Page 25 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
Between the two, there was only one real option.
CHAPTER 11
Have You Thought About Joining the Fan Club?
Rufus
I probably should’ve gotten out of the hot spring a while ago, but I had a high Constitution, and there weren’t any tasks demanding my attention. I could take the time to relax for once.
Sitting around in a dungeon all day was hard work.
Or maybe overdoing it for years until I finally slowed down and felt the crushing weight of it all was just making my workfeelhard. Sigh. I complained a lot for someone with a roof over my head and delicious food on my plate.
This wasn’t so difficult until a year ago. I’d been a competent and well-respected member of the Dark Lord’s army … And now, I was all of that and restless.
My mind turned to the night everything changed.
One Year Ago
“You can sit ’ere at the bar, then,” the troll ordered, showing me to what had to be one of the last free seats in the house. “Just don’t tell Ol’ Malley it were me that let you in.”
I thanked the man too quietly to be heard, but he didn’t need my words with the pouch full of silver coins in his pocket. It was shockingly expensive to bribe my way into the event. Luckily, it paid well being commander general, and I didn’t have much to spend the money on back home.
No one here knew who I was, though, since I’d switched out my primary title from Commander to Connoisseur.
I sat at the end of the long counter, waiting. Tankards clanked and glasses thunked as the crush rushed to grab a drink before the show started. I ordered a red wine myself.
After reaching Constitution twenty, regular alcohol didn’t affect me much, but I enjoyed the taste. It was more bitter in this form. Or maybe it was just the quality. I spent so little time in my folk form that it was hard to get used to seeing the light-brown, tan skin of my furless fingers gripping the glass instead of a padded hand with sharp claws. At least my golden-streaked ruddy hair resembled my natural coloring, and my canines were still sharp. I sighed.
In the corner of my vision, my notification tab was signaling more pop-ups for me to review. It was better than usual, since I wasn’t in the Dark Enchanted Forest managing updates as well.
I chose to ignore them. Tonight, I was supposed to berelaxing.
Hah.
“Fine friends and good gentles.” An older tigerkin man in black roguish attire stepped onto the stage, and the crowd started shouting. He smiled, showing sharp teeth. “I would like you all to welcome the one, the only, Bard Bronwynn Lyriel!”
The entire place exploded into cheers as a half giantess walked onto the stage. I sucked in a breath; she was avision.
Bard Bronwynn was a half giantess with long curly hair that caught the flames in the lamplight. She wore a red dress that clung to her curves, and a belt with three knives and a mug clipped to it. She held a custom-made lyre harp that fit into her large palms, and she strummed a chord dramatically.
A skill amplified the sound and made it more powerful, filling the room.
“Who’s ready for a good time?” Bard Bronwynn called to the crowd. Everyone shouted affirmation, and then there was a sudden, etherealcalmas the entire place stopped to listen to the opening notes of her song.
It was an old song about the knight Sir Eglamore, who took up his new sword and set out to fight a wyvern … only to have the grand battle end when the sword got stuck in the beast’s teeth before it flew off. The knight, feeling sorry for himself, went to the pub and got drunk, telling anyone asking after his sword that if they fetched it, they could keep it.
I was laughing before I knew it. The music, the lyrics, and the overwhelming beauty of the experience of watching Bronwynn Lyriel perform floored me. Something about the show calmed my overly frayed nerves and left me with a sense of exhilaration. For the first time since I’d taken up the mantle as Commander General, I felt like a person again. She was the most beautiful and incredible woman I’d ever seen.
“Ah, another convert! I haven’t seen you before. First time?” A voice broke into my revery. “Isn’t she amazing? Have you thought about joining the fan club?”
“A fan club?” I pulled my eyes away from the bard as she took a pause to drink some water.
An older black woman with antlers was sitting beside me. Her hair was twisted into locks and pulled into a half updo. Her deep green eyes were smiling. She was accompanied by a pink pixie no bigger than a fairy godmother’s wand sitting on her right shoulder.
“You look how I felt when I first heard Bard Bronwynn!” the pixie piped up, his wings fluttering to keep him poised on the older woman’s shoulder. Enthusiastic shock-blue eyes met my golden. “Wealllove Bronwynn’s music and keep track of her shows so we don’t miss any new songs! I’m Ross, and this is Frida.”
Frida looked back at the stage. “She’s starting again; we can speak later.”
