Chapter 2

The Beast-Man

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Richard had been wrong, Kay wasn’t human. Throughout the common room of the Inn on the Rocks, men were coming to their feet. Some leaned toward the strange horned creature lying on the floor with fearful curiosity. Someone muttered “Beast-Man” in a condemning tone, and soon it was echoed amongst the crowd. Hands moved slowly toward weapons.

Richard exchanged a look of alarm with Norial and Jamesin. The gaggle of tavern goers had suddenly transformed into a drunken, fearful mob. “Lets get him out of here!” Richard cried. Despite the danger of these men turning violent, Richard was not about to let Kay be torn apart simply for being of a strange species.

Norial stood and swung his glaive in a wide arc, causing the mob and the stunned bartender to jump back in surprise. Jamesin and Richard leaped up to haul the disorientated Kay to his feet, and instantly began moving toward the door. Jamesin had the presence of mind to yank the hood of Kay’s cloak back over the bizarre horns.

The group made their escape into the street. Norial covered their retreat with a few threatening jabs of his glaive before following. Kay was suddenly and severely drunk, pulling first this way then the other as Richard and Jamesin carried him, arms slung around their necks. His feet – hooves, Richard realized – dragged and kicked in futile attempt to regain balance.

Jamesin lead them through a narrow alleyway, eager to leave the main thoroughfare. They navigated a maze of the small side streets, slowly working their way away from the Inn on the Rocks. Norial guarded the rear, his head swiveling in constant search of pursuers. Each time they saw people ahead, or each time they found themselves heading towards another main road, they would choose a different path. Soon they had worked themselves into an isolated area on the outskirts of town.

Buildings butted up against a small cliff which lowered itself to the floodplain of the great river. Wooden docks in a variety of disrepair jutted out over the sandy plain, awaiting the high tide. The river was so massive it swelled like the oceans when the moons where overhead. Looking toward the horizon, Richard could not see the opposing bank. Being such a broad and deep waterway, the current moved along lazily, as placid as a lake. Sails from every manner of ship stood bright against the blue background of water and sky. A few miles east, Commodore Benjamin’s stone fortress extended out over the floodplain, a looming black shape that invoked power and fear.

Jamesin and Richard were both covered in sweat and breathing hard with the effort of carrying Kay, who appeared to have fallen asleep. Finding a path carved into the cliff face, they climbed down carefully and found a comfortable spot under a large pier. They lowered Kay to the ground and tried to catch their breath.

Norial slung his glaive over his shoulder and began investigating Kay. Removed the hood of Kay’s cloak, he squatted down to study the strange horns. “What manner of beast is this man? A demon?” The elf’s voice was filled with excitement.

“No,” Richard answered, still breathing heavily, “he is a Fey. I’ve read of creatures like this, they live in the deep forests. You’re an elf, shouldn’t you know this?”

“My family comes from Naivorei. I was schooled in things more important than wildlife,” Norial sneered. In the elven tongue, he added “Ignorant human.”

“Manners must have been another less important subject,” Richard replied in the same language. Norial at first looked shocked, then irritated that Richard had understood him.

Jamesin was knuckling his back, “So that’s what them pirates who cap’tured Kay were after. They problay thought he’d be an exotic slave or somethin.”

“Something like that,” Richard agreed. “What should we do now? Who knows how much of an uproar that mob will cause? They’ll probably go around telling everybody there is a horrible ‘Beast-Man’ lurking the streets and whip up a riot.”

Norial stood and turned away from Kay. “Why don’t we just leave town for awhile? Let the incident just blow over,” he offered.

“’N’ go where? Does it look like I ‘ave a ship to you?” Jamesin held out his empty palms, showing he indeed had nothing.

“We can take Kay out into the countryside. We’ll camp for a day or two and by then this whole thing will have been forgotten,” Richard suggested.

The other two agreed, and so the companions set upon listing what supplies they would need for the small trip, and how they would go about getting out of Oascera quickly and, hopefully, without confrontation. With their pooled money, Jamesin went about collecting the supplies from any nearby merchants and markets he could find. Richard hoped the ordinary-looking man would be less easily recognized than him or Norial, if the men from the Inn were searching for them.

By the time Jamesin returned, Kay had awaken. Norial explained to the Fey what had happened back at the Inn. Kay seemed embarrassed by the entire event, but he kept his calm and kind disposition. “I am sorry I have caused you this trouble. I should not have gotten carried away like that,” he said pensively.

Jamesin had procured packs and bedrolls for himself and Kay; Norial and Richard where already set to travel. Everybody spent a few minuets making sure they had everything they needed, and were ready to set out.

They moved through Oascera as they had before, keeping to back alleys and avoiding people whenever possible. Jamesin led them this way and that, sometimes crossing through crowds when he felt in necessary. The man seemed to have an innate street sense, so Richard deferred to him and simply followed.

It was mid-afternoon when they were beginning to near the edge of town. The density of buildings had thinned considerably, so they traveled on the larger road rather than darting between buildings, which would have only served to make them suspicious. The ground here was firmer and less traveled. Grass grew in some spots, framing the path out of Oascera. The town didn’t have a set limit, but ahead Richard could see that the structures began to die off, and farther in the distance the rolling hills and scattered timber of the countryside looked inviting.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack. A fist-sized stone had smacked Kay squarely in the back of the head, followed quickly by another bouncing off Richard’s armored shoulder. The party spun to see their attackers; even Kay, who appeared unfazed by the blow to his head.

Four men Richard thought he remembered from the Inn were approaching them, hefting stones. The rabble looked belligerent. The apparent ringleader stepped forward, fingering a big knife tucked in his belt. He was a scrawny young man with greasy, matted hair and the wisps of a straggly beard covered his chin.

“You ain’t leavin Oascera alive, Beast-Man,” he said, then promptly belched. Obviously this lot had bolstered their courage by drinking.

Richard drew his sword, hoping that these foolish men would think better than to attack the group at the sight of some steel.

Kay moved in between Richard and the thugs, and removed his hood. “Go home,” he said in his unwaveringly serene voice. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

The gang stared at Kay’s horns, seeming to be both horrified and enraged at the same time. The ringleader drew his knife, and cried “Die, monster!” as he dived at Kay.

Kay calmly caught the man’s arm and heaved the hand gripping the blade high into the air, and then unleashed a powerful punch that sent the thug to the ground. The other men in the gang loosed their throwing stones or rushed to fight the companions hand-to-hand. Jamesin met them, sending two of the men down with deft fists and a skilled kick. Richard, unskilled at fighting with his fists, hesitated, not wanting to slice into these foes with the lethality of his sword. Norial ducked a stone, and was about to launch into the fray with his glaive when Richard restrained him. Kay quickly dispatched the last man in the gang with another punch.

Richard was relieved that none of these men had had to be killed. Although Kay and Jamesin where obviously skilled in the martial-arts, Richard did not think any of the thugs had been seriously injured in the fight. The calmness and power that Kay displayed in battle was frightening.

Norial looked disappointed to have not been able to wet his glaive with their blood. Richard explained that if they had killed these men, people would have said it was the work of the horrible “Beast-Man,” and the fervor of the situation would have dragged on for much longer.

“Ah, yes. I see your logic,” Norial replied. “It is good Richard and I let you two handle it then.”

Kay said nothing and continued onward on the path out of Oascera. Jamesin laughed sarcastically and rubbed his knuckles.