After leaving Sorrows, his enormous soot-black stallion, to drink in a nearby river, Yvain, the paladin, resumed his journey, under the glow of the sun which reflected colours on his golden sword.
The road was calm, quiet, now that they had left the noisy town of Roladmenry an hour ago.
Yvain, peaceful, was thoughtful about the meeting he had just had a short time before. He had seen, out of the corner of his eye, in the street along which he was walking, holding Sorrows' bridle at arm's length, a curious scene:
A merchant, dressed in a long blue toga, dressed in a sand-colored hemp garment, who jabbered incensed things with a passion and a way of using words so ardent that it was hard to look away from him.
He waved his hands as he spoke, the tips of his fingers however all adorned with rings of gold and precious stones, which hardly went with his torn and dirty poor man's clothes.
He showed vials, trinkets which had no name or place of existence, which he managed to name and find a use for. A charlatan.
Yvain was also almost sure of having already seen this dark-skinned man, from the lands of Al-Benisaga, no doubt, given the accent and the dialect, in a slave market where he offered 'fresh and young people' for work, when they were already over forty, but also, he was sure, of having seen him steal something, with his hooded figure, from a nearby merchant's stall.
"This piece of string, my friends! He exclaimed. It is not a common piece of string, you see? In my distant country, this string was braided into the coarse hair of a lock of hair of mermaid. Having it with you allows you to illuminate your path at night, because it will start to shine brightly when you approach a water source!"
This kind of nonsense...
Sometimes he even handed people questionable vials which he made to taste to the curious, who immediately regretted having put this sickening substance on the tip of their tongue.
"This, ladies and gentlemen, will bring vigor and endurance to wounded men returning from battle. Our famous warriors who fight for us, days and nights, and return home with a missing limb, lost in an epic battle to save a child. I have here an extract of hydra saliva! These gigantic creatures with snake heads, which grow back as quickly as they were cut! Well, ladies and gentlemen, here I was able to obtain the saliva of one of these creatures, and I myself have a one-legged friend...well...I had! Having tested the product on him, I can attest to its effectiveness! He was able to return home to his woman, running, and kick her in the arse for having caught her in bed with another man!”
He chuckled a singling laugh that struck Yvain, who was sure that after killing that Hydra the other day, he had seen her saliva almost burn his skin and clothes like acid during their fight...
But after all, there was very little chance that this charlatan really had hydra saliva. Where could he have gotten it? He really didn't seem like the type to fight, more like to run away at the first opportunity...
What a mysterious bohnom...
But Yvain was quickly brought back to earth after hearing a voice calling him behind him.
"Paladin! Sir Paladin!"
Yvain frowned a bit as he turned to look behind him, from the back of his tall horse.
It was that man, running after him, who himself, was followed by a young cow, carrying so many things...
Yvain remained on his guard and his position, waiting for the man to approach him.
“Afzal the Jackal, to serve you.”
He bowed next to the horse, in a pretty sloppily way...visible the man had no education in a high court.
“Yvain, Paladin of Light.”
-I know! I know! I saw you at the market before! I have a mission for you!
-I'm not a mercenary.
-You see, I would need protection - the guard chases after me, stating that this poor man would have died, his stomach and all his insides burned by my potion... It's ridiculous!
-My services are not for sale.
Yvain moved his horse forward. He wasn't there to help the scum...this man had just killed someone after all...
But the man was insistent and followed him, trotting behind him.
-I need to leave quickly, you see...
-You have a mount. Use it.
-She’s loaded like a load!
-So get rid of the unnecessary excess.
-Those are valuable!
-A broom?
-It’s a flying broom!
-Then use it to fly away.
Afzal sighed a laugh.
"It's stupid, I can't, I'm not a witch..."
Seeing the paladin completely closed, hermetic to his speech, Afzal continued to follow him limply behind him while saying :
“At least let me accompany you…….”
After all...he would come to help him if the guard ever caught him...right?
Character (c) : BarnUlv23
Art (c) : BarnUlv23
© copyright BarnUlv23. You may NOT use, post, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my explicit written consent.
