Freelance Heroics (35 page)

She sat up, her drowsiness evaporating. She clutched the quilt to her chest as her eyes darted around the room. It was empty. She could see her sword, knife, and holdout crossbow on top of the dark mahogany chest at the foot of the bed, and her backpack was in the corner. The door was open, another room visible beyond.

Gavi pulled back the covers. She was still in her clothes from the night before, though her jacket and boots were neatly arranged on the chair near her backpack. She patted her chest—both her arrowhead pendant and the focus crystal she was borrowing from Mazik were there.

She swung her legs out of bed. She didn’t remember going to sleep here last night. She rubbed her forehead, her mind still fuzzy. She remembered going to bed at an inn in Gernd, a Jihnsruckian border town where she, Mazik, and Raedren had accepted their next quest. They had been sharing a room, one larger than the one she was in now. And sure, she’d had a decent amount to drink last night, but she didn’t think she had gotten so drunk as to—

Oh. The quest.
Gavi rubbed the bridge of her nose as the memories trickled in. They had been hired to defend some town, but apparently its location was a secret, so they had agreed to be brought there blindfolded. Their employers had woken them up not long after they had gone to sleep. Gavi vaguely remembered being blindfolded, climbing into a cart . . . and then she woke up here.

I must have fallen back asleep.
She let out a breath as she ran a hand through her hair, collecting it in a tail behind her. Her mind felt like it was covered in a thick sheet of wool.
I must have drunk more than I realized.

Her muscles unknotting as she calmed her nerves, Gavi walked to the end of the bed. She picked up her sword and knife, sheathing the latter at her side. Next to them was her backup focus crystal, the ring Mazik had looted during their adventure in Saffir, as well as the throwing knives she had taken to hiding in her boots. She left them where they were for now.

Still unnerved despite her own assurances, Gavi crept silently to the door.

She first noticed that the room was only a little larger than the one she had been sleeping in. Off to the right was a small table, big enough to fit perhaps two people, though three chairs were clustered around it. A small cupboard and an icebox sat in the corner. The other half of the room was sparsely furnished, with a wicker couch along the opposite wall, two papasan chairs in the corner, and a rug in the middle. There were also hangings on every wall, though the illustrations were so stylized Gavi couldn’t tell what they depicted.

Not that she tried. Her focus was on the mattress which had been laid out over the rug, and upon which lay Mazik, sleeping soundly. His belongings were neatly stacked on the couch above him.

Gavi’s shoulders finally relaxed. Mazik wouldn’t be sleeping so peacefully if anything were wrong.

She noticed two more doors in the apartment. The one in the dining area had locks on this side, which meant it probably led outside. Gavi walked to it and turned one of the knobs, taking some comfort from the sound of the tumblers clicking into place, even though she kept telling herself nothing was wrong; naturally, she ignored herself. The other lock required a key, so she left it.

The other door opened into a room identical to hers, save it was Raedren and his belongings resting inside. His chest rose and fell peacefully, his snoring at a late-morning low. His glasses were folded carefully on the nightstand.

Gavi set her sword on the table in the dining area. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Okay,” she said to herself. “Time to wake these idiots up.”

She padded over to Mazik. He was laying on his back, his head lolled to the side and his limbs splayed. She smiled at his goofy sleeping face, and then bent over and shook his shoulder. “Hey. Wake up.”

Mazik smacked his lips. “Mmm . . .” He rolled toward her, and before Gavi could react he yanked her onto the mattress with him.

“Wha—!”

Mazik pulled her close, pressing her face to his naked chest. Gavi stiffened. Mazik rubbed his cheek on her forehead and muttered something unintelligible.

Gavi’s face flushed with heat, and it felt like the tips of her ears would burst into flame. “Hey!” she hissed, not wanting to wake Raedren.

Mazik yawned and mumbled again. After a moment his arms loosened, and Gavi started to pull away.

She stopped. She gazed at Mazik’s sleeping face for several seconds, his arms still gently wrapped around her.

Her heart was pounding now. She could feel Mazik’s warmth, so close and tantalizing. She could smell his scent, equal parts spice, sweat, and bitter, woody tang. She could see the muscles on his chest, arms, and stomach.

