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Authors: Jim Galford
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remained.
Clutching what little she had left to her chest as she began running toward the last inn on the street, Ilarra began to feel as though the thick crowds were a distinct threat. She avoided getting close to anyone if she could help it, scurrying as fast as she could up to the inn’s door.
As Ilarra reached for the partially open door, a heavyset woman came out, giving her a dark stare. Shaking her head, the woman stepped onto the top step of the building, blocking Ilarra’s path.
“We’re full up, too,” the woman announced, loud enough that others could hear. “Get moving, kid. No inns with space around here.”
“Where can I find a room in Lantonne?” asked Ilarra hopefully, trying to smile in a way that might make the woman take pity on her. More importantly, she hoped that the woman might not notice whatever angry look Raeln was probably giving her.
Instead of pity, the woman gave Ilarra an annoyed frown.
“Anyone without real money is being put out of the city proper at night, so couldn’t even begin to guess,” the woman told her and then waved away another group that came toward the inn. “King’s setting up for an attack. Everyone who isn’t important has to stay out, at least until the enemy is in sight. It’s not fair, but that’s how it is. If you’d been here yesterday, you’d have been fine. Today…well…you might have to just go camp on the plains and hope the army doesn’t march over you. Nobody’s got rooms left.”
Ilarra felt nearly ready to cry, seeing the hundreds of people like herself all trying to scramble for the last rooms in the large city. The chances of her finding anything were slim, if even that good. Suddenly, she remembered something.
“What about the village just outside Lantonne?” Ilarra asked the innkeeper, whose face crinkled in confusion. “North of the outer city. Would they have rooms?”
Laughing, the woman nodded and replied, “Yeah, there’s rooms there. Good luck. I hear they’re cheap, too. Doubt they’d turn you away, girl.”
Despite the woman’s tone, Ilarra finally felt like there was some hope. Motioning for Raeln to follow her, she made her way to the edge of Lantonne’s outer city and skirted around northward until they reached the road that had led them into the city hours earlier. By that point, the sky had begun to darken, making Ilarra wonder if they might make it as far as the village before it was completely dark.
It took them almost another hour to get fully out of the city proper and far enough out that Ilarra felt they were actually making headway. Soon after, she began to realize that, with night beginning to fall, there were no lights in the direction of the smaller village they were headed toward. Raeln would likely be able to see even in the dark night, but she would be blind within half an hour.
“Raeln,” she began, slowing to a stop in the middle of the road, “do we go on, or go back? I’m not sure this was a good idea.”
The wolf wildling squinted in the direction they had been going, apparently understanding why she was asking. Turning back, he stared at the lights of Lantonne behind them. That was when Ilarra realized that they were past the halfway point between the two locations, putting them far closer to the village than the city. If a decision about where to go had to be made, she should have made it long before.
Shrugging, Raeln took the lead, heading toward the village somewhere in the distance. He kept glancing back at Ilarra as he walked, making sure she never fell more than a few steps behind. Luckily, the white portions of his fur, as well as his off-white loose clothing, made it relatively easy to see him, even as the light faded away behind the mountains to the west. Eventually, even that was not enough and Raeln took Ilarra’s hand, putting it on his tail to allow her to follow him more easily.
By the time they reached the first buildings, Ilarra had to keep her hand on Raeln to have
Clutching what little she had left to her chest as she began running toward the last inn on the street, Ilarra began to feel as though the thick crowds were a distinct threat. She avoided getting close to anyone if she could help it, scurrying as fast as she could up to the inn’s door.
As Ilarra reached for the partially open door, a heavyset woman came out, giving her a dark stare. Shaking her head, the woman stepped onto the top step of the building, blocking Ilarra’s path.
“We’re full up, too,” the woman announced, loud enough that others could hear. “Get moving, kid. No inns with space around here.”
“Where can I find a room in Lantonne?” asked Ilarra hopefully, trying to smile in a way that might make the woman take pity on her. More importantly, she hoped that the woman might not notice whatever angry look Raeln was probably giving her.
Instead of pity, the woman gave Ilarra an annoyed frown.
“Anyone without real money is being put out of the city proper at night, so couldn’t even begin to guess,” the woman told her and then waved away another group that came toward the inn. “King’s setting up for an attack. Everyone who isn’t important has to stay out, at least until the enemy is in sight. It’s not fair, but that’s how it is. If you’d been here yesterday, you’d have been fine. Today…well…you might have to just go camp on the plains and hope the army doesn’t march over you. Nobody’s got rooms left.”
Ilarra felt nearly ready to cry, seeing the hundreds of people like herself all trying to scramble for the last rooms in the large city. The chances of her finding anything were slim, if even that good. Suddenly, she remembered something.
“What about the village just outside Lantonne?” Ilarra asked the innkeeper, whose face crinkled in confusion. “North of the outer city. Would they have rooms?”
Laughing, the woman nodded and replied, “Yeah, there’s rooms there. Good luck. I hear they’re cheap, too. Doubt they’d turn you away, girl.”
Despite the woman’s tone, Ilarra finally felt like there was some hope. Motioning for Raeln to follow her, she made her way to the edge of Lantonne’s outer city and skirted around northward until they reached the road that had led them into the city hours earlier. By that point, the sky had begun to darken, making Ilarra wonder if they might make it as far as the village before it was completely dark.
It took them almost another hour to get fully out of the city proper and far enough out that Ilarra felt they were actually making headway. Soon after, she began to realize that, with night beginning to fall, there were no lights in the direction of the smaller village they were headed toward. Raeln would likely be able to see even in the dark night, but she would be blind within half an hour.
“Raeln,” she began, slowing to a stop in the middle of the road, “do we go on, or go back? I’m not sure this was a good idea.”
The wolf wildling squinted in the direction they had been going, apparently understanding why she was asking. Turning back, he stared at the lights of Lantonne behind them. That was when Ilarra realized that they were past the halfway point between the two locations, putting them far closer to the village than the city. If a decision about where to go had to be made, she should have made it long before.
Shrugging, Raeln took the lead, heading toward the village somewhere in the distance. He kept glancing back at Ilarra as he walked, making sure she never fell more than a few steps behind. Luckily, the white portions of his fur, as well as his off-white loose clothing, made it relatively easy to see him, even as the light faded away behind the mountains to the west. Eventually, even that was not enough and Raeln took Ilarra’s hand, putting it on his tail to allow her to follow him more easily.
By the time they reached the first buildings, Ilarra had to keep her hand on Raeln to have
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