While the inn seemed peaceful from outside, the inside was an entirely different case. As Valar walked in, he was immediately bombarded by the sheer noise in the inn’s main hall. Raucous adventurers were partying, some even dancing on tables, and the numerous servers tried to keep up with the rising demand. Food and drink were being served to many tables at a time, and there was a bard playing near the leftmost wall. Valar thought the woman played her lute pretty well, but he had to admit that he wasn’t an expert on music. Nevertheless, her lute and singing added to the ambience.
The inn seemed like it was mostly full, and Valar looked around, desperately trying to find a free table. Arthur and Clara walked in behind him, spotting a table immediately. Apparently the rest of their party had been reserving one for them, a tall woman and an even taller man waving them over.
As they weaved through the tables, Valar looked at the two adventurers waiting at the table. He recognized the man immediately; He was obviously Alistair’s son. Somehow, the man was even taller than his father, and the similarities didn’t stop there. He had dark hair and blue eyes like his father, but he was clean shaven and well kept unlike his old man. A massive axe leaned against his chair, the man towering over it even while sitting down.
He had obviously drunk quite a lot...
When Valar turned his gaze towards the tall woman, he needed to keep himself from flinching. The woman looked scary, like something straight from the abyss. She had long dark hair, matched by her pitch black irises. Her sharp jaw and long neck made for an intimidating look, when they were combined with the rest of her visage.
She was dressed plainly, solely using black clothing—a sleeveless shirt and rugged pants made for the rough outdoors. Valar had thought that he was pale, but the woman had him beat handily..
The man beckoned them over enthusiastically, the woman sitting and nursing her drink. Arthur quickly joined the man, giving him a hug.
“Look who we found, Rodrick! It’s panther boy!”
“He has a name, Arthur,” Carla’s said flatly.
Rodrick looked over Carla and Arthur, spotting Viktor and Valar quickly in spite of his drunkenness. Admittedly, Viktor’s silver hair wasn’t hard to spot, and neither was Valar’s scarred form. For Valar, he just needed to look down first.
“Good evening, Viktor, Valar! What has brought you here? Come sit down, and we’ll talk!”
Valar sat down at the table, the table having free space for them all. Viktor sat next to him, Carla taking his other side. Opposite of him sat Rodrick, casting a shadow over Valar. The chairs on Rodrick’s sides were taken by the already sitting Ciel and Arthur, who had somehow already acquired a tankard of ale and was chatting with some adventurer woman from the table next to them.
“Nice to meet you, Rodrick, and…?” Valar looked toward the tall woman expectantly.
“Ciel.”
“Then, nice to meet you, Rodrick and Ciel. Also, thank you for saving my life!”
Valar bowed his head, the gesture being quite awkward when sitting down. Rodrick smiled down at Valar, Ciel’s lips turning upwards slightly too; Or maybe not. She had quite the poker face…
Rodrick extended his hand for a handshake, his hand reaching Valar’s easily across the large table. They shook hands, Rodrick being careful with Valar’s scarred arm.
“Nice to meet you, Valar. You seem much better than the last time we saw you, although that isn’t a hard feat,” Rodrick laughed, Carla letting out a chuckle too. “Seriously, you were in bad shape kid. I’m glad we were able to save you, and that you seem to be in better condition, except the scarring of course. Looks cool!”
A waiter came over, asking the group if they wanted something to eat or drink. That interrupted the introductions. Valar had had some ice cream beforehand, but he had not eaten for a long time before that. He was sure he could use some dinner. He looked to Viktor questioningly, the man paying for his meals on the road.
“Take whatever you want as long as you can eat it all. I don’t like wasted food.”
Valar nodded, going over the offerings of the inn. The waiter had handed them a short menu, the food mostly consisting of different big chunks of meat or hearty stews. Valar was still scanning the menu when Rodrick and Arthur ordered their meals—a beef and red wine stew for Arthur and a whole chicken for Rodrick. The other party members tried to argue that a whole chicken wasn’t even on the menu, but Rodrick just ordered two halves. Carla ended up ordering the same stew as Arthur, and Ciel asked for some assorted skewers. Viktor was still looking over the offerings and offered Valar some advice:
“I don’t recommend ordering any fish in Lyndale, as this city isn’t one with direct access to the ocean. The fish are brought from either Rhondell or Thornton and are frozen in transit, making them less tasty when thawed.”
Carla heard Viktor’s comments and continued on his point, apparently knowing quite a lot about fish.
“Yeah, save the fish for when we get to Rhondell. When you get to travel further, I promise you Thornton has the best fish in the kingdom, as the fish along the Rhondell shore have been getting worse in quality during recent years.”
