"Eramus, dahling", she said. "When are you going to tell us the reason for calling this meeting?"
"In a moment, my dear Griselda", the faun replied. "We are just waiting for a few more people."
This announcement caused a murmur of surprise among the troupe. After all, they were all here, so who were they waiting for?
The answer came almost immediately, as the door to the tavern opened and three people; a lynx, a cat and a dragon entered the establishment. One of the actors, a fox, leaned forward and said, sotto voce, to the crocodile sitting next to him:
"Say, weren't those three in the audience last evening?"
The croc only grunted and shrugged her shoulders. After all, who hadn't been in the audience last evening?
Having spotted the trio, Eramus waved at them to approach the table. Raising his glass, he then proceeded to call for silence by tapping his knife against it. Immediately, all the actors went quiet and turned to look at their leader.
"Friends", said Eramus. "I would like to introduce you to three new acquaintances of mine. This is Risha, her brother Leorin and Merees. "
Upon being introduced Risha and Merees both curtsied, while Leorin held up his right paw. His sister, however, deemed this too casual an introduction and nudged his side. Leorin shot her an angry look and bowed to the table.
"They are currently guests of Hieronymus'", Eramus continued. "Incidentally, wasn't there another lad with you?"
"Yes", said Risha. "Luke."
"He decided not to come", said Leorin.
"I see."
"Dahling", Griselda asked, turning to Eramus. "What is this all about? and aren't you going to introduce me you your young friends?"
"Where are my manners? Risha, Merees, Leorin, meet Griselda, my trusted right hand without whose assistance, I'd be helplessly adrift."
As he said these words, Eramus gently grabbed one of Griselda's hands and kissed it, causing her eyelashes to flutter coquettishly.
"I apologize for not introducing the rest of you", Eramus said to the other members of the troupe.
"But hopefully we will all have plenty of time to get to know each other better."
Griselda leaned forward.
"Eramus, are you saying that these three are the reason why we are here."
The Faun nodded.
"Quite so, my dove. These three fine youths have asked me if we could take them with us when we leave the island. As far as I'm concerned, these three are of course more than welcome aboard, but since we're all in this together, I think we should put it up to a vote."
At this point, the sound of a chair being pushed back could be heard. It was the fox, who stood up and now was coming over.
"Excuse me", he said to the trio. "I should like to take a look at your hands."
Not really understanding why, Risha, Leorin and Merees held out their paws and claws respectively. The Fox took hold of each limb, turned them over and looked at them carefully, before letting go.
"You come from money" said the fox and did so in a way that made it clear it was a statement, not a question.
"I guess" said Risha, feeling somewhat embarrassed for reasons she was unsure of. "We never really thought about it, though."
"You understand" said the fox. "That we can not have idle hands on our ship. If we let you come aboard, it means you will have to work. Are you sure you are willing to do that?" He asked, fixating the three of them with a stern look.
"Of course" said Merees, drawing herself up to her full height. "We will do whatever is required of us. Isn't that right?"
"Right" said Risha and Leorin in unison, though the latter's voice sounded a lot less enthusiastic.
"Well" said the fox and turned to Eramus. "In that case, my vote is in favor of letting them aboard."
"Mine too" said Griselda. "Especially since they are friends of Hieronymus. "Incidentally, how is he?"
"Fine" Eramus replied. "By the way, before we leave, he has invited us all to a party at his place."
This announcement was met with universal approval and once again, Eramus had to resort to the knife-on-glass tactic in order to be heard.
"Now then, shall we get down to business? Who here is in favor of allowing these fine young people access to our vessel? Raise a hand if you are."
Several hands immediately shot up towards the ceiling. Eramus counted them one by one, finding the votes in favor to be in the majority.
Among the few whose hands had not been in the air, was an ocelot who stood out due to having only one ear. His left ear was intact, but only a scar remained where the right ear had once been. Now, this ocelot emptied his mug of beer, used the back of his paw to wipe the foam from his mouth and banged his fist at the table.
"Have you gone insane?" He said. "You are really going to let these three strangers, people we know nothing about, aboard our ship? Not to mention that one of them is a dragon!"
As he spat out these words, the ocelot walked over to where Eramus and the others sat and positioned himself right in front of Merees.
"A dragon" he continued through clenched teeth. "A fucking dragon."
"Eramus, are you saying that these three are the reason why we are here."
The Faun nodded.
