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batsutousaiLonán's moment near the end is because cloe wanted to know what he was thinking more.
Also, chapter 4 hates me. Just for the record.
Chapter Three -- E'Fal
In the morning, there was a lot of packing and a few fake tears with rather a few real hugs. Bonnie and Elspeth had said all they'd needed to last night, and the almost-friends, while sorry to see the end of their time together, were both ready to continue on their separate paths. The two men had stepped back to let them say their good-byes and Lonán seemed a little surprised at the shortness of their parting.
Bonnie wandered off towards the border with Dusty, while Lonán too the lead on towards E'Fal, since it was, as he put it, "now the closest connection to one of the well-travelled roads. We might as well head there, rather than back-track to Shvim." Elspeth had gleefully teased them for an hour or so about how badly off-track they'd managed to get. She aimed all her teasing at Finlay, of course, since she knew who'd led them astray, even if neither of them would admit it out loud.
"Without a horse," Lonán replied at one point when Finlay asked how much longer it would be, "about three or four days."
"I have to listen to her for four days?" Finlay replied, jerking his thumb in Elspeth's direction.
"I could put you out of your misery, if you'd like," Elspeth told him, taking her bow off her back.
Finlay pulled out his sword. "Back, demon woman! Back I say!"
Elspeth smirked and pulled out an arrow. "Can you hit me with that before I stick you with this? Shall we find out?"
"Finlay, stop picking fights!" Lonán snapped. "Stop letting her get to you so well. She's just a woman."
Elspeth narrowed her eyes at the leader. "Excuse me? Are you trying to say that because I haven't got a stick dangling between my legs I'm not as dangerous as you and your little honey-boy here? How about I shoot you a couple of times and then you say that to my face?"
Lonán held his hands up and stopped to look at her. "Look, Gwenonwyn, I meant no disrespect–"
"Like hell you didn't!"
"Gwenonwyn–"
"If Radha hadn't told me to go with you assholes to the capital, I'd stomp off now! You're a real jerk!" Elspeth shouted, blinking away the burning in her eyes. This wasn't the person she'd written him as! He was supposed to fall madly in love with her at the first sight and begin to hate Finlay! He wasn't supposed to side with the idiot!
"Aw, come on, Wyn, he di–" Finlay said cheerfully.
"And don't call me that!" Elspeth hissed, pointing a warning finger at Finlay. A lick of flame appeared at the end of her finger and shot at Finlay, catching in his hat and starting a small fire in the straw.
Finlay immediately screamed like a girl and started jumping around like a chicken with its head cut off. Lonán hurried over to help his friend while Elspeth was left staring at her finger in amazement. She'd forgotten that Gwenonwyn was an Elemental of Fire.
"Gwenonwyn!" Lonán snapped. "Put it out!"
Elspeth looked up, startled. "Huh?" she said, then saw that the hat that she'd set on fire was still burning, despite the water they'd poured on it. "Why's it doing that?" she asked dumbly.
"Because it's an element controlled by you! You set the Fire, only you can put it out!" Lonán snapped in return.
Elspeth's eyes widened. But... "I don't know how to control it!"
"You idiot!"
"DON'T CALL ME AN IDIOT!"
The fire grew so big that it completely consumed the hat, then went out completely, as Elspeth was left panting.
Lonán and Finlay turned to stare at her, the latter with tears in his eyes over the loss of his precious hat. Elspeth stared back at them, torn between shooting them both and stomping off, or bursting into tears on the ground.
Finlay sniffled, breaking the silent staring match, and looked down at the pile of ashes on the ground. "My hat..."
"You're lucky it wasn't your head," Lonán snapped, then narrowed his eyes at Elspeth. "Why don't you know how to control your Fire? Didn't your parents teach you?"
Elspeth wracked her tired brains for a plausible answer, but found nothing, so simply shook her head, but that made the world spin. Closing her eyes, she decided that the best idea would be sitting down, so did so. Having gotten that far down, she wondered if laying down wouldn't be the better option, but her pack was in the way.
"Gwenonwyn?" Lonán's voice called from nearby.
Elspeth blinked her eyes open and found Lonán standing directly in front of her, a concerned look on his face, with the world around him spinning. "Please tell the world to stop turning?" she requested, then passed out.
"Shit," Lonán hissed, grabbing her and lowering her to the ground before she hit her head really hard.
"Lonán, make her bring my hat back," Finlay whined.
Lonán groaned. What the hell was he supposed to do with this passed out girl and his idiot of a friend? He looked around and saw a clearing that looked reasonable to spend the night in. "Thank Radha," he whispered, then turned to the tearful Finlay. "We're camping over there for the night. Help me carry Gwenonwyn."
"Why? Can't she walk on her own?" Finlay replied, looking angry.
"No, Finlay," Lonán said tiredly. "She's fainted. "Let's get her off the trail and onto a bed roll."
"What about my hat?" Finlay asked, even as he helped Lonán lift Elspeth's sleeping form.
"I'll buy you a new one in E'Fal."
"But..."
"Finlay."
"Oh, okay."
"Thank you, Finlay."
***
"Bet you've never had Elemental powers before, have you? Don't you wish you were me?"
Elspeth gave Gwenonwyn a dirty look. "No, I don't particularly wish I were you, actually. Do I have to put up with you every time I sleep?"
"Yes," Gwenonwyn happily informed her, sitting on the ground next to Elspeth with great care. "Which one is the one who thinks he can kill my father? The idiot? Why didn't you just set his face on fire instead?"
Elspeth offered her a dry look. "How can I set him on fire if I can't control the fire?"
"Oh."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you deserved Finlay."
Gwenonwyn narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me? I what now? Deserve him?"
"Yeah. You use your brain on about the same level. But I think he's too active for you, you'd never keep up."
"I never!"
Elspeth sighed. "Look. I can't kill Finlay, Radha didn't tell me to. She just wants me to keep him from killing your dad and keep your dad from destroying your world. Let's call a truce."
Gwenonwyn shook her head. "What do you mean, Father destroying the world? He's trying to make it great!"
"Even the best of intentions can go completely awry, Gwenonwyn. A man from my world – yes I know you don't think I'm from another world, let me finish what I'm saying – a man from my world decided one day that the reparations that his country had to pay for a previous war were too much and he blamed it all on the people who were different from him. He decided to build a great world, where only people like him – white-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed people – existed. So he rounded up all those other people, put them into little camps and slowly killed them off. It was horrible, but it was what he thought was best. Was it right? No."
Gwenonwyn shook her head, completely enthralled with the tale. "What happened to him?"
"He killed himself when it became clear that he'd lost the war he'd started and was going to be killed anyway."
"His army must not have been very good," Gwenonwyn declared.
"His army was very good for the time during which it existed," Elspeth replied. "But he'd stretched it thin over a lot of land, and there was a bigger, better army that had once been his ally, but no longer was, just behind him." Elspeth shook her head. "There's always someone out there who's better, who has a bigger sword."
Gwenonwyn huffed. "That's nonsense. No one is better than Father."
Elspeth shook her head and decided that the other wasn't going to listen to reason, so said, "How the hell do I control the Fire?"
Gwenonwyn scowled. "I don't remember. Something about concentrating on it I think. Mother's been dead for a long time, and it's not like there was someone else around who could teach me."
"Gee, aren't you useful," Elspeth said sarcastically.
"Of course I am," Gwenonwyn said highly. "I am the Lady Gwenonwyn Keeva Lasair Kerry, daughter of Lord Cat–"
But Gwenonwyn and the world of nothing disappeared, and Elspeth woke up.
***
Elspeth groaned as she sat up. "Holy shit, my head hurts."
"Do the Gods poop, then?" Finlay asked innocently. Next to him, Lonán started laughing around his rabbit meat.
Elspeth huffed. "Of course they do, where do you think all that dirt came from?"
Finlay's eyes went wide and he picked his feet up off the ground and onto the rock he was sitting on, which overbalanced him and he fell on his back with a loud 'thunk'. "Ouch!"
"You're too easy," Elspeth commented, then slowly stood, holding her head.
Lonán helped Finlay back onto his rock and said, "Are you feeling better, now?"
Elspeth shot him a dark look. "Perhaps. How long was I out for?"
"A fair few hours," Lonán replied, motioning to the dark sky above them. It had been just after midday when they started arguing. Then he gave her a piercing look. "I'm not sorry, by the way. You're an idiot for not knowing how to control your Fire."
Elspeth gritted her teeth. "Excuse me, your Lordship, but my mother was the only Elemental I've ever known and she died when I was a little girl. I'm sorry I don't remember much of what she taught me. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to empty my bladder." So saying, she turned and stalked off into the forest, ignoring the pounding in her head so she could revel in her fury. The nerve of that man!
Finlay looked up at Lonán from his careful perusal of the God's Poop. "She's as bad off as we are, isn't she?"
"Sounds like," Lonán agreed tiredly, then gave his friend a strange look. "Finlay, please don't kiss the dirt like that."
