Dungeon of Doors

~ Billy, Tengku Basin ~

The conversation with Mayor Tekel gave us more questions than answers. Unfortunately he was very guarded about the important information. We still have no clue as to how he knew we would be coming, not about the exact locations of the other fragments—nor what the fragments will do.

I lead the group back down to the water level, the steps creaking beneath my weight. The city has mostly returned to normal. Some tengku still gawk at us in passing, but word has spread and apparently satisfied some measure of curiosity.

"We need to make a plan of action," Drist remarks.

Our pace slows to a stop off to the side of one of the main footpaths. Miss Hawthorne replies to Drist, her gaze drifting to passing tengku.

"Agreed. We need somewhere more private, though."

"Where are we going to find privacy in a city full of monsters?"

It's a difficult question. We could try getting passage back to the door, or perhaps swimming all the way to the rocky outcropping, but neither option feels like the right choice. Leah finally speaks up, quietly announcing herself by clearing her throat.

"We could find an inn?"

Us three eldest in the party exchange pointed looks.

"Where? This isn't Daywark, kiddo. We're in a monster nest."

"Nest? These people are living in houses, fully clothes, and speak our language. Why is it so strange for them to have an inn? They've got the same fishing nets we have back in the village."

Drist lets out a long sigh, as it is clear he doesn't agree with everything she's said. It does feel strange to refer to these beasts as people. There is truth to her words, though. They talk just fine and their city is comparable to Daywark in terms of scale.

"Fine. Maybe they have an inn, but how will we find it?" Drist scoffs.

"Like this, of course."

Leah turns away from us and steps back into the main footpath. An especially bright almost white feathered tengku walking past lets out a startled squawk as Leah steps slightly into its path. When the bird monster opens its beak to speak it becomes clear this one is likely female.

"Excuse me, but can you point us to an inn? We need a place to stay."

The white feathered tengku composes herself, her ruffled feathers smoothing with a sweep of her talons. She nods her head and gestures with her beak down the path she just came from. Several buildings sit closely pressed together. The scents of food being cooked and the din of merry making wafts from the center most establishment.

"Salty's is right over there. Big place with all the squawking and trilling coming from it—Can't miss it!"

"Thank you for your help."

The tengku nods her bead politely to Leah before continuing on her way. Leah the turns toward us with a smug smile tugging at her lips. Drist rolls his eyes at the young woman before pushing past her in the direction of Salty's. Miss Hawthorne gives Leah a congratulatory pat on the back, complimenting her open minded approach. I simply offer the girl an approving nod.

Salty's is shockingly similar to a human tavern on the inside. Once we step past the curtain of dried seaweed we're met with the scent of smoked and salted fish. The usual stink of sweaty bodies isn't present, instead a salt water adjacent aroma fills the gaps between the food smells. The loud chatter of a full dining room we heard whilst approaching evaporates once the crowd notices us. Silent slack jawed stares follow us as we walk to the bar.

Standing behind the bar is a tengku with a particularly rough looking beak. His feathers are matted with dried salt, and his beak has a coarse surface unlike the majority of the bird monsters. He uses a finely crafted piece of woven fabric to wipe down a wooden cup.

This time it is Drist who does the talking. He sets both his hands upon the counter with a cold glare on his face. The tengku barkeep raises a brow, his feathers ruffling as he tilts his beak upwards.

"We need a room. Someplace quiet."

The tension in the room grows as Drist slides his cloak to the side to reveal one of his daggers. The metallic blade glints in the light of the unique lanterns hanging from the inn's ceiling.

"A room, eh? And what have you got for it?"

Salty's speech is more clipped than most Tengku. His voice is hoarse, matching Drist's harsh tone.

"I'm sure we can work something out. How do you feel about shiny bits of metal?"

There's a chorus of offended squawks from throughout the room. Drist ignores this and drops a fistful of copper coins onto the wooden counter. The barkeep—who I assume to be salty—scoffs dismissively at the pile of coins. He then gestures to the dagger held in Drist's cloak.

"I ain't interested in no worthless rocks, but that weapon you got there has my attention, adventurer."

"Hah! You want to get your talons on my dagger?"

Drist's lip twitches as he pulls both his daggers out from his cloak and drives the blades into the wooden counter with enough force to make the wood splinter violently. The two weapons remain driven into the surface of the counter where two nasty gouges have been made.

"I've got an idea where I'll stick my dagger, bird brain."

More irritated noises from the crowd of patrons watching this unfold make it clear where things are going. Leah tries to step forward to mediate, but Miss Hawthorne stops her. I don't have to question the choice as I see three rather formidable looking tengku walk right up behind Drist.

Drist's muscles twitch, showing he is well aware the monsters are standing right behind him. Each of the tengku has a weapon in their hands. Harpoons made of an unfamiliar wood. The leader of the group is shorter than the rest, and is missing an eye. Its feathers are a jet black.

"Oi, you with the fancy weapons!" The bird speaks, revealing she is a woman.

There's a low growl from Drist's throat as he turns to face the trio of tengku. It's strange to see him acting so irrational. Normally he's a well oiled machine, but the sight of animals walking and talking has him behaving like a run of the mill brute.

"Are you looking for a fight, birdy? Because I've been itching to kill something."

"Ye sick bastard! I challenge you to ah duel!"

Drist snatches his daggers from the counter with a snarl. His posture makes it clear he's ready to leap upon the birds and start cutting. Miss Hawthorne's complexion pales as she realizes her teacher isn't behaving rationally. I step past both Leah and Miss Hawthorne to stop what's about to happen.

Unfortunately I'm far too slow.

