Finding More Than Magic

Chapter 4

The sun was getting low in the sky, the clouds were tinged a light pink, when finally, the road grew flat and less rugged. From around the corner they could see the dim lights of the town. The first building was a large, dark looking tavern. Here, Krob stopped.

 

‘Well, you should be in Kilgrove by tomorrow afternoon, if we stop here. I’ve travelled down this path so many times before, and I know all too well that once the sun has dipped behind those mountains the entire valley goes pitch black.’ Krob said, opening the door for Derin and Marna, and then following them inside.

 

‘Ah! Krob, my old friend! How nice it is to see you again!’ called a stocky, bearded old man from behind the counter. He wore ragged, old clothes but had a friendly smile.

 

‘Bard! It’s been too long!’ Krob shook Bard’s hand firmly, before turning to the side to introduce his friends, ‘This is Derin, and Marna. I came across them sleeping in my halfway point over the mountain!’ Krob explained.

 

‘Well then, I’m thinking you three are going to want a place for overnight?’ Bard asked, and started searching for something behind the counter, pulling out two sets of keys and jangling them in front of him. ‘The usual room for Krob, and the one next door for the lady and the lad!’

 

Krob laughed, ‘Oh yes, thank you! Goodnight, I’ll see you in the morning!’ and then pushed off through the crowds of men, all laughing and talking loudly. He led them up a rickety staircase at the back of the room, and down a corridor, that was even more dimly lit than the rest of the place. When he got to the end of the corridor, he stopped and opened a door.  The hinges creaked, and it scraped against the floor as it opened, probably for the first time in years.

 

‘Here you are! Not the finest accommodation, but I’m afraid it’s the only place in the town!’ He stood back, his arms crossed as he looked fondly around the room. ‘Still, I can’t count the times I’ve been thankful to rest in a proper bed, no matter how lumpy it is!’ He added, chuckling.

 

‘Thank you kindly, Krob. Goodnight and we’ll see you in the morning.’ Derin thanked Krob and went to settle down for the night when Krob cleared his throat.

 

‘I’m afraid you won’t. I will have left by the time you wake. It’s goodnight and goodbye.’ He dipped his head, and put his hand out to shake Derin’s, when Marna spoke up.

 

‘And how do you expect we will find our way to Kilgrove?’ She asked incredulously. ‘You’ve led us an entirely different way, and given us no more directions!’

 

‘Oh, yes! Terribly sorry, I guess having travelled this way so many times before, I…’ Marna cut him off with a yawn. He cleared his throat again, and continued. ‘Sorry. If you follow the main road out of the other end of town, at about midday you should come to a fork in the road. Continue to the right, and if you don’t veer off the track, it should take you to Kilgrove by sundown.’

 

‘Thank you, and farewell to you!’ Marna ended the conversation, turned away and slumped off into the room, coughing as she inhaled the dust that the air was thick with.  

 

‘Again, I really am thankful, Krob. It’s a shame we can no longer travel with you.’ Derin said in a low voice. He put his hand forward to shake Krob’s, but Krob ignored it and wrapped him in a warm hug.

 

‘It was nice to travel with you, Derin. I hope someday we might meet again.’ Derin was held in Krob’s warm embrace for a moment. He let himself think, for a moment, what it would have been like to have a father while he was growing up. He had only ever had Marna, and although she cared well for him, he always felt that something was missing. He nestled into Krob’s chest one more time, then pulled away, and looked up at him with sad eyes, before turning and going into his room. Closing the door behind him, he finally removed the bags from his back, and heaved them onto the splintered wooden floor. He shrugged off his heavy jacket, and kicked off his shoes, before falling into bed. It creaked as he landed, and squeaked as he rolled over, trying to get comfortable. Once he had settled, he closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come, but it didn’t. With the babble of the full tavern below, and Marna, who was already steadily snoring, not to mention the sharp moonlight landing right on his eyes, sleep seemed about as far away as home did.

 

He lay there, watching the clouds flow gracefully in front of the moon. The trees outside his window threw shadows against the roof above him, as he lay there pondering the events of the day. He had only known Krob for one day, yet he couldn’t bear to go on travelling without him!

 

I guess it’s true that friendships are built on shared experiences! He thought. He remembered the gash in his leg, and how it had seemed to start healing so quickly! How before that it was all he could do to stay upright with his eyes open, but once he was using Krob’s stick, he had so much more energy! He hadn’t thought about it then, he was too busy hurrying the other two along. It had seemed both Marna and Krob were deliberately going slowly, and perhaps Krob really had been going more slowly. If the stick was giving him the energy to keep going, then of course he would go slowly after giving it to Derin!

 

The moment played over in his mind, and he thought of how obvious the change was, and how he could possibly have missed it. He remembered the look of absolute shock on Marna’s face, and how she clutched her crutch so tightly. Was hers the same as Krob’s? It made sense. At times she’d be pottering around with her walking stick, endlessly in the garden, tending to this herb, and that bush, this vegetable and that fruit. Other times, she looked so worn out it was hard to believe she would even be able to pull herself out of bed! Then she’d decided to head off on that quest, and now they were sleeping in a worn down Inn, hundreds of miles away from home. This was Derin’s last thought, as he finally gave in to sleep.