Eliad stepped into the Pony before making his way to the bar. He then stopped as he saw Dazelia and another woman being confronted by two large men. One of them was bald and had a beard and the other did have hair. The bald man (Styrk) snickered and snaked his tongue at the pair. The other (Forstrang) seemed rather confused before looking at the colour of Dazelia’s hair and the green of her dress.
“I get it…,” said the second man (Forstrang). “Hueheh!”
“Umm…,” whispered Dazelia towards the woman. “Can we go?”
She glanced at Eliad as he entered, hoping the kind man could help in their plight.
“What’s going on here?” demanded Eliad, casting his gaze solely towards the group.
“You are so nasty,” said the woman (Blackening), repulsed at the gross man. “Worse than a brigand…but maybe not as nasty as Jagger Jack. You’re so gross.”
“Jaggyjag?” asked the second man. “Pfehehe… Funny name…”
The bald man lofted his brows and looked over to his comrade, chortling at the insults.
“Let’s go,” said the woman, setting a hand on Dazelia’s shoulder.
Dazelia nodded furtively.
“She’s feisty, that one,” said the bald man.
“Joah…,” agreed the second man.
“I advise you to stay away from them,” said Eliad. “If you know what’s good for you.”
“Hreh?!” asked the second man.
“There comes the knight on the white stallion, Forstrang,” said the bald man. “Although… He’s a bit scrawny for a knight.” He barked a laughter and motioned towards the man in red. “Bwrahrah!”
The woman seemed rather happy someone other than herself had the courage to defend them.
Eliad glanced at the two men now with his cold glare. He smirked before moving to roll up his left sleeve to reveal his snake tattoo, something he did not do unless in certain circumstances.
“No knight am I,” said Eliad. “Just a man.”
“Huahah!” laughed Forstrang.
“All talk…,” said the woman. “Psss… Silly men. Let’s go, Daisy.”
She left the establishment.
“Hé?” asked Forstrang.
“Miss Daisy, go,” said Eliad.
Dazelia followed the woman on her heels.
“Why leave?!” asked Forstrang.
“Well…,” said the bald man. “Man… If you want to show off, come here then. I’ll happily box your ears in, laddie.”
“Wruargh, you scared them away!” exclaimed Forstrang. “Stupid!”
“Oh, if you do that, I may have sources,” said Eliad, using a bluff tactic.
The bald man perked his brows at the man’s speech.
“People that could come by at any time,” continued Eliad.
“Punch in their ears, too!” exclaimed Forstrang, raising a fist.
“Are you telling us that you’re a coward?” asked the bald man.
It was time for Eliad to take his bluffing a bit further. Taking a quick glimpse around and seeing that his back was turned to Barliman, he considered it safe. He then glanced towards the two once again.
“Once was,” smirked Eliad evilly. “Though…” He moved his hand to show off his brand at the right collarbone. “More like a demon.”
The bald man cringed visible at the man’s demeanour. Forstrang, however, dryly looked at him before he opened his mouth.
“Why undress?” asked Forstrang.
Clearly he’s not that smart compared to his friend, Eliad thought to himself.
“Ergh…,” said the bald man. “It’s one of those. Stop acting like you’re special, lad. You’re just another fool trying to impress a lass.”
“Pfehehe,” cackled Forstrang. “Too late… Scared them away! Wrargh!”
“And if it weren’t for the protection of these walls, we’d have you cut up in a ditch and taken your pretty sword,” continued the bald man.
“How about a proposal then?” asked Eliad, fixing his robe. “I come from an elite family. So… If there should be any problem, they wouldn’t mind of sending off a few of our men here. So… If you should leave the ladies alone, there wouldn’t be any problem.”
Forstrang kept quiet.
“How about you get on your knees and apologise for scaring our game away, or we’ll break your face?” replied the bald man.
“And take the pretty sword…,” added Forstrang, showing off his yellow teeth.
Styrk cleared his nose and spit a yellowish glob on the floor.
“Sorry,” shrugged Eliad casually. “But one of those ‘games’ is someone that I know.”
“So?!” asked Forstrang.
“So you would piss me off even further if you should ever try to get at them again,” answered Eliad.
The bald man popped his knuckles and formed a half-sided grin, reaching a little closer.
“Stop talking, boy,” said the bald man. “Let’s settle this like men, joah? Had enough of your peepin’ and squeaking.”
