Stormmistress I

The Stormmistress was hidden between other taverns and inns. It was a house that looked like it was carved out of a single stone. The outer walls were larded with reliefs and carvings that showed not only Faheia but the adventurers that battled her.

The name was emblazoned in large letters over the main gate, the letters formed from a carved dragon and the whirly winds coming out of its mouth. 'Mistress' was fully formed out of its body, while 'Strom' consisted of the wavy lines representing wind.

As we entered the establishment a wave of smells assaulted our nostrils, making my tummy growl. I smelled grilled flesh, vegetables, sweets and spices I never even knew existed. Lively conversation echoed through the huge room underlined by a sizzling sound coming from a hotplate in the middle of the room. If you would have looked at it from above the hotplate would've looked like a big C, with three cooks standing in the middle, shifting and turning the meat on it, throwing together meals and giving out orders.

"They cook it out in the open, for everyone to see", Venosa said as she caught me staring. "It's an eastern trend stemming from outside the guildlands."

"How do you know this?"

Venosa smiles in response, as her snake coils up her torso to look at the cooking meat. Its tongue shoots out of its mouth again and again like it was trying to taste the aroma of the meat in the air.

"A good hunter comes around. I had a few missions at the edge of the lands. They have a really different mentality there, and not to forget, awesome food."

While we spoke, a waiter came hurrying towards us. He was human with skin that was burned almost black by the sun. His white hair created a sharp contrast to the rest of his body but complemented the light colored clothes he was wearing. A open smile lay on his lips, he asked with a deep voice that didn't match his looks at all.

"Table for three?"

"Four"

As Venosa answered her snake's mouth shot towards her face and its teeth sunk into her cheek. She giggled.

"Ok, ok. Five"

"Please follow me"

The man walked us to a table in a corner of the room. With a sweep of his hand a candle was placed on it and with a snap of his finger the lit was ignited. As we set down on the chairs with padded seats, he produced four menus from within his jacked and handed it to us before bowing and leaving. Venosa looked after him.

"Enjoy your stay."

A look through the menu confused me to no end. Reading the words provided no issue but the way the food was named and described made no sense to me.

>>Morning-Breeze<<

A deliciously light soup made of home grown vegetables, scrambled eggs and grilled chicken.

or

>>Firewind-Roast<<

Freshly roasted pork spiced to perfection to ignite a fire in your throat. Garnishment are potatoes -mashed or cooked- and grilled aishen-tree-bark. For the guests that enjoy a well seasoned meal.

What the hell was "spicy" and why would I want to ignite my throat?

Skarra closed her menu and looked at me. I picked up her gaze and held it. Her eyes were really beautiful, like two red marbles behind a clouded sky.

"What", she asked after a while. I flinched.

"You looked first."

Skarra turned her head to her right, rested it on her first. A "tsk" came out of her, that would have made my mother proud. Venosa giggled, her snake wandered around the desk nudging the candle with its head. Despite witnessing what the serpent did to the giant bird I had to admit the snake was kinda cute. It's tongue flicked back and forth like she was tasting the air. I looked at Skarra again.

"So, ehm … what did you do … after we came here?"

It took me a moment to formulate the question without mentioning the silent ways. This way we could keep the map a secret from Venosa. Despite Farheia knowing of it for some reason, I would be trying to keep the amount of people knowing of this map as small as possible.

"You mean after you guys left the silent way?"

Venosas question made my and Skarras Jaws drop. The huntress displayed a proud smile like she understood an inside joke and was now part of the group.

"Huh?", I asked. Skarras' hands wandered under the desk. She stared at me, the red marbles wrapped into flames that tried to burn through me. I raise my hands apologetically.

"It wasn't me. I didn't tell her."

"Oh, was that supposed to be a secret?"

Venosa seemed genuinely confused.

"Normally the people that come or live here love bragging about things they can do. I didn't think you guys would want to conceal that you can walk the way."

She whispered the second sentence.

"But he really didn't tell me", she added as she noticed the nightstalkers gaze.

"Then how do you know?"Skarra asked.

The huntress pressed her index finger against her bottom lip giving the appearance of a child thinking hard about an easy question to not embarrass itself.

"Well for starters Farheia's order to bring you both to her immediately was kinda weird. It was kinda precipitous. With her abilities she should have been able to feel you guys for days before you actually reach the city and prepare a welcomeparty, but this time she just send a guard to me, telling me to bring you. Secondly I had blackey seach Nothol's body while we brought him to Xepec and found the map."

My face turned pale as snow. Skarra shot me another angry look.

"Why didn't you take it?"

Venosa shrugged.

"I have no use for it. It won't help me hunt down what I truly desire. First off in order for the artefact to work for me you either have to give it to me willingly or I'd have to kill you and that is not my style."

While she said "kill" she ran her thumb over hear throat like a dagger. A tingle ran down my spine. So the only way to use the items is for the owner to hand it over or to die? Apparently Ougen hadn't told me everything about artefacts. Did he assume I knew those things already? I gulbed heavily and changed to subject.

"Hunt down your desire?", I ask.