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"Vancouver Island. Ever hear of it?"
"Is that anywhere near Terrhin Oak?"
"Not that I know. Isn't Terrhin Oak near Ireland? Sounds like an Irish name."
"No, it's off the coast of Palace Realm."
"Never heard of it," said Arrowsmith. "No one seems to have heard of the place I came from,
and they don't have any idea how I can get back there. It would be easier to figure things out if I
knew how I came here. I wandered into the area when I had a head injury."
"That's how most people come to Chye Vale," said Misty.
They laughed. "Well, good luck in your travels," said the Moonhound. "Are you going to stay
around long?"
"A while I guess. I'll hang around until spring, anyway."
"Good thought," said Misty. "The winters around here aren't to be taken lightly. The weather is
mild now, but in another few weeks the snow will be up to the rafters."
Arrowsmith nodded. "Well I'd better get back to work. Merc gets nervous if he thinks the staff
are drinking for free. Are you going to be hanging around awhile?" he asked Misty.
"We're just waiting for the miners to show up," said Misty. "But we'll be here for a couple hours
yet."
Arrowsmith nodded, then backed up a pace. "Well, have fun," he said simply, then turned and
walked away.
***
The Moonhound watched him go. He moved lightly, like a dancer, stepping across the floor on
long slender legs. She slowly tightened her grip on the table's edge, grinning.
"Oh Holy Goddess of the Moon, give me strength!"
Misty leaned towards her, smiling at his friend as she watched Arrowsmith cross the floor.
"Moonhound, considering that the Goddess you worship is a fertility Goddess, one would have
to ask you what you want her to give you strength for."
"That is my secret and you can't have it," she said
"As your friend, I feel it is my duty to inform you that there is a barmaid glaring at you angrily."
"So, let her get a sword and we'll work this out in the street. He is beautiful!"
"He's huge," said Misty. "Bigger than anyone I ever saw. Even bigger than Monshikka, and he's
pretty tall. Maybe he's not full human. Do you think there's an Elven parent in his background?"
"No," said the Moonhound. "Half-Elves always have their human parent's stature. Maybe an
Ogre, but I find that really hard to believe. Could be he's just an exceptionally tall human."
"Maybe. I wouldn't want to be the woman who bore that baby, let me tell you," said Misty.
"No worry there. I don't think you'll be birthing too many babies, myself." The Moonhound
pressed the end of Misty's nose with a fingertip. "But he seems a friendly sort. Let's see if we
can't get him to sit with us after the fight."
Arrowsmith meanwhile sat down at his place near the counter and picked up his guitar. He didn't
notice Cora glaring at him as he continued to look towards the table. He did however notice the
group of men who came in a few minutes later. There were five of them, and they were all filthy.
They wore heavy leather outfits, worn soft in places, and they had heavy scarves for keeping the
mine dust out of their noses and collars while they worked. They seemed a jovial group, laughing
and slapping dirt off of one another.
Arrowsmith noticed the Moonhound giving them a bored glance before disregarding them,
continuing her conversation with Misty. Her demeanour suggested to him that she was a trained
warrior as opposed to a mere street fighter. There was a focused coldness about her, and he
didn t think that grey and black garb she had on was just the first thing she found on the floor
when she fell out of bed in the morning. Likewise he did not think that luminous silver blade on
her hip was just her favorite toad-poker. She carried herself like a seasoned veteran, and he
suspected that faint reek of carrion wafting off her was not simply bad perfume.
"Merc!" said one miner. "Give us a mug of that pixie piss you try to pass off as ale. We're
thirsty."
"Here you are, Barin," said Merc, pouring five mugs of ale. "So which one of you lads is going
to take on the warrior?"
"He's outside, watering his horse," said the man. "I hope he doesn't hurt her too much."
Merc snorted. "Any of you boys ever run up against a warrior of the Goddess?"
"Come on, Merc, tell us the truth. You ran with them when you were a mercenary in Two-Fifty-
Mile-House. They can't be that dangerous."
Merc shrugged. "That's what I thought 'til one of them tore half my face off." He pointed to his
eye patch.
The men seemed unimpressed. "Well, we'll see what this girl's made of," said a third man. "But I
doubt she'll beat this boy. He's big as a house."
Arrowsmith sensed that was his cue, and slid off of his stool and stood up, roaming over to
where Merc and the miners stood. He came to stand behind Merc, looking down at the five men
before him. They had gone white, and they were just staring, mouths hanging open. Merc
grinned and cocked a thumb at Arrowsmith.
"Good," said Merc. "Maybe he'll be big enough to take on this lad."
Bloody shitcakes! said Barin.
John Arrowsmith, actually, said Arrowsmith.
The men were still staring when another member of the group walked into the tavern. He saw
Arrowsmith, and paused ever so slightly, then recovered his composure swiftly and walked to his
companions. He made a short, quick bow to Merc.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Aldin. I'm the one who's going to be defeating your fighter and taking
your gold this afternoon."
The men laughed. Arrowsmith smiled as he noticed the Moonhound still speaking to Misty,
showing no interest in the blustering miner.
"Well, Aldin," said Merc, "your opponent will be with you in just a moment."
"I hope she's a good loser," said Aldin. "Well, wherever she is, we'll wait for her in the street."
The men left the tavern, the Moonhound watching them go. "Rather sure of themselves, aren't
they?" she said.
Merc was all smiles. "Yup! And it's going to be a world of fun watching you rip his guts out!"
"Hopefully it won't come to that," said Misty.
"It may have to," said the Moonhound. "I haven't eaten yet, and I'm hungry."
"I thought I saw you take after a rock skipper," said Misty as they stood up.
"The little nasty went down a hole," she said. "Besides, you ever eat one of those? Nothing but
little bones with some incidental meat wrapped around them."
Arrowsmith followed the rest of the group out of the inn. He was more than a little interested in
this woman's fighting and eating habits. She was put together like a boa constrictor, solid muscle
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