The Bleating Goat

The Bleating Goat turned out to be a sturdy-looking two-floor stone building. After leaving Blackbeard face first into a pile of hay bigger than he was, they entered and were greeted by a blond dwarf woman in a leather apron.

“Welcome. I’m Inka, I run this place together with my husband. Burra. He’s in charge of the kitchen and I handle the rest.” She opened a thick ledger on the desk. “Do you wish for lodging or a hot meal? We’ve had a whole pig on the spit for hours, if that’s your fancy.” She smiled at Kaia, whose ears perked up at the prospect.

“It smells very good." Kaia sniffed the air appreciatively. “We need both. Rooms and meat.” She sniffed the air again, this time wrinkling her nose, making a face. “And bath, if you have.”

“Of course, dear. You look as if you’ve been on the road for some time.” The innkeeper looked at the three of them, pursing her lips. “Now, how many rooms would you like?”

“Two,” Elian said.

“Very well. There are two rooms available upstairs. One has a lovely balcony overlooking the goat pens.”

“We’ll take them,” Brinja said, her pouch appearing in her hand. “I believe this should cover the cost for two nights. Breakfast and supper included?”

She placed a beautiful little stone on the counter and Inka’s eyes widened. She picked it up, studying it closely, holding it up to catch the light.

“It’s a deal,” she said, placing the stone carefully in the cash box before handing over two large keys. “It’s the rooms at the far end of the hallway. Bathing rooms are that way…” She pointed to a wooden door partially hidden beneath the stairs leading to the upper floor. “And the tavern is in the back. Enjoy your stay.”

Elian had assumed that he’d take one of the rooms and the girls would stay together, but Kaia promptly followed him into the room with the balcony, placing her bag and bow on one of the wooden chairs. Then she immediately opened the door to the balcony, tail swooshing behind her as she glanced at the ceiling.

“This is nice,” he said, dumping his bag and sword on the floor.

The room had whitewashed walls and a wooden floor and ceiling. Two beds with puffy pillows and plain knitted blankets covering crisp white sheets. There were also two sets of drawers and a small table. A fireplace for heat in the winter. More than they needed. Almost homey.

Kaia didn’t seem convinced, but she sat down on one of the beds, gingerly, as if it’d break under her.

“Very bouncy,” she noted, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s supposed to be. We’ll sleep well tonight.”

But as tempting as the beds looked, they had other tasks first. He poked a finger through the holes and tears in his shirt, grimacing. “I’m not sure if I should go for a bath first, or clothes shopping first.”

“Knock, knock.” Their door opened and Brinja stepped in. “Why don’t you,” she looked at Elian, “hit the baths first. We can’t all go together anyway. Kaia and I’ll turn some of my stones into coins and get everybody a change of clothes.”

“I have some money too, you should take…”

“You can pay me back later, or pay for the supplies tomorrow.” She smiled softly. “As far as I’m concerned, I owe you for helping me find Blackbeard.”

The last of his objections were waved away, and shortly after he was happily soaking in a giant wooden tub, large enough for at least five people. A shelf next to it held not only towels, but several bottles with scented oils and liquids he didn’t know how to use. Some of them had labels, like Bravely Bristling Beards. He gave a sigh of relief when he found a small basket filled with fresh foaming leaves, and he got down to work, scrubbing every inch of his body thoroughly. Then he went for his hair.

It smelled like home.

Once he was done, he reluctantly left the water and put on one of the bathrobes the inn provided. It was made for dwarves and didn’t even reach his knees, but there was no way he’d put on his filthy things now. He folded up his old clothes, wondering if it was worth getting the pants washed, and was about to leave just as a young dwarf came in to change the water. One pipe let the water out into a drain, and another, running from the ceiling, let fresh water fill it again. The large brazier under the tub was stoked back into life, heating the water.

Dwarf ingenuity at its finest. He should definitely do this again. Every day they remained here.

Once back in their room, he lay down on the bed. It was as comfortable as he had imagined, and he dozed off quickly. He was startled awake when the door opened, and Brinja and Kaia entered.

“This is yours.” Brinja tossed him a small bag, and he caught it as he sat up. “We’ll go bathe, so why don’t you get dressed and head to the tavern. Order food for all of us, talk to the locals, find out what’s happening. We’ll join you there.”

“Uh… sure.”

And they were gone.

Curious, he opened the bag and pulled out a tunic, similar to the one Brinja wore, but white. Brown, baggy pants, socks, a belt, and… heat rushed to his cheeks as he stared at the small shorts that clearly were undergarments. He hadn’t expected the girls to buy anything like that, but they’d been thorough.

After getting dressed, he smoothed down the front of the tunic, tightened the belt, kicked his old things under the bed and headed downstairs.

The tavern was already half filled with people, both dwarven and human. No Lykar though, Kaia was going to stand out. He took a seat at the long bar, ordering roasted pig and vegetables to be ready for when the girls joined him. And tea. A smiling dwarfgirl, with long pale braids, probably Inka’s daughter, noted everything down, then placed a large, steaming cup in front of him. It smelled heavenly.

“Most come here for the mead, you know. Mind if I join you?” A tall, lean man nodded to the chair next to Elian.

“Of course not. Please sit.”

