The Happy Few

To the fans and my co-author. Mwa!

Chapter 10

If ever he was forced to travel with those two again, Emery would demand to have separate quarters at all points in their journeying. As it was, Ari and Kir had refrained from sexual intercourse while he was present, but that did not stop them from kissing, groping, and fondling one another when they thought the boy was not looking. He supposed he should have considered himself lucky to only have walked in on them in the middle of such intimate moments once. Kir had looked up at him in shock, mouth slack, white fluid dripping from the corner of his lips. Emery had left quickly and had not returned until the next day. Sleeping under the canopy of stars on a biting cold night was better than sleeping under their cabin roof with that unspoken tension in the air.

The better part of their voyage was spent avoiding one another. Ari was intent on having peace, which he was not likely to get with the chattering thief around, and Emery had no desire to endure either of their presences. Kir he had little tolerance for, though they had been getting closer. Ever since Portica, though, the thief had become maddeningly protective. Even Ari, a hitherto stoic, unconcerned man, had started to look at the soldier with concern, eyes always probing, searching for answers.
When they made port, the gangplank had barely been laid when Emery sprinted from the ship. Close quarters and seasickness had more to do with his eagerness than any burning desire to begin their mission. Ari said nothing as he leisurely made his way down the plank and looked about with mild interest.

“I like Gal better. I like my island home even more than that.” He said as way of summing up his feelings towards the continent.

“This place looks ripe for the pickin’ How could you like Gal more ‘an this place? Everyone looks so rich.” Kir appeared beside the man, eyes glowing with mischievous joy. The elf cast him a warning look, to which the human sighed in disappointment.

Emery looked around as well. The people did indeed look better off than those on Gal. Their clothing was fine and clean, hair and body neatly groomed, the lowliest of them wearing simple but finely sewn tunics and trousers. It was a stark contrast to the peasants in rags that wandered the wharfs and streets in Trese. He had not traveled far or often enough to know whether it was like that in other towns on Gal, but most of them were.

When he turned back to the others, Emery saw that Ari was looking about in distrust, eyes narrow and flickering about as if he expected to be attacked. The way some of the crowd stared at them, he did not blame the elf for being ill at ease. Gal and Omar had been at odds for centuries and though the two continents enjoyed trade then, there was still an inherent distrust between the people. To see a soldier, an elf, and a questionable man disembarking from a ship likely did not happen often and would raise alarm.

“Should we go?” The boy asked.

Ari glanced at him, then took Kir’s arm in hand to ensure the human did not run off. “I think that a wise idea.”

The thief stuck his lip out and pouted at being hindered, oblivious to the ogling crowd. “Why we goin’? And where are we goin’?”

Emery looked to the man, wanting to know where as well.

“For now, we’ll rent a room at an inn and plan for our…trip. We aren’t far from what we’re looking for, so we may as well bunk here while we retrieve it. When it becomes necessary, we’ll prepare for more primitive housing.”

“What do ya mean ‘primitive’? Like, outside?”

Ari sighed and shoved Kir forward, down the dock and towards an entrance to a town. Glancing up as they passed under the archway that led out of the wharf, the man noted the town name of Pascal. They met with more stares as they walked through the streets, but no one made a move against them. The air was not tense with hostility, though it was ripe with shock and wonderment.

As they walked, Emery kept his hand on the hilt of his sword, wary of the stares and whispering. His eyes flickered about the town and he realized very quickly that their task would not be nearly as simple as they had previously thought. Monsters could be fought, the artifact identified and the ruins that housed it found with the resources they now had, but the unknown and untraversed world of Omar would prove to be an entirely different scenario. Gal, with its sandy landscape, sparse oases, craggy cliffs and dusty roads was nothing like the cobbled streets of Omar, flanked by dense greenery and encompassing forests. He could only wonder at what types of ferocious animals lived in the wooded fortress.

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Ari mandated that they were to share a room, despite Emery’s desperate pleas to not be forced to endure their company. The man fixed him with an unappreciative glare before calmly informing him that it was in their best interest to stay close to one another while they were in a foreign, possibly hostile environment.

“Don’t worry, Emi,” Kir swung an arm over the boy’s shoulder and pulled him close, “we’ll protect you. No one gets by Ari. He’s a big, mean elf!”

“Are you implying all elves are big and mean?” The man asked.

Kir shrugged. “Ya all seemed pretty tall and mean to me. So yeah.”

“I believe that was a racist comment. Get inside before someone hits you.”

Kir snorted. “Who would hit me? I’m adorable.”

