Lorcan: Dragonquest

Chapter 12

Author's note: The land our heroes are traveling through is called "Antica." Beso usually speaks a language called Pahlavi, the tongue of his Zanjifrahni people (he's from Zanjifrah. We will get there eventually but it's about a thousand miles away at this point in the story.) He's not that great at languages and relies on Henorm and on Heshbon to help out in that regard. As Lorcan becomes more proficient in the languages of the lands he passes through that Beso also knows, their ability to communicate with each other draws them closer together and they become great friends. At this stage in the story, neither is sure of how much longer they are going to be traveling together. Lorcan has a lot of options right now in terms of what to do next. 

The theme of being different, sticking out like a sore thumb, is a major one throughout this book. It's why I make such a big deal about where people come from and which languages they speak. Slavery is another topic that comes up over and over again; I'd be interested to learn how readers feel about the way I handle this.

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"This is a fine place," Cokelli declared as he and Lorcan entered the courtyard of a luridly painted building with a tiled roof.

People were dotted around the front and sides, seated upright at tables eating, drinking, and chatting animatedly. People were leaning over the rails of balconies to shout to people on the ground. The building was four stories high and bursting with life. Flowers streamed in wild profusion from hanging baskets strung up from the balcony rails, their colors competing with the ubiquitous mosaics and frescoes. There wasn't a square inch of wall or floor that wasn't decorated in some way, as if the owner had too many good ideas and decided to go with all of them. The phrase "less is more" had evidently not been heard of here. Inside was a bit cooler. Serving staff milled around serving dishes of yellowish strings half-drowned in a greenish paste and topped with pine nuts and finely grated cheese, plates of roasted meat with bread and cheese, and bowls of vegetable stews and pottages. The smell of garlic lingered in the air but Lorcan and Cokelli were used to it now.

A serving-maid led them to the back of the building where the stables were, and the men handed over their mounts to the stable-hands. After they had unloaded their baggage, each of them carried their bags into the inn, where the maid led them upstairs to a clean whitewashed room with two sacks of straw on the floor. Bags of old rags in layers made up the pillows (one on each bed) and the mattresses had a sheet on which to sleep, a top sheet, and a woolen blanket, over which was a simple coverlet. At the side, about two feet away from the beds, against the wall, was a large plain box just over knee height. Beside it was a small high table at waist height. A long strip of wood was nailed to the wall above the boxes; wooden knobs about six inches long stuck out at intervals. A moment later, the maid returned with a basin and a large jug of water and put them on the high table. As she left, the landlord arrived.

Lorcan agreed a price for two nights with him in broken Antican, which he had picked up during the journey, then paid upfront. He washed, shaved, and changed his clothes.

As Cokelli went out to arrange for their travel-worn clothes to be laundered, Lorcan went down into the main hall. The room was full of oblong wooden tables with benches on each side and stools at each end. A second look showed that the tables usually seated six people, but some had been pushed together to seat larger parties. At capacity, the room could hold a hundred people. An extension was effected via a striped canvas cloth stretched over two wooden poles that stuck out by a man-length.

People were seated outside, watching the world go by as they ate. It was already hot, and despite his wash and change of clothes, Lorcan's woolen tunic was already sticking to his itchy skin. It occurred to him at this point that the Antici, as they called themselves, were better off in their lighter fabrics. He and Cokelli could go to the markets later on and spend their earnings on new clothes.