Beachside Story, Chapter I: You savvy, mate?

[Arhra]

"Wake up!"

...

"Hey!"

...

The man in the bed grunted and rolled over, pulling his blankets tighter around him.

"Listen Telm, don't make me do this."

The pile of blankets mumbled vaguely.

The girl narrowed crystalline eyes and then stomped over to the window. With a violent motion, shedding dust from her brown arms, she parted the curtains.

In the darkened little room, the sunlight was bright and unforgiving. Dust motes danced about lazily in it.

The retired hero groaned and sat up, squinting at his surroundings with bloodshot eyes. "Aggggh, Gnome, why did you have to do that?" Telm asked the summon spirit plaintively. "Don't have to open the bar till midday."

"If you hadn't been treating yourself to so much of your own homebrew last night, you'd remember. Some of the new guys said they'd walk with you up to the headland this morning, give you a hand checking some things for the Beach Carnival."

Muffled profanities and he flew out of bed.

- IX -

Really was a beautiful morning Telm decided. Barely a cloud in the sky, sparkling blue ocean, the cool salty tang of the ocean breeze offsetting the warm sun. Shame he was in too much of a hurry to properly appreciate it, dashing towards the beach.

"Hey Big B, hope I didn't keep you waiting." Telm said, slowing to a jog for the final approach to the beachside bar and blessing sprint shoes. It was a ramshackle looking affair, all timber, bamboo and palm fronds built around a little stone stump of a building, but it was a lot sturdier than it looked.

Big B was a big, bald, brooding figure sitting on a stool, reading a trashy spy novel. The slacks and brightly patterned shirt fit on the heavyset man uncomfortably, yearning to be replaced with a suit. Telm was certain he was carrying a gun in a concealed holster. Bodyguard, he'd said. Why was here, he'd just said Mr O'Sullivan had realised he was long overdue some leave.

He smiled for a moment, an unfamiliar looking expression on his heavy featured face and stood up. "Morning Mr Telm." B nodded in greeting. "You waiting on any else?"