Chapter Text
“Look at all this space, Jamil!”
The setting sun feels rosy, bright and warm on Kalim’s face as he skips through the cobbled streets of this new town, spinning every-so-often to take in every single aspect of the buildings surrounding the two. This place is nothing like home— here it’s all wood and brick and the salty smell of the sea so strong that weaker men would stagger. But the newness is both intriguing and entrancing to Kalim. He cranes his neck and goes up on tiptoes to try to take it all in and almost falls over when Jamil puts a firm hand on his pack and halts him mid-turn.
“You’re going to hit someone,” his friend remarks. His expression is stern as he regards the empty streets around them and pauses. “…or you’ll cause trouble if you fall in the water.”
“Ah! Sorry, Jamil!” Kalim adjusts his pack and goes from skipping and spinning to just skipping. Jamil just hums in acknowledgement, turning his gaze towards the horizon where the orange-pink sun is being swallowed beneath the waves instead.
“You know,” Kalim continues, cutting through the silence. Jamil sighs, but raises one eyebrow. “Someone in the last town told me that this is one of those coastal towns that attracts mermaids, but there’s really not any!”
That had been one of Kalim’s favorite nights since they’d left their hometown all of those weeks ago. It had been a floating attraction along the same coastline which they’ve been traveling, boats tied prow to prow and filled with people staggering from ship to ship, stance wobbly with drink and seasickness. Kalim had spent the night testing his sense of balance to lead a group of particularly rowdy travelers in dance while Jamil had disappeared below deck to rest in one of the available hammocks.
It had been quite a while since he’d found people so willing to have fun— it was sad to go. But rooted he was not, and there were still so many towns that he wanted to see! So they’d set off once again, finding themselves here, and now-
“They’re probably not fond of people,” Jamil suggests, shaking Kalim from his reminiscing.
“Why not?”
“Mermaids are generally skittish creatures. Very few actually come up to the surface. Even if it’s something that someone told you, you can’t believe it that easily.”
“Oh.” Kalim purses his lips, slowing his skipping for a moment to think about this. It’s not that he disagrees with Jamil- his friend knows far more about a lot of things- but it’s disappointing nonetheless. His expression doesn’t stay crestfallen for long, however. After all, a rare chance doesn’t mean none, and he tells Jamil such.
“Believe what you want. Just don’t be too disappointed if we don’t see one…”
But even that slim chance is enough to put a spring in his step once again, and they continue in relative quiet for a grand total of… about three seconds.
“I heard you were looking for mermaids.”
Both Jamil and Kalim whip around, though Jamil looks far more ready to unleash a barrage of fire spells upon the hooded figure that’s just approached them. Kalim, without a magic bone in his body and very aware that his intimidation level has been labeled as “a thrilled hound puppy,” still puts up his hands defensively.
“Geez! No need to get so feisty,” the stranger yelps, putting up his hands and taking a step back. “I just live here! You guys seem new, and I was just going to see if you needed a tour guide or anything.”
“For mermaids?” Kalim asks.
“I know where you can find some.”
“No,” Jamil huffs. He turns on his heel and pushes past them, making purposeful strides until his back is to them. “Come on, Kalim. We need to find a place to sleep, first.”
“I know where you can get that too,” the stranger offers, falling into step with them uninvited as Kalim moves to chase after Jamil. “A drink, a warm meal… would be good with all that rain settling in, dontcha’ think?”
Both Jamil and Kalim pause— with the darkness of the night settling in, neither had paid attention to the shadow of grey clouds that have started intermingling with the darkness. Jamil looks up and curses.
“Directions seem pretty good now, huh?” The stranger says, shoulders shaking with a strange laugh. Kalim watches as Jamil turns around, expression the definition of the word reluctant. The dark-haired boy rests his hands on his hips and glares at the stranger.
“Fine. Where are we supposed to go?”
“Ah-ah-ah… there’s a bit of a convenience tax, first.”
“A… tax?”
“Of course! Directions don’t come free… but you seem like you’ve got enough to go around, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” It takes Kalim a second to realize that the stranger is eyeing the bracelets around his wrists, and he immediately moves to take one of them off. It’s one of dozens that he’s brought on this trip alone, anyway!
