A Damn in Eve Chap. 3

Chapter III

When the horizon began to turn gray, I was still in the same stiff position I had been in six hours ago. My left hand still gripped the wound, and I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since I woke up at midnight. The fire had burned down to the embers sometime during the night, but I still hadn't been able to settle down with it. Leo on the other hand slept like a baby; he had even snored!

When he finally woke up, I told him to eat the rest of the rabbit jerky as I wasn't hungry at all. My breakfast was the last bit of whiskey left in the flask. It was not satisfying.

The ride to Kambro seemed like the longest ride of my life. I was still feeling the effects of all the alcohol I had drunk last night, and on top of that, I was almost falling out of my saddle from sheer exhaustion. Normally, I didn't need more than five hours of sleep for every twenty-four hours, but the loss of blood left me weaker than I was used to. And I had the added responsibly of having to lead Rainn. I could barely keep Duke going in a straight line as it was! As Kambro finally came into view, it was only a little bit after noon, and already I was utterly exhausted.

Things were greener here as the town was built almost on top of the large river called Leedra that emptied into the Vermillion sea. The town was best known for its delectable seafood. And its pirates, but hopefully we wouldn't be running into any of them. As soon as we entered the town, we were swarmed by seemingly hundreds of venders all trying to sell us their goods. Most of them were kids, younger than Leo even, which made it obviously harder to ignore them. Especially when they were practically climbing on your horse, and thrusting stinking fish in your face. God, I didn't have the time or the energy for this.

"Fish! Please mister, buy some fish! It's fresh caught!"

"No, you don't want his fish! Mine is better! Buy mine, it's the cheapest!"

"How about some nice oysters to go with the fish?"

"One bushel of bananas traveler quick, they're going fast!"

"Breadfruit! Breadfruit! I know you want some breadfruit!"

"Sir, can't we buy something? You have money right? Well let's use it!"

Leo's voice broke through the chatter that I was trying so hard to block out. What did he want now?

"What do you want?"

"Money. I want to buy something."

"No. We're not buying anything from these leeches. I want fair prices, and these people are doing everything they can to wrangle us into haggling. We'll end up spending double for almost anything they're selling. All this stuff is crap anyway. We're waiting until the market tomorrow morning."

Thankfully, there was an inn just up ahead with an attached barn to bed the horses. Eager to get away from the mob, I ordered Leo to wait outside with the horses while I went in and talked to the innkeeper.

Inside, there wasn't a soul to be seen. The tables around the fire were empty and so was the bar counter. There wasn't even anyone behind the bar. Just as I was wondering why the fire was lit if no one was around, the swinging doors behind the bar burst opened and a heavyset woman crashed out. She seemed startled to see me.

"Well, you're early. What would you like?"

"I'm here for a room actually."

"Ah, a traveler. Not here for the drinks then? Too bad. Just you stayin'?"

"No. One other. Uh, one room, two beds. And is there space in the barn for a couple horses?"

"Sure. Always room since that damn pirate got here. Anyway, Roy's out there, in the barn. He'll tend your horses for ya. And yer name travela'?"

This was always the hard part. My real name was known coast to coast, so I never gave it to anyone when I was traveling. I'd end up back in jail if I revealed my true identity. I guess this time I'll take the name of one of the men back in Eve. I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

"Fayde. Dwayne Fayde."

"Alright, thank you Mr. Fayde. Here's the key. Your room is all the way up the stairs, second door on the right."

I grunted in response, and went back outside to meet up again with Leo. I helped him lead both horses to the barn, and hand them over to Roy who had been sitting outside on a barrel, smoking. Back inside, we found the room easily enough, except for the fact that the stairs seemed as steep as the side of a mountain. Inside there was one window overlooking the pier, and two beds as promised. We had been in the room all of two minutes, when Leo suddenly felt the urge to go back outside.

"I want to go explore. Can I have some money?"

Man, this kid was drawn to money like he hadn't seen any in his entire life. Come to think of it, he probably hadn't. What could I do? I gave in. I couldn't stand another one of those peddlers in here where I was planning to sleep. Other than feeling sleep deprived, I didn't seem too worse for ware. But it would still be nice to catch up on the sleep I missed out on last night.

