"Here I go!" Farothel drained his ale, a pair of knives balancing in his other hand. One for each apple, the fence they perched on a mere thirty feet away. Quite easy, even after... How many pints was that? To one side, a woman peered out from the corner of the tavern window. To the other, one of his adversaries drummed fingers on a fencepost, as if impatience were an effective distraction. At least the fool was sober enough to stand clear of the targets without scolding.
His hand closed around the knives, pulled back and eased forward. Once. Twice. On the third, blades whirred into apple flesh. Two knives, two apples, two satisfying thuds in the grass. "That's it! Ten for ten!"
Glass shattered against the wall behind. The instant Farothel spun around an arm claimed his line of sight. His eyes darted upward to a hand gripping the shard of a mug. That hand — seized at the wrist by swordpoint — belonged to the other man he'd been wagering against. Auros' swordpoint. A half-moment later the fencepost shuddered a sharp thud. Farothel jerked back to the impatient fool. A large knife now pinned the man's cuff to the wood, and Auros' free arm stretched towards it. The draw happened before Farothel had reckoned the shard.
"We won't be rewarding dishonorable conduct today, so you can drop the glass." Auros' empty hand curled into a pointing finger. "And you can drop the blade." A dagger slid from the pinned sleeve, hilt twanging against the fencerail before it hit the ground. His swordpoint guided wrist and shard down. "I trust you've had your fill, Cousin."
"Indeed." Farothel strolled across the yard and collected the knives. "The wager was for substantially more, but I'll settle for letting these two pay for the ale." Snatching the men's purses from their belts, he tossed them through the cracked-open tavern door. Better than coins jingling were the breathless whispers of joy and relief that slipped outside as the door creaked closed. Auros was already upon his horse by the time Farothel returned, so he tucked his knives away and mounted up, then gave a salute. "The local patrol should be along shortly. Good day, gentlemen."
Once some distance lay between them and the men, Auros shook his head. "I'll never understand why you insist on stopping at the dingiest, most dilapidated taverns we can find."
"We're on an adventure, Auros." Farothel adjusted the sword at his hip. "Adventures don't just wait for you along the cleanest, safest route. I got your knife too, by the way."
Auros slammed the knife back into its sheath. "This isn't an adventure. It's errantry."
Farothel leaned onto his horse's neck. "Fine, it's errantry. A knight doesn't abandon those in need. Those two women serving ale? The tavernkeep's daughters. His sons died in a brawl two years ago against a couple of surly patrons."
"And you discovered this how?"
"I asked."
Auros let out a heavy sigh. "It's not that I don't care."
"I know." If Auros didn't care, they wouldn't have stopped. They wouldn't have gone in. They wouldn't have coaxed those men outside with a wager so the tavernkeep could shut and lock the door in their faces. "Grandpa always told us to protect those who can't protect themselves."
"Aye."
"Fellows like those are never going to mean well. Something was going to get broken. Someone was going to get hurt. If not the 'keep, then certainly one of his daughters. I can't leave it be and look Grandpa in the eye again one day."
"Aye."
"Then what are we arguing about?"
"You lost sight of your opponent." Auros turned his head and spat into the grass. "You took all the wrong cues from Aldawë and Arandil and somehow cobbled them into a functioning tactic in its despite. You're lucky those men were amateurs. Or they were."
Farothel chuckled. Auros scowled.
This isn't something to laugh about."
"You're right, on both counts. Too much ale. I'll keep my wits sharper next time."
"...So you're admitting there will be a next time?" The corner of Auros' mouth twitched.
"Of course there'll be a next time." Hoofbeats filled the vacuum. "You're not going to tell Dinmir, are you? You know how she worries."
"Everyone worries about someone, but she understands better now." That wasn't a soothing assertion. "She doesn't have to know every adventure." That was.
"Aye." Farothel sighed.
A scream pierced the tranquility of the forest behind them. Auros wheeled around and urged his horse to a gallop.
Farothel smiled as he watched Auros' back shrink into the distance. "Errantry, not adventure." He sped after.