Chapter 8

Dwarven Ale

Trailing behind the dwarves, the noble and 'commoner' pairs stayed a good distance away from another. They wouldn't dare look at each other, and when they did, they would look in the exact opposite direction. Of course, Marien and Iodian were the aggressive ones, as Seval and Isqiene had no desire to start up any fight. They took their spots behind their respective partners, unwilling to start up anything.

"I'm going to beat that brat to the floor," Marien remarked, glaring in the back of Iodian's head. "He won't see what's coming."

"Yeah . . . don't that," Seval requested, and the glare had shifted onto him to make him nervous. "Okay, okay, fine. Whatever you want. Just don't beat me to the floor." He saw Marien roll her eyes annoyedly at his cowardice before setting them straight ahead into the dwarves' backs.

"You should be the one looking for a fight, not me. I'd prefer if you sided with me, though," Marien said, a bit lonely that she was a lone aggressor without anybody to back her up. Even though she would hate to admit it, she wished for Seval to join her cause. If he was as wild as her, that is.

"Shh," Ruck suddenly declared from the front, the two dwarves halting. They slid behind a wall, peeking around it to whisper to another. A plan was being devised, a curious Marien approaching them for answers.

"Well? What is it?" she demanded impatiently, and the dwarves cut their whispering.

"A few guards. We'll handle them," Ruck said, with a nod toward Drak. The duo walked right out of their cover and approached the frozen guards. Seval expected a fight, as so did Marien, who was excitedly spectating the whole thing. Nothing of that sort happened. Just a friendly conversation and potential bribery. Within a snap of the finger, the dwarven brothers returned, all smiles and lit eyes.

"Aye, we're good to go. Just don't get on their bad side," Drak explained, before the group marched out from the corner, their covers exposed; however, the standing guards acted as if they didn't see the moving bunch. As they approached the guards nervously, they kept their act fresh.

"Be back before the lights go out. That's when me shift ends," one of the guards mandated, still without a single look at the group.

"Aye, will do," Drak answered, before falling into a hushed whisper with Ruck. It went on as they walked into stranger and emptier territory; it almost felt hostile by nature. Especially by judging the wear for tear houses, this was not the friendliest place to be in. Seval was about to call the visit off, but Marien had broken his plan.

"How do we know this isn't an assassination ploy?" she demanded fiercely, the dwarves stopping and muttering about themselves.

"Now why would ya say that?" Ruck asked, and turned around with clasped hands toward the bunch. He met Marien's sharp gaze kindly, almost apologetically.

"The guards, the dwarves, they all hate us," Marien explained, a hand fanning around the empty street. "Do you think I wouldn't catch any of that? This could very well be leading us into a trap where we have no reinforcements around." Her words made Ruck chuckle nervously, but Drak had stepped forward.

"It ain't any of that, promise," he claimed, spinning around as he grasped his brother's shoulder. "Let us drink for the day ahead. We promise it's good ale, da best in the land."

Before Seval could march forward, he was tugged in the arm by Marien to keep him back.

"Be on your toes. Never let me out of your sight. If something is awry, just run. I'll understand, so don't bother worrying about me," she whispered into his ear, Seval nodding in agreement to the statement. His arm was let go to display satisfaction was met. And with that, they continued onward, like all the paranoia was just a play. It surely wasn't.

"Somebody's paranoid," Iodian commented, his sister laughing like the sidekick she was.

"And somebody's so naive that they could very well be walking into their own deaths. With nobody holding their hand, they're just clueless about the world," Marien replied, unnoticeably smiling under her hood. She ignored his insults that ranged from commoner to commoner, as well as commoner. He didn't have much in his dictionary.

Despite them being in the cave, it did feel like there was a day and night system. The bright lights illuminating everything began to slowly dim, imitating dusk. There was no sky, but it was enough to establish a working day. If those lights ever went out, there would be no telling of when was when, for it would just be darkness and misery. No wonder the dwarves invented their famous lights as quickly as possible.

After turning another wide corner, an actually live place was seen with lights and everything. A wooden board stayed put right above the door, alien writing all over each side. Two square windows sat on each side of the split front wall, both blurry and not very transparent. Though, figures could be seen on the other end, just very indescribable.

"We have arrived at the best place in da world," Drak declared, pulling his brother close to him as the two trotted over to the tavern. He wondrously kept an open palm facing their destination, fanning it out like an exhibit. "Da Steel Anvil. It's been around for generations, keeping us young dwarves fresh and active. Without it, we'd just be sober and bored. Not today!" Suddenly he and Ruck broke out in a manly choir, the two hitting the lowest notes, at other times maintaining a strict voice. Not a word made sense to Seval, but he enjoyed the sounds that acted as music on their own.

"Barrrun, Barrrun, Dalvan Grung Pramet Tuv? Grung Lauvve Tuv? Ooooh . . . Barrrun, Barrrun. Da Aunli Stuahi sia Tuv. Aye, aye! Tuv!"

The dwarves broke into a hearty laughter, their bodies swaying from side to side. If they acted this way now, then Seval could only imagine how bad they would be drunk. It only goes downhill from there. He didn't want to know the next step of a mental drop. He really didn't.

