Sometimes you just feel like you nailed it
Posted: 05 Feb 2013, 12:52
Ever feel like sometimes when you're writing, you just hit the nail right on the head? Just wrote this little scene for my next fantasy book. Enjoy!
The tavern was not far and it was still early morning by the time they arrived. The sun’s light was just beginning to clear the rooftops around them and the eerie silence of Lucifan’s back alleyways was made less intimidating by the soft bright light seeping into the corners. From a distance, The Kraken’s Eye sign could still be seen hanging above the entrance as they approached. The oval shaped eye with its hourglass-like iris carved into the wood seemed far less menacing than it had the first time Emily had seen it.
Emily had expected to hear sounds of laughter, drinking, and music as they approached the tavern, but instead she was only greeted by staunch silence and she was reminded that it was still earlier morning. By nature of its business, taverns were largely places of worship for the nocturnal being, so her hesitation at the lack activity was eased. As she opened the tavern door and had a look inside, her nervousness dissipated altogether.
There were pirates everywhere. In the chairs, the barstools, on the floor, on the tables, even a few on the bar itself. Their clothes were ragged, their hair was long, their beards were short, and they stank of men who desperately needed to be back on the open sea. From their belts, vests, and boots hung either the naked blades or concealed handles of everything from short daggers to fancy rapiers to wicked cutlasses. Jewels, rubies, and coins dangled from goatees, perched on rings, and hung from earrings. Each pirate had at least one or as many as five mugs and bottles no less than arm’s length away.
There was just shy of two dozen of them, and not a single one was awake.
The empty silence of the streets behind Emily were drowned out as the quiet snores and heavy breathing of men in an alcohol induced stupor flooded through the opened door. Abe cringed at the sight of it all; Adelpha buried her face into an open palm.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this, Emily?” she asked.
“What?” Emily balked. “Of course I’m sure.”
Even she noted the hesitation in her voice, but Adelpha only sighed in reply and said nothing about it. They cautiously stepped over the first incapacitated body at the tavern’s threshold and into The Kraken’s Eye.
“You know,” Abe whispered, “for a bunch of thieving scum, they sure don’t seem too worried about getting robbed.”
Abe was eying one particularly large emerald clutched on a short necklace of a nearby pirate as he said this. The pirate was sitting back in a chair, arms and head draped back with a wide open mouth that exposed yellow, cracked teeth. His scraggly beard was lifted up, exposing the precious gem to the world, and not a single care seemed to be given to its safe keeping.
“Someone could just…” Abe trailed off and reached a hand slowly out to touch the green rock.
Emily opened her mouth to scold her brother, but just as Abe’s fingers grazed the emerald’s surface, the pirate’s eyes snapped open. His head flipped up and he grabbed Abe’s hand by the wrist before he could yank it back in surprise. Faster than a gunslinger, the pirate had a hand on his dagger’s handle and a flare of anger in his eyes.
“I ain’t that drunk, boy,” the pirate said through clenched teeth. “Try that again and I’ll be keeping this hand.”
Abe’s voice had gone so dry he hadn’t even gasped in fright. He stared at the pirate wide eyed with a gaping mouth and only gave a tiny nod in reply. The pirate glared at him one more time before letting his hand go, which Abe drew back quickly. Then the pirate’s eyes sunk back into his skull and he let his head fall back again behind the chair. His snores rose into the air a moment later, falling back to sleep so quickly that for a moment Emily thought the entire thing had been a ploy.
“Satisfied?” Adelpha asked.
The tavern was not far and it was still early morning by the time they arrived. The sun’s light was just beginning to clear the rooftops around them and the eerie silence of Lucifan’s back alleyways was made less intimidating by the soft bright light seeping into the corners. From a distance, The Kraken’s Eye sign could still be seen hanging above the entrance as they approached. The oval shaped eye with its hourglass-like iris carved into the wood seemed far less menacing than it had the first time Emily had seen it.
Emily had expected to hear sounds of laughter, drinking, and music as they approached the tavern, but instead she was only greeted by staunch silence and she was reminded that it was still earlier morning. By nature of its business, taverns were largely places of worship for the nocturnal being, so her hesitation at the lack activity was eased. As she opened the tavern door and had a look inside, her nervousness dissipated altogether.
There were pirates everywhere. In the chairs, the barstools, on the floor, on the tables, even a few on the bar itself. Their clothes were ragged, their hair was long, their beards were short, and they stank of men who desperately needed to be back on the open sea. From their belts, vests, and boots hung either the naked blades or concealed handles of everything from short daggers to fancy rapiers to wicked cutlasses. Jewels, rubies, and coins dangled from goatees, perched on rings, and hung from earrings. Each pirate had at least one or as many as five mugs and bottles no less than arm’s length away.
There was just shy of two dozen of them, and not a single one was awake.
The empty silence of the streets behind Emily were drowned out as the quiet snores and heavy breathing of men in an alcohol induced stupor flooded through the opened door. Abe cringed at the sight of it all; Adelpha buried her face into an open palm.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this, Emily?” she asked.
“What?” Emily balked. “Of course I’m sure.”
Even she noted the hesitation in her voice, but Adelpha only sighed in reply and said nothing about it. They cautiously stepped over the first incapacitated body at the tavern’s threshold and into The Kraken’s Eye.
“You know,” Abe whispered, “for a bunch of thieving scum, they sure don’t seem too worried about getting robbed.”
Abe was eying one particularly large emerald clutched on a short necklace of a nearby pirate as he said this. The pirate was sitting back in a chair, arms and head draped back with a wide open mouth that exposed yellow, cracked teeth. His scraggly beard was lifted up, exposing the precious gem to the world, and not a single care seemed to be given to its safe keeping.
“Someone could just…” Abe trailed off and reached a hand slowly out to touch the green rock.
Emily opened her mouth to scold her brother, but just as Abe’s fingers grazed the emerald’s surface, the pirate’s eyes snapped open. His head flipped up and he grabbed Abe’s hand by the wrist before he could yank it back in surprise. Faster than a gunslinger, the pirate had a hand on his dagger’s handle and a flare of anger in his eyes.
“I ain’t that drunk, boy,” the pirate said through clenched teeth. “Try that again and I’ll be keeping this hand.”
Abe’s voice had gone so dry he hadn’t even gasped in fright. He stared at the pirate wide eyed with a gaping mouth and only gave a tiny nod in reply. The pirate glared at him one more time before letting his hand go, which Abe drew back quickly. Then the pirate’s eyes sunk back into his skull and he let his head fall back again behind the chair. His snores rose into the air a moment later, falling back to sleep so quickly that for a moment Emily thought the entire thing had been a ploy.
“Satisfied?” Adelpha asked.