"Your funeral," Drist whispers.

The fight begins as I choke on my words. Drist moves like a mountain lion leaping upon its prey. His daggers reflect the orange tinged light of the lanterns as the one eyed tengku's minions step back to give the two some space.

There's no blood, nor screams of anguish like I'm expecting. Instead there's a quiet grunting of effort as Drist tries to force his daggers down in a cross shaped slash. One of his blades is perfectly gripped by the one eyed tengku's beak. The other is held back by the wooden harpoon the bird wields. My eyes widen as Drist is forced to pull back from his attack.

The veteran doesn't waste any time once he's been given the space to change his approach. He throws one of his daggers toward the one eyed monster's webbed foot as a distraction while he lunged forward with his dagger held in a reverse grip. Unfortunately for Drist his opponent is more formidable than he is expecting.

The bird monster lifts her right foot to avoid being struck by the thrown dagger, only to then stomp down upon the weapon to keep it beneath her webbed foot. Drist's main attack doesn't land as the tengku kicks his dagger away whilst jumping. As she leaps, her wings keep her from falling over with a few beats, and her two thin scaled legs shoot out to smack Drist in the arm holding his dagger.

"Damn it, you slippery bird!"

The tengku only suffered a small laceration on her webbed foot from the exchange. Drist shakes his arm as it aches from the impact. He's down to a single dagger, and the tengku has the advantage.

"Ye made a mistake taking this here duel!"

Drist ignores his opponent's words and changes stances. He's holding his dagger even closer to his body, and he moves closer to the floor. His posture looks awkward to the untrained eye. The tengku squawks in amusement with her beak slightly agape.

There's a pause as the two size each other up. The tengku looks relaxed and confident, but her foot is slowing her down slightly as she has to step carefully with it. Drist looks like an awkward bug as he moves in a wide circle around his opponent. He's looking for the perfect opening.

The standoff comes to an end when the tengku goes to speak, likely some kind of taunt that never comes out as Drist springs into action. He moves like a coiled snake striking at its prey—onlookers go wide eyed as his body goes from meters away from the one eyed tengku to suddenly being right up in her face. His blade slices cleanly through one of her feathered wings, sending an arc of blood and a smattering of black feathers to the ground.

"Squawk!" The tengku vocalizes.

Death rears its ugly head as Drist doesn't stop. Another strike, this time cutting into her other wing with enough ferocity to make a chunk of her feathered flesh hit the floor. The smell of blood hits my nose as he continues the onslaught with an attack across her chest. I spot a savage grin on Drist's face—he is enjoying this, the violence.

I wince at every successful cut. The tengku tries to fight back, but each time she brings one of her talons toward him the wing connected to it is cut savagely. Looks of horror color her underlings faces as they watch on from the sidelines. Some sort of custom prevents them from interfering.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die, you abomination!"

Something changes in the tengku's eye as Drist says this. Cold hard determination, perhaps a will to live in the face of someone willing to take her life.

Blood splatters across the wooden floor behind Drist as his flurry of attacks is brought to an end. The one eyed Tengku made a decisive strike so fast I didn't catch it, and now two deep gashes on each side of Drist's neck pour blood like fountains. The tengku used her beak to slice apart Drist's throat in a devastatingly lethal attack.

"Teacher!" Miss Hawthorne shrieks.

Drist stumbles backwards and falls on the ground with strangled gasps. The battle hardened man was not ready for such a blow, discounting the lethality of the tengku's beak in the fight. Miss Hawthorne fumbles with her bag, tears streaming down her face, whilst the one eyed tengku falls to her knees. Her allies come to her side with the same measure of grief. They wipe silent tears as they watch blood drain heavily from their comrade's chest and wings.

"Sorry, boys. Pecked more'n I could swallow, I'm afraid."

The one eyed tengku coughs, shuddering in pain. Miss Hawthorne pours a healing potion into Drist's mouth, and his wounds close. His complexion is still rough but he's alive. Unfortunately the man is also unconsciousness from the blood loss and trauma of near death.

Whilst I'm looking solemnly upon the situation Leah steps past me. I glance at her with furrowed brows, noticing she's carrying her healing potion in hand. Is she doing what I think she is?

"What do you want, adventurer? You've done enough!" One of the one eyed tengku's followers snaps.

"Let the lass be, boys."

The one eyed tengku is wheezing now. It is clear by the far off look in her eyes she's going to die if nothing is done. Fortunately for her, Leah is being remarkably generous, and she kneels beside the tengku before pouring the vibrant red potion into the creature's open beak. There's a soft choking sound as the bird monster drinks it down.

"What did you just feed her?!"

The tengku look ready to attack Leah when one of them notices what's happening to their friend, and gasps. Those uninvolved are just as shocked as the two at their friend's side. The bloodied battered wings of the tengku knit themselves back together. Her wounds seal themselves, and her breathing stabilizes.

Quiet murmurs of shock and awe fill the room. Leah looks relieved to see the one eyed tengku is feeling better, and I harbor mixed feelings as I watch the situation unfold. The tengku sits up slowly with the help of her friends, and gives Leah a wide eyed stare.

"Ye… Ye saved me, lass."

Leah nods, smiling slightly at the bird monster.

"Of course. You didn't deserve to die like that."

"Hah! Yer a peach next to that bag of dung!"

Bright red blush spreads across Leah's face. She seems embarrassed by the praise, and I can't bring myself to scold her for 'wasting' her potion on a monster. The one eyed tengku leans forward and gently takes Leah's hands into her talons.

"I owe ye my life, lass. Whatever ye seek I will help find."

Perhaps this wasn't a waste, after all.