Adventures of the Crown: The Noble Bandit

CH4

The tavern was bustling with the town folks, leaving Nelson and Atraas almost feeling at home in the busy place. It was quiet when one compared it to the capital city where the King lived, but that was to be expected. Another thing he had expected was upon his arrival; the whole tavern went silent. No one trusted Nelson, and for good reason. It hadn’t been that long ago that he had been here trying to enslave them all. None of them had known it was his father’s suggestion, however.

It didn’t matter. They soon returned to their drinks but were now conscious of the noble in their presence.

“Perhaps you should have stayed home, M’lord,” Atraas mocked his old friend, though kept his tone to one of politeness.

Nelson shot his friend a small look and then said, “and miss out on a drink? We all know I’ll be the life of the party in about an hour.”

Atraas snickered, nodding his head before he set out to mingle with the crowd. He didn’t share the town’s mistrust of Nelson and was, to them, someone merely unlucky enough to be working for him. That let him fit in well, especially when he mocked the noble behind his back. Though Nelson would expect no less from his friend. They were well accustomed to playing many roles.

What Nelson needed right now was to find out who this visitor was, and if he needed to put any energy into finding out who they were. He ordered a drink at the bar and set his gaze on the tavern patrons with subtle glances. He had not skirted on learning the face of every regular person who came to this town. Most visitors to Lightmist village were the pointy-eared folk from the forests, to which Lynnette was related by blood.

Nelson dreaded to think about what she would do or say if she caught him here. He had shown little desire to mingle, and whenever he did, she would be on his ass about it. She held little trust for him and for all the right reasons.

“You don’t give up, do you?”

Nelson knew his luck was limited, but he couldn’t help the sigh that escaped his mouth. “No, Lynnette, I don’t give up,” he uttered dryly. His amber gaze shifted over his shoulder to spot her before he spun around on his stool to gaze at her directly. “What is it you want?” He then asked bluntly.

“What are you doing here?” Lynnette asked, her voice low and her eyes narrowed.

Nelson held up his glass of whiskey and smirked. “Last I checked, I was trying to enjoy a drink, but then this legless elf started to harass me,” he mocked her.

“Bastard,” she hissed, shooting a glare his way. “What’s the real reason? Stealing things again? Kidnapping? Or maybe you’re here to remind everyone what position you hold over them now?”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Or maybe, just maybe, I want a drink,” he said, carefully waving the glass in front of Lynnette’s face so that he didn't spill any. “With how often you bother me, I am starting to think you’re using any excuse to come see me.”

Unamused eyes stared back at him before Lynnette sighed and shook her head. “Pompous ass,” she muttered loud enough for him to hear. She had no fear of him, even after everything that had happened to her. Or perhaps it was because of what happened? She and the King had been close, though Nelson didn’t know how close, though he didn’t think the King was smart enough to have a lover on the side.

“Look,” Nelson began, another subtle sweep of the tavern was made with his gaze, “I had reports of an unknown face in town. You know my actual reasons for being forced to play this game, so how about you help a man out, rather than flirt with me?”

“Hah!” Lynnette laughed out a bit too loud. “Me? Flirt with you? I’d sooner kiss a Rattus' ass,” she exclaimed with a smirk. “It would look prettier than your face, at least,” she added.

Nelson couldn’t stop the smirk from growing as he listened to her insult him. It wasn’t as though they were friends, far from it, but he quite enjoyed this sort of banter. It was much better than dealing with two-faced people, like the nobility.

“Anyway, to the question of a new face, yes,” Lynnette carried on, her voice shifting into a whisper. “He isn’t here, but he has been acting a little off. I can’t tell anything about him, though. He doesn’t talk with anyone, other than at the market when he buys things and he doesn’t mingle at all either.”

“That isn’t helpful,” Nelson sighed and took a sip of his whiskey. “Where is he staying?” He then asked.

“In the inn upstairs,” Lynnette related to him and then shook her head. “He is there now unless he snuck out the window, but I doubt it. I would have heard him do so.”

“Right… you and your freaky hearing,” Nelson couldn’t help but mutter. He had learned the hard way that her kind had some of the best hearing out of all the races of Terra. Few people knew about it, but he had been one of the unlucky few to get caught out by his friends on over one occasion.

Lynnette gave Nelson a sweet, innocent smile before she said, “I do not know what you mean. Anyway, if you must know, they are of Rattus descent, so they’ll stand out like a sore thumb. Maybe with you here, they’ll come out of their room if they relate to the task you have.”

“Perhaps,” Nelson said, sipping his drink again. He glanced upstairs and then over to where his friend was. Atraas, of course, had heard their conversation, but none of the humans had, and that was all that mattered to him. “Aren’t Rattus usually social? Like, too much so?” He then asked. He had little experience with their kind, but he knew enough to know they were very tight-knit family groups.

