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‘That’s not--’ The boy’s anxiety boiled to ire as he whirled upon the rogue, glancing at his drink ‘That’s what? Your fourth tonight?’
‘Astute’
‘I think you have a probleree’ Denaos downed the last of the liquid and leaned in close to the boy, his words tu that if I drink enough, you’ll go away’
‘You are drinking quite a bit,’ Asper said, furrowing her brow ‘How is it you’re even still standing?’
‘This stuff is tasty, indeed,’ Denaos replied, sh to anyone who’s ever drunk stronger than wine’ He cast a sidelong glare at Dreadaeleon ‘Or milk’
‘I’ve drunk before,’ the boy protested
‘You had one sip of ale and started crying,’ Denaos replied ‘Perhaps you should preserve your dignity now and flee before you find a sip of this stuff and add involuntary urination to the probleed to find a healthy medium between fury and astonish – swiftly – urge to question the rogue’s sudden and frequent interest in the boy’s bladder, but so else about the tall man drew her attention
He had made it clear from the reat loves, wedged neatly between cheap prostitutes and portraits depicting expensive prostitutes And he had taken great pains to make it clear that there was never any excuse for a rush when enjoying any of those three
Thus to see him imbibe so, with such reckless desperation,so much, anyway?’ she asked
The swiftness hich he turned to regard her was not half as startling as the look upon his face It lingered for only a breath longer, but she saw it clearly, the sa in his eyes
And then, even swifter, it was gone, replaced with a grin too fierce to be convincing to either of the weakly ‘Who doesn’t have fun at a party? Besides you, Ifun because of the fact that I was violently assaulted and I’ed away fro Owauku – ‘of various sizes and pigested ‘I , you’ll be back in cold te yourself whenever you even think of soht be your last chance to do solanced at Asper, worry plain on his face ‘You’re leaving?’
‘What did you expect was going to happen e reached the mainland?’ Denaos answered before the priestess could
‘I don’t know … find ?’ Dreadaeleon replied ‘That’s what adventurers do, isn’t it?’
‘Adventurers take the opportunities they’re given,’ the rogue spat back ‘And given that only one of us has the opportunity and reputation to return to decent society, ouldn’t they take it?’
Asper made no response to the tallto his eyes, she thought, a quaver he sought to bury beneath snideness and sarcas its way out It was as if theinto his voice, exposing so dire and desperate beneath
‘And what,’ she asked him softly, ‘will you do e part ways, Denaos?’
She had barely expected to be heard through the din of dru and raucous cheer that echoed off the valley walls And yet the expression on his face made it quite clear that he had It didn’t sobehind a wild, sunken stare and a long, sleepless face
He h he weren’t certain whether to search for words or a knife
‘I don’t know,’ he whispered
His words were lost on the sht air And he, too, vanished, turning and staggering through the green jubilation And she siainst the chaotic festivities and is in the valley, she was starkly aware of Dreadaeleon’s iainst his cold expression and folded arms, she was suddenly aware of her own furrowed brow and open mouth
‘You look calm,’ she said with a hint of envy
‘Should I not be?’ he asked, glancing over to her
‘You weren’t at all … confused by what just happened?’
‘A drunken lout is doing things drunken and loutish,’ the boy said, shrugging ‘He’ll wake up toet what he said tonight Shortly after that, we’ll be back to hearing snideness, cynicism and sarcasain’ He glanced over the woaze to a nearby puddle fed by a thin trickle of water, in which an Owauku was passed out facedown, a rapidly fading line of bubbles e She made a move to rise up and help the creature, but Dreadaeleon’s lips were quicker At a muttered, alien word, the lizardman was flipped over by an invisible force and uncerehness, he looked up through eyes as bleary as those the size of fruits could be and grinned
‘Oh, cousin,’ he burbled through liquor-stained teeth, ‘soht’
She couldn’t help but smile at the boy ‘That was rather nice of you’
‘Oh,’ he said, looking a little surprised ‘Yes, I suppose it was’
‘I thought wizards didn’t waste power, though’
‘Well … he was probably going to die,’ Dreadaeleon said, rubbing the back of his neck ‘I suppose we could have pulled hiht have inhaled a lot of water and you’d feel coive hi ‘How noble of you to save h faded, but her sarded him intently ‘How did you know?’
‘I suspected that it orth it to spare you having to resuscitate him and--’
‘No, how do you know?’ she interrupted ‘How are you always so sure?’
‘What?’ He cast her a baffled look ‘I’m not sure I--’
‘Yes, you are,’ she replied ‘You always are You were certain that you could get us to shore when the ship was destroyed, you know Denaos will be fine, you knew you had to save that lizard … how?’