Walking into an actual town was different for me. I had pretty much lived at the house with my family. I had not really had interactions with anyone else even. So I watched everyone as I passed. The smells of fresh cooked food overwhelmed me. People were shouting trying to get [people to buy what they had, it could have been as simple as food or slaves or anything in between.
"Maybe you should stay quiet for now, I don't think people hear would it very much if they found out that you could talk." I whispered to my friend. He simply looked up at me and meowed so I pet his head.
I kept going and finally I came to the place I had been searching for. It looked like it would be out of business soon but with all the yelling from inside I didn't really think that would happen. I went to go inside but the door was pushed open by a man falling outside and into the mud.
"You son of a bitch! Why don't try that again while I'm lookin' at yah?" He stumbled back inside and I followed to see the outcome.
Inside the pub, known as the Witch's Broom, every known fighter, brawler, hired knight, or man who wanted to fight was here. It was the unofficial home of the guild I had come to find. Most of the men were yelling at each other while sharing stories, or drinking, or both at the same time. The others who weren't talking were fighting, whether in a circle around each other taking bets, or cheering the men on.
The man who I had seen get thrown, I assumed, outside was finally in front of his opponent and they were yelling quite fiercely.
"You're all washed up Jacks. You haven't been able to get a request for years, do you really think you can still fight let alone stand?" Finally the man who had been thrown, Jacks, put all his weight into one throw and went to punch. The man who had spoken went to dodge but at the last second Jacks turned his fist a little extra and made contact. He stumbled back and laughed nervously. "You don't even have any weight b. . ." And then his eyes glazed over and the man fell over.
Jacks grabbed a mug from a nearby table to drank it before saying "I don't have any weight behind what? You may have barely dodged one hand, but next time watch closer for the second." He stumbled off to a corner to finish his mead.
My eyes were stunned at what I had just seen. That had been Jacks, the man said to have only lost once, the man who used his fists before his sword and never lost with his fists. This was the man that I had idolized, who I thought I would never meet but who I looked up to and who was apparently a drunk.
"Boy you look to be lost." I shook my head to clear my thoughts and noticed many people staring at me, in particular the bar tender and the man in front of him at the bar, the guild's captain.
"No sir, I'm exactly where I wanted to be."
"From the look of yah, I would think you would want to heading up the college now wouldn't yah?" The men laughed and the captain went back to his drink. I looked down at myself and noticed that where most of the men had clothes that showed wear and tear, mine looked to be new and freshly washed. My arms were thin and weak where theirs were think and like tree trunks from wielding blades for most of their lives. But I clenched my hands and looked him right in the eye.
"No sir. I'd rather be here. I may look weak but that's because I need to learn and I'm willing to do anything to make my dream come true." No one laughed, everyone went quiet, even the men who were fighting in the rings were all looking at me or the captain.
"Tell me something boy." The captain finished his drink and turned to me. "Are you sure you want this? Are you ready to put your life on the line? You will be bullied for being new, you will be harassed and put to work and because you will be a member of this guild you would be looked down on for not trying your hardest to protect any of these men."
"My family thinks I am a disappointment, I hope to make a new one and show them what I can be."
He chuckled and order another drink, "You're in."
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