61. The Red and the Blue
The Red and the Blue
Kain checked the cold frame glass in the morning before he rode in.
The cracked panes had held through the week of cool nights, and the herbs under the glass were still cutting.
The pumpkin sat heavier on its hill than it had a week back.
He watered the herb-bed once, set the lid back down, and rode for the Kettle.
The next two weeks saw fall settle fully upon Tillamore.
The trees were red and golden as far as the eye could see, and the warriors talked constantly about how lovely the ride between Tillamore and the dungeon was.
Kain stayed at the Kettle almost constantly now.
Whatever preparations he had made for winter would have to be enough, because he certainly wasn't getting to spend much time back at the farm.
Not that he begrudged it of Sasha. She was doing the best that she could, but the Kettle hadn't been set up to handle the volume of warriors that were pouring through the town.
One or two travelers was one thing, but a whole camp of people who seemed to feed off one another? That was something entirely different.
Kain spent most of his time helping Sasha serve food during peak hours, and then cleaning up during the hours where they were given short breaks.
They had to keep a steady tab open at the general store for replacement glass and table legs, as it seemed that not a day went by when a chair didn't get broken, or a table cracked, or a window smashed.
Thankfully, the warriors were more or less content to toss a coin at the problem to smooth over hurt feelings, and the amount that most of them were overspending on their meals certainly helped cover the damages, but it was frustrating.
One day, as Kain came riding up to the Kettle, he heard the distant boom of thunder. He paused, then rode past the town and up to the Martinson farm, where he found Carol loading some feed onto a wagon. She looked up as he approached.
"Hey, Carol. Told you I always come back."
She gave him a small smile. "What's up?"
"I was wondering if I could stable Roan with you today?" He asked. "The town stable is full, and it sounds like there's a storm coming. I don't really want him just let out in the weather." He turned and glanced off across the landscape, where clouds were gathering on the southern horizon.
"For sure." Carol took Roan's reins as Kain swung down. "How are things going? I feel like it's been a while since I've seen you."
"Too long," Kain agreed. "I just."
"Hey! Peasant alert!"
Kain closed his eyes briefly, then turned as a war party of five adventurers rode past. They were laughing and jeering. All were clad in blue armor, and had a blue banner fluttering from their poles. As they reached the edge of town, they thundered forward, breaking their horses into sprints.
"Stupid warriors," Carol shook her head. "I can't believe that people actually want to grow up to be like that."
"Most of them aren't that bad," Kain set his jaw. "Only one out of the five was making fun of us. The rest were just following along."
"You think that makes it right?" Carol said.
"No. Just saying that it's easy to follow a crowd. And it's helpful when that crowd is a village of people who just want to farm," Kain said.
"Well, I just hope they all kill each other," Carol muttered. "Not really, but you know what I mean."
"You hope they'll fight each other?" Kain asked as he started to walk off down the path.
"I mean, I don't think that group will suddenly turn on itself," Carol said. "They're the second group to go up that way this morning. The first one was wearing red. Must've left half an hour ago, I'd say?"
Kain went still. "You have to be joking."
"Is that a problem?" Carol asked. "I was mostly joking."
"Anytime you get two groups of warriors together, it's a problem," Kain shook his head.
"Their whole lives are bent around fighting, so if there are no monsters to fight, they just fight each other.
Makes sense, but it's a real pain. Now, in the larger cities, where you have plenty of guards and things to help provide some sort of order, it doesn't always get terribly bad. Out here?"
"So you think there will be blood?"
"Let's put it this way. I'm not going to be heading back down to the farm until they're all back," Kain said.
He waved to her as she led Roan into the barn, and with that, he walked down to the Kettle. Sasha looked up as he slipped inside, and he went around behind the bar to help serve drinks.
The rain started at about ten o'clock in the morning.
At first it was light, but it steadily became heavier.
Lightning flashed through the sky, and thunder boomed wildly.
Warriors began to pour into the tavern, and soon filled the floor.
Some of them just dropped into chairs and leaned back.
Some of them stood around. Nearly all of them ordered drinks, and Sasha and Kain fought to keep up with the demand.
"Hey. Barkeep." A warrior in black armor signaled Kain.
"I'm just the help," Kain shook his head.
"Whatever. You got anything to chew on?" He asked. "I don't need a meal right now, but I'm a bit peckish just standing around. Do you have, like, fried onions, or something?"
"Or fried potatoes," someone called from the rear.
The whole tavern fell quiet and everyone turned toward the bar. Kain looked at them. They were hungry. The whole room had been listening for what came next out of the kitchen.
