Within the Bone

XV. A Clarity

Perhaps it was because of the easy violence his guards had displayed that Mara thought the merchant spoke with the authority of a lord. "You may come out," the man said, pushing the table back out so he was no longer pinned to the wall. The heavy oak moved easily, suggesting that he had the muscle of a trained fighter even though he looked slim and unassuming. "So long as your manners are better than your countrymen's, I have no desire for a quarrel."

Aallotar looked at Mara. "There is a back door," she said in a hushed voice.

"We might outrun them, but not their monsters outside," Mara whispered back. "Those creatures looked like they had a wolf's nose."

Reluctantly, Aallotar nodded and stood, helping Mara up from their concealment behind the bar. She kept her shield on her arm, eyeing the two guards. Both men looked like devils from some fiery hell, spattered with blood from the cleaving wounds left by their wicked curved swords. They stood taller than even her father's six foot height and their golden eyes seemed doubly feral now even if their faces were calmly composed.

One ran a hand over his head thoughtfully as he looked down at the man pinned beneath his heel, brushing across the rows of small horns that rose from his scalp, mostly lost in his hair. The other stared at Aallotar without so much as a sign of heavy breathing, sword held loosely at his side, as if he had not just been some whirling dervish of death.

There was no way they were going to get to Caliban or the pack containing whatever treasures the dead adventurers had looted from the ancient ruins without entreating for their guide's release. Even a demon's servant didn't stand a chance against the two expert warriors they were facing.

"Who are you?" Mara asked, as cautious as a feral cat.

"I am Dexsius," the merchant said, rising from his seat to give them a polite bow. "My companions are Ansigar and Ealhhere." He gestured to each one in turn. Ansigar had come charging in from outside. Ealhhere had been seated at the table with the merchant, easily distinguished by the series of scars that criss-crossed his face, even biting into his flat nose. "Do not let the twins trouble you too much. They are here for my protection." He gave the two women in front of him a thin smile. "You are?"

Mara had never been a good liar, something she bitterly rued at the moment. "Mara," she said with all the politeness she could muster. She could at least limit information by not giving her full name. "I'm sorry about Caliban. He really doesn't mean you any harm."

Ansigar bent over, wrenching the backpack from Caliban's death-grip with ease. He tossed it to his brother like it weighed nothing and Ealhhere spilled the contents onto the table. Coins and assorted wealth likely robbed from graves and buried share scattered across the surface of the wood, followed by a few chunks of twisted metal covered in the same incredibly intricate writing that Mara had seen in her master's tomes.

God-Tongue.

The dead men had found something of interest after all.

"Fascinating," the merchant said, picking up one of the metal shards. He turned it over in his hands, inspecting what could be seen of the markings where the dirt caked on it had been rubbed partially away.

"What is it?" Ansigar asked, his voice a low rumble.

"A piece of ancient history," Dexisus said with amusement flickering across his face. "These are prayers to the pretenders who fell from heaven and died, back in the days of warring gods and angels." He looked over at Caliban. "Are you a scholar, then, or is that the domain of your lovely friends?"

'That one is a warrior," Ealhhere muttered with narrowed eyes, gesturing to Aallotar with his sword.

"One can be both, even if that is not common in these lands," Dexisus reminded his guard. His eyes focused on Mara. "Who is your protective friend?"