The stranger spreads their hand, wide grin evident despite their face almost completely shrouded in shadow. Kalim reaches out to drop the bracelet in his hand, but Jamil sticks a hand in the way first.
“Don’t give them it. I can figure it out…”
“Yeah? You see anyone else out here who could help you? This town closes pretty early if you don’t know the right places, you know.” The stranger’s voice is light and casual, but Jamil bristles. They continue anyway. “If you pay the tax, I can show you a good spot with both food and m-“
“Little remora! I thought I heard you out here!”
A nearby door swings open and slams against the door, giving Kalim the second shock of his life tonight. Jamil seems to feel the same, judging by how much he’s frowning right now. The stranger curses.
Warm light shines from beyond the door, both sounds of chattering and the scent of a hot meal filtering past the silhouette of a figure half hanging out of the doorway. He seems to be around their age, with wild eyes, wilder hair, and a terrifying smile spread across his features. Next to him is another boy, much smaller but with no less presence.
“Hello,” the latter drawls. He adjusts his glasses and fine clothes as he gives Kalim and Jamil a once-over. “Travelers, yes? I can’t say that I’ve seen you around here before.”
Kalim, still shell-shocked, nods. Jamil, halfway through shaking his head, tosses him a furious side-eye. The one with the glasses laughs.
“You’ve come to the right place, then. Welcome to the Mostro Tavern.”
The one with the glasses is Azul, Kalim learns as they are ushered into the tavern without much of a choice. The other is Floyd. He doesn’t introduce himself directly, but he brings up the rear of their small parade with the same intimidating smile on his face.
As for the little remora, he’d removed his hood and given Kalim the third shock of the night when he revealed two rounded ears twitching in his mess of multi-colored hair. He keeps his arms tightly crossed as the group makes their way to the bar at the back of the network of tables.
“You should really stop stealing my customers, Azul,” he complains. “We haven’t gotten new travelers in forever.”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be scaring them away with your schemes. Give them a good meal and some good service… and it’s not like you don’t get paid, Ruggie. Did you need more hours, hm?”
“Only when you give me a raise, thanks.”
“I could fire you, you know. It would surely save me some money.”
Ruggie cackles.
“And go back to only one worker who shows up for his shift? No offense, Floyd.”
“Ehh? I could squeeze you right now!”
As Azul huffs, Floyd grins, and Ruggie laughs, Kalim and Jamil exchange glances. They’ve been in strange places before, no doubt about it, but nowhere like this. Kalim can just imagine the gears turning in Jamil’s head as he surveys the room for potential dangers and/or escape routes.
To Kalim, though, it just seems like a pretty tavern. There’s tables filled with people eating, laughing, and talking, faces lit by candles hanging from twisted chandeliers. A live band plays songs that make Kalim want to break into dance right where he’s standing. He notices the dark wood of the bar at the back right before he bumps into it.
The group has come to a halt. Floyd, satisfied that they’re not running anyway anymore and making his way to the other side of the countertop where a neater version of him stands. It takes Kalim a second to realize he’s not seeing double, and his eyes go wide when he realizes.
“It’s quite rude to stare,” Neat-Floyd remarks. “Have you never seen twins before?” Kalim vigorously shakes his head- he’s got several little cousins who are twins. Neat-Floyd smiles, tight-lipped and closed-eyed compared to his brother’s wide grin. They’re both equally terrifying.
“And this is Jade,” Azul says with a nod. “He’s our other employee. Jade, meet… say, I never got your names…”
Jamil mutters something that sounds like “Maybe if you didn’t kidnap us off the street…" while Kalim pipes up enthusiastically.
“I’m Kalim, and this is Jamil. We’re travelers!”
Jade tilts his head and holds a hand up to his chest, setting down the glass that he was wiping down with a clink. His smile looks warmer now, if only a small bit.
“Ah. Pleasure to meet you, travelers. What can I prepare for you?”
“Get them a meal, please. And two glasses of…”
Before Azul can finish talking, Jamil holds up a hand. “Sorry, but we can’t accept offers of food. Kalim is—“
“Isn’t it okay once, Jamil?” Kalim frowns, pointing to one of the tables. “It looks really good… and I’ll be able to know at first bite anyways… so it’s fine! I’ll spit it out!”