"But, Lonán, it's God's Poop! It should be revered!" So saying, Finlay returned to kissing the ground and getting dirt all over his face.
"Finlay, Gwenonwyn was kidding."
"How do you know that?" Finlay asked suspiciously.
Lonán gave Finlay a dry look. "Because poop, you idiot, smells. The ground doesn't."
"Maybe the Gods made their Poop smell good. Never thought of that, did you? Ha!"
Lonán hid his face in his hands.
***
The rest of their trip to E'Fal was much the same as the first day. Elspeth found great pleasure in telling Finlay all sorts of ridiculous tall-tales while Lonán ignored them both and tried to tell Finlay what wasn't the truth at night, while Elspeth was otherwise occupied. Elspeth also started practising her Fire every night, with the occasional input from Gwenonwyn when she slept. Gwenonwyn was still firmly of the belief that Elspeth was not, in fact, of another world, and she often told Elspeth off for not just killing Finlay and getting it over with. Elspeth had given up reminding her that Radha had sent her, and she wasn't just here for fun.
All told, it took about four and a half days for them to reach E'Fal. By then, Finlay decided that pretty much everything Elspeth said was the gospel truth about the world – much to her amusement and Lonán's distress – Lonán was wondering why he'd agreed to go with the girl to the capital, and Elspeth was damn-close to killing for a bath and some food that was actually cooked and not rabbit.
E'Fal was a sight for sore – and in the case of Finlay, amazed – eyes. It was like a picture out of a history book. Rows of houses with store signs hanging in front of some and stalls along the dirt road. Men and women were shouting their ware and prices while potential buyers haggled prices and children and animals got under foot. There were fresh foods, clothing, livestock and various toys for children available. It was small, with a population of just over one hundred people, but it was a fair sight better than the empty forest.
Lonán saw the town as a chance to get Finlay away from Elspeth's lies. Finlay saw it as an amazing, huge, bustling place that couldn't possibly exist. Elspeth was kinda bored with the whole place – it looked a little backwater to her – but it was the closest thing to home she'd seen yet, so she enjoyed the bustle of the town.
Lonán cleared his throat, calling the attention of the other two to him. "We need to find an inn, then stock up on supplies. I don't want to spend more than a day here – we all have business further up the road."
"How about we find the inn," Elspeth suggested, "then pool our money and figure out what all we need. Then we'll be better able to haggle prices."
"I agree with Wyn," Finlay immediately put in, still star-struck by the town, as well as Elspeth's apparent knowledge of everything.
For once, even Lonán had to admit that Elspeth had a good idea, and it helped that Elspeth twitched every time Finlay called her 'Wyn', which she'd given up on correcting after the third day, when Lonán had pointed out that, if he couldn't get Finlay to disbelieve her lies, then what made her think she could get the idiot to stop calling her a nickname. Anyway, her real name was rather long.
Lonán shook his thoughts from his head. "Good plan, I suppose. Let's keep our eyes peeled for an inn, then."
By that, he also meant to keep their eyes on the easily distracted Finlay, who they took turns grabbing a hold of when he went to look at a stall. They finally found the inn at the other end of the town, but the prices were pretty high.
"Seven full copper for a night? And that's just for one room!" Lonán exclaimed helplessly. "Now what?"
Elspeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud–"
"Isn't that what it's called when you pray loudly?" Finlay commented, quoting her explanation of the phrase from when he'd questioned it one evening.
Elspeth ignored him and pulled out her purse, which had all the money Bonnie had originally stolen, since the girl hadn't needed any of it. "I have the money, I'll pay for the rooms. Move," she ordered Lonán, who was staring at her in shock. He moved after a moment and she stalked into the inn, Finlay following her like a happy puppy. "Two rooms for one night, please," she requested of the woman behind the counter built in to the back of the room.
"One silver, four full copper," the woman intoned without looking up.
Elspeth pulled out one gold piece and slid it across the table. "Is it extra to have a bath drawn in one of the rooms later?" she asked before she'd let the woman take the money.
The woman finally looked up at her. She took in Elspeth's dirt-covered appearance and obvious rags, then the two just as dirty men behind her and sighed. "It's an extra three half copper, but I'll throw it in free for you this once; you look like you need it. Do they want one too?" Both men blinked, looked at each other, then shrugged and shook their heads.
Elspeth rolled her eyes at them, then smiled faintly at the other woman. "You're too kind," she said easily, then let her take the money.
The woman did some quick counting and handed Elspeth back eight silver pieces, six full copper pieces and two heavy brass keys. "Leave these here with me when you go out. The room numbers are written on the keys – you do know how to read, right?" Elspeth and Lonán nodded while Finlay shook his head with a frown. "Fine. I'll have a bath drawn in room 10. When do you want it?"
"We'll be going back out to do some shopping after we put our things up," Elspeth replied. "Maybe draw it ten minutes or so after we've left? If it's cold when we return that's fine."
The woman smiled in understanding. "I'll let them know."
"Thank you," Elspeth said honestly, then turned and handed Lonán the key for room 11. "Let's head up. I'll put my things away, then come over to your room."
"Right," Lonán agreed dumbly, then grabbed Finlay's shoulder and led him up the stairs next to the desk and down the hall to the room they'd been given. "I still can't believe she would so casually throw about a whole gold piece," he muttered to himself while opening the door.
"She's amazing," Finlay crooned.
"You're a star-struck idiot," Lonán retorted, then pulled off his pack and laid down on one of the beds. "Ah, whatever. This place is worth seven full coppers a night. I wish my bed was always this soft..."
Finlay plopped down on the other bed, an amazed look on his face. "It is soft. What is it?"
"The feathers from the wings of angels," Elspeth gleefully informed him before Lonán could speak. "The Gods send them down to us mortals when the angels moult so the privileged have something worthy of their high stations to sleep on at night. I hear that all the beds in Castle Kerry are made with angel feathers, in fact."
Finlay looked at Lonán with huge eyes. "I want an angel feather bed in my home."
Lonán groaned and covered his eyes. "Sure thing, Finlay. Whatever you want."
Elspeth snickered to herself while Finlay rubbed his face happily against the mattress sheets. Really, she knew, it was just chicken feathers, but it really was too much fun to mess with Finlay's head; he was too easy.
Lonán lowered his hand and gave Elspeth a sharp look. "How did you get so much money? A gold piece is nothing to wave about so casually. Please tell me you didn't steal it from some minor Land Lord."
Elspeth huffed. "What do you take me for. No, my mother was a member of the Dúil Royal Court before she ran away across the border and was saved from some bears by my father," she said, making a large portion of it up as she went. She really wished there's been silver in that purse Bonnie had stolen. "She'd fled with a purse of money and some fine dresses, which she saved, then left to my sister and I when she died. My sister took the dresses to sell in Abathal, since their coin is different, and I kept the coins so I could find a place to stay in the capital before finding my future husband. Any other questions?" She folded her arms over her chest and scowled at the nosey Lonán.
"Yeah, actually," Lonán shot back. "How much have you got in that little purse?"
"Can I touch a gold piece?" Finlay asked, bouncing slightly on the bed. "I've never even seen one before."
Elspeth sighed. "I have four gold pieces left," she lied, pulling one out and letting Finlay examine it. After their surprise earlier, she'd hidden most of the money in her bags and decided to try and find another purse or two to hide it in while they were out shopping, so it wasn't floating about freely in her food sack. "No, Finlay, don't put it in your mouth. You don't know where it's been," she said, taking the gold piece back before Finlay could lick it.
"Where does gold come from?" Finlay asked, looking trusting.
"The ground," Elspeth replied warily. "They dig it out of mountains and sometimes find it in riverbeds. Same place copper and silver comes from." She saw the surprised look on Lonán's face and snapped, "What?"
Lonán shrugged, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "I'm always surprised when you don't make things up, that's all."
Finlay scowled at his best friend. "She doesn't make stuff up!"
Elspeth snorted to herself. "He's always been this bad?" she asked Lonán.
"Always," Lonán assured her. "Now stop it."
Elspeth smirked, then changed the subject by saying, "So, what all do we need to pick up, anyway?"
"A new hat," Finlay demanded.
Lonán sighed. "Yes, Finlay." At Elspeth's questioning look, he said, "I promised him a new one after you destroyed his last one."
"Oh." Elspeth shrugged. "I'll buy it for him. You just pick one out, Finlay."
"Will you buy it with a gold piece?" Finlay asked gleefully.
"Finlay, most people don't have change for gold pieces," Lonán said tiredly. "So, we need a hat for Finlay. Some salted food would be good for the road, since it will take us about a fortnight to get to Halone. And that's only if the weather's fair, the boats are running on time at the riverside and we don't get attacked by bandits somewhere along the road. There should be a couple of small villages along the road, but there's no guarantee they'll have food to offer, let alone be hospitable to strangers. Anything else you can think of that we'll need, Gwenonwyn."
Elspeth blinked. "Well, I want to get another set of clothing. I may also look at pack horses or donkeys or something of the kind, so we have a bit more freedom of movement in case we are attacked. That much food is sure to be heavy."