"Quite so, my dove. These three fine youths have asked me if we could take them with us when we leave the island. As far as I'm concerned, these three are of course more than welcome aboard, but since we're all in this together, I think we should put it up to a vote."
At this point, the sound of a chair being pushed back could be heard. It was the fox, who stood up and now was coming over.
"Excuse me", he said to the trio. "I should like to take a look at your hands."
Not really understanding why, Risha, Leorin and Merees held out their paws and claws respectively. The Fox took hold of each limb, turned them over and looked at them carefully, before letting go.
"You come from money" said the fox and did so in a way that made it clear it was a statement, not a question.
"I guess" said Risha, feeling somewhat embarrassed for reasons she was unsure of. "We never really thought about it, though."
"You understand" said the fox. "That we can not have idle hands on our ship. If we let you come aboard, it means you will have to work. Are you sure you are willing to do that?" He asked, fixating the three of them with a stern look.
"Of course" said Merees, drawing herself up to her full height. "We will do whatever is required of us. Isn't that right?"
"Right" said Risha and Leorin in unison, though the latter's voice sounded a lot less enthusiastic.
"Well" said the fox and turned to Eramus. "In that case, my vote is in favor of letting them aboard."
"Mine too" said Griselda. "Especially since they are friends of Hieronymus. "Incidentally, how is he?"
"Fine" Eramus replied. "By the way, before we leave, he has invited us all to a party at his place."
This announcement was met with universal approval and once again, Eramus had to resort to the knife-on-glass tactic in order to be heard.
"Now then, shall we get down to business? Who here is in favor of allowing these fine young people access to our vessel? Raise a hand if you are."
Several hands immediately shot up towards the ceiling. Eramus counted them one by one, finding the votes in favor to be in the majority.
Among the few whose hands had not been in the air, was an ocelot who stood out due to having only one ear. His left ear was intact, but only a scar remained where the right ear had once been. Now, this ocelot emptied his mug of beer, used the back of his paw to wipe the foam from his mouth and banged his fist at the table.
"Have you gone insane?" He said. "You are really going to let these three strangers, people we know nothing about, aboard our ship? Not to mention that one of them is a dragon!"
As he spat out these words, the ocelot walked over to where Eramus and the others sat and positioned himself right in front of Merees.
"A dragon" he continued through clenched teeth. "A fucking dragon."
Merees met the ocelot's gaze and shuddered. Never before had she felt such hatred and oddly enough, the fact that the ocelot had to throw his neck back to look at her was not much of a comfort.
"Leave her alone!"
The command came from Risha, who had positioned herself protectively between the two of them.
"What is this creature to you?" The ocelot snarled.
"I love her more than anything in the World" Risha replied, taking a step forward.
"And you think she loves you back?" The ocelot shook his head. "You poor misguided..."
Alas, the next word out of the ocelot's mouth must forever remain a mystery, because just then Risha's knuckles connected with the lower part of his face with such force that it sent him staggering backwards.
Clutching his nose, the ocelot glared at Risha, blood streaming from his nostrils.
"Fucking dragon lover" he growled, voice muffled. "You'll regret this one day."
Having uttered these ominous words, the ocelot stormed out of the tavern, rejecting the assistance offered to him by a compassionate waitress.
"Well" said the fox. "That was quite a turn of events."
"I can't believe you did that?" Leorin exclaimed, looking at his sister with genuine amazement.
"Neither can I" said Merees. "Are you alright?" She wondered, looking at Risha who was massaging her paw.
"I'm fine, that hurt more than I thought it would though. What was up with that guy?" She asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
Eramus let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid the fault is mine, I knew that Isso had bad experiences with dragons in the past. It was a dragon that took his ear."
"Oh" said Merees, gazing towards the door. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Well" Risha said, crossing her arms huffily. "He shouldn't have said those things about you. About us."
"We didn't know about this" the fox said. "Isso never told us about his past, before he joined the troupe."
"He told me once" Eramus said in a low voice. "Me and Hieronymus."
"Its to bad that your magic cloak is still being repaired" Leorin said. "Otherwise this could have been avoided."
"Perhaps" Merees replied. "Or he would have found out about what I am when we were already at sea and everything would have been worse."
"Maybe we should wait for another ship?" said Risha gloomily.
All of three of them stared down at the table.
"Nonsense!" Said Eramus. "The people have spoken and the majority wanted you to come with us. Don't worry, Isso won't cause any trouble for you while you're aboard. We'll see to that."