Jamil looks prepared to argue, but Jade holds up a gloved hand, giving the two of them an intrigued glance.
“If it’s the quality of the food you’re worried about, Mostro Tavern has had nothing but stunning reviews. We would be fraught if anything unsightly happened under our roof.”
“…It’s not that.”
“Would seeing the kitchen and the cooking put you more at ease, then?” Jade offers. “Floyd, you wouldn’t mind covering the bar for a moment, would you?”
Before either Floyd or Jamil can protest, Jade steps out from behind the counter and guides Jamil towards a door with a firm hand against his back. Azul frowns and looks between Ruggie and Kalim.
“You won’t mind if I take a moment, will you? Any matter concerning the Mostro Tavern involves me, unfortunately. You’re welcome to have a seat here or at the table… we’ll bring your food right out.” With that, he disappears into the door as well, leaving Kalim staring at the empty space where he was with wide eyes.
Ruggie slaps a hand against his back good-naturedly, chuckling that strange laugh of his as he slides into one of the bar seats and waves for Floyd.
“Water, thanks. And don’t worry about them,” Ruggie says. “They’re pretty… well, not harmless, I guess they can be pretty scary. But not if you don’t do anything. And you guys didn’t do anything, right?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “Sit.”
Kalim does just so, but not before setting the bracelet from earlier on the counter and sliding it in Ruggie’s direction. The other just blinks at him.
“Holy shit, still?”
“You found us a place to stay!” Kalim grins, relaxing into the seat as the comfortable atmosphere of the room quickly envelopes him. “Don’t tell Jamil, though. He’d get mad at me.”
“I mean, yeah, but…” He thinks for a second longer before shaking his head and slipping it into his pocket. “You trust pretty easy, huh? Or you’re just really rich.”
He shakes his head again. Floyd slides a glass of milk across the counter and Kalim watches as Ruggie downs half of it in one go.
“You have a trustworthy face,” he notes, leaning his elbows on the counter and resting his chin in his hands. Ruggie laughs into his milk, promptly chokes, and starts spluttering as Kalim quickly reaches over and pats him on the back. It takes him a second to stop laughing.
“Really?” Ruggie says, disbelieving, wiping the tears from his eyes and milk from his upper lip. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before.”
Kalim laughs with him, but his is more of relief than the other’s mirth. Because even if Ruggie denies it, Kalim knows the face of someone who wants more from him than he has to give (and that’s rare, because the things he wants to give to people amount to just short of his life). He knows the way they look at him like they want him gone, wrapped poorly in politeness. Ruggie has none of that. He looks like he hungers, maybe, but don’t they all?
“I mean it!”
“Well, if you wanted to trust me with a few more pieces of jewelry, I wouldn’t complain,” Ruggie jokes, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back on the stool.
Before Kalim can seriously consider reaching into his bag and drawing out a few more earrings or the like, the door to the kitchen swings open and Jamil, Jade, and Azul come back out. His friend looks a bit weary but otherwise unharmed, and tension that he didn’t know he was holding flows out of him.
Jamil sets a plate of something warm and good-smelling in front of him and one in front of Ruggie before perching on the edge of the last bar stool.
“You can eat it,” he says. The words barely leave his mouth before Kalim starts dragging pieces of warm bread through the sauce around the edge of the plate. Ruggie digs in as well. Jade joins Floyd behind the counter and immediately starts tending to customers while Azul leans against the side of it.
“Good?”
“Yup!” Kalim chirps around a mouthful of food. Jamil makes a noise of disapproval, and Kalim hastily swallows. “Really good! Do you cook often, Azul?”
“It’s me and Jade when we can. Floyd, sometimes. Our other employees take up the role the rest of the time.” He pushes up his glasses. “We own this establishment… but I don’t want to talk about me this whole time. What brings you two into town? We haven’t seen travelers… quite a while.”
Jamil raises an eyebrow, looking between the crowded tavern and Azul skeptically. Azul sighs.
