Moving on

“Mel…..Nope!” muttered Tumbor. “Vin!” he paused. “Nope!”

“If you prefer, Percival.”

The dwarf produced a fake raucous laugh, holding his stomach with both hands making it rise and fall in time with laugh. Suddenly he stopped and looked sternly in Melvin’s direction

“No!” he said fiercely, then set about continuing to deconstruct the thief’s name into something suitably sounding.

“Where are the others?” interrupted Jax. “We saw them being led across to here, but we find only you.”

“Alas I know not. Circumstances had led me to being already stripped of my freedom.”

Jax smiled at the probable story behind Melvin being detained within the town’s stocks. Given his already renown reputation, it was almost certainly due one of two possibilities, even maybe both,

“Hands on someone else’s belongings, or someone else’s woman?”

The three had reached the home in which the rest of the group had aquired. Fraevon had a blazing fire roaring, and had clothing hanging wherever possible, drying in the heat. Rohlen had awoken, and was sat on the edge of the bed sipping something rather sweet smelling from a rustic wooden cup. Neither spoke, intrigued as to where the conversation was heading. Yulien still slept.

“Neither. I was caught attempting to enter the clerical underground passages.”

“Why?” asked Rohlen, setting aside his drink, and giving his sister a fleeting glance to see if she was listening.

Tumbor, still mumbling to himself, found a spot amongst the hanging clothes and began roasting his toes close to the flames. Jax, removing his sodden cloak, pushed Melvin again for an answer as to why.

“To keep out of the rain, and it being the quickest route so as to avoid Willow Morass.”

Avoiding the woodland swamp that was Willow Morass, especially given the burden of torrential rain, certainly offered an appealing proportion, however such a passageway was bound to be rife with traps left by conscientious clerics protecting their secrest. 

“Bob!” blurted Tumbor. “You shall be known to me as Bob.”

Copyright: authorchrisbrown