Most of the other places of business in Yahaestra were hidden farther back in the mountainside, requiring clear knowledge of which tunnels to turn down lest one find themselves at a dead end or worse, falling down a crevasse to who knows where. The three times that Kre had been sent out, it was with clear instructions of where to go and where to turn once inside the caves. Kre was also convinced that the denizens and proprietors of the shops here changed locations and the safe routes as often as they changed their names.
Each time, Kre’s instructions included the caveats that he was not to speak at all, not even if questioned directly, and only to hand over a written note to the contact he was directed to meet. He was also directed to never make eye contact with anyone and never, under any circumstances, was he to open any package he was given.
Kre would be lying if he said that he wasn’t curious about some of the things he collected, given the people and places he was getting them from, but he also knew the kinds of things that Dain was capable of and had no desire to have a package blow up in his face if exposed to a curious mind and the open air.
For his part, Beleg stayed with Dain, serving as his bodyguard. When he did take time away from his arcanist colleague, he was in the Inn’s common room for meals or to participate in small contests of strength against others that seemed to be in a similar profession as that which he pretended.
Although Kre knew that Beleg was likely the strongest of the company, it still surprised him that Beleg won these contests every time. Even against larger men whose distant lineage seemed likely to include some sort of bear or gorilla. While it was true that Kre had seen neither creature, except as chalk drawings by Professor Marxin, he did recall that they were exceptionally strong beasts and were described as being just as hairy as the folks that Beleg competed against.
Kre was not the only one surprised by these victories. Each of the servant boys now regarded Beleg as legendary figure, worthy of whispered rumors about the source of his incredible power, as if he had some sort of deal with the demons of hell. They also pitied Kre all the more, knowing that he had to work in the service of such an obviously foul and dark creature such as Beleg.
This particular evening seemed no different from the others, especially as the trio still had no leads as to the whereabouts of the Rakshasa or their dweorvkin friends. They hadn’t heard from Talimar or Kersath either, which worried Dain greatly, though he tried not to show it. Dain also sent a few updates to the other members of the company, which could not have been easy to write given that they had nothing to show for all the time they were spending in Yahaestra.
Beleg sat eating his normal triple portion of dinner when the room quieted with the sound of someone noisily approaching through the main entry.
“Food!” the stranger called out cheerily, just before emerging into the light of the common room. “Lots of food for a starving man!”