“They’ve been here for quite a bit. Traveling out the direction where they came brings them right into the path of that thing. Normally having people stay is a blessing for business, but our suppliers are having an equal amount of trouble crossing the pass.”
“That thing?”
“The dragon,” Ruggie interjects, pointing with his fork. “You haven’t heard anything about it? Where are you guys even from?”
“A place far, far away!” Kalim responds.
“We’ve been traveling for quite a while,” Jamil says. “And- did I hear this right- you said dragon?”
“That would be it.” Azul sighs deeply, pressing a hand to his temple and shaking his head from side to side. “It’s been terrorizing that abandoned castle on the edge of the mountain pass and… well, an already treacherous journey has become almost perilous. Few make it across. And the ones that have, we’re not sure how they are- if there even are any.” He frowns. “The mailman never makes it.”
Kalim’s eyes widen and shine, and he leans over to tug on the light fabric of Jamil’s shirt.
“A real dragon,” he hisses. “Can we go see it?”
“Considering it eats people, I don’t think we’ll be looking there for our next tourist destination.” He tugs his arm out of reach of Kalim’s grasp and looks mildly perturbed. “Who knows what your family would say if I did all this work to stop you from getting poisoned and then see you immediately get eaten by a dragon afterwards?”
“You’d be dumb to try and sneak past it,” Ruggie says. “Everyone’s just waiting for a group of ‘brave adventurers’ to come and get rid of it so it can all blow over or whatever.” He sighs, stretching his hands above her head and leaning back in his chair, plate empty. “‘Course, that ain’t going so well. It’s been… what, weeks now?”
He huffs.
“I wish someone would just get rid of it. Leona doesn’t care if I go or whatever, but he pays a lot more than travelers do. Especially when they stop coming because they’re a dragon’s dinner.”
Kalim sits up, red eyes shining as he clasps his hands together. The idea comes bubbling forth from him before he can think it through- sheer excitement overwhelming his sense of rationality.
“We could do it! We could stop the dragon!”
“What?”
The chorus of confusion that emits from their small group is loud enough to draw the entire tavern’s attention.
“You couldn’t,” Azul says. “It’s impossible- you’d die. From what we know of the dragon, it’s alarmingly powerful.”
“Jamil could do it! He’s super good at magic, you know!” Four pairs of eyes (five, now, as Floyd slowly becomes aware of the conversation happening right next to him) turn to Jamil, who slams a hand down on the table as his brow furrows.
“I know a little bit,” he hisses. “Not enough to fight a dragon.”
Kalim crosses his arms over his chest, shoving his plate away from him and standing up.
“But Jamil, people are dying to that dragon! We can’t just leave it there and let it continue to eat people!” He gestures as he speaks, wide and sweeping enough that Ruggie leans out of the way just in time to narrowly avoid getting hit in the face with a bag. …He’ll apologize for that later. “Even if it’s not just the two of us, we could do it!”
“What do you mean not just the two of us? Who would you bring?” Jamil has the expression that he makes when Kalim walks a little too close to the edge of a cliff or tries to pet the wild animal that’s just a little too big or with a few too many teeth.
“Um…”
He whirls around and points at Ruggie, who promptly yelps and falls off his chair.
“Sorry,” he says as he clambers back onto the stool, “You said me?”
Kalim nods. Ruggie starts laughing, but almost immediately sobers when he realizes that no one else is doing so.
“…You’re serious?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” He spins around and points at Azul. “You too! You’re smart! You could come!”
A smirk spreads across Azul’s face as he shakes his head.
“I’m a business-owner. I couldn’t simply leave it, you know.” He adjusts the jacket draped over his shoulders, tossing the sleeve back. “You know, there’s finances to adjust, and—“
“You have finances sorted up until for the next three months,” Jade says with a faint, mischievous smile. “So don’t worry about that, Azul.”
Azul splutters, cheeks reddening.
“Who’s side are you on?”
“Neither. I am merely reviewing the benefits of completing this quest sooner than later… getting our suppliers back would truly benefit us, wouldn’t it?”
Azul throws up his hands.
“Fine, fine. We shouldn’t discuss this in front of the travelers, anyway.” He turns on his heel and makes towards the kitchen, tilting his head in a summoning motion. “Floyd, you too.”
