“We’re closing soon,” the server told the straggler.
“What’s your name, beautiful?” Shaw’s friend asked.
Wearing a scowl, she said, “We only have ale and wine left for tonight.”
“Smile,” Shaw demanded. “And tell him your name.”
She let out an audible breath and did not smile. “Burda. Now which would you like?”
“An ale, Burda,” Shaw’s friend said.
When she turned to leave, he gave her rear a hard smack. Shaw let out a guffaw as Burda froze, her body stiff. She did not turn back but walked the rest of the way through the dining area to confront the owner.
I couldn’t hear the conversation, but the old man’s expression spoke loudly enough. He wouldn’t listen to her complaints as he left my vantage point, then returned a moment later with a mug.
Burda refused to take it, but he said something that changed her mind, and soon she was headed back to the table with a nervous look. She set it down and scurried away as Shaw and his friend laughed.
I had seen enough. This friend of Shaw’s would make this more difficult, but I wasn’t going to let this go on another night. It was time to enact my plan.
I rushed into the tavern. “I have a proposition for the owner,” I announced as I looked around. “It’s urgent!” I wasn’t the best actor, so I tried not to show my face to any one person for too long.
The old man came out from behind the counter. “Over here.”
I rushed past Shaw and his friend. Shaw was a large man, his body overflowing from the chair. His friend was more my size, a bit taller than average and clearly strong. They each looked to be about twice my age. I didn’t feel any dteria from them as I rushed by, but that just meant they probably didn’t have an essence of dteria with them. They still could be dark mages.
I stopped in front of the owner and spoke loudly enough for Shaw and his friend to overhear. “I am in need of a sweet white wine as fast as possible!”
Sweet white wine was hard to come by. I didn’t expect him to have any.
The owner appeared confused. “Why is that?”
“My master is hosting a few important guests and has run out of white wine. He is willing to pay well. I have the coin with me.” I made sure Shaw especially could hear the last line.
“I don’t have any white here,” said the owner, his regret obvious.
“Do you know where I might find some?”
“There’s no other tavern open at this time of night,” he replied.
Shaw announced, “I got two bottles of white myself.”
I took a moment as I held back my grin. Then I turned and gave him my best incredulous look. It was probably overdone, but it should do the trick.
“You?” I asked in disbelief.
“You don’t believe me?” He spoke as if insulted.
I turned back to the owner. “Can you vouch for this man?”
The owner’s mouth twisted into a smile. “I can.”
It was an obvious lie, most likely out of fear. I pretended to study Shaw for a moment before I gave him a nod.
“All right, then,” I said. “I will meet you outside after I have a quick word with the owner here on behalf of my patron. Future business.”
Shaw and his friend walked out of the establishment. I noticed the three servers pausing in their cleanup, including Burda, all edging closer to listen.
When the opportunity to give someone a chance to redeem himself came up, as it did now, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t take it. I stepped up close to the owner, dropping my naivety.
“Is there anything you want to tell me about that man now that he’s not here?”
“The man comes in. He pays. He leaves. That’s all I know.”
And he harasses your server, I replied only to myself. You do nothing to stop it. You don’t even warn Shaw to knock it off.
The owner had a legal right to ask Shaw to leave his place of business for any reason. If Shaw refused, the owner could get the king’s guards involved. It might’ve been an easy way to arrest Shaw so I didn’t have to put myself in a potentially risky situation, as I would now. But I trusted myself to get through whatever happened. I would figure out what to do about this owner later.
I noticed Burda staring at me after the owner walked away. I met her gaze. She shook her head with a grave look, clearly warning me not to conduct business with Shaw. I showed her a quick wink to let her know I knew what I was doing. She appeared surprised at first, but then her nervous expression returned as she shook her head once more.
I left the tavern. No one but official guards could carry a weapon in the capital. I did not see a weapon on either of these men, but I suspected at least one had a small blade hidden.
“Lead the way,” I said as I took my place behind them.
Gregory Shaw and his friend walked beside each other, each giving a glance behind them. I watched their legs to see if a dagger or even a small knife might be hidden in a holster. I couldn’t make out anything clearly, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
After a little while I told Shaw, “It doesn’t seem necessary for your friend to come with us. I would feel safer if we parted from him now.”
“He’s staying with me right now,” Shaw answered for him. “And I’m not looking to get robbed, either. I don’t know that I can trust you yet. I want him with me.”
“Very well.”
Two I could deal with, especially if neither of them was a sorcerer. It was if a third got involved that I would start to worry.
I continued to voice concerns that I figured would bother me if I’d really had been sent