"Ah, but are you really willing to spend so much? I hear that costs of homes are high in the capital," Lonán commented, sounding faintly concerned.
Elspeth shrugged. "Ah... Maybe?" She sighed and shook her head. "Isn't it better to have a chance to defend ourselves and the money on the road, rather than lose all of it on account of our being weighed down by all our things?"
"It's your money," Lonán said by way of response. "Do with it as you will."
Elspeth huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine. How many coins do you have between you?"
"Eight full copper, three half," Lonán shot back. "Tell you what, give me two silvers and I can get all the food we'll need for a fortnight. You can take Finlay to find a hat and some clothing for yourself. Well you're at it, feel free to look at animals to your heart's content."
"You two bicker like you're married sometimes," Finlay commented innocently.
Elspeth felt her face go red and bowed her head so her hair covered at least part of it. No matter how rude Lonán was, he was still handsome. Without looking up, she pulled out two silvers and set them down on the bed next to Lonán. "Here, take your two silvers! Come on, Finlay. Let's get you a nice hat." Then she turned and stalked from the room.
Lonán blinked down at the coins, surprised in the girl's sudden exit. "Huh. Women are so strange."
Finlay grinned. "I think she likes you," he whispered, then hopped up and skipped after Elspeth, calling, "Wait! Wyn, I want to play with the horses with you!"
Lonán shook his head after his friend and stood to go out and do his own shopping, considering the road ahead with his two companions as he went.
Finlay... He had to find some way to get finlay to give up on this insane quest to kill Lord Kerry. Besides the fact that it would mean both their deaths, he doubted it would do anything but give Kerry more reason to take over more places; so there would be less attempts on his life. Lords didn't think like normal folk, after all, and Kerry wasn't very likely to let an attempt on his life go, pointless as it was.
Then there was Gwenonwyn, who Finlay had developed an unhealthy attraction to in the form of his belief of her every word. Lonán knew that Gwenonwyn did it simply to amuse herself – Finlay made it way too easy – but it was a little cruel, since Finlay didn't know any better. On the other hand, perhaps Radha had put them together for this very reason; if Finlay fell for Gwenonwyn, perhaps he would see the sense in not fighting Kerry, since he had something to live for. On the other hand, she may very weel prove to be all the more of a reason for him to fight Kerry, since he would want her to live in a free world. On the other hand, perhaps Lonán could speak to Gwenonwyn, and see if she couldn't tell Finlay all about how it was a bad idea to kill Kerry because of something totally random that only she could pull out of thin air.
But other than her potential to keep Finlay alive and out of the castle, he did have a small problem in knowing whether or not he could trust her. If Radha had, in fact, brought them together, then she was probably trustworthy, but she was also such a wild card. She carried a bow, but no close-range weapon. She was an Elemntal of Fire, but couldn't control it. She had been carrying around five gold and seemed to wave it around as if it was nothing. He also wasn't sure that her story matched up. Why would anyone keep five gold locked up when they could have been using it to buy food? And her sister and she had different coloured skins, from what little he remembered of seeing the other girl. The question also came of why the two girls hadn't been travelling with two horses – they'd had the money – or an escort previously; it was rather unusual to see two girls travelling with only each other for company.
There was just something that rubbed Lonán wrong about Gwenonwyn, and while he wasn't sure he wanted it, he had a long time to find out what that something was.
***
Elspeth managed to find a nicer dress than the one she was currently wearing, as well as another pair of second-hand sandals that fit her a little better than the ones she had. She managed to talk Finlay into getting a hat that didn't look quite as ratty as the old one did and was black instead of the straw colour of his last one. It also has a cute little green stone on the front, so she was willing to pay an extra half copper for it, especially since it only cost three full coppers without the stone. While looking at the hats, she found a couple of little money pouches and bought two, as well as a cute little hat with a wide brim to keep the sun out of her eyes. Gwenonwyn had been complaining about how much sunlight her delicate skin was getting, so Elspeth hoped the hat would shut her up.
On the way to the animal stall, they passed a stall that stood outside the blacksmith's dwelling and had a few weapons for sale, and Finlay was immediately drawn to it. The vendor, most likely the blacksmith himself, asked to see Finlay's sword, then tutted at it. At Finlay's scandalized look, he said, "It's not that it's a bad sword, son, it's just that it's an old sword, and better off in a display case somewhere. But that's not a fighting sword, not anymore."
Finlay looked crestfallen, so Elspeth sighed and said, "We're on a long trip, do you have a sword that we could buy for him? That's not to say you have to get rid of your grandfather's sword, Finlay!" she exclaimed, seeing tears in his eyes. "I just think it would be best if you can actually defend yourself on the road. You heard Lonán warn us about the bandits."
Finlay sniffed. "I kn-know. Bu-but it's spe-special."
"And it always will be," Elspeth said, wondering how Lonán had managed to put up with the stupid cry baby for so long. "But sometimes you have to move on, and this is one of those times. You can keep the sword, but I want you to get one you can actually use. Think of it as, ah, keeping your grandfather's sword in top condition, right?"
Finlay sniffled again and wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve. "Okay, Wyn." Elspeth rolled her eyes at the name, but didn't say anything. "Okay, sir, what have you in the way of good swords?"
"I've got the lot, son. Come look at these long swords over here, I think they'll fit you the best..." the vendor said, drawing Finlay off to the side a bit.
A girl who must have been the vendor's daughter poked her head up from under the table and gave Elspeth a toothy smile. "Wooooow... I never see'd a grow'd man cry like that befow."
"Finlay's not grown, yet," Elspeth commented distractedly as she kept an eye on the two men. "He's still very much a child at heart, and I'm afraid he'll always be." She sighed.
"Are you his mama?"
Elspeth looked at the girl, wide-eyed for a long moment before bursting out in laughter. "Oh, goodness me, no! No, child, Finlay and I are just friends, companions.”
A woman poked her head out of the house behind the stall and scowled. “Aíbell! You leave that young miss alone!”
“Oh, no, madam,” Elspeth called. “She’s fine, really.”
The woman humphed and went back inside after a last warning glance at the child, Aíbell. Aíbell looked up at Elspeth with the same big grin as before. "Thank you, big miss."
Elspeth winked. "No problem, little miss."
They both giggled as the vendor and Finlay came back over with a silver sword. "Ah," said the vendor, "Aíbell, if Nessa catches you out here she'll tan your hide."
"She already did, Papa. But the missy told her I were been good, sos I didn't get yelled at too bad," Aíbell said with an angelic look on her face.
The vendor sighed and gave Elspeth a smile. "Thank you, then. Were you wanting a sword too?"
"Ah, no. I use a bow, but thank you."
"What about when they get too close for a bow, miss?" the vendor asked, brow furrowed.
Elspeth blinked a few times, then looked questioningly at Finlay. "Does Lonán have a sword?"
"A small one," Finlay replied with a smile. "You should have one, too!"
"I don't know how to use one, though..."
"I can teach you!" Finlay declared, puffing his chest out and looking manly.
Aíbell giggled and Elspeth turned to the vendor with a smile. "Very well, what do you suggest, sir?"
"Hmmm... For a fragile one like you, miss, I have a very light short sword in the back. If you'll wait here I'll get it for you." Elspeth nodded, so her set Finlay's sword down and went back into the house. Aíbell glanced up at Elspeth and Finlay, then started giggling again. Finlay looked quite proud of himself and Elspeth rolled her eyes.
The vendor came back out with a sword that was a little shorter at Finlay's new sword, but not quite as short as Elspeth thought something called a 'short sword' would be. It had the faintest purple cast to the hilt, which was rather plain, but all the prettier for it, in Elspeth's eyes. When he handed it over, she found it to be incredibly light, compared to Finlay's grandfather's sword, which he'd let her hold once on the road.
Finlay nodded, as if he knew swords better than he did. "It's a fine match."
Elspeth rolled her eyes in amusement and nodded. "So, how much will all this be?"
"Well, two silver for the young man's, and one silver for yours, miss."
Elspeth caught sight of Finlay's large eyes out of the corner of her eye and sighed. "Do you, perchance, have change for a gold piece?"
"Yes, I believe so. Is that all you have, then?" the vendor asked carefully.
"No, no," Elspeth replied. "But he wants me to use a gold piece, particularly on something for him, and I figured that if anyone had change for a gold piece, it would be a blacksmith."
"A fair call, miss," the vendor agreed, then pulled out a coin purse and pulled out seven silver. Elspeth traded one of her gold pieces for the silver and watched Finlay hook his sword onto his belt. She didn't have a belt, however, so was left blinking down at the sword.
"Ah," said the vendor knowingly. "Aíbell, could you get me one of the braided belts in my workroom? I think the miss requires it. Three half copper," he added to Elspeth, as Aíbell hurried off into the house.
"Thank you," Elspeth replied gratefully, handing over a full copper. "I, honestly, didn't even consider a belt until just now."
