The Portals of Amaranth

Chapter Five - The Silent Tongue

Chapter Five

The Silent Tongue

One by one, every head in the seedy tavern turned, watching in disbelief as a little blonde girl entered and made her way to the counter. Gorman couldn’t figure out why all these degenerates were staring. Gar is a world of fugitives; no one pays too much attention to anyone else. Two simple rules apply here: don’t ask any questions, and don’t give any answers—no one breaks the rules. If you lose your place in Gar, there’s nowhere else for you to go.

Gorman caught a glimpse of himself in a filthy, broken mirror near the fireplace. The image of a small girl with snarly blonde hair even caught him by surprise. He screwed up his face, watching as the distorted sneer spread across the girl’s image in the mirror. He had been so preoccupied with everything that happened this afternoon that he had completely forgotten to change back.

All eyes trained on the little girl, who now stood in front of the tall counter. Bales, the tavern’s unfortunate owner, leaned as far over the counter as his big belly would allow until he could just see the top of the girl’s head. Disgusted, Bales pulled back as the child’s body transformed. Bright hair morphed into a dark, oily blonde color. The innocent smile disappeared, replaced by a yellow rotting snarl he knew all too well. The skinny, shifty changeling who lived in the mountains now stood in front of him.

“Gorman, re-visiting your childhood, eh?”

“Funny! Give me the usual.” Gorman glanced around the dusty room as he took his seat. Everyone had gone back to their meals and their hushed conversations. No one showed much concern for the changeling at the counter. Good! Gorman didn’t like changing in public. It was like picking your nose, something you didn’t mind doing, just not in front of everyone.

“Here.” Bales clanked down a dingy plate filled with even dingier looking food, and a large mug of something brown and frothy. He leaned in close, mindlessly polishing the counter with an old, stained rag. “You know, if you’re gonna take the east mountain trail tonight, you best keep your eyes open.”

“Oh yeah, and why’s that?” Gorman snarled, completely uninterested.

“I know this is gonna sound mad, but Brewster and Cage were in here today. They both swear they saw—” he looked around the room, and then moved in a little closer. “Vowerlings on the east trail.”

“And you were worried about little old me? Oh Bales, and I didn’t think you cared,” Gorman sneered.

Bales straightened up and flung the soiled rag over his shoulder. “It’s not you I care about—just don’t wanna lose a regular paying customer, that’s all.”

Gorman snorted. With his not-so-clean fork, he poked around at the glops of food on his plate. He decided to chug down his drink instead, and then he slapped a few coins on the counter. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow, and you’ll get plenty more of those from me.”

Bales shook his head as he pocketed the coins.

Gorman left the Silent Tongue and took the path straight to the east pass. “Stupid dogs, letting themselves get seen,” he ranted through gritted teeth. Gorman’s narrowed eyes flicked back and forth across the stony path in front of him, and he lowered his voice. “If Dermond gets wind of our little mutts here on Gar, he’ll be all over these mountains with his council know–it–all’s. And if he finds out we have his son and that stupid woman—” He kicked at a small stone with the toe of his ragged boot. “That is not part of the plan!” He shouted at the rock as it sailed into the dark forest and landed with a dull thunk.

A full, bright moon rose above the mountain peak, lighting the pass well. Gorman followed the rocky slope. A soft breeze rushed down the mountain, stirring the lifeless branches of the forest trees. He froze. A tingling sensation rose up the length of his spine. His ears picked up sounds all around him. To his left, a rabbit broke from the underbrush and raced across the path. Gorman’s heart nearly burst from his chest. “Get a grip, man!” he scolded himself. “Acheron may trust you beasts, but not me,” he spat into the darkness. “You give me the creeps!”