Guns of Legend: Chapter Three
Chapter Three
The sun was high in the sky when Adlis
worked up her courage enough to seek Kulgan out again. For four miserable hours she and Za had sat
in the shade of the carriage that had brought there, and it soon became obvious
to her why so few people lived in Everdry.
The heat was enough to raise blisters on her skin, and her sweat soon
matted her well groomed fur together in sticky wet clumps. Za was much more comfortable in the heat
since his kind was accustomed to living deep underground. Adlis, on the other hand, was used to living
in the city where Chillcasters were employed to keep the streets and houses
cool. She had to make repeated trips to
the water pump to keep her canteen filled so she would not dehydrate. It took her all of an hour to realize just
how strong the citizens of Everdry were.
They went about their work without complaint and the children played in
the streets with abandon.
Noontime came, and Za finally
tapped Adlis on the shoulder.
"Do you think we should go look for
that zik now?"
Despite her suffering from the
heat, Adlis was reluctant to seek out Kulgan.
The memory of the Dreadwave that had washed over her earlier still
haunted her thoughts. It felt just like...
"Yes," she answered, cutting off
her own thoughts. "Let's go find him."
Together, they rose from the
carriage's meager shade and began to search.
"Where do you think he is?" Za
asked.
"If that hip flask he carried was
any indicator, I would bet he's at the pub," Adlis answered, altering her path
towards the building labeled "Olgi's Bar" in faded red letters.
Going inside, they were greeted
with music being played in the corner by a rickety old piano. The tune was weak, like the chords were ready
to snap the next time someone looked at them wrong. The air was thick with tobacco smoke and the
scent of Ambalin rum, a drink that was cheap to make and easy to get drunk off
of. The moment the door opened, every
eye in the bar turned as one to look at the newcomers. Once again, Adlis felt her ears turn white
from intimidation.
"There he is," Za whispered,
pointing. Sure enough, Kulgan sat in the
far corner of the tavern, his feet propped up on the table. His eyes were locked on the two companions,
but he made no move to get up and meet them.
Trying to ignore the stares that assaulted her from every angle, Adlis
slowly made her way towards him, moving delicately so that she wouldn't
accidentally brush against one of the other surly looking men who were greedily
slurping down their drinks.
"Hey, pretty lady," a very large
kashni greeted her, his words slurred with the effects of alcohol. "I like yer dresh there!"
Panic threatened to overtake Adlis'
mind as the large reptile rose to his feet, his scarlet scales glistening like
rubies in the desert sunlight. Even a
life of hardship could not steal the majesty of a kashni.
"No, no thank you," Adlis
stuttered, backing away from him, straight into another table.
The kashni extended a hand in what
his drunken mind probably imagined was a suave gesture, "Let'sh go t'my room on
the second floor," he suggested. "A
beautiful woman like yourshelf deshervesh better company than these idiotsh!"
"That'll be enough Tikta," a
younger voice reprimanded the bipedal lizard.
Adlis turned just long enough to see that it was none other than Kulgan
who had come to her rescue.
The kashni glared at Kulgan for a
moment, as if sizing him up for a fight.
If they did fight, Tikta would have at least twelve inches height on the
zik. Adlis drew her breath in, terrified
of what she had started. Za stood a few
feet to the side, wanting to go to Adlis but afraid of crossing paths with
either of the opponents. Amazingly,
though, the kashni complied and backed away from Kulgan, sitting himself back
down at his table and burying his snout in his drink like a sulking child.
"Don't worry about Tikta," Kulgan
said to Adlis. "Unless I'm not close to
you, at least. Everyone in this bar
knows better than to pick a fight with me.
Come sit down, now that you're able to stand being this close to me."
With a jolt, Adlis realized he was
right. In the terror of the moment, she
hadn't noticed the absence of the Twister's Dreadwave. She motioned for Za to join them as she
followed Kulgan to his table.
"So, what do you want with me?"
Kulgan asked. "A pair of city-slickers
like yourselves must be in some serious trouble if you came all the way out
here to find me."
"Yes, Mr. Kulgan," Adlis
began. "I guess you could say that we're
in a dilemma."
"My first name's Kulgan, not
Mister. Now, tell me about your problem."
"Yes, sir," Adlis hesitated, and
then pointed towards her ears, which were still an ugly shade of gray as they
slowly turned back to their normal brown color.
"These are my problem."
"Care to give me a few more
details?" Kulgan asked when she found the following words difficult to
say. "Unless, of course, you came to
have me cut them off for you?" He pulled
a large hunting knife out of his belt, waving it in the air in front of Adlis'
eyes.
Before Adlis could stop him, Za had
sprung from his seat and attempted to grab the knife out of Kulgan's hand. In one lightning quick motion, though, Kulgan
whipped his other hand out, grabbed Za's hand and slammed it down on the table,
and rammed the knife down into it. Adlis
gave a shriek of horror before she realized that the blade had gone between the
simmk's fingers, leaving him unharmed.
