Episode 8: An Alluring Proposition (Part 2 of 6)

Immediately, the duo step down the right path, heading down a road which flanks many inns and small pubs. However, they pay no heed to these as they pass by, until they end up at the bend in the road where The Black Crest Tavern lies. Even though the outside of the tavern is quiet and empty, bright lights emit from its windows and through the cracks of the swinging doors as quiet laughter and chatter comes from the inside.

"Well, let's head on in," Locke announces as he walks towards the doors. "And try not to get kidnapped this time."

Keeping close to him, slightly nervously, Lilanei says with a sarcastically wistful tone, "Well, maybe you should keep a better eye on your women!"

"Yeah, okay," Locke replies as he takes Lilanei by the hand as they continue to walk into the tavern. "Don't let go."

As they finally step through the swinging doors, they notice the pub is quite empty; however they surmise that it is due to the late hour. Off to their left, a couple of men chat over a table as, to their right, a single man and single woman sit at separate tables, quietly relaxing with their drinks. Ahead of them lie the familiar figures – or at least to Locke – of Hektor standing behind the counter, as well as a giggling Charlie, who sits on the edge of the counter and chats to him. Smiling, Locke leads the way through the bar, holding Lilanei still tightly by the hand. Eventually, the two walk up to the bar, where Locke greets them.

"Hello folks!" He cheerfully says. "It's good to see you again."

As Charlie turns and smiles broadly to the young rogue, Hektor's eyes widen and he slams his white towel on the counter as he exclaims, "Kid! You made it! And you got your little friend with ya! Aw hell, kid. . . I knew you could do it."

"Did you really?" Locke asks. "I somewhat sense you didn't think I was coming back."

Now looking shamefully down to his towel on the counter, Hektor begins to rub at a damp spot as he says, "Well. . . It's been a while, kid. I was starting to think that damned Lucio got the better of ya."

"Nobody bests Locke Kallidin!" Locke exclaims as he thumps his chest with his fist. "Besides, I had to get Lil back, didn't I?"

"Lil!" The Halfling woman known as Charlie finally pipes up as she raises her arms in the air in a welcoming gesture and broadly smiles, as she exclaims, "So dat is da famous Lilanei! Hektor told me all about ya, Locke. . . I'm so glad to see you've managed to save yer friend! It'd be ashame if a such handsome young man like ya lost 'is life so early."

"I'd drink to that," Locke says with a smile. "Speaking of which, Hektor, you wouldn't give an old friend a drink, would you?"

"For you, kid," Hektor cries as he reaches for a glass under the counter, "it's on the house! What'll ya have?"

"I'll just take a jug of ale," Locke replies. "What about you, Lil?"

Lilanei, humbly smiling to Charlie and Hektor, finally says, "I could really go for some milk, if you have any, Hektor."

With a grin, Hektor responds, "Little lady – anything for Locke's friend! Just gimme two ticks."

As he finishes, he rushes to the back of the pub, no doubt searching the kitchen for an ounce of milk. Meanwhile, Charlie – her legs folded over each other as her palms rest on the counter – wiggles her feet in the air as they hang over the side of the counter, eyes locked on Locke.

Finally, Charlie cries, "So tell me, Locke! Ya didn't tell ol' Charlie much about yerself before ya left! Hektor tells me yer an adventurer. How did ya and the sweet lil' Lilanei meet?"

"Erm, we've known each other since we were children," Locke explains. "Our master, Akorrin, came into town one day, and after seeing. . . how much spirit we had, he decided to open his school in our town and make us his first students."

"Students?" Charlie exclaims, as she continues to smile broadly. "Students of what?"

"Well, we don't really have a title for what we were taught," Locke continues. "Erm, our master simply taught us how to fight and to survive in the harsh world outside our town, because he thought one day we would become great adventurers who could make a difference to this evil ridden world."

"So you kick 'dem ugly monster butts, do ya? My, yer parents must be proud!" Charlie finishes.

"I wouldn't say either of our families were too happy about us leaving and doing this," Locke replies. "But it's what we both wanted. I think we're both too wayward to stay in a boring little coastal town, y'know what I'm saying? Now, a city like this! This is sort of the place I want to be involved in! This is what I left Illias for, to experience this kind of atmosphere."

"You an' me both, child! As for Charlie, I hail from a lil' ol' river town known as Reedshire. It's a peaceful lil' town, which is all well an' good – but Charlie don't have time for that sort o' thing, mon. The city life here in Blackcrest is much better suited to me needs!"

