head back to the inn and drag her two friends from their beds.
It didn’t take long to make her way back to the inn, though she had wandered far farther than she had intended. Paying much more attention to her surroundings she noticed that only the smithies and main business had clay tile roofs the rest had thatch. In Farlan only the most meager of houses had a thatch roof. The longer she lingered in Abla the more she noticed the differences between her own country and theirs. The two countries were different as night and day even without the difference in status between men and women. No child should be left to live in such conditions and she knew a large part of the problem was her own countries’ fault.
Walking through the inn’s door Eloen shook the thoughts from her mind and tried to focus on her current mission. Worrying about things that she couldn’t change at the moment wouldn’t get her anything but more heartache.
Inside the common room she found her two friends have a light meal both looking like they had been drug through the town behind a team of horses. It wasn’t often Darryl let himself get so deep into the cup that he was affected the next day but it seemed last night was one of those rare occasions. Eloen wasn’t sure of the reason Darryl always held back compared to the others in the group. He was a lively fellow always quick with a quip and a jest but never really spent time with anyone outside of their missions. He was by far the smallest member in the group even compared to her. While not as strong as the others his skill in wielding dual blades was amazing. Eloen was sure that if Darryl hadn’t joined the army he would have made an excellent performer in one of the traveling groups of entertainers that traveled around the countries.
Sitting down next to her two friends she let out a loud yawn causing both men to grab their head in pain. “You two know we’re on a time limit but you insist on sleeping way past sunrise. Next time I will bring a bucket of water to your rooms and wake you up the old fashioned way. In fact that might not be a bad idea it might even help with the rank smell you two put off.”
“Can we skip the lecture this morning captain? I don’t know what was in that ale but I swear I would have rather picked a fight with Ballard than do that again.” Darryl replied, his face turning slightly green.
“While you two finish your meals I am going to get the horses ready. I expect you two to be out there before I’m ready to ride or I will leave you two behind.” Eloen said, rising from her chair.
The two soldiers never answered her but the speed at which they were shoveling food in their mouths picked up speed. Covering her mouth with her hand she let out a small laugh. They knew full well she wouldn’t leave them but they played along most likely to keep her from getting too annoyed with them.
The horses were stabled in a rickety lean-to that hardly sheltered them from the weather. As she cinched down straps of her saddle she noticed that the hay that had been given the horses was old and wet. It was of such a poor quality that she would have been ashamed to feed it too mules. Her ire raised Eloen searched for the person who was in charge of the stables. What she found was a young boy who was scrubbing down one of the horses of a newly arrived patron.
“Who is in charge around here?” Eloen half shouted as she gripped the rotten hay in her clenched fist.
The young boy looked at her first with slight confusion until her noticed what she held in her hand. “I....I” The boy stuttered, his face withering.
Seeing the boy troubled by her tone she felt ashamed of herself for yelling. Taking a deep breath Eloen forced a smile to her face. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just a little upset about the quality of hay my horse was being fed. If you tell me where the stable master is and I’ll let you get back to work.”
The boy looked down at Eloen's feet his
It didn’t take long to make her way back to the inn, though she had wandered far farther than she had intended. Paying much more attention to her surroundings she noticed that only the smithies and main business had clay tile roofs the rest had thatch. In Farlan only the most meager of houses had a thatch roof. The longer she lingered in Abla the more she noticed the differences between her own country and theirs. The two countries were different as night and day even without the difference in status between men and women. No child should be left to live in such conditions and she knew a large part of the problem was her own countries’ fault.
Walking through the inn’s door Eloen shook the thoughts from her mind and tried to focus on her current mission. Worrying about things that she couldn’t change at the moment wouldn’t get her anything but more heartache.
Inside the common room she found her two friends have a light meal both looking like they had been drug through the town behind a team of horses. It wasn’t often Darryl let himself get so deep into the cup that he was affected the next day but it seemed last night was one of those rare occasions. Eloen wasn’t sure of the reason Darryl always held back compared to the others in the group. He was a lively fellow always quick with a quip and a jest but never really spent time with anyone outside of their missions. He was by far the smallest member in the group even compared to her. While not as strong as the others his skill in wielding dual blades was amazing. Eloen was sure that if Darryl hadn’t joined the army he would have made an excellent performer in one of the traveling groups of entertainers that traveled around the countries.
Sitting down next to her two friends she let out a loud yawn causing both men to grab their head in pain. “You two know we’re on a time limit but you insist on sleeping way past sunrise. Next time I will bring a bucket of water to your rooms and wake you up the old fashioned way. In fact that might not be a bad idea it might even help with the rank smell you two put off.”
“Can we skip the lecture this morning captain? I don’t know what was in that ale but I swear I would have rather picked a fight with Ballard than do that again.” Darryl replied, his face turning slightly green.
“While you two finish your meals I am going to get the horses ready. I expect you two to be out there before I’m ready to ride or I will leave you two behind.” Eloen said, rising from her chair.
The two soldiers never answered her but the speed at which they were shoveling food in their mouths picked up speed. Covering her mouth with her hand she let out a small laugh. They knew full well she wouldn’t leave them but they played along most likely to keep her from getting too annoyed with them.
The horses were stabled in a rickety lean-to that hardly sheltered them from the weather. As she cinched down straps of her saddle she noticed that the hay that had been given the horses was old and wet. It was of such a poor quality that she would have been ashamed to feed it too mules. Her ire raised Eloen searched for the person who was in charge of the stables. What she found was a young boy who was scrubbing down one of the horses of a newly arrived patron.
“Who is in charge around here?” Eloen half shouted as she gripped the rotten hay in her clenched fist.
The young boy looked at her first with slight confusion until her noticed what she held in her hand. “I....I” The boy stuttered, his face withering.
Seeing the boy troubled by her tone she felt ashamed of herself for yelling. Taking a deep breath Eloen forced a smile to her face. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just a little upset about the quality of hay my horse was being fed. If you tell me where the stable master is and I’ll let you get back to work.”
The boy looked down at Eloen's feet his
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