Both the fox and Griselda added their agreement.
"By the way" the faun continued, putting his hand on the fox's shoulder. "This is Rufus, another close companion and invaluable member of our family. Rufus, can you look after these three during our voyage?"
"Of course, Eramus."
Eramus clapped his hands together.
"Excellent. Now, I do believe I would like another drink. Anyone care to join me?"
Everyone did, including Leorin who was told by Risha that he too young to consume alcohol. This he thought terribly unfair and made his opinion clear in no uncertain manner. Until his sister with an exasparated look on her face handed him her glass.
"Fine" she said. "I'll let you taste , but I can tell you right now that you are not going to like it."
Leorin glanced down at the dark-red liquid, sniffed it and took a careful sip. Almost immediately his face scrunched up in disgust. Eramus signaled to a nearby serving girl.
"Can we have something for the boy, please? A glass of milk perhaps?"
The requested dairy product arrived promptly. As soon as it was set down on the table, Leorin grabbed the glass and did not put it down until it was empty.
Now, we must bid a temporary farewell to the peaceful haven that is doctor Hieronymus' island and travel north: To Frigonia, where more serious events have occurred. Orgoff have just learned that his nephew, the King, have been taken captive by the enemy.
"Leave her alone!"
The command came from Risha, who had positioned herself protectively between the two of them.
"What is this creature to you?" The ocelot snarled.
"I love her more than anything in the World" Risha replied, taking a step forward.
"And you think she loves you back?" The ocelot shook his head. "You poor misguided..."
Alas, the next word out of the ocelot's mouth must forever remain a mystery, because just then Risha's knuckles connected with the lower part of his face with such force that it sent him staggering backwards.
Clutching his nose, the ocelot glared at Risha, blood streaming from his nostrils.
"Fucking dragon lover" he growled, voice muffled. "You'll regret this one day."
Having uttered these ominous words, the ocelot stormed out of the tavern, rejecting the assistance offered to him by a compassionate waitress.
"Well" said the fox. "That was quite a turn of events."
"I can't believe you did that?" Leorin exclaimed, looking at his sister with genuine amazement.
"Neither can I" said Merees. "Are you alright?" She wondered, looking at Risha who was massaging her paw.
"I'm fine, that hurt more than I thought it would though. What was up with that guy?" She asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
Eramus let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid the fault is mine, I knew that Isso had bad experiences with dragons in the past. It was a dragon that took his ear."
"Oh" said Merees, gazing towards the door. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Well" Risha said, crossing her arms huffily. "He shouldn't have said those things about you. About us."
"We didn't know about this" the fox said. "Isso never told us about his past, before he joined the troupe."
"He told me once" Eramus said in a low voice. "Me and Hieronymus."
"Its to bad that your magic cloak is still being repaired" Leorin said. "Otherwise this could have been avoided."
"Perhaps" Merees replied. "Or he would have found out about what I am when we were already at sea and everything would have been worse."
"Maybe we should wait for another ship?" said Risha gloomily.
All of three of them stared down at the table.
"Nonsense!" Said Eramus. "The people have spoken and the majority wanted you to come with us. Don't worry, Isso won't cause any trouble for you while you're aboard. We'll see to that."
Both the fox and Griselda added their agreement.
"By the way" the faun continued, putting his hand on the fox's shoulder. "This is Rufus, another close companion and invaluable member of our family. Rufus, can you look after these three during our voyage?"
"Of course, Eramus."
Eramus clapped his hands together.
"Excellent. Now, I do believe I would like another drink. Anyone care to join me?"
Everyone did, including Leorin who was told by Risha that he too young to consume alcohol. This he thought terribly unfair and made his opinion clear in no uncertain manner. Until his sister with an exasparated look on her face handed him her glass.
"Fine" she said. "I'll let you taste , but I can tell you right now that you are not going to like it."
Leorin glanced down at the dark-red liquid, sniffed it and took a careful sip. Almost immediately his face scrunched up in disgust. Eramus signaled to a nearby serving girl.
"Can we have something for the boy, please? A glass of milk perhaps?"
The requested dairy product arrived promptly. As soon as it was set down on the table, Leorin grabbed the glass and did not put it down until it was empty.
Now, we must bid a temporary farewell to the peaceful haven that is doctor Hieronymus' island and travel north: To Frigonia, where more serious events have occurred. Orgoff have just learned that his nephew, the King, have been taken captive by the enemy.
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