"Don't ever try to take something
out of my hand again," Kulgan commanded in a low, threatening voice. "Do you understand me, Stumpy?"
Ignoring the insult, Za bobbed his
head up and down furiously. With one
last glare, Kulgan released his hand, which Za quickly pulled back and hid
under the table.
"Now," Kulgan said, turning back to
Adlis, "what were you saying about your ears?"
"Well..." Adlis stuttered again,
struggling to regain her composure after the spectacle she'd just
witnessed. "A-about two years ago now, a
Caster came to my city."
"What kind of Caster?"
Adlis took a deep breath, the words
not wanting to come out, "She was a Cursecaster," she explained. "But we didn't know she was a
Cursecaster. She called herself a
Giftcaster, and came offering to sell everyone magical items that would do
whatever they wanted. Several of my
neighbors bought from her, but grew angry when her charms did not work as she
had promised."
Za cast his eyes down, unable to
look either of them in the face, and Kulgan scratched his chin thoughtfully, but
did not interrupt.
"A mob formed, and they found the
Caster at the edge of town, bathing in the river. They demanded that she return their money, or
be charged with breaking Embin's Law.
You know what that is, right?"
"Yes, yes, the law that if any
Caster or other user of magic is caught in a lie, they face immediate death,"
Kulgan answered. "Get on with it."
"Well, it was about that time that
I wandered in. I had been out collecting
fruit in the forest all day, and had no idea any of this was going on. My father saw me coming, and ordered me to
run back to the house. Before I could,
though, the Caster pulled a bead out of her hair and threw it at me. It struck me on the forehead, and I
collapsed. The next thing I knew, I woke
up with half the city standing over me.
When the Cursebead had struck me, the mob had been more concerned with
making sure I was all right than capturing the Caster, and so she managed to
get away. Ever since then, my ears have
been... like this!" Tears burned the corners of her eyes, and her ears turned a
bright crimson with humiliation.
"Yeah, so?" Kulgan asked, reclining
in his chair and looking absolutely uninterested. "I can think of a thousand worse curses than
that."
"No, you don't understand!" Adlis
insisted. "My father is the mayor of the
city I'm from. He wants to arrange a
marriage between me and the son of another wealthy family. Our houses would be tied together, and my
husband's father's business would have reason to move to my city and provide us
with services we desperately need. But
now that I'm cursed, my husband-to-be thinks I'm a freak and won't come within
twenty feet of me! He said that only
someone with an evil heart could have these... things!" Now the tears did pour
out, and Adlis' ears turned from red to a dark shade of blue.
Kulgan still did not seem
impressed.
"And what, pray tell, do you expect
me to do about it?" he asked as he absently picked at his teeth with a sliver
of wood.
"We have no idea where the Cursecaster
went," Adlis explained, managing to compose herself again. "There are stories going around about you,
Mr. Kulgan. They say that you're the
most skilled Ranger in Tassendile! If
half of those stories are true, then you should be able to track the Cursecaster
down for me."
"Because she's the only one who
knows how to break your curse," Kulgan finished, flicking his toothpick
away. It bounced off of Tikta's back,
but the kashni did not dare to even look up.
"Yes, that's right," Adlis
confirmed, hope beginning to rise up inside her.
"Sorry, but I can't help you,"
Kulgan said, leaning his head back in his hands and closing his eyes.
The hope fell again, dashing itself
on the ground.
"What?" Adlis asked. "Why not?"
"Because I don't know if you've
noticed," Kulgan answered, "but I'm already being employed by the good people
of Everdry."
"What are they having you do?"
Adlis asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"That's confidential information,"
Kulgan answered. "But something's been
stealing people's kids out of their homes at night, and I'm being hired to
track down whatever's doing it."
Adlis and Za exchanged glances, "How
much longer do you think that will take?" Adlis asked.
"Either until I manage to track
this thing down and kill it, or until every child in this village is gone."
Adlis was silent for a moment, and
then said, "What if Za and I were to help you?"
For the first time since they'd met
him, Kulgan laughed. "Yeah, sure, you
two kids tagging along behind me in the desert at night would be a huge help!"
he chuckled. "If we're lucky, we might
make it a mile away from town between all the times I have to rescue you from
monsters!"
"I'm serious," Adlis persisted.
"So am I," Kulgan replied, his face
becoming solemn again. "If I were to
take you two idiots out there with me at night, there's only a small chance you'd
both come back alive. You did hear me
talking to Kilo about running into a pack of sandgoyles last night, right?" He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a
pendant hanging on a thin silver chain.
It was black as onyx, and shaped like a pair of wings. "I only managed to get out alive because of
this."
Even without the magic activated,
Adlis and Za couldn't help but shudder at the mere sight of the unnatural
relic. Kulgan rose from his seat with a
sense of finality.
"The desert night is no place for
you two. Stay here until morning, and
then go home."
Without another word, he walked
away, tucking his pendant back into his shirt.