Chance Meeting
Baylor eyed the two men who had just entered the Inn at Ravensburg. They were a strange pair, both from distant lands, yet with little in common. One was a hulking Northman, probably from Jankaping by the look of his clothes and the other was clearly a Khinasi. Both were far from home. As they entered the room, he watched the graceful Khinasi as he surveyed the right half of the common room; at the same time, the Northman looked left. They crossed the room quickly, moving to the counter where the innkeeper was busy with his normal tidying.
Although most people might not have noticed, it was clear to Baylor that these two had fought together before and trusted each other. The lithe Khinasi was slightly ahead of the pair, his quick, precise movements providing an almost comical contrast to the plodding steps of the jankaper. They quietly arranged a room, then moved to a table to await their dinner. Even as they sat, it was clear they were wary, each pausing for a moment to look behind the other, neither allowing his eyes to stray far from the other inhabitants of the common room.
The jankaper wore a wooden medallion in the shape of an oak tree; Baylor surmised that he might be a priest of Erik, probably from the Emeral Spiral order, given his demeanor and the roughness of his clothing. The Khinasi was not as easily identified; he wore the flowing robes of his people, but Baylor had caught a flash of leather armor when he'd opened his robe to pay for the rooms. The two swords he bore marked him as a warrior. They were well-crafted, but not overly ornate, and the leather grips were worn smooth from use. Of the two, he was clearly the more dangerous.
"Might I buy you a drink cousins?" asked Baylor, rising from his table and moving towards them slowly. "And perhaps you'll tell me the tale of a how a Khinasi and a jankaper came to travel together."
"Well met," replied the jankaper. "I am Heidrek, and this is Reyad bin Bair el Mehone."
"I am Baylor Tadswalk, a traveller and teller of tales. May I?"
The Khinasi pushed one of the chairs back with his foot and Baylor took up a seat. He wasn't surprised by any of this either, for the jankapers were known for their willingness to greet strangers. He paused and regarded both of them for a moment before continuing, "So, how is it then that you, two strangers in our lands have come to travel together?"
"It is the will of Erik," replied Heidrek, in a matter of fact tone that made Baylor sure he had guessed correctly about the man's religious beliefs.
"I think our new friend wants to know how that will was made manifest," interjected Reyad. He paused to regard the jankaper who nodded almost imperceptibly, then he continued.
"We are, as you say, both strangers in your land and that is part of our bond, for neither of us knows all that we must. That is, in fact, how we met in the first place."
Heidrek interrupted, "I was heading south, through the forest of Weylon, when I heard a female scream from the east of the road. In my country, we do not let friends or strangers die without aid."
"I too heard the scream, though I was not on the road, but was instead hunting. I rushed towards it as well, for in my lands, he who ignores the cry of another is often doomed to have his own cries unheeded."
"So the two of you just ran into each other?" asked Baylor.
"Not quite," continued Heidrek, who was clearly warming to the telling of the tale. "As I said, I rushed south from the road, towards the sound of the womam. As I travelled I noticed a number of spider webs and I guessed a village girl had fallen prey to some of the spiders of the dark forest. Had I paid more attention, I would have known..."
"No one could have known," interrupted Reyad, who then continued the story. "I rushed through the woods passing through several spider webs until finally I came into a small clearing. It seemed we had arrived too late, for the screaming had stopped, and the spiders had something in their webs. We have spiders in my land, but they do not weave webs such as these. They are hunters, not trappers. I moved forward cautiously, but the spiders noticed me and came after me as well."
Reyad paused to sip from his glass and Heidrek picked up the telling of the tale. "That's about when I arrived. I came into the clearing slowly, realizing that there might be a lot of spiders. I looked across the clearing and saw Reyad. In his silks and fine clothing, I mistook him for the woman who had screamed. I called out a promise of rescue and began moving towards him, cutting my way through the thick webbing of the spiders."
"At having their home destroyed, the spiders took exception, and they swarmed from the trees to attack us both."
"I was certain that Reyad would be killed," continued Heidrek. "His fine clothes made him look soft, and when he drew his swords, they were bent. I gave up on patience and rushed towards him."
"And for my part, all I saw was this slow, clumsy oaf who needed protection," interrupted Reyad. The two exchanged smiles before he continued, "Luckily, we were both wrong. The speed with which Heidrek moved his axe was impressive, and few spiders survived even a single blow."
"True," said Heidrek, "but never had I seen anyone fight as Reyad did. He wove his swo.. scimitars before him and I knew him to be a master of the game of metal. We did well, for a time, but then my carelessness nearly proved our undoing."
"Carelessness!?" interrupted Reyad. "No one could have known what would happen next."
"An Awnshegh of some sort?" asked Baylor.
"Alright, almost no one," sighed Reyad. "Yes, a foul creature I now know to be called an ettercap was allied with the spiders. Heidrek stepped into one of its traps even as the last of the spiders was killed."
"You killed an ettercap on your own?" asked Baylor, a new respect entering his eyes.
"No," said Reyad, "I had the help of Heidrek."
"And of Erik," added Heidrek. "I was held upside down by some fool snare and could not bring my axe to bear on it. I called on Erik to make us as one in battle and he fulfilled my wish."
"I had never before seen such magic," said Reyad. "It was as if our lives were joined somehow and when the ettercap struck me, Heidrek seemed to take some of my wounds. Even so, the battle was hard, and both of us nearly died."
"Aye, it was that," said Heidrek, "but, by the grace of the Lord of the Forest, we did not die."
"Since then, we've travelled together, two strangers in a strange place," added the Khinasi.
"Another round," cried Baylor, "for we have more tales to tell, and that can be thirsty work."