Chapter 18

Talia awoke to the sound of distant songbirds greeting the morning sun. It was oddly serene, she could even hear the far off waves crashing against the shore. If she tried hard enough she wondered if she could even hear the boats rock gently, their ropes singing out with each change of motion. It was a nice way to wake up for once. She almost smiled.

The first thing she did was ensure the satchel was still securely wrapped in her arms with the egg safely nestled inside. She pulled the top open to peer down into it, the eggs shell glowed softly amongst the dark. Her heart raced at the temptation to drag her fingers across the top of it just to feel the jolt of electricity.

'It's not mine... I have no right. Bromyr is the one who went to great efforts to procure this thing.' She thought to herself angrily. Even if the gods told her it was her right it didn't change his sacrifices or his work. If the egg was truly hers it would hatch eventually and the dragon would bond to her. Until then she'd keep it securely within the pouch.

Slowly and reluctantly she left the warmth and comfort of her bed, stretching animatedly once the brisk morning air hit her skin. She noted absentmindedly as she gathered her clothing for the day that she had left the window open allowing the nippy sea breeze to blow into her room. It wasn't unpleasant though, instead she found it to be oddly invigorating. She was in an unusually pleasant mood.

She pulled her travel bag from under her bed and dug through it for some nicer more town appropriate clothes. She had an emerald green silken shirt that she buttoned up over top her underclothes. To go with that she also had a pair of thin leather pants that were a nice dark shade of brown. To finish off her outfit she laced up her leather riding boots with her pants tucked neatly inside, the boots tops resting half way up her calf. Finally she cinched her belt around her waist and fastened on her sword, dagger, and a small pouch full of coppers. The larger pouch of money rest safely in the satchel with the dragon egg.

Once she felt satisfied with her outfit she fastened her hair up into a neat braid, tying off the end with a small strip of leather. With that done she made her way downstairs with a rumbling stomach eager for breakfast.

The dining room of the inn was particularly empty to Talia's surprise. Although considering the hour of morning she had to admit most of the tenants were likely still sleeping off their hangovers. Even Nico was still absent. She sighed while eyeing the smattering of tables. Which to pick? She didn't want to hide herself away in Minnow's private seating area for the morning meal. It would be far easier to sit next to the kitchens. Not to mention she wanted to smell her food cooking.

Slowly she made her way to a corner table and snapped her fingers causing the lantern in the center to ignite to life instantly. As she sat a tired looking woman slowly made her way over to ask her what she was after.

"What can I getcha darlin?" She drawled lowly, leaning her elbow on the table. Talia noted she had silvery hair and a blueish tint to her skin. Her eyes were human enough, but her ears proved she was a halfling. It was odd seeing a sea elf so far from the water. She wore a thin light blue dress with a frilly pink apron over the top. Her hair was pinned up into a neat bun with a smooth sharpened stick holding it into place.

"Anything special this morning? Where's Minnow at?" She tried to peer around but everything was still relatively dark. The woman chewed on her lower lip before answering,

"I think he's still asleep though I can't say for certain. Mornings can be a little crazy with him." Talia was certain it was true, Minnow was an excitable man who enjoyed spending his time chasing his whims. He was either sleeping away the alcohol or off completing some benign task. She waved a hand idly,

"Well, I suppose I don't have to wait around for him. Just get me a little bit of everything. Bread, eggs, potatoes, biscuits, whatever. I'll eat it all." The woman's eyes grew wide at her request. For a moment she was speechless,

"You... You're certain? That could get... Expensive." She dragged the last part of her sentence out hesitantly as if she was fighting for a way to say it without causing offence. Talia raised a brow,

"Think I'm not good for it?" She slid three gold coins forward. The woman's eyes then nearly bugged from her head as she eyed the shiny metal.

"That.... Is not what I meant darlin. That'll more than cover it." Without further ado she spun on her heel and marched stiffly into the kitchen. Talia wondered for a moment if she offended the waitress.

"Ugh, how can you look so upbeat this morning? I thought you hated daylight." Nico stalked in with dark bags under his eyes. He looked miserable in his usual dark clothing, though he wasn't wearing his usual cloak. He took a seat opposite her with an unpleasant frown. She was surprised he even got up to walk the town with her, usually he'd blow her off.

"I generally do, but it's not so bad to have a good day every once and a while. I enjoy the sea breeze." She didn't know what else to say on the matter, she just felt the buzz of energy that came with greeting the day early and it was enough to mellow out what would normally be a sour mood.

