RD 5 Ch 43

After Ricky closed up his shop, a process that involved draping covers over the rubber duckies, perfectly positioning a number of them, turning out his light, and setting an atrocious number of locks and wards on the door that would have caved with a single kick anyway, we went just around the corner to the inn with the blue eye on the sign.

“Does she own the place?” Circe asked as we walked in.

“Oh no, nothing like that,” Ricky said, eyes shifting back and forth, rubbing his hands together. Every nervous tic imaginable flashed across his features.

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to be too nervous,” I told him.

“Oh no, it’s just, I get nervous every time I come to see her,” he said.

“That’s completely normal.” Nyx tried to encourage him with a small smile.

His head bobbed a mile a minute as we walked through the door, and I could tell who he came to see instantly. His eyes fixed on one of the hostesses serving meals and didn’t move. She wasn’t bad-looking, but she was far more plain than I’d been expecting from the eccentric rubber-ducky man. If anything her hair was dark but not jet black, straight with a slight cant to her eyes, a relatively flat face, and a stronger chin than seemed to fit with the rest of her face.

“That’s her?” Circe asked with a nod.

“That’s her,” Ricky breathed, as if she were everything.

“Well, introduce us.” Circe gestured him forward.

From the way Ricky kept shaking his head, it was clear he hadn’t actually talked to her much. “How, how could I?” he stumbled, eyes wild.

Circe shot me a glance that clearly asked why I’d dragged her into this situation.

I gave her a tight-lipped smile, unwilling to tell Merlin or Circe that I might have made a mistake inviting them. “Well, we should probably get a table. Why don’t you ask her, Ricky?” I suggested.

He looked at me as if I’d told him to commit suicide.

“I mean, if you don’t, who’s going to get us a table?” I pushed.

“I-I can’t,” he stammered.

At that moment she walked over, and Ricky froze like a deer in headlights.

“Can I get you guys a table?” she asked with a service smile and zero recognition of Ricky. 

Her gaze instead latched onto me, but Nyx drew her attention away with her dancing serpentine hair. Then Nyx put a hand on Ricky’s shoulder and leaned over him.

“This is the best food around,” Nyx said, and the others flanked me, Merlin and Circe each taking an arm, giving a subtle warning to the server.

The hostess’s smile turned professional. “Well, I’m Kathy. If you guys need anything while you’re here, please ask me. I’m so happy to get a recommendation from,” She glanced at Ricky in confusion. “Oh, you’re the guy who owns the shop around the corner, aren’t you?”

“That would be me,” Ricky stuttered unintelligibly.

“Great.” she said, drawing the word out as if absolutely not great, then gestured the way to a table and walked off.

Ricky sat down like a man who’d been unmoored and left adrift.

“You have never spoken to her before.” I said when she slipped away.

“Can you blame me?” he gasped.

I glanced after Kathy as she moved about. “I guess not,” I said, entirely unconvincingly. If this was what we were working with, so be it. We could only craft enchantments from the material available.

Ricky nodded dumbly, staring at Kathy’s back. The man was completely smitten.

“Well, it might help us to understand why you care so much. What is it about her?” Nyx said, sliding into the conversation.

“Nothing in particular.” He said quickly.

“There has to be some reason,” I pressed.

“If I were to give one,” Ricky hedged blushing like a schoolgirl, “it is that she is very kind. It’s not every day someone like me is greeted by such a beautiful woman and her smile.” He said the words like it should be entirely clear what made her absolutely special. It was sweet to see a man so invested when he had so little interaction with her.

“Regardless,” I said. “We said we’d help, so that’s what we’re here to do. Merlin, Circe, two experts in this, do you have anything to add?”

To my surprise, Merlin spoke first. “You’ll never get her attention if you can’t even talk to her.”

“I know,” Ricky whined. “But,” he gestured helplessly.

“Why don’t we start simple,” Nyx suggested. “When she comes back here, order food. Pick what you want beforehand, and when she comes to the table, just place the order.”

Ricky glanced down at his menu, then up at us. “I need to leave,” he said urgently, as if his skin were crawling and he couldn’t bear sitting there a moment longer.

“No,” I said, holding a finger up. “You are staying put. Exactly where you are.”

