"Are... you going to beat him too?"
Rolf froze. Nomad straightened his collar and stared at him and then the boy. Seeing how the boy gripped the counter, Nomad could make guesses, and having seen how Rolf acted, Nomad wouldn't be surprised. His expression remained unchanging as Rolf spoke.
"Addy, I... wasn't going to beat him." Rolf sighed. "I don't think I can anyway. Look, I'm sorry for beating that customer two days ago, okay? He was being a douche to your mother. And you. Had I not stumbled inside, things might have gone down the ugly route and his comrades wouldn't have intervened. As much as I hate to admit it, I didn't want him coming back and getting either you, your mother, or the rest of the people in the Inn, so I had no choice but to intervene. Sorry... If I scared you."
The boy stared at him silently.
Nomad blinked. Oh, it wasn't what Nomad had thought. Fortunately.
"But you shouldn't have. We need money. Every coin. No matter what happens, we can't lose it because no coin is enough. Mother..."
"That's enough, Addy," Lahey's voice sounded as she came outside followed by Emma. "Let your father have some slack." She turned toward him.
"You, traveler, let me apologize." She frowned at him. "What my husband did was uncalled for, I will not defend him. He's quick to act and lose his temper."
"He..." Rolf opened his mouth but Lahey shut him off with a withering glare.
Rolf blinked, looking lost, staring at her before looking at Addy. Nomad watched as they held each other's gazes.
The boy relaxed and hung his head, stepping aside, and making his way upstairs.
Nomad shrugged when his eyes met Emma's and he made his way toward her. He needed some sleep tonight.
Ah, right. Money. How'd he pay for tonight?
"Miss. Lahey."
"Yes?" Lahey nodded in response as Nomad neared her, with Rolf scowling.
"For tonight's rent..." Nomad's hand reached within his jacket and pulled out the remaining Copper Pennies he had left. "I'm terribly sorry, but I can't pay it all now. I will be going on a quest tomorrow so I can repay you extra if you will just hold on for a bit."
"Ah, you need not worry. Your sweet daughter here is quite the [Chef]. She's a bit rough around the edges, but everyone liked her food." She said, putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. Emma flinched for a second but didn't move. "The amount of tips she earned by serving dishes has almost paid the stay for nights."
"Yeah. Folks can't get enough of her stuff." Addy nodded.
Emma had that smug look on her face as Nomad turned to look at her. Emma snorted. Nomad grimaced inwardly.
"Alright." He smiled and nodded at Lahey, walking upstairs along with Emma, to their room.
Entering, Nomad frowned. "Cooking, huh?
"It's not a problem. My [Cooking] Skill increased quite a bit today." She said. "And I was missing cooking anyway, so when I noticed Miss. Lahey having trouble standing... I decided to help." She didn't gloat at him or anything, and simply walked to her bed. "She's quite sick. I think the Inn is her way to take care of herself with medicine, but she's not doing too well. She said her husband's been working dangerous jobs to get more money to get any treatment, but her chances are thinning as her illness gets worse. She didn't go into detail. And I didn't want to disturb or pry anyhow."
Nomad simply nodded and proceeded to sit on his bed as Emma stared from her bed, hugging her knees.
"Hey, teacherman, why do nice people always suffer the most while evil ones get rewarded? The man her husband beat up... she said he got scott-free while her husband got arrested for it. Punished. That doesn't seem fair." Emma chewed her cheek, seeming thoughtful.
Nomad remained silent.
"It's just how it is. Life can't be fair or equal at all times. Most likely because Life doesn't care," Nomad shrugged. "I never said life was fair. Do you think I enjoyed being a [Hero] when I was called one? Fighting endlessly and always getting my limbs chopped off in return? Killing and killing. Even after they announced me as 'corrupted'. It was the same. Getting killed only to wake up again, forced to fight once more. It's better to punch Life in the face when it knocks you down. Lahey's doing it. She's not giving up, is she? By not giving in to the sickness, it's her way of punching Life. That kid, Addy, he was gonna scam a coin or two out of me just to point me to the guild. Why? For his mother, most likely. That's his way of punching Life."