“You punch him alone?” asked Forstrang, squaring his shoulders while glancing at Styrk.
“When did we care for honour, Forstrang?” replied the bald man. “Let’s teach this boy a lesson.”
This…might be bad…, Eliad thought.
“You give us coin or…,” began Forstrang, raising a fist above his head.
“I think not, lads…,” came a woman’s voice.
“Ah, she meant these two plonkers…,” came a man’s voice.
“Hreh?!” asked Forstrang, looking at the voices.
Eliad glanced at the two men with his grey eyes before glancing at the bald man, sizing him up. He then moved to take a step back, getting into a defensive position.
“I won’t allow you to harm anyone that I know,” said Eliad. “If I’m not going to have my sister harm them, neither will-”
He glanced at the two that entered, one a woman clothed to look like a brigand and a man in a black robe.
“Now, now, boys!” exclaimed the man.
The bald man beat his beefy fist into his palm, creeping closer with a threatening grin.
“Don’t run,” said the bald man.
“Gentlemen, please leave the lad be,” smirked the woman, stepping closer. “It’s an inn, not a pit-fight. If y’want that, rumor is there’s one down in Beggar’s alley…”
“WARGH!” shouted Forstrang, pointing accusingly at Eliad. “He scared away the pretty redhead and the feisty black…urhhead..!”
“Oh, aye,” said the man. “I heard about that. Dordel told me…”
“This boy is acting like a bloody white knight because we were talking to some birds…,” said the bald man.
“Then we PUNCH him for it!” exclaimed Forstrang. “Joah, Styrk?”
So these two are Styrk and Forstrang, Eliad thought. I’m going to have to remember those names…
“Still no reason to knock the daylights outta him…,” said the woman.
“Why not?!” demanded Forstrang.
“I think the women would have more to say rather than ‘birds,’” said Eliad. “Calling them ‘game.’”
“Because this is not the correct place to do it?” replied the man. “Take him outside the walls if he is willing…”
“He’s telling us his friends will come shank us,” said Styrk. “He deserves a good knocking.”
“Joah,” agreed Forstrang. “That, too!”
“But not in here,” said the man. “Not in the Inn…”
“Is he?” asked Styrk.
“Sounds like all of y’need to step back and quite the threats then, aye?” asked the woman.
“Punch his friends as well,” said Forstrang. “Bwuehe!”
“I’m not threatening…,” said Styrk. “I’m an honest man. Come outside and fight, joah?”
“Well, you certainly love punching, don’t you?” asked the man. “Outside the walls of the town, not the Inn…”
Forstrang merely looked at the man then turned his eyes on Styrk to see what was supposed to happen.
“I suppose they wouldn’t take no for an answer,” said Eliad, rolling his left sleeve back down. “Might as well… How troublesome…”
“Stop avoiding my question,” said Styrk, scrunching his nose in disapproval to Eliad.
“Hhrrr…,” mumbled Forstrang.
“I already gave an answer,” said Eliad, casting a careless glance towards Styrk. “Whether it’d be yes or no, you’d still want it either way, correct?”
“No fighting,” said the man. “There was enough trouble with that brawl the other night I was told about. Fighting in an Inn doesn’t actually prove anything to anyone, it just pisses people off having to have their night ruined watching it. If you want to fight, take it to a fight pit or join an army…”
The man walked through the men where there was a gap to the counter.
“Shut up, woman,” said Styrk, grumbling some incoherent slander about the fairer sex. He then looked at Eliad, “I’ll accept no for an answer, but you’ll be known as a coward.”
“Shut it, Northy…,” muttered the woman, smirking as she moved to follow the man to the bar.
The man glanced at the woman as he waited for his drinks having uttered the order to Barliman.
“Those the ones from the other night?” asked the man.
“Normally, you’re not the one who I want to fight the most,” said Eliad, keeping his gaze on Styrk, walking towards the door afterwards. “But if you should insist, then I may as well accept. Though…” He glared at Styrk over his shoulder, “There’s no way in hell that you’re going to have this sword.”
“So..?” asked Forstrang.
“Perfect,” said Styrk.
“Grrn…,” muttered Forstrang.
“You two, thank you,” said Eliad, glancing over towards the pair that had stopped the bar fight.
He then went outside, followed by Styrk and Forstrang.