Ruggie, Jamil, and Kalim watch them go, none of them saying anything for what feels like a profusely long silence.
“Ah!” Kalim says, hopping back on the seat and spinning to look at Ruggie. “What kind of dragon are we going to be fighting?”
“Wait, wait, wait- we?“ Ruggie interrupts, putting his hands up and staring at Kalim intensely. “When did I agree to this? Because I don’t normally put my life on the line without compensation, and-“
“If it’s money you want, we have a lot of that!”
“Okay, that’s great- but that’s, like- holy shit, that’s a lot.”
Kalim looks between the velvet pouch that he’s holding out, filled with golden coins, and looks back up at Ruggie. From behind him, Jamil makes a noise of protest, but Ruggie’s already taking the bag. He widens the mouth and takes one of the coins out, flipping it between two fingers and holding it up to the light.
“That’s enough to keep ‘em for weeks…” He looks back up at Kalim with wide eyes. “How loaded are you?”
To this, Kalim just shrugs- mostly because he isn’t sure. He just knows that people sometimes need money that he has a lot of, and that’s enough reason for him.
“This better not be a trap,” Ruggie warns him as he sets the bag down on the counter. “If you pull anything, I know people. Hell, Floyd could probably snap you like a twig.” Next to Kalim, Jamil bristles and puts a hand on his magic item pouch, but Ruggie raises a hand. “Not a threat. Unless you are trying to trick me.”
“It’s not!”
“I don’t wanna accuse you of anything! It’s just… y’know, an adventurer metaphorically falls out of the sky with enough money to probably buy the town and a friend with a whole lot of unused magic power… it’s kinda… you get it.”
“Eh? But Jamil uses his magical powers—“
“It’s quite a lucky stroke of fate,” Jamil says, eyes flashing. Kalim feels his eyes widen when he looks at his friend’s cold expression, and clearly Ruggie feels the same, judging by the way his ears twitch.
“Hey, not my business. Just saying.”
“Mm.”
The two of them fall silent and Kalim looks between them, unsure of what just happened. There’s a tension in the air that he doesn’t seem often, and it bothers him- it crackles with nervous energy and he feels like he’ll be struck with it if he moves too much. It even gives him a weird feeling… like someone's watching him intensely. Really intensely.
It’s a relief when the kitchen door swings open and dissipates it, Azul leading the twins back up to the counter.
“It’s decided. We will accompany you on the quest to eliminate the dragon from the pass. But-“ he says, pushing up his glasses so they catch the dim light of the tavern, “We play by my rules. We’re hopelessly unprepared to take a dragon of that power by ourselves, so we need a bit more manpower.”
“Yay!” Kalim says at the same time that Jamil asks, “But what’s in it for you?”
Jade tilts his head to the side and smiles that unnerving smile of his.
“It’ll be beneficial to get our business back to having a steady stream of adventurers once again. Our current patrons are… running a bit low on funds, if you will.”
Jamil just grumbles and nods in acknowledgment, and Azul takes this silence as approval to continue.
“I know how we can get that manpower, and I will assist you with making the plans for this journey. We can leave tomorrow, as there’s a few things I would like to get in order before we set off, but we can provide you lodgings before we set off.” He pauses. “Ruggie, do you plan on coming along as well?”
Everyone’s attention snaps to Ruggie, who tucks his arms behind his head and sighs loudly.
“…sure, what the hell. Guess it’s better for someone to get rid of it…” He cracks one eye open. “Hey, does that mean you’re giving me a room for free?”
“Of course not.”
“Shit.”
“I’ll cover you!” Kalim offers, and Ruggie grins.
“Works for me.”
Kalim beams, feeling all the more lighter with four new allies on his side. He turns to Jamil, whose expression hasn’t really changed since Ruggie mentioned the whole magic thing. He doesn’t understand it. Jamil can do about as much magic as he’s been taught, but his magic power only has a slight difference from Kalim’s own.
“Isn’t this great, Jamil? See? Four people to come with us!”
Jamil just looks at him before his mouth stretches into a grimace, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head.
“You’ll go even if I say no, won’t you?”