As Charlie finishes speaking, her smile ever growing, Hektor comes bumbling from the back of the tavern, holding a glass bottle full of a familiar white liquid as he then grabs a jug of ale from behind the counter and slams both down on the counter before Locke and Lil. Quickly, he then places glasses next to these.

"Thanks, Hektor," Locke replies as he pours himself some ale, before jokingly commenting. "Milk the cow yourself, did ya?"

Pouring Lil's milk into the glass before passing the glass towards her gently, Hektor grins and grumbles, "You could say that, kid. . . Anyway, I've been dying to know – did you finally squash that bug, Lucio? Tell me everything, and for the love of ale, don't squelch on the details!"

"Well," Locke begins as he takes another drink. "Firstly, it wasn't I or Lil who bested Lucio. . . It was somebody else, Hektor."

Cocking his brow, Hektor asks, "Who else was there, kid?"

"Your old friend, Akorrin, that's who," Locke replies, taking another sip from his glass. "Without thinking, he came with me after I told him Lucio had Lil. We snuck into his mansion, killed off some of his minions, fought that coward, Maroco Vega, until he retreated, and then Akorrin took it upon himself to fight Lucio while I escaped with Lilanei. . . We're not sure what happened afterwards, but Master Torrinn informed us that neither Akorrin or Lucio could be found in the following days."

Slightly taken aback by Locke's story, Hektor stares at him in wonderment for a moment before finally muttering, "Well, the old Dragon finally got his backbone back, eh?"

"He never lost it," Locke quickly replies.

Hektor shakes his head as he continues to gaze upon the pair before saying, "Kid, I ain't ever really liked that old Dragon, but from what you tell me, he gave his all to allow the lot of ya to escape with your tails in tact! I'm sure that old crone, Torrinn, and the rest of those boneheaded followers of his really respect him for that." Hektor's eyes then rest on the young Half Elf who shyly sips from her glass of milk as she watches the conversation; grinning, he says to her, "I hope you gave old Locke a proper thank you, little lady. He worked good and hard to get your hide back from the Vegas and that weasel, Lucio."

Locke simply laughs out loud at Hektor's remark as Lilanei clears her throat after swallowing a mouthful of milk and says softly, "Of course I thanked him, Mr. Hektor, sir. I owe Locke my life for saving me."

"I'll remind you of that later," Locke announces with a grin as he takes another gulp of his ale.

Still grinning at Lil, Hektor chuckles, "It's Hektor, little lady. Don't call me mister – it makes me feel like a right old fool!"

"Oh!" Lilanei gasps as she hides her face shyly behind her glass of milk. "I'll remember that – sir."

Hektor simply sighs as Charlie leaps from the counter nearby and onto the floor, landing gracefully on her feet as she looks up to the party and cries, "Well, I 'spose lil' ol' me better head back to the inn. I got myself a lot of work to do. Locke, Lil – when ya need a rest, don't 'esitate to visit ol' Charlie down at da Sleepy Sheep Inn."

"We'll do that, Charlie," Locke says, raising his glass to her. "That'll probably be sooner rather than later."

Lilanei waves to the Halfling woman before she returns the gesture and walks happily out of the tavern and into the night. Locke turns to Hektor standing at the bar before he speaks.

"So, tell me, Hektor. Has the Vega Clan been around lately?"

"Kid," Hektor speaks as he cleans a random glass he has plucked from under the counter. "I ain't heard or seen hide or tail of those pigs since you were last here. I have a feeling you really rattled their operations in Blackcrest."

"Hm," Locke murmurs as he sips his ale some more. "We heard since Akorrin and I stormed Lucio's mansion, that his army of bandits had fallen into disarray. I was wondering if you heard anything about it."

"Not a peep," Hektor snorts as he looks up to the rogue with a shifty eyed expression as he notes, "But lemme tell ya, kid. . . Hearing nothing is a lot better than hearing something, especially when it comes to those types. If you ain't heard much about Lucio's gang since then, then surely it could only mean you really stomped on their parade."

"Yeah," Locke replies. "But we're trying to figure out what might have become of them without actually having to venture back out there. We're pretty convinced Akorrin is still alive somewhere, but his and Lucio's sudden disappearance casts a veil of mystery over that thought. Are you sure you've heard nothing at all about Lucio since he disappeared? How about Maroco? He escaped me, and I assume left the island. Anything you might have heard would be helpful to us."

