Sari's tavern was a cozy establishment half way up the mountain. It was a rebuilt and refurbished ancient manor three stories high with a central column hosting a grand staircase to the upper floors. A kitchen and a dining room took up much of the bottom floor, while single rooms lined the halls of the second floor, and luxury suites sat atop it all. Little railed balconies hung from the top and bottom floors and circled much of the tavern. It sat within Korin's roaming area, equal distance from the bakery and her house. Before Mikhail had begun working at the bakery, after her and Etan finished everything they would split up the deliveries, with him taking the order down the mountain and her taking the ones up. It'd been a couple weeks since Korin had stepped into the tavern.
Despite the chilly air of the high altitude, the inside was warm and inviting. The walls were washed in muted burnt sienna complimented by hanging lights that released the signature teal glow of Ipahns famous electric conducting crystals. It was warm and inviting, a place of gatherings, hot meals, chilled ale, smooth liquors, and warm beds.
More patrons than typical filled wooden tables and booths that littered the ground floor. Juicy and hearty smells of stews and potatoes wafted from the kitchen in the far eastern corner. To the right of the entrance the large spiral staircase coiled up to the floors above.
Sari currently stood at one of the tables taking an order from one of her regulars. As he listed off his order the bell attached to the door rang out, stealing her attention. At the sight of the one who entered the eccentric Sari immediately abandoned the regular, the rest of his order falling on deaf ears.
"Mikhail!" Shouted Sari in greeting. If there was one thing about her that everyone knew, it was that she absolutely adored beautiful men. Something she wasn't shy about at all. And Mikhail was the perfect target of her affections.
"Good evening, Miss Sari." Mikhail replied, ever the friendly conversationalist. " I have tonight's delivery for you."
" I told you you can just call me Sari. No need to be formal." Sari blushed and playfully swatted at the air before directing Mikhail, " You can take the delivery back to the kitchen as usual."
With a quick nod Mikhail made his way to the kitchen, a bread basket in tow. Sari watched after him adoringly, admiring his graceful footsteps as we wound his way through tables. Airy blouse and skirts artfully layered over tight pants, quite different and a little more provocative than Ipahnish garb, swayed around him as he went.
"Oh the great spirit surely blessed that man." She breathily sighed addressing no one in particular.
"I didn't know Mikhail was blessed by the great spirits?" A monotonous voice replied from next to her. Oblivious to the meaning of Sari's words.
"Ah!" She yelped, drawing the attention of the nearest patrons. Sari turned towards the familiar voice. " Good gods, you scared me. I didn't hear you come in."
"I'm sorry." Apologized Korin who also carried one of the large bread baskets. "I'm helping out Mikhail tonight. Shall I take this back to the kitchen as well?"
Sari quickly scanned the tavern. Here and there a few eyes warily lingered on the two women. No doubt drawn from Sari's scream and stuck due to Korins' presence. "No need. You can just set it here." Sari quickly decided. " I like watching Mikhail work." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Korin only nodded, setting down the basket before dusting some stray flour from her hands.
"Actually, I'm happy you showed up tonight." Sari's face contorted apologetically before pointing towards the back corner where a bar and stools lined the wall. "Your father passed out here again."
Sat on one of the stools, face buried in his arms was Korin's father. A few empty liquor bottles glumly sat around him and an empty shot glass rested on its side. The remainder of the contents were spilled on the bar and soaking into the sleeve of his sweater.
"Usually I'd just have Mikki take him up to an empty room." Mikki was the cook and Sari's brother. "But a merchant convoy is to arrive in a few days and some early birds have taken all the extra rooms."
Korin stared at her father for a second longer before bowing her head towards Sari. "My deepest apologies. I can't thank you enough for the kindness you show him. If there is any way I can compensate you, please let me know."
For a moment Sari was shocked at the display from Korin. Putting her hands up, Sari shook her head. " Please, there is no need for all that. Samhir usually does so much to help out with the tavern, it's really not a problem at all."
"Regardless you have my appreciation for taking care of him." With another polite bow Korin made her way over to her father passing a few staring diners on the way.
