2Rem's mood darkened as the knight entered the tavern. "Dragons and wizards I can handle," he told himself, "because nothing is dangerous that doesn't notice your presence. But knights..."
He crossed over to where Lana, Angel, and Roger were seated by the door. "My business here is concluded. I thank you for your company, but now I must depart."
Lana raised an eyebrow at Rem's sudden decision to depart. 'He looks a little disturbed. I wonder what his problem is.'
"You refuse to leave because of some suicidal wish to have a meal at any cost, and now you decide to just go? You're a strange one, Rem," she commented dryly, trying to get him to talk with her penetrating stare. He was definitely acting strangely.
Lana noticed his quick glance at the knight and understood. 'He's not afraid of inevitable death, but something about the knight disturbs him. Let's see if I can pry it out of him before he leaves.
Angel gave a skeptical glance at Rem when he announced his departure. He then looked at the knight that Rem glanced at. 'One moment, this Reman fellow wasn't afraid to die, but since that knight arrived, Rem just wanted to leave. How odd,' he thought. He then saw Lana giving Rem that penetrating stare of hers. Perhaps he can help out...
"Leaving so soon?" Angel said to Rem. "What Lana says is true; you're definitely an odd one. What is it about that knight over there that bothers you so much?" He then stared at him in such a way that one would call it 'scary, yet mesmerizing,' what with his different colored eyes and all.
"Do you know that man?" Rodger asked.
Lana's stare reminded Rem of a captain he had once served under. He had thought he should be immune to such subtleties by now, but somehow...
Fortunately, the others at the table were not nearly as subtle. 'Ironic,' Rem though. 'They all ask the same thing in hopes of getting more answers, but all they've really done is allowed me to pick the easiest question to work with.'
"Know him?" he said aloud. "I've never served with him, if that's what you are asking. He merely happens to have arrived just after my patience gave out."
"Really." Lana didn't believe a word of it. Oh sure he probably didn't know the man, that much was true, but if he was leaving because he had lost his patience she was a boiled dragon heart. She decided that a straightforward approach might work better. "What is it about knights that disturbs you so much, Rem?"
The other three seemed about to cut in with other questions, but she held up a hand to stop them, keeping her eye focused on Rem the whole time.
Rem ground his teeth where he stood, and after a moment broke his gaze to the floor. Selecting a chair between the table and the bar he sat down, leaning forward over the table so that he could lower his voice and still be heard. "Look," he said, "Knights have two features that I have need of avoiding at this time. The first is their unyielding support for the law, and the second is their knowledge of war. The symbol I have strapped to my back... Have any of you seen it before?"
He paused for a moment to take a breath and allow them to consider. "Of course you haven't. The local guards haven't even seen it, and do you know why? The army that wears this crest is far, far from here. So far, in fact, that anyone who dabbles neither in war nor politics wouldn't recognize it."
At the last statement, Rem's hand went to the strap on his right shoulder momentarily as he realized his shield was now facing the Knight. He hesitated, however, and then left the device in its place on his back. He could not afford to remove it. The only other alternative was to face the knight so he couldn't see the shield, but that choice would be far worse. "Shervenst," he muttered to himself.
"You see," he continued, "The longer I stay the greater chance the knight has of recognizing my colors, and want to know why a soldier of the outlands has come so far south. He will ask questions I cannot answer or worse; if he is worth the steel on his back he could even recognize my face."
At that point he caught himself before he said anything more. "And I'm afraid that is all I can tell you," he concluded.
'A deserter, a fugitive,' thought Lana, 'or a man sent on a scouting mission. 'The third one I doubt because if he had been sent on a scouting mission he wouldn't show his colors so openly' even if there is only a slight chance that the device would be recognized. So that leaves deserter and fugitive. Now the fact that his FACE would be recognizable to a knight so far from Rem's native lands... Rem is no ordinary soldier, that's for sure. A high ranking officer at least.' All of these thoughts raced through her head in a moment. Rem seemed to have shut himself down to further questions, so Lana decided not to press him and instead went for a different subject to draw him out again.
"I've been pestering all of you for information about yourselves all night. Is there anything you would like to know about me?" She knew that her life wasn't nearly so interesting as those of the companions around her, but if they thought that they could get one over on her... without actually getting one over on her, why not?