"You sure like the smell of things that could very easily kill you." He raised an eyebrow at her as the waitress approached again. Talia shrugged her shoulders,

"What can I say? Humans are just as likely to die in the oceans as I am and yet they sail more so than I ever will." It was a weak argument. Humans could swim.

"What can I getcha darlin?" The woman drawled again, her accent catching Talia's ear. She hadn't really noticed it before. Nico ordered a hash of eggs and vegetables with a plate of meats on the side and a bottle of some sort of juice. She stalked off again to see to their orders.

"Right. Well, whatever your excuse it doesn't matter. I'm sure you're smarter than to die in the waters. So what's on your list of things to do today?" His mood started to mellow slightly the more they talked.

"I want to take a look around the market stalls of the city. We have our own supplies we need to get and now is the best time to do it. I want to wait for horse buying till the day before we leave, though we haven't planned that far ahead. I also want to do some information gathering, see if there's been any known threats out towards Arboros." If there were rumors of attacks she'd have to invest into some more protection, better armor, weapons, ingredients for healing or for poisons.

"Of course, work, work, work always with the work with you." He grumbled. Luckily the waitress returned with a pitcher full of dark purple liquid and two mugs.

"This is a blend of berries, black, rasp, blue, and straw. It's good I hear, Minnow had a batch labeled specially for yall." She flashed a tired smile though it didn't last long as she made her way back to the kitchens.

"Yeah, always with the work with me. We aren't on vacation yet you know. We still have those damned dwarves to get home and I'd like to do it without loosing my damned eyes." She hissed the last part while pointing at her bandaged injury. Nico winced and looked away. Talia felt a pang of guilt at making him feel bad, but her point was still quite valid. If they could avoid injury during their travels she'd consider herself very lucky.

"I suppose I can't fault you there. I promise I won't complain too much. Well, I promise I'll try not to complain too much." She smiled at him knowing it was the best she was going to get. From him it was more effort than he'd show anyone else that was for damned sure.

They spoke about all manner of things after that passing the time until their food arrived. The waitress brought it out on a large platter, several plates piled full of steaming hot food. She sat down a plate full of breakfast meats, sausages, bacons, small steaks, she hadn't seen such a generous portion of meats. And it didn't stop there, she set down a plate piled high with scrambled eggs covered lightly in cheese. Then came a plate with pancakes, egged bread, and honeyed pastries.

"I've got butter, milk, cream, and fresh fruit here as well. Would either of ya like hot cereal? We got grits." She offered warmly, her personality warmed significantly from the first time she appeared. Talia wondered what had perked her up so much in the short time they hadn't seen her.

"I'd love grits." Nico stuffed his mouth with a hand full of bacon. She shot an overly sweet and bright smile at him before turning to Talia.

"Sure why not, it'll keep me till lunch." Grits was always like a stone in her belly, it took forever to digest. She grabbed the plate full of pancakes and egged bread, slathering each one individually with butter before pouring honey onto the piles. She eyed Nico questioningly but he shook his head. With a triumphant smile she wasted no time in digging into the food with a vigor.

Breakfast didn't last long with the two of them ravenously packing it away. They had nearly finished when their waitress returned with two large bowls heaping with steaming grits. Talia was surprised to find her stomach still growling eagerly at the prospect of food. Even Nico grabbed his with a swift grin before he set to mixing in his favorites.

"Need anything else yall?" Talia shook her head, holding her hand out she deposited the three gold coins and two silvers into the woman's hand.

"Yall made my morning darling, thanks so much! Enjoy and let me know if ya need anything else." She wasted no time as she quickly shuffled back into the kitchens, no doubt to split her share with the cook.

Talia stirred in a spoonful of honey, blueberries, and cream to her grits. Nico's was a messy stack of berries and honey, he voraciously dug in without further ado. Talia followed his stead and before long they had finished everything, juice included.

"Alright, you ready to get to shopping?" He stood up, patting his belly with a warm smile. She felt her cheeks warm with a soft blush as he held a hand down to help her up. It was nice seeing him in such a good mood. Gladly she took his hand only to lead him out the door and into the city.

"Sure am! I want to go see what their smithies have. Maybe there's a few blades from far across the seas still, I want something enchanted." Enchanted weaponry was generally a rare find outside of elvish or dwarven cities. Talia had only seen a few in her lifetime, though none of them suited her fighting style.

"After that can we go to the book market? I want to see what they have for spellcrafting." She slowed and released his hand with a small smile,

"Sure thing. We've got all day after all. From there we could look at some leatherworkers. I need to look into getting a new saddle." It was embarrassing to say she had nearly outgrown hers again, though it was an older saddle. She had owned it secondhand for years. Although that wasn't all she was after, she wanted saddlebags made up for each horse and rider as well as a few panniers for two pack mules.