"Make ya self at home," Ruck announced, pushing open the heavy door that swung against its hinges. He marched inside with his brother, the two instantly silencing the buzzing chatter around. Then sparked a loud choir of the same song as earlier, loud and quite organized.

As Seval walked inside, he saw a standard tavern setup, which had round tables all around the tiled floor. A bartender with a gray beard and hair sat behind a longer table, barrels upon barrels of ale behind him. He was taking orders and sliding glasses after filling them with a foaming ale. The process was very efficient, only taking a few seconds or less.

"Let's take a seat," Marien said loudly into Seval's ear, barely able to be heard from all the singing around. He nodded in agreement, the two finding an empty table to seat themselves at. Uncleaned ale and glasses were laid out on the table, and the chairs weren't any better. It was disgusting, but Seval didn't care. Marien tried her best to clean off what she could before sitting down.

"Okay . . ." Marien glanced around the room, her lip curled. "Friendly place. I wouldn't mind coming here every night . . ." She paused as a dwarf was thrown right in front of their table, another dwarf running in. It was a brawl and it only lasted for a few moments. Everyone was friends again. Dwarves were strange.

"Nevermind," Marien decided, her eyes narrowing as she watched dwarves chug and throw ale around the room. It was one messy place that would take hours to clean.

"Yuck, this place reeks," Iodian complained, as he and his sister pulled up a chair to the table. Marien was sitting opposite of Seval, as were Iodian and his sister, so that made a perfect square with four points. They all sat in awkward silence, the buzzing chatter irritating all but an oblivious Seval. He was so tired and hurt that he could care less about his surroundings. He just wanted some sleep, a break at least.

A tray of a dozen or more glasses slammed against the table. Seval couldn't help but be startled because he had not seen the visitor through the mass of dwarves.

"This one be on us," Drak remarked, Ruck bringing over a whole keg of ale.

"It be best to chug it all," Ruck added, his words somewhat slurring. He dipped over the keg to pour a whole waterfall of brown, foaming ale into each glass. Most ended up on the table, spreading to the sides to drizzle downward. The nobles were utterly disgusted, as was Marien, despite her body staying in place. Once all twelve glasses were filled, the two dwarves went on their merry way with drunken waves.

"Don't drink too much! Heheh," Ruck advised, before he disappeared into a crowd of standing and singing dwarves that kept tossing around their glasses of ale.

Seval rested his eyes back onto the table, his eyes seeing the ale foam and rise to the very tip of the clear glass. He was very tempted to reach for one, but he held back at the voice of Marien.

"We should get this over with." She retrieved a glass, everybody else unsurely grabbing their own. "To getting out of this hellhole." The four glasses were tapped against another before everyone took a sip of their ale. It was quite sour, and Seval gagged at the taste. But it was so addicting that he had to keep going. Within only a few seconds, he chugged it all and slammed it onto the table, loudly sighing in relief with a faint burp afterwards.

"Someone's thirsty," Marien remarked, amusedly smiling at him, as she took gentle sips of her glass.

Seval took that as an initiative to continue on his righteous journey, so he did just that. One glass after another. Until there were none to chug. By the end of it, he slumped into his chair, dazedly blinking in and out of consciousness. He couldn't think straight, for everything was but a blur. He kept his eyes trained on Marien, giving her a toothless grin as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, that's enough," Marien determined, and stood from her table at the sound of protest from the nobles.

"Where'd ya going . . .? We just started," Iodian asked, with a hiccup. He had drank too many for his liking, his sister sharing the same fate.

"We were just getting along . . . right?" Isqiene added, giving a smile so fake that it even made Seval chortle at it. But he didn't have much time to do so, for Marien had pulled him out of the building. They exited the lively and loud tavern, entering into a dark and eerie street. Seval couldn't help but attempt to sing whatever the hell Ruck and Drak were on about earlier. Not only did he mispronounce all the words, but he also slurred on them. What came out was a horrid, ugly creation that resembled the prime form of a devolving mind.

"How much did you drink?" Marien asked, grunting as she forced Seval along. He was a dead weight, just an anchor to her. For he just kept singing his gibberish, unable to walk. She had to rest his arm around her neck to carry him.

"A few . . . just a few . . . or maybe one . . . zero?" Seval replied, a child-like smile on his face. He hiccuped, his throat burning by some hot substance. Though, he laughed it off.

"Can you quiet down? I don't like where we are," Marien requested, and tried to shush him just for more off-note singing to erupt. She realized it was impossible to move such a donkey, especially now that he was in this state, groaning away her frustration.

What little that Seval could see portrayed pure darkness. He couldn't see in front of him or around him. It wasn't even his drunken state, for it felt like his senses were enhanced. He could clearly see Marien in the corner of his eye, though just a shadowy mass. It was really that dark, representative of nights without the Moon high in the sky. Pitch black darkness, capable of eliminating any sense of direction.