The man had long hair, gathered at the nape of his neck, stubble covered his chin and he had the air of someone used to roughing it. He reminded Elian of the trappers the tribe used to meet deep in the wild. The girl brought the man a tankard of mead that he sampled at length.

“You’ve been here long?” Elian asked in an attempt to ‘get to know the locals’, and the man smiled.

“For some time. It’s not a bad place. I saw you come in today. With the wolf-girl.”

“I did.” Had they really been that noteworthy?

“No need to worry. I have nothing against her or any of her kind. Used to do lots of business with some of the tribes, years back now.”

“Furs?” Elian guessed, and the man grinned.

“Right you are. But, not all are as easygoing as me. There are rumors of the military moving against the western tribes and foolish people are sometimes taking matters into their own hands.”

“What?”

“No need to be too alarmed, but I wanted to let you know. Caution is your friend as much as a sharp blade when it comes to moving around this world of ours.”

“That makes sense. Thanks for the heads up. I appreciate it.”

“No worries. The wolves always did right by me.”

“Same here.” Elian smiled, wondering how the tribe was doing. What trouble the pups and Meow would get into. “I didn’t see any Lykar here, though.”

“Only one left. Beohr the Bowman. A strange one he is, but he and his woman make fine weapons. She’s human.”

A lone Lykar, not staying with a tribe? That was strange indeed, though not unheard of. Myan had told him several stories about Lykar bonding with someone from another race. They were all absurdly romantic and had supposedly taken place ages ago… But the most interesting part was…

“Bowman, you said? Does he sell arrows then? Or the materials to make them?”

“Both, I’m sure.” The trapper took another long drink. “And I heard that they’re planning on leaving, so he should give you a good deal.”

“Thanks for the tip. We’ll look him up.”

“You’re staying long then?”

“Not really. We have… business in Azinth. Concerning the bug attacks,” he lowered his voice. “They haven’t bothered you here, have they?”

“Not yet, but people are worried. And heavily armed.”

“They will come here eventually, you know. You're not considering moving south?”

“Some are, but most people moved here to avoid the crowded, controlled areas. We’ll be fine, and can move fast if we have to.”

“Just saying that we saw bugs in the mountains, big ones…”

“Thanks for the warning. We’re even now." He grinned, taking a sip. "But lots of people are passing through here, on their way to safer areas. We get carts and carriers every week.”

“That’s good to know.”

The trapper looked over Elian’s shoulder and winked.

“I believe your friends are here, so I’ll see you around later.” He picked up his tankard and went to join another table.

Turning around, Elian immediately spotted the girls. They were both in tunics. Brinja’s was a pale green, and Kaia’s a dark blue that caught the purple tones in her still damp hair and tail. He waved at them, and they chose one of the available tables. Kaia kept pulling at her tunic, looking over her shoulder, clearly uncomfortable.

“You okay?” he asked as he sat down.

“They didn’t have any clothes that fit me,” she grumbled, taking the seat next to him.

“They look good on you, though. And they’re clean.”

“I had to cut holes for my tail. Myself.” She was clearly upset, slipping back into speaking Lykar.

“Oh… Maybe we can find a proper tailor tomorrow who can…”

“No. That won’t be necessary. The woman at the inn said she’ll find someone to wash my real clothes.” She pinched the thin fabric of her tunic and snorted.

"They look nice though," Elian said, blushing for the second time that day when Brinja chuckled, nudging Kaia with her elbow. "I mean, so do your normal clothes.. I just..."

Fortunately, their food arrived just in time to save him from further embarrassment, as all focus immediately shifted to the plates of steaming food set before them. The blond serving girl also brought a fresh pot of tea for him and Kaia, and a tankard of their finest mead for Brinja. They all dug in, hungrily. Too focused on filling their stomachs to talk.

Once they had finished eating, they all leaned back, sipping their drinks.

“So good,” Elian sighed happily, and the others nodded.

“So, where are you heading after this? Back to your people? In Kharu forest, right?” Brinja asked Kaia, who shook her head, ears drooping.

“Not first. We need warn the closer tribes first.”

“I need to get to Azinth. To tell the king and military that the bug threat is much bigger than they think,” Elian said, swallowing the lump growing in his throat together with some tea. 

Perhaps he could write a letter and explain everything... Pay someone to take it. But no. There were no guarantees it would arrive safely. Or that it’d be believed. No, he needed to be there, to convince them in person. Anything else would be irresponsible. He looked at Brinja.

“It would be very helpful if you came too. Hearing the statement of a dwarf who lived in the mines and saw everything would be…”

“Maybe.” She took a long drink from her tankard, then sighed. “But I have an obligation to my family first. As does she.” She nodded to Kaia, who nodded. “But the City of Alenia is close to the eastern border of Azinth, so we don’t need to part ways just yet.”

“It long walk, one long moon, maybe two,” Kaia said. “Azinth far from here.”

“That’s true.” Did they even have a chance to get there before the buggers did whatever they were planning? Not on foot. But there was another way. “You know, I talked to this guy before who said a lot of people are travelling south now. Many have horses and carts, and some of them might take passengers. Or,” he winked at Brinja. “Guards.”

“Now, that’s an interesting idea.”