[Mkguild] Life IV: Everything in its Right Place - C

[Jack Moore]

Life IV: Everything in its Right Place - C

James - Morning
Outside was too cold and still wet.  I made the mistake of letting the edge
of my new tail drag along the stone ground.  My little rat friend had his
little furry body curled up in my pocket, providing me with some desperatly
needed warmth.
“I’ve been here a month and I don’t know these streets.” I mumbled.  “Did
you know that?”
“Squee?”  Florizel sniffed at the cold and went back into my pocket.  I
meanwhile stopped in front of a three story building.  It was a plaster
building, brown wooden panels on its sides and only two windows on each
story.  There was fresh wood patching up holes from battle damage, no doubt
soon to be covered over.  Looking at this building, I reached an important
conclusion.
“I am lost.”  I turned around.  I was at a cross way between four
buildings, but I didn’t recognize any of them.  I looked down, stone
ground.  Which shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing as I was in Keeptown.
I needed to intelligently determine where to go.  Instead I closed my eyes
and spun in a circle.
“This way!”  And off I went.  I passed by a Lightbringer temple, amazingly
I hadn’t been aware Metamor had those.  Yes really.

Eventually I came to a well in front of a resturaunt.  The resturant was a
squat, one story building.  Gray stone, some cracked and some dirty but
otherwise fairly clean.  It had a brown roof, fresh thatch on it that
almost seemd to glow.  Their were holes for windows, but wooden boreds were
nailed in up in them.

What drew my attention was the sign over the door.  It was a golden brown
sign that was chained to a metal pole over the doorway.  The name carved
into it was The Gnawing Stick.  Underneatht the name was a detailed,
twisted looking stick with vines radiating out from all sides of it.  The
vines twisted and criss-crossed, so detailed my jaw almost dropped.  I
pulled Florizel.

“Look at that buddy!  That’s so cool!  I mean holy crap is it detailed
right?”  My rat friend sniffed at it.  He then gave me his opinion:

“Squeee!”

“And I bet you’d like a gnawing stick wouldn’t you?”  I swear that Florizel
nodded, but I dismissed that.  I returned him to my pocket.  And my joy
began to diminish, as I realized something important.
“Yep, still lost.” I sighed.  “What do I do now?”
“You can help me out with something!”  I spun around to see a basket full
of apples with a set of furry legs growing out of it.  Behind it a broad
flat tail slapped at the ground.  It took me a moment to realize those
things were connected.
“Uh sure.” I reached for the basket but heasitated.  “What would you like
for me to do?”
“Keys at my belt.” The apple stack said.  “For the love of all the gods and
all the hells help me out here!”  Now that I could do.  The fuzzy thing was
dressed in a forest green tunic and a brown belt.  I also now noticed on
his back was a basket, strapped to his shoulders, filled with carrots.
“Interesting choice.” I secured his key ring and ran to open the door.  I
got out of the way just in time for him to stumble past me.  He made it to
a table and finally sat the basket of apples down.  Then came the carrots.
“Sorry about that madame.” He said.  “Food delivery issues, had to retrieve
it myself.  In fact having to go back out quite quite soon, rather
unfortunate.”  He turned back to face me, “But thank you nonetheless.”
My restaurateur was a beaver.  He had chocolate covered fur but knotted in
places and weird blue-black hands.  His tail was the same color I noticed.
His eyes were little black buttons on a big brown face.  And he was a
rodent, so of course he had huge front teeth.  Or tooth, the right tooth
was a fragment compared to the left.
“I’m not a madame.” I said, “I am a sir.”  The beaver sniffed at me.  He
got so close I could see his shiny black nose trembling.  “Hey back off!”
“You don’t have much scent.” He said.  “You must be a lizard!” My heart
began to race.
“I...Uh is this your place?”  The beaver smilled, further showing off his
big teeth.  He nodded so fast I thought his head was going to fly off.
“I always wanted a restaurant and I was able to buy this place after a lot
of work and the Winter Assault made it easy for me.  I mean I’m not open
yet but I will be as soon as I get some windows!”
“Right.  Well it looks like a nice place.”  It was a two room building,
with the back room seperated by a wooden wall with a window hole in the
middle and one swinging door.  Their were candle holders mounted along the
walls and candles on each table.
As for the tables they were round unfinshed wood.  Just looking at one I
could see splinters in it.  The chairs were the same brown wooden, some
were missing legs and others had undergone amatuer repairs.  The floor was
made of wooden planks that creaked when I walked on them.  I was worried I
might fall through it at any moment.
“It’s...really nice.” I wanted to say it looked terrible but for some
reason I couldn’t.  Yesterday seeing this smiling creature’s happy eyes
would have made me sick.  Today though seeing him so excited made me smile.
 “In fact it’s wonderful.”
“It’s all mine.” He said.  “And I mean all mine.  When I got it though it
didn’t have a tables or that back wall or, well the floor.  That had rotted
out.  But I put it all together!”  I nodded.  “It took a lot of work but it
was worth it.
“And what comes next?”  The beaver laughed.
“Uh a few things.  I have to fix the oven, but that’s just putting in a few
new stones. Back wall of the building is stone, only stone wall, needs some
repair.  Gotta buy some plates and silverware.  And cups, or they
silverware too?”
“I suppose.”
“Right and I gotta find a way for people to find my restaurant.  A new
place opens in the Keep, how you going to stand out?” The beaver shrugged.
 “We all changing here, all the time.  Always something new and where are
my manors?  My name is Aellen, Aellen Whitehead.  Or you can call me Ale,
like the drink!”  He sure was chipper.  Maybe that’s why I began to feel a
little calm.
“Uh hi Mr. Whitehead.” I said, “My name is James, future Lor--”  And then
the words stuck in my mouth.  On thought came over me.
'Am I still a future Lord?' The beaver cocked his head, no doubt curious
why I went silent. 'I’ve spent the last few weeks insulting priests,
throwing up on knights and then...and killing someone.  Lord’s don’t do
that.  Lords have people to do that. But I am the future Lord right?'
“James future?” Ale asked.
“Uh sorry, just James.  And I’ve been here a month myself.” I said.  “I can
see everyone is changing.  I’ve changed a bit myself.”  The beaver picked
up the basket of apples and took them into the back room.  He returned for
the carrots a minute later.  “I am...I have changed.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Ale called from the back room.  “Took me a few
months to admit I wasn’t human anymore.  I feel for ya.”  I blushed through
my scales.
“I uh yeah.  I’ve been here for a month and I don’t know my way around.
Don’t really know much.”  I tapped on the floor boards.  “You laid all
these yourself?”
“Yeah, good job?” The boards were misshapen, ill-laid and with noticeable
gaps between them.  They looked like they’d come loose with a little effort.
“It’s fantastic.” I said. “Truly fantastic. You should feel proud.” Somehow
the rodent smiled even wider.
“God and I hope you’ll be buy to eat when the Gnawing Stick opens!  Did you
like the sign out there? I actually carved it by biting, I thought it gave
it that real Keep feel!” That gave me pause.
'The whole thing? He carved that sign with his teeth?' I looked back at the
rodent.  I could see him through the window, his back was to me.  He was
arranging all of his vegetables, more I hadn’t seen, into different baskets
for easy grabbing.
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