Interlude – Dungeons, dragons and other matters.

Back in Azdavay, where it all started…

“Finest dwarven accessories, right from Aroghlie! Miss, miss, want one of th-”

Shakira simply glared at the peddler. A nasty look that implied that he’d receive a flogging if he kept flogging his goods. The man simply took a few steps back, sufficiently intimidated by the warrior and her ridiculously enormous sword that hung by her back. “By the Divine, this place is crowded nowadays. I thought I’d find peace.”

“It’s surprising, isn’t it? How big this place has grown.” Next to Shakira was her boss, Azra Inkwell. A noble lady, noble enough to bear a surname, considerably of smaller stature than the woman she accompanied. She had bought a few second-hand clothes in Libertycave: a tattered gambeson, dyed a pinkish color to suit her sensibilities, plus a hood to hide her face from anyone who might recognize her. She looked sort of mysterious and “cool”, which she quite liked, liked so much so that she had a silly little grin on her face while she walked alongside Shakira.

Besides them passed a whole assortment of passersby. Porters carrying carts of refined copper, the staple even before the days of the Republic, but there were a whole lot more of them with the highways stimulating trade. Now there was the occasional dwarven porter, who carried a whole lot more than their human counterparts, surprisingly sturdy little men were they. Then a caravan of people who, judging from their tattered clothing and dismal appearance, were newly-rescued. They were led by a member of the National Guard, who was marching them in the direction of Libertycave. The eyes of the fugitives were darting all over the place, as if they were still in disbelief of their newfound freedom.

“So big and so different. At this rate, I’ll have to go somewhere else if I’m to find peace again.” Shakira scowled while she had to wiggle her shoulders around to avoid bumping into the caravan of people.

“Peace? I thought adventurers were supposed to seek action and adventure!” exclaimed Azra.

“Yeah, ‘guess so. Still, there’s like, a difference between a bit of adventure and way too much of it, y’know? The sort of adventure you find in a big place is very different to what you’d find in a small place. You get me?”

“Ah, I see.” Azra nodded, taking in the wisdom of her elder… not that Shakira was her elder by any significant margin, but, she still nodded nonetheless.

“Believe me, if you ever saw the capital… phooey.” Shakira raised her arm way up to accompany her interjection. “It’s way larger than you can comprehend. A whole load of noise, a whole load of people, a whole load of… everything, really. The point is that you don’t get to adventure much over there.”

“Oh, you’ve been to Hauptstadt?”

“Born there, been there.” Shakira waved her hand before Azra got any more questions in however. “It’s not important now. We’re way away from that place. Way, way away.”

Despite Shakira’s attempt at making her fall quiet, Azra jumped up to converse the moment Shakira stopped “It’s so cool though! An adventurer, all the way from the capital… I should write down your story one day! You must have quite the story, Miss Shakira!”

“I’m sure we all have an interesting story or something, but you don’t see everyone yapping about it now do you? Be a good girl now, and don’t even tell anyone where ‘Miss’ Shakira is from.”

Azra opened her mouth back up, only to receive the same sort of glare that the bothersome peddler had gotten. “Uhm, okay. Okay.”

“Good! We’re here.” Shakira opened the door to the Adventurer’s Guild of Azdavay. The smell inside had somehow not changed since chapter three, though the people inside certainly had. Most of them had died during the initial trek up to Libertycave, and the rest had fallen during the siege of Casamonu. Now there was a whole new roster of adventurers, mostly freemen who had found it financially lucrative to fill the empty seats and do the work that needed to be done. They didn’t take notice of the “newcomers” in the building, continuing their idle chatter.

“…old man? Yeah, I was on the frontlines during the Battle of Casamonu and…”

“…she moved to the homestead, now that she’s gotten one…”

“…slimes are hard to find now, with all the people on the…”

Such pieces of chatter passed them by as Shakira found an empty spot for both of them to sit. Azra was practically fangirling all over the place, her head turning around and around, soaking in the atmosphere. Her mouth was agape. “A real… a real adventurer’s guild…”

“What, they’re all over the place… I don’t see the appeal.” Shakira could only shrug. At least Azra was enjoying whatever she saw in such places. “I’m pretty sure there was one in Casamonu, no? Did you never head there?”

“Oh, no! How could I? A noble lady like me in such a place… it’d be preposterous! Father would’ve never allowed it.” With a playful grin, Azra added “Now that nobility is no longer a thing, however…”

Shakira rolled her eyes “Yeah, yeah, okay, my lady. You’d still look like one if we got you in some right proper clothes.”

“You would too if we dressed you up properly! Oh, you looked quite wonderful when we got you into that dress for the new year.” Azra was patting at the adventurer-grade leather armor that barely covered anything on Shakira. It did its job, of showing off the fact that she was quite strong physically. More of a fashion piece really, than armor.

“If you say so.” Shakira crossed her arms and leaned back, closing her eyes to rest in hopes that Azra would continue gawking at the guild. Instead, her sides were getting poked at by Azra. “What?”

“…don’t worry, I think you still look pretty good with what you’re wearing right now!” Azra gave a thumbs up on top of her comment.

Shakira didn’t bother to turn to Azra or even open her eyes to give a reply. “Thanks? I wasn’t worrying about that…” Still, she let her poke at her while she rested.

“Ah, hm… if you’re going to rest, we should have something after we’ve walked all the way here… I’ll get us something really quick! It’ll be on me, don’t worry.”

“Sure, knock yourself out.”

Soon Azra would return with one donut, for the two of them to share. They were the hot new thing, now that the dwarves were setting up donut shops all over the Republic. Sitting back down in the crusty, smelly guild building, Azra could only heave a relieved sigh. “Times sure are changing.”

“Hm?”

“I’d elaborate but… hey, we shouldn’t let these get cold.” So, she handed Shakira her donut, and bit down on her own.

Times were changing. Donuts were popular. Nobility was no more.

Two women could enjoy donuts together in peace.