Ageless

Chapter 14

"Excuse me ma'am? Hello?"

I picked my head up from its resting place on the oak table. The bartender of the Yellow Woods was standing over me, his silhouette moving in an out of focus through my bleary, heavy eyes. He was brandishing a broom, as if he wished he could sweep me out onto the street with the rest of the dust gathering on the floorboards.

"Huh...what?"

"I said, you got to pay if you want to sleep here. It's two gold for a room for the night."

The bar was quiet, except for a few men sitting at a table next to me, talking in hushed voices over steins of beer.

My eyes-lids fluttered as I straightened up, attempted to compose myself. There was a wet puddle of drool on the table marking the place where my mouth had been. "I...uh...hold on."

I reached across the table for Ko'sa's pack and emptied the contents onto the wood, coins and knick-knacks spilling across the table with a jingle. Even though we had been robbed by Bandits, Ko'sa sure had managed to make a respectable haul by selling all the crap deemed "not worth its weight".

Two of the larger golden colored coins glimmered from the top of the pile. "Here," I said, handing them to the man. "One room it is."

The bartender turned the gold over in his palm, clearly surprised. He bit into each coin, as though he suspected they were counterfeit. "Sorry, had you marked as a vagrant. We get 'em sometimes."

The coins on the table rattled from the impact of a rusted iron key hitting the oak. "When you're ready, head up stairs, it's the first door on the left. Washrooms at the end of the hall." He sniffed. "Might I suggest you wash yourself before you use the sheets? I'll charge you extra if you ruin 'em."

I shivered. "Any chance you got a change of clothes?"

He jerked his thumb at the pile of coins, signaling it would cost extra. I nodded, and reached down and took a few silver pieces from the top. "I'll see if my wife has anything you can have. Might be a bit old, but better than what you got now, that's for sure."

The thought of a bath, fresh laundry and a warm bed was almost too enticing to pass up on the spot, but I stayed glued to the table, afraid if I left the bar I might miss Dalton.

The bartender came back a second later and set down a beer in front of me. "On the house. Looks like you could use one." I thanked him and took a sip. As I sat staring blankly at the wooden yellow wall in front of me, the door of the inn opened with a bang and my heart lurched.

What entered the bar was disappointment; just another man I did not know. He waved at the table next to me and joined them, chair legs screeching as the group parted to make a space for him. As he removed his cloak, the voices from the table drifted over to me.

"Barth, we've been waiting hours for you old friend. What's the word outside?"

"I know, I know, the streets are still a congested mess. The good news is my family is safe. Already sent to have them travel back tonight."

"Praise the gods. What about the King?"

"They say his majesty took a lick, but he'll live, and the rest of the Royal Family were evacuated safely. As for the High Pontiff, he was killed by the blast."

A long silence followed, and I could hear the men taking swigs of their drinks. There were thuds of glasses hitting the table, then Barth continued.

"The traitors in masks have all been killed or subdued, and the King's Lawn has already been re-opened to the public. They're planning a mass public trial later this week, best any of them can hope for is immediate execution."