"That's the kid I was telling you about." Sven, a local regular, commented in a low voice as she walked by. His companion was a merchant who had arrived in the village earlier that day. "Just being in her presence always gives me the heebie-jeebies."
The tavern wasn't big enough that Sven's words did not reach her ears as she shook her father awake. Though his voice carried across the room, what he said didn't bother her. There was rarely anything interesting happening in the village so when visitors did come, gossip from the past was a prevalent subject of conversation. "She was in a coma for months after she went missing in the forest. Then, when she woke up, the girl just wasn't the same anymore. Them fancy doctors in the capital said she probably got brain damage, but it didn't really explain why she became so creepy." Sven continued.
Korins father grumbled as she pulled him to his feet. Throwing his arm across her shoulders they began to stumble towards the exit. He walked like a noodle trying to slip to the floor. "Try to walk straight, Dad. Or else we're gonna fall over." She ordered.
"The council and the elders confined her to the mountain above the bridge." Sven kept talking despite the daughter father duo that slowly made their way towards him. "Soon enough most everyone in the village began to avoid her and the mountain entirely. Even people who knew her family suddenly wouldn't go anywhere near them."
Samhir threw his head back, his gait slowing and his eyes narrowed at the other man.
Korin noticed how her father directed his attention towards the blabbering Sven. " Just leave it be, dad." She tried to continue to drag him away but Samhir dug his heels into the floor coming to a stop.
"Even the girls own mother-"
Sven was abruptly cut off by the sound of Samhir loudly clearing his throat. His stumbling intoxication morphing into a drunken anger.
"What are we talking about, Sven of Harus?" Samhir hissed through clenched teeth calling the man by his lineage.
Sven, son of Harus, began to visibly sweat. "Oh ya know. Just chit chatting with my new friend here." He nervously laughed in an attempt to brush past his indiscretions.
"Chit chatting?" Samhir clipped. "So I supposed some good chit chat with a stranger would be on the topic Anais. You know," Samhir's eyebrows pinched up mockingly, "lets talk about how she has been going around- "
"Woah, woah, woah!" Sven quickly interceded. Looking like a melting candle as his complexion immediately paled. Apparently when the topic turned towards his own less than savory affairs he didn't enjoy the gossip. It was known that Sven's wife, Anais, was of a more promiscuous nature and recently that nature was making itself prolific in the village. Though monogamy wasn't broadly practiced among the Ipahnish, such apparent wanton behavior as Anais had displayed was considered malicious and taboo. People spoke about marital troubles in their relationship.
"It must be Mikkis' new batch a' brew." Sven quickly continued holding up his mug of half drunken ale. "Strong batch, this one. Got my lips a little loose."
Samhir swiped the mug from Sven, ale sloshing about, and placed the drink on the table with a heavy thunk. Veins flexed and popped along Samhirs hand as he pointed a rigid finger in the other man's face. "I don't give a damn if it was the strong liquors of the great continent that had you feeling chit chatty. When you're in the presence of my daughter I suggest you tighten up those loose lips. Don't want something bad happening to the slimy tongue of yours-"
Korin stood off to the side as he father delivered his violent promises to their fellow villager. She knew at this point there was no pulling her father away. Sven already had a sour history with Samhir and had just brought up his wife. He would be lucky to escape the situation with a verbal lashing alone. Her father had traded firsts with the man for less before.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Sven's companion studying her through hooded sky blue eyes.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Crrreak.
Creeeak.
Mikhail winced as another splintering whine sounded through the empty house. He was a master of sneaking but this old house with its worn wooden floors seemed determined to give away his presence.
His foot came down with another groan from the floor and he whipped his head around anticipating to be caught.
When a moment passed he let out a sigh and turned back towards making his way to his bedroom.
"So you have been avoiding me." A cold voice confirmed from the darkness to his right.
Mikhail jumped as his aunt emerged from the shadows, deep scowl etched into her face. Their relation was undeniable as she possessed the same golden hair, tanned skin, and green eyes as he and every other family member of the house of Maaroi.
He had indeed been avoiding his aunt. Amelia had been sent with him in order to supervise and report to her sister (his mother) on his progress with his mission. She was his favorite family member but his mother had begun to become increasingly impatient in their correspondence and thus his aunt had no choice but to harass him for updates.
