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Chapter 3
?Depression is a drug. It?s addictive and it kills.? ~ Jedi
Jedi pushed the tavern door open, momentarily flooding the dark night with golden
lamplight, and walked in, the door swinging shut behind him, shutting out the night
sounds. As he entered a flood of warmth and talking engulfed him. Jedi stopped just inside
and surveyed the establishment.
The pub was small, by city standards, but it was more than adequate for his small
town. The room was roughly square in shape and several tables took up most of the
available space. These were crowded with jaunty townsfolk sharing a story about this or
that or some little bit of news they heard from the outside world. One corner was
dominated by tiny stage, only big enough to accommodate two or three people at most.
That was where travelling performers would present their art, not that any ever came.
There was a small clearing near the middle of the room, which served as a dance floor, but
nobody ever danced either. Along one wall was a large shelf filled with various
assortments of literature. They were there as an entertainment of sorts. People often came
to the tavern during the day to read. Jedi had read them all in his youth, but remembered
little. Beside the shelf was an old inset fireplace. It was quite deep, built to hold the largest
of logs, and it provided a marvellous heat in the cold winter. However, the cracks in the
bricks and their black texture spoke of its age. Johan, the local builder had promised to see
to its restoration, but, as yet, had not had time. Men and women of various ages populated
the room, filling the high ceiling with the sounds of laughter and mirth.
Seeing Jarred and several others against the opposite wall, Jedi began to make his way
over to them. On the way, he stopped to greet several people he recognized, asking a few
questions here and there and trying to reacquaint himself with old friends. Many things had
changed in the years he was gone. He was not really surprised by this, things changed
constantly, but he was saddened. He wasn?t there to watch his village grow and change.
But then again, if he had not left, his village would have certainly been destroyed. At least
he could take comfort in that. Jedi pushed through the last throng of people and emerged
to find Jarred waiting for him.
?Jedi,? Jarred grinned a held out his hand, ?glad you could join us!?
Jedi smiled and clasped the proffered hand, ?I almost didn?t make it. Tomas had
this crazy idea of sending me to Aman tonight.? He shook his head, ?I talked him into
giving me a break. I have to leave first thing in the morning, though.?
Jarred leaned back against the wall, ?Aman? Now why in the world would he want
you to go there??
Jedi smirk, ?Wouldn?t you like to know. Sorry, but you know Tom. It?s private business,
as usual.?
?Hmph,? Jarred made a face, ?Oh well, Tom?s a strange old man. Anyways, before
I get too far ahead of myself. I?d like to introduce you to a few people.? Jarred turned and
waved his hand indicating the three men nearby, ?The first one is Diemnic Henkel.?
?That?s Arkanandian, isn?t it?? Jedi squinted at the man.
The man Jarred had pointed to was rather short, only about one and a half meters
tall. He was dark skinned and strongly built, with wide shoulders and thick arms. He wore
a dark red work shirt and old stained leather pants. His boots were worn, but sturdy and
the casual way he crossed his feet suggested a man used to being listened to and obeyed.
He had long black hair tied back from a chiselled face. His forehead sported an unusual
tattoo, a cross in a star with triangles at the sides. It was the symbol of his homeland, but
it was in the old Arkanand tongue and few living knew of it. Thick black eyebrows arched
over wide brown eyes. His nose was somewhat large, but so it was with many
Arkananadians. His chin was very pronounced and carried a thick beard. Heavy gold
earring dangled from each ear and gold ring went through the centre of his nose. His
mouth spread in a wide grin.
?Yes, how?d you know??
?I stayed there for a week or so.? At Diemnic?s curious expression Jedi added, ?I?ll
explain it later.?
Jarred nodded and motioned toward the next man, ?This is Firehand, a worker
from the Jackights.?
Jedi dipped his head in recognition. The Jackights were a semi-secluded people.
They had a strange habit of ritually naming their children after natural things. Jedi
scrutinized him and realized with astonishment that he was completely unremarkable. Not
just in the sense that he was plain. He was painfully plain. He was of middle height, middle
weight, looked to be in his thirties, but even that would be hard to ascertain, he wore
unassuming clothing, and his face was impossibly bland. It was almost too ordinary to be
describe. Immediately Jedi was on his guard. He was not sure, but he sensed that there
was something more to this man than he was letting on. He decided to let it pass, for now.
Firehand made a small bow from the waist, ?It is an honour to make your acquaintance,
Jedi.? His voice was heavily accented in the usual Jackight manner.
Jedi returned the bow, ?The honour is mine, good Firehand.? It was a Jackight custom.
They held honour above many things.
Finally, Jarred nodded toward the last man, ?And this is Triad Maximose, origin
unknown.? Jarred grinned, ?Actually, he?s just reluctant to tell us.?
As soon as Jedi made eye contact with Triad, he knew without a doubt both his
origin and why he would want to keep it secret. He had spent several days with ? people
? like Triad. It had been intimidating, to say the least.
Triad was tall, thin, and, Jedi was sure, deceptively strong. He wore a loose white dress
blouse and baggy pants. His high-cut boots looked like nothing so much as a pirates and
his sharp, thin facial features and the plain gold earring only accentuated the similarity. He
had a commanding presence, but not overbearing. He would have bee frighteningly tall,
but his deep baby eyes kept him from looking fierce. He had a tangled matt of dark orange
hair that seemed to be spiked of its own accord. He smiled easily and offered Jedi his
hand.
Jedi took it and returned the smile, ?A pleasure.?Sarabon ?howdar?[Triad]??
(Greetings, honourable Triad.)
Triad gasped. No doubt he had not been spoken to in his native language in many years.
After all, very few humans even knew of the Ter?rak ?Skel?im, the Dragon Tongue?s,
existence, let alone how to speak it. He recovered quickly and put on a stern visage,
?We?ll speak later.?
Jedi smirked, ?Indeed, we will.?
Jarred cast a curious glance at Triad, but made no comment. Instead he said,
?These guys are the new mining crew. They came here several years ago to replace the old
one after?the accident.?
The accident. Jedi had heard about it, something about a cave-in. From what he?d heard,
the rescue crew actually managed to get the whole team out safely, but they were terrified.
None ever wanted to go near the mine again. It was a tragic event, but the villagers had
recovered and re-opened the mine. After all, it was the town?s only real resource and the
only thing that kept it on the map. But it was better not to dwell on such things.
?But, I?m sure you know all about that. So, what about you, you?ve been gone for
a little over ten years. Where?ve you been??
Jedi shrugged nonchalantly, ?Around.?
?Uh huh. Be a little more specific.?
Jedi sighed, ?It?s a long story.?
Jarred pulled up a stool and sat on it. The other three did likewise, ?Well, might as well
get started. You know we?re not going to let you leave until you tell us.?
Jedi chuckled, ?Perhaps, some other time. I have to get some sleep before I head
off to Aman tomorrow.? Jedi could almost taste the bitter disappointment coming from
Jarred. Jedi grimaced, ?Well, I guess I can tell you one thing. I went to war.?
The four men sat straighter and leaned forward. Diemnic spoke, ?War, you say.?
Jedi nodded.
Jarred piped up, ?That must have been great! What was it like??
Jedi stopped and levelled a solemn look at Jarred. Sensing that he had said something
wrong, Jarred?s grin withered. Jedi met him eye to eye, ?You want to know what war is
like?? Jedi passed a glance over the other men. He didn?t bother trying to intimidate Triad.
He had probably lived through several wars himself.
