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The land in Anders was refreshingly different than the cold moors of Ahrothen;
small rolling hills covered with grass stretched in all directions, broken
by the occassional farm. The landscape was dotted with copses of
trees both big and small.
An entire day and night had passed since the incident at the grove, and still Karissa had said nothing of what she was doing that morning, despite a few attempts on Sir Aeric's part to inquire of the matter. As they rode, the sun setting at their backs, Dona Karissa leaned forward over Sir Aeric’s shoulder. "There should be an inn not too far ahead,” she shouted over the thunder of Brimstone’s hooves. “We need to stop for the night." By the way she said it, the dark knight could tell that she wouldn't take ‘no’ for an answer. He was loathe to do so, however, for every stop delayed their rendezvouz with Knight Panthra. As the sun set on the third day of their journey, Aeric and Karissa rode up to the inn. It was the first of it's kind the pair had seen since entering the kingdom of Anders. The sky was a brilliant orangish-red as they approached the front of the establishment. Looking up, they saw three stalks of wheat painted on the sign hanging above the door, the universal symbol for TAVERN for the sake of the illiterate and the foreign. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on the horse," Sir Aeric said. "You go in and get us some rooms and a horsegroom. Please." He added, almost as an afterthought. Karissa nodded and walked up the stairs to the door of the inn. As she pushed it open, she was assaulted by bright light, loud voices in song and conversation, and the almost overwhelming smell of food and alcohol. She was suddenly acutely aware of the tightness in her belly…a good side of mutton and a tankard of ale would taste sooo good right now, she thought to herself, especially after nearly a week of dried jerky and hard-as-a-rock waybread! She wound her way through the crowd of travelers towards the bar. As she did, she noticed that a disproportionate number of the patrons were warriors, or at least outfitted as such. A mail shirt here, a helmet there, a shield sitting next to this table, a sword hanging from that belt...if she didn't know better, she would have thought that Anders was having a war. Karissa found her way to the bar. The fat innkeeper stood behind it, leisurely cleaning a pewter mug with a bar-rag. He tipped up the overhanging brim of his slouch hat as she approached. "Good e'en, milady,” he said with a thick accent. “What c'n I do fer ya?" "You appear to have a full house this evening,” Karissa answered, “but I was hoping you might have two rooms and a horsegroom available…." The innkeeper looked at her and spat on the floor, not an uncommon gesture among the peasantry but a little unsettling for someone as used to the ways of the nobility as she. "Aye, we're all filled up," he said, gesturing around the room with his eyes. "Sell-swords, all of ‘em. They've been driftin' in from the south all month." "The south?" she asked. "From Lyonesse?" "Aye, milady. Don' know why they're here, but word is they're headin' north. Some big warlord is buildin' an army or somethin.' Can't say fer sure." He gave the Warwickian the once-over. "Better be careful, girl. These're hard men. Any one of 'em'd throw you over 'is shoulder an' carry you off for his own pleasure...and 'is fellows’." Karissa supressed an uncontrollable shudder as she glanced around the room once more. Indeed, several of the mercenaries were watching her with hungry eyes over the rims of their mugs. She turned back to the innkeeper, and with what she hoped sounded like confidence said, "that's okay. I can take care of myself. Besides, my escort will be along shortly; he's outside taking care of the horse." At least I hope he is, Karissa thought to herself. I know he considers me a burden, map or no map...what if he left without me? What if this was just a trick to get rid of me? She forced down a momentary wave of panic. No, she tried to assure herself, Sir Aeric would never abandon a Companion.... Karissa’s anxious thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. The size of the palm and the unmistakable stink of beer and body odor told her that it was NOT Sir Aeric’s. "Hey there, girl,." She heard from behind her. Karissa could feel the man's beer-soaked breath hot against the back of her head as he spoke. "Lookin' fer a place ta sleep? I gots room in MY bed...." Behind him she heard several of the men break into raucous laughter, but she could tell that it was at some private joke and had nothing to do with her