"Ini wer ithquenti..."
With a loud groan, Zihlo Thistlethorne opened his eyes and lifted his head from the floor, looking around drowsily. "Where the devil. . ." Zihlo didn't finish the thought. The faint throb of a headache caused the kobold to wince and put a claws hand to his forehead, to his old scar. What the hell had happened here? Zihlo tried and failed standing up three times. On the last try, he simply gave up, opting to sit up where he was and take in his surroundings. Propping himself up on one elbow, he took a look around.
Zihlo appeared to be on the floor of some sort of. . . tavern? Inn? He wasn't sure. He was in a large room, with lots of tables and chairs. A few of the tables and chairs had been overturned, and one or two of the tables had an apparently unconscious man across the top. Glancing around again, Zihlo noticed a couple more men on the floor as well. Glass mugs were strewn about, some of them broken, others half-filled with some sort of dark liquid. "What the. . ." Zihlo's long tail twitched as the realization dawned on him.
"Oh. Oops."
Yes, Oops indeed. Zihlo remembered where he was now. It had all come rushing back, all at once. He was in a tavern. A small one, one he couldn't remember the name of, but a tavern nonetheless. He had come here the night before with a group of other soldiers, "for some fun". He only remembered up to a certain point, when the others had started drinking. . .
Zihlo's mistake had been trying ale for the first time. He had never gotten drunk in his life, so the alcohol experience was a first for him. Losing one's senses in a blurry haze was. . . admittedly, weird. . . but enjoyable, in a way. So Zihlo drank some more.
And a little more.
And a little more.
The rest was just a blur after that. Zihlo didn't remember much. He didn't even remember going unconscious. It was just a party, then boom, he was down and out. So here he was. Zihlo's heart rate picked up and his breath quickened as he fully realized the weight of his situation. He had missed curfew. There would be repercussions to be payed. . . Zihlo set his head back on the floor and groaned again, louder than before. He closed his eyes. "Sire will be so disappointed. . ." Yes, Galen would be very disappointed in Zihlo. He'd failed to show up in a timely fashion that night, due to partying too hard. That would be fun to explain later. . . Zihlo began to stand, but before he could put one leg up, he was shocked fully awake by an icy-cold spray. He yelped, scrambling back some. Water. . . ice-cold water. He looked up, growling slightly.
The one who had doused him was none other than the tavern owner, a older woman by the name of Esta Daboreeze. She was a short Connlaothian with a medium build, long brown hair, freckles, and green eyes. Zihlo had known Esta ever since he'd been posted in Reajh a few years back. She was a close friend to Galen, and therefore a friend to Zihlo. The low rumble in the back of Zihlo's throat turned into a weary sigh. "What in the blazes was that for?"
"I wasn't sure if you were up yet," Esta gave him a sympathetic smile, resting her wooden bucket on the floor and leaning on a nearby table. "I was clearing out the others in a similar manner, if it makes you feel better." She teased. Zihlo rolled his eyes. Like that would get his clothes dry. Looking down, he realized he was in his traditional hunting clothes, minus the armor. Cloth wraps on his upper body and hips, feathers, a bone necklace, and pants, rolled up to his knees. At least the garments hadn't been damaged. "Performing a ritual?" Esta asked in mock curiosity, gesturing to the clothes. Zihlo laughed.
"If only. . . maybe one exists that can cure the pain in our head." His headache wasn't too bad now, but it still throbbed every now and then.
"Boy, if such a ritual existed, you could get rich off of working here. Anyone would pay for that. Then they would buy more beverages, so I'd become rich as well. What is there to fear when one cannot experience hangovers?"
"Death by liver failure," Zihlo deadpanned, completely straight-faced, causing Esta to snort. "You know, that was the first time we've ever drank before. We didn't expect it to be so. . ."
"Enjoyable?" Esta offered.
"Different," Zihlo finished. "Losing control of one's senses is. . . unnatural. It was uncomfortable at first, having no idea what we were doing, but. . . in the end, we guess it was okay. Not that we'll become an alcoholic or anything. We still have work to do." The kobold stood up with the help of his friend, before smirking. Then he froze. Curses. "Look, thurirl, we really need to go. . ."
"Ah, yes. Wouldn't want to dig your grave any deeper, eh?" Etsa ruffled the feathers on Zihlo's head, much to his embarrassment, and nodded to the door. "Go on, boy. No one's going to thank you for standing around all day."
True. . . Zihlo remembered yesterday's eventless day of standing around. "We shall see you later. . ." There was no time for a formal goodbye. Zihlo was already out the door, breathing in the fresh air. Well, as fresh as city air could be. He sniffed the air again, this time to get a general idea of where Zihlo needed to go. A soldier posting towards the edge of the city was where he'd go. Maybe he could think up a tall tale of falling asleep on the job. . . It was a long shot, but he'd try. He wasn't usually one to lie, but he couldn't stand the though of seeing the disappointment in Galen's eyes if he told him the truth. . . it was time to go.
Zihlo stretched, reptilian pupils narrowing a bit in the sunlight, and started his stroll through the streets towards his destination. He got more than a few odd looks do to his appearance and race, but besides that, nothing. Reajh was quite the bustling place this morning, it seemed. Reajh was glad he had a good sense of direction. He'd hit the market, maybe grab a bit of meat for breakfast. Anything was fine. He just hoped that they were actually selling meat. . .
It was even more crowded in the marketplace. Zihlo, being short, was subject to much jostling and kicking. He mentally groaned. This wouldn't do at all. To quicken his pace, Zihlo made his way to the nearest stall, scrambled up, and began traveling across their topsides. That got more than a few shouts of annoyance and anger. Zihlo wasn't in the mood. He kept on walking until the enticing scent of something cooking reached his nostrils. The lizard glanced around until he saw it. There. Only a few stalls away. Cooked chicken. . . Zihlo felt his stomach grumble. That would do -
His train of thought was interrupted by a shout of fear. Zihlo jerked up, looking around. Not on the main street. . . Zihlo leapt down from his stall, causing a few bystanders to step away in surprise. He gave them a crooked grin. "Pleasant day, eh? Don't mind us. Army business." He continued moving, towards the origin of the sound, a nearby alley. That wasn't good. . . Zihlo felt for his daggers, hidden in the folds of his clothing. Yes, still there, thankfully. He thought he'd lost them in the previous night's shenanigans.
High chance he'd need them soon, it would seem.
Zihlo didn't just walk into whatever situation lay in the alley. He would examine first. Poking his head around the corner, the kobold took in the scenario. Strange. A citizen was being stuck up by your classic lowlife mugger. Zihlo could handle that. But. . . there was a child here? With a sword? Curious. Was she one of those knights? If so, why was she so young? A knight in training? Either way, she shouldn't have been there. This wasn't child's play. Zihlo wasted no time. "Hey!"
Drawing one of his daggers, he tossed it straight past the little girl, aimed at the mugger's shooting hand. He needed to be the threat here, not her. If he drew the man's attention, the girl could get away. If she had the sense to, of course. . . "Pretty brazen of you to do your thing in broad daylight, wouldn't you say?"
