Wild Bee Company Story

 

The people of Valeni waited patiently for the arrival of their new “Overlords”…but waiting is boring without a few drinks. The innkeeper who had called the central Keep of the Town of Deblin; his home for more than twenty years was the first to notice the thirsty visitors to his Town as they stirred uneasily in the sun; despite the cold and threatening rain. He was also the first to consider the financial benefits of suppling their need before they even realised it, disposing of some overrated lolly water that was taking up cellar space.

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The Civil war had made it difficult to receive regular supply of even some basic necessities, unavailable from local manufacture or grower; and yet fine liquor and ales from all over the World of Ralsted had made their way here; to “his” town. The “Keepers of the Peace” as they officially called themselves; or “Occupying Troops”; as many of the people of the town considered them; were fond of these imports and he had taken advantage of his contacts outside of the Province to supply them. With the numbers of foreigners who had gone through the port during the Valeni Civil War; business had boomed; most especially in supplying the Daqin Regimental Commander and his cronies who had made the Town of Deblin their head quarters.

Their tastes in beverages varied but all were top shelf. In the final months of the War, a few of the officers in charge of the small garrison of troops; paid in advance for some fine sparkling and bubbling grape wine; and then unfortunately for them; pulled out at the end of hostilities without taking the cases of wine with them; possibly aided by the fact that he didn’t advise them of the shipment’s arrival. Wild Bee was quick to realise a sure thing.
 

Indigo Amarok awoke with a mouth that was strange; and disturbing; and horrible. He thought he remembered having once had a brief encounter with a similar taste in the wilderness that was immediately spat out at that time, but he didn’t seem to have spat anything out now; or thrown up while he slept; or more likely; passed out. He realised that his head and body was covered in straw and the rain had penetrated every layer of clothing he was wearing; or was it the moat.

He vaguely remembered a challenge from Lithium Vengeance; his comrade for more than ten years and blood brother since his first wound during the war. The challenge being that he was to dive off the top-most battlement of Wild Bee’s Tavern; the former keep of the town when it was first built a thousand years in the past; into the moat that surrounded it. The bubbling concoction was supposedly safe to drink; and at a very reasonable price; but if diving fifty feet into a murky moat of questionable depth and questionable purity was what happened to those who drank it, he wasn’t so sure. You don’t go swimming in the nearest pool of runoff water from an Alchemist’s Laboratory; which Wild Bee had in one of the upper rooms to the Keep.

His other companions, Illusive Eagle, Rainbow Scorpion and Cobalt Swan were opposed to the dive; yelling insults at him until their cries had alerted the entire town to his antics in an attempt to talk him out of it; for which he was thankful. They knew better than to try to stop him physically and he was touched that they still cared enough about his survival after all these years.

Master Alchemist Wild Bee had brewed him many a strange draught in the past of medicinal value. However, Master Wild Bee didn’t usually bottle his brews in crystal bottles with corks that flew yards into the air when popped just right. In fact, his pillow seemed to be just such a bottle, with it’s cut design pressing into his cheek; though not painful as his face was still asleep despite his mind being awake.

Rolling off the bottle and onto his back, he opened his eyes to the dawn. All around him, Indigo Amarok could see his companions as well as those from other Villages, Hamlets and Farms of the Province of Stockach. The only exception were the people of the Town of Bela who were under the impression that the new “Baronial Overlord” would be arriving in their town and so had started a party of their own. During the day, Runners had travelled between the two Towns and it just ended up that the majority of the people of Stockach remained in Deblin; or so he thought.

 

Adventuring Party From The Fortified Farm Of Jaslo

A few yards away, Indigo Amarok noticed Violet Finch, resting her leg outstretched with her back against her pack, looking at him with distaste similar to a visual representation of the state of his mouth. He’d shot her in the leg six months ago as she escorted a group of Cesarstwo Mercenaries through Stockach and as the leg that he had shot was the one outstretched, he gathered that it was still troubling her.

He did like her; well at least who she was before the war. Now he wasn’t sure how he felt about her, knowing that she was a Cesarstwo Supporter during the Valeni Civil Watr; one step out of the grave if certain locals knew some of the secrets that he knew of her. Her companions, Mercury Vengeance, Wild Duck, Blue Bee and Gold Jaguar were also known to have similar pro-Cesarstwo beliefs but Indigo Amarok didn’t know them from before the war and didn’t care much about them now; and wasn’t interested in hearing the Pro-Cesarstwo rhetoric they were likely to inflict upon others; possibly in order to justify their actions during the war.