"We can have something like that soon," Sasha stepped through the door from the kitchen. "Give us thirty minutes."
The warriors all seemed to agree on that, and they went back to chatting. Sasha turned to Kain and shook her head.
"I'm going to need to go borrow a recipe from Mrs. McGrath. She has a recipe for batter for frying things in. If you could go and snag some oil from the cellar, I'd appreciate it. Get the stove hot, but don't put the oil on it yet. Oh, and haul up some onions."
Kain nodded. Sasha pulled a rain cloak over herself, and Kain watched Matthew toddle around the kitchen while he prepared the oil and got a fire going.
Several long minutes passed, and Kain worked, hoping they would be able to satisfy the crowd of warriors.
Sasha was going to have to increase the amount of food she bought for the tavern.
The front door flew open, and Sasha came rushing back inside. She was soaked to the bone.
"Kain. Kain, we need you."
Kain nodded, patted Matthew on the head, and strode out through the bar. As he stepped onto the porch, his eyes narrowed.
The sky was dark, and thunder boomed loudly. Rain came pouring down in sheets, and the water ran across the street in rivers.
Standing in the middle of the street were the two groups of warriors. One red. One blue. Both had exactly five members, and were grouped in a loose semi-circle. Their horses were nowhere to be seen, presumably stabled. All of them had their swords drawn. All of them looked ready to kill.
"Give us back that haul," the red leader called. He was tall and thick-shouldered. C-ranked, but smarter than the first pair had been. "It's ours."
"We cleared that room fair and square," the blue leader called back. He was slightly shorter, but looked faster. "Not our fault you missed it."
"We left that room," the red leader said. "We cleared the whole floor. We were leaving the best for last. The heaviest for last. You can't fight stone crawlers when you're lugging around a treasure chest."
"And that isn't our fault," the blue leader shrugged. "We entered the dungeon and found a room that was still full of monsters. We cleared it and took the loot. End of story."
"Why, you."
Both sides were tightening their grips on their swords.
Kain had seen it before. Both groups were too stubborn to back down.
Both sides were more than willing to kill for the jewels and gemstones in whatever chest had been taken.
Granted, it was a lot of money, but that still didn't make it right.
Money was only money, and that was the end of it.
Kain planted his feet and crossed his arms. He let the enhancement come up into his arms and shoulders, the B-rank weight a merc carried under the skin, and felt his limbs go hard and his stance settle.
One of the red warriors saw him, and froze. She reached over and elbowed one of her companions.
"Hey."
Within seconds, the disruption had rippled through both teams of warriors. The leaders were the last to look away from one another, but as they did, they gazed on Kain with a strange, new sort of look.
Kain wasn't dressed as a warrior, but B-ranked body enhancements changed a lot of things about a person.
When he wanted to, he didn't look like a farmer, not to the trained eye.
These warriors, C-ranked adventurers, knew it well.
They knew that he was stronger than they were.
Granted, he didn't think he could take even the weakest of them in a fight.
They were trained to deal out damage as fast as possible.
He wasn't. That said, he was a presence, and that was all that was needed.
They were standing in the middle of the street, being soaked with rain.
Water dripped off their armor, and probably into their armor, too.
Their cloaks slapped against the back of their legs.
Their patches looked soggy and barely clinging to their armor.
They were a sad, sorry mess, and if they went to fighting, at least some of them would die in such squalid conditions, far from anything or anyone they cared about.
He saw the logic pass over their faces. He didn't need to say a thing. He didn't need to explain it. A simple pause had been all that had been needed to inject reason. Finally, the leader of the blue team spoke up.
"How about we split it? Fifty-fifty."
"Sixty-forty," the red leader countered. "We cleared the whole floor."
The blue leader nodded tightly. It wasn't a good deal for anyone, but it was the best deal that any of them were going to get without bloodshed. "It's in our tent. Randy'll fetch it for you."
"Fried onions will be served in the Kettle in thirty minutes," Kain called out as the assembly began to break up. "Bring some of your new coin to buy some."
The red leader gave a low laugh as everyone began to trudge away through the rain. He turned to look up at Kain, and Kain relaxed slightly.
"You should be running things around here, you know that?" He said, then turned and walked away. Kain watched him go, then shook his head and called after him.
"I grow pumpkins."
The warrior snorted, and Kain went back into the tavern.
「Negotiation: C+ → B-」
「Intimidation: B- (Held)」
As he entered, he heard the sizzle of oil on the stove, and saw Sasha stirring up a batch of batter in a large bowl. She looked up at him and met his eyes, but didn't say a word. She didn't have to.