Freelance Heroics (26 page)

“I’m sorry. It was rude of me to push when you didn’t want to do something,” said Mazik. He kept his voice even and careful, like he was afraid of setting off a bomb. “But this isn’t like you. If you don’t want to talk to her, that’s fine, but I think something more’s going on here. If you tell us, we might be able to help with it. Okay?” Mazik smiled. He tried to emulate one of Kalenia’s warm smiles, which always put him at ease. It felt strange on his face. “That’s all.”

Raedren stared into his beer for another long second, then sighed. “All right. Thanks. Sorry for snapping.”

Mazik waved a hand, dismissing it.

Raedren said nothing for several seconds, as if he was marshaling his thoughts. Then he sighed again. “It’s not anything to do with her. She looks very nice, and I do appreciate your help. But it’s not going to work out.”

“Why’s that?” asked Mazik softly. “Is it because we’re going to be leaving soon?”

“Yes, that’s it exactly.” Raedren gripped his mug more tightly, as if he was baring his feelings to his drink. Finally, he looked up. “I’m not a casual-relationship kind of guy. You know that. I’m a long-term, dating-and-eventually-hopefully-getting-married kind of guy. That’s how I’ve always been.”

Mazik nodded. He did know that, and was pretty sure that everyone who had ever met Raedren knew it as well. Raedren was a nice guy. He didn’t do things like one-night stands. But Mazik didn’t want to interrupt, so he remained quiet.

“Eventually, I want to meet someone and get married and settle down. But that’s not very compatible with adventuring, is it? It’s not that I don’t want to do all of this,” he added quickly. “I’m not against adventuring or traveling. It’s just not conducive to long-term relationships, so I decided to put the whole thing on hold for now.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Mazik. “I mean, I have a girlfriend, and Kalenia and I—”

“But you’ve been dating for a while,” said Raedren, and if Mazik wasn’t mistaken, he thought he could hear a note of jealousy in his best friend’s voice. “You two got to meet and spend time together and get to know each other
before
you started traveling. I don’t have that luxury. If I talk to her”—he nodded toward the redheaded waiter, who had just disappeared into the kitchens—“and we hit it off, I’ll just end up leaving in a few days. Maybe sooner, since we’re finally getting paid. What’s the point?”

Mazik stared at his friend. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand what Raedren was saying. He wasn’t wrong. But Mazik also knew how important love and family was to Raedren—and friendship as well, though he was under no illusion about which ultimately placed first. With no prospect of even trying to find love, Mazik knew his friend would be miserable while traveling. He couldn’t allow that to happen, not the least because it would be his fault.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to. Mazik let out a relieved sigh.

“Yeah, that’s what I expected.” He relaxed, and let an easy smile slip onto his face. “And luckily, it’s total bullshit.”

Raedren frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Look, you’re not wrong that I’m lucky to already have had time to get to know Kalenia.
Really
lucky. She’s awesome.” Mazik realized this could be construed as bragging, so he stopped. It took some effort, though. “But that doesn’t mean you should put the whole thing on hold. What if you meet a lady who wants to move to Houk? Or what if you meet someone who
wants
to travel. She could come along!”

“That doesn’t seem likely. Traveling isn’t exactly safe for the manaless. It’s not necessarily safe for us, either.”

“So focus on casters for a while,” said Mazik. “What about that Uard lady? You two seemed to get along well. If you two hit it off more, maybe she’ll want to join us.”

“You just want another supporter, so you can focus on blowing things up,” said Gavi.

“Granted! But that’s another issue entirely.” Mazik winked at Gavi, then turned back to Raedren. “Besides, there’s another element you haven’t considered: practice.”

“Practice?” said Raedren.

“Yes, practice.” Mazik laid a hand on the table, palm facing up. A blue sphere of mana appeared above it. “Do you remember how long it took me to be able to do this?”

Raedren nodded. “Years. Many years.”

“Same with you and your magick. Gavs, how much are we having you practice every day?”

“Magick? Several hours a day, when we have time,” said Gavi.

“Right-o. The key to getting better is practice, practice, practice.” Mazik extinguished the spell and clasped his hands on the table. “So how do you expect to get better at talking to women—at talking to
anyone
—if you never do it?”

Raedren was quiet. Mazik could feel his friend’s opinion beginning to turn, so he went in for the kill.

