Persuasion

"Dwarfs, don't forget!" Flimlet yelled. He sat alone with a beer mug, his hair disheveled and dirty, and his clothes shabby and stained. The pub was empty, except for a barmaid behind the counter washing dishes. The absence of customers was excusable since it was only ten in the morning. Two weeks had passed since the dwarf had returned from Lord Balister's mine. And during that time, he practically lived here.

"Do you think I'll forget?" Having no one to argue with, he turned to the wall, daring it to disagree. "I'll never forget! You hear? Never!" He chugged the rest of his beer. "Another!"

The barmaid hesitated. She had served over a dozen and contemplated the wisdom of a thirteenth. Flimlet glared at her, lowering his head. When she didn't move, he furrowed his brow. When the brow didn't convince her, he made a growling noise and half stood like he would walk over to teach her a lesson or pour his own beer. Since she couldn't tell which, she relented.

"Cut me off? No one's cutting me off." Flimlet pounded the table. "I should have cut me off. But I couldn't lose. I was on a roll," he mumbled.

He raised his mug and toasted, "To Cord. The greatest hero I know." He paused, then corrected himself, "I knew." He quickly drained the mug, "Another!"

The barmaid was about to pour number fourteen when Jor walked in. "Delay that beer, Sally."

Flimlet turned to see a tall man wearing a white shirt and armed with a sword. Even in his current state, Flimlet recognized his old friend. But at the moment, he wanted beer, not old friends. "Sally, undelay that beer!"

Sally's eyes darted between the men, frozen with indecision.

"Sally, don't undelay that delay, just continue delaying."

The dwarf stood and put his hand on his axe, "Sally, stop delaying and undelay his delay."

Confusion replaced indecision. Sally stood, unable to move.

"Don't listen to his undelaying. Just delay without undelaying," Jor reached for his sword.

Sally had all she could take. "You both are crazy! Get your own blooming beer!" She stormed into the kitchen, leaving them standing alone with their hands on their weapons. They heard the back door open. "And undelay ain't a word! You idiots!" The door slammed shut.

The two faced each other. Flimlet's rage escalated. He believed it was because of Sally's departure, but it was because of his sorrow, and Jor was about to receive the full brunt of it. Flimlet convinced himself it was time to teach old Long Legs a lesson about meddling in other people's business. He went to pull out his axe.

"You know who I am and what I'm capable of!" Jor shouted. "Get your hand off that axe!"

A momentary sober thought hit Flimlet as he realized who he was drawing against. He did know. Jor was capable of scary stuff. He released his axe and began to cry like a baby. His adrenaline, mixed with his sorrow and excessive alcohol intake, was more than he could manage, and combined, they carried him over the falls. He fell to his knees and shouted, "All my fault! I killed my best friend!"

Jor knelt beside the broken dwarf, helping him to his feet. They sat, and Jor patiently waited for Flimlet to get control.

"What's wrong with me? Crying? Like a baby."

"Nothing's wrong with you."

"It hurts so bad."

Jor felt for his friend but didn't know what to say.

"I can't get his tombstone out of my mind." Flimlet blew his nose, and his tears began to dwindle.

"How about I make us some coffee?" He gave Flimlet some privacy while he brewed coffee on the stove. He returned with two mugs.

"It wasn't your fault," Jor said.

"If I hadn't lost the bet with Lord Balister, the battle would never have happened."

"His death had nothing to do with the bet. Whoever created that army is to blame."

"I know you're right, but my heart says otherwise."

Jor wanted to help, but he also didn't want to say something foolish. He carefully considered what to say, weighing it against saying nothing. After several moments of silence, he thought of something.

"Would Cord want you to behave this way? Drinking from morning to night?"

Flimlet recalled Cord's zest for life. "No, he would have kicked my butt, telling me to man up."

Jor raised his eyebrows. "I wouldn't dare kick your butt. Cord was a brave one."

"Yeah, we had a lot in common."

"Use that bravery. We need you to come back. Honor Cord by living the way he would."

Flimlet sipped his coffee. He knew Jor was correct. Cord was fearless. He had to step up and be like Cord—to face his pain, accept the loss, and continue to live.

"How?" Flimlet asked.

"First, let's get you home. Second, take a bath. After that, we'll take it step by step."

That night, he and Jor sat outside Jor's house under the stars, the leaves moving in the breeze. Their movement caused the stars to appear to blink on and off like fireflies over a dark field.

"I'm sorry for how I behaved," Flimlet said.

"Water under the bridge." Jor pulled out his pipe and chewed on the stem.

Flimlet lit his pipe and looked into the night sky. "I guess I owe Sally an apology too."

"We both owe her an apology." They laughed and felt guilty. "I guess it's not funny. Poor girl."

"Yeah, you're right. I can't believe I said "undelay."

"At least you had an excuse."

Flimlet faced the direction of Cord's tombstone, a pang of sorrow hitting him. Crickets sang, and fireflies danced. Torchlights cast long shadows over Jor's yard. A gentle breeze joined in the concert. In Flimlet’s mind, they sang a dirge.

"I want to write a song about Cord's battle," Flimlet said. "An epic one."

"That would be a beautiful step."

"I also want to sing it right before I remove the head of his killer."

"Not as beautiful, but I agree."

Flimlet wasn't at the pub the following day. Instead, he used that morning and many more to plant a memorial garden around Cord's tombstone. A few weeks later, he finished the ballad of Cord's Slashing Sword. He was taking little steps and making tremendous progress. His grief resurfaced from time to time, but he didn't allow it to overcome him. He was living again, and he would keep on living the way he knew Cord would want him to.