The hand that arced out to smack the back of his head sent the thief stumbling forward, into their room. Ari turned and glared at Emery, willing to use the same force to get the soldier inside as well. The boy put his hands up and carefully walked past Ari, grinning slightly at the curses Kir was muttering.

Ari slammed the door behind him and immediately went to his bag and began rummaging through documents. He slammed them on the table that was in the corner of the room and gestured with a crooking of one finger for the others to join him. The man’s anger was evident and Emery jerked on the thief’s arm and whispered a warning at him not to push the elf further. Kir grumbled some comment that the soldier did not care to hear.

When they were crowded around the tabletop, Ari unrolled a map of Omar and pulled out the notes that Luca had given them to aid in their search. He pointed to a red X that was located a short distance from the town.

“This will be our first stop, for obvious reasons. But, as you can see,” his finger moved a ways away to another X, “we aren’t anywhere near the next three artifacts, nor are they near any known civilizations.”

Emery leaned in closer to the map. “This map might not be accurate. It’s old and drawn up by someone on Gal; it could be entirely inaccurate.”

“That is true, but there is no way of knowing, is there?”

“Just get another map.” Kir said, more interested in pulling loose threads from his shirt than the current discussion.

“It’s actually not a bad idea,” the boy said, “The maps here will be much more accurate than any of ours. There may be roads and cities we don’t know about that will make our task easier.”

Ari nodded. “We’ll get a map then.”

They turned their minds then to how best to go about retrieving the artifacts and discussing the possible dangers that lurked. For a moment, they brandied about the idea that they should separate and each find an artifact to save time, but the two shared a wary glance at the thief and quickly dismissed that notion.

“In any event,” Ari said, chasing away the fearful possibilities of what could have happened if they sent Kir off to such a task, “we’ll be safer together. Not that I doubt your prowess as a soldier, but we are in a brave new world. There is no telling what we’ll encounter and I’d rather we were together and not surprised while alone on the trail.”

Emery grinned, silently praising the man’s ability to form a glib excuse. “With that in mind, I’ll go and get that map so that we can plan further. Why don’t you two start making up a preliminary list of items we might need.”

“I just got through saying that it would be best if we stayed together while we are here; did you not hear?” Ari’s voice raised a pitch, but he did not betray any anxiety in his expression.

The boy shrugged, unconcerned. “I think I’ll be fine here. No one appeared to be hostile towards us—”

“Just because they don’t appear hostile doesn’t mean they aren’t.”

“—and I am a trained soldier, capable of defending myself. I also want to take a quick circuit around town to get a feel for it.”

Ari slammed his fist onto the table. “There is no need for you to be running all about town. You can get a map and be back here in several minutes.”

“That’s true,” the boy conceded, “but I want to investigate.”

His answer grasped Kir’s attention and he stepped closer to the soldier. “What’re you gonna investigate?”

“The people. I want to know what they know. Back on Gal, it’s evident to all that our country is going to war. Does Omar know? And if they do, what are their plans? It would be useful information, don’t you agree?”

“They won’t tell you that, Emi.”

“For once, I agree with him.” Ari heard Kir growl threateningly, but ignored him. “If it weren’t completely obvious to those people by your physical appearance that you are from Gal, then your dress would certainly tip them off. You’re in your soldier’s uniform!”

Emery glanced down at his tunic with his uncle’s livery on it. “I can take it off, if you’d like, but, like you said, they can probably tell just by looking at me that I’m from Gal. Why not use this to our advantage? Perhaps if they see me in my uniform it will provoke them into talking.”

The elf was silent for a moment. The boy had a point and any information he could get would be a boon. Still, he did not like the idea of sending Emery out onto foreign streets alone. There would be no telling what type of reaction the boy’s presence would provoke. Ari glanced at Kir, who looked equally troubled. Turning back to Emery, he found the soldier looking at him intently, eyes imploring him. The look got to him and the man sighed.

“Fine. Go out, get the map and do some reconnaissance, but be back by nightfall. If you aren’t back, we will come and find you.”

Joy flooded onto the soldier’s face as he saluted Ari and fled the room. The door slammed behind him and the sound of footsteps pounding on the stairs reached his ears. He could share the boy’s desire for some privacy, but Ari was uncertain whether it had been the appropriate time to give it to the human.

As if to compound his anxiousness, Kir looked up at him and asked, “Ya think he’ll be okay?”

The elf frowned. “He should be. He is a soldier.”

“Yeah, but…it didn’t help in Portica.”