Kalim stays silent, but he knows that he can’t keep anything hidden with his expressions- much less from Jamil of all people. Jamil makes a frustrated sound, throws up his hands, and makes a ‘what can you do’ face. He doesn’t say anything else.
“Then it’s settled,” Azul says, breaking the silence with a raised eyebrow. “Shall we discuss your lodgings now?”
The room is nice.
It’s one of the better ones they’ve encountered by far, spotless with simple, tasteful decorations. Kalim is sitting on the foot of one of the beds staring at one of them, eyeing the shell pattern as Jamil takes advantage of the washbasin in the corner.
The blue light flashing in the corner of his eye followed by the sound of droplets hitting ceramic gives him pause, though, and he stares at Jamil as the water flows into the bowl. It’s something he’s seen him do a million times, but…
“What did Ruggie mean about the magic thing, Jamil?” The other pauses.
“…Hm? Oh. That. Don’t worry about it. He was just talking a big game.”
“Oh.”
Kalim tugs at the soft lavender blankets beneath him, worrying his bottom lip. Jamil sighs.
“Come wash your face already.”
He does as prompted, eyes squeezing shut when the cold water splashes against his face. Before he goes to lay back in bed, Jamil stops him and pats his face dry with a towel. Kalim scrunches up his face at the scratchy fabric, but it’s a motion that he’s used to. It’s soon over, leaving him free to flop back onto the bed stomach first. He squishes his face into the pillow as Jamil takes his turn to wash his face, before blowing out the candle and bathing the room in darkness.
“Jamil?” Kalim asks, once he knows Jamil has tucked himself into bed. He usually sleeps with his back to Kalim, curled up on his side. Kalim can never read him when he’s like that, so every expression of his is a guess. Luckily, he usually has a pretty good guess.
“What?”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t ask you if you wanted to go or not.” He pauses. “I got excited.”
There’s silence from the other bed for a moment, followed by the dragging of sheets across skin as Jamil sighs and settles into the bed.
“I know.”
“…Are you scared?”
More quiet.
“Go to sleep, Kalim.”
There’s a note of definiteness in Jamil’s voice, and Kalim knows when a conversation is over. That doesn’t mean he’s content, but Jamil will only get angrier if he keeps asking questions.
“Okay. Goodnight, Jamil.”
Jamil doesn’t respond, but Kalim can’t think about that before the exhaustion of the day overtakes him and he slips into a deep sleep.
He wakes up the next day to Floyd, who hasn’t seemed to have decided whether to be alarmingly enthusiastic or entirely detached by the time Jamil opens the door and Floyd folds up his gangly limbs in order to lean halfway through their doorway.
“Good morning, sea snake and sea otter~!”
“Floyd, was it?” Jamil, always awake before Kalim, asks as he backtracks until a healthy distance from the door. “What are you doing here?”
He’s doing that voice, Kalim notes. He doesn’t know what that voice is specifically and it itches at the back of his brain every time, but it comes up sometimes when Kalim does something that he knows he isn’t supposed to, or when Kalim’s father encounters them in the hallway, or-
Jamil does that voice a lot, he’d think if he was more awake. But his pillows are so fluffy, and the blankets are so warm…
“Azul wanted me to tell you guys that breakfast is ready downstairs,” Floyd interjects, seeming to have made up his mind on enthusiastic. “And he also told me to clarify that it’s not free. Oh, and to pack. We’re leaving today.”
“Oh. We’ll be right down.” With that, Jamil tries to close the door, but Floyd sticks at least two of his limbs in the way.
“Ehh? Getting rid of me so fast, sea snake?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“But you’re funny! You too, sea otter!”
Kalim yawns from where he’s finally sitting up in bed, stretching his arms over his head and grinning when the sun hits his face. He’s always felt a little better when the sun shines, and it’s nice to think that the sky is smiling on their adventure today.
“Mm… good morning, Floyd!”
“Please go downstairs now,” Jamil urges, a little more insistent now. “We have to get ready and pack now, since we’re apparently leaving today.”
“Okaaaaay,” Floyd drawls, reluctantly pulling his arm and leg out of the doorframe. He stretches back up to his full height, and it would be kind of intimidating if Kalim was the kind of person to get intimidated. “Bye-bye~…”
He disappears, and Jamil nearly slams the door.