A sudden scratching sound went through Seval's ear, and it took him a long time to realize what was going on. He heard Marien scream, despite it being faint, and the warm touch on his arm now gone. Falling onto his knees from a lack of support, he clutched his head and groaned. He wanted to retch for hours on end, but he had business to finish. There was just a tiny bit of Seval left inside of his hollow shell, screaming and forcing him along. He gave in.

Seval stood up in a wobbly stance, spinning around in the direction of faint shuffling. He saw a dwarf clad in black robes dragging a body along the ground. It was dark, so dark that he couldn't see a thing. But somehow, it felt like he had night vision, whether if it was from Omni or his drunken state. Whatever did it matter, though.

"Hey . . . you over there," Seval called out, his hand reaching out shakily. He saw that the dwarf wouldn't stop, neither would the muffled screaming. He cocked his head aside, unsure of why he was here. His legs buckled, his body hitting the ground. All the while, his laugh and smile would not leave.

You're one pathetic idiot, do you know that? Omni remarked irritatedly. You see your close ally be taken off for who knows what reason. What do you do? You fall in your own filth, ready to die. Pathetic. Coward. You'll just let her die, won't you?

Wha? Who . . . are you? And her? Seval remarked, pinching his eyes and chortling off into the night.

Another scream struck him hard, for he had let his fingers slide off his face slowly. He directed his head toward the noise, seeing the dwarf clad in darkness turn a corner. Without thought, by instinct, he brought up his sword high into the air, like a javelin. It became ablazed in a bright red color, his left hand mimicking that. All he thought was one thing and one thing only:

Noone takes my little sister . . . away from me.

He chucked his sword through the night, its red light trailing behind it at how fast it was going. It went right through the side of a house and tore apart the material like fabric. The dragging ceased. The screaming continued. Seval felt the sword fly right back into his grasp as he trotted over to whatever the hell he had just killed. He chuckled along the way, his sword being dragged along the ground. Another noise popped up into his left ear, so he thrust the palm of his left hand in that direction. It went dead silent within a matter of moments.

Seval turned the corner of the destroyed house, his sword illuminating all that he needed to see. He found his little sister blindfolded with a napkin forced into her mouth. She was tousled up with some black wires or something Seval couldn't care enough about. He smiled and knelt down, his vision blurring by the second.

"Hey . . . Mary. Your older brother is here to protect you." He fell into a slurring fit, his eyes shutting on their own as his left hand was fanned across the air. A sudden hot temptation left his palm, sizzling entering his nostrils.

"Older brother? How much did you drink, Seval?" Marien worriedly asked, after she cleared herself of any restraints and stood. "I don't know how you did what you just did, but thank you."

"It's . . . past your bedtime, isn't it? Kinda dark . . . no?" Seval remarked, with a cheerful smile. He felt his body get hoisted onto another, his feet moving on their own. "You shouldn't be out this late . . . it's too dangerous. But I won't tell Mom or Dad . . . promise." He heard Marien laugh, almost in pity. He loved to make his sister laugh.

"You'll be a wreck in the morning. Why did we do this?" Marien's voice turned serious and bitter. "Those dwarven tricksters! They were going to make us drink until we pass out. Luckily we got out of there before . . . well, before I got drunk."

"Drunk? But you're . . . too young to be drinking. I have to . . . tell Mom and Dad about this . . . sorry," Seval remarked, disappointed, as a finger was pressed against his lips.

"Alright, that's fine, but can you please be quiet? Please?" Marien requested sweetly and quietly.

"Anything . . . for my sis," Seval said, before his mind ran out of words. He went the rest of the way in silence, only hearing Marien curse under her breath at times. But however she got past the guards, he was back home. Just by a warm atmospheric change, he knew the destination was reached. His eyes could open, but it was very blurry.

"What a fun night," Marien commented sarcastically, pushing open a door before walking in.

"You're . . . one naughty sister . . . do you know that?" Seval remarked, chortling at how wild his sister was. Drinking at such a young age? Getting into fights? She really needed somebody to watch over her. It was why Seval was crowned her older brother, anyway.

"Sure, sure," Marien said, almost amused at this point by his rambling.

Seval felt warm covers underneath him, for he was laid into bed. He took his comfort with extreme delight, ready for sleep. Yet, at the sound of boots leaving, he reached out for his sister.

"I know . . . I'm your older brother, but can you . . . can . . ." His voice quivered. "Tuck me in? Mom . . . isn't here, Dad isn't here . . . and nor is Borre. I'm sorry . . . to ask you this, but please?" He heard Marien sigh, kneeling beside the bed to clasp his hand with her own.

"It'll be alright, Seval. You don't have to worry about me. I'm thankful for what you did tonight and I don't express my gratitude enough. But I sincerely thank you for all that you've done the last week or so," Marien stated, as she loosened her hold onto his hand.

"It's what . . . older brothers do," Seval remarked, and he was silenced by a warm touch onto his forehead. It left him dazed in delight, truly ready for rest now. At the sound of boots leaving and a final door shutting, he drifted off. What a night. He needed more of that and not boring, regular academy. Borrrring. Just thinking about it put him out cold.