Dragon Fried Cheese by Ian Madison Keller

Author:Ian Madison Keller [Ian Madison Keller]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rainbow Dog Books
Published: 2022-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter ten

Indignity of Retreat

A small crowd was gathered at the bar, and all eyes turned their direction as Sybil led Riastel inside. A couple of the men in the crowd muttered curses, but no one made a move to stop them as Sybil dragged Riastel through the common area and up the stairs to their room. Riastel protested as they ascended the stairs until Sybil shushed him.

“What was that all about?” Riastel huffed as Sybil shut and locked the door of their room behind them. “I’m hungry.”

“Yesterday when the sheriff announced I was to go free, a lot of people protested,” Sybil said. “By now they’ve all heard about what happened at the festival yesterday. So they’ll grumble, but they’ll stay out of our way. In the meantime I want to avoid doing anything that would antagonize them.” Sybil gave Riastel a level look. “And if there is anything you’re good at it’s antagonizing people. So we eat up here.”

Riastel cocked his head. “What happened at the festival yesterday?”

Sybil crouched down to dig through the saddlebags until she found the two rations she’d got from the innkeeper the morning before.

“Sit.” She stood and pointed at the bed.

Riastel glared at her but did as she asked, sitting down on the edge with a scowl and his arms folded. The sour expression didn’t go away as Sybil thrust one of the packages into his lap.

“Eat that while I take care of this rat’s nest.”

While Riastel dug into the stale bread and sausages Sybil began combing out the ends of his hair. As she worked she told him about Jasper, the unusual golems, and her deal with Miles. After he’d finished eating he began to tell her about following Jasper and what he’d overheard.

“So we know Jasper is the killer, but we can’t prove it to Miles,” Sybil summarized. She put the finishing touches on Riastel’s braid, then slid off the end of the bed and stretched. His hair was getting long and he’d let it get into quite a state, full of pine needles, leaves, and mud. It had taken her most of an hour to untangle it and to comb out all the debris.

“And Baldwin conjured those golems,” Sybil said as she bent over to touch the floor. The stretch on her hamstrings and thighs felt wonderful after kneeling on the bed for so long.

“Well, it’s strange though,” Riastel said. His soft shoes barely made a whisper on the hardwood, but Riastel dumped all his weight on one leg, limping as he walked, so she had no trouble hearing the clomp clomp of his steps as he paced around the room to stand behind her.

“What is?” Sybil asked, shifting to one side to better stretch her left leg.

“I never actually saw Baldwin leave.” Riastel sounded thoughtful.

“But you said you had to hide from them?” Sybil straightened, reaching her arms for the ceiling and bending back her head.

Riastel hesitated for a moment before answering, and Sybil, from her upside-down position, caught a glimpse of him shaking his head.

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