FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 4-2, It's Pronounced Cameo

Nicholas sat on the edge of his bed and let out a deep breath; his life was not filled with many difficult decisions-- mostly it just involved taking orders from someone who knew half as much but got paid twice as much. Yet, surrounded by relative luxury in the posh finery of what he'd heard called 'the cheap room', the sailor did have to deal with quite the dilemma.

The human rarely found a reason to go to the ritzy section of town, and had never so much as thought of spending the night in one of the too-expensive hotels. True, The Bennigan was far nicer than Nicholas' usual haunts but, then again, he wasn't the one paying. In fact, he reasoned, he hadn't paid for a single thing ever since joining up with his group and being run out of town by mercenaries doing guard work. That he exited on foot rather than ship was unheard of... and almost as unbelievable as the fact that he actually came BACK. Of course, therein was Nicholas' difficult decision.

The sailor's prior captain had once told him that life got complicated if one kept complicated company, but Nicholas had never quite appreciated the insightfulness of the words until he experienced it personally... and there was little company in his mind more complicated than that with which he found himself. The rogue he could understand, but they had been traveling alongside a desk scholar who had been in the field, and a professor who was moonlighting as a tribal shaman. As if that wasn't convoluted enough, an enormous jeweler and his brother the fisherbear were also along for the ride... and it was all because of the dragon.... thing.

Kesst was probably the most confusing of the whole bunch, and was one of the main reasons Nicholas continued to second-guess his course. Even Toby, the scholar with an abnormal lack of annoying personality was not quite at the same level of-- oh... who was Nicholas kidding? NOBODY was anywhere NEAR the strangeness that was a walking, talking, seemingly ALIVE clockwork mechanism. Maybe the University was used to strange curiosities like that, but he was a sailor... and Kesst was so far out of the realm of what he knew that the crafted dragon could easily have been from another world.

Glancing around the entirely too spacious, entirely too upper-class accommodations he couldn't help but realize that 'another world' was quickly becoming a new part his life. First, the Tribal villages full of scraping dirt and then, pampered surroundings full of... what? He was so unused to the high life he couldn't even begin to say. "Well... one thing I can tell you for sure: it's a far cry from the 'Mountain Home'." The human let out a half-hearted hock-ptui into a nearby gilded spittoon. The room actually had a GILDED spittoon!!!

The old bear laying on one of the two beds moved a throw pillow from his face and glanced his way, "Mountain Home?"

Nicholas paused for a moment; how did he know it was a throw pillow? The sailor let out a groan and flopped down onto his own bed, "It's official... I've spent so much time around all those scholars I think I'm turning into a hoity-toity aristocrat."

The graying-furred bear let out a chuckle and propped himself up using the pillow, "You forgetting you're sharing a room with a scholar, boy?"

"Nope... in fact it reminds me how far-from-simple life is on land... 'Professor Metal-Eyes'."

His room mate grunted as he sat up fully and swung his legs around so his bare paws touched the floor, "I have a feeling you really don't believe life is any easier out there on the waves, Mr. Poole... you're just having trouble coming to terms with events that you've never encountered before."

The human huffed, "Yea... well things like this don't happen out at sea, so that only makes my point."

"Be that as it may, you are becoming a better man for it."

Nicholas really didn't much care for the sentiment behind the comment, "Well... at least THAT sounds like something a scholar'd say."

The bear pushed himself off the mattress and into a standing position, "Some might suggest it's something a Shaman would say."

The sailor crossed his arms and announced with a gruff voice, "So you're saying you're a scholar AND a Priest at the same time... and here I was just starting to like you, old man."

The shaman adjusted his spectacles with a chuckle. He grabbed his traveling satchel and moved to the adjoining bathing room; Nicholas had never stayed in any establishment that gave a patron more than a single room. The human mused at the thought of having two rooms instead of just one. There was certainly something about the high life... even if it was way too pampered. Just as the sailor was contemplating the many differences between a Scholar Quarter hotel and a dockside brothel the bear emerged... and he looked almost entirely different.

Although Professor Blackburn had always worn a few hints of his origin as a Lehsunian, the transformation was almost unbelievable. The stout bear had a fine set of black slacks on held up by a pair of suspenders over a fine white shirt. Over both the shirt and suspenders he had a charcoal gray vest; a pair of fine leather loafers completed the ensemble. Although the scholar had originally had a rich, scruffy muzzle, that hairy fur had been groomed short, and almost came close to resembling the circular beards that Nicholas had seen on some of the more 'genteel' high born humans.

The Professor still wore his spectacles, though his beads were all gone. He had the long sleeves of his shirt rolled up to mid-forearm and, as he stepped out of the bathing chamber, was sliding a fine golden ring back into place on his paw. Even if Nicholas couldn't see his own expression the Professor seemed to find it humorous, "What? Did you expect me to wear a breech cloth into the University, Mr. Poole?"

The sailor recovered quickly and lied through his teeth, "No... I just can't remember the last time anyone got dressed so fast."

The bear pulled a collapsable comb out of the pocket in his vest and smoothed out his head fur before looking at a pocket watch, "Classes will be done for the day soon... and I believe that will be my best time to meet up with some of my colleagues."

The human was attentive to the words, but the majority of his focus was on the fine piece of jewelry the bear wore on his finger; it reminded him of one of the cogs he'd seen in some of the more industrialized boats that had sailed the same lanes as he had, "Don't normally see Scholars with rings..."

The Professor's ears went up as he raised his paw, the back of it facing to show off the ring to Nicholas, "It's a key, actually."

The human raised an eyebrow inquiringly, "Key, huh?" and he spat into the spittoon.