“She’s from Thornton, so I wouldn’t trust her opinion!" Arthur butted in. "Hometown bias and all…”
“I don’t have any bias! It’s just a simple fact that the best fish in the kingdom are from Thornton!”
As Carla and Arthur devolved back to bickering among themselves, Valar looked over the menu. Everything looked like something he wanted to try, and he couldn’t make the choice. The skewers sounded good though. Lots of different meats, and many that I have never tried before… That sounds good.
Valar ended up ordering the assorted skewers, Viktor choosing the half chicken. The prices were in the 8 to 10 copper range, Rodrick paying 15 copper for his meal—a small price for good food according to the drunken big man.
When everyone had ordered their food, Rodrick resumed the introductions.
“You seem to have met everyone individually now. Together, we are the bronze rank team Cookie Sandwich, established a little more than a week ago in Rhondell. Ask Arthur about the name…”
Everyone in the party looked at Arthur, the man seemingly trying to hide his face in his tankard. He eventually caved to the pressure, taking a deep swig and smiling at his party members.
“I think it’s a pretty good name. Cookie sandwiches are really tasty.”
Carla tried to kick Arthur’s feet under the table, somehow managing to tangle her own legs. She fell down from her chair, cursing loudly.
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“Language, Carla,” Rodrick’s admonition got drowned in the laughter from the rest of the team. Even Ciel was chuckling to herself, albeit quietly. Valar found himself laughing with the rest of the group, the atmosphere and different personalities making him forget the past days’ events. He felt himself relax, smiling more easily, especially with Viktor around. Valar had not known the man for more than a single day, but he had been incredibly helpful in that time. Additionally, his rank gave Valar a feeling of security that he had never experienced.
Valar continued joking around with the party, and they clicked well. Most of them seemed to be in the age range of 19 to 20, Viktor obviously being in his late 20s instead, but they didn’t treat Valar like a child. That felt surprisingly good.
After talking and joking around for some time, their food started arriving. Carla and Arthur got their stews first, starting to eat immediately. Everyone else looked at the two adventurers with envy as they enjoyed their meals. Arthur yelled his compliments to the chef, an older woman yelling back her thanks from the kitchen.
Eventually, everyone else got their food—their dishes made to order instead of the slow cooked stew. Rodrick practically attacked his chicken, while everyone else ate more slowly.
Valar tasted one of the skewers, this one made of chicken. He took a little bite at first and chewed slowly. It tasted unfamiliar, seasoned with many herbs and spices Valar had never tasted, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t tasty. In fact, Valar enjoyed the chicken immensely. He proceeded to taste the three other skewers, all the meats except beef unknown to him. They were all just as good, spiced differently to complement the different meats.
When Valar had eaten more than half of his meat, he started looking around at the other peoples’ dishes. Rodrick’s and Viktor’s chicken looked great, but similar to his chicken skewer. Ciel ate the same food as him, so he wasn’t interested in her fare. Arthur’s and Carla’s stew looked tasty though…
“Carla, want to trade bites? I’ll give you some skewered meat if you let me taste the stew, deal?”
Carla looked at Valar’s dish thoughtfully, chewing her own meat while thinking. She eventually pointed to one of Valar’s skewers, only a couple chunks of meat left on the stick.
“If you give me the rest of that one made from gryla meat, I’ll let you taste some stew.”
Valar didn’t think for long, giving Carla the rest of the skewer and spooning some stew to his own plate. The colour of the stew was a mix between deep red and dark brown, chunks of meat and vegetables mixed in. He tasted some of the meat, strongly spiced and added to by the flavourful gravy. Carla and Arthur laughed at his expression, knowing that the stew was incredibly tasty themselves.
Arthur handed Valar his tankard, everyone else looking at him with admonishment. He shrugged his shoulders and explained himself with a wide grin.
“Yeah, Valar is young, but he’s awakened. Under Leorian law, he’s an adult and can drink ale!”
The judging gazes didn’t falter, but Arthur continued smiling under the others’ scrutiny. Valar looked down on the large pint of ale and smelled it. The ale was of dark brown colour, almost obscuring the wooden tankard behind it. It smelled sweet but stung Valar’s nose in a weird way that he had never experienced before. It reminded him of fresh bread in some ways.
“You know you don’t have to drink that swill just because you are technically an adult, right?,” Viktor asked.
Valar considered Viktor’s obvious warning for a moment but still decided to test the drink. Other orphanage kids had spoken highly of the stuff; Ale was apparently the adults’ drink of choice. He would try it now and form his opinion on it, so that he could either avoid or order it in the future.
