The Sword and the Flame: The Forging

Chapter 21

The first rays of the sun weren't strong enough to break through the curtains in the companion's room, but that didn't stop a few of them from stirring. The first to do so were Viola and Janessa, simply because neither one was used to hearing snoring.

Snoring is one of the talents all Dwarves have. They have been known to boast of it in the same breath as a great deed they performed. It's prudent to note you never tell a Dwarf they snore, most take it as a great insult for, to them, they heard the call of a great beast. But when they wake, the beast had run away at the coming of a brave Dwarf. With that in mind, all Dwarves know they snore, Galin included. He was proud the other Dwarves refused to camp near him during his travels.

To his credit, Gilliam never snored. He was one of the quietest sleepers in all of Pyrain. Still, he learned to ignore the sound after all his years serving as a cleric with Renard's company. Even during his apprenticeship under Master Timble, the students were given private quarters to enhance their meditation. While he could ignore the snoring across the room, the yell that woke him was unexpected.

Janessa and Viola spent most of the night sitting in their bed looking at each other. After a while, Viola pulled a pillow over her head to try to block out the sound coming from Galin.

Janessa watched her friend try to block out the noise then looked back at the shape of the Dwarf. She knew him due to the noise he was making, but also because he was the only one that laid down in the middle of the floor. Both Gilliam and Berek were polite enough to find places to rest in the shadows and hadn't bothered to snore.

"How can one person make so much noise?" Janessa muttered to herself as she looked around for something she could use. Settling on her weapon, Janessa grabbed the pillow Viola was using to cover her ears, ripped it from her friend's grasp, and threw it at Galin.

"Hey!" Viola sat up in time to see her pillow land on Galin's face.

The sudden impact on his face, though light, was enough to drive a loud boisterous cry from the Dwarf, who leapt to his feet to face the culprit that snuck up on him. "Who did that?" With a red face and wide eyes, Galin's surprise faded after he remembered where he was, and upon seeing the irritated faces of the women his face flushed. "Sorry, lass, guess the beast run off."

Galin's cry startled Gilliam to the point he nearly had a heart attack; he was willing to bet the rest of the inn was in the same condition. Despite the suddenness of it, the cleric was quick to respond to an apparent threat as he stood near the Dwarf, his mace at the ready. Realizing it'd been a false alarm. He lowered the mace, shaking his head. He expected Berek to be sitting in his corner chuckling at the sight of them. The thought of it threatened to make Gilliam laugh, but he fought against the urge, choosing to smile instead.

He turned, resting his eyes on where his nephew was supposed to be. What he saw, or rather didn't see, wiped his mind of its jovial thoughts. "Anyone know where Berek is?" Berek was a grown man and capable of taking care of himself, but it was a family member's duty to be worried when one went missing.

The rest of the companions turned to look at him in astonishment; none of them had noticed their friend missing. "Probably went for a walk or to use the privy." Galin mused, ashamed for not noticing his friend's absence sooner.

"Surely, we would've heard something." Janessa glanced around the room as if the fighter would materialize out of the shadows.

Normally we would've, was the shared thought among them. Even Galin blamed himself before the others had a chance to, though to their credit, none did. Each was sure they would've, or should've, heard something even with the Dwarf's hammering snores.