Fan Fiction - Brewers - Tapper vs Esters - With or against the Masons?

Harmony busted open te door.  Hammer, sitting with his back to the door, didn’t flinch, yet seemed to know who just came flying in.  “So, what news, did your sister manage to claim Victory without me?”

Harmony was crying.  “She did.” She sobbed.

This made Hammer turn towards her. “Whats the matter girl?”

“The bear ate away at her, her legs are smashed, mauled!  No way she’s going to play guild ball any time soon!”  Harmony flung herself around Hammers neck sobbing away at his chest, hiding her face as he raised from his chair.

“I’ll go talk to the guildmaster then.” Hammer said “I’ll seek out the one who did it and I promise you, Harmony, We’ll bury a sledgehammer in their skull.  Tell me about it.”  Hammer pushed Harmony away, grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her at arms length.  In between blowing her nose and sobbing away Harmony told Hammer of what had gone down on the pitch.  Hammers face didn’t betray any emotion and after Harmony reached the end of her tale leaving her sister with the rest of the tame to take her to the physichians guild and racing of on horseback towards him, he strode of resolute.  Harmony dropped to the floor on her knees, broken.

“Do you know who I am?”

Honour looked up at Hemlocke.  You’re the shaman, the wild woman who joined the Union.  What are you doing here?

“The old Gods wish it so.  The hunters don’t feel sorry for a wounded animal, they put it down.”

Fear krept into the white of Honours eyes.  Knowing your reign is over is something, it is something else to look at the end of your life. “So you’re here to finish me off then?”

Hemlocke cackled a witchlike laugh. “Oh no girl, you’re no animal.  You’re a person, are you not?  Hunters know that approaching a wounded animal is dangerous, so they sent me.”

“I heard the hunters don’t do politics” Honour said.

Again that cackle.  “You heard correct.  I’m only here to offer condolences, although they did tell the bear to take you on they didn’t know it would pierce you on the horns they put on the armour and drag you along for as long as it did, only to rip you off it with it’s claws.  I heard the breaking of bones brought silence to the stands.  And some retching as Seenah started eating you.”

Honour turned green, reliving the moment as Hemlocke spoke the words.  “No, the hunters guild has asked me to see if you felt the need for retaliation.”

“I’m the wrong person to ask, aren’t I?” Honour felt a rouse of rebellion coming up.  “Thanks to you Hammer is going to take on the Guild Ball Captain mantle, so I don’t imagine he’ll hate you for it.”

Hemlocke remained silent, bowed towards Honour and started to make her way out.

Honour called after her. “Hey! I won’t hold a grudge if you can give Hammer the same treatment as you did me!”  But Hemlocke didn’t return, so Honour wasn’t sure if she heard.  She pulled the pillow from under her head and stuffed it in her mouth, muffling a scream and hiding her tears.

“Hello Tapper.”  Tapper looked up from his cup of ale into the wild eyes of Hemlocke.  “Hello witch.  Have a drink with me”  Tapper pointed to an empty stool on the other side of the table and raised his arm to call over the wench.

“I think I will” Hemlocke responded sitting herself down on the stool but sliding it over to the side of the table to enable a more silent conversation, as to not be overheard in the pub.”  Tapper took it for something else and pushed his knee up against hers and placed his hand on her thigh.  It wasn’t like they didn’t share a bed before.  Hemlocke didn’t brush the attempt away and only smiled. “I’ll have a tea ‘n Whisky, luv” she said as she grabbed his knee and squeezed a bit.

In the morning she covered her naked body with the furs she always wore and stalked off, hand on her belly as she was quite sure she felt an egg pop the day before.  Tapper would remember and she had no doubt he would steer his team into Hammer as hard as he could.  The brewers never shied back from a good fight.  Even the butchers new that.
Spigot disturbed her thoughts stumbling into her rounding a corner.  He had just tripped and was  milling his arms around looking for something to grab onto and interrupt his fall.  Hemlocke just happened to be it.  As he opened his eyes a smile broke onto his face.

“It’s you!!”  He breathed onto her with his sour reeking breath.

“It is.” She replied, and didn’t take it further knowing Spigot well enough.  Aggression was all she’d get as a reply, she had dealt with him before, romantically even.  And he wasn’t all that bad if he was sober, which he wasn’t at all right now.  She stood up and picked him up in the process.  “Come here.” She said and took him to his room.

“Oh yes I will” was the only thing he said, as he held on to her.  He dreamt of her all night only to wake up and find a note as only proof of her being there:  “Sober up.”  it read.  His headache agreed.  He put it in his mind she meant that if he did they could get back together.