As he took a small swig of the murky liquid, Valar’s face twisted in disgust. For a moment, he thought that he needed to spit the drink out, but that would have been even more gross. He forced it down, letting out a disgusted noise afterwards.
“Who would ever drink this? It tastes awful!”
“You’re just too young to understand the greatness of alcohol,” Arthur nodded to himself sagely.
The blonde man took his tankard from Valar and drew on it deeply, smacking his lips afterwards. Rodrick followed his lead, drinking his pint completely with one pull. Everyone else looked at them judgingly, Valar having joined the staring now that he had tasted the god awful drink.
They continued their eating and drinking for a few more hours, chatting all the while. Still, it was already late so Viktor went to the bar to book rooms for the night. Viktor wanted to offer Valar his own room for the last night in the city, so he booked two rooms instead of one.
Arthur had already left the main hall with some adventurer woman, both of them drunk and laughing. Carla and Ciel were just retreating to their shared room while Rodrick continued his drinking spree. He would probably have the mens’ shared room for himself, as Arthur had left with his nightly companion.
Viktor fished up two silver coins and handed them to the seeming owner of the inn.
“Would this be enough to pay for our rooms and all the food that our table ordered?”
The owner stared at the two coins with squinted eyes, shaking his head. He slid them under the counter and gazed back up at the silver haired man.
“That covers your rooms, the food for your table and even the drinks—provided that big man doesn’t drink himself to death.”
“If he ends up going over what I just gave you, he can pay for himself.”
Viktor and Valar started the retreat to their individual rooms after that, the wind mage promising to wake Valar up if he slept late. He handed Valar a heavy iron key that was simple but robust in design. He told the boy that the door could be picked relatively easily, but the inn was full of adventurers, so most common robbers wouldn’t dare to attempt anything. Valar would be safe for the night, that was certain.
The two men walked up the stairs and started looking for their rooms, finding themselves walking along a dimly lit corridor. Its walls were made out of wood, and the carpeted floor gave the second floor a homey feel. The inn was mostly lit by oil lamps, enchanted lights too expensive for everyday use.
When they found the right doors, they wished each other good night and entered their respective rooms. Valar closed the door behind him, checking twice that the lock was actually secured. After he knew that he was at least somewhat secure, he looked around his room for the night.
The room was relatively plain, with a carpeted floor and wooden walls like the corridor. The carpet was grey, and the walls were made out of dark wood. The room was furnished with a bed, chair and desk for possible work. It also had a small window with grey curtains, creating a look that was drab but still better than anything Valar had seen for years..
The room wasn’t anything especially luxurious, but it was private and comfortable. The level of privacy felt kind of unnatural, as he had slept in a room with many other kids for the last 10 years. The inn had some noises, but compared to Valar’s previous ‘home’, it was basically silent.
Valar took off his backpack and placed it on the chair, falling on the bed immediately after. He looked at the ceiling, the room lit by the shining moonlight coming through the small window. The boy laid there for some time, just thinking about the past days’ events.
He had been suppressing any negative thoughts for the whole day, and he knew that. When Valar had woken up from his nightmare and Viktor had started talking to him, he had jumped at the chance to be distracted away from the trauma of the past days. Because that’s what it was: Trauma.
Valar slowly curled to a fetal position, and started crying. This was the first time he could truly process what had happened to him. All the pain, fear and manic glee that he had experienced crashed against his mind, forcing him to process his own thoughts and emotions. Things like the wound in his soul, the beast attacks and his awakening were still fresh memories—clouded only by his own psyche in order to protect himself—and they hurt. Actually going through those feelings was too difficult, so he just cried, cried and cried some more until he couldn’t anymore.
Afterwards, Valar just continued staring up at the ceiling. The emotional outburst had helped him clear his head, letting the boy actually think about the future. The things that had happened to him recently were traumatic, yes, but he couldn’t focus on them forever. I need to talk to someone, but who? Viktor seems trustworthy, but I’ve only known him for a day. I can’t really talk to any of the adventurers either, as I’ll most likely never see them again once we reach Rhondell… It seems I'll have to manage on my own for a while.
The harrowing experiences were nearly impossible for him to process, so he unconsciously suppressed them, trying to make them hurt less. He distracted himself with other thoughts, driving the trauma away. He even rose from the bed and paced around, eventually ending up at the window.
Seeing the stars somewhat calmed him. Those shining sparks in the night sky were interesting enough to finally draw his thoughts away from the dark memories. Valar wanted to learn of them, to see them closer, and maybe even touch them.
He knew that those dreams were hard to reach, but they were dreams nonetheless. After all, even in his darkest moments, Valar could always wish upon a star, and maybe… just maybe, it would answer.