“What? Why? Why would you do that to me?” Ricky blurted. “Look, I’m sorry. I can’t.” He glanced back at Kathy, who was taking an order nearby and clearly heading for our table next.

“Calm down,” Nyx said, setting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’re just ordering food. If it helps, you can close your eyes.”

Ricky stared at her as if she’d said something either profound or profoundly idiotic, then turned to me. “How do you do it?”

“Usually I look them in the eyes and say what I’m thinking,” I answered bluntly, somewhat regretting that we’d come here and pushed the issue. I had known that he was eccentric, but this was more than I’d bargained to take on.

“Yeah, yeah, stare them in the eyes, stare them in the eyes,” he muttered under his breath like a chant, trying to steady himself. It wasn’t working. He was breathing so hard he looked like he might pass out and smash his head on the table.

“Why don’t we try something else?” I offered. “What if you just think of her as a rubber ducky?” It was an asinine idea, but he was obsessed with rubber duckies. Maybe it could give him an edge.

“Rubber ducky, rubber ducky, rubber ducky,” he chanted as Kathy drew closer.

“Hello,” she said cheerfully, stopping at our table.

Ricky looked up, stared her in the eyes and went, “Rubber ducky, rubber ducky.”

Kathy paused, unsure what to say in response.

Ricky slammed his hands over his mouth, screamed into them, and bolted from his seat.

“Um…” our hostess drew the syllable out, only for Nyx’s hair-serpents to launch from her scalp, wrap around Ricky, and begin dragging him back.

He clawed at the floor, trying to resist, completely unsuccessfully.

“Don’t mind him,” I said as casually as I could, but it was hard to act casual as the man was being dragged screaming across the floor. “He’s a bit eccentric, okay. But he’s really, really good at what he does.”

“Oh really?” Kathy asked.

“He’s insanely good at making artifacts. He just has a thing about rubber duckies, and also, for whatever reason, you make him incredibly nervous. In fact, we’re here on a recruiting drive to grab some more personnel for our base, and he’s on our list.”

“Oh,” the server said with a tone that implied she didn’t care. It was all just formality until she could ask what we wanted to order.

“As for food, I assume he’s been here before?” Circe asked.

“He comes about every other day,” Kathy admitted. And I suddenly felt even worse that she had barely acknowledged him when we had walked in the doors.

“Great. If you know his usual order, let’s just stick with that while he sorts himself out.” I offered.

She gave a practiced, sympathetic smile. “Can do. What about the rest of you?”

“I’ll take some of your breaded goose,” Merlin said, holding the menu. “I’ve always wanted to try one of those bastards.”

“They’re pretty tough and gamey,” the waitress warned, then scribbled on her pad. “And you?” she asked Circe.

“Just give me whatever his usual was,” Circe said, either unable to decide or simply not caring what came.

“Great. I love a simple order.” The waitress turned to me. “And you, handsome?” she asked, earning glares from half the table.

“I’ll try the goose too, and an ale,” I said, as if answering a question. The menu simply listed the beverage options as ale. I was expecting a little more.

“Can do. It’s made locally. And if I’m honest, it’s the only thing worth a damn on the menu.” She told me.

“With a roaring recommendation like that, why don’t we get some for Ricky too?” I hooked a thumb at him. He was now seated, gagged and bound by Nyx’s serpents.

“Sure. Is he gonna be able to eat like that?” Kathy asked.

“We’ll manage.” Nyx flashed a pained smile.

“Alright, you just enjoy your meal.” The waitress hurried away as fast as she could. Our table had clearly made an impression, and not a great one.

A moment later Nyx unbound Ricky.

He gasped, wailed, and slammed his head against the table in a scene that strangely didn’t attract as much attention as I thought it would. Either those around us were numb to his antics or the entire community was filled with eccentric types.

“Well, this is great,” Circe said through tight lips. “How critical did you say he was again?” She turned to me.

“I’m asking myself a very similar question.” I admitted. “And I think the unfortunate answer is: very. There’s another approach we could try, but the resources required are far more extensive than what he’s able to do.”

I observed the man, red-faced, trembling, clearly humiliated, and tried to think through options. For a moment my brain tripped over itself. All the planning I’d done felt thin as I stared at Ricky’s current dysfunction.

