Path of the Pioneers

My eyes went wide with shock. Adeline had seriously taken us right to a living, breathing Pioneer? There were less than a hundred of them, throughout the entire world, and she was on “good terms” with one of the most well known of them? It made sense, sort of. Cirix was a large family, a reputable family. They were bound to have connections. And, at the very least, I’d be a hypocrite for acting so shocked that she knew a Pioneer so personally.

“What’s yer friend gawping at?” He peered over at me, his expression suddenly hardening as he looked at my head. For a moment, it looked as if he was reading something.  He must have seen something when he looked at me, perhaps from one of his skills? There was no telling with a Pioneer.

His eyes honed in on mine, a serious look writ plain across his face. He spoke in a startlingly stern tone, “Where’d y’get that hat?” 

I blinked a few times, confused by the questioning. “My master gave it to me. It.. Used to belong to her.” 

He looked at me for a few moments more, “So yer Morgan’s stray, then.” Adeline peered over, an inquisitive look on her face upon hearing his words.

Cairbre took a deep breath, stepping around the counter. He slowly made his way to me, and then stuck a hand out. I, very tentatively, reached out with my own hand. He grabbed onto mine, shaking it lightly. “Name’s Cairbre. Good t’meet ye, lass.” He let go of my hand, scratching his eyebrow. “She was a fine woman, sorry for yer loss.” 

It took a few moments for me to process it. It was clear he wasn’t exactly experienced at this sort of thing, but he had still put in a great deal of effort. “..Thank you.” 

He nodded a few times, vocalizing a light “Mm.” before stepping back behind the counter. “Did the pair of ye just come back from another dungeon? Yer a mess.” 

Adeline huffed a little, a few more moments passing before her response came, “I made a few errors in judgement and may or may not be wanted by the Crown.” 

Cairbre squinted his eyes, his expression a mixture of bafflement and concern, “What, did ye kill the damn King or somethin’?”

She shuffled around a bit, before confessing, “I may have severed my fiance’s arm from his torso.” 

Cairbre grinned, and then began to laugh. It was a bellowing, uproarious laughter that filled the room with ease. “Y’cut his.. Hoo.. Y’took the boy’s arm off?” He slapped the table as the laughing fit overtook him. “Haven’t.. Heheho! Gods.. Haven’t heard somethin’ that good in ages. Took y’long enough to get back here.” 

Cairbre took a deep breath, standing up straight. “Right. Y’probably need a change o’ clothes and a place t’stay...” He reached under the counter, pulling out a small coin purse. He opened it up, peering inside. With a satisfied grunt, he slid the coin purse across the counter. “Should be enough for a couple weeks in there.”

Adeline pulled the sacks of treasure we were keeping off of her hip, setting them on the table. “I won’t rely on your charity, Cairbre. I have goods for trade.” He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She fished into the bags, pulling out the three fire opals, the shadow amethyst, and the three chunks of mithril ore. In particular, Cairbre seemed to be interested in the mithril ore.

“The purity on this isn’t half bad, pup. Where’d y’get it?” Adeline gestured towards me with her head, prompting the dwarf to look in my direction, “Seems like yer the one with all the luck in yer group, lass. You’ll be needin’ it with her around.” 

Adeline clenched her teeth, “C-Cairbre!” 

He chuckled, picking up the amethyst and looking at it more closely. “I’ll call it even, then. Pleasure doin’ business.” He scooped up the items, putting them back in the sack, and then pushed the coin purse closer to the edge of the counter.

Adeline, of course, gratefully snatched it up.

After setting the sack down underneath the counter, Cairbre faced back towards the two of us, “Now, look..” He walked around the side of the counter, now standing before us. “I don’t mean t’sound unhappy t’see ye or anythin’, but y’should really go rest for the night. No purpose in doin’ all this work after a busy day. But first..” Cairbre put his hands out, putting one on my torn sleeve and the other on Adeline’s knee. A pale, orange glow came from his hands, and our clothes were suddenly.. Mended?

Not just mended, but cleaned. Good as new.

Cairbre turned his back one final time, walking off, “And for the gods’ sake, take a damn bath! Come back over t’morrow!”

The two of us promptly left Cairbre’s shop, with a new mission: finding a place to stay. With a heavy, jingling bag of coins, it was an easy task, and Adeline seemed to know of the perfect place almost immediately. She excitedly spoke as we went on our way, through the confusing streets of Tirsollain. “This inn has baths. But not in the typical sense, no. I swear to you, Sybil, it’s an experience that will shock you to your core. It’s the highlight of every trip I take to Tirsollain.”

