Sacred Mountain

Chapter 6: Wayside Inn

It had been a better day's travelling.

The sled had coped better with the snowy road and the shire horses were faster than their Frailing horses had been. The blizzard had stopped and allowed them to see some of Crosstain's scenery – mainly bleak rocky crags and vast snowy plains dotted occasionally with stunted, misshapen trees. But far in the distance, Annifer could see patches of forest which cheered her.

It felt good to stretch her legs after being stuck in the sled's confined interior for so long. Petros went off to stable the horses, leaving Annifer and Poppy to secure rooms for the night. As they opened the inn's heavy wooden door a warm fug enveloped them, smelling of beer, pipe-smoke and roast meat. The low hum of chatter stopped abruptly as the inn's patrons turned to eyeball the newcomers. Burly men in furs with long bushy beards huddled round wooden tables, nursing pewter mugs of ale and staring suspiciously through narrowed eyes. One thing Annifer had already learned about Crosstain's men was that they didn't like foreigners.

Annifer turned her eyes to the sawdust strewn floor to escape their scowls and went to sit by the fire and warm up. Poppy smoothed down her travelling cloak, cleared her throat and approached the only other woman in the place, a curly redhead with an angry glare and pursed lips. Annifer winced as she heard Poppy put on her best talking-to-strangers voice.

'My, how very homely it is here!' Poppy smiled at the barmaid who responded with a snort. 'We were wondering if we could book one twin room and one single room for the night, please?'

'One room, two beds. One o' you sleeps on the floor,' the barmaid growled, wiping a pint glass with a dirty rag. Both her front teeth were missing.

'Oh . . . er . . . okay. Maybe we could get a couple of extra blankets then, for the one sleeping on the floor?'

'Can go to the stables if you likes and take 'em off the 'orses.'

'Er . . . oh . . . That's alright. We'll manage somehow. Could we maybe get some water for washing? We've been on the road all day you see . . .'

'There's a bucket in yer room and a pump outside. If it's not frozen, you can get water.'

'And if it is frozen?'

'Yer'll have to stay dirty then won't you? Privy's out the back. It's easy to find, just follow the stink.'

'Yes, well, that all seems to be in order.' Poppy's smile was beginning to look a little strained. 'Now what do you have for dinner?'

'Beef or venison.'

'What is the venison served with? Potatoes? Vegetables?'

'Venison's served with more venison and the beef . . . well maybe you can guess?' She leered toothlessly and Poppy leaned back to escape the whiskey fumes on her breath.

'I'll have the venison, please,' Annifer called from the fireside, 'and so will Petros.'

'That'll be six silver then,' the barmaid snatched the coins from Poppy's hand and stomped into the kitchen to prepare their venison with venison.

In the end Poppy and Annifer shared one bed and Petros took the other. The straw from the mattress poked Annifer's skin as she lay awake watching little black mice scurry across the floor.

Eventually the soothing rumble of Poppy's snores sent her into a doze.

Suddenly she was wide awake, sat up in bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. A chill ran up her spine and cold sweat dripped down her face. She couldn't account for it; nothing in the room seemed to have changed. Outside the sound of a pack of dogs barking receded into the distance. A terrible sensation had woken her, the strongest vibration of hatred, anger and malice had rippled through her body, a vibration she had felt once before in the presence of a powerful dark wizard. But here, with Poppy and Petros in this inn bedroom, she could see no reason for it. Maybe it had just been her imagination. Or a nightmare. Nothing to worry about. She said a prayer of protection to the Goddess and lay back down.

Poppy stirred in her sleep and spoke from her dream, 'Would you like another jam tart, Lord Dinklesworth?'

*****

The breakfast menu was simple: sausages with sausages. The three of them sat by the fire and chewed their meat unenthusiastically.

'I'm telling you what I saw, Flossy.' A ruddy-cheeked, disheveled man leaned across the bar addressing the toothless barmaid as she fried more sausages.

'Oh, give over, Dollop,' she shook the frying pan without looking round.

'I went to the privy in the middle of the night and just as I was about to go in, I heard it, I did. A pack of wolves, all barkin' and howlin' they were, sounded like they were coming along the road towards Loska. So I looked out and blow me if I didn't see it. A very demon, it was, all dressed in black, black as the night, with a whip in his hand, drivin' a sled, pulled by a whole pack o' giant wolves, he was. I ain't lyin' Flossy, I know what I saw.'

'That's enough from you, Dollop! You be scarin' my customers.' She slammed a plate of sausages down on the bar in front of him. 'If you hadn't o' drunk so much ale last night, you wouldn't o' seen nothing. Now shut yer mouth and eat yer sausages!'

'How can I eat me sausages with me mouth shut?' he muttered darkly. Flossy spun on her heels and clipped him round the ear.

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