“Look, you’re an adventurer now. That means you’re earning all these awesome stories you can use to break the ice. And people like interesting people, right, Gavs?”

“Er, right,” said Gavi.

“But if you don’t learn how to talk about all these interesting things we’re doing, you’re just going to come across as a pompous ass when we’re back in Houk.” Mazik grinned. “And pompous jackass is
my
thing.”

Raedren considered this. He shook his head. “Yes, but even if I did want to talk to Uard again, I don’t know how to get a hold of her.”

Gavi raised her hand. “I can help with that. I connected with her a few days ago. Remember how I was getting updates from the defense group while we were on the walls? That was from her.”

Raedren glanced at Gavi. “When did you connect with her?”

“When you two were infiltrating and subsequently getting chased out of a hospital.”

“Ah.”

“See?” said Mazik. “We’re both here to help you. Right, Gavs?”

Gavi nodded. “Of course. As long as you’re not going to do anything sleazy.”

“I’m a happily taken man, and Rae doesn’t have a sleazy bone in his body.” Mazik held a hand over his chest. He nodded, trying to look serious. “You know this to be true.”

While Gavi shot Mazik a (jokingly, he was pretty sure) skeptical glare, Raedren rubbed his beard. After a minute, he seemed to make a decision. “Okay, I understand what you’re saying. I still need to think about it more, but maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ll give it a shot once in a while. Just to stay in practice.”

“Great!” said Mazik. “Though yeah, if you feel yourself falling in love with someone, probably ask about their attitude about travel and whatnot.”

Raedren nodded. “Will do.”

Mazik clapped him on the back. “In which case, let’s get some food and beers, and then you can get cleaned up for your date!”

“Ye—” Raedren did a double take. “Wait, what date?”

“Er, no. Sorry. To ask her on a date!” Mazik pumped his fist over his head.

Gavi tapped her ear. “I can call her and see if she has time to meet today. Remember?”

“I only said I’d think about it,” said Raedren. “I still need to—”

“Also, we have to do that whole get-a-bunch-of-money thing too,” said Mazik, ignoring his friend. He pumped his fist again. “So let’s eat! Waiter, may we have your attention pleeeease!”

“Oh great, he’s excited,” said Gavi. “Excited and loud.”

“I think he’s more excited than I am,” said Raedren. “Also, I never said—”

Mazik grinned. He slapped Raedren on the back. “Don’t worry so much. You’ve got this!”

Raedren mumbled and took a drink of his beer. Mazik laughed. If he was any kind of judge of people—or at least, of Raedren, which he certainly was—he knew his friend was actually quite excited. It’s just that the excitement had to do a lot to fight past his anxiety.

“I think it’s going to be a good day.” Mazik plucked the mug out of Raedren’s hands and lifted it high. “Cheers!”

“Hey, that’s mine.”

“We can’t do a toast if only one of us has a drink,” said Gavi.

“Don’t care!” Mazik took a slug from the drink and set it down, grinning. He nodded to himself. “It’s going to be a good day.”

In the corner of the room, a woman sat alone. She wore a scarlet scarf over her head to hide her appearance. It wouldn’t have mattered, though. The last time those she was watching saw her, they were drunk, and she had looked completely different. Not just what she was wearing, but her body as well. The woman was taller this time, and several years older, with an understated green dress that flattered her figure without showing off. She looked like a distinguished noble woman out for a secret rendezvous, even if that rendezvous was with a plate of fried food and a common drink.

But her elegant confidence, and the knowing smile on her lips, were the same. Luhi took a drink from her mug. She watched as Gavi said something across the room. Mazik slapped his knee and laughed, while Raedren appeared to be blushing.

“Hmmm.” She set her mug down and pushed it away. “They’ve turned up in an interesting place already. I wonder what will they do with the information they’ve learned?”

The redheaded waiter bustled over and took the empty mug. “Can I get you another, ser?”

“No, thank you.” Luhi pointed at the trio’s table. “But those three. Please buy them a round, on me.” She pressed her hand to the table. When she drew it away, there was enough money to buy a round not only for the three adventurers, but for the entire bar.

“Yes, ser.” The redhead bowed. “Should I tell them who it’s from?”

“No, that’s okay. I’m leaving.” Luhi stood. She collected her shawl about her shoulders, even though it was a warm day. “Thank you.”

