Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Many strange names fill our nest and they are attached to just as many strange people

The five of them stand together in the restaurant downstairs. Hineni had waited until night fell and everyone else left, so that they could talk about this without being overheard.

 

“Was it one of the customers?” asks Rhine, standing with crossed arms and leaning back against the empty booth, opposite of the counter. His eyes wander towards a white bundle of fabric, which lays on the reception.

 

“Maybe,” says Hineni.

 

People have been coming in and out of here all day every day. It’s hardly suspicious or difficult to pull off, especially for anyone who is renting a room. The door to the attic is literally down the hall from their rented rooms, unlocked. During the morning hours, when the five of them are mostly asleep, it wouldn’t be a tall order for anyone to just leave their room, as expected, but to take a left instead of going right and downstairs.

 

Obscura continues to hiss and to click, sitting on Hineni’s shoulder as a small-owl as she looks around the room. “A threat -” she hisses, spinning her head slowly and clicking with her beak. “Obscura has been merciful, but the frogs step too big.”

 

Hineni rubs his chin, thinking. It’s exactly what Sockel had warned him about. This is a warning to them. The gloves are coming off.

 

“A cursed thing like this…” says Sockel, shaking her head and staring at the shrouded carcass. “This is powerful magic from the south,” explains the elf. “A witch.”

 

“A witch?” asks Hineni, lowering his head. Witches aren’t very abundant and are mostly clustered in the deep-forests of the south, where they practice their obscure, dark magics. “Sockel. Is this going to be a problem?”

 

“It already is,” replies the elf. She points at the owl. “We need to burn this. It’s bringing bad luck to us.”

 

“Will do,” nods Hineni.

 

Agitated wings buzz off to the side. “This is just because you let all of these people into my house!” snaps Eilig.

 

“- My house,” corrects Hineni. “And you’re not wrong,” he finishes.

 

“I’ll get another check going,” says Sockel. “Should we round them up?”

 

Hineni shakes his head. “Tomorrow,” explains the man.

 

“Huh?” asks Rhine. “Check? Round who up?”

 

Sockel picks up the bundle with the tips of her fingers, looking at it in disgust as she turns to go to the forge herself. “The new employees, twerp.”

 

Rhine rubs his lip with the back of his thumb. “What? Like… the waitress and the cooks and stuff?” he asks.

 

“Yeah,” replies Sockel, nodding for Hineni to follow her with her head. “There’s a frog among us,” says the elf, narrowing her eyes.

 

Hineni follows her as they go to burn the body of the dead owl in the forge, listening all the while to the furious hissing and clicking that comes from next to his ear.

 

---

 

“You’re doing good work, Kleidet,” says Hineni, folding his hands together.

 

They’ve set up a small desk and some chairs upstairs in the library, turning some shelves to make a little ‘office’ for these talks.

 

The dark-elf waitress smiles. “Thanks! I really appreciate this opportunity,” she says, looking up towards the shelving, on which the owl-god sits.

 

She gulps and straightens her shoulders, sitting back upright on the chair. Hineni lifts a hand. “We’re just interested in getting to know you and the others more,” he explains. “Then I’ll let you get back to your work.”

 

“Me?” asks the dark-elf, adjusting her outfit around her shoulders. “Well, uh… I’m from here, actually,” she explains. “My little brother’s going to the academy and well, you know how it is,” she says.

 

Hineni shakes his head. “No, what?”

 

“Oh, well, our parents aren’t with us anymore.”

 

Hineni nods. “My condolences.”

 

“Thanks, anyways, I’m working this job to pay for his tuition and uh…” she stops, realizing something. “Not that I’m only here for the money!” she quickly throws in, perhaps feeling that she has said something rude. “It’s really great to be able to work for the owl-god!” assures the dark-elf, looking up towards Obscura.

 

Hineni waves the woman off. “Don’t worry. I get it,” he says. “We all need to pay our bills.” Hineni nods to her. “Thank you, Kleidet. That’s it. You can get back downstairs now.”

 

“Okay,” says the dark-elf waitress, not exactly looking relieved. “Just Kleid, by the way,” she says. “It’s less clunky.”

 

“Sure thing, Kleid.”

 

The waitress leaves.

 

Hineni nods to Sockel and she goes and gets the next one up.