"That's a fine thing, miss, as you use a bow, though it's good to have a place to hang your purse that doesn't hold your quiver down. Ah, here we are." He took the belt from his daughter and handed it over to Elspeth with her half copper change.
"Thank you," Elspeth said, putting the coin away. She put the belt on, then tried to figure out how to attach the sword, with Finlay snickering unhelpfully in the background. Aíbell finally ducked around the stall and hurried over to help Elspeth with attaching it. Once the sword was safely on the belt, Elspeth thanked Aíbell, slipped her the half copper she'd just gotten as change with a wink, and led a still snickering Finlay off to the animal stall.
The animal vendor had horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, sheep and one pig. Finlay was immediately enthralled by what Elspeth thought was a mule, and ran over cooing, "Pony!"
Elspeth rolled her eyes at the other, then forced a smile through the stench around her. "Sir?" she said to the vendor.
The man looked down at her with a dark eye. "What do you want, girl?"
"Uhm, I was hoping to get something that could carry our packs on a long journey," Elspeth said, unsure of how to respond to the hostile return of her greeting.
"These animals are quality stock, and you want to use one as a beast of burden?" the man almost snarled in her face.
"Err..." Elspeth swallowed, then stood up straight and looked the man in the eye. "Yes, sir."
The man's lips twitched. "Fine," he grunted. "What all will you be putting on my animal?"
"Three bed rolls, food enough for a fortnight, a sword and a few odds and ends."
The man huffed, then nodded. "Will you be riding it at any time?"
"I don't plan to, and neither do the other two. Something could always come up that requires one of us from walking, I suppose, but we don't plan on it," Elspeth replied, then happened to see Finlay poking at the mule's rear that he'd found and called, "Finlay, leave that animal alone and come back over here!"
"But, pony!" Finlay replied, giving Elspeth a look filled with pleading.
"It's not a pony and it doesn't like you pestering it. Come. Here," Elspeth ordered. Finlay came back over with a pitiful look on his face. "You're lucky that mule didn't bite you, idiot. Now, stay with me."
"Yes, Wyn," Finlay muttered.
Elspeth sighed and returned her attention to the vendor, only to find that he had a smile on his face. "I didn't take you as a farm-type, girl."
"I-I'm not," Elspeth stuttered, surprised.
"But you can tell the different between a mule and its parents?"
Elspeth blinked and wondered how to explain that all she learned came from a book on horses she'd read in elementary school to the man that wouldn't make her sound insane. "Ah.... My father taught me," she lied. "He grew up on a farm."
"Good man, then," the vendor declared. "Can you care for an animal?"
"Uhm," Elspeth closed her eyes and tried to remember what the book had said. "Well, they all pretty much eat grass, right, so they can probably graze both on the road and when we stop for the night. Brush them pretty regularly to keep their fur, tail and mane nice. And, ah, if you can, I guess, bathe them after a workout? I don't know how much bathing we can do on the road..." She opened her eyes and found Finlay looking at her like she was Radha herself come down from the heavens.
The vendor's smile had only gotten bigger. "Yes, I think I you'll be fine. A donkey should treat you best, considering your needs. I'll give you a brush, a lead, a small container for water that he can drink out of and a holder for your packs. Will that be sufficient?"
"I– Yes, that will be just fine. How much?" Elspeth said, surprised with his sudden willingness, just because she'd read a book as a child.
"Six silver," the man declared. "And it's not going any cheaper just because you....know... Oh," he said as Elspeth held out a gold piece to him with a cheeky smile. "Right, I'm sure I have change for that somewhere..."
"No, here," Elspeth said, putting the gold piece back and pulling out the change from the swords. "I apologize, I just had to see the look on your face."
The vendor chuckled and took the money. "Yes, little lady. Well played. Come, I'll introduce you to Sulien."
He brought the two travellers to a sun-coloured donkey, who gave Finlay one look and snapped his teeth in the man's general direction, earning an 'eep' from Finlay. Elspeth grinned and commented, "That means, 'I saw what you did to the mule, don't you dare start poking at my butt, or I'll bite your hand off'."
Finlay ducked behind Elspeth and whimpered.
The highly amused vendor unhooked Sulien's lead from the pole it was attached to and handed it over the Elspeth, who gave the donkey a wary look. Now that she had a testy animal, she wasn't quite so sure about this. Joking about it to Finlay and actually having to handle the animal itself were two different things.
The donkey huffed at her, shook its head, then walked closer and sniffed her crotch. And then Sulien rubbed against her and seemed perfectly happy being her new best friend.
Made bolder by Elspeth's ease with the new donkey, Finlay reached out to pet it, and had to dodge a couple of kicking back legs. The donkey shot him a warning bray and butted against Elspeth, as if to say, 'Tell him to go away.'
Elspeth hid a smile behind her hand and said, "I'm sorry, Finlay, but I don't think he likes you."
"I'm surprised he's so easy with you, little lady," the vendor commented, pulling out the rest of the promised gear. "Sulien is notoriously difficult to handle. Even I've had trouble with him."
"Eh, maybe he likes me because I'm female?" Elspeth half questioned, half suggested, recalling how the donkey had sniffed her crotch.
"Hm. Possible. Never had him near a girl before." The vendor brought the bag holder, the water bin and the brush over. "Alright, let's teach you how to hitch this," he commented, getting down on his knees. Elspeth joined him and, together, they latched the holder in place. Then he gave her a crash course in unhooking the holder, and it how to pack the donkey up with their bags, deftly dodging teeth the whole time. Sulien only nipped at Elspeth once, and that was because she'd accidentally pinched him while re-hooking the holder.
"Where are you lot staying, then? The inn?" the vendor asked, once he'd deemed Elspeth's ability with the donkey sufficient.
"Ah, yes, we are," Elspeth agreed.
"Alright, they got a small stable in the back, then. It shouldn't be full, since we haven't been getting a lot of people through lately, but if it is, come back out here and I can pen him with the others for the night."
"Okay, thanks!" Elspeth replied, then led Sulien back towards the inn. Finlay started out following, but after being almost kicked in the ribs twice, he jogged up to Elspeth's other side and walked next to her, occasionally shooting the donkey dirty looks around her.
Lonán was waiting for them at the door to the inn. "Took you long enou– is that a new sword, Finlay?"
"Yup! Wyn got me a new sword, 'cause the sword man said I needed a new one. Grandfather's is on the back of the meanie. And Wyn got a sword too!" Finlay said, happily showing off his new sword.
"Why is he calling the donkey a meanie?" Lonán asked, holding out a hand for Elspeth's sword.
Sulien saw the hand reaching towards his girl and promptly jerked forward to bite it off. The hand pulled back and he brayed, "Mine, not yours. Hooves off."
Elspeth snickered at the shocked look on Lonán's face. "That's why," she said as Finlay started laughing too. "I'm the only one he likes."
Lonán gave her a dirty look. "It figures. May I see your sword?"
Elspeth shrugged and handed it over with the belt still attached. "Sure. Hey, Finlay, could you go in and ask about the stables?"
"Yup!" Finlay agreed, then practically bounced into the hotel.
"Good sword," Lonán said, handing it back carefully. As Elspeth took it and put it back on, he added, "Thanks for getting him a nicer hat. That old one was ridiculous."
Elspeth smirked. "I noticed. How'd you put up with it for so long?"
"Closed my eyes whenever I had to look his way," Lonán joked back as Finlay came out with the lady who'd been behind the counter.
"Awww, aren't you a sweetheart," the lady said, scratching behind Sulien's ears with no trouble. The two men glared at the donkey while Elspeth snickered. "Alright, let's get this cute boy into a stall and settled in for the night," she said, waving the group around back, "and then you can take your bath, miss, and mayhap get a meal or two set up?"
"Oh, yes please," Elspeth almost begged. No poorly-cooked rabbit? Count her in!
"Gwenonwyn," Lonán murmured warningly.
Sulien didn't like the male's tone and kicked at him warningly.
Elspeth smiled pleasantly over her shoulder at Lonán, who was busy scowling at the donkey. "Yes, Lonán?"
"I got enough food for us to eat tonight as well," he said, eyeing the donkey's hind legs even as he was put into a stall.
"Yes, but I would like one good meal before being forced to eat what you got, if you don't mind. You two can munch on trail food to your hearts' content. I will be having a proper meal," Elspeth replied, sticking her nose in the air in an imitation of the real Gwenonwyn. Not that anyone else knew that.
"I wanna eat real food too," Finlay almost whined.
Lonán ground his teeth together, then said through them, "Fine. We'll have a meal here tonight. But I don't want to hear a single complaint tomorrow, all right?"
"Okay!" Elspeth said cheerfully. Next to her, Finlay nodded happily.
"Well then, let the miss get her bath," the woman who worked at the inn said, "and then you lot come on down and we'll set you up with some good food."
"Sounds wonderful," Elspeth said, then led the way back into the hotel, quite looking forward to her bath.
