Loretta of the Lamp

No room at the Inn

Most of the inns that they found were fully booked. The gatekeeper had declined to tell them that there was a local festival taking place in Doua over the next few days, to celebrate the wool harvest.

"Why is the town celebrating wool? And who journeys out here, to the middle of nowhere to celebrate a harvest of wool?" Bennou said with frustration after the fifth inn turned them down. "And listen to that!" he said, pointing toward the city square, "They are still all out there having a party! They don't care about how late it is. They don't care that there are Jin outside their gates."

"You heard the gatekeeper, the Jin will not come up this high," Akil said, confidently.

"You did not look that sure when we were sprinting for the gates all but an hour ago," Bennou pointed out.

Loretta had nothing to say as they walked down the darkened roads of the city. Even in the shadow of evening there was so much of the city to take in, side roads and alleys, buildings and shop fronts, people going about their business carrying armfuls of goods, or leading donkeys with laden carts and saddle bags. But she finally spoke at their mention of the Jin, "Will I go crazy again tonight?" she asked suddenly.

"Crazy is a good word for it," Bennou agreed.

Loretta scowled at him.

"Sorry! Just agreeing with you." He put his hands up in surrender.

"You know Bennou, you don't have to stay with us now we are safe," Loretta pointed out. Akil continued to ignore the conversation and walked further on up the street as she added, "I've brought you enough trouble as it is."

Bennou shook his head and sat down on the doorstep they were standing by. "Don't even start. I can tell you now the two of you will not make it down out of the mountains and all the way to Misbah by yourselves. And neither will I. I do not have the money to pay to travel in a caravan, and you do not wish to travel in a caravan for reasons unknown to me. Therefore, we still make good travelling companions, and despite being held hostage at knife point and having to fight off Jin not once but twice, I am quite enjoying the adventure." He grinned at her.

"That makes one of us," Loretta said with a sigh as she sat down beside him and rested her cheek on her fist. They watched as Akil walked up to knock on yet another door. They had been up and down the entire street in their search for somewhere with room to stay.

"Thanks for your help," Akil yelled over his shoulder at them.

Loretta gave him a thumbs-up, "You're welcome," she hollered back sarcastically.

"You fight a lot," Bennou observed.

She nodded, "People do that when they hate each other."

"Hate is a strong word. Granted, he's not a particularly likeable type, but I've seen him protect you so many times since we met, and that was only a couple of days ago."

"Like I said before, if you knew why, you'd understand how I feel." She gave him a look so he understood the topic was closed.

At that moment the door behind them suddenly opened, showering them with warm lamplight from inside.

"Hello?"

Both Bennou and Loretta jumped up off the step quickly and turned to face the girl who stood in the doorway. She looked to be about Loretta's age, possibly younger.

"Sorry," Loretta said quickly, "We were tired. There aren't many spaces in this city left to sit down it seems, let alone sleep for the night."

"You look awful," she said, looking from Loretta to Bennou.