The old bear nodded, "You wouldn't believe how many doors it opens." and, with that, he made his way to the exit, "I know Theo is already out about town gathering information about what's gone on in Newport since your absence. Gift-of-the-Earth has been speaking with the hotel manager ever since the man found out he was a jeweler. Sanmer and Roaring-Flood--" he paused as there was a loud THUMP against the opposite side of the wall next to the bed, "... are likely indisposed for the time being."

Nicholas shook his head, "I'm no priest, but that kinda thing in a place with so many eyes and ears has a risk of getting too many tongues waggin."

Professor Blackburn chuckled, sliding his pocket watch back into his vest pocket, "When you get to be my age you stop caring what those around you do."

The human hrmphed, "Well... then they should hold off on that for another thirty years so I can stop caring too."

If the bear had an opinion on the comment he didn't let it show. Instead, he pulled something else out of the pocket where he stored the pocket watch and gave his paw a shake; a large, collapsible cane extended immediately, "Should I expect you to be here when I get back, or are you heading out with the tide?"

It was probably the most obvious invitation to part ways that the sailor had ever heard from someone not willing to say "Fuck off", but that made it all the more difficult to answer. Nicholas knew why the group had returned to Newport... but was that his reason as well? Did he really owe anything to the strange clockwork mechanism that had fooled them all into thinking it was alive? WAS it alive? More importantly, why was he so eager to think of Kesst as an 'it'? That final question steeled his resolve, "I'm here til we can figure out a way to help Kesst, Professor... you're stuck with me."

The bear smiled, "Well alright then. I trust you'll keep him safe until I return?"

Nicholas followed Professor Blackburn's glance to the large duffle bag in the corner. It was not nearly as dignified as the modified leaf/cloth/tarp stretcher they'd had for the construct in the wild but, then again, there were far more prying eyes in Newport. Kesst had been practically folded over and stuffed into the container. He asked his question, taking special consideration for choosing the right pronoun, "He doesn't need ta breathe, does he?"

The bear chuckled, "I will let you continue to puzzle that enigma for yourself, Mr. Poole... sometimes the most worthy knowledge is the hardest won."

The sailor cracked a wry grin, "You don't rightly know, do ya, PROFESSOR?"

Rather than answer, the old man simply bowed his head and exited the room, closing the door softly behind himself. Nicholas contemplated the lack of an answer and glanced to the bag containing the broken clockwork dragon. He stared at it for almost an hour, too many thoughts pulling this-way-and-that. He found himself grinding his teeth before deciding that such deep thinking would only suit a sailor who had downed no less than three full pints. He made up his mind then and there to remedy the sitaution.

With little else stopping him, the human showed himself out and headed down to what SHOULD have been the common room in a NORMAL inn... but in the hotel they referred to it as a 'dining hall'. Honestly, Nicholas didn't give a capsized dinghy what they called it, as long as they served something with alcohol.... and, as luck would have it... they did. He had just sat down to enjoy his first of (hopefully) many drinks when Theo showed himself in through the hotel's main entryway, a grand double-door affair that looked like a relatively cheap knock-off of some rich man's manor's entrance.

The Ermine caught sight of him and made his way over, sitting down at a chair next to the sailor, "Things haven't really calmed down around town very much since we left... the guards closed off a whole section of town three blocks around the explosion and people are still pretty upset with the University."

Nicholas grunted, "They're not still tryin ta string up scholars wandering around by themselves, are they?" He took another sip of his drink.

If Theo realized that the sailor was subtly berating him for going out alone, he didn't let it show, "People are angry... it's only normal. There's some backlash coming the church's way too... apparently some of the town's nobles are pointing fingers, saying that the sabotage was their doing."

That comment almost made the sailor cough up his ale but he just barely managed to restrain himself, "You mean more'n likely the University's spreading rumors so they can get fingers pointing in other directions, huh?"

If he'd expected the comment to rile up the scholar, the response was far from what he anticipated, "Mmm... maybe."

Nicholas lowered his mug, "You really think they'd do somethin' like that?"

The Ermine shrugged in response, "I've heard horror stories about production reveals going VERY wrong... and from what I hear there were some very powerful scholars backing the project... whatever it was. If their reputation, job, and even LIVES were on the line I really wouldn't put it past them."

The sailor motioned to the scholar and held up a finger as the serving wench made her way past. He then glanced down at the short Ermine, "You... really didn't have anything to do with that thing, did ya?"

Theo shook his head, then paused when the wench returned and set a pint down in front of him, "Uh... thank you?" He looked down at the drink, then up toward Nicholas, "I already said I didn't."

The human smirked sheepishly and gave a half-shrug, "Well... now I believe ya."

The two sat quietly for a time... probably the better part of twenty minutes. They each give the other less attention than they gave to their drink. Nicholas finished his first and was most of the way through his second by the time Theo set his empty mug on the table and pushed his seat back and away, "I'm going to go get clean and then try to catch up on some sleep... we'll have to be up early tomorrow."

Nicholas leaned back in his chair, mug still in hand, "And why's that?"

The Ermine's tail lashed once. He picked up a wooden toothpick and stuck it into his muzzle, "We need to get to the University before the Scholar's Quarter streets fill to capacity... it gets pretty crazy here."

The human let out a humorless "Ha!", and settled forward again in his seat, "The docks are already packed by dawn... I can't see how this place is--"

Theo stopped his rant with two simple words, "Steam carraiges." and the followed up with, "Lots of steam carriages... and a lot of too-rich-to-care people driving them."

Nicholas downed the rest of his drink with one gulp, "Yea... guess that's a pretty damn good reason. Up early it is."