“Up. Your clothes are on the table. I need to pack now, so take care of yourself for a minute.”
Kalim does, slipping on sash over shirt and necklaces and bracelets over both before carefully switching out his sleeping stud earrings back to his regular dangling ones. He takes a moment to tilt his head from side to side once they’re in, appreciating the comforting weight and how the dangling gold pieces brush against his jaw.
Once he’s done toying with the sensation, he turns and watches Jamil pack. At some point, he tries helping- but a few too many things in a few too many wrong places and Jamil kicks him out of the room and sends him downstairs, making him promise to stay there, not eat any of the food set out, and not get roped into nor propose any extra schemes. Kalim holds out his pinky to promise and Jamil waves him aside, so he just goes downstairs.
Ruggie and Jade have already gathered- it’s early enough that most of the tavern’s regulars haven’t flocked downstairs yet, leaving the small gaggle and a few nondescript and exhausted patrons slumped over coffee and breakfast. Kalim drops down into the same seat that he occupied yesterday.
“Good morning, everyone!”
“Morning person,” Ruggie complains into his forearms from where he’s leaning his face against the table.
“Good morning, traveler,” Jade says with a small smile. “I trust you rested well? Where’s the other one?”
“Oh! Jamil’s packing up right now. He sent me down here early, but he should be down soon!”
“Very good. I’ll be sure to let Azul know so he can get an extra plate ready… will you be eating first, however?”
He levels Kalim with an inquisitive stare, ice cold and sharp as steel. It doesn’t feel malicious- just piercing, like he knows a little too much that he’s not letting on. It could be malicious, maybe, but that doesn’t seem like a side he’d like to be on.
“Sorry! I promised that I wouldn’t… but I should be able to when Jamil comes down!”
“Why’d you gotta wait for him?” Ruggie asks, tilting his head so he can look up at Kalim through one blue eye. “Can’t you just eat?”
“Jamil has to check for poison.” He flails his hands in front of him. “Ah- Not that I think you guys are trying to poison me! It’s just… safer that way. People have tried before!”
“Man, poison?” Ruggie puts his head up and stares at the counter in front of him, clearly trying to comprehend for a moment. “I don’t even know where to start with that.”
He doesn’t have to, because Jamil comes down the stairs with a pack over his shoulder and his braids freshly done. He keeps the bag over his shoulder as he moves to stand at the end of the bar by Kalim, frowning all the while.
“You didn’t eat anything while I was gone, did you?”
Kalim shakes his head, and Jamil gestures at Jade.
“We’ll be ordering, then.”
“Would you like to observe the kitchen again?”
Jamil seems to be torn, looking at Kalim skeptically before setting their pack on the chair and ducking into the kitchen. Jade doesn’t follow this time- instead Floyd comes out of the kitchen, leaning on the end of the bar and grinning.
“I’m done working, Jade.”
“Did you start?” Jade asks, unbothered.
“Kinda~! I made soup.”
“Soup is good,” Ruggie offers. “I like soup.”
“Ask Azul,” Floyd responds. “I left the soup in the kitchen.”
Ruggie groans and puts his head back in his hands.
“You’re all here!” Azul says with a smile when he comes out of the kitchen, bearing two plates of food (no soup to be seen). Jamil trails behind him carrying another one. He sets this one in front of Kalim. “Fantastic. I was hoping we could go over what the plan is… before we set off.”
“Plan?” Kalim says, blinking. He wasn’t expecting a plan.
“We always plan for situations like this,” Jade says. “Especially dangerous ones.”
Azul spreads out a large map across the counter space where there’s no plates. It’s extensive and detailed, and even without looking too closely Kalim can identify that it’s a faithful recreation of the area.
“We’re here,” he says, gloved finger pointing to a shell shaped marking at the bottom left of the map. He drags his finger up to where a range of mountains and the silhouette of a castle are. “We want to go here.”
“That looks like a long trip,” Jamil says with a frown. “How long?”
“About four days head-on. But… vastly untrained as we are, we’re going to have to make a couple detours, so we’re looking at around a week. Of course, the sooner the better.”