 

---

 

“Irit,” greets Hineni, gesturing to the chair. The quiet man, who they have hired to watch their door sits down, looking his way. The owl-talon dagger, which he had been gifted months ago, clacks against the wooden chair. “Tell me about yourself,” says Hineni. “We never really talked.”

 

“My name’s Irit,” replies the man. “When I’m not working, I’m in the dungeon. That’s about it.”

 

Hineni nods. “Sockel spoke highly of you,” he says. “Says you’re a real go-getter.”

 

Irit shrugs. “I’ve gotta do something.”

 

“Why do you want this job?” asks Hineni. “An up and coming adventurer like you?” he starts, gesturing to the man. “You’re probably down to floor twenty of the dungeon by yourself,” he says. “That’s good money already.”

 

Irit shrugs. “I just like doing different things.”

 

“Watching a door and standing there for eight hours every day isn’t boring for you?”

 

“No,” replies Irit. “I like to watch the people. They’re interesting.”

 

Hineni crosses his arms, leaning back on his chair. Good answer. This man doesn't talk much, but Hineni likes him. Probably because of that, actually. He nods. “Thank you, Irit,” says Hineni. “That’s it.”

 

Irit nods, getting up and looking at the owl-god who stares his way intently.

 

The man leaves and Hineni gestures for Sockel to bring in the next one.

 

---

 

“Leicht,” says Hineni. The orc, one of the cooks, squeezes in through the shelves, sitting down on the chair that is somewhat too small for him.

 

“Hey,” replies the man, taking off his chef’s hat and setting it onto his lap as he sees the owl, sitting above them on the shelves. He’s somewhat older and his black hair is starting to gray on the edges of the large, round bald spot present on his crown. “We good?”

 

“Just wanted to chat,” says Hineni. “I know you’re busy, but I’m trying to squeeze in a few minutes for everyone.”

 

“No problem,” replies the cook. “Glad to be off my feet for a minute,” he jokes, laughing. Hineni laughs with him.

 

“We’ll see about getting some chairs for the kitchen. But first, tell me about you,” he says.

 

“Me?” asks the orc, rubbing his head, somewhat nervously. “You know, just an old military cook who left the game,” he explains. “Not much to say. I work, I eat, I sleep. That’s about it.”

 

“I bet you’re glad to be out of it now, with the war starting in the south,” says Hineni.

 

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The orc shrugs. “It’s been a few years now, so…”

 

Hineni stares at the man for a moment, sizing him up. He’s a big fellow. Strong, even for an orc. “How did you get into cooking again?” asks Hineni.

 

“Like I said, It seemed easier than having a sword shoved in my hand,” explains Leicht.

 

“Do you enjoy it, or is it a job?” asks Hineni.

 

The orc plays around with his hat. “Can’t it be both?”

 

“Good answer,” replies Hineni. “Okay. That’s it already,” he says. “Thank you, Leicht.”

 

The orc looks at him curiously. Hineni nods to him. The cook gets up, bowing his head to the owl-god, before squeezing back out through the shelf and putting his hat back on.

 

“Sockel. Get the other one next,” he says.

 

“Going kind of fast, aren't you?” she asks. “At least talk to them for a minute.”

 

“We saw what we needed to see,” explains Hineni, looking up at the owl-god.

 

---

 

The dwarf pulls himself up onto the chair.

 

“What’s this about?” he asks, looking at Hineni and then up towards the owl. “Kitchen’s busy. I need to be down there.”

 

“Sorry, Lutz” replies Hineni. “Just trying to talk to everyone,” he explains. “Tell me, I know about Leicht, but how did you get into cooking?”

 

The dwarf, Lutz, crosses his arms, leaning back on the chair. “Food’s the best thing in a crisis,” explains the man. “No faster way to be everyone’s friend than to know how to make food out of nothing,” he says.

 

“Are you a social type?” asks Hineni. “I never really managed to get out more myself, honestly,” he says. It’s only a half-lie. While it’s true that he himself hasn’t managed to get out more, he has somehow managed to instead bring others inside to himself.

 

“Well I wasn’t either,” explains Lutz. “Didn’t make my first friend till I was twenty-three and serving.”

 

“Interesting, back when you were a military cook?” he asks.

 

“Yeah, well, no.” The cook waves with his hand. “I was a footman first, but after we shot down a drake, I drew the short straw with butchering it,” explains Lutz. “Best thing that ever happened to me,” he says. “I practiced cooking and a year later, applied to switch positions.”

 

“Why’d you leave?” asks Hineni. “If you found that part of yourself there?”