Chapters:
One ||| Two |||Three ||| Four
Summary & Character Info
Incomplete
.
Also, chapter 4 hates me. Just for the record.
In the morning, there was a lot of packing and a few fake tears with rather a few real hugs. Bonnie and Elspeth had said all they'd needed to last night, and the almost-friends, while sorry to see the end of their time together, were both ready to continue on their separate paths. The two men had stepped back to let them say their good-byes and Lonán seemed a little surprised at the shortness of their parting.
Bonnie wandered off towards the border with Dusty, while Lonán too the lead on towards E'Fal, since it was, as he put it, "now the closest connection to one of the well-travelled roads. We might as well head there, rather than back-track to Shvim." Elspeth had gleefully teased them for an hour or so about how badly off-track they'd managed to get. She aimed all her teasing at Finlay, of course, since she knew who'd led them astray, even if neither of them would admit it out loud.
"Without a horse," Lonán replied at one point when Finlay asked how much longer it would be, "about three or four days."
"I have to listen to her for four days?" Finlay replied, jerking his thumb in Elspeth's direction.
"I could put you out of your misery, if you'd like," Elspeth told him, taking her bow off her back.
Finlay pulled out his sword. "Back, demon woman! Back I say!"
Elspeth smirked and pulled out an arrow. "Can you hit me with that before I stick you with this? Shall we find out?"
"Finlay, stop picking fights!" Lonán snapped. "Stop letting her get to you so well. She's just a woman."
Elspeth narrowed her eyes at the leader. "Excuse me? Are you trying to say that because I haven't got a stick dangling between my legs I'm not as dangerous as you and your little honey-boy here? How about I shoot you a couple of times and then you say that to my face?"
Lonán held his hands up and stopped to look at her. "Look, Gwenonwyn, I meant no disrespect–"
"Like hell you didn't!"
"Gwenonwyn–"
"If Radha hadn't told me to go with you assholes to the capital, I'd stomp off now! You're a real jerk!" Elspeth shouted, blinking away the burning in her eyes. This wasn't the person she'd written him as! He was supposed to fall madly in love with her at the first sight and begin to hate Finlay! He wasn't supposed to side with the idiot!
"Aw, come on, Wyn, he di–" Finlay said cheerfully.
"And don't call me that!" Elspeth hissed, pointing a warning finger at Finlay. A lick of flame appeared at the end of her finger and shot at Finlay, catching in his hat and starting a small fire in the straw.
Finlay immediately screamed like a girl and started jumping around like a chicken with its head cut off. Lonán hurried over to help his friend while Elspeth was left staring at her finger in amazement. She'd forgotten that Gwenonwyn was an Elemental of Fire.
"Gwenonwyn!" Lonán snapped. "Put it out!"
Elspeth looked up, startled. "Huh?" she said, then saw that the hat that she'd set on fire was still burning, despite the water they'd poured on it. "Why's it doing that?" she asked dumbly.
"Because it's an element controlled by you! You set the Fire, only you can put it out!" Lonán snapped in return.
Elspeth's eyes widened. But... "I don't know how to control it!"
"You idiot!"
"DON'T CALL ME AN IDIOT!"
The fire grew so big that it completely consumed the hat, then went out completely, as Elspeth was left panting.
Lonán and Finlay turned to stare at her, the latter with tears in his eyes over the loss of his precious hat. Elspeth stared back at them, torn between shooting them both and stomping off, or bursting into tears on the ground.
Finlay sniffled, breaking the silent staring match, and looked down at the pile of ashes on the ground. "My hat..."
"You're lucky it wasn't your head," Lonán snapped, then narrowed his eyes at Elspeth. "Why don't you know how to control your Fire? Didn't your parents teach you?"
Elspeth wracked her tired brains for a plausible answer, but found nothing, so simply shook her head, but that made the world spin. Closing her eyes, she decided that the best idea would be sitting down, so did so. Having gotten that far down, she wondered if laying down wouldn't be the better option, but her pack was in the way.
"Gwenonwyn?" Lonán's voice called from nearby.
Elspeth blinked her eyes open and found Lonán standing directly in front of her, a concerned look on his face, with the world around him spinning. "Please tell the world to stop turning?" she requested, then passed out.
"Shit," Lonán hissed, grabbing her and lowering her to the ground before she hit her head really hard.
"Lonán, make her bring my hat back," Finlay whined.
Lonán groaned. What the hell was he supposed to do with this passed out girl and his idiot of a friend? He looked around and saw a clearing that looked reasonable to spend the night in. "Thank Radha," he whispered, then turned to the tearful Finlay. "We're camping over there for the night. Help me carry Gwenonwyn."
"Why? Can't she walk on her own?" Finlay replied, looking angry.
"No, Finlay," Lonán said tiredly. "She's fainted. "Let's get her off the trail and onto a bed roll."
"What about my hat?" Finlay asked, even as he helped Lonán lift Elspeth's sleeping form.
"I'll buy you a new one in E'Fal."
"But..."
"Finlay."
"Oh, okay."
"Thank you, Finlay."
"Bet you've never had Elemental powers before, have you? Don't you wish you were me?"
Elspeth gave Gwenonwyn a dirty look. "No, I don't particularly wish I were you, actually. Do I have to put up with you every time I sleep?"
"Yes," Gwenonwyn happily informed her, sitting on the ground next to Elspeth with great care. "Which one is the one who thinks he can kill my father? The idiot? Why didn't you just set his face on fire instead?"
Elspeth offered her a dry look. "How can I set him on fire if I can't control the fire?"
"Oh."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you deserved Finlay."
Gwenonwyn narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me? I what now? Deserve him?"
"Yeah. You use your brain on about the same level. But I think he's too active for you, you'd never keep up."
"I never!"
Elspeth sighed. "Look. I can't kill Finlay, Radha didn't tell me to. She just wants me to keep him from killing your dad and keep your dad from destroying your world. Let's call a truce."
Gwenonwyn shook her head. "What do you mean, Father destroying the world? He's trying to make it great!"
"Even the best of intentions can go completely awry, Gwenonwyn. A man from my world – yes I know you don't think I'm from another world, let me finish what I'm saying – a man from my world decided one day that the reparations that his country had to pay for a previous war were too much and he blamed it all on the people who were different from him. He decided to build a great world, where only people like him – white-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed people – existed. So he rounded up all those other people, put them into little camps and slowly killed them off. It was horrible, but it was what he thought was best. Was it right? No."
Gwenonwyn shook her head, completely enthralled with the tale. "What happened to him?"
"He killed himself when it became clear that he'd lost the war he'd started and was going to be killed anyway."
"His army must not have been very good," Gwenonwyn declared.
"His army was very good for the time during which it existed," Elspeth replied. "But he'd stretched it thin over a lot of land, and there was a bigger, better army that had once been his ally, but no longer was, just behind him." Elspeth shook her head. "There's always someone out there who's better, who has a bigger sword."
Gwenonwyn huffed. "That's nonsense. No one is better than Father."
Elspeth shook her head and decided that the other wasn't going to listen to reason, so said, "How the hell do I control the Fire?"
Gwenonwyn scowled. "I don't remember. Something about concentrating on it I think. Mother's been dead for a long time, and it's not like there was someone else around who could teach me."
"Gee, aren't you useful," Elspeth said sarcastically.
"Of course I am," Gwenonwyn said highly. "I am the Lady Gwenonwyn Keeva Lasair Kerry, daughter of Lord Cat–"
But Gwenonwyn and the world of nothing disappeared, and Elspeth woke up.
Elspeth groaned as she sat up. "Holy shit, my head hurts."
"Do the Gods poop, then?" Finlay asked innocently. Next to him, Lonán started laughing around his rabbit meat.
Elspeth huffed. "Of course they do, where do you think all that dirt came from?"
Finlay's eyes went wide and he picked his feet up off the ground and onto the rock he was sitting on, which overbalanced him and he fell on his back with a loud 'thunk'. "Ouch!"
"You're too easy," Elspeth commented, then slowly stood, holding her head.
Lonán helped Finlay back onto his rock and said, "Are you feeling better, now?"
Elspeth shot him a dark look. "Perhaps. How long was I out for?"
"A fair few hours," Lonán replied, motioning to the dark sky above them. It had been just after midday when they started arguing. Then he gave her a piercing look. "I'm not sorry, by the way. You're an idiot for not knowing how to control your Fire."
Elspeth gritted her teeth. "Excuse me, your Lordship, but my mother was the only Elemental I've ever known and she died when I was a little girl. I'm sorry I don't remember much of what she taught me. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to empty my bladder." So saying, she turned and stalked off into the forest, ignoring the pounding in her head so she could revel in her fury. The nerve of that man!
Finlay looked up at Lonán from his careful perusal of the God's Poop. "She's as bad off as we are, isn't she?"
"Sounds like," Lonán agreed tiredly, then gave his friend a strange look. "Finlay, please don't kiss the dirt like that."
"But, Lonán, it's God's Poop! It should be revered!" So saying, Finlay returned to kissing the ground and getting dirt all over his face.
