Path of the Pioneers

My eyes snapped open from the sound of a knock on the room door, and then “Sybil?” It was Adeline’s voice. I had fallen asleep. I blinked a few times, reaching forward and closing the valve on the basin. I stood up from the hot water, as it drained down into another open hole. My knees nearly gave out from the sudden change of pace, and I was quickly becoming aware of how much my head was pounding. Staying in hot water for too long was a dangerous thing, after all.

I tried to let some of the water fall off of me, but I eventually resigned myself to the fact that some water would drip out onto the wooden floor of my room. I stepped out into the room, trying not to slip as I approached the door.

I spoke out, praying that Adeline hadn’t gone off without me, “..Yes?”

There was a stirring on the other side, and then I heard her voice once more, “You alright in there?”

It was embarrassing to admit, but.. “I.. May have fallen asleep.”

Adeline laughed, “Just get dressed and come on out, alright?”

I was glad that my clothes were clean, but I felt bad at the prospect of soaking them in water. I shook it off as best I could, wringing out my hair, but my clothes were all rather damp after putting them back on. Although, I did leave my master’s hat behind.

Sighing, I unlocked the door to my room, and exited.

Adeline was sitting against the wall, looking over expectantly, “You fell for the bath’s trap, huh?” I nodded weakly. She stood up, seemingly full of energy after her own bath. “You need a drink and a meal. Come with me.” She moved down the stairs with the elegance of a specter, practically gliding. I was enthusiastic about having good food, but I was also incredibly exhausted. As a result, I lagged behind her a fair bit.

The smell of the tavern was enough to drive my stomach into a small frenzy. The room was filled with the scent of roasted meat and vegetables, along with various spices. We had been eating relatively plain food for what felt like an eternity, so the prospect of eating truly good food sounded divine. I was curious to see what kinds of flavorings the dwarves used, as well. Seasonings and spices were a luxury I rarely had the opportunity to enjoy.

Adeline pulled out a chair at a table, looking over at me, “Sit.” I did as she said, taking a seat at the table. “I’m going to get us some food.” She smiled, and then walked off. I scooted my chair inward a little more, getting closer to the table. There were only a few people in the tavern this late, and most of them seemed to be lost in their own business. That business, of course, being drinking.

Adeline quickly returned to the table, sitting across from me. “It won’t be long, seeing as we’re the only ones eating.” She drummed a few times on the table with her hands, “Gods I’m glad to be out of the wilds for a bit. I’m a fan of traveling, but we were really traveling as bare as we could..”

I laughed a little, replying to her, “I appreciate that we’re able to stay here a while. I.. Was worried about our supplies for a bit there.”

Adeline put her arms behind her head, yawning. “We’ll be able to purchase some before we leave, enough for a dungeon-raid trip.”

Our little discussion was interrupted, not that it was a bad thing, by a dwarven server bringing us out an array of food. A pot of stew was set in the middle of the table, along with some bread.

I spent the next minute or so in awe of the spread in front of me, only to be taken off guard once again by the sound of two glasses clattering onto the table. Adeline and I now each had a hulking glass of what looked like ale in front of each of us. Adeline smiled coyly. “Careful with this stuff, it’s made for dwarves. Which..” She gestured to herself, “We are not

As she began ladling out stew into our bowls, I took a sip of my own. I stifled a cough as it ran down my throat, the ale almost felt like it was sizzling. The taste wasn’t terrible, but that almost concerned me more. Dwarves were renowned for their hardiness against things like poison, especially alcohol. Dwarven ale would send someone like me to the floor with ease.

It didn’t help that this was my first taste of alcohol.

The stew seemed to be chunks of what might be beef, along with carrots, potatoes, and strands of onion. I began to eat, grateful for our fortune. The smell had been enticing, but the taste went even further. The meat was tender, and the vegetables were flavored well from the stew itself. With bread to accompany it, I had found my own small paradise within this dwarven tavern.

And across from me sat her. Adeline. Sharing this moment with me.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I grabbed at the glass of ale, taking a big gulp to swallow down the feelings trying to clamber their way up. In retrospect, that may have been unwise. Still, the ale did taste far better on the second sip. It was all the better with food. Truly, the stew tasted so wonderful that it felt as if tears might come to my eyes. A wholly strange reaction, but I managed to suppress it. Adeline was just grinning like a madwoman as she ate her food, already halfway through her the tall glass of ale next to her.

Time moved as a blur, eating and drinking together. In time, we both had our fill. I had only gotten two-thirds of the way through the glass of dwarven ale, and I felt as though I might pass from this world if I took in anymore of the stuff. My head was a mess: a giddy, melting mess. Adeline had been laughing to herself about nothing in particular, and I found myself getting swept up in it, without even knowing what caused her to start.

