”After what we saw yesterday, I’d be inclined to believe just about anything,” Nace says. He pauses a moment, then continues. ”That could have gone very badly. I hate to say it, but I don’t think we should go on any more sightseeing excursions. And we need to be ready for anything at all times. It’s obvious this place is not as safe as it looks from the outside.” He looks pensively at his coffee.
Miren looks somewhat rebellious. "I'm taking today off, but I fully intend to go see what Easterners call 'mountains,'" she declares. I rented a car, and I'm going to use it! "And no place is safe. I suggest we check out the barn today. If it is safe, we can at least speak freely there, unlike here." Sahar looks around for a refill of her coffee cup.
"Agreed." Miyuku says, smiling slightly at the fire in Miren's response. "If we played it safe yesterday, that little girl would still be prey. Noting is as safe as it looks from the outside."
”Mountains, maybe,” Nace says. ”At least out in the middle of nowhere, no one will care if we are armed to the teeth.”
"Armed, yes. That is the heart of the matter for you two at the moment, isn't it? And I should probably buy something to defend myself, just in case... maybe a knife?" Miren looks to her companions. "What will you do about fixing your weapons?"
Nace shrugs. ”The gun? I don’t see fixing it. I got enough of the pieces to identify it. Maybe I ran over it with my truck.” He grins. ”I’ve got another, and it packs a bit more punch.” He glances at his holstered glock.
”But that blade - where did you get something like that?” he asks Miyuku.
"It was given to me by my Sensei, more of a mother to me than anything else really." Miyuku says, letting out a deep breath. "Passed down from her mother, and her mother's mother, and so on since the Tokugawa period."
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Miren is so stunned she forgets to drink her coffee.
"Wow. So your blade is like... an honest-to-goodness samurai blade? Not some modern knockoff?" She shakes her head gingerly. "That's amazing. No wonder you were upset. And it really IS like Narsil."
"I suppose it is." Miyuku says with a resigned smile. "Though finding an Elrond to reforge it will be quite the task. It isn't as if there are random descendants of Hattori Hanzo sitting around waiting for someone to come to them with a broken blade." she says with a rueful grin.
Miren's look goes from bafflement at the name Hattori Hanzo to excitement. "It's a quest! We'll have to find someone... somehow. I'm sure if we ask in the right places or get into the right area of the internet, someone will know. It's amazing what craftsmanship lives quietly in small towns. I know one farrier back in Winslow who shoes for a living, but his passion is restoring Old West revolvers. He's an expert, even though he doesn't have one hour of class credit at any university."
"You never know what you'll find lurking in a small town."
Nace raises an eyebrow at Miren. "Anything is possible," he says. "I'm not sure where one would start looking. Googling 'master swordsmiths?'"
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Miren frowns. "Quests I have read about did not involve Google."
Miyuku can't help smiling. "Yes, I doubt Google will be the place, but you never know."
"They most often start with visits from wizards. Or portents. Or dreams." Miren cocks her head at Miyuku. "You dreamed? Were there any commands or strange visions or whispering voices besides your sensei's words of comfort? Did your spirit travel anywhere?"
Miyuku is quiet for a few moments as she properly recalls her dream/vision. "She was sitting before the shrine of Hachiman, the Shinto god of War who protects warriors during battles. He also happens to be the god of blacksmiths. The shattered shards were laid out in front of her. She told me not to grieve, but that I would have to reforge it, as I would be reforged, and we would both become stronger. She said I should ‘seek the gin shijin’, I guess the closest translation would be a bard or storyteller, and that he would know what path I would need to take.”
Miren sighs. "That seems... vague. I mean, bard? Isn't that a musician? And storyteller... seems wide open. There are storytellers at libraries and fairs. Musicians are crawling out of the woodwork. I mean, the guy who just left with that guitar case could be considered a bard. Musicians are everywhere. How do we know which is the right one?"
Miyuku's eyes widen as she considers Miren's statements."That's a really good point....I mean there was definitely something odd about him wasn't there? The man with the guitar case."
Miren shrugs one shoulder. "He was dressed weird. Beyond that, I don't know. I was only using him as an example of how difficult it will be to find one particular bard or storyteller. They're everywhere!"
The waitress brings the coffee pot over and fills them up. The room slowly empties as breakfast time ends
Nace takes a last swig of his coffee. ”Well, something was off about that barn by the inn. If whatever is there is anything like what we saw at the park... well, I wouldn’t want it next to where I sleep.”
"And if it isn't, we might learn something useful." Miyuku adds after a moment of thought. "Or at the very least have a better place to discuss...things, like you said Miren."
Miren nods. "Agreed. We can check out the barn and make sure it is safe. But if a peaceful spirit lives there, we leave it alone, OK?"
"Fine by me." Miyuku says with a nod.
"Excellent. We'll clean out the barn after breakfast. If the spirit will go, I'll try to get him to cross to the other side, to move on. If he's peacable, he can stay. Otherwise, we do what we have to. It's dangerous to leave a malicious spirit there near so many people, if that's what he is." Miren spreads apple butter on toast and munches it.
"I'm ready whenever you guys are."
"I am confident that you know more about that sort of thing than I do," Nace says. "We should probably ask the proprietor if we can have a look around. I would want to grab a few things from my room, too."
