Who's afraid of the big bad beholder?

[Anonymous]

He wouldn't deny that if this was a little closer to the outskirts and he had already turned in his bounty, this bitch would definitely end up hog-tied on her way to some place in the woods. However, he liked gold. No...he didn't just like it. He needed it. He didn't understand that part, but he assumed it something deep and innate in his mind that made him think that way. He needed to have gold. He liked to have gold. It was so musical and fun sounding, it was so shiny and pretty...he had to have it. He could remember searching for gold on people when he was young and taking it...then as he got older, simply murdering them for it.

Now he found a better solution that didn't end up with his easily recognizable face on a wanted posters. Yeah no sorry, I'm a baker, you want the other twenty six eyed creature. Didn't work out.

This girl before him seemed all too easy. That sense of...accomplishment, the need for attention, the desire to be liked. By the Gods it's like she was sent here just for him. Not that he was complaining, but if he had been an actually religion creature he might be worried this was a trap. Not that he cared, lots of priests preached about how bad hell was, but to him it sounded kind of...good.

Heaven on the other hand, not so much.

"Oh stories, yes that is a fantastic reason to do that kind of work." He laughed roughly, his tone was slightly cruel. "Lemme tell you something kiddo. Stories are just that though. World's not so easy really. Black and white is not what justice is. Lots of grey though...nobility taxes the lower class, and keeps the money for themselves. Fair? Hardly. Poor man hunts on the grounds of nobility and kills a deer to feed himself and his family, perhaps his neighbours. What does nobility do? Kills him for it. Man tries to do good in the face of accepted evil, and evil wins." Xion puffed his pipe a few times before taking a great drink, finishing off his mug almost instantly. "I admire your courage, detest your stupidity though. Takes a lot of guts to stand up in a world of oppression and genetic hierarchies and say "I'm gonna do something about this somehow." No plan, but damned it that'll stop you! Hah! Love it! I hope ya do something kiddo, it'll be grand to hear about." Whether she lived or not would be a whole different issue, but it still would be bloody amusing to him!

[Anonymous]

More of that sarcasm thing. Sherah may not be so good at speaking it, but she certainly knew enough to recognize it when she heard it. While she remained blissfully unaware of the things that Xion would do to her if the location were more convenient, she was getting a slightly better idea of how he really was. But only slightly; naive as she was, she couldn't properly guess at the true depths of his depravity. What she could guess was that this man was probably the sort of person her mother warned her about before she set off.

"I don't expect it to be easy," she replied, drinking again. "Don't expect quick, either. It's not like I'm going to wake up tomorrow, everything will be solved and everyone knows who I am." What she didn't mention, of course, was that this wasn't introspective wisdom that she realized herself. Rather, it was the result of a conversation on the topic with her own mother, with whom she shared a deeper psychic bond than this. Of course, if she had listened to all of her mother's wisdom, she would still be sitting in her home village.

Sometimes you pick and choose which advice to follow.

"I don't know anything. Why bother making a plan before I do?" She put the drink down again. Wasn't this stuff supposed to make your head feel funny? She didn't feel any different at all. "If what you say is true, maybe it's a little more complicated than I thought. But that's not going to stop me. I may need to learn a few things before I can make a difference, but I will make a difference. And I won't learn a thing of what I need just sitting at home, will I? They say a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Sherah wasn't normally one to go spouting secondhand wisdom like this, but admittedly, the comment about stupidity had struck a nerve.

[Anonymous]

Despite everything, Xion was actually enjoying having the company. He could handle people once in a while, and it had been a long while since he'd had someone interesting to talk to. A naive young dragonthing from the mountains definitely fit that category. He would've liked to have a little tumble with the girl of course, but he'd have to see how drunk she got first. Maybe he could work it into his schedule, maybe he'd have to just let her go sleep it off. He did have the nearly unconscious thief at his side to take in after all.

"Wouldn't that be a grand power? Just fall asleep and wake up with everything have been done?" It would take some sort very powerful magic or reality altering power to get that done, but it would be a rather interesting thing to have happen. He assumed that if the person that got it were to be in the black and white style of thinking, he'd end up dead since he was technically very evil.

"Oh my, calm yourself girlie, wasn't any insult intended. No need for us to get into a fight over this." Mainly because he'd win, and he didn't honestly feel like fighting at the moment. He had a nice meal before him, and some nice ale, and soon he'd be a bit richer. For the time being, spoiling it by getting into a fight and possibly tossed into the dungeon for a few days wasn't a very good prospect.

More since they'd confiscate his bounty. Then he'd get REALLY pissed.

"Journey's should start with a good plan though. Always great to have a solid plan. Yours should be searchin' for information on things that're bad in your eyes. Noble man working his serfs to death, slave trader's ring, bandits accosting and murderin, stuff like that." She was at least in one of the right places to find out such information. However, the biggest problem was that she stood out. He almost felt bad for her, she'd have a hard time getting information when she stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Two more here, stronger." Xion spoke aloud as he pointed to himself and to Sherah. The bartender nodded and got them two more mugs, despite Sherah not having finished hers. Xion on the other hand, was finished pretty much everything. The only thing he had now was his stone pipe, which he liberally puffed on. The mugs were brought and Xion lifted his, carefully making sure his pipe was wedged between his teeth before hand.

Wouldn't that just make a terrible epitaph? Choked on a pipe while drinking a beer.

"So what do you know how to do? Pick locks? Fight with swords? Creep in the dark without being noticed? Any special powers or abilities that can help you on your heroing?" It would definitely be a good thing for him to know as well. Not that he'd tell her of course.