The Fifth Beast (ManxMan Chinese/Celtic Fantasy Story)

Chapter 7

The tavern was actually called 'Phoenix' — Cumal explained that it was a mythical bird from the Kirinch folklore, which burns to ashes when dying and then is immediately reborn from the ashes. As Lord of Fire, he was deeply fascinated by the legend. The sign was written in Kirinch hieroglyphs, which looked to Niall like something a child would scribble. The Gaelic runes were another matter entirely: regular, simple, manly.

For those who could not read the Kirinch hieroglyphs, a tin figurine of a bird was hung over the entrance, decorated along the edge with many red ribbons. The ribbons fluttered in the wind, symbolizing the flames. The sign was the only beautiful element in the tavern's decor. Everything else was dirty, rotten, broken several times over and hastily repaired just as many times.

Cumal, laughing, explained that the tavern had been burned almost to the ground or broken into pieces many times, but each time it had been reborn anew and opened its doors to the thirsty the very next day.

"Did I or didn't I promise to take you on a tour of the lowest dives of Airenn? They serve the best rice beer and decent enough firewater. The food, of course, is crap, but no one comes here to eat. The visitors are mostly Kirinches, they set up yurts not far away, on the lake-shore."

The tavern stood at the side of the road that led north from Airenn towards the distant mountain peaks. So it was logical that the Kirinches took a fancy to it and set up their portable leather dwellings nearby.

The tethering rail at the tavern was way shorter than it should have been at the watering place in a village, and there were only two horses tied to it. While Niall tied his steed to it, he noticed that the two other horses were almost as tall as his own. Niall thought the hour was still too early for taverns; the sun was just beginning to go down, and it was still far from dusk, when humans prefer to booze up. But inside he was met by a many-voiced hubbub and air stuffed with dozens of people. The common hall of the tavern was full, all the tables were occupied.

Came on foot, didn't they? Niall thought at first (after all, it was within a short walk of the Kirinches' camp), but then he remembered the kirins. With a wave of their hand, the barbarians called them out of nowhere and sent them back in the same manner. They didn't need any tethering rail.

At the sight of them, the crowd fell silent for a moment, staring with dozens of watchful eyes. But Cumal Mac Ruad, true to himself, smiled broadly, said something loudly in their language, raised the pouch full of silver, and was answered with an approving roar. A table was instantly vacated — three humans took their drinks and moved elsewhere. Watching the tavern-keeper hurriedly fill the mugs, Niall guessed that Cumal had paid for the next round of drinks. Not a bad way to win the favor of the locals.

They sat down, and Niall stretched out his long legs with a contented sigh. Usually the chairs and benches for humans were too low for him. But here everything was knocked up to last: the tables were wide and heavy, the high benches were made of thick boards. Niall peered suspiciously into the mug that the tavern-keeper had slapped on the table in front of him. The mug and its contents didn't look too clean.

"Come on, drink already!" Cumal muttered, wiping foam from his lips. He managed to gulp down almost half of his mug in one go. "Now we'll be served with meat and fire water, and I do not advise you to try them while sober. Are you afraid of food poisoning?"

Niall took a small sip and was surprised for the umpteenth time on this long day. The drink was weaker than ordinary ale, but the taste was rich, interesting. Rice beer, Cumal had called it? Not bad at all. He took a long sip and turned slightly on the bench, looking around the room.

He noticed the redhead right away, even before Cumal kicked him in the ankle and whispered loudly, "There, it's him I was talking about!" The barbarian was sitting, so it was difficult to determine his height. But even sitting, he towered among his comrades on the nearest benches.