Wayfarer (Wanderlust 2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

They all slept in the next morning, despite Jale's insistence that they couldn't waste time. They made up for it by moving on quickly once they were awake. For the most part, travelling along the outcrop was easy. The rocky ground was icy, but there were far fewer bushes and trees to move around. They made good time, and just after midday they had reached the end of the valley. A relatively gentle slope led back down towards the road. They travelled a few more hours before settling down for the night.

The next few days passed by smoothly. The weather continued to warm up, drying out the road in some places and flooding it in others. Luckily, they never came across another flooded area as large as the first one, and they were all shallow enough to drive through.

Travelling was nice, but Tanden was relieved when they caught a glimpse of Morie Caro over the hills. The village meant the inn, which meant slightly more comfortable beds and some privacy.

They reached the village just as it was starting to get dark. Jale drove down the one road, and brought the kyloe to a stop in front of the inn. As they all climbed out of the Wayfarer, Tanden spoke up.

"Jale, I'll handle booking the rooms if you'd like to see to the kyloe."

She gave him a look he understood perfectly.

"Teltish Lord, country that doesn't care. I know. I'll be a perfect gentleman. I'll even order us some food."

Jale laughed. "All right. Good luck." She took the kyloe's reins and led them, and the carriage, down the side of the inn.

Tanden cast Soren a glance, then pushed open the door to the inn. It took a moment for the room to fall silent, and one by one everyone stopped eating to look over at them curiously.

"I guess they don't remember us," Soren whispered.

Tanden shrugged, and strolled across the room, determined to not let the stares bother him. At the bar, a young woman was wiping down plates. Tanden smiled when she turned around.

"Raserani!" He leaned against the bar. "Good evening. We would like to book two rooms for the night. Maybe two nights, I think we're due for a break."

The perplexed look on her face quickly shifted to recognition. "Is Jale here?"

"She's just getting our kyloe settled for the night," Tanden said. "She shouldn't be too long."

Sera immediately put aside the plate she was cleaning. "You have to talk to my father about the rooms. He's there." She waved at a burly man across the room, and in the same movement pulled a wide scarf from under the bar to wrap around her shoulders. She pushed through one of the doors behind her without another word.

"All right..." Tanden left Soren at the bar to quickly discuss payment with the innkeeper. By the time they had worked out the cost, Jale and Sera were standing with Soren. As Tanden joined them, he held up two keys with a grin. "See? I booked rooms, no problem."

Jale plucked one out of his hand and slipped it into a jacket pocket. She turned to Sera and switched to Tallenese. "His Tallenese is pretty good now, isn't it? I taught him."

Sera giggled. "He's definitely better. What about the other one?"

"Soren," Tanden said. Soren looked at him, but Tanden had been supplying Sera with his name, not trying to get his attention. "His name is Soren, I'm Tanden. And no, he doesn't speak Tallenese. Now, how about some food?"

The women exchanged a smile. "We have an idea," Jale said.

The idea was to take their food outside. Behind the inn there was a neat little yard, which ended with a sudden drop. A rickety wooden fence ran along the cliffside, which wouldn't do much to stop someone from falling over the edge. But they didn't get close to the edge. Soren helped Jale clear out a firepit and start the fire, while Sera went into the kitchen to get food. Tanden was given the task of laying blankets around the fire.