A Kindling Flame

Chapter 15

Espen plopped down at the only empty table in sight, his stomach rumbling. He swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth as he caught a whiff of a hot egg sandwich.

"Fancy a bite?" A fair skinned, honey eyed barmaid asked, stopping in her tracks back to what could be assumed to be the kitchen.

"Oh, please. Can I have...some potato soup? With chunks of bacon? And..." He paused, thinking. "An egg. Or two. I don't really care. Just something hot."

"Coming right on up." She flashed him a sly smile, before stalking off, flipping a lock of flaxen colored hair over her shoulder.

Espen watched her leave, sitting up a little higher in his seat. Leaning forward and propping his chin in his hands, he quietly surveyed the room, his eyes grazing over each person in sight. He heard snippets of conversation, and listened in as best he could, alas, he could only hear snippets of different talk.

"You shoulda seen that big ol' rabbit I caught last week! Why, it weighed nearly as much as my hound!"

"So anyhow, I slid up to the girl, gave her a real slow wink, and boom! She slapped me! Little lass nearly broke my nose!"

"Aye, did ye see that strange fellow that came in a few days ago? No? Huh. I'm shocked ye didn't. He was real odd, dressed head-to-toe in black. Didn't even come for a meal! Just slinked on up, real quiet like to the counter, and spoke with Frankie. Next-"

"Here's your food."

Espen looked up, startled, having turned his attention to the table as he listened into the conversation of a cobbler and his friends, this one seeming to have been the most interesting so far. "Ah. Thank you." He stammered, mustering up a smile as she slid a bowl of soup and a plate of two fried eggs in front of him.

"If you need anything else, just let one of us know." She flashed him another smile, before being whisked away.

Espen stared down at his bowl, the hunger that had plagued his stomach for the past several hours long forgotten. A mysterious figure, dressed in all black, here at this very inn just days ago? That couldn't be a coincidence. Could it?

Scarlet was in no way having nearly as much luck as Espen.

She shooed away the barmaid who had come to her table, not interested in any food. Slumping down in her seat, she pressed her back up against the wall and yanked her shawl a little farther over her face. Crossing her arms over her chest, she kept her eyes darting back and forth across the floor, always snapping her attention to the door whenever it swung open. The foolish guardsman had been correct- Frankies truly must be the most popular inn this side of Keldra. Just when Scarlet thought the room couldn't get any fuller, the door burst open, and another stampede of hungry travelers swooped in.

She growled softly to herself, letting her posture worsen and slumping a little further down. There was no way she'd be able to find any information this way. It just wasn't possible.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Espen, who was shoving through the crowd, his amber eyes round and desperate as he frantically whipped his head back and forth.

"Espen!" Scarlet hissed, sitting up straighter and a knot of worry starting to form in her stomach. "Espen, over here!"

Espen scrambled to her side, and practically fell into her lap as he scooted in beside her. "Scarlet! Gods, I didn't know where you had slunk off to." He gasped, shoulders sagging with relief.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, Espen. Now, I'm assuming that you were running like a drunk donkey looking for me for a reason, yes?" She replied, scooting away a smidge.

"Oh! Yeah. I nearly forgot." He chuckled awkwardly. He leaned closer, dropping his voice into a whisper. "I heard some people talking, while I was waiting for my soup. Apparently, there was some strange traveler here a few days ago. Apparently, he didn't stop for a meal, just went and talked with the owner." His eyes were shining with excitement and hope as he recited what he had heard. "The figure, I guess they did something else, too, but I don't know what. I couldn't catch it."

Scarlet cracked a very rare, very small smile. "You shoulda gone to work for a detective instead of me. Good work, lad. Very good work."

Espen grinned, bouncing up and down in his seat. "So? What now? Are we gonna go find him?"

"Not just yet. Let's stay in town a few more days, figure out what we can. Then we'll get on the road. Alright?"

"Fine." He sighed, his grin disappearing.

"Don't worry. We must be on the right track. We'll be heading back to Lentor with Lilith in tow within no time." She patted his shoulder sympathetically.

"I know, I try to keep telling myself that. It just feels like we'll be searching for her forever though. I mean, Antora's massive. Finding Lilith will be like finding a needle in a sea of haystacks." He shrugged, turning his attention down to his lap.

Scarlet's stomach calmed up, and she looked out at the inn, not sure what to say. Comforting another person...that wasn't in her skill set. Not yet, at least. "Erm...why don't we head up to the room? Try and get some sleep, if we can with this mess of barbarians beneath us."

"Alright." Espen pulled himself to his feet, and Scarlet followed suit.

The two wove their way back to the stairs, keeping weary eyes on the people around them. Espen led the way up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Scarlet, definitely not feeling as bold, trudged after him slowly, her hands shoved into the pockets of her trousers.

We'll find Lilith, and then we'll find Astral. Won't we? We're certainly close, aren't we?

She thought, a scowl coming across her features. She really, truly, wanted to find Lilith and Astral as fast as she could. Then, she'd have to head to Galex, to visit her father. Just the thought of traveling all the way there to visit her father, up in his scrawling mansion, made her sick to her stomach. Thank the gods she hadn't eaten yet, or the remains of any meal would most certainly end up on the floor. 

Espen pushed open the door, and flopped down face first onto the bed with a long, heavy sigh. "I'm exhausted." He murmured into the pillow as Scarlet shut the door with a soft click.

"You and me both." She agreed, plopping down on the floor next to the bed. She pulled her shawl off, and tossed it to the floor with a groan.

"You want the bed?" Espen asked groggily, turning his head towards her.

"Naw, you take it. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Ah, I'm glad you said that. Because there is no way I'll be getting up any time soon." He groaned, shoving his head face down into the pillow.

She chuckled, tugging off her boots with a grunt. Setting them down next to the nightstand, and climbed to her feet. She bent over the bed, and and snagged a spare pillow from Espen. "Gimme this, you big lug." She grumbled, shoving him towards the wall as she snagged it from him.

He groaned something incoherent in reply, pulling the thin sheet up to his chin. Scarlet shook her head, sinking to the floor and fluffing the limp pillow as she set it down. Tugging off her over tunic, she folded it up neatly under the pillow, and pulled her hair out of its bun. It tumbled down in long, wavy black locks down her back, reaching down nearly to her waist.

She yawned, massaging her scalp. She was more than ready for a nice, long nap, and to not wake up till late morning though. Alas, when she laid down, and rested her head down on her pillow, her thoughts kept her up long into the night.

Thoughts about Doctor Jael, Astral, and poor little Lilith swirled around her mind, keeping her mind sharp and her eyes wide open. When she did finally drift off to sleep, late into the hours of the night, her sleep was restless, plagued with the harsh thoughts of her past.