"Finlay, Gwenonwyn was kidding."
"How do you know that?" Finlay asked suspiciously.
Lonán gave Finlay a dry look. "Because poop, you idiot, smells. The ground doesn't."
"Maybe the Gods made their Poop smell good. Never thought of that, did you? Ha!"
Lonán hid his face in his hands.
The rest of their trip to E'Fal was much the same as the first day. Elspeth found great pleasure in telling Finlay all sorts of ridiculous tall-tales while Lonán ignored them both and tried to tell Finlay what wasn't the truth at night, while Elspeth was otherwise occupied. Elspeth also started practising her Fire every night, with the occasional input from Gwenonwyn when she slept. Gwenonwyn was still firmly of the belief that Elspeth was not, in fact, of another world, and she often told Elspeth off for not just killing Finlay and getting it over with. Elspeth had given up reminding her that Radha had sent her, and she wasn't just here for fun.
All told, it took about four and a half days for them to reach E'Fal. By then, Finlay decided that pretty much everything Elspeth said was the gospel truth about the world – much to her amusement and Lonán's distress – Lonán was wondering why he'd agreed to go with the girl to the capital, and Elspeth was damn-close to killing for a bath and some food that was actually cooked and not rabbit.
E'Fal was a sight for sore – and in the case of Finlay, amazed – eyes. It was like a picture out of a history book. Rows of houses with store signs hanging in front of some and stalls along the dirt road. Men and women were shouting their ware and prices while potential buyers haggled prices and children and animals got under foot. There were fresh foods, clothing, livestock and various toys for children available. It was small, with a population of just over one hundred people, but it was a fair sight better than the empty forest.
Lonán saw the town as a chance to get Finlay away from Elspeth's lies. Finlay saw it as an amazing, huge, bustling place that couldn't possibly exist. Elspeth was kinda bored with the whole place – it looked a little backwater to her – but it was the closest thing to home she'd seen yet, so she enjoyed the bustle of the town.
Lonán cleared his throat, calling the attention of the other two to him. "We need to find an inn, then stock up on supplies. I don't want to spend more than a day here – we all have business further up the road."
"How about we find the inn," Elspeth suggested, "then pool our money and figure out what all we need. Then we'll be better able to haggle prices."
"I agree with Wyn," Finlay immediately put in, still star-struck by the town, as well as Elspeth's apparent knowledge of everything.
For once, even Lonán had to admit that Elspeth had a good idea, and it helped that Elspeth twitched every time Finlay called her 'Wyn', which she'd given up on correcting after the third day, when Lonán had pointed out that, if he couldn't get Finlay to disbelieve her lies, then what made her think she could get the idiot to stop calling her a nickname. Anyway, her real name was rather long.
Lonán shook his thoughts from his head. "Good plan, I suppose. Let's keep our eyes peeled for an inn, then."
By that, he also meant to keep their eyes on the easily distracted Finlay, who they took turns grabbing a hold of when he went to look at a stall. They finally found the inn at the other end of the town, but the prices were pretty high.
"Seven full copper for a night? And that's just for one room!" Lonán exclaimed helplessly. "Now what?"
Elspeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud–"
"Isn't that what it's called when you pray loudly?" Finlay commented, quoting her explanation of the phrase from when he'd questioned it one evening.
Elspeth ignored him and pulled out her purse, which had all the money Bonnie had originally stolen, since the girl hadn't needed any of it. "I have the money, I'll pay for the rooms. Move," she ordered Lonán, who was staring at her in shock. He moved after a moment and she stalked into the inn, Finlay following her like a happy puppy. "Two rooms for one night, please," she requested of the woman behind the counter built in to the back of the room.
"One silver, four full copper," the woman intoned without looking up.
Elspeth pulled out one gold piece and slid it across the table. "Is it extra to have a bath drawn in one of the rooms later?" she asked before she'd let the woman take the money.
The woman finally looked up at her. She took in Elspeth's dirt-covered appearance and obvious rags, then the two just as dirty men behind her and sighed. "It's an extra three half copper, but I'll throw it in free for you this once; you look like you need it. Do they want one too?" Both men blinked, looked at each other, then shrugged and shook their heads.
Elspeth rolled her eyes at them, then smiled faintly at the other woman. "You're too kind," she said easily, then let her take the money.
The woman did some quick counting and handed Elspeth back eight silver pieces, six full copper pieces and two heavy brass keys. "Leave these here with me when you go out. The room numbers are written on the keys – you do know how to read, right?" Elspeth and Lonán nodded while Finlay shook his head with a frown. "Fine. I'll have a bath drawn in room 10. When do you want it?"
"We'll be going back out to do some shopping after we put our things up," Elspeth replied. "Maybe draw it ten minutes or so after we've left? If it's cold when we return that's fine."
The woman smiled in understanding. "I'll let them know."
"Thank you," Elspeth said honestly, then turned and handed Lonán the key for room 11. "Let's head up. I'll put my things away, then come over to your room."
"Right," Lonán agreed dumbly, then grabbed Finlay's shoulder and led him up the stairs next to the desk and down the hall to the room they'd been given. "I still can't believe she would so casually throw about a whole gold piece," he muttered to himself while opening the door.
"She's amazing," Finlay crooned.
"You're a star-struck idiot," Lonán retorted, then pulled off his pack and laid down on one of the beds. "Ah, whatever. This place is worth seven full coppers a night. I wish my bed was always this soft..."
Finlay plopped down on the other bed, an amazed look on his face. "It is soft. What is it?"
"The feathers from the wings of angels," Elspeth gleefully informed him before Lonán could speak. "The Gods send them down to us mortals when the angels moult so the privileged have something worthy of their high stations to sleep on at night. I hear that all the beds in Castle Kerry are made with angel feathers, in fact."
Finlay looked at Lonán with huge eyes. "I want an angel feather bed in my home."
Lonán groaned and covered his eyes. "Sure thing, Finlay. Whatever you want."
Elspeth snickered to herself while Finlay rubbed his face happily against the mattress sheets. Really, she knew, it was just chicken feathers, but it really was too much fun to mess with Finlay's head; he was too easy.
Lonán lowered his hand and gave Elspeth a sharp look. "How did you get so much money? A gold piece is nothing to wave about so casually. Please tell me you didn't steal it from some minor Land Lord."
Elspeth huffed. "What do you take me for. No, my mother was a member of the Dúil Royal Court before she ran away across the border and was saved from some bears by my father," she said, making a large portion of it up as she went. She really wished there's been silver in that purse Bonnie had stolen. "She'd fled with a purse of money and some fine dresses, which she saved, then left to my sister and I when she died. My sister took the dresses to sell in Abathal, since their coin is different, and I kept the coins so I could find a place to stay in the capital before finding my future husband. Any other questions?" She folded her arms over her chest and scowled at the nosey Lonán.
"Yeah, actually," Lonán shot back. "How much have you got in that little purse?"
"Can I touch a gold piece?" Finlay asked, bouncing slightly on the bed. "I've never even seen one before."
Elspeth sighed. "I have four gold pieces left," she lied, pulling one out and letting Finlay examine it. After their surprise earlier, she'd hidden most of the money in her bags and decided to try and find another purse or two to hide it in while they were out shopping, so it wasn't floating about freely in her food sack. "No, Finlay, don't put it in your mouth. You don't know where it's been," she said, taking the gold piece back before Finlay could lick it.
"Where does gold come from?" Finlay asked, looking trusting.
"The ground," Elspeth replied warily. "They dig it out of mountains and sometimes find it in riverbeds. Same place copper and silver comes from." She saw the surprised look on Lonán's face and snapped, "What?"
Lonán shrugged, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "I'm always surprised when you don't make things up, that's all."
Finlay scowled at his best friend. "She doesn't make stuff up!"
Elspeth snorted to herself. "He's always been this bad?" she asked Lonán.
"Always," Lonán assured her. "Now stop it."
Elspeth smirked, then changed the subject by saying, "So, what all do we need to pick up, anyway?"
"A new hat," Finlay demanded.
Lonán sighed. "Yes, Finlay." At Elspeth's questioning look, he said, "I promised him a new one after you destroyed his last one."
"Oh." Elspeth shrugged. "I'll buy it for him. You just pick one out, Finlay."
"Will you buy it with a gold piece?" Finlay asked gleefully.
"Finlay, most people don't have change for gold pieces," Lonán said tiredly. "So, we need a hat for Finlay. Some salted food would be good for the road, since it will take us about a fortnight to get to Halone. And that's only if the weather's fair, the boats are running on time at the riverside and we don't get attacked by bandits somewhere along the road. There should be a couple of small villages along the road, but there's no guarantee they'll have food to offer, let alone be hospitable to strangers. Anything else you can think of that we'll need, Gwenonwyn."
Elspeth blinked. "Well, I want to get another set of clothing. I may also look at pack horses or donkeys or something of the kind, so we have a bit more freedom of movement in case we are attacked. That much food is sure to be heavy."
