MT Part 6 (VG)
The big man took a small sip of his ale and set it down. "No, he probably doesn't."
"Probably doesn't?"
"Well I'm not a mind reader. I supposed it's possible he could know, yes. But I find it highly unlikely."
"You didn't tell him then?"
"Me? No, I didn't." Zanadar answered.
"Does he know Elandar?"
The wizard smirked darkly, "We've met."
"Is that why you didn't tell him Elandar was coming with us?" Morgan asked.
Zanadar looked to the old man. "I told you this one was capable. I had a good feeling about him from the beginning."
Elandar shrugged, "I'm still undecided. He disrespected my staff."
"Oh," Zanadar said seriously, "You've got to be mindful of that Morgan." He grinned at the ranger.
"I'll... be more careful of that in the future," Morgan said, unsure quite how to respond. "So Adlus doesn't know Elandar is coming with us," He continued, "and if he did, he'd most likely disapprove. Is that right?"
"Think of it this way," Zanadar answered coolly, "He didn't say Elandar couldn't come, now did he?"
Just then Sascha appeared out of the crowd, carrying a large plate of steaming roast boar. She scowled at Elandar. The old man snorted defensively. Sascha looked to Zanadar, "Did you tell him about the meat hook?"
The big man nodded, "Yes ma'am. I wouldn't dare think not to." She glared meanly at Elandar.
"Egads woman!" he said, "I didn't do anything! I'm hungry!"
Keeping a watchful eye on the old wizard she carefully set the plate down on the table in front of them. She took a step back and looked at Elandar suspiciously. "There's your blasted boar, don't even think about trying anything."
The old man sputtered indignantly and muttered something under his breath.
"Thank you Sascha," Zanadar said, smiling pleasantly, "This looks very good. We appreciate it."
"You're welcome," she said, still watching Elandar closely. The wizard eagerly reached for the boar and began to tear off a large chunk of meat. Satisfied, Sascha slowly backed away from the table and went back to the other patrons.
Morgan helped himself to a fair sized portion and began to eat. He hadn't realized how hungry he actually was. "I'm still not comfortable with this," he said between mouthfuls.
"Morgan," Zanadar said, "Do you always do everything you're told?"
"Not always, no." he replied defensively, "But if Adlus wouldn't like-"
"Adlus doesn't know, he doesn't need to know and as much fun as it would be if he found out, he probably won't. I think you overestimate your beloved Minister, Morgan. I don't know if you'd noticed or not, but he's not exactly the most astute person in the world."
"But still-"
"Look at it this way," the big man said patiently, "What is the worst that could happen? He'll send you back to what you were doing before? That's the fun part about being at the bottom, there's no room to get demoted."
"Oh that's really reassuring." Morgan replied.
"But true!" Elandar cut in gleefully.
"All right, I couldn't get demoted. But I could be dismissed from the rangers altogether," Morgan said.
"Even better!" the old man said excitedly, "Then you'd be able to actually make something of yourself."
"The rangers are a good organization, you know." Morgan said, a bit annoyed. "We keep the roads safe, risking our own well being to do so, we keep a constant lookout for any danger even in the harshest conditions, and we don't ask for anything in return."
"And you're humble." Elandar added, "Don't forget humble."
"Well if you think the rangers are so useless then why are you so eager to work with one?"
Zanadar grinned. "You stepped right into that one, old man."
"I stepped into nothing!" he replied indignantly. "There was a time when the rangers provided a valuable service. Now they're little more than a foppish bunch of ne'er-do-wellers more worried about impressing the ladies than doing their jobs."
"Now that's just a bit unfair Elandar," Zanadar said, "look at Morgan - how many ladies do you think he's impressed lately?"
Morgan looked to the big man. "I thought you were on my side!" he said.
"I am on your side, I was defending you."
"I'm the one attacking you, you dandified little tenderfoot!" Elandar said, shaking a piece of meat wildly at the ranger.
Morgan rubbed his eyes wearily and looked at the two men sitting across from him. Well, he thought, at least it's not the road.
"You're not going to cry are you?" the old man asked, "that would be terribly embarrassing."