So they came to it again. Ari looked down at the small human, placing a hand on the thief’s shoulder. He had watched closely while they were closeted together on the ship and seen the depth of Kir’s concern for the boy. Even in Trese, under house arrest, the pesky human had asked after the soldier, wanting updates and constantly questioning whether Emery was well. Guilt was no small driving force in Kir’s persistence, the man thought. When he had left the humans alone in Portica, he had charged the thief with watching after the young one. And he had failed.

“You can’t worry after him anymore,” he told the thief, cupping his cheek and running his thumb over the smooth skin.

Kir shuddered. “How can I not worry about ‘im? He’s like—he’s like—” he struggled to find words to describe what he felt towards the boy and what he imagined was wrong, but he failed again and the failure brought frustrated tears to his eyes.

“He’s like a sibling to you.” Ari helped him. The way the two argued and yet maintained a strange protective relationship resembled such a bond in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Kir said, happy to have a name for what he felt towards the boy. Sibling; it was oddly euphoric. “Yeah, he’s like a annoying kid brother.” Ari thought that, of the two, Kir was the more annoying one, but he saved that comment for later. The human frowned suddenly and looked at him again. “But he’s still acting funny.”

“Funny?”

“Like it didn’t happen or somethin’. He just pretends he’s okay.”

He had noticed that as well, but there was nothing either of them could do. Gently, he nudged Kir to the bed and sat him down. Though he did not appreciate being treated like a frightened child, the human complied, looking intently at the elf, expecting some answer.

Ari ran a hand over his mouth as he thought of a way to concisely explain what he believed their young comrade was enduring. “Emery is a soldier. He has a specific way of living and thinking. What happened to him was…shameful, I imagine, and showed him how weak he was in the face of overwhelming odds.”

“That wasn’t his fault though.”

“No, but would you enjoy coming face to face with your weakness and then lose, being forced to realize your limitations? Emery was and he did not take the revelation well. That’s a natural response, I think.”

“Yeah, but pretendin’ it never happened ain’t!” Kir shouted, getting to his feet.

The man sighed. “He will pretend that it didn’t happen, or that it doesn’t matter, because if he dwells on it, it will impede him. The reminder of his weakness will always be with him, but if he succumbs to it, he’d never be able to perform his duties as a soldier.” When Kir stared up at him, confused and frustrated, he took the human by the shoulders and leaned down to touch foreheads. “Emery will repress the memory and refuse to heed it. That’s the only way he thinks he can go on. And if that’s what he wishes, even if it may be self-destructive, we should honor his desire.”

The young man lowered his head, understanding at last, but wishing he didn’t. Kir knew he was no hero, always running from trouble and skating around it, but there were things one can’t dance around, he knew. Emery was not like him; no matter how young he was, the boy was always running into danger without looking back and meeting trouble head on. Odd that they were opposites when it came to dealing with the most potent dangers, the personal matters. Perhaps, as a soldier, such personal troubles were not considered worthy of concern. He would have asked the boy, but, blunt as he was, even he did not have the gall to ask such a thing.

When he looked up at Ari, he found the man looking at him with a concerned expression. It brought a smile to his face, which he quickly turned into a wicked grin. Short as he was, he could only hug the elf around the chest, but it was enough.

“Guess I’m just gonna have ta stalk the kid ta make sure he stays outta trouble, huh?”

Ari groaned. “Just don’t bother him to the point that he tries to eviscerate you. I will not be intervening on your behalf should it come to that.”

Kir laughed and nestled closer to the man, keeping the grin on his face. He had every intention of doing exactly as he had said, but decided it was best, for the moment, not to let Ari now that.

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As expected, the people stared. And they did not disappoint either. They flocked together and whispered conspiratorially, wondering what a soldier from Gal was doing, walking about Pascal. With his skilled training, he could easily pick up strains of conversation, but nothing of interest reached his ears. For over an hour, he strolled about town leisurely, wearing the guise of tourist.

With no new information yielded after a considerable amount of time, the soldier decided to stop loitering and find a place to eat. He was in no rush to join his companions, as he thought they were likely engaged in some sort of intimate moment. Walking down the street, he nodded respectfully at people and made a show of being polite. Though he had heard no rumor that they were foreign spies and no one had made an utterance against their traveling group, he thought it best to try and win some affection by appearing to be nothing more than a harmless visitor.

The business district of the town was bustling with vendors selling varieties of items, from jewelry to clothes to food and trinkets. He would be certain not to bring Kir anywhere near this place, lest the temptation prove too strong for the young man to fight. A narrow back alley was lined with food vendors and stalls and a man enticed Emery to his stall with the alluring promise of cooked shellfish on noodles. They had eaten nothing but dried meat on the ship and the military rations usually consisted of some sort of fish, so the boy was immediately drawn. Shellfish were delicacies.