“All right, that’s enough,” Circe said, turning back to Ricky and pushing him forward in his seat. A bubble of wind sealed off his mouth. “We came here to help you, and we are trying to help you. Meanwhile you are testing my patience to a degree I will not accept.” She practically pinned him with the ferocity of her glare, though I suspected there was magic being used as well.

Ricky muffled and thrashed against the windy gag.

Circe cast me a look. “Do we let him go?”

“I don’t know. Why are you asking me?” I said. Not able to help myself, I looked over at him, adding, “I have half a mind to kidnap him right now.”

The gagged man screeched, and I realized my joke hadn’t landed.

“We can’t do that. We have to help him,” Nyx pressed. The rest of us turned to her as if she’d grown a second head.

“Help him?” Circe asked, eyebrow raised. The idea sounded foreign to her.

“Have you ever loved someone? Has it ever not worked out?” Nyx pressed. “It’s painful, and we’re in a position to help. I think we should.” She crossed her arms.

Both of the older women exchanged a strange look, then softened. “Perhaps you’re more correct than I realized,” Merlin admitted. “The man is clearly struggling with something many can relate to. Helping him might be the kindest thing we could do.”

Circe did a complete one-eighty, leaning back and glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. “Love is a beautiful thing,” she said. “If we want this man to work for us, then we should help him.”

Nyx beamed. “Thank you both. I knew we weren’t cold and heartless enough to leave him completely out to dry.”

“If our dear Nyx wants to help him, then we will.” Circe nodded.

“Exactly,” Merlin agreed, and I felt the room relax a notch as the plan began to form. I still was not sure about what we had agreed to take on, but at least the women were on board to help me.

“Do you think something can actually be done?” Ricky asked, a small dollop of hope in his voice.

“Of course something can be done,” Circe said sharply. “It's really just a matter of how much can be done, rather than if something can be done.”

“You're a little strange,” Circe said before softening it. “Strange can be good.”

Ricky went through a whole series of emotions as she spoke, finally brightening at the idea that strange could be good. “Do we have a chance?” he asked.

“Everyone has a chance,” Nyx said. “Just let us work our magic, and you're going to have to put in some effort.”

Ricky nodded a mile a minute. “Of course, of course. I'll give it all the effort. For a chance like this, I'll put it all on the line.”

With his vow, Nyx softened even further, her eyes getting larger. “Well, maybe not literally put it all on the line,” she murmured.

I looked into Ricky’s eyes and hoped he wouldn’t end up too disappointed. I needed him to do the work. If he got demoralized, it would be counterproductive, especially now that I had seen his ability.

By the time our food came, Ricky had managed to act normal for the split second the server spent at our table. When she hurried off, he turned to us like he'd done something heroic. “I did good!” Ricky said, looking back to us for praise.

“Yeah, we just… need to keep that up for much, much longer,” I replied, my voice tired.

The man clearly wasn’t hopeless, but he certainly was not moving at the speed I would like in order to finish this and get him back to my fortress where he could work. He was fragile at best. He couldn't even talk to Kathy, though the rest of my companions had apparently taken this as a personal challenge for some reason.

“That was good!” Nyx agreed, praising him. “We'll have to do some more practice when we go back to your shop.”

“You guys are going to stick around and help?” Ricky asked, sounding rather excited at the idea.

“It's the least we can do. After seeing the unrequited love between the two of you, it feels like there's a new mission in my heart to step forward and help you,” Nyx added and lit up the room with her smile. The other two nodded.

“Don't worry, Bran will help too,” Circe gestured at me.

“I will?” I asked.

“Yeah, you will,” Merlin supplied. “Can't you see this guy just needs a little push in the right direction?”

“Um, yeah, absolutely,” I agreed, because I understood what I was supposed to say, not because I fully understood why they were suddenly so determined. But if they wanted to help, fine. I wasn’t going to be the odd one out.

“It’s really all about confidence, Ricky,” Nyx told him.

He nodded, then shook his head. “But I don't have any of that,” he whispered, looking like he was about to say more. “When it comes to someone like her. She's just so…,” he trailed off, sighing dreamily. The sentence hung in the air like a promise that this was going to take far longer than I’d hoped.