There was silence, and Nomad got to bed. He had a lot on his mind and needed a rest.
"Rest up, we leave tomorrow night. The quest will net me some money to last us a while. I'll buy you some supplies. You can cook on the road. Can't stay in one place for too long. Not anymore."
Emma simply nodded and hugged her knees, letting silence prevail.
***
"Yeah, it's good enough," Nomad murmured as he finished reading the contents of the [Oath] they were about to swear. "Will do."
The sun-kissed trees with their verdant, orange-yellow leaves danced to the rustle of the wind of the early morning, their sound a whisper.
Lila snorted. "It's a matter of an [Oath], no one can be better than a [Witch]." The woman adjusted her dark, purple, pointy hat and placed it better on her head.
Nomad hummed, scratching his chin, waiting for Rolf to show up.
They sat upon some thick logs, a small fire crackling before them, courtesy of Lila.
Rolf had promised to join, so there he stood, gazing upon the clearing, searching for something with his axe in his hands. His eyes falling on them, he walked toward them.
"Keep going with that pace and the beast will find us first, Rolf. We can't afford you attracting its attention."
Rolf snorted. "Talk for yourself, [Witch]. None in this town are better at tracking beasts than I am. Go and prance in that purple coat you wear, attracting every wild animal in a five-mile radius, it would serve you well."
"Sure it's not just your smell, eh? And it's a vest, uncultured swine." Lila scoffed, leaning forward, hand on her brown, buttoned-up, woolen vest over her blouse. She crossed her legs, nose moving up. Her pants were a brown-colored set of baggy trousers that reached her dark leather boots and clashed with her short vest, her sleeves rolled up just below her elbow, showing off some sort of talismans and armband tied around her right arm.
"Here, read up, Rolf." Nomad pushed the parchment into his hands.
Nodding, Rolf examined the text for a solid ten minutes. "It seems legitimate."
Nomad groaned, crossing his arms and closing his eyes for a bit. The man had taken his bloody time.
Rolf finally released a snort, and rolled up the parchment. "Seems straightforward. Very straightforward." He threw it toward Nomad, who caught it midair. "Shocking considering this [Witch] wrote it."
"Don't insult my intelligence and pretend as though your pea-sized brain can come up with something even remotely close to this," Lila muttered as her eyes flickered with violet hues.
"There you go with those eyes again, what's with you [Witches]? It looks hella creepy, aye. Ever thought of giving the creepy violet-eye glow thing a rest, eh?" Rolf mused, looking at her.
Lila frowned glaring daggers at him.
"Both of you, get this over with already," Nomad grumbled. "By my soul, I vow on this [Oath]. Let this parchment burn as my [Oath]. May Sut be my witness."
Nomad felt a bitter taste on his tongue when he felt a gaze upon him. An alien presence. Almost as though someone or something had taken note of what had happened. Nomad turned, noticing the trees flutter, wind rising. His vision tunneled, a whisper in his ear, almost a taunting tease, then a lick, or bite. He couldn't tell. It was so faint, but it was there. There, tempting, enticing, for him to take action, a hand almost on his shoulder, caressing down his back, to his chest.
He shook his head off, and almost heard a click of the tongue in response; disappointment, a sign of unwillingness to wait. For him. Sut, Goddess of Death. She'd... always been crazy for him. The irony.
"By my soul, I solemnly vow on this [Oath]," Lila and Rolf spoke together, their faces stoic. They hadn't noticed it. Why would they?
"Let this parchment burn as my [Oath]. May Sylia be my witness." Rolf finished.
"Let this parchment burn as my [Oath]. May Nier be my witness." Lila finished.
Fire erupted atop the parchment, burning black of Sut, purple of Nier, and gold of Sylia. Their flames swallowed the parchment, and it turned to black ashes, falling along a gentle breeze.
"Now we must uphold the duty of the vow and do nothing to betray it." Nomad pointedly stared at the two and nodded. "And please stop your antagonistic behaviors. We don't need anyone fighting each other over something as petty as your past issues. Resolve them however you want when we're done here. Not my pain."
They both looked at him incredulously.
"What?" Nomad blinked. "Come. Let’s go. No time to waste."
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