The two of us drunkenly stumbled back to the stairs, Adeline keeping me propped up despite her being similarly inebriated. She looked over to me as we stood at the base of the stairs, “This might be.. Kinda.. Kinda tough, huh?” She grinned, and then started laughing, nearly losing her grip on me. She pulled me back in, getting a better handle on my arm. “You’re good.. You’re good.. I gotcha..” Working together, the two of us managed to scale the impossible obstacle of the inn’s stairs. Somehow.

Adeline’s grip slipped as we wandered back to our rooms, and I fell to my knees with a slight, “O-oh!” It surely would’ve hurt if I hadn’t just imbibed enough alcohol to kill a small animal.

She reached down towards me with her hand, delivering a simple order, “Key.. Please.” I was a little confused, but I fished into my pocket. It took far too long, but I found it, pulling it out and passing it back to Adeline.

She scooped me up into her arms rather easily, despite her drunkenness. Apparently she had more than enough practice in handling me.

Handling me?

I put my hands up to my face, a sweltering hot mixture of giddiness and the last shred of shame that hadn’t been beaten out of my poor body by the ale. Adeline sat me down in front of the door, and I held onto the wall while she unlocked it, bumping the door open with her boot. She promptly picked me back up, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.

She put me down in front of the door, and then leaned back against it, slowly sliding down it until she was sitting. “S-stuff’s stronger than our ale.. That’s for sure.. Gods..” I was struggling to process her words for the moment, still stuck in my own head. I had a hand clasped to my forehead, I felt feverish. But the hand was there to try and conceal the terrible blushing on my face, not to check the temperature.

Time felt like it took an eternity to pass as the two of us sat there on the floor of my room. My vision was blurred and swirling, and my thoughts were the same.

“Sybil?”

I looked up at her, “..Hm?”

Her eyes shifted to the side, and she took a few moments to try and compose herself in spite of the dwarves’ concoction. Strands of hair were strewn messily about her face. Her rough beauty in that moment captivated me like nothing else had before. She licked her lips nervously before speaking up, “I.. I think I have feelings for you.”

I blinked. “H-huh..?” I must have misheard her. Was that something alcohol was able to do?

Adeline stared back at me, her mind nowhere near operational enough to reasonably parse through this situation, the same as myself. “A-ah.. Then, are you.. Not interested in women..? Or is it..” She cut herself off.

‘Or is it just me.’ Is what she was going to say. She thought there was a chance I wouldn’t feel the same about her..?

“N-no.. No.” I quickly shot back, “I just. G-gods..” The ale was taking a proper toll on me, sapping away every bit of the little communicative abilities I had. The final nail in the coffin was Adeline’s admission. It had sent me reeling, and I still wasn’t quite certain if I heard her correctly.

“S-sorry.. I.. I’m not very good at this.” I swallowed, “I.. I think.. That I have the same.. Feelings.”

Adeline let out a shaky breath that seemed to carry several emotions in it. Relief chief among them. She scooted a little closer to me, “C-can I..” I nodded a couple of times, my sludgy, inebriated mind completely alright with accepting the risk of letting that sentence go unfinished. But the risk was well worth it, in the end.

She got closer, wrapping her arms around me in a tight embrace. Her head rested in the crook of my neck, where I could feel her breathing. I hoped and prayed that she wouldn’t notice the shaking in my limbs, brought on by drunken adrenaline. This amazing, awe-inspiring woman had me in her grasp, out of love. I felt overwhelmed, in a good sense, but still overwhelmed.

Eventually, she spoke to me again, trying to be quite soft considering how close she was to my ear. “Y-you alright..?” I took a few moments. I truly wasn’t fine. I felt as if my body might combust, while at the same time feeling that combusting may actually be a very good thing, in this case.

My words came to me, finally, “Y-yes.”

“This floor.. Really isn’t very comfortable. D’you mind if we get to sleep?”

I responded with, “W-whatever you think is best.” which truly came out far worse than I ever could have intended it to -- and I hadn’t. A moment later, Adeline stood back up, a little wobbly. She picked me up, slinging me over her shoulder, only to set me down delicately on the bed. Adeline reached down, pulling the boots off my feet and tossing them to the side, before taking off her own.

“..Really.. Did not expect for t-this damn stuff.. To be so potent..” She sat down on the side of the bed, looking over at me. “Gods..” Adeline rolled over, laying next to me on the bed. “G-guess the dwarves helped out a.. Fair bit on this one..” I laughed a little, which she seemed quite happy with. She continued, “I’m really.. Gods.. Really glad.”

Adeline wrapped an arm around me once more, holding me there as we faced one another. Though I wasn’t lucid for much longer after that. Sleep took me easily, with the soft bed and Adeline beside me.