rone | e&tg 13

I waddled into the inn, as i was in too much pain to walk normally. Hogsbreath and Son was a decent enough establishment (by "decent enough", i meant it was plague-free, the food didn't taste like decay, and nobody there had tried to rob any guests in their sleep), and we'd flown all day. We probably still had another two days to go, and i was not looking forward to them in my bow-legged state. It had been a few years since i'd been part of the Southeastern Cavalry, but riding a horse always came back to me, and even riding bareback didn't discomfit me much. All my experience there, though, hadn't prepared me for riding the equivalent of a feathered horse with wings on its ass. One of the first things i'd have to do with my mercenary pay would be investing in a saddle... and maybe, the next time i got some real wealth, get some magical device that'd let me understand Gryphonese.

"Looks like you've ridden hard all day, mister!" Hogsbreath was behind the bar, predictably cleaning a tankard. "I bet you'd like a nice cold one!"

"I'm afraid that won't do, Hogsbreath." I sat gingerly on one of the stools. "Give me some of the ol' Hogsbreath Fire. I need some medication."

"Comin' right up." He reached behind him and pulled down a ceramic jug. He uncorked it and poured half a tankard. "Eight lene, kind sir."

I gave him an anu. "Give the two extra silver to your son and have him tend to my mount, eh? It's hard to miss; it's the only gryphon."

Hogsbreath started laughing with a loud braying sound, which was stark and bizarre over the sparsely occupied common room. After a while, he calmed down and yelled at his son, hiccuping on occasion, to go take care of the mount outside.

Although his reaction slightly perplexed me, i mentally shrugged and instead nursed my liquor and rubbed my thighs. Suddenly a scream came from outside and Hogsbreath Junior ran inside. "D-d-dad th-there's a f-f-f-frickin' g-gryphon out there!"

The barkeep looked at me, realized i hadn't been joking, and panicked. "The horses! We gotta save the hors—"

"Relax!" I slapped the bar. "He's not hungry right now and he'll behave." I turned to the kid. "Just treat him like you would any other mount, OK? He won't bite."

"Y-yes, mister." He turned around, stopped, and turned back. "Um, mister, does he have a name?"

"Yes. His name is Kohasadi. Thanks for asking." He nodded and left. I turned my attention back to the rotgut. Eight lene for this? I hoped it wouldn't make me go blind.