Chapter 16: Chapter 16 — the thunder rolls

CHAPTER 16

“I really like her, Chad.  She’s very nice.  She’s so blessed that you were in that dungeon.  You’re the only reason Cinder is alive right now,” Muni said as she wrapped her arm around me.

“I don’t know about all that.  I’m just happy I could help.  Is she settling in upstairs?”

“Yes, Claire and Koshiro are making her bed now with clean sheets.”

My eyes widened immediately. “Did you just say… Koshiro is helping? She wanted me to just leave her at Stonerock.  This is surprising.”

Muni giggled as she patted my chest.  “You should know by now that Koshiro is all talk for the most part.  She has a heart of gold under all of that jealousy and rage.”

“Yeah, she can’t fool us even if she tries.”

“However, Koshiro is not all talk with her love and devotion to you.  She’ll do anything for you.”

“I know that.  I remember in Broadburn when she stabbed a guy in the leg for insulting me.  It was romantic,” I replied sarcastically.

“I can stab people for you if you like,” Muni smirked.

“We’ll leave all the stabbing to Koshiro. How does that sound?”

“She’s probably better at it, anyway.”

“Did Apple leave earlier? Or is she still around?”

“She left a few hours ago to go on a quest from the board in the city center.  It was north of Summerstar.  She was supposed to be gathering some special flowers for the alchemist a few streets over.”

“Well shoot, I hate I missed her. How did it go? She was kind of feisty.  Did you all get along?”

“Yes.  We had a few drinks on the roof and she went on to bed.  Things wouldn’t have been as smooth had Koshiro been here, I’m sure.”

“I don’t doubt that.  Koshiro wasn’t a fan initially.”

“We bonded with her pretty well the short time we were together.  She said she’ll stop by whenever she comes through town.”

“So how well did you bond… exactly? I would have loved to have seen this bonding.  Did the bonding include clothing?”

“You’re such a pervert.  There wasn’t that kind of bonding.  There was a little playful flirtation between Claire and Apple after they had a few drinks in them, but that was it.  There was nothing more.”

“Damn,” I exhaled in sarcastic disappointment and kissed her on the head.

Muni cleared her throat.  “Umm, Chad, I feel something poking me. You are a pervert.”

“I’m sorry, just the picture of three drunk beauties naked on the roof making out got me a little excited.  Goddamn, I’m going to pour some ice down my trousers.  This is embarrassing.”

“Down boy down,” Muni laughed as she walked over to flip over the sign on the door to closed.  

As soon as she flipped the sign and locked the door, there was a loud knock.  Muni cracked the door.  “I’m sorry, sir, we’re closed.”

I stepped toward the door to see an older man with a pushcart filled with a few boxes. The old man shook his head. “I’m not here to eat.  I’m looking for a man named Chad. I’m not from here, so I’m not sure who I’m looking for exactly.  The lady said Chad Stone when she asked for help, and that he had a restaurant.”

My attention piqued immediately, and I opened the door completely.  “What lady asked for help?”

“I’m not sure what her name was.  She was in chains, walking behind a schooner driven by hobgoblins.  She was a pretty girl with long, brown hair.  She looked like a hunter, if I had to guess.  She was crying and asked me to help her.  I’m just an old man, and I couldn’t fight over four hobgoblins.  I felt terrible for the poor girl.  She told me to please find a man name Chad in Summerstar.  She said he would be at a restaurant called New Beginnings.  She was right.  Here you are.”

“Holy shit, you’re talking about Apple.  She must have been captured on her gathering quest.  Goddammit, which way were they headed?”

“They were on the main road headed north.  I would guess they were headed to Falcor to probably sell the girl.  I can’t be sure though.  The schooner was traveling pretty slow since they were pulling the girl along.  If you get going, you can catch them.  Hopefully, they haven’t left the road to go somewhere else.”

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I equipped my armor and charged out the door. Well, I attempted to go out the door, but my size, along with the new bulky dragon armor I just looted, wouldn’t fit through the door. “Fuck!” I unequipped the armor and dashed through the opening, almost knocking the old man down.

“Chad, Let me go with you,” Muni announced. 

“No, I’m doing this on my own. I’ll move faster if I’m by myself, anyway.”

“I understand, but Koshiro will not understand.”

“You need to keep her here. I’ll be fine. My new armor looks menacing, but I’m going to add something else to the mix.”

“What is that?” Muni asked with an ear flutter.

I pointed behind the restaurant and grinned maniacally.

The blue-haired catgirl’s jaw dropped. “You’re taking Henegar? These hobgoblins will shit themselves.”

“We’ll hobgoblins poop themselves on a regular basis, from what I hear. They are dreadful, nasty creatures,” the old man interjected.

******

Henegar and I thundered out of town. It was an exhilarating experience riding the back of a grizzly bear with dragon armor and a giant zwielander attached to my back. I chose not to equip my helm so I could feel the wind in my face and through my hair.  Usually, Henegar was in a happy-go-lucky mood with a smile on his face, but he knew from my demeanor and armor that we were storming into a battle. He huffed and growled as his giant paws crashed onto the gravel road. Anyone on the road moved to the side to let us pass. A small dust trail followed us as we went.

“Hey there’s Chad! I love your new pancakes that are on the menu! Well done! I’m going to stop by tomorrow,” shouted Jim, the traveling potion merchant, as he watched us pass.

I nodded and waved as we thundered on by. “I’m glad you like them. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. I got some special syrup. I want you to try!”

“You got it Chad!”

Further up the road, I saw the mayor’s wife and their daughter, Ivory, on a carriage headed back to Summerstar.  Her face lit up as we approached, and she waved frantically. “Look mother, it’s Mr. Chad! He’s the nice man that cooked for my birthday party and that’s the cute bear I rode! Hello Henegar! I love you, sweet boy!”

“I see dear, please don’t lean over the railing or you’ll fall to the road and crack your little head open,” the girl’s mother said as she pulled Ivory back. “Hello Chad, it’s nice to see you again.”

“You too, ma’am. I hate to rush off, but I’ve got a thing.”

“Bye Henny boy! I’ll see you later!” Ivory shouted at my bear. He huffed and nodded at his little friend and continued to pound the gravel road into oblivion. 

I leaned over and rubbed Henegar on the neck. “How many people are we going to run into? This is ridiculous.”

Henegar huffed and snorted as he tilted his head back in response. We continued at a quick pace for a couple more miles. I was shocked at the bear’s stamina. He didn’t appear tired at all.  

I’d hoped to see a schooner in the distance, but we weren’t so lucky. I scanned all around to see if they might have stopped somewhere. My heart pounded as I pictured Apple being dragged by chains. I hoped they hadn’t hurt her in other ways. The old man didn’t mention any visible injuries. If they had plans to sell her, I wagered they wanted her to be as damage free as possible.

“We have to find her quickly,” I said under my breath. 

The thought of someone selling my friend was tearing me up inside. I’ll be damned if it was going to happen. Henegar began to heave and huff like he was trying to get my attention.

“What is it, buddy?”

He stopped and pointed his giant head toward a schooner off the main road on a piece of farmland. They had stopped and built a campfire for supper and a night’s rest.

I patted the enormous beast on his side, then rubbed him. “Damn, Henegar, you found them. Let’s go tell them hello. How does that sound?”

Henegar replied with a deep, terrifying growl. 

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