It had been a long haul back to Skyhold, and Tamarack was excited to see Kiana again. That girl seemed to be more a woman every time she came back from a trip. However, she got into town later than expected and figured Ki would be in bed already, so she decided she might as well stop by the Gosling for a drink before heading home. Good liquor was tough to get on the road, after all.
"Evening, all!" she bellowed, strutting in with a grin.
A chorus of wellwishers extended their greetings and a glass of free grog arrived at her table unbidden. Chargurt was apparently in an uncharacteristically generous mood. "Can I get you anything to eat?" asked Celest shyly.
"Ahhh… some ribs might hit the spot, I suppose," Tam replied, trying to catch Chargurt's eye to wave her thanks for the grog, but it seemed almost as if he was hiding from her on purpose. Well, that wasn't so strange, she supposed. But Celest's manner—that was more than a little strange. It wasn't in the usually boisterous barmaid's nature to be shy. "Anything wrong, pet?"
"No nothing," she replied, blushing a little despite herself, "just a busy night, getting worn down, you know how it is…. How was the world's plunder?"
"Oh, not bad…" Tam said vaguely, studying the woman closely.
"Any sign of those creatures?" she asked, trying to change the subject
"Not lately," she replied. "Kiana might be the better judge of that, actually."
Celest went suddenly quiet… then after a moment just walked away toward the kitchen.
Tam cocked her head. She looked around the room and noticed that a couple of others were sneaking glances at her and looking away quickly. Furrowing her brow, she dug into her pile of supplies and quietly pulled out her helm of telepathy. Knowing most here wouldn't know the difference between a telepathy helm and the crown of Duronil's king, she slipped it on and watched for Celest.
Celest was clearly killing time at the kitchen, doing her best not to look at Tam.
Tamarack soon got fed up and stalked up to the bar. "How are those ribs coming along?" she shouted.
"Just plating now" replied Celest, handing a sloppily laid out plate of slightly overdone meat to the dwarf before disappearing into the stock room.
A horrifying scene jumped from Celest's mind into her own. Tam cried out in shock and shed the helmet immediately. She stood frozen, trying to understand what she had seen, and whether it was even possible. "CHARGURT!!" she screamed suddenly.
The door of the bar flapped noisily across the room and a surprised patron raised a hand to indicate the direction the innkeeper had fled
Tamarack didn't even stop to pick up her possessions—even her hammers. She was going to feel her own fists crush Chargurt's bones. She fled after him, shrieking with rage.
Chargurt was no match for the seasoned adventurer, he barely made it past the Odare's residence before the warrior caught up to him.
She tackled him full-force. The two of them tumbled down a short hill, Tam landing on top. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!!" she screamed, pinning down his shoulders. "What did you do to my GIRL?!"
"What are you talking about?" the dwarf bluffed, a cold sweat already beading across his face.
"Don't… you… DARE lie to me," she hissed. "You had better come clean RIGHT NOW, if only to save your own soul!"
Chargurt shifted gears quite suddenly, "It wasn't my idea, I swear it, She acted like you did, back in the old days"
Tamarack snarled and clamped her hands around his neck. "You defile her body, and now you will defile her reputation?" she growled. "She is NOTHING like me! She is an innocent maiden, and YOU HAVE RUINED HER!!" Screaming, Tam bunched her hands into furious fists and began to rain blows upon him.
Chargurt was once a warrior of some repute, and up until that moment figured he would be Tam's equal, nothing could be further from the truth. As the blows continued, breaking nose and the wrist of the free hand he was using to defend himself he realized that Tam was in a league far beyond his, and then realized that it may well spell the end of him. Odenthor smiled upon his battered fornicating body though, with a shout a ring of readied halberds appeared out of the punch-drunk haze as the town Guard arrived.
Tamarack knew they were coming, but she was seriously committed to her task and only redoubled her attack to get in all she could before they pulled her off of him. With her heavy boots she targeted every tender place she knew, and ended with a particularly rage-filled blow to the very organ that had committed the heinous act against her precious girl.
It took both Legan and Drawerwick to finally disengage the enraged dwarf. "Councilwoman, by the power vested in me by the town charter you are under arrest for disturbing the peace, for unwarranted combat, and for issuing profanities in the sight of an officer of the law." Legan practically shouted in her ear slapping two pairs of manacles on her just for good measure.
Once the manacles were on, Tamarack let go of her rage and relaxed in the grip of the officers. "I'll come quietly," she said with incredible calm.
"Ouch, you really did a number on him," observed Drawerwick, "I thought you two were in friendly competition, what in the names of the Men-god are you about?"
Tamarack remained tight-lipped about the reason for her attack. However, she glared down at the bloodied and rather crumpled form of a barely-conscious Chargurt and snarled, "I will kill you a hundred times over if I have to."
"And we're adding 'speaking threats' to the list of grievances" sighed Legan exasperated, "let's go before you manage to get in more trouble."
