Chapter 2-1

Anjanette knew that after every argument they had she could find Leonas at the nearest tavern. Mind you, she could also find Leonas at the nearest tavern after getting into town, before leaving town, after a meal, before going to bed, after waking up, and most other times of the day he was not busy.

In this case the nearest tavern happened to be a hole in the wall called “The Noun & Noun”. Despite it being relatively deserted, a thin cloud of smoke hugged the ceiling. The bar was small and claustrophobic, too many chairs and too much booze shoved into the cheapest property available. Grease and traces of vomit stained the green tile walls. The candles were out, leaving the front window as the only light source. The result was that everything and everyone was half-covered in shadows, simply adding to the seedy atmosphere.

Anjanette sat down next to Leonas, who was nursing a gin and tonic. She didn’t say
anything. The two waited for a moment, praying that someone would break the silence.
“So, do you think that guy is gay?” said Leonas finally. He made a slight gesture towards a stocky and handsome man at the other end of the bar, crying his sorrows into a pitcher of beer. “Because I’m kinda getting vibes.”

Anjanette took a moment to examine the man. “Nah,” she said. “But he’s probably drunk enough to go along with it.”

“You know what? I think I’ll pass after all.” Leonas said. He took another sip and chuckled. It was the chuckle of someone who really wasn’t all that amused, but thought that he should chuckle anyway.

There was another awkward lull. They were both avoiding the triceratops in the room. Sighing, Anjanette decided to take it by the horns and shout in its face.
“Why don’t you want to go get those books, Leonas?”

“You know my policy. Avoid magic wherever possible.”

“Fucking strange policy for a mage.”

Leonas gave her a tired stare. “It’s the first law of wizardry, actually. I’ve told you this before.”

“Like I listen to you,” said Anjanette. “Anyway, we wouldn’t be using magic and making deals with demons or any of that shady shit. Any more than you already do, of course. All we’re doing is tracking down these books.”

“Uh huh. And then what?”

“Sell them to the highest bidder, I guess.”

Leonas grinned like a hunter who had just seen the big game stumble into his trap. “And what happens when they use that sword to start another huge war? Conquer the world, let’s say?”

“We watch from atop piles of gold?” said Anjanette. She was beginning to get annoyed.

Leonas turned to the bartender. “Another gin, please?”

“Ooh, get me a shot of dwarf’s tail while you’re at it!” said Anjanette.
The bartender served their drinks without question. He had clearly heard a lot stranger conversations in his day.

“Look, if you’re that worried about being responsible for a war or whatever stupid shit is going through your head—“ Anjanette took a pause to down her shot “—then we’ll sell them to the A.O.K. or Heka or some other nation that won’t do something like that.”

“Are you sure? The A.O.K. may own half the world, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want the other half. And I’m sure that there’s more than a few Hekans who would want to spread their ‘enlightenment’ militarily.”

Anjanette scoffed. “Oh please. Like those guys could stop fucking each other long enough to conquer the world. Why don’t we start going after these things now, and worry about what to do with it later? I mean, even if we just keep it to ourselves, you’ve gotta admit it would be kind of handy to have a world-ender with you.”

Leonas contemplated it over a few sips of gin. She was becoming worryingly persuassive, but he still had his reservations. “Tell you what. A competition. Let’s say a drinking game. I win, we forget about this whole business. You win, we start this stupid treasure hunt.”

“Well, that’s hardly fair,” jested Anjanette. “You’ve already had a gin and a half.”

“See? I’ve been training.”

Anjanette smiled, and slapped a few copper on the table. “Bartender? Two pints of the foulest brew you have.”

* * *

Anjanette was surprisingly chipper as she held back Leonas’s hair. “Okay Leo, once you’re done puking it’s time to do some more research on those books!”

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