Dragon Flower

Chapter 4: Taryn

Tori breathed a deep sigh of relief when she saw the little town in the distance. Her feet ached, she was out of food, and her muscles were more sore than she could remember them ever being. As she trudged along the remaining distance, she thought about all the things that she would savor when she got there, including a hot meal, warm bath, and a comfortable bed to sleep in.

The day had turned into a scorcher, without a single cloud in the sky. Sweat steadily trickled down her back, between her breasts, and into her eyes as she continued to put one foot in front of the other. Her hair had begun to stick to her face, and her feet felt drenched inside her boots. Having passed several small cottages on the outskirts of town, Tori was surprised to see many of the buildings within the protective walls were more richly built. Most of them had sparkling white walls with carvings in them, from the ground all the way up to the top. Looking at one closely, she saw that it was a type of hieroglyphic history for this town and its inhabitants. Curious about the maker and the subjects, she continued down the cobbled main street to the inn.

Her senses were immediately assaulted with a magnificent aroma when she stepped through the front doors, a cool breeze caressing her face as she walked in. The place looked amazingly clean, with glossy tables and floors, and a beautiful small stage set up as the center of attention in the room. It was currently empty, but she imagined that there were singers or other types of entertainers who would be up there come nightfall.

A tall, elegant woman stood behind the reception desk. Her nose was a little bit long and pointed, but Tori thought that it suited her rather long face. Her hair was straight and fell just below her shoulders, its mahogany color bringing out the creaminess of her pale skin. She had a sing-song voice when she spoke, bringing Tori out of her thoughts.

"May I help you, miss?"

"I need a room for the night, please. And a good, hot meal as well," Tori informed her, feeling glad that she would be getting a chance to rest.

The woman took no time at all getting a key for her, quickly showing her the way up the stairs and down the hall to her door.

"If you would like to come downstairs for your meal, I can make sure that your bath is ready for you when you are finished," the clerk told her in her lulling voice. Tori merely nodded her head, dropping her bag into the only chair in the small room, and turned to follow her back down the stairs, casting a longing look toward the bed that was covered in a fluffy white blanket.

Two hours later, refreshed from her meal and bath, Tori decided to use her time wisely and find more supplies for the next leg of her trip. She also wanted to question some of the townspeople to find out if anyone knew anything about where she was going, or the beast that she would eventually encounter. The fewer knots she got unraveled in this mystery, the better prepared she would be while traveling. Her first stop would be the tailor shop so that she could purchase a change of clothes. She wasn't sure how long she would be gone from home, and there was bound to be some wear and tear on her garments during her journey.

When she left the tailor shop, she stopped by the blacksmith shop towards the end of the main street, thick smoke billowing out of the chimney from the forge. She still needed to resupply her quiver with arrows since she had lost most of the ones that she had brought with her from home trying to catch some game. She hadn't practiced her archery in a long time, and now she was regretting that. If she didn't get her aim on target, she would wind up having to hunt without the use of her bow or face starvation.

The blacksmith was busy with another customer when she approached, so she perused a shelf of wares while she waited. Tori heard the rumble of the blacksmith's voice as he replied to his customer, and she froze when she heard him answer.