“Detours?”
“I know someone. Rather, I know of someone. He’s… a diamond in the rough of a great wizard, incredibly powerful but fairly unheard of. Apparently it’s because of some family issues, though I’ve heard that they’ve been solved now- so we might have a shot.” Azul drums his fingers against the map. “I believe that he is crucial to completing this adventure safely.”
“Cool,” Kalim says around his mouthful of juice.
“Maybe,” Jamil says- always more cautious. “What else?”
“That would be mine,” Ruggie offers. “I’d like to get to a safer town outside of the mail route and try to send something home. I haven’t been gone this long in, like, forever, and I want to let them know that I’m okay.”
“After that, we just cut through a couple forests and this smaller cliff trail and we should get there. There should be enough inns on the way that we’ll be able to receive any food and shelter we need, but I hope you are all prepared to sleep outside in case that doesn’t work out. Any questions?”
Azul folds up his map with a flourish, looking quite proud of himself. Floyd even claps lightly. Kalim raises his hand, because the feeling's back again.
“Do you guys ever feel like someone’s watching you?”
Jamil’s eyes widen, and he immediately spins in his seat to look around the room. No immediate threats appear. Meanwhile, Azul just raises an eyebrow.
“I can’t say that I feel like that, no. Has anything in particular drawn your attention, or…?”
“It’s probably nothing! I was just thinking about it, that’s all. Sorry, Jamil.” That’s a lie, and Jamil knows it. But Kalim just shrugs, hoping that the feeling will dissipate if he stops thinking about it. “And no other questions, Azul! Thanks for the plan!”
“Of course. It’ll be quite a relief to all of us when that dragon is gone for good.”
With a little more cheer, Kalim finishes his breakfast and slides out of his chair, hopping from one foot to the other as Jade disappears with their stack of empty plates into the kitchen. He even tries to pick up Jamil’s pack, almost falls over, and even looks properly chastened when Jamil takes it back from him.
It takes everyone a moment to disappear into their various rooms and come back with their goods, Azul to instruct a couple employees on how to run the lounge in his absence, and Jamil to intensely study the map again, but they’re gathered by the entrance by the time the town kicks into motion.
“Well?” Azul says as they filter past him hanging up a small sign that says ‘Owner Away, Direct Questions and Concerns to Front Counter’ on the bulletin board by the entrance. “Onwards, then?”
“Onwards!” Kalim cheers.
Onwards, as it turns out, means several hours of walking. While walking may be what Kalim is used to, it’s typically never this long and uneventful. Floyd’s dropped the enthusiasm and switched to dragging his feet behind the group, Azul’s started to lag behind as well, and even Jamil’s starting to show signs of fatigue. According to the map, they’re almost there, but that thought is maybe only comforting to him.
But they’ve come too far to turn around and go back- it’s much shorter to their next stop than the town they came from. They keep walking.
They’re crossing a stream when Kalim tries to lead the group in a traveling song. No one joins in. They keep walking.
They’re cutting through a forest when there’s a rustle in the bushes and half of their group’s spines go ramrod straight. It turns out to be three birds and a rabbit. Kalim scoops up the rabbit and coos at its little paws, but it bounces off his shoulder and disappears into the brush. They keep walking.
They’re cutting through the same forest when there’s a rustle in the bushes once again and considerably less people start- but Kalim shoots up. It’s the feeling again- the one of being watched, the one he can’t explain. Jamil seems to be equally concerned, judging by how he spins on his heel and holds out his hands, preparing to cast a devastating spell on the bush behind them.
Ruggie yelps. Azul stares. Jade and Floyd exchange glances. The bush speaks.
The bush speaks.
“Wait.”
Kalim’s not sure who screams, but at least two of them do. Jamil keeps his hands up.
“Come out, whoever you are. Do not try to attack- I will smite you where you stand, should I have to.”
There’s a rustle, and then a figure rises out of the bush. Kalim’s eyes widen as he takes in intensely purple eyes and choppy silver hair, and they widen even further when he hears the swish of a blade and suddenly the figure is behind him and holding a sword to his throat.
“You will not kill the dragon,” the stranger hisses.
Ah. So that’s what that feeling was.