Beyonders: A World Without Heroes or Heroines (ON HOLD)