Terrible Company Ch. 03

"He's nodding at everything she's saying." Ayen frowned and looked around the room. "You can never trust a man who's too agreeable."

"Yer sayin' it's goin' too good?"

"I'm saying, we're not the only ones watching that table," he whispered.

Mathilda's eyes widened as she looked around. "Shit," shit cursed, turning back to her mug. "Shit! Just saw a man movin' through the kitchen wit' the strongbox. How'd they already find it?"

"Could be we were followed when we buried it," he said calmly. "Could be the thing was always being tracked arcanically. Doesn't matter now." Across the room, a bald, hatchet-faced thug walked up behind Val and Katsa and nodded to the merchant, and the merchant's smile turned in a way that could only be described as 'greasy'. A dozen chairs around the room scuffed across the floor as hidden guards revealed themselves. Val scowled, her hand falling to the pommel of her sword. Katsa was the last in the room to realize her control of the situation had been completely compromised.

"I was right about ye all along," Mathilda spat venomously. "You sol' us out, you worthless shit."

"Well, you wouldn't be the first," Ayen said, as he frowned and looked around. "You probably won't be the last either."

"Ah knew it." The tin mug gave a tiny squeal as it crumpled in her hand. "Ah knew it."

"I always enjoy failing to meet the expectations of others," Ayen grinned, "but this one will be particularly sweet." In one smooth motion, he slipped off the back of his stool and slid to the wall behind him. He lifted a torch out of its iron casement and leapt up onto the tabletop in front of Mathilda.

"Hey!" he shouted, as he reached into his shirt and withdrew a small brown teddy bear. Ayen held the bear out in front of him, with the licks of the torch flame falling just shy of the adorable stuffed animal's feet. Two dozen pairs of eyes turned to him in confusion and annoyance.

"NOOOOOOO!" screeched the merchant, as tendrils of smoke danced from the singed feet of the bear. "Everyone stop!!!"

"I have your attention." Ayen lifted the bear and lowered the torch. "Good."

"Wha' in blazes is tha'?" Mathilda squeaked.

"Shut uuup," he whispered under his breath. He raised his voice to address the room as he continued. "We were hoping not to have to resort to this, but it seems like you give us no choice."

"Anything," the merchant said desperately. "Just don't burn it!" Ayen smirked as he lowered the bear again, and the merchant squealed as the brown fur darkened and smoked. "Anything!"

"We'll collect our pay and go, thank you." The merchant looked wildly around the room, and Ayen narrowed his eyes. "You didn't bring it."

"I'm sure we can find something of equal va-stop stop stop!" he shrieked, as the tip of the bear's foot blackened.

"You were always going to double cross us." The lack of answer was answer enough. Ayen smirked as Mathilda gnashed her teeth below him. Val and Katsa slowly stood up. Everyone else in the room looked to the merchant, questioningly, but the bearded Human was beset with panic. "I think we'll just be going then."

"This isn't over," he whimpered, as Val and Katsa slid toward the front door. Mathilda upended the remaining contents of her hip flask onto the wood plank floor, and Ayen touched the torch down on it as they all sprinted out into the night.

"I'm not normally one to stare into the mouths of gift horses," Val huffed, "but what the fuck was that?"

Katsa pulled a vial from her belt, chanting under her breath as she tossed it at the side entrance of the tavern. A scrawny man wielding a dagger ambled out of the kitchen just as the vial erupted against the ground. Scorched by the blast, he screamed and dove back inside as green-tinged flames engulfed the door and half of the side of the building. "I don't care what it is," the Arcanist said with a grim frown.

"It's what was in the strongbox," Ayen grunted, as he leapt onto someone else's horse to make good his third escape of the day. "I was in and out of it before Val got there."

"An' you were jus' gon' keep i' fer yerself?" Mathilda shouted wordlessly as Val grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and hoisted her onto a pony.

"Less talking, more escaping!" Katsa shouted over the roar of flames.

"I might've kept it," he admitted. "I'm not normally one for a whole lot of planning."

"That's a perfectly acceptable battle plan," Val said, straining to keep the irritation from her voice as she mounted the biggest horse of the lot.

"Thank you," he said, tossing the torch down onto a pile of hay bales. The flames spread quickly through the dry straw. The remaining horses bucked and tossed until the flimsy hitching post yanked clear out of the ground, and then they bolted in every direction.

"Why would you stick yer neck ou' for them," Mathilda shouted, as they turned their horses down the road, heading north out of Jonehn.

"Who cares," Val screamed.

"Ah do! Ah wanna hear him say it!"

"I dunno," Ayen shouted back "Normally, I wouldn't have gotten involved. I'd have just let them die and sipped my lager. No offense," he added a second later, tilting his head toward Katsa.

"None taken," she replied.

"Then why?" Mathilda roared, growing more impatient by the second.

"I was moved," he admitted. "Call it fate?"

Mathilda grumbled under her breath and stared angrily up at the heavens.

//Follow-up Note: Votes and comments are dearly appreciated. The next couple chapters will will be found in other categories (Non-Human, Lesbian), but Ayen and his cock will make quite a few more appearances throughout the rest of the story. If you found the storytelling to be interesting, I would encourage you to check out the rest!

This is a completed series. There are fifteen total chapters with a satisfying conclusions (I think) to the individual plot threads for each character. You don't have to worry about getting to the end and finding out I gave up or lost interest because it's totally done! Isn't that awesome of me to finish something I started?//