"Yeah, I suppose we should ask Jeremiah before we go poking around in his barn. That would be polite. What excuse are we going to give him, anyway? Um... antiquing?" Miren looks sorely puzzled. "Séances? Possibly militant ones?"
”Historical curiosity?” Nace offers.
"I guess..." Miren says doubtfully. "I could bring my sketchbook?"
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"They expect out of towners to be weird anyway?" Miyuku suggests with a chuckle.
"In our case, they don't know how very right they are!" Miren laughs.
"I've always said 'normal' is boring." Miyuku retorts with a grin.
Nace grins. ”This place is anything but boring.”
"I think only one of us should ask about the barn, so it doesn't look like we're some sort of cabal or weird Star Wars collective. I'm really not the best with people, except the dead ones. I mean, with you guys, sure, but with normal folks... not so great. Can someone else talk to Jeremiah, please?" Miren looks liable to sink through the floor at the thought.
Miyuku smiles as Miren makes it clear how little she wanted to be stuck in an awkward situation. "Okay, I got this, though I’d figure someone as outright stunning as you is used to having people wrapped around your little finger.” she says with a smirk.
”I guess you can both wait here or get anything you need form your rooms and I’ll go talk to Jericho.”
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Miren turns beet red beneath her golden tan. "Oh no, not like that. I mean, some guys get strange, and some girls. But it's uncomfortable. And embarassing. I would never use that." She trots up the stairs to her room to fetch her sketchbook.
Nace heads up to his room and quickly goes through his things. He grabs his extracts and elixirs and looks at the cavalry sword in his drawer. Recalling the encounter with the Santa creature, he picks it up and carries it back downstairs with him.
The group pays their tab and heads out the door to the large parking lot. As they emerge they hear a guitar strumming. The man who had left a few minutes earlier has set up on a chair outside and is playing. His case is open and several coins and dollars are inside. He has a lovely voice, and the acoustic guitar sings sweetly
“ Never wanted to let you down
Never wanted us to fight
Oh, sweet love of mine
I guess this is goodbye to you and I
“Time is a stubborn affair
The distance was too much to bear
Oh, with a heavy heart
I must leave the one I love
“We could've tried a bit harder, mm
I could've practiced more patience, mm
Look at this good love we've wasted, mm
Another good thing gone ”
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While the man sings, Miren pulls a dollar from her wallet, drops it in the guitar case, and -- uncertain how much is 'right' and not wanting to look like the clod from the sticks she is -- drops a second in as well. She smiles shyly at the man as she backs away to stand behind her friends, pulling the brim of her Stetson farther down to cover her eyes.
Miyuku gives the man an appreciative nod, the reference to a 'bard' still kicking around in her head. Taking a couple of dollars from an inner pocket in her cardigan, she drops them into the guitar case and stands back up.
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The man touches his fingers briefly to his hat brim and continues singing
“ All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. ”
He pauses, puzzled, looking at his fingers
“Now that’s odd. That ain’t even a song. Why’d that come to me?”
He looks at Miren and Miyuku. His eyes gleam, the faded blue of them turning briefly golden for a quick second
“You folks have a bit of the Shine, don’t you” He says quietly
Miyuku shares a look with the others, given what they were discussing in the diner, and the source of the man's 'ad-libbed' lyrics. "As do you." she answers guardedly
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Nace stands back a bit as Miyuku and Miren add to the pot, but he perks up as the busker finishes. "The Shining? Like in Stephen King?" he asks - alarmed that he may have stepped into a horror novel.
Miren just glances at both her friends in slight alarm before stepping back even further, behind Nace.
Nace stands back a bit as Miyuku and Miren add to the pot, but he perks up as the busker finishes. "The Shining? Like in Stephen King?" he asks - alarmed that he may have stepped into a horror novel.
The man laughs, a rich sound
“It’s fitting, considering where we are at, this being prime Yankeeland an’ all”
He puts his guitar down in the case
“But my Pappy was using that phase back when Ol’ Mr. King was a twinkle in his daddy’s eye. “
He stands and puts a hand out
“Name’s John. Lately of points south “
The man’s plaid sleeves have been rolled up his cabled forearms. The party can see he sports full sleeves of tattoos on his arms, some exquisite work, very well done
”Nace,” he says by way of introduction, and takes the man’s hand in a firm handshake. ”Do you play here regularly?”
John shakes his head
“No, I’m a bit of a wanderer at this point. Got out of the Marines this past spring, and decided it was time to see a bit of the USA. I’ve been moving north, searching for someone I heard tell of fixes things. “
"Nice to meet you John, I'm Miyuku." she says stepping forward and shaking his hand with a solid grip of her own. "I'd say your father was referring to a different king, who ironically needed something fixed as well."
'Follow the bard to find the blacksmith'
Miren softly mumbles "Miren. How d'ye do?" and nods at the newcomer, tugging the brim of her hat briefly but not offering her hand, remaining back and slightly out of the new circle that has tightened around the musician.
Somewhat wary since Santa turned on them, she scans the parking lot for oddities - besides themselves.
*Is he scary?*
I don't know. You stay right where you are. Don't need anyone else grabbing you and running off.