"Well, I don't mind, actually, if people ask me questions about myself," Angel said in response to Lana's question, "but since you asked so nicely, I'll ask a question of my own: how did you lose your right eye? Is your profession really that dangerous?"
Roger glared at Angel. 'Tactless,' he thought to himself, Angel didn't even seem to have realized his mistake. The Halfling continued looking at Lana, waiting for her response.
The bartender brought him some complimentary soup. From what Roger could hear of the old man's mumbling the cook was late, and it wasn't the first time.
Roger sighed and started on his soup. It had been a long two days; he decided to enjoy himself in the relative safety of the tavern. Though he really couldn't see how being in the company of a dragon, an over zealous Halfling, and a motley assortment of warriors was better than being chased by a group of blood thirsty gnomes. Throw a wizard or two into the mix as well for good measure. It was a recipe for disaster.
"I couldn't have been much older than our young friend here," Lana started, indicating Roger, "when it happened. I'm an Investigator. Do you know what that is?"
She got a couple of blank stares.
"Well, I'm in the information business. If someone needs to find something out, and they don't want to spend the time or effort to try and find it out themselves, they hire me. It can be anything from finding the whereabouts of someone who ran out on their bills, trailing a cheating husband, or even, in some instances, solving murders. Of course there are many people who do not appreciate someone learning their darkest secrets."
She laughed humorlessly. "I was trailing a prominent member of the Thieves' Guild for someone, a merchant who wanted to know where his missing shipments ended up. Let's just say that the guy wasn't a prominent member of the Thieves' Guild for nothing. He realized he was being followed and found a dark alley. When I turned the corner, he ambushed me. I didn't even have time to fight back. He gouged out my eye as a warning not to interfere with the Thieves' Guild again, a warning I didn't heed."
Angel's eyes showed a glimmer of sympathy. "That must have been very painful," he said. "But you said that you didn't heed that guy's warning. What did you do at that particular point in time?" he asked her.
"I found out where the shipments were, and I've had many other cases that have involved the Thieves' Guild since then. I know more about the inner workings of the guild than some of its members, so of course they hate me. If it wasn't for the city watch, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Impatiently, Reman glanced over his shoulder at the bar. He blinked for a few moments in shock; the two greatest threats to him in the room, the knight and the dragon, seemed to be squared off against each other.
Angel took a glance over at the dragon, following Reman's surprised gaze. 'Dear lord,' he thought, 'that knight may seem bold, but that dragon looks like it could tear him to pieces if it wanted to.'
"I would suggest running, if I were you!" he called to the patrons still seated at the bar.
Lana gulped visibly and inched her way toward the door, trying to remain unnoticed. She put a hand to the dagger at her belt, hoping she wouldn't have to use it. It would be a very feeble weapon compared to a dragon's claws, and if she HAD to use it... that would mean she was toast.
Rem stood of from his seat as the knight faced the dragon which, for its part, didn't seem to notice him. The tension erupted into a miniature exchange between the wizard and the mercenary, but that was irrelevant. Gradually the knight realized just how far he had overstepped, and Rem weighed his options. Against his better judgment he drew his dagger and left the table.
The knight was preoccupied with the dragon, placing his back towards Reman. The dagger remained in Rem's left, backhanded so that the flat of the blade was pressed between his waist and forearm where it would be difficult to spot. His right hand held a firm grip on the hilt of his sword, though to draw it too soon would ruin the surprise he needed. The knight didn't even see the attack coming; Rem made his move.
The bar silenced itself in a moment to the clear peal of steel on hardened leather. Those who turned a moment too late missed the motion completely, and the knight was far too intoxicated to react.
But after that instant, the point of Rem's dagger was pressed lightly down the back of Metis's neck, and the sword-edge grazed his throat.
"You've had a few too many," Rem whispered. "Allow me to help you to the door."
With that he led the knight to the front of the Tavern. The door protested loudly as it was kicked outward, swearing never to allow them inside again, and then they disappeared into the darkness, leaving the rest of the bar in shock.
Lana dodged out of the way as Rem led the knight out of the tavern at sword point. 'That's it,' she thought. 'I'm getting out of here.'
Quickly she followed them out, hoping that neither one would notice her leaving. The last thing she wanted was to get in a tussle with them outside. Angel left shortly after her.