Before she realized what she was doing, Gavi was touching his chest. She didn’t remember him being so muscular when they had last been this close, in a cold cellar after a running fight and an impromptu dip in the Houk River. The training they had been doing every day was paying off, apparently.

Gavi looked around to make sure Raedren hadn’t woken up. She saw no one. Ignoring the little voice in the back of her head, she closed her eyes and let herself relax, sinking into Mazik’s arms. It felt warm and safe. She nuzzled up to him, letting his scent wrap around her. Her lips brushed his skin—

No.
She jerked away and quickly scooted out of Mazik’s reach.

Gavi took a minute to compose herself, and to straighten the quilt to hide any signs of what had happened. Once everything was back to normal, she calmly yanked the pillow out from under Mazik’s head. “Hey. Wake up.”

Mazik’s head hit the mattress, but he didn’t wake. Gavi hit him with the pillow until the situation was rectified.

“All right, all right, I’m awake.” Mazik sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at Gavi and blinked. “Oh. That makes sense.”

“What makes sense?”

Mazik yawned. “I thought we were in Houk. Thought Kalenia was here.”

Gavi did her best to keep her voice under control. “Must’ve been a dream. Now wake up.” She hit him with the pillow again. “Though we could be in Houk for all I remember. Is this the quest village?”

“Mhm.” Mazik stretched, and let out a satisfied groan. “They brought us here last night. You fell asleep in the cart. I carried you up here.”

Gavi hid her embarrassment with a frown, though secretly she was pleased. “You could have woken me up, you know.”

“Tried. You wouldn’t stay awake. Besides, we figured one of us should get a decent night’s sleep.” Mazik stopped stretching and looked around. He nodded to himself and flopped back onto the mattress. “Speaking of which, good night.”

Gavi was still trying to get Mazik out of bed when there was a knock on the door. The handle rattled, and then a voice came from the other side in polite, clipped Jihnsrian. “Good morning. Is one of you awake?”

“We didn’t order any room service,” said Mazik, not loudly enough for the visitor to hear.

Gavi ignored him. “Yes, we’re awake. Who is it?” she replied in Houkian, grateful once again for how similar the two languages were.

“Knapp,” said the voice. “We spoke last night. I’m the one who hired you for the defense quest.”

“Hold on.” Tossing Mazik’s pillow on the table next to her sword, Gavi moved across the room and opened the door.

Sure enough, she recognized the man in the doorway. Knapp was half a head taller than her, with brown hair swept to the side and a polite smile. He was wearing a plain tunic and trousers, and had no visible weaponry. He stood with his hands clasped and his heels together, and his back was to the handrail of the walkway outside. Behind him, Gavi could see a rising cliff of red rock.

Knapp bowed. “Welcome to the Nijāst village. Did you sleep well?”

“Uh, yeah. Didn’t remember getting here last night, so I was confused.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Maz, you want to wake up now?”

“Not really.” He rolled over.

Knapp smiled apologetically. “Ah, yes. I’m sorry for the way we brought you here. I know we originally said this morning, but our leaders decided it would be best for us to travel at night.”

“And you didn’t tell us beforehand so we would be groggy and have a harder time remembering how to get here,” said Mazik from his bed. It wasn’t a question, though Gavi didn’t think he had been told as much.

Knapp winced. “Yes. I do apologize.”

Mazik waved a hand, his back still turned. “Don’t worry about it. We agreed to your privacy nonsense. Just as long as you pay up once the quest is finished.”

“Of course.” Knapp bowed again, and Gavi caught a glimpse of several two-story buildings behind him. “We’re having everyone meet downstairs so we can fill you in on the details. Can you be ready in five minutes?”

“How about twenty?” asked Mazik. The other door opened and Raedren emerged, covering a yawn.

Gavi ignored Mazik again. “We’ll meet you there.”

Once the three of them had gotten dressed, they found Knapp waiting for them outside under the small awning over their door. He held out a key. “This is the key to your apartment. Please use it while you’re here.”

Gavi took the key. Once the door was secured, Knapp led them down the stairs affixed to the side of the building. At the bottom was an outbuilding. A woman in her mid-thirties stood at the stove inside stirring a large pot, a child tugging at her apron and chattering excitedly.