Hektor leans his elbows on the counter as he ponderingly listens to Locke's words; he appears to think hard for a few minutes before his eyes widen and he finally pipes up, "Y'know what, kid? I ain't heard nothin' about that Lucio, but Maroco – I did hear something about that slime, now that I think back! One of the Vegas lackeys flew past these parts not long ago, whispering something or another about Maroco being back in town. Apparently, he was lookin' for somethin', and when he found it, he left in a big huff. Somethin's really ruffled his feathers."

"Hm, that sounds interesting," Locke replies as he runs his fingers through his hair. "Maybe he'll know what happened to Lucio. . . Maybe that's what stirred his ire."

"Although," Lilanei finally pipes in as she tilts her half empty glass to and fro in her hands before continuing. "Perhaps he came back to find his sister, Locke."

"What?" Locke asks. "Nah, he knows she's dead!"

Lil shrugs as she looks up from her glass and to Locke with a slightly grossed out expression, "If you had to spend as much time with Maroco as I did, you'd come to learn that he and his sister were as a thick as – well, thieves! He almost sounded. . . in love with her!"

Locke scratches his chin as he thinks, "I wonder. . . Hey Hektor, any idea what's going on with that old factory now? That was the Vega Clan's hideout – I wonder if it's still being occupied by any of them."

Hektor shakes his head as he says, "If my recent lack of customers is anything to go by, kid, I don't think many of the Vega Clan are left in town."

"Do you know of any you've seen in the last couple of days?" Locke asks.

"Just the one I told you about. . . And I ain't seen him in a good few days now."

"So, where does this 'one,'" Locke begins, "reside? Do you know?"

Hektor now looks to Locke with a confused expression as he cries, "I ain't got a clue, kid! I told ya – he just walks in here one day, spoutin' all this bologna, and then he's gone."

"What do you think, Lil?" Locke asks. "Finding Maroco might lead us to a few answers as to where Akorrin could be. But we need to find him first."

Lilanei grimaces as she says, "Well. . . Actually, I think I'd rather stay as far away from Maroco as I possibly can right now. If I have to see his disgusting features one more time, I swear—"

"But what about Akorrin?" Locke asks. "How else do you propose we'll find him? Because I don't know."

Hektor butts his head between the two as they speak, as he snorts and says, "Look, you two. . . Ol' Hektor's gotta close up shop soon. Listen. You seem rattled after everything that's been going on. Why don't you give it a rest for today? Tomorrow, you can start on a clean slate. Blackcrest is a crazy little city and you never know what kind of things are going to pop up. So rest tonight, and we'll see what tomorrow holds for you lot."

"There you go again trying to calm me down, Hektor," Locke announces. "I suppose if we have to, we'll think about it tomorrow. Right, Lil?"

Lil nods as Hektor holds his hands in the air and exclaims, "What can I say, kid? I'm a calming sorta guy. It comes with the job."

"If we stay together for too long, I'm afraid it might rub off on me," Locke states.

Lilanei then cries, "Great idea! You could use a bit of calming down, Locke."

"No way!" Locke states. "There's too many evil butts to kick into shape!"

Lilanei purses her lips in annoyance before Hektor chuckles loudly and exclaims, "I sure missed seeing that cocky face around my pub."

"This cocky face missed being here," Locke replies with a wink. "I guess if you're going to close soon, we won't be stragglers and keep you. I'm sure your wife's waiting for you, eh?"

"Unfortunately," the old Dragonborn grumbles before he snorts, "Ah. . . Now get your tails out of my pub before I force you out!"

"Don't worry, we're off," Locke replies before slipping off the bar stool he sat on. "Let's go, Lil."

Lil flashes Hektor a broad smile before slipping away from the counter and following behind Locke. Shortly afterwards, the duo find themselves out in the darkness of the night once more. Guiding Lilanei, Locke brings them to the Sleepy Sheep Inn, a few doors down from The Black Crest Tavern. Without hesitation, they step through the front door and into the flamboyantly decorated lobby, where Charlie awaits with her signature smile. After a few formalities, the pair pay for their room for the night to which Charlie leads them happily. Leaving them at the front door of the room, she waves them off before trotting down the hall and back to their duties.

"Want me to carry you over the threshold?" Locke asks jokingly.