He’d shot Violet Finch in the leg out of memory of who she was before and not who she became or was now. Who in the Province of Stockach really knew who they were now. He’d done his own fair share of terrible things. How could he judge her. The arrow to the leg was a compliment; or forgiveness; or understanding. He didn’t care what she thought of him really. It was hard enough to just get by looking after your comrades and closest. Those who were close and hadn’t betrayed you.
“Betrayed you yet”, Indigo Amarok said to himself as he struggled to his feet and promptly staggered sideways without control to end up in the moat once again.

 

The splash caused by Indigo Amarok hitting the surface of the moat and the laughter of Violet Finch woke Indigo Vulture, Artisan Herbalist of the Hamlet of Chitr Borie; from a restless sleep; filled with the crazed Fire Elemental Spirit’s dreams of the Elemental Plane of Fire. The Elemental Spirit bound to his sword wasn’t particularly vicious or needy but it’s personality bled into his dream state.

He opened his eyes and found that the small fire he’d started before sleep was still burning merrily; kept alight by his Niece, Aquamarine Tiger; who didn’t sleep very much and was too uncomfortable around the large numbers of people at the party that engulfed the Town of Deblin. Indigo Amarok had barely seen Aquamarine Tiger throughout the night though he vaguely remembered her silhouette on the wall parapet, overlooking the great river, before she came back to the fire that she was now sitting beside.

He’d only had a single bottle of Wild Bee’s ridiculous bubbling wine but even so, could fully understand why Indigo Amarok was currently entertaining the frog spawn, midden water and possible failed potion residue that made up the contents of the moat.

Good man, though Indigo Amarok hadn’t told him to his face. He’d let it be known that he respected the younger Artisan Hunter’s behaviour when they had been briefly allied with one another in an ambush against a band of Valeni Mercenaries who; despite Indigo Amarok’s pro-Valeni tendencies; required chastisement for their pillage of an elderly Herbalist’s Granary. Non-lethal, but some small justice in their exposure to Violet Fungas spore that Indigo Amarok had powdered the pit trap with; requiring them to leave the Province in search of remedy before the blight could take hold.

“The Boat”, Indigo Vulture said out loud as the discussions of the night before; and their resolution; came back to him. They all had something important to do today; which was the reason that he hadn’t continued drinking. What he had to do today involved Indigo Amarok and his companions; as well as Violet Finch and her companions; as well as himself and his small family from Chitr Borie.
“Yes Uncle.”, said Aquamarine Tiger, stirring the fire with a branch. “The Boat”

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Wild Bee looked out from the Battlement of his home; down into the courtyard where his “Guests” had slept the night; locked in by his own hands; and the padlock that he’d affixed to the portcullis gate for their own protection. He didn’t want them coming to harm and inadvertently dying as an “Oath Breaker”; having consumed his wine that he ended up virtually giving away in order to gain their Oath to Hethnor; God of Trade; to join him this day; and for the next month; on an expedition to search for the lost Village to the East of Deblin.

The plan had come to him early in the afternoon of the previous day as he pulled bottles out of his cellar and sold them at a ridiculous price; fifty percent of what they were worth; though that was better than nothing. As he hadn’t had to pay for them in the first, he was comfortable and reconciled in the price he was charging; at least at first. However, as he watched the effect that the wine was having on some of the locals; clearly unaccustomed to both the ease with which it was consumed as well as the potency; he considered that they may be easier to persuaded to join in on a little private enterprise; the idea of which had come to him while waiting for the Baron to arrive.

What if the Baron doesn’t arrive? Do nothing?

Or, recruit a group and do some exploration under his command; find some treasure; come home. Some fast talking, combined with the bubbly wine might result in another 50% share of the loot; again from something that he didn’t have to pay for. It was easy enough to give his chosen few another bottle each; on top of the one that they had paid for and plant the seed of an agreement in their heads. Later in the evening he had approached them one by one to make his pitch.

Yet some of these people were were sworn after only one bottle. The most bottles required were for Indigo Amarok who ended up drinking five bottles. His companions; after Indigo Amarok had sworn; followed suit in what would ordinarily be friends backing their companion’s call; though in Wild Bee’s opinion, they seemed eager for adventure and required little persuasion. He’d seen it already as he served his customers who were veterans of the war; people who had lived through the life and death and now had an itch that they couldn’t scratch.

“Bloody Idiot” Wild Bee said as he watched Indigo Amarok haul himself out of the moat; referencing his kind; thrill seekers; as well as his current state of unbalance. “He’s going to have a Hangover”