"Alright. Don't spend it all in one place." I flipped him a coin. That should tide him over for at least a couple of hours. In a flash, he was pounding down the stairs. After I heard him slam the inn door on his way out, I settled down on top of the comforter that smelled strongly of moth balls, and closed my eyes.

"Sir! Look what I got!"

Leo's voice shattered whatever dream I had been occupying mere moments before. Well, he was back, that was for sure. It didn't feel like I had been asleep for more than ten minutes but when I rolled over and looked out the window I saw that the sun had moved quite a lot.

"Sir! Look! Isn't this the nicest bag you've ever seen?"

I rolled back over, and found Leo standing at the foot of the bed with the ugliest purse I had ever seen slung over his shoulder. It looked like the cheapest possible yarn available on the market, woven, poorly woven I might add, into an odd zig-zag pattern. The strap was a single strand of brown yarn that could have easily been broken if a strong gust of wind came by. The purse itself was hardly big enough to fit a clenched fist in, let alone anything worth carrying.

"What is that? It's a piece of crap! Tell me you didn't spend all of my money on that trash!"

"No. I got this too!"

From the bag he pulled a small, squarish wooden object. He knelt on the ground and spun the object on the floor. It was a worthless toy. A top! It wasn't even painted with pretty colors like those things usually are. This completely useless piece of junk was bought with my money! Served me right I suppose. I was the one who gave him the damn coin!

"What time is it?" I asked Leo. Hopefully it was almost time for dinner. Almost time for a strong drink.

"I think it's about five. What are we going to eat?"

"Whatever the innkeeper serves us. We're eating here. I can't spend any more of the money I have left. We need to save it for what's really important, like provisions!"

"Sorry I made you mad. But downstairs I saw tons of people, all eating. I think we can go eat now."

"Forget eating, I'm heading straight for the bar."

I snagged my hat from the peg by the door and positioned it on my head to shield my eyes from the 'tons of people' downstairs. After another particularly difficult bit of mountain stair descending, we arrived back in the bar area, and saw that every nook and cranny was in fact filled to bursting with bar patrons. While there hadn't been a soul in sight when we first arrived, there were now at least fifty townspeople jostling for space to stand. Thankfully, just as we arrived, a small table in the back of the inn opened up, and we were in the perfect position to take it. I sat with my back to the corner, and instructed Leo to sit across from me so I could look at him, and at the same time, look over his shoulder to watch the other bar goers. I could never know if someone would recognize me. That was also part of the reason I wore this hat all the time; just a little tilt of the head downwards, and my entire face would be covered.

On the other side of the room, the majority of the patrons were gathered around some sort of entertainer. A gap in the crowd that had formed around him, allowed me a glimpse of what was so fascinating to the people. The entertainer was a young man, couldn't be older that twenty-five, wearing tight purple leggings, a lime green and sky blue striped tunic, and an outrageously hideous, forest-green jester hat with pink pompoms attached to it. In his hands he held a small stringed instrument, somewhat like a guitar, only more portable. He must be one of those traveling performers who went around to different towns, and played music for the people in exchange for food and a bed for the night.

Right now, the jongleur was strumming his instrument, jumping around, and singing a popular folk song. The people were really enjoying it, and most of them were singing along or humming to the tune. The whole tavern was moving with this talented performer's upbeat music. Even Leo was tapping his toes, though I'm sure he didn't know the words to the song. Just then, a waitress came over.

"What can I get for you two tonight?"

"Whatever won't cost me anything."

"Don't worry mister, your food comes with the room, but drinks will cost you extra."

"Right. Then two steaks and two soups, ale, and water for the kid."

"I'll be back soon then. Enjoy the entertainment tonight."

The previous song had just ended, and now the performer was strumming with less enthusiasm. The notes seemed to have a somber tone to them, and were not received with the same vigor from the audience. Before he started singing, he opened the song by stating that this piece had special meaning to him. Although not sung as much anymore by entertainers, he said, this song used to be an extremely popular folk song that told the powerful tale of greed and selfish desirers. Then he started singing.

A pirate came and claimed the town,
but left the people to grieve.
How could he stay, he had gold to steal.
Oh, the Damn in Eve!