 

“I like cooking. I don’t like killing part,” he explains. “Outside, I only have to do one of those things.”

 

Hineni thinks for a moment and then nods. “One last question,” says the man, as the other cook gets up to leave. “What’s drake meat taste like?”

 

“Softer than you’d expect,” replies the cook. “It’s squishy, even after cooking and it tastes like someone turned a chicken inside-out and left it in the sun.” With that, the man leaves, returning to his duties, having never bothered to take off his hat.

 

That just leaves one more person.

 

“Sockel. Bring her in.”

 

---

 

“I, uh, sorry… I- AH!” She stumbles over something, knocking some books over. “Sorry! Sorry.”

 

“Are you okay?” asks Hineni.

 

“I’m fine, thank you,” replies the girl, who he can’t actually see. She isn’t sitting inside of the ’office’. She’s sitting on a chair, outside of it, on the other side of a bookshelf.

 

“You realize that this is very unorthodox, Seltsam?” asks Hineni, folding his hands and puzzling about the situation.

 

“I know! I know…” replies the new librarian who he has never actually seen before. “I’m just uh, I’m not good with people.”

 

Hineni lifts an eyebrow. “I’m not ‘people’, I’m your employer.”

 

“Yeah. I’m not good with those either,” replies Seltsam.

 

Hineni presses down a laugh, catching it in his throat. He can imagine. She appears to be deathly afraid of social contact, perhaps even more than he himself was in his old life. At least back then, he had the forge to earn his keep. For someone like her, life must be very difficult indeed, without a trade that she can practice on her own in the dark.

 

“Please. Tell me about yourself,” he says, trying to get a good view on the gestalt on the other side of the shelving. He can’t really make out any features, but he can see that she’s holding an unfolded book up above her head, to block out the line of sight of Obscura, who is sitting atop the shelf.

 

“Well, uh… I like books and uh… hmm… I really need this job,” says Seltsam. “Please don’t fire me! Your library is really great and I love it here!” she says, taking a sharp turn in her pitch.

 

Hineni tilts his head. “It’s hardly been a month.”

 

“Uh… oh… was that a weird thing to say? Uh…”

 

He can see a pair of legs swinging from a chair, kicking nervously on the other side of the bookshelf. “- Sorry. I uh, hmm- I-”

 

The man sighs, feeling a pang of sympathetic pain with her. It’s almost nostalgic. “I’m not firing you, Seltsam,” says Hineni. “I promise,” he says, wondering if he should add a ‘right now’ to clarify that this statement isn’t a promise for the future. “Sockel’s told me that you’ve been doing good work in here.”

 

He doesn’t know how the book-loaning business is going. But he can tell that the shelves are far more tightly and neatly organized than ever before. Every nook and cranny of the library has been made perfect, even after all of the chaos he and Obscura had caused here.

 

“Yeah, haha… there’s not much to do, honestly,” she says, stopping herself. “…Should I have said that? I feel like I shouldn’t have said that,” explains the nervous person. “I do a lot! I uh -”

 

“- Sorry about making this place so messy all the time,” interrupts Hineni, in order to help keep the conversation going.

 

“It’s okay,” she says. “There’s all sorts of really weird and interesting stuff here!” explains the excitable librarian. “One time I found this really weird outfit behind the shelves. Super old fashioned.” Hineni blinks, lifting his gaze towards Obscura, who stares down his way with her head turned around fully. He had hoped she had hidden that somewhere more private. “- Hey, uh, can I live in here?”

 

Hineni turns back towards the shelf. “…What?”

 

“Oh! Uh… never mind, nothing. Nothing!” Seltsam laughs a high-pitched laugh.

 

The man blinks. She’s odd, but she seems friendly and excitable. Plus she seems to find work for herself, even when work is dwindling. He appreciates that.

 

“Thanks for chatting with me, Seltsam,” he says. “We’ll let you have the library for yourself again now.”

 

“Really?! I mean, uh… yeah, sure,” she says, trying to play it off cooly.

 

Hineni gets up and Obscura flies down towards him, landing on his shoulder. The two of them leave the library through the upstairs door.

 

“Did Hineni see with his eyes?” asks owl-god, transforming into her humanish form and pressing a talon against his forehead.

 

Hineni nods, having an idea about who their problem is. He grabs her hand pulling it down to hold it better. “Hineni saw,” he replies.

 

 

 

---