Chapter 2

A small stack of coins sat on the bar in front of me, along with a scroll, a empty tin wine cup and several empty wine bottles. Gaku was nowhere to be found. I hadn't expected to hear from Blaster again for at least a week, but the scroll had made it to the Tavern before I had. It took most of the wine before I mustered enough courage to open the scroll. It read, "Gareth, if you weren't such a stubborn old fool, we could have discussed this at the Granary. I have a job for you. I really need you. It is the kind of job I am sure you will accept." (I guess he meant it didn't involve thievery or assassination.) "Please meet me as soon as you can. You know where."

I was glad I had emptied those bottles. "You know where" could only mean one place. Oh well, might as well do this right.

"Barkeep!" I shouted. Unnecessary, as I was his only customer this late.

"I think you should give yourself a rest," the barkeep said. "You know the resurrection spells aren't working as well as they used to."

When a Barkeep starts worrying about you, it is time to stop drinking!

"No more wine..." I sighed, "there is something else I need." I had trouble meeting his eye. "A long time ago I left a few things here... and I was hoping you still had them. I can pay."

"In storage? You?" When I gave him my name, he looked through his pile of ledgers and sure enough, found mine. He blew off the dust. "This is older than I am! Let's see what we have..."

He paged down through the entries, until he came to something that hadn't been taken off the list.

"Looks like you have a pretty nice axe in here... and some other stuff. You sure it's yours? That axe is kinda heavy."

I saw my tin wine cup through the haze in the Tavern and picked it up. Holding it between thumb and forefinger I bent it flat, watching a few forgotten drops of wine fall to the Tavern floor.

"Okay... it's yours all right. But I am adding five coins for the cup!" He picked up the cup and briefly tried to straighten it, with no luck. He tossed the cup behind the counter and went into the backroom.

Returning with an old crate, he set it heavily down behind the bar.

"Here's your axe." He carefully laid an old axe on the soft wood of the bar. It was crafted with the image of the moon on its blade and looked cruelly sharp. "Hey, there is some more stuff in this box. Are you interested?"

"Let's see." I tried to sound more enthusiastic than I was.

He whistled from behind the bar. When he straightened, he was holding a large red Helm, with a bird pattern hammered into it. The wings of the bird seemed to be on fire.

"You don't see many of these... are you sure it's yours? Never mind! Put the bench down!"

He set the Phoenix helm down even more carefully than the axe.

"I guess we will know pretty soon if it's yours!" He cackled a bit as he set the last of the items on the bar... a row of pale yellow talismans. "If you can get these to work, you can forget about the storage fees!"

I picked up the axe, and slid its handle into my belt sheath. Its weight felt right. The helm's bright red color clashed with my pale blue armor, so I just tucked it under my arm. I stacked the talismans and stuck all but one inside my pouch.

"Keep the coins", I said, pointing to the stack on the bar. "I pay my debts."

The talisman seemed to wink at me from my palm, some small magic still there.

Well, it was now or never.

"I invoke thee." I said, hesitantly.

For a second nothing happened, and my heart dropped. Then the talisman seemed to blur and dissolve in my hand. Then the Tavern dissolved.