"Oh and then we need to go to the smokehouse. I think we should definitely stock up on some dried fish and game meat. Maybe some beef, goat, and sheep too. Then we could get some dried vegetables to make stews with on the nights we have some extra time on our hands. Then a baker..." He listed several food related stops. Talia sighed as the list grew longer. So many places, so little time.

"We'd best hurry up then if we want to make all that today." She grabbed him again before rushing forward and into the early morning crowds.

Each stop lasted nearly an hour, their first stop producing nothing fruitful. Amethyst Cove like any other city had a plethora of weapons for sale, though their quality left much to be desired. Certainly no master smithy was providing his work to the marketeers, nor could she find one amongst the certified smiths within the city. Reluctantly she had to give up in her search as Nico pressured her to move on to their next task.

Multiple stores resided within the city that sold all manner of books and writing supplies. Nico would likely have spent days in each store had she not egged him on. He would grab a particularly old looking book bound in crusty stiff leather and spend quite a bit of time thumbing through the pages eating it up like he was starving for literature. She'd ask him if he was going to buy or not and he would reluctantly grumble while putting it back on the shelves,

"It's not really what I'm looking for... And I can't take all the books I like with me." She wished they had time and resources to allow him to take as many books back home as he wanted but fate wasn't on their side.

"We'll be back again, these books look like you're the only one whose looked at them in years. But we should hurry." The sun was already climbing fast in the sky and they had much to do.

Eventually Nico found three books that suited his quest for knowledge. They only cost him a few silvers and coppers, it would seem that magical literature wasn't popular in Amethyst Cove anymore. He eagerly tucked them away in his own satchel, a wide shit-eating grin on his face as they both strut away from the stores. She was just happy he found something to keep his attentions during their long travels.

Their next few stops went rather quickly compared to their more personally driven ones. Food was simple, Nico already had a list crafted of everything they needed to survive their trip to Arboros. There was only one leatherworking shop in town so it was simple enough to place her order there, though she was particularly displeased with how expensive it was and how long it would take to get her things made.

"Three weeks, that's a whole moon cycle! What else in the gods names could they be doing? Wasting my damn time." She muttered bitterly as they continued down the streets. Nico offered her a consoling pat on the shoulder,

"At least that gives us some time to draw up some proper plans and for your eye to heal. Not to mention time to stock up on supplies and load our things. By then the weather should be much kinder, the turbulence of seasons changing should be done by then." She didn't want to admit that he had a point but she couldn't deny it either. Instead she sighed sullenly, she had hoped to be well on their way by weeks end. Now it seemed they'd be stuck for a while.

"Let us hope Minnow won't be too put out by our stay." She meat herself and the dwarves in that statement, she was a food eating machine and the dwarves were no different. Though they would drink him out of tap and barrel before he could even blink. With the trade slowed significantly he might find it difficult to replace his stock quickly.

"Nonsense, I'm sure he'd welcome us forever if we chose to stay that long. Family is always family." Nico spoke somberly, a distant look in his eyes. Talia couldn't help but feel the same. Minnow had been a brother once, and he was lucky enough to escape the life and leave it all behind him. Leave them behind him, at least for a few years.

"I wish we could have had what he has. I wish..." She knew he was thinking the same as she was, they both could have been so much more. More than killers. Like Minnow they had found a life outside their home-caves under the watchful eyes of Nazir. She was poised to take over an empire of horse breeding and land management that spanned farther than even her eyes could see. He was getting educated, no book was outside his reach, he had even learned how to cook and sew. He was happier then than she had ever seen him since. She was certain he could say the same of her.

"It isn't all gone for us, you still..." He eyed her as he fell back to match her pace. She felt her stomach churn uncomfortably before she finally answered,

"Yes. I still own it all. But we can't risk going back, not yet. Maybe not ever." She ran her hands down her arms as a shiver raced up her spine. The punishment far outweighed the memories. He quivered too, his eyes growing darker as his own demons surfaced for a moment.

"It's alright. As long as it's not gone, as long as she won't be erased. Nazir can't take it from us." He said it with a forced smile. Talia forced a smile too, though hers was toothier and meaner looking. Nazir would never take it away from her. Freedom was costly but she'd always pay the price if she had to, even for the sliver of freedom they still had claim to.

"Lets get some of this back to the inn before my back breaks." She was only half joking, hiking the large pack of their goods higher onto her shoulders. It was mostly food items but it was still weighing on her. Nico nodded before turning onto the main street which would take them to their temporary home.