Ascended

She never got a chance to answer.

Two more guards burst into the bar. Unlike the first group, these were wearing leather and carrying crossbows. The loaded weapons scanned the bar, once they were sure there were no threats, one of them yelled “Clear!”

The missing wrangler walked in with the mayor. From his disheveled look, I assumed he had been dragged out of bed yet again. Horror crossed his face as he surveyed the scene. He marched over to us.

“Valerie! I have warned you about this! We cannot have drunken brawls injuring the workforce and assaulting our guests!” He looked at me, “Good God! Someone get a healer! Our Bokor friend is hurt!”

He reached out but stopped short of touching me.

“I’m fine,” I rubbed the cut again, “it’s just a scratch.”

“We have some of the best healers in the ward,” The mayor stepped back, “where is that healer?!” He pointed at Jax, who was standing beside him, “You! Go get the healer!”

“No,” I said too forcefully. I lowered my voice, “I don’t need a healer.” I patted my vest, “I need to fix it myself.”

“Oh,” The mayor flashed a sheepish grin, “of course.” He waved at Jax, “Don’t worry about the healer, just get this mess out of here.” His grin turned to a frown, “Put them in the drunk cage, they can stay there until their shifts tomorrow!”

The guards began picking up the unconscious men and carrying them away. The other wrangler got us drinks as we waited for them to finish. I waved away the one he offered me. He shrugged and set it on the table next to me. I watched in dismay as Val downed hers in one gulp. I had been hoping for a little help from her. It was actually funny when I thought about it. Just a few minutes ago, she had been the one I had been keeping an eye on. After fighting with her, I felt a sort of kinship with her.

We sat in silence until the last man was carried out. The guards returned to salute and then left. The crossbow-wielding guards stayed behind, taking a position by the door.

“I’m sorry you had to experience that.” The mayor said, “I can assure you that this city does not harbor ill intent towards the Bokor.” His face turned to a scowl again, “And I promise that those involved will be punished.”

I yawned, which set off a chain reaction around the table. Val blinked and began swaying. It was obvious that the liquor and excitement were catching up to her. Before I could say something, Max fell off of his stool and face-planted on the floor. The sound of his snoring told me there was no major damage done. To him anyway, I wasn’t so sure about the floor.

“Well,” I stood up, “it’s been a long night and I need to get my companion to bed.” I looked around the room, “I don’t think I have to worry about anything else tonight.”

The mayor and wrangler stood up. Val looked like she could barely keep her eyes open, much less stand on her own.

“Very well,” The mayor said, “I’ll send Darren here to get you in the morning so you can tend to the penned zombies.” He glanced at Max, “Would you rather he wait until noon?”

“Morning is fine,” I said, “My companion won’t be joining us.” I realized Max had just given me the perfect excuse to exclude him, “I can manage by myself.”

“It appears you can,” The mayor turned, “He’ll be here for you after breakfast.”

I watched them leave. Val fell forward, asleep on the table. I sighed, there was still work to do before I could get to bed.