"No," Zanadar said, "But I think he may just brain you with his mug if you aren't careful." He gave Morgan an appraising look, "Isn't that right?"
Morgan brought himself back into focus. "I don't know," he said, smirking, "He may be too mighty."
The big man laughed deeply. "Yes, he very well may be."
It did not take long for the three men to finish their meal. Morgan still had reservations about keeping Adlus in the dark, but decided to let the matter drop for the time being. Elandar accompanying them may upset the Minister if he found out, but Morgan was willing to take that risk if it meant getting a real assignment. And although he was quite sure they'd never met before there was something about the old man that seemed oddly familiar.
Zanadar yawned expansively and set down his mug. "That was quite pleasant."
"If you say so," the old man complained, "I've had better."
The big man glanced at Elandar's empty plate. "You sure ate a lot of it," he said.
"Don't you look at me like that, I was hungry! I hadn't eaten all day."
"Poor neglected old man," Zanadar teased. "So then," he asked, looking to Morgan, "Now that we're fed, what is the next order of business?"
"Why are you asking him?" Elandar demanded incredulously.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to ask him?"
Elandar scowled deeply at the big man. Zanadar laughed heartily and looked back to the ranger. "He looks positively silly when gets himself all worked up like that," he grinned, "We've got a few hours before night fall yet. Why don't we make any preparations that are needed in that time and then head back here?"
"You want to spend the night here?" Morgan asked, "Adlus seemed to want us on our way as soon as possible."
"Adlus said we needed to leave by tomorrow morning at the latest, and I don't know about you but sleeping in a nice comfortable bed sounds much more appealing to me than sleeping in a nice comfortable pile of dirt off the side of the road. This is the last chance we'll likely have to get a good night's rest for a while, I'd take advantage of it," he grinned crookedly and gave a brief shrug, "But that's just me."
Morgan thought it over for a moment, weighing his options. He was eager to get back on the road but the big man had a point, and a warm, cozy bed sounded very appealing to him just now. "A good full night of sleep in a bed does sound fairly pleasant," he admitted.
"Oh, fairly pleasant!" Elandar echoed mockingly, "Offer the pup an alternative to sleeping on the cold ground and its only fairly pleasant. Old enough to carry a weapon but too young to appreciate a good, soft bed. I'm already frightened of him."
Zanadar rolled his eyes. "So we'll stay the night, Morgan?"
Morgan thought for a moment and then nodded. "I suppose if we leave early it shouldn't be too big of an issue. We'd just need to be quick about it."
"And so it shall be! King Tenderfoot has spoken!" Elandar proclaimed loudly. Several of the taverns patrons turned their heads towards the group, amusement in their eyes. "The world may continue now," the old man finished, with a dramatic sweep of his arm.
Morgan suddenly felt a bit foolish. He started to say something but Zanadar, seemingly sensing his discomfort, spoke up. "Oh hush you old windbag, Morgan just has a conscience. I know the great lengths you've gone through to lose yours, but despite what you think, it's still a good thing to have."
"It certainly is!" Elandar retorted, "Look how far it's gotten you, after all."
The big man narrowed his eyes, "How would you like me to tie your beard in a knot?"
The old man huffed, and turned away. Morgan couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. "Thanks," he said to Zanadar.
The big man smirked, "I tie good knots too. He'd never get it undone," he paused a moment, "We should probably be on our way then."
Morgan nodded as Zanadar waved his hand in the air, gesturing for Sascha, and began to unfasten the coin purse from his worn belt.
"There's no need for that Morgan," Zanadar stated simply, "I'll take care of this one."
"Nonsense, I ate my share and I'll pay for my share," the ranger said as he reached into the purse and pulled out a few small coins.
"Its quite alright, it was my idea to come here anyway."
"Actually it was my idea," Elandar reminded the big man.
"Why, you are absolutely right old man," Zanadar agreed, "Why don't you pay then?"
Elandar frowned, his bushy eyebrows moving seemingly independent of one another. "Never mind, it was your idea," he said.
"Just like I thought," the big man grinned.
Just then Sascha reappeared at the table, squeezing her way through the crowd. She gave the three men a severe look, "Are you ready to leave?"
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