They moved around the outbuilding and onto the road which ran between two rows of identical two-story buildings, where nine people stood waiting for them. Gavi recognized several of them.

One of the adventurers they had met the night before, Yintour, a halvelin woman who came up to Gavi’s waist, waved them over. She, like the three taller men and women behind her, wore tempered steel armor on her shoulders, arms, and legs, and her helmet, which reminded Gavi of a rook chess piece, was under one arm. Her short dark hair stuck out at odd angles, and her ruddy face was full of laugh lines.

Yintour nodded to them as they approached. “Good morning. Y’all sleep well?”

Mazik shrugged. “Decently enough. I would have liked to sleep
longer
, but I guess we can’t let a little thing like being kicked awake and dragged here in the middle of the night stop us from getting to work bright and early.”

Raedren picked that moment to yawn. He covered his mouth. “Sorry.”

Yintour chuckled in a deep, throaty bass, befitting neither her short stature nor her rosy features. “There’s that, though I can’t blame them for being cautious.” She examined the three of them, then frowned. “Is that yer combat gear?”

The trio looked at each other. “Yes. Why?” asked Gavi.

“Hmm. What was the name of yer guild again?”

“Collateral Damage,” said Gavi.

Yintour shook her head. “Disgraceful. I thought that was just what you wore to the pubs. Does yer guild not furnish you with armor?”

Gavi frowned. She hadn’t even considered that possibility. “No. Should they have?”

Yintour rested her hands on her hips and sighed. “These Houk guilds, disgraceful. Our guild furnishes us with armor, even our newbies.” She reached up and patted the other woman in her group on her lower back. “Keeps ’em alive long enough to be good to us. Is what you’re wearing at least enchanted?”

None of them said anything, which said enough.

Yintour sighed. “Disgraceful. Look, even our cloaks are enchanted.” She turned to show them her purple cape. She squeezed it, and blue mana sparked from her fingers. The mana sloughed off like it was water and the cape was covered in pitch. “See?”

Raedren scratched his beard. “Hmm, that’s a good idea.”

“You just don’t want to work as hard to protect us,” said Mazik.

“Yes. That’s absolutely correct,” said Raedren.

Yintour picked at Mazik’s robes. “Where did you even get these, a thrift store?”

“No! Maybe. Shut up.” Mazik pulled his robes away from Yintour and glared over the top of them. Yintour laughed.

Gavi took this opportunity to look around. They were clearly in the mountains. Not only was the air thin, but mountaintops were visible on all sides. The village sat on a terrace just below one such peak, which loomed high to their right. To their left was another peak, separated from the village by a ravine. To the other sides were gentle slopes covered with trees with more mountains beyond.

She craned her neck. The nearest cliff face looked unclimbably sheer, like someone had taken a knife and cut the mountain down the middle. The other peak wasn’t as tall, but it didn’t look any easier to scale. Between the two peaks and trees on either side, someone would have to practically walk into the village to find it.

As for the village itself, most of it consisted of two-story buildings like the one they had slept in, with outside stairs and kitchen outbuildings. They were simple houses, practical.

In the middle of town, though, sat a large stone building, taller than the rest, with a bell tower that rose to double the height of its neighbors. While the rest of the village was compact and sensible, the stone building seemed large enough to swallow five or six of its neighbors with ease. To Gavi, it looked like an ancient church or temple with its weathered, mossy stones.

After she had taken in their surroundings, Gavi turned to Yintour. “By the way, thank you for helping us get this quest.” She bowed.

“Oh, it’s no problem. When you said you were involved in that mess in Saffir, it was easy enough to check. I know a few people there. The general Saffirite might not know what really happened, but the guilds do.”

“Which guild do you belong to again?” asked Mazik.

“Alter of Tower.” Yintour fidgeted. “It’s from this quote that doesn’t translate well.”

While Mazik kept talking to Yintour and her guildmates, Gavi looked for Knapp. She found him speaking to two other Nijāst. That’s when she realized that a beautiful dog, tall and long, with glistening golden-blonde fur and a narrow, wolfish face had joined them. It was sitting next to Knapp, who was absentmindedly scratching the animal’s ear. The dog looked too much like a wolf to come across as friendly, until she noticed its tail thumping the ground.