Oh, no. No, no, no! Was this really happening? This song was about me! Across the table I saw Leo's eyes open wide. He was a looking at me like he had forgotten who I was while we were traveling together and only now remembered that I was hated from coast to coast. I thought back to only a few minutes ago when I had thought that this clown was a talented performer. Well, buddy, I sure as hell don't think that now! He had also said that this song was about greed and selfishness; MY greed and selfishness, no doubt. He had no right! How could he! How could he possibly know what my motive was for stealing what I did?

His filthy name is known,
from here to the throne.
The marauder is despised,
he's always in disguise.
Oh, the Damn in Eve!

A pirate came and claimed the town,
but left the people to grieve.
How could he stay, he had towns to pillage.
Oh, the Damn in Eve!

This was insane! Of course, it was all true, especially the bit about my name being known all the way to the throne, but the song was skewed so much and most of the story was missing! I hoped I wasn't making any obscene gestures or pained faces without knowing it. Hell, I hoped I wasn't drawing any attention to myself at all!

Refuse him a bed,
he'll shoot us all dead.
Don't start a brawl,
or he'll kill us all.
Oh, the Damn in Eve!

A pirate came and claimed the town,
but left the people to grieve.
How could he stay, he had lives to destroy.
Oh, the Damn in Eve!

The end of the poem was met by jeers from the crowd all directed at me even though they didn't know I was actually within earshot. Shouts of, "Kill him!" and "That bastard!" resonated around the tavern, and not one remark missed my ears. The clown of a performer even managed to egg the crowd on even more than they already were.

"Well, it's a good thing he's not here or we'd all be dead! Right! Am I right?"

Oh man! Buddy, I wouldn't worry about the rest of the people in this bar, the only one I want to murder right now is you!

"Sir! Is all that true?"

"Shh! Not here. You'd start a bar fight, and I don't think I have enough bullets to subdue a crowd this big. And please try not to look at me like I might rip your heart out."

"But you could!"

I was careful to keep my voice no louder than a whisper, but put as much emphasis into my words nonetheless. "I said, not here! Now, the bar wench is coming back with our food, so don't say anything, and stop looking at me like that!"

"Here's your dinner. Great song just then, wasn't it! My mother used to tell me stories, awful stories, about the Damn in Eve. He killed my father you know. Truly an evil hearted man, that one."

"Yes. Some say he's got a soul so putrid, even the devil rejected him at the gates to Hell," I growled back at her. Hopefully she would mistake my scowl for anger at the Damn in Eve, and not at the performer.

"Is that so? I didn't know, but I wouldn't be surprised! Anyway, enjoy your meal!"

I frowned as I watched her walk off, and then turned my attention back to Leo who I found was still staring at me.

"Didn't I tell you to cut that out?" I was now in a terrible mood.

"You lied to her."

"I did. What of it?"

"Well, you lied! I was always told never, ever to lie."

"Listen to me. This trip has been pretty dandy up until now, but remember who I am. There are not very many people who would hesitate to blow my head clean off my shoulders, and your's along with it, the instant I was recognized. The key to keeping a low profile, is to do what everyone else is doing, even if it requires lying."

"But, why aren't you being recognized then?"

"Most of the people who can point me out in a crowd are back in Eve . . . or dead."

Satisfied I had given Leo's mind enough to reel over for the rest of the night, I eagerly picked up my fork and knife and tucked into the glistening steak, stabbing it like I wished I could stab the jongleur's careless heart.

Want to read more? Look below and jump quickly to the chapter you want to read!

"Character Interview - Captain Locke"  18+: Brief interview with Captain Adam Crossfire Locke (Sir). I may need to add to this...
"A Damn in Eve Chap. 1"  18+: The most feared man in the world gets a boy companion. Can Leo manage to soften him up?
"A Damn in Eve Chap. 2"  18+: A visit home goes horribly wrong. Leo wonders about Sir's past and why he is so hated.
"A Damn in Eve Chap. 3"  18+: Arriving in Kambro, Sir finds it difficult to go unnoticed, especially with Leo in tow.
"A Damn in Eve Chap. 4"  18+: Can it really be true? Is Sir actually starting to care about little Leo?
"A Damn in Eve Chap. 5"  18+: Bar fights and life threatening infections. What more do you want?
"A Damn in Eve Chap. 6"  18+: The road to recovery is littered with little snags, and Sir manages to hit every last one.