The Slayer

Chapter 19 - So That's Why my hair is Pink

Chapter Nineteen

So That's Why my hair is Pink

The tavern was not that far.

Waltz and Sumaey walked mostly in silence down the dirt road, seeing occasionally a figure or two passing them by in the other direction, every time their attention would linger on the strange band that traversed the road.

The supposedly normal looking man and woman, followed by what looked like a water elemental, beside which walked a white stag with horns like branches and a metallic scorpion-spider-lantern thing.

One of the figures that passed them was an old man, sighing and shaking his head as he rode his old shaggy pony in the opposite direction.

'Kids these days...' he sighed. 'I just don't understand them...'

Waltz glanced back at him as they went, before looking ahead again.

'Ah' he said with satisfaction as they rounded a bend in the road. 'There is the tavern. See? It wasn't that far.'

It was a modest building in size, made with a roof of red tiles, tons of flowers everywhere (around the door and below the windows and overflowing in the little flower beds that were scattered everywhere) and there were horses belonging to the guests lined up near the entrance, standing there patiently.

Waltz's pace slowed as they made their way towards the front door, he sighed longingly as he stared at the many horses all tied up and waiting for their masters to return. He remembered how he had lost his beloved Squishy, whom he had owned for far too short a time.

'It's not fair...' Waltz lamented in a quiet voice, before moving off and following after the others that had entered the tavern already.

It was an extremely pleasant and happy environment inside. It was crowded, full of all sorts of people of all ages, all cultures, all backgrounds. There were families with young children eating together, drunk soldiers (even thought it was the middle of the day) gypsies singing merry tunes together in their family bands, exotic men and woman of dark and beautiful skin, people with funny hats, even creatures that were only part-human.

As Waltz followed after his guild, he saw at the edge of the room, sitting upon a table, an earth elemental. She was striking, with bright green skin, glowing eyes and a curvy body that was mostly naked.

Her eyes lingered on Spirit as they moved by, but he kept his eyes to the ground, seeming not to notice her.

Behind this strange earth elemental, were two other figures, both gypsies, both winged, one man and one woman. The woman wore a deep red dress, with wine coloured hair and blood-red wings like that of a butterfly. The man beside her also had butterfly wings, like the woman, but his where pointed at the ends while hers were curved. Every inch of his wings were as brightly coloured as his clothes, with thick black edges. He was striking to look at, they both were.

The billboard they sought was at the back of the large room. The guild had to pass the bar as they made their way towards it. Upon the bar sitting beside a candle burning inside an empty bottle, was a cat and a baby dragon, sitting side by side and watching the environment around them.

Sumaey approached the board. The other guild members lingered, forming a half-circle behind her.

'Right' Sumaey began, 'let's see what he have here.'

Their eyes scanned the board. There were many things placed here, not just jobs, but things for sale, messages to people, love letters, announcements of births, death, marriages and divorces. Announcements of important events and celebrations and anything else you could possibly imagine. The notices on the billboard would often change from day to day.