The bowl that the man put before him was not as large as Emery suspected it would be, were he not a foreigner, but he expected no less; vendors always played such games. There was a row of stools beside the counter and he sat down, resting his feet after walking the whole of the town and savoring his meal. The noodles were somewhat firm and undercooked, but the hunks of crab and oyster meat were large and savory. The boy was so invested in his meal, that he hardly noticed when someone slid onto the stool beside him and ordered a similar dish. He only became aware of his fellow patron when the man said,

“You aren’t from around here, are you?”

Emery slurped a noodle into his mouth and swallowed. He turned his head to look at the other diner, taking note of his clean tunic with an embroidered symbol on it, possibly livery that was not dissimilar to his own, the sword at the other’s belt, and, of more interest at the moment, the larger bowl of food in front of the man.

Eventually, he answered, “No, I’m not.” and returned to his food.

A beat of silence passed and Emery tried to surmise of what class and position the man was. His clothes were clean and neat, but they seemed to be of a higher fashion than the ordinary persons in Pascal, but they were not overly ornate. A high ranking soldier perhaps. The boy dared to take a second glance out of the corner of his eye. Upon a second look, he saw that it was no aged man that sat beside him, but a young soldier, perhaps only three years older than him.

For a moment, they caught eyes and the other soldier smiled at him. Emery quickly turned his head away. The young man had a shoulder length tail of black hair that was neatly kept at the back of his neck with a ribbon of silk. His complexion was a shade or so darker than the boy’s own, more brown than the sandy color of Emery’s skin. His eyes, when they flicked over the younger boy, were a light brown, almost red. It was a striking face, but Emery was much too experienced to believe that a soldier of Omar would just happen to casually choose that vendor and the spot beside him to eat that day. What the man wanted, he was not sure, but he treated the soldier as if he were any other man that had strolled over to eat.

Their silence did not last long though. After eating half of his meal, the man turned slightly on his stool and fixed Emery with a curious look.

“You’re from Gal, are you not?”

Emery faced him as well. “I am.”

“Are you here on business?”

“I am.”

“We don’t often get foreign visitors here in Pascal. What type of business are you conducting?”

The boy narrowed his eyes slightly. “You ask rather personal questions, considering we’ve only just met. What is my business to you?”

The young man lifted a hand and smiled. “It is my business to know. Many are interested in why a soldier from a foreign continent has traveled here, especially when there are rumors of war about said continent.”

So Omar had heard of the trouble on Gal. It was not a reassuring fact. “I’m not here on any military business, if that is what your people are concerned about. I’m not even conducting my business here in town. We’re just stopping here.”

Across from him, the young man lifted an eyebrow, clearly not believing him. Before the man could open his mouth and ask another question, Emery got to his feet, deposited a few coins on the bar for his meal, and bowed politely at the other soldier.

“Good day.” He said shortly and began to walk back to the inn, where he hoped Ari and Kir were done playing.

He stalled a moment later when the man called out loudly, “Stop!”

Turning, Emery put a hand on his hip, the other gripping the hilt of his sword. “Yes?”

“You left something.” He held up a chain of gold with a compass dangling from it. “It seems priceless. It would be a pity if you were to lose it.” He stretched his arm out, inviting the boy to come forward and retrieve the trinket.

Emery stayed where he was, lifting his arm and examining his wrist where he had wrapped the chain. With a soft growl, he strode forward and reached for the chain. Before his fingers touched, the man pulled it away.

“Tell me your name first.”

He sent a withering glare at the man, but the soldier only smiled back pleasantly. “Your name, if you please.”

“Emery.” He spat, then yanked the chain from the man’s fingers.

As he stomped away, twisting the chain around his wrist and securing it once more, he heard the soldier call after him,

“Perhaps I will see you gain, Emery of Gal. And if we do, you may feel free to call me by my name, Noir of Omar.”

He glanced over his shoulder at the dark haired soldier, lips twisting into a deeper scowl at the smirk on the man’s face. If he had his rathers, he would not be seeing Noir anytime soon, and if he did, he would not address him so familiarly. He was not sure what Noir wanted, but Emery knew that the soldier wanted something. And if they were forced to meet again, he would be sure to discover what it was. Until that day though, he would focus on his task.

END

A mysterious new man. And the beginning of a new quest. How will it connect, if at all. And when will Ari and Kir get randy again? Soon, I imagine. Reviews appreciated.