Trouble at the Tenth Spoke Inn - Rule of Three (part 4)

Stocke opened the bag revealing the smooth river stones within, a rune engraved on each one. “I can’t,” said Naria tossing her expended pyrox on the table.

Stocke looked worriedly at Naria, “There was a time when you didn’t need pyrox to do this.” Naria shrugged. He placed a new piece of pyrox on the table in front of him. Naria snatched it greedily. The crystal shone bright red in her hands and she took a long deep breath, eyes closed.

Stocke coughed. Naria snapped open her eyes and the glow of the crystal ceased, “The runestones,” he reminded impatiently. The room seemed dark without the illumination from the pyrox. Naria glared at him unblinking. Stocke put a nervous hand on the hilt of his sword.

Her gaze broke when Clement fumbled with some bottles. Almost, she thought as she put her hand over the stones. The pyrox lit up the room again and the runes started glowing. Stocke relieved his grip on the hilt and looked up at Clement that just arrived with his drink. He was sweat drenched and pale as the dead as he struggled to steady his hand.

“Clement?” asked Stocke.

“I can’t…” his voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat, “I can’t do this.” He threw the contents of the glass on the floor and produced the vial from his other hand, placing it in front of Naria. The silence was deafening but Clement dared not move.

Then, in a blur, Stocke had his sword in hand, glowing bright with runes. The table was thrown over by Naria, scattering runestones across the inn. There was a flash of red from the pyrox and Clement was flung away and burst through the front door, sending wooden shards flying through the crowd outside.

Naria gathered power from the pyrox, “Bad move!” she screamed at Clement while he coughed up blood. She pulled back her hand, now glowing intensely. She unleashed a crimson bolt, sending it screaming towards Clement. Stocke leaped and extended his sword towards the bolt. Energy dissipated into the sword and its runes shone brighter.

“Poison?” Stocke asked, standing in front of Clement at the doorway, “And now you try to kill Clement because he didn’t obey you?” He brought his sword down and a wave of force slid towards Naria, tearing the floor as it went. Naria gathered more power and sent it outwards.

Clement was aching all over as he watched. The two forces collided and the ground shook. He closed his eyes from the blinding light. The blast was deafening. His ears were still singing when he opened his eyes. Dust hang thick in the air. Clement moaned when a small explosion sent part of the wall crashing to the street, and cried when a red beam ripped through the ceiling. There were tremors and flashes of light from inside as the fighting continued.

Then it stopped.

The dust started settling and the damage to his inn became apparent. He would scream and curse but his body ached too much.

“Here,” said Stocke appearing out of the rubble. He handed Clement a runestone, “This will heal you in no time.” Stocke glanced back at the inn, “As always, I’ll pay for the damage.”

Clement felt the magic of the runestone work immediately, “Naria? Is she…”

“Dead?” asked Naria.

“We...” Stocke knew Clement wouldn’t approve, “We came to an agreement,”

Naria blew a kiss and walked off, “See you next year!”

There was another slight tremor as part of the inn’s roof collapsed. Clement sank his face into his hands in despair.

600 words

Prompt: The misfortune is resolved/accepted

Part 3 can be found here.

Part 2 can be found here.

Part 1 can be found here.