He had no desire to discuss these matters at the moment, so Mikhail did what he did best. He summoned his magic and used it to carve a realistic skeleton in his place. His skin crackled and popped and bones bloomed from its smolder as he disappeared into a ball of smoke. It was his favorite emergency exit strategy and always gave him a little giggle. A fun little trick of a body sloshing away and leaving its inner frame behind. The first time he'd mastered it he had done so on his mother. The steely and hardened Margrave Maaroi's wail had been so immediate and gut wrenching that Mikhail had instantly reappeared, guilt ridden and trying to comfort his mother. Her sorrow curdled into instant rage as he beat him through the castle.
It wasn't a new trick to Amelia who growled and lashed out at the skeleton. Bones exploded in every direction from the force, flying through the air and shattering into smoke where they crashed into surfaces. "Damnit Mikhail!" Amelia typically found much amusement in her nephew's pranks, evening joining in here in there. But it was rather infuriating to be on the receiving end of his trickery.
Mikhail rematerialized in his own room with a heavy sigh.
His mother no doubt would ask if he had found the item foretold by the seers. He would give the same no and then she would prattle about his incompetence and how he was a demonborn son and therefore should excel in whatever he did, like his decorated and valored brother. She was hungry for his success, just like she had been with Lucien, and eager to find what the seers kept repeating.
It was an exhausting cycle for Mikhail.
He flopped onto his bed and dug into the inner pocket of his clothing pulling forth a small stack of cards. Mikhail had received the cards from seers and fortune tellers all across the globe, each card from a different collection. Some had simple designs of flowers or clouds while others were more complex featuring ornate weaving, dragons, birds, and glyphs. All of them had one thing in common and that was a wheel with multiple spokes.
The last card he had pulled sat right on top, and he was sucked into it's memories,
*
The breeze from the ocean wafted through the open curtains that lead to the balcony of his rental. The mousy hair of his current companion swirled around as she let out a shrill giggle. She was jiggly and quick to sing out peals of laughter, good natured and around for a good time.
Half naked and seated on Mikhails' hips she swatted at his wandering hands. "Okay, okay," she said, breathily recovering her composure. He's been tickling her, eager feasting on her breathlessness and light. " Seriously this time." She raised her left hand which held a stack of oracle cards. The cards began to glow with a soft light as they floated into the air to twirl in an entrancing dance. One by one they stacked themselves in her outstretched palm until one card floated above the rest. Mikhail was already fairly certain which card remained glowing above him. It was the same card every seer had pulled for the last year.
This deck of oracle cards was particularly ornate and, sure enough, decorated in ribbons and gold, featuring two dragons on either side of a spinning wheel. Above it in the old Aasai script read, 'Wheel of Fate'. The card began to animate, the ribbons slithered like snakes, the dragons opened and closed their maws while clawing the air and the wheel span into a blur. A fresh ribbon of thick, velvety light shot forward from the wheel, washing the room in deep pink, a woman formed from the smoke dressed in layers of silk skirts that sashayed in the breeze. Her incredibly dark hair floated around her as if she were under water while necklaces of pearls, shells, and copper trinkets clicked and clacked.
"Woah." The seer sighed.
The apparition glided forward taking Mikhail by the face before pressing airy lips to his in a deep kiss. It was forceful enough that it parted his lips and played with his tongue. He had seen the woman a couple times before in his readings but never had she interacted with him in such an intimate manner. His eyes widened in surprise then immediately relaxed into the familiarity of her lips. They were cool, like a shaded cave on a sweltering day, crisp and wet, a haven from the heat.
SMACK!
The apparition coiled and disappeared as a hand shot forward to deliver a powerful smack to Mikhail's' cheek. "What the hell!" His companion seethed having been momentarily forgotten by him. She left from her position gathering her clothes and stomped from his bedroom. A ferocious storm he would either never see again or see way too much of, after their little encounter here.
*
Mikhail absentmindedly stroked his stinging cheek staring at where the smokey presence had been. The card fluttered onto his chest and his hand moved towards his lips.