"Huh!" Lilanei laughs sarcastically as she reaches for the door handle and pulls it. "I think I can manage on my own, thank you very much!"

"Oh well," Locke says as he follows her into the room, closing the door behind them.

As they step into the room, they notice that it is as equally flamboyantly decorated a room as the lobby – happy little sheep painted on the walls down near the skirting boards. Across the room near an open window sit two fluffy beds, and nearer to them on the right, Locke and Lil notice a big rectangular table which holds on top of it a large platter containing a large roasted chicken as well as some random roasted vegetables.

"Wow, look at that!" Locke cries excitedly as he claps his hands together. "A proper meal!"

Lil sighs dreamily as she cries, "Meat! I do quite miss having the occasional beef stew, or chicken soup."

Locke quickly rushes over to the table and immediately rips off a drumstick, which he happily eats, "You know, I was always surprised you ate meat!"

Walking to the table and stripping some of the breast meat off the chicken, Lilanei contently nibbles at the meat before saying, "Well. . . I suppose a lot of Elves may prefer a meatless diet, but my mother is quite 'mad,' as you know. She's fed me these sort of things ever since I was a child."

"And that's what makes you stronger than most Elves!" Locke says heartily. "Meat makes you strong! Let's have some more!"

Rolling her eyes as she watches Locke tear into the chicken further, Lilanei nevertheless happily complies and eats her share as well. Happily feasting on the bounty left for them, Locke and Lilanei leave nothing more than a chicken carcass on the plate before they happily stumble over to their beds and lie down, preparing to settle down for the night.

As they do, Locke looks towards Lil and asks, "So, what do you think we should do tomorrow?"

"Well," she sighs, happily petting her stomach as she lies on her back. "It's a large city. I'm sure, if we walk around a bit and get to know some of the locals, we may find out something that will lead us on our way."

"I'm tempted to go back to the Vegas' Hideout at the old factory," Locke announces. "Maybe there's a clue of their whereabouts there."

Lil looks to Locke and frowns, "To be honest. . . I'd really rather stay away from that place."

"I get what you're saying," Locke begins. "But, I think if we go there, we might find a clue to their whereabouts. We find a clue, we find them. We find them, perhaps we find Akorrin. I don't know why; I just feel like they'll have knowledge of his last known whereabouts. Maybe they'll know what became of Lucio, and through that, we might find some answers about the master. . . but I don't know. I'm just thinking aloud."

"Perhaps," Lil simply sighs as she stares up at the ceiling above her. "But I suppose we will have to wait and see what the new day brings us."

"Yeah," answers Locke. "To be honest, I'm too tired to think about this now. Have a good night, Lil. . . Don't let the spiders bite."

Lilanei shrieks, "Spiders?" as she sits up in her bed and glances about her person with an anxious expression.

"Calm down," Locke chuckles. "It's just a saying."

"Oh. . . Gr," Lilanei growls before taking one of her pillows and pummeling Locke in the face with it.

"OW!" Locke cries. "You don't need to knock me out; I'll be asleep fast enough!"

"Hmph!" Lil simply says as she returns her pillow to her bed and lays down, curling up so that she is facing away from Locke.

It isn't long before the two Heroes swiftly fall asleep, the stress of their journey causing them to still be quite tired despite their full rest the day before. The night passes by in a flash before the pair are awoken by a ruckus outside. Passing it off as merely the city awaking with them, the two prepare to head off into the city as they grab their things and head into the inn lobby. However, they are greatly surprised when they do not see Charlie at the front counter. Meanwhile, the ruckus outside continues to grow louder and louder.

"What's all the noise, I wonder?" Locke asks as they hear the commotion.

"It's just the city. . . isn't it?" Lil questions innocently.

"Sounds like it could be a fight!" Locke says with excitement. "Let's go and see."

Lilanei following hesitantly behind, Locke rushes out of the inn doors and into the crowds outside. Immediately, the pair take notice that the city is much busier than usual. Crowds rush by in a frenzy as people cry out in excitement as well as fear and rush to and fro down the busy street. One crowd in particular, however, gathers around a distant sign post, seemingly observing something.

"Let's go and see what they're looking at," Locke suggests.

Keeping close to Locke as the fast crowds rush around her intimidatingly, Lil cries, "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Maybe not, but we won't know until we go," Locke replies.

With a sigh, Lilanei follows Locke, the pair keeping each other in each other's sights to prevent getting separated in the crowd. Finally, they approach the gathered crowd and notice the people have surrounded a little boy – a city cryer – who jumps up and down excitedly as he exclaims aloud with great vigor.

