“Four,” he tells him as he counts out the coins. The man hands over the room keys and says, “If you’re hungry, I can send something up.”
“That would be good,” Illan says. “Maybe in about a half hour, there are seven of us.”
“Very good,” he says. “The stable is around back.”
“Thank you,” James says as he and Illan turn to leave the inn.
Stepping outside, he comes to a stop when he sees the others engaged in conversation with three other individuals.
“…come, the wisdom of the lady is great.”
Jiron hears him leaving the inn and turns toward him. Indicating the two men and woman standing next to him, he says, “They’ve just invited us to hear her speak at the pavilion.”
The lady turns to him and says, “Yes, she welcomes all to hear her words of wisdom.”
“All who come are filled with the knowledge to combat the evil walking the world,” one of the men says.
After hearing what the innkeeper inside just said, the last thing he wants to do is expose any of his group to whatever is going on in the tent. “We need to get settled in right now,” he tells them. At that, the three become visibly agitated and the words of the innkeeper comes back to him. “If you refuse, sometimes they go away, sometimes not.”
While not worried about what these three would do to his group, he’s more worried about what his group would do to them. Hoping to diffuse the situation, he says, “We may stop by later this evening after we have something to eat.”
His words have a somewhat calming effect on them. “The lady’s words are greater than any food. Take not long in coming,” the lady says as they abruptly turn away and move down the road.
Fifer glances to James and asks, “What was all that about?”
“Are we going to hear her speak?” Miko asks.
James glances at the departing trio and says quietly, “Not here. Let’s get our horses settled in first and we’ll talk where we won’t be overheard.”
They all turn somber at that. Not exactly what they were expecting to hear. Fifer glances to Illan who nods his head gravely.
Taking the horses around back, they find only one other horse in the stable. Visitors here must be few, with all that’s going on it isn’t too surprising. No stableman is around so they choose a set of stalls together and get their horses settled in. Then they take their packs with them and return to the inn where they head upstairs to their rooms.
James has them all come into his room and they close the door. He gives the others a rundown of what he and Illan were told by the innkeeper. When he’s done, Qyrll asks, “Do you plan to go and listen to the lady’s words?”
He sits back a moment and considers the question. “Maybe,” he finally says.
“What?” asks Jiron. “You can’t be serious.”
James looks to him and says, “I am. Something is going on here and it’s possible I could be the cause. Also, consider this. If she finds out where The Ranch is, she could send all her crazies there to ‘destroy the demon’ which would mean a bloodbath. No, I need to stop this now. She and her followers could become a veritable plague upon the land.”
“So what do you propose to do?” Illan asks.
“Later on, I’m going to go and see what’s going on,” he says. “After I get a little rest and some food.”
“We’re going with you,” Jiron says, several of the others nod their heads in agreement.
“It wouldn’t be wise for you to go in there alone,” Illan agrees.
James considers it for a moment and then says, “Very well.” To Miko he says, “Go downstairs and see if we can get our meal up here.” He hands him some coins to cover it.
“Alright,” replies Miko, taking the coins. “I’ll be right back.” Leaving the room, they hear his footsteps going down the hallway to the stairs.
“What are you planning to do there?” Fifer asks.
“I don’t know, really,” he admits. “People don’t go mad such as we’ve seen in so short a time unless something is causing it.”
“Magic?” suggests Fifer.
Shrugging, James replies, “Maybe. Who knows?”
“Have you felt anything since coming here?” Jiron asks.
“No, but the pavilion isn’t exactly close either,” he replies, shaking his head. He sits in contemplation for several minutes until Miko returns saying their food will be up shortly.
“What did I miss?” he asks.
“Not much,” replies Jiron. He goes to the window and looks out onto the courtyard below. Nothing is stirring out there. The only thing which disturbs the night is the light coming from the pavilion area.
It isn’t long before there’s a knock on the door and the innkeeper’s son arrives with their food and plates enough for all of them. James gives him a few coppers for a tip before he returns downstairs. Roasted chicken, bread and ale, not much variety but there’s a lot of it.
Each of them fills a plate with a portion of the chicken and then finds a place to settle down to eat. James and Illan take the small table and the only two chairs in the room while everyone else makes do with either the bed or floor. Jiron just stands.
Illan glances across the table to James and after swallowing, says, “You know, if you go over there, there’ll probably be trouble.”
James sighs before replying. “I realize that. But how much more trouble will there be if I do nothing? She and her followers are a cancer which must be stopped before it has a chance to spread further.”
He takes a few more bites before replying, “Already we’ve seen one of her people heading south. Who knows why he left and what he plans to do?”
“Finding more people to come hear her?” offers Fifer.
“Probably,” agrees James. “If nothing else will just stir up mischief.”
Crash!
The sound of pots clattering on the floor can be heard coming from below.
“ You can’t take him!”
Everyone comes alert when they hear the innkeeper cry out. Illan motions for Fifer to see what’s going on. Qyrll goes with him.
“What happened?” Miko asks.
“Think they came back?” Jiron asks as he moves toward the door Fifer and Qyrll left open when they left.
“It would seem so,” Illan says.
They begin moving out into the hallway, Illan turns to Dave and says, “Stay here and lock the door.”
Dave gives him a dark look but remains within the room.
From the stairs they hear footsteps running up them. In a moment they see Fifer and the innkeeper’s son reach the top.
“They’ve taken my father!” cries the boy, tears running down his face. A long cut is welling blood on his forearm. Jiron returns to the room and rips a section of sheet off and ties it around the wound to stop the flow of blood.
As Jiron ministers to him, the boy continues, “They came to take me but my father fought them and they took him instead.”
“Qyrll’s following them,” Fifer says.
“Damn!” curses James. “He might become like them.” Turning to Illan he says, “We have to move fast.”
“Agreed,” he says. To the innkeeper’s son, Illan indicates their room and says, “Stay in here. We’ll find your father.”
“Please hurry!” the boy says.
As the boy enters their room with Dave, James tells his friend, “You stay here and look after the boy.”
“Why do I always have to stay behind?” he asks, voice full of hurt.
“There could be fighting,” he tells his friend. “Just promise me to stay here?”
