18 – Hilda

Breakfast was a quiet, efficient affair. After a brief negotiation with Stubbs ending in a line of credit backed by the collateral of a public display of their skills, they each found themselves enjoying freshly fried eggs, cheese, and a slice of tart, flaky raspberry pie. That’s honestly pretty good, Ren thought, lifting up his slice to see the deep brown of the bottom crust. He ran his provided fork along the bottom and grinned at the resulting scrape of perfectly crisp bottom.

As they prepared to set out and find a tailor, Ren paused. “Hold on a minute.” He hurried upstairs into his room to grab the bottle of Sake. Back in the common room, he moved to the bar and waved over the large innkeeper. “Hey Stubbs, I know you are keeping the meat for us. Would it be too much trouble for you to store this somewhere safe?” He handed over the ceramic bottle. “And out of sight?”

“Now then, what’s this?” Stubbs handled it gingerly.

“It’s something from where I come from, and it’s very precious to me.”

Stubbs looked at Ren, the cloak still drawn tightly around his body. “Well, certainly Ren. I’ll personally put it with the last bottles of my Queen’s Bounty. Only Celeste and I have a key and there’s only one way into that cellar. It will be safe.”

“Thanks, Stubbs.”

“It’s no trouble. Off to the guild office I think I overheard you say?” He made it a question.

“I think a tailor first,” Kaylin cut in. “Our encounters didn’t leave our clothing unscathed, unfortunately.” She gestured at the gaping blood-stained holes in Jax’s pant legs.

“Ah, I see. You should go see Hilda. Though she’s mostly used as a launderer by the guild officials, she’s one of the best seamstresses in town. Tell her I had pity on you and sent you over. Oh…” He hurried off to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a waxed paper bundle. “And take this.” He handed it over to Kaylin.

“Stubbs we—”

“I’ll add it to your tab,” he said, winking. “Her shop is across town, near the river, sign made from a washboard, you can’t miss it. Coming!” He hurried over to another table across the common room, scooping up a large clay pitcher en route.

From under the hood of the cloak, Ren smiled, thinking of his own bar, tables, and patrons.

Breakfast complete, pack in hand, and plan made, they stepped out into the dusty sunlight, pausing to look at one another. “Which way across town do you think he meant?” Jax asked.

“Well, if she’s next to the river, it has to be in this general direction,” Kaylin replied.

“We could just go back in and ask.”

“Nonsense, it’s not a large town.” Kaylin set off with more confidence than Ren thought was entirely appropriate.

Two corners and a crossroad later, they heard a familiar voice. “Now I don’t have much time today, Lilly, so we’ll need to be quick.” Ren saw the tied back, dark hair of Myra hurrying along the beaten dirt path next to a young-looking, chestnut-brown haired girl, around nine or ten years old.

“You’re sure he said raspberry, right Aunt Myra?”

“Absolutely positive. And if he doesn’t have it, don’t you worry, I’ll give him a piece of my mind and we won’t leave until he makes us one.”

“Oh, good morning, Myra!” Kaylin called as they neared one another.

Myra paused, her posture immediately shifting to one of formality. “Good morning, may I help you?”

“I’m Kaylin, from last night. At the Bee’s Bounty .”

Recognition washed over her face. “Oh of course! I’m so sorry, my mind has been all over the place. How are you?”

“Aunt Myra…” Lilly pulled on her aunt’s dress sleeve.

“Oh, don’t let us keep you, we’re heading off on a few errands, clothes for our friend here and then to the Guild office.”

“The Guild Office? What for?”

“To turn in this sack of stings for an impromptu bounty,” Jax said, holding up the bag for emphasis.

“Is there a bounty posted for monster parts? I must have missed it.”

“Well, we’re not registered yet, and have not had a chance to stop by…” Kaylin trailed off

“Aunt Myra…” the girl said more insistently.

“Coming, Lilly, coming. I really must be going, but I can look for you later. At the office, ask for Reynold. Ok, let’s go, dear.” She continued on her path towards

Jax called after her, “You don’t happen to know the way to Hilda’s do you?”

Her niece was already pulling her forward as she said, “Hilda? Go to the bridge, then head upstream.”

“Thank–” Jax tried, but she was already around the corner.

“I’m sure we would have found the shop with no issues, Jax,” Kaylin said.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The large man looked over at his cousin “You mean like the new bakery over in the River district? Or the distiller you heard of near the university?”

“Those were different; Meridia is significantly larger than this quaint little town.”

“Of course it was different.”

Ren smiled, sensing that he had stumbled into an argument that had been going on for a long, long time.

They continued through the packed-down-dirt streets of Florn, winding their way towards the river. The morning sun washed over the hood of Ren’s cloak, creating a pleasant warmth.

They passed a small group of men and women with an assortment of pickaxes and unlit lanterns making their way in the opposite direction towards the steep green hills. The faint smell of livestock drifted through the air, mixing with the dust and scent of baking bread to create a unique aroma that was not altogether unpleasant. It was the smell of a rural, outskirt town coming awake.

As they neared the river, the sound of iron clanging against iron echoed from several streets over in the direction of the large guild office. Good to know, Ren thought.