"A flying ship! A flying ship has been spotted circling above the city limits – and it has landed! Beware the mysterious flying ship!"

"What are you talking about?" Locke shouts over the crowd, trying to catch the cryer's attention.

Locke's cry goes unheard though as the crowd around him is much too loud. Lilanei then looks behind her down the busy road which leads past The Black Crest Tavern and around the bend before crying into Locke's hear so he can hear her.

"Maybe if we follow the crowd. . . we'll see what they're talking about!"

"Okay!" Locke shouts back, before the two leave the gathering of people and follow the long stream of people winding away from the town.

As they maneuver through the crowds, Locke feels a sudden breathlessness as a hard and blunt object slams into his right side. The duo turn to see that it's an old woman, pushing a small cart – inside of it, many potions gleaming in the sunlight.

The old woman looks to them sincerely and says, "Oh! I'm sorry, dearies! I'm but an old woman and I couldn't see where I was going through all those people! Please. . . If you'd like, I'm selling these potions half price today. Twenty five gold pieces!"

"What do you think?" Locke asks, turning to Lil.

Lil reaches into her coin pouch before pulling out seventy five gold pieces and exclaiming over the crowds, "Three, please!"

The old lady takes the money and complies, handing Lilanei three potions of healing.

"I'll take one," Lock states as he hands to her twenty five gold pieces, to which the old lady exchanges the money for a potion.

Finally, she cries over the crowd, "Thank you, dearies! You've really helped an old lady today!"

"Yeah, sure," Locke replies before taking Lilanei by the hand and motioning for them to press on. The two walk down the street along with the flow of people, when Locke notices The Black Crest Tavern is open; he stops and looks over to it before asking Lil, "Do you think Hektor knows what's going on?"

"Probably!" Lil exclaims over the noise. "Let's go ask!"

Quickly, Locke and Lil traverse through the crowds of people and rush into the tavern. As they rush in, they notice the large figure of Hektor standing in the center of the tavern as he holds a platter above his head with many ale glasses on top. Inside, they also notice many crowds gathered around the tables and consequently around Hektor. The Dragonborn immediately notices the duo as they shrug their way through the crowds, and holding his large arm before him, he manages to cut through the many people and head toward Locke and Lilanei.

"Jeez, kid! You sure got good timing!" Hektor shouts.

"What's going on, Hektor?" Locke asks. "What's with all the excitement?"

"Ain't ya heard?" Hektor cries, as he balances the platter of ale mugs above his head. "Mighty Blue has landed in the city center!"

"What's Mighty Blue?" Locke asks, confused.

"You really ain't got a clue, do ya, Locke? It's a flying ship!" Hektor explains. "It's the first to ever land in Murrad and best of all, it's taking passengers! It's from the far away Kingdom of Ibius. If you hurry, you can get tickets for one hundred gold pieces per head!"

"Somebody out there was saying we should beware of it," Locke says. "I thought there was something hostile afoot!"

"Ah!" The Dragonborn snorts as he waves one of his hands in front of him. "Cowards! The lot of them! The ship is powered by orbs that utilize magic to make the ship float in the air. They're just afraid of something they've never seen before, that's all!"

"What do you think, Lil?" Locke asks with excitement in his voice. "Wanna go for a ride?"

Glancing slightly down at her meager coin pouch, Lilanei exclaims, "The price is a bit steep, isn't it?"

"Well, I've got plenty for the both of us," Locke says, tapping his own coin pouch. "We could go!"

As Lilanei mutters to herself in thought, Hektor suddenly leans forward and with shifty eyes, whispers through the noise of his tavern, "I'll tell you what you two. . . A couple of drunken morons dropped these in the pub earlier, and I kept hold of them. I was gonna make me a pretty penny off these babies – but I like you two, so you can have them. Just don't let the locals know that Hektor's gone soft, ya hear?"

As he finishes speaking, Hektor withdraws a pair of tickets from the apron around his waist, slipping them slyly to the pair; Locke takes the tickets and with a nod says, "Thank you, Hektor. You've come through for us again."

"Yeah, yeah, kid!" Hektor grumbles before waving them off. "Now get your tails out of here before I change my mind!"

"See you later, Hektor!" Locke calls with a wave before he dashes out of the tavern, with Lilanei close behind him.