Barry grinned, flashing brilliant, perfect white teeth, “Call me by my proper name, and you have a deal.”
Beleg’s smile faltered for just a fraction of a second, but it was likely that only Kre and Barry noticed, knowing the big man as well as they both did. “Very well… Ombarrian.”
Barry waved his hand as if expecting to hear more.
Beleg gritted his teeth behind his smile and continued, “Joseth. Ombarrian Joseth.”
The name meant nothing to Kre, but it seemed to please the stranger to no end to force Beleg to say his full name. At least one or two of those among the cohort of servants behind him seemed to recognize the name though as a whole host of new gossip started to be whispered.
“Well, that’s just nice to hear,” Barry said, leaning back in the seat. “I had thought you had forgotten the name there for a hot minute.”
Beleg slid into the chair across from the other man, but he looked incredibly ill at ease. He gave no reply to the obvious verbal jab from his dining companion, which seemed to irritate Barry just a bit. “You getting dinner or just going to preen your feathers?”
Barry’s smug look fell from his face, and he slammed a hand to the table, causing Beleg’s plates to jump a few inches into the air and land with a clatter, sending bits of food all over the tabletop. “Whatever’s hot!” he yelled towards the kitchen, “And lots of it!” He glanced at Beleg and narrowed his eyes, as if trying to take a visual reading. “Beer too! Cold, and in the largest mugs you have!
“You can still drink beer, can’t you Cuthalion?”
“Well enough to put you under the table and still put down a few more,” came an instant retort, leading Kre to believe that these two men had had this kind of exchange before.
One of the boys tapped Kre on the shoulder. When he turned, he found one of the youngest ones looking up at him. “Are they friends or emenies?”
Kre couldn’t help but smile at the way the boy said that last word. The tiny boy also had a bit of a hearing problem, likely brought on by years of being hit on the side of the head, or so Kre believed. Given that, the older boy leaned down to Ethan’s better ear, “Honestly, I’m not sure either. I don’t think there’s much difference between the two when you seem to be in the same line of work.”
Ethan nodded solemnly, taking the words with as much seriousness as he could muster. He turned back to the group and melted away into the background where he much preferred to hide, as far as possible from angry, drunken eyes and battering hands.
Kre looked back at Beleg, but the large man made no move to acknowledge him. For all he seemed to want Barry to know, he and Kre had no association with each other. The young man took that as a sign that he should leave the two men, though he was loath to do so, given how much he might glean about Beleg’s past.
Still, that was a personal desire and it conflicted with the pressing need of company business. Kre knew that he needed to report to Dain about what had transpired here. Maybe Dain would help answer some of the questions Kre had, such as the importance of the Joseth name and why Barry demanded Beleg say it aloud.