grub was the first to break, “Well come now scary lady! Tell Grub and others what
Before Rex and his companions entered the town, the second guard held out his hand.“If you follow this main road, it leads from the northern to southern entrances. In the town centre, you will find our tavern and market area, which by the sounds of your reasons for being here, is where you want to be. Our residents live in the houses on the outer edge, and I implore you to not go skulking where you do not belong,” the guard said in a flat tone, eyeing every member of the group warily, especially Grub.“Sounds good, we aren’t after any trouble at all,” Rex replied, putting on a smile.“Righto,” the guard replied, stepping aside and giving Rex a curt nod, before turning back to face the first guard and taking up his earlier discussion on the pros and cons of raising sheep to goats.“Good to know they take their job seriously,” Dilo growled approvingly, “They might have a training yard so we can all train tomorrow morning.”“Let’s just hope they leave us alone, we get some sleep, have a
Taking in the scene within a few minutes, Rex could see the entire area of the bottom floor of the tavern. He was standing on the top of a platform that lowered two steps down to the main floor of the bottom level. Over three-quarters of the space was taken up with circular tables with a mixed number of patrons seated around each table, across the far end of the room was a long wooden bar with two people behind serving the customers and two girls scampered throughout the tabled areas bringing drinks and food and taking away the emptied plates and glasses to a room behind the bar, to the far left of the bar against the wall was a doorway with a set of stairs that could be seen through the archway heading up. Against the far-right wall was a small, raised platform that had a golden-haired woman singing an upbeat tune strumming on a lute and just behind her was a tall wiry man with a strange bowl haircut beating a drum. “You going to just stand there like a weirdo or come and organise ou
Gary was staring at Rex waiting for a response before the woman called Rosie stepped in and grasped his large bicep, “Please stop making trouble.”“I wanna know if he can arm wrestle, that aint makin trouble issit?” Gary replied, his words slighted by drink.“He is deep in conversation with the Assiarian woman before you intervened, let’s find him later?” Rosie said, her voice turning a little sharper and more authoritarian.“Assarians!” Gary spat, looking up at Karinna with scorn, “Wasta space and good air I reckon!”“I’m willing to arm wrestle him,” Rex said, standing so quickly Gary was bustled back slightly by his movement, Rex was sure the bump would aggravate the irritated man, but he simply looked down at Rex, rubbing his sternum where he was struck.“Little man hits good, come,” Gary said, his tone changing to cheerful, beckoning Rex to follow ov
“Kealy can you follow Dilo and make sure she doesn’t start the fight early, I guess we will wait outside and make sure the soldiers don’t do anything unfair in this silly bout,” Rex sighed, nodding to the archway before scratching his chin. “I would like to ask if we could come, I have a vested interest to see how this bout goes myself,” Karinna asked. “Why would you have a vested interest in how our affairs go?” Venya asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Call it intuition,” Karinna said, “It is a gift and a curse for my race to have these kinds of things. I cannot explain why, I just have this feeling that we should accompany you outside.” She shrugged at not being able to explain it any further. “Rosie called you an Assarian, what is that?” Rex asked as they made their way through the tavern, Rex gaining a few cheers and claps and the shoulders from the men in the tavern from his win over Gary in the arm wrestle. Cassius cleared his throat from behind them, getting Rex’s att
The instant Dilo heard Rex’s proposal, she released her grip, “I submit.”“Hey!” Rosie said through gritted teeth, “That isn’t fair, I only won because he said something to you to make you stop.”Dilo chuckled low in her throat as Rosie released her grip, “You won this fight, but like the idiot you are, I actually won in the long run, and you don’t even realise.’Unlike Rosie, Dilo had full control over her mind and actions while the battle adrenaline coursed through her body, so she knew what Rex’s proposal meant, but with Rosie’s brain being fogged and from lack of experience, she had only just realised what Rex had said as her pulse slowed, and mind cleared. Her shoulders sagged once she comprehended why Dilo had given up.“A good lesson here I think,” Brend said stepping forward and patting Rosie on the shoulder, “Rex’s friend, sorry I didn’t ca