“Mostly, yes, that is why it is so odd, but I have much less understanding of them than you do, so do with this information as you see fit,” Lynnette said as she shifted on her mobile chair uncomfortably. “Just do not cause trouble, because I will shoot you up the ass with an arrow.”

“Again with my ass? Do you like it that much?” Nelson questioned with a huge smirk on his face. “Sorry, but I quite like to be the one on top, so I’ll have to pass on the offer.”

Lynnette let out a frustrated groan. “My Goddess! Of all the people the King could dump on me here, he had to torture me with you!” She huffed, her hands throwing up into the air in frustration. “I’m going before you come up with more of the same jokes.”

And with that, she wheeled herself off to bother some other poor soul for breaking some rule or other.

Nelson let out a sigh of relief, then turned his attention back to where his friend had once stood. He had already gone to sneak up on the Rattus, to see if he could eavesdrop on anything the man might say while he assumes he is alone in his room.

After an hour, and a few drinks later, the tavern had finally gotten over Nelson invading their space and some of the opportunistic ones were now playing cards with him, betting enough coins that he knew he could go away making a profit. Of course, he knew he couldn’t make it obvious that he was cheating.

“Argh,” Nelson said with a sigh, as he pushed some of his betted coins towards the middle to place another bet. “You got me that time, but this time you won’t be so lucky!” He told them, glad for the distraction while he waited for his friend to return. This round was one of the biggest piles being gambled, so he planned to win it all and, with luck, go before they asked for a rematch. Though if he did, he would be fine with a slight loss, just to pacify them.

Atraas returned right on time, whispering into his ear, “while I don’t know if he is someone we want, he is keeping tabs on you. That is enough reason to suspect him. He was talking to someone else, but I couldn’t tell if they were in the room with him, or he was using some of his race's gizmos to communicate.”

With a nod, Nelson looked at his group of card players. “I have to go,” he said, collecting the coins. However, he left a small share, in hopes they would not complain about bleeding them dry. They still complained, but none did anything to stop him from taking the rest of the coins from the table. That was enough for him.

As the two of them exited the tavern, Nelson paused to look up at the top floor windows. “Which one is his room?” He asked, keeping his voice low.

“One facing the alley on the right,” Atraas replied. “Should be easy enough for you to get up there. Planning to sneak in while he sleeps?”

“Haven’t decided yet,” Nelson replied with a wide grin. “I’ll need to dress for the occasion, though. Can’t get caught like this, or else Lynnette will do more than shoot me with her arrows.”

“You and her get along swimmingly,” Atraas teased, his laughter joyful. “How long before she moans your name? A day? Two?”

Shoving Atraas with his hand, Nelson rolled his eyes. “I’m not interested, and neither is she. Besides, she’s the King’s favoured pet. I’d rather hang myself than sleep with her. She’d turn me into an honest man, and to the Underworld with that!”

Atraas laughed all the more as the two of them returned to the farmhouse. Nelson knew he would need to keep his prize coin hidden from his step-sister, especially if he wanted to use it later for some well-earned treats.

Then there was getting his old cloak and sneaking out again without her knowing. If it was a normal home, he would have no issue, but with the pigs, it was a task not as easy as that. They would alert her to his wanderings if they heard him, not out of a sense of wanting to warn her of his escape, but because they would expect him to feed them.

Animals were the worst to deal with when you lived a life of crime.

As soon as he stepped through the door, Esta was hot on his heels about going out. He had hoped he could sneak in since the pigs had been quiet on his arrival, but unfortunately, he had not been so lucky.

“Where did you go!?” Esta asked, folding her arms and tapping her foot on the ground. “My Lord, you know we cannot afford you to go drinking!” She added, trying to sound pressing, but also respectful.

Nelson glanced at Atraas and then to his step-sister. “We only had one glass,” he said, holding up his hands innocently. That had been a lie. He alone had five, or was it six? He had a strong tolerance for alcohol, but he never kept count. “Besides, I was mostly there to get to know the townsfolk. It isn’t easy being a noble with the whole town glaring at me.”

“That’s what lower-class people always do, get used to it,” Esta replied, shaking her head. “You’re not some street urchin anymore, so stop trying to act like it. You must be above all that.”

Nelson braced himself for the lecture he knew was coming while Atraas smirked at him and strolled past without so much of a telling off by Esta. He, of course, could mingle with the common folk as much as he liked because he WAS a commoner.

“Yes, of course, old habits. It shall not happen again,” Nelson said, bowing his head. It would undoubtedly happen again, but who was going to tell her that?

With a sigh, Esta turned around and shook her head. “We have a lot of work tomorrow, so get to bed, my Lord, and please remember your position as a noble from here on out.”

Nelson’s face twitched as he forced a smile. “Yes, of course,” he said, trying to sound cheerful about it, but oh, how he hated this more than anything in the world. He couldn’t wait to be rid of her and this dull life.

He just hoped the adventure he had been promised would start sooner rather than later.