"Ah, but are you really willing to spend so much? I hear that costs of homes are high in the capital," Lonán commented, sounding faintly concerned.
Elspeth shrugged. "Ah... Maybe?" She sighed and shook her head. "Isn't it better to have a chance to defend ourselves and the money on the road, rather than lose all of it on account of our being weighed down by all our things?"
"It's your money," Lonán said by way of response. "Do with it as you will."
Elspeth huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine. How many coins do you have between you?"
"Eight full copper, three half," Lonán shot back. "Tell you what, give me two silvers and I can get all the food we'll need for a fortnight. You can take Finlay to find a hat and some clothing for yourself. Well you're at it, feel free to look at animals to your heart's content."
"You two bicker like you're married sometimes," Finlay commented innocently.
Elspeth felt her face go red and bowed her head so her hair covered at least part of it. No matter how rude Lonán was, he was still handsome. Without looking up, she pulled out two silvers and set them down on the bed next to Lonán. "Here, take your two silvers! Come on, Finlay. Let's get you a nice hat." Then she turned and stalked from the room.
Lonán blinked down at the coins, surprised in the girl's sudden exit. "Huh. Women are so strange."
Finlay grinned. "I think she likes you," he whispered, then hopped up and skipped after Elspeth, calling, "Wait! Wyn, I want to play with the horses with you!"
Lonán shook his head after his friend and stood to go out and do his own shopping, considering the road ahead with his two companions as he went.
Finlay... He had to find some way to get finlay to give up on this insane quest to kill Lord Kerry. Besides the fact that it would mean both their deaths, he doubted it would do anything but give Kerry more reason to take over more places; so there would be less attempts on his life. Lords didn't think like normal folk, after all, and Kerry wasn't very likely to let an attempt on his life go, pointless as it was.
Then there was Gwenonwyn, who Finlay had developed an unhealthy attraction to in the form of his belief of her every word. Lonán knew that Gwenonwyn did it simply to amuse herself – Finlay made it way too easy – but it was a little cruel, since Finlay didn't know any better. On the other hand, perhaps Radha had put them together for this very reason; if Finlay fell for Gwenonwyn, perhaps he would see the sense in not fighting Kerry, since he had something to live for. On the other hand, she may very weel prove to be all the more of a reason for him to fight Kerry, since he would want her to live in a free world. On the other hand, perhaps Lonán could speak to Gwenonwyn, and see if she couldn't tell Finlay all about how it was a bad idea to kill Kerry because of something totally random that only she could pull out of thin air.
But other than her potential to keep Finlay alive and out of the castle, he did have a small problem in knowing whether or not he could trust her. If Radha had, in fact, brought them together, then she was probably trustworthy, but she was also such a wild card. She carried a bow, but no close-range weapon. She was an Elemntal of Fire, but couldn't control it. She had been carrying around five gold and seemed to wave it around as if it was nothing. He also wasn't sure that her story matched up. Why would anyone keep five gold locked up when they could have been using it to buy food? And her sister and she had different coloured skins, from what little he remembered of seeing the other girl. The question also came of why the two girls hadn't been travelling with two horses – they'd had the money – or an escort previously; it was rather unusual to see two girls travelling with only each other for company.
There was just something that rubbed Lonán wrong about Gwenonwyn, and while he wasn't sure he wanted it, he had a long time to find out what that something was.
Elspeth managed to find a nicer dress than the one she was currently wearing, as well as another pair of second-hand sandals that fit her a little better than the ones she had. She managed to talk Finlay into getting a hat that didn't look quite as ratty as the old one did and was black instead of the straw colour of his last one. It also has a cute little green stone on the front, so she was willing to pay an extra half copper for it, especially since it only cost three full coppers without the stone. While looking at the hats, she found a couple of little money pouches and bought two, as well as a cute little hat with a wide brim to keep the sun out of her eyes. Gwenonwyn had been complaining about how much sunlight her delicate skin was getting, so Elspeth hoped the hat would shut her up.
On the way to the animal stall, they passed a stall that stood outside the blacksmith's dwelling and had a few weapons for sale, and Finlay was immediately drawn to it. The vendor, most likely the blacksmith himself, asked to see Finlay's sword, then tutted at it. At Finlay's scandalized look, he said, "It's not that it's a bad sword, son, it's just that it's an old sword, and better off in a display case somewhere. But that's not a fighting sword, not anymore."
Finlay looked crestfallen, so Elspeth sighed and said, "We're on a long trip, do you have a sword that we could buy for him? That's not to say you have to get rid of your grandfather's sword, Finlay!" she exclaimed, seeing tears in his eyes. "I just think it would be best if you can actually defend yourself on the road. You heard Lonán warn us about the bandits."
Finlay sniffed. "I kn-know. Bu-but it's spe-special."
"And it always will be," Elspeth said, wondering how Lonán had managed to put up with the stupid cry baby for so long. "But sometimes you have to move on, and this is one of those times. You can keep the sword, but I want you to get one you can actually use. Think of it as, ah, keeping your grandfather's sword in top condition, right?"
Finlay sniffled again and wiped his eyes and nose on his sleeve. "Okay, Wyn." Elspeth rolled her eyes at the name, but didn't say anything. "Okay, sir, what have you in the way of good swords?"
"I've got the lot, son. Come look at these long swords over here, I think they'll fit you the best..." the vendor said, drawing Finlay off to the side a bit.
A girl who must have been the vendor's daughter poked her head up from under the table and gave Elspeth a toothy smile. "Wooooow... I never see'd a grow'd man cry like that befow."
"Finlay's not grown, yet," Elspeth commented distractedly as she kept an eye on the two men. "He's still very much a child at heart, and I'm afraid he'll always be." She sighed.
"Are you his mama?"
Elspeth looked at the girl, wide-eyed for a long moment before bursting out in laughter. "Oh, goodness me, no! No, child, Finlay and I are just friends, companions.”
A woman poked her head out of the house behind the stall and scowled. “Aíbell! You leave that young miss alone!”
“Oh, no, madam,” Elspeth called. “She’s fine, really.”
The woman humphed and went back inside after a last warning glance at the child, Aíbell. Aíbell looked up at Elspeth with the same big grin as before. "Thank you, big miss."
Elspeth winked. "No problem, little miss."
They both giggled as the vendor and Finlay came back over with a silver sword. "Ah," said the vendor, "Aíbell, if Nessa catches you out here she'll tan your hide."
"She already did, Papa. But the missy told her I were been good, sos I didn't get yelled at too bad," Aíbell said with an angelic look on her face.
The vendor sighed and gave Elspeth a smile. "Thank you, then. Were you wanting a sword too?"
"Ah, no. I use a bow, but thank you."
"What about when they get too close for a bow, miss?" the vendor asked, brow furrowed.
Elspeth blinked a few times, then looked questioningly at Finlay. "Does Lonán have a sword?"
"A small one," Finlay replied with a smile. "You should have one, too!"
"I don't know how to use one, though..."
"I can teach you!" Finlay declared, puffing his chest out and looking manly.
Aíbell giggled and Elspeth turned to the vendor with a smile. "Very well, what do you suggest, sir?"
"Hmmm... For a fragile one like you, miss, I have a very light short sword in the back. If you'll wait here I'll get it for you." Elspeth nodded, so her set Finlay's sword down and went back into the house. Aíbell glanced up at Elspeth and Finlay, then started giggling again. Finlay looked quite proud of himself and Elspeth rolled her eyes.
The vendor came back out with a sword that was a little shorter at Finlay's new sword, but not quite as short as Elspeth thought something called a 'short sword' would be. It had the faintest purple cast to the hilt, which was rather plain, but all the prettier for it, in Elspeth's eyes. When he handed it over, she found it to be incredibly light, compared to Finlay's grandfather's sword, which he'd let her hold once on the road.
Finlay nodded, as if he knew swords better than he did. "It's a fine match."
Elspeth rolled her eyes in amusement and nodded. "So, how much will all this be?"
"Well, two silver for the young man's, and one silver for yours, miss."
Elspeth caught sight of Finlay's large eyes out of the corner of her eye and sighed. "Do you, perchance, have change for a gold piece?"
"Yes, I believe so. Is that all you have, then?" the vendor asked carefully.
"No, no," Elspeth replied. "But he wants me to use a gold piece, particularly on something for him, and I figured that if anyone had change for a gold piece, it would be a blacksmith."
"A fair call, miss," the vendor agreed, then pulled out a coin purse and pulled out seven silver. Elspeth traded one of her gold pieces for the silver and watched Finlay hook his sword onto his belt. She didn't have a belt, however, so was left blinking down at the sword.
"Ah," said the vendor knowingly. "Aíbell, could you get me one of the braided belts in my workroom? I think the miss requires it. Three half copper," he added to Elspeth, as Aíbell hurried off into the house.
"Thank you," Elspeth replied gratefully, handing over a full copper. "I, honestly, didn't even consider a belt until just now."