Tapper wondered what the master brewer wanted with him this time round.  Maybe he’d tell him the introduction of Mash was a good idea.  No use breaking his head over it, he was thinking to much about Hemlocke anyway, or to be more exact the plan she had to take on the Masons next season.  Breaking Hammer, what did she have to gain?  If she was using him as a hunters play it didn’t make any sence.  The hunters last play put him into the captain seat and now they’d want him out again?  Surely they new what would happen if they took out Honour?  Or maybe they didn’t.  If it was true about the hunters not doing politics they might have not known…  Welll, Tapper didn’t care that much.  He didn’t have any orders to do otherwise and pleasing Hemlocke was a good thing in his mind. Especially if he wanted an object to feast his lusts on.
Tapper had to break of his erotic fantasies as he saw Avarisse and Greede come out of the masters chambers.  He almost bumped into Mash who was standing there.  “Oh, hi there Mash! Coming in with me?”

“Er? Oh,… no mate.  My Esters is already in there.”

Esters?  Tapper was confused.  “She doesn’t want you to play guild ball?  You back to cricket then?”

“Oh no Bud, I’ll play Guild Ball allright.”  The statement was accompanied by a glimpse of teeth and lips peeping out from under the bushy beard and stache. “You better get in too…”

 Greede passed him just that moment touching his hat and giggling as he greeted the both of them.  Avarisse nodded, but did nothing else.

A bad feeling came over Tapper, he hated the both of them, they never brought good news.  Always playing games…

Mash had just left with his Rubenesque wife.  Quaff following them.  Spigot hadn’t noticed the dog till just now.  How good married life would be, he told himself, enjoying the company of a woman every night.  He would give up drinking for that, yes he would!   A ring on his finger and a woman between the sheets, that was the picture in his mind.  Spigot was wearing a big smile on his face.  One the headache couldn’t keep at bay.  The door opening with Tapper storming out could. Spigot new at once there was nothing good coming of the look on Tapper.  Tapper grabbed Spigot by the elbow and said nothing but “I need a drink and I’m not drinking alone!”.  Spigot had troubles keeping up with the long strides Tapper was taking and tried several times to get a grip on things asking what in heavens name was going on.  Tapper only grunted some words under his breath and if he wasn’t mistaken he heard something along the lines of ‘Hemlocke will not be pleased’.  This of course picked his interest and he tried his best to tag along even better.  As Tapper entered the bar and bellowed “2 pints and keep ‘em coming” all heads turned their way and the room went quiet.  Everybody knew this mood on Tapper.  Best not to get in his way just now.  Spigot tried to shake his head at the barmaid but she didn’t notice and was pouring the second tankard already.  Some yellow liquid splashed over the edge of one, the white foam seeping away through the table on Spigot’s side as she brought them over.  Tapper drained his and looked at Spigot.  “I’ll be your ex-captain then”

“Excuse me?” Spigot said.

“You heard me you bugger, I’m your captain no more.”  Tapper was gesturing towards the maid, who indeed was already pouring another two tankards.  Spigot didn’t touch his though.

“What then… Who?  Forget all that… Why the fuck would you be stripped of the captain mantle?  We didn’t do that bad last season?!”  As if it was a natural thing to do Spigot grabbed the tankard by the ear and lifted it.  Halfway to his mouth he realised what he was doing thinking about Hemlocke again.  He put his tankard back down, hard enough, splashing another bit of ale over the edge. “You said something about Hemlocke too?” he added, as Tapper hadn’t budged yet, staring at the barmaid who was coming over with the next load of ale.  Tapper drained his again in one go and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, still holding the tankard. “Drink up and I’ll tell you what’s going on, mate.”  Spigot couldn’t tell Tapper about staying sober, not now.  This shit was going to be too serious so he faked drinking from his cup,  sliding his second one over to Tapper saying:  “Call for another load and have this in the meanwhile, you need it more than I right now.  And to be honest, I’m still feeling a bit under the weather, had a bit too much last night.”  He took another fake swig after that.

Tapper set about the story after that, leaving out the sex part with Hemlocke, no need to set bad blood.  He knew about the crush Spigot still had on the woman.

“So Hemlocke wants us to take Hammer out on Honours behalf? Why?”  Tapper was thinking of how to explain why he didn’t ask for reasons. But didn’t need to as Spigot came back into the conversation all by himself: “And now Esters is running the show taking the circus act of Avarisse and Greed with her in the team, bringing her man and dog.   They want me and Hooper still?  How about Friday?  What is going on ?”  Tapper continued his story, showing the conflict in interest. “The Master brewer feels like Esters is going to be a more reliable source of support to the masons than me…  How he found out I was going behind his back overnight going for Hammer I’ll never know.  He didn’t say so in that many words but his look told me he knew.”

“Where did you talk to Hemlocke?  Somebody may have overheard you?  Or did somebody else know already?”  Spigot was full of questions.

“Nobody heard.  I imagine nobody knew, other than Hemlocke, myself, Honour and you now…  You think Honour had a change of heart?  Or maybe she told her sister who ratted on her?  I heard they don’t get along any more since Harmony is sucking up to the big black fella.”

“Hmmph” Spigot spat.  “You know what they say about black men…”