Chapter 26

Anton sat in his cosy corner table at the tavern.  In front of him was an entire roasted boar, with mint sauce.  And not only that, next to the delectable dish was a big wooden tankard of fine Firgenduke Butterscotch mead.  Despite the current situation, Anton, being a food lover, could not help but feel a little bit happier.  Some foods could send him to heaven when he ate them, and Encumbered Adventurer Roast Boar was one of them.  It had been over two decades since he had eaten it.  He looked down at the knife and fork set neatly on the table in front of him, then gently pushed them aside; those utensils he would not be needing this fine night.

He reached out one of his big hands and grabbed onto one of the boar's haunches, stabilised it with his other palm, and then tore it clean off.  Oh, a bit of drool came out the corner of his mouth.  He was salivating like a dog in front of a bone!  He couldn’t help but smile as he wiped the saliva with the back of his hairy fist.

The aroma of the meat �"as soon as he caught a whiff of it�" immediately transported him back to his childhood.  His father used to read him stories about two warriors from a far away village.  They were great friends and great fighters.  Their favourite food had been roast boar!  They loved it and ate entire boars the way ordinary people would eat an breadroll.  In the stories they would often eat four or five roast boars and then sit back with a drowsy grin of contentment.  That is where Anton’s love of boar started.  Tied in with memories of that story, and memories of his dad.

With his free hand, Anton picked up the wooden tankard and raised it.

“To you, Pa. I love you,” he muttered quietly.

He didn’t recall ever saying it to his father in life, but he hoped that his father had known how he had felt.  He put the tankard to his lips and drank.

It was good...

And he continued to drink.  Gulp after gulp.  A lot of it spilled over the edges and dribbled down his beard and neck.  He continued to scull it down.  This butterscotch mead was amazing.  As good as he had remembered!

Finally, when he had drained the last drop, he slammed the tankard back on the table and burped. A long, loud, respectful burp to his father up in the sky.

He sat there for a few moments, thoughts fondly and sadly on yesteryear, until eventually his mind eventually returned to the boar before him.  It was time to eat before it got too cold.  That would be a tragedy!

He closed his eyes and opened his mouth and was about to take a bite when...

“Pssst!”

Anton stopped mid bite and turned to look at who had spoken.  Sitting at the table to his left was a rather scruffy looking man.  The stranger had one distinctive feature about him; he was missing a lot of teeth!

“Are you talking to me?” said Anton, hoping that he wasn’t, so that he could get back to the important matter of boar-eating.

“Yes,” said the man, (who was none other than Four-tooth), “I’m sorry but you don’t know me, but I am a friend of Lena and Clarence.”

Anton looked the man straight in the eyes.  His instincts told him him this man could be trusted.

“I don’t have much time to explain,” said Four-tooth, in a low voice, “But currently, the king’s guards are on their way here, to this very tavern! And they mean to capture you.”

“Let them come,” said Anton, “I need to finish eating this boar.  It has been two decades since I’ve had this.  I have been waiting two decades to eat it.”

Anton looked at Four-tooth who didn’t seem to appreciate how important this was.

“Two decades!” sand Anton one more time, just to make sure Four-tooth had heard him.

“We need to leave now,” said Four-tooth, “If you are caught here, you will get Lena and Clarence in trouble also!  If it can be proven that they are helping you, they could be arrested as well.  There is a spy who works in this tavern.”

Anton’s face became grim.  He put down the boar haunch without another word.

“If that is the case, let’s go then.”

Four-tooth was a bit shocked.  That had been much easier than he had been expecting.  He nodded and then got up and then began to walk towards the tavern exit.

Anton got up also and followed, but not before he turned to look at the glorious roast boar sitting on the silver plate, just begging to be eaten.

I will not have the pleasure of eating you, sadly, thought Anton, using telepathy to speak to the roast boar, But know that I would have loved every bite of you.  Farewell.