The redhead bowed again. “Yes, ser. Have a good day.”

When she raised her head, Luhi was already gone.

“This is not helping make it a good day,” said Mazik, several hours later.

“Oh, shut up.” Gavi kicked the back of his legs, propelling him forward. “You agreed to this. Stop complaining.”

“But that’s the only thing that’s making this any fun—Hey! Stop kicking me, dangit!”

Mazik, Gavi, and Raedren were walking down an unremarkable street in a modest working-class neighborhood. While Mazik and Gavi were little changed from earlier—more awake, certainly, and perhaps a little more cheerful, as their hangovers had given way to a light celebratory buzz—Raedren was another matter. He had cleaned himself up, with his best shirt on (borrowed from Mazik), his hair and beard neatly combed (with assistance from Gavi), and a fresh bandage over the cut on his cheek (he took care of that himself). He was also more cheerful, if Mazik were to judge—and he always did. He was ecstatic even, though the undercurrent of anxiety remained.

Mazik and Gavi had commented on that earlier. They had found it amusing that Raedren could fight multiple orcks without a hint of fear, but a date turned him into a jittering schoolboy. Gavi had said she found it kind of cute. Mazik just thought he was bonkers.

The three of them stopped at a familiar one-story house. It had been painted pale green, with a brick chimney to the left of its door. There were people everywhere again—lurking in bushes, loitering on the lawn, peering out from neighboring windows, and, in one man’s case, sitting on a high stool beside the front gate.

Mazik recognized the doorman from their first visit to the house of Ravelin Bilay, AKA the Blue Boar. Apparently the old man had bowed to the reality of his advancing age and dispensed with the illusion that he was merely loitering.

Mazik worked himself up to a fake smile and strode toward the gate. Gavi caught him by the elbow.

“Can you be diplomatic this time?” asked Gavi. “Serious question.”

“Of course.” Mazik saw her skeptical expression, and added, “What I mean is, I’ll try. Now that the old man presumably knows who we are, I’m happy to play their game.” He considered this. “Well, maybe not
happy
, but I’ll do it.”

Gavi’s expression remained skeptical, but she released his arm.

Mazik started forward, then paused. “Though if you’d prefer, we could leave and—”

“Move!”

Suppressing a grunt of annoyance, Mazik sidled up to the old man. He leaned against the fence beside him, as if he were just passing by. The doorman said nothing. He just kept reading his book.

“Hey,” said Mazik.

The doorman remained silent.

“Nice day, isn’t it?” said Mazik.

He was greeted with more silence.

Mazik sighed. “We just wanted to say that the park you suggested last time was nice. We’re actually thinking of visiting it again right now.”

“Is that so.” The doorman turned the page.

“We’re hoping we have as pleasant and
productive
of a time as last time. There are a few other important things we need to discuss.”

The doorman glanced at Mazik. “Good for you. Do you mind? You’re blocking my sunlight.”

Mazik looked around. It was a sunny day, and his shadow was on the other side of him from the old man. He bit back a comment and shrugged.

“Just mention it to Mas Bilay, would you? Please. Thank you. Have a good day.” Mazik gave a little wave as he pushed away from the fence. “Bye.”

“Good bye.”

Two minutes later, once the trio had disappeared down the street, the old man slipped a bookmark into his place and ambled inside.

“Well done,” said Gavi. “You had some tact for once. I feel like this deserves a reward.”

Mazik glared up at Gavi, who was patting his head in a not-at-all-patronizing way. “I hate you.” He swiped at her hand. Gavi pulled it away with a laugh.

The three of them were back at the tree, in the park where they had first proposed their plan to the Blue Boar. Mazik and Raedren were once again sitting on the bench beneath the stately old tree, whereas Gavi was again taking this opportunity to practice. Leaving her sword with Mazik, she picked up her sheath and held it in front of her.

“Focus deeply on what you’re doing,” said Mazik, though he, himself, was distracted. He looked around, though he pointedly avoided looking at the tree behind him.

Gavi had only been practicing for maybe ten minutes—or as she thought of it, six failed spells—when there was the subtle squeak of leather at the base of the tree. Gavi, who was partially facing the tree when the Blue Boar approached, noticed him out of the corner of her eye, but she let him keep his illusions and approach without comment.