would-be paramour. She turned to face the man, who looked every bit as bad as she had imagined him to. "Please, Sir, remove your hand," Karissa said, hoping it sounded confident enough to convince the man that she was no mere girl. Obviously it didn't. He leaned down and leered into your face. His breath was almost overpowering. "Whatsamattta, girlie, too good for me?” He said frowning. “Don't worry...I ain't TOO big...." With that he took his other hand and reached for the drawstring of his trousers. As Karissa pondered how exactly she was going to get away from this lout, from behind him she heard a most welcome voice. "That’s enough." The large man turned away from her to see Sir Aeric standing before him. He looked really mad. With his entrance, everyone's attention was on the knight. Karissa took the opportunity to mutter something under her breath as she took a few steps away from the man. Just then, he doubled over in pain. Karissa moved calmly to the door near Sir Aeric. "It was a bad idea for me to come in,” she whispered. “I'll be outside if you need me." No sooner did the door close behind her than she heard a shout and a great commotion coming from inside the inn. Fearing that Sir Aeric was in some sort of trouble, she went to open the door, when it burst open with a splintering crash and a burly mercenary came flying out, landing in the dirt outside. Looking in through what was once the door of the inn, Karissa saw most of the inn's patrons on their feet and encircling Sir Aeric, none daring to come closer than ten paces. At the young knight's feet, the man who assailed her lay unconscious. Sir Aeric glared around and the others. "Does anyone else want to try me?" he asked angrily. He was answered by a number of shuffles and muttered curses as the men went back to their business. She heard a groan behind her, and turned to watch the man ejected from the inn stumble off into the night. Sir Aeric flipped a gold piece to the innkeeper and walked outside to join Karissa. Now that he was closer, Karissa could see that he didn't escape the fight uninjured; a small trickle of blood was escaping the left corner of his mouth. "Well," he said, straightening his shirt and smiling sardonically, "the good news is that there are now two rooms available." He dusted off the sleeve of his shirt. "The bad news is that we'll probably be killed in our sleep if we stay." "Thank you defending my honor..." Karissa said, embarrassed. She turned away to pull her first aid kit from her knapsack. "This is a nasty cut…I hope I have something to keep it from getting infected," she said as she tried to clean the wound and change the subject. They rode away in silence. As sunset approached, Karissa spoke. "I should not have come," she finally said. "You don't seem to need me, and I seem to be more of a bother. I can summon one of the dragonriders. It won't take long..." Aeric stopped the horse. "You should go home," he said without even turning around, "if you don't feel up to the task." He slid off the horse and offered his hands to help Karissa down. "Do you think I did what I did to protect you? You're not some damsel in distress. You're a Companion, one who's quite capable of taking care of herself. I did it because we are a team, and at some point I am going to need the same kind of help from you." The two of them walked a little further into the forest, where Aeric tied his horse's reins around a low tree branch. "You are a druin. I am a knight. While I may know a little about demons such as the one we may be facing, the grand scope of the Art is a mystery to me. I have no idea what kind of challenges we'll be facing. Your presence is a boon and I would not be denied it because of some misplaced sense of worthlessness." He turned to face her. "So go if you must, but not because you feel you're a burden." He opened his saddlebags and started to take out the things for making camp. A little relieved, Karissa said, "Thank you, Sir Aeric. I know you did not wish me to come with you on this journey. I would be a fool to think otherwise. I just don't like feeling helpless and back there I did. Thank you again. Maybe next time, though, you should secure the rooms," she said jokingly. She began to set up her bedroll. When she was done, she turned to him. "If you don't mind,” she said, “I am going to go over there and meditate for a bit. Please don't wait up for me." With an approving nod from the knight, Karissa walked a few yards away from camp and knelt down in the underbrush. Moments later, Aeric glanced up and noticed an unusual purple glow emanating from the druin. |
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