Tavern Brawls S06WK11

The evening chill was a stark contrast to the heat of the previous day.  Fletch ignored the bite in the air and continued on to the mill.  Had Mike really rode that strange animal into The Two Brothers just earlier that day?  Had the Professor’s identity really just come to light?

Fletch looked at his two companions and wondered how they were coping with the news.  Cantrip had just found out that her brother’s future father-in-law was being sought by the agency.  Selena had to be concerned for her friend, knowing that their primary target was hiding so close to them.  If a criminal such as the Professor could shadow them this closely all through this Tavern Brawl, how much more damage could potentially be done?

The ranger sniffed the air and grimaced.  This whole situation put a bad taste in his mouth.  He wanted this done, but he wasn’t ready.  They needed a plan.  They needed to understand what they were about to walk into with the Professor.  Particularly in light of his conversation with Mike, he wasn’t even sure this was the right course of action.  He had left the young man back at the tavern, but their words remained at the top of his mind.

They arrived at the back of the mill and Fletch flashed his ranger coin at the attendant.  The guard nodded and allowed the trio to enter.  They descended into the basement and found General Grindstone staring at what appeared to be a war diorama of a farm.  He was positioning various figures on sides of buildings when he noted Fletch, Cantrip, and Selena.  He waved them over hurriedly and pointed to three figures along what appeared to be a chicken house.  “Good timing, Ranger Periwinkle.  Cantrip, you’ve been on the ground already. Is there enough room behind here for the three of you?”

Cantrip leaned over the table.  “Well, I’m not sure.  I suppose if we ducked-”

Fletch slammed his fist on the table, interrupting the mage mid-sentence.  The general seemed to focus on the ranger for the first time since he walked in.  Fletch waved his hand at the map in front of him, the question evident on his face.  ‘What is going on?”

Grindstone stood up to his full height.  “I should think it would be obvious,” he stated.  “We’re going to storm the compound and bring him in, dead or alive.  Now, with the three of you and the 12 rangers in the Brawl, that gives us 15 for the initial assault.  We don’t know what kind of defenses he has, so I’ve messaged for additional reinforcements from headquarters.  We WILL bring him in and prevent any more tragedies such as what happened at the draft or,” he looked directly at Cantrip, “the incident in the street.”

“That wasn’t his fault!” Selena objected.  “Mike told Fletch and then us all about his family curse.  It was an accident!”

“Mike?” questioned the general.  “You don’t mean Michael Murchadha, I hope!  He’s part of the family that took this ranger’s tongue and you believe him?  Well, then I have a dragon to sell you too!  Death follows that family like the stench off of the Poopsmith.  No, my dear, the Professor intended for that incident to happen and the ‘tragic’ story of Michael Murchadha will not sway this soldier.”

General Grindstone moved to Fletch and stood eye to eye with the ranger.  “I am now giving you a direct order.  My reinforcements will arrive in a few days.  I had wanted to move immediately, but your confirmation of the Murchadhas working with the Professor has made me cautious.  Therefore, you will finish gathering the rangers and be ready to take the compound in 3 days time.  Once there, you will join your forces with mine and we will finish this.”

The ranger glowered at the general, turned, and walked back to the stairs leading out of the mill, his two friends following him.

—–

Their horses’ breath visible in the moonlight, Fletcher, Cantrip, and Selena rode swiftly out to Vala’s farm.  They had stopped at The Two Brothers just long enough to grab a few provisions and inform the owners of the situation.  Kevin had sprang to his feet almost immediately and ran out of the room without a word.  Chris just nodded and assured them that they would get the word out.  Fletch felt bad about the circumstances of the information, but they deserved to know what was going on, as did all of the participants

The Brawl itself had finished, crowning the A.U.T.O.B.O.T.S. as the champions over the Knights of Cydonia, but that was far from the ranger’s mind.  He was taking a big risk going rogue with just an inexperienced wizard and thief at his side, but he had to stop this madness before it got any more out of hand.  He remembered back to the day the advertisement went up for the Brawl in town and knowing even then what might happen.  This had escalated beyond even what he had thought likely.

The three travelers topped the hill to the small farm, unassuming with a single candle lit in the window and a thin line of smoke emanating from the chimney.  They hurried into the yard, tethered their steeds, and knocked on the door.

“What is it now?!  I can’t work on my automaton with all of the racket!”

The door swung open forcefully and the Professor stood before them holding a hammer in one hand and a saw in the other.  He looked up and down at the three people standing on the porch.  “Hey, wait.  I know you, don’t I?”  Pulling Cantrip into the house, he shouted to the interior, “Vala!  Your friend Cantaloupe is here to play!”

The mage pulled herself away from the man as Vala came out of a separate room.  “Actually, the name is Cantrip and this is Selena.  Of course,” she said gesturing towards Fletcher, “you two already know each other.”

The Professor looked at Fletcher confused.  “What?  Why would I know him?  He’s just a ranger.”

Fletcher sighed and took out his signet coin, flashing it at the other man.

Understanding dawned in his face.  “Fletcher the ranger!  I didn’t recognize you conscious.  How’s the tongue, by the way?  I tried finding a potion that could regrow it and then send the potion to you, but I couldn’t get it to work.”

Cantrip snapped her fingers.  “Focus, Professor.  There is a small force of combatants on its way here right now to either arrest you or kill you for the chaos you’ve caused during the Brawl.”

“What chaos?” the Professor protested.  “Do you mean the minor incident in the street?  My invention wasn’t working right and went off early!  I wanted to bring it to the tavern and make everyone watch as my beautiful daughter was proposed to by that nice man in the pub.”

Vala kicked him lightly.  “Daddy, I wanted a private proposal.  I hate the spotlight.”

“Sorry, sweetie,” her father replied.  “I just get carried away.  It’s like when I tried to help out your boyfri..er, I mean fiance with the chicken…and eggs”

“That was YOU?!” they all exclaimed together.  “But, how,” asked Selena.

“Well, I had gone in to surprise you with a chicken using my new switcheroo wand so that you could get a nice meal.  But then I had to stop that other person from taking it and it broke, so instead of replacing a mouse with a chicken, it replaced ME with a chicken.  It also replaced all of the arrows with eggs, but was NOT planned.”

Fletcher shook his head, then mimicked putting on a glove at Selena.  “That’s right,” she exclaimed.  “What about at the Draft?  What were you doing there?”

The Professor frowned.  “Draft?  Is it cold in here?  What are you talking about?”

Vala stepped forward.  “Daddy didn’t arrive until the day after the Draft.  He couldn’t have had anything to do with that.”