As we worked our way towards the inn, Adeline eventually turned her head to speak to me. “So.. You were taught by the Morgan? Cairbre always talked about her.. It’s an unbelievable coincidence, but it makes a lot of sense. Especially given what your master did for you.” 

I just laughed, a touch nervous. I wasn’t exactly certain what all the pair knew about her. “It.. Was an interesting time.”

Adeline grinned, “Gods, I’ll bet. She really didn’t make you go into any high-ranking dungeons?”

“She said that I would die if I went in without knowing the fundamentals.”

It didn’t take long for us to come upon a rather regal looking inn, the kind of place that screamed ‘luxury.’ Had we been given that much coin?  Surprisingly, this expensive-looking place was what made me feel like I was in over my head, as opposed to the bounties put out by the Crown.

Adeline entered the building with glee, passing over a stack of rounded, golden coins to the innkeep. There were few people inside, most of them concentrated in the small, but elegant tavern connected to the inn. According to her, our stay had been paid in advance for the next week with those coins, even with the two of us having separate rooms. The two of us walked up the stairs, each of us holding a room key. Fortunately, we were able to have our rooms right next to each other, in case of an emergency.

Adeline opened the door to her room, closing it slightly, only to peek her head back out to say one last thing to me, “Meet me back here in an hour. We’ll get dinner!” I just nodded, and then unlocked the door to my room. 

Stepping inside, I was blown away by the appearance. A fine desk was in the back corner of the room, an unlit candle set upon it, and a rather nice looking bed on the side opposite of it. Lanterns were hung from the door, and along some of the walls, lighting the room comfortably. Another door seemed to lead somewhere else, which got the better of my curiosity. I cracked it open slightly, peering inside.

Past the door was a room with a floor made of various smooth rocks, with a rather deep basin set into it. The floor proper seemed to be lower than the door frame. As Adeline said, this must have been the bath. I wasn’t exactly certain how I was supposed to get water into the basin, however..

I locked the door to my room, careful to make sure I wouldn’t have any intruders for what I was about to do next. I took off my boots, and then proceeded to remove my freshly-cleaned garments. Folding them neatly, I sat my clothes on the bed, assuming that would be the best place to put them. 

I was rather happy to have my clothes fixed, in truth. Walking around with torn sleeves was odd, to say the least. And cold. The cleaning was a fantastic gift, too.

Stepping inside to the bathroom, I closed the door behind me. A small lantern was glowing on a pedestal next to the basin, providing a surprising amount of light for the little room. Something else caught my eye, a small, but distinct valve. I put a hand on it, turning its handle carefully. To my surprise, a small hole opened about three quarters of the way up the basin, and at the bottom of the basin. A moment later, water began to slowly rise up out of the bottom hole, steam filling the room. 

I dipped a toe in, confirming that it was indeed hot water. Had the dwarves managed to funnel this from a hot spring of some kind? I had never even heard of anything like it in Hyperion. 

As I mused on how it may have been engineered, I lowered myself into the bath. It hadn’t even filled halfway. Though I was certain that when it was full it would reach up to my neck if I allowed myself to sink all the way. The water was surprisingly perfect. It wasn’t scalding hot, but enough to make the fatigue in my aching muscles melt away. Truly, there are fewer delights greater in this world than a hot bath after an exhausting day. The water draining out of the top meant that it was constantly cycling in new water, as well.

I leaned back in the basin, looking up at the wall in front of me. Though I was in one of the most relaxing places one could be, my mind was still swirling with questions and thoughts. Cairbre knew my master quite well by how things sounded. At a mere glance, he recognized her hat on my head, and seemed almost angry at the possibility of some stranger having received it.

I let myself sink into the water, submerging every part up to my neck with a deep sigh. This journey I had been on, it was all just quite a lot to take in. I saved Adeline from the clutches of death, nearly reached my end at the hands of a minotaur, and then traveled to an underground dwarven city. Worse yet, it had only been a month. One-twelfth of the time that I spent holed away in Gallwold.

I had accomplished more than I ever could have hoped to, and I felt as if that would continue for a time. Still, doubt clutched at my chest, clinging onto me like a veil of steel. An ever-present companion.