"That's a fine thing, miss, as you use a bow, though it's good to have a place to hang your purse that doesn't hold your quiver down. Ah, here we are." He took the belt from his daughter and handed it over to Elspeth with her half copper change.
"Thank you," Elspeth said, putting the coin away. She put the belt on, then tried to figure out how to attach the sword, with Finlay snickering unhelpfully in the background. Aíbell finally ducked around the stall and hurried over to help Elspeth with attaching it. Once the sword was safely on the belt, Elspeth thanked Aíbell, slipped her the half copper she'd just gotten as change with a wink, and led a still snickering Finlay off to the animal stall.
The animal vendor had horses, ponies, mules, donkeys, sheep and one pig. Finlay was immediately enthralled by what Elspeth thought was a mule, and ran over cooing, "Pony!"
Elspeth rolled her eyes at the other, then forced a smile through the stench around her. "Sir?" she said to the vendor.
The man looked down at her with a dark eye. "What do you want, girl?"
"Uhm, I was hoping to get something that could carry our packs on a long journey," Elspeth said, unsure of how to respond to the hostile return of her greeting.
"These animals are quality stock, and you want to use one as a beast of burden?" the man almost snarled in her face.
"Err..." Elspeth swallowed, then stood up straight and looked the man in the eye. "Yes, sir."
The man's lips twitched. "Fine," he grunted. "What all will you be putting on my animal?"
"Three bed rolls, food enough for a fortnight, a sword and a few odds and ends."
The man huffed, then nodded. "Will you be riding it at any time?"
"I don't plan to, and neither do the other two. Something could always come up that requires one of us from walking, I suppose, but we don't plan on it," Elspeth replied, then happened to see Finlay poking at the mule's rear that he'd found and called, "Finlay, leave that animal alone and come back over here!"
"But, pony!" Finlay replied, giving Elspeth a look filled with pleading.
"It's not a pony and it doesn't like you pestering it. Come. Here," Elspeth ordered. Finlay came back over with a pitiful look on his face. "You're lucky that mule didn't bite you, idiot. Now, stay with me."
"Yes, Wyn," Finlay muttered.
Elspeth sighed and returned her attention to the vendor, only to find that he had a smile on his face. "I didn't take you as a farm-type, girl."
"I-I'm not," Elspeth stuttered, surprised.
"But you can tell the different between a mule and its parents?"
Elspeth blinked and wondered how to explain that all she learned came from a book on horses she'd read in elementary school to the man that wouldn't make her sound insane. "Ah.... My father taught me," she lied. "He grew up on a farm."
"Good man, then," the vendor declared. "Can you care for an animal?"
"Uhm," Elspeth closed her eyes and tried to remember what the book had said. "Well, they all pretty much eat grass, right, so they can probably graze both on the road and when we stop for the night. Brush them pretty regularly to keep their fur, tail and mane nice. And, ah, if you can, I guess, bathe them after a workout? I don't know how much bathing we can do on the road..." She opened her eyes and found Finlay looking at her like she was Radha herself come down from the heavens.
The vendor's smile had only gotten bigger. "Yes, I think I you'll be fine. A donkey should treat you best, considering your needs. I'll give you a brush, a lead, a small container for water that he can drink out of and a holder for your packs. Will that be sufficient?"
"I– Yes, that will be just fine. How much?" Elspeth said, surprised with his sudden willingness, just because she'd read a book as a child.
"Six silver," the man declared. "And it's not going any cheaper just because you....know... Oh," he said as Elspeth held out a gold piece to him with a cheeky smile. "Right, I'm sure I have change for that somewhere..."
"No, here," Elspeth said, putting the gold piece back and pulling out the change from the swords. "I apologize, I just had to see the look on your face."
The vendor chuckled and took the money. "Yes, little lady. Well played. Come, I'll introduce you to Sulien."
He brought the two travellers to a sun-coloured donkey, who gave Finlay one look and snapped his teeth in the man's general direction, earning an 'eep' from Finlay. Elspeth grinned and commented, "That means, 'I saw what you did to the mule, don't you dare start poking at my butt, or I'll bite your hand off'."
Finlay ducked behind Elspeth and whimpered.
The highly amused vendor unhooked Sulien's lead from the pole it was attached to and handed it over the Elspeth, who gave the donkey a wary look. Now that she had a testy animal, she wasn't quite so sure about this. Joking about it to Finlay and actually having to handle the animal itself were two different things.
The donkey huffed at her, shook its head, then walked closer and sniffed her crotch. And then Sulien rubbed against her and seemed perfectly happy being her new best friend.
Made bolder by Elspeth's ease with the new donkey, Finlay reached out to pet it, and had to dodge a couple of kicking back legs. The donkey shot him a warning bray and butted against Elspeth, as if to say, 'Tell him to go away.'
Elspeth hid a smile behind her hand and said, "I'm sorry, Finlay, but I don't think he likes you."
"I'm surprised he's so easy with you, little lady," the vendor commented, pulling out the rest of the promised gear. "Sulien is notoriously difficult to handle. Even I've had trouble with him."
"Eh, maybe he likes me because I'm female?" Elspeth half questioned, half suggested, recalling how the donkey had sniffed her crotch.
"Hm. Possible. Never had him near a girl before." The vendor brought the bag holder, the water bin and the brush over. "Alright, let's teach you how to hitch this," he commented, getting down on his knees. Elspeth joined him and, together, they latched the holder in place. Then he gave her a crash course in unhooking the holder, and it how to pack the donkey up with their bags, deftly dodging teeth the whole time. Sulien only nipped at Elspeth once, and that was because she'd accidentally pinched him while re-hooking the holder.
"Where are you lot staying, then? The inn?" the vendor asked, once he'd deemed Elspeth's ability with the donkey sufficient.
"Ah, yes, we are," Elspeth agreed.
"Alright, they got a small stable in the back, then. It shouldn't be full, since we haven't been getting a lot of people through lately, but if it is, come back out here and I can pen him with the others for the night."
"Okay, thanks!" Elspeth replied, then led Sulien back towards the inn. Finlay started out following, but after being almost kicked in the ribs twice, he jogged up to Elspeth's other side and walked next to her, occasionally shooting the donkey dirty looks around her.
Lonán was waiting for them at the door to the inn. "Took you long enou– is that a new sword, Finlay?"
"Yup! Wyn got me a new sword, 'cause the sword man said I needed a new one. Grandfather's is on the back of the meanie. And Wyn got a sword too!" Finlay said, happily showing off his new sword.
"Why is he calling the donkey a meanie?" Lonán asked, holding out a hand for Elspeth's sword.
Sulien saw the hand reaching towards his girl and promptly jerked forward to bite it off. The hand pulled back and he brayed, "Mine, not yours. Hooves off."
Elspeth snickered at the shocked look on Lonán's face. "That's why," she said as Finlay started laughing too. "I'm the only one he likes."
Lonán gave her a dirty look. "It figures. May I see your sword?"
Elspeth shrugged and handed it over with the belt still attached. "Sure. Hey, Finlay, could you go in and ask about the stables?"
"Yup!" Finlay agreed, then practically bounced into the hotel.
"Good sword," Lonán said, handing it back carefully. As Elspeth took it and put it back on, he added, "Thanks for getting him a nicer hat. That old one was ridiculous."
Elspeth smirked. "I noticed. How'd you put up with it for so long?"
"Closed my eyes whenever I had to look his way," Lonán joked back as Finlay came out with the lady who'd been behind the counter.
"Awww, aren't you a sweetheart," the lady said, scratching behind Sulien's ears with no trouble. The two men glared at the donkey while Elspeth snickered. "Alright, let's get this cute boy into a stall and settled in for the night," she said, waving the group around back, "and then you can take your bath, miss, and mayhap get a meal or two set up?"
"Oh, yes please," Elspeth almost begged. No poorly-cooked rabbit? Count her in!
"Gwenonwyn," Lonán murmured warningly.
Sulien didn't like the male's tone and kicked at him warningly.
Elspeth smiled pleasantly over her shoulder at Lonán, who was busy scowling at the donkey. "Yes, Lonán?"
"I got enough food for us to eat tonight as well," he said, eyeing the donkey's hind legs even as he was put into a stall.
"Yes, but I would like one good meal before being forced to eat what you got, if you don't mind. You two can munch on trail food to your hearts' content. I will be having a proper meal," Elspeth replied, sticking her nose in the air in an imitation of the real Gwenonwyn. Not that anyone else knew that.
"I wanna eat real food too," Finlay almost whined.
Lonán ground his teeth together, then said through them, "Fine. We'll have a meal here tonight. But I don't want to hear a single complaint tomorrow, all right?"
"Okay!" Elspeth said cheerfully. Next to her, Finlay nodded happily.
"Well then, let the miss get her bath," the woman who worked at the inn said, "and then you lot come on down and we'll set you up with some good food."
"Sounds wonderful," Elspeth said, then led the way back into the hotel, quite looking forward to her bath.
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Summary & Character Info
Incomplete
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