Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Day 42
Besides Anjela, the abductees we'd saved were Amber, who works in a local tavern, a blonde who calls herself Roxxi and does her best work outside the local taverns, I suspect, and Mella, the daughter of a rather rich local merchant - his only child, in fact. So while Roxxi could only offer us her grateful thanks, and Amber promised us generous amounts of free ale where she worked, we've actually ended up with the prospect of a useful little reward from Mella's parents. And Tayne was effusively grateful, of course, though I'm sure that, rather later, I saw him tracing his finger over a couple of scratches I'd put on his favourite crossbow. The slaver with the bolt through his thigh has been patched up and sold into slavery, along with the surviving lookout from outside the basement; we've not actually sold Griffin yet, Tayne had her acting as slavegirl-waitress at our celebration dinner yesterday evening, in chains, collar, and a skimpy little two-piece outfit. She obviously wasn't happy with her change in circumstances, though the memory of the sword at her throat was probably helping her to make the best of it. Amber was back at work, but Mella was there, as was Roxxi, looking rather elegant... and one of the highlights of the evening was when she made Griffin crouch down and, without using her hands, eat a few bits of meat from the floor. And Griffin collapsed flat when I gave her raised rump a good hard slap at the end of that impromptu "meal", though Memree gave me a private telling-off later for that.
So, our proper "nice rest" began today, with nothing more exciting than a ride out into the local countryside with Tayne and Tid to visit a small farm he owns, and speak to his manager - it looks as if Griffin's wagon will find a use there! Tayne and I did a little light sparring, with blunt swords, for old time's sake, and while he has slowed down a little, I was able to assure him that he'd still be welcome to stand alongside me in a fight. While we were still out in the countryside, Tid led Memree off to show her the local wildlife, and, as he had a small crossbow with him, they returned in triumph with a pair of rabbits, having shot one each.
It's amazing how pleasant the countryside is when you know you'll be back at a warm house later that day, with the prospect of a warm and comfortable bed. A prospect that is getting ever closer, so time I closed this book for the night, I think. We will certainly stay here one more full day; relaxation apart, we need to decide what part the mute Cleve will have in our future plans.
So, our proper "nice rest" began today, with nothing more exciting than a ride out into the local countryside with Tayne and Tid to visit a small farm he owns, and speak to his manager - it looks as if Griffin's wagon will find a use there! Tayne and I did a little light sparring, with blunt swords, for old time's sake, and while he has slowed down a little, I was able to assure him that he'd still be welcome to stand alongside me in a fight. While we were still out in the countryside, Tid led Memree off to show her the local wildlife, and, as he had a small crossbow with him, they returned in triumph with a pair of rabbits, having shot one each.
It's amazing how pleasant the countryside is when you know you'll be back at a warm house later that day, with the prospect of a warm and comfortable bed. A prospect that is getting ever closer, so time I closed this book for the night, I think. We will certainly stay here one more full day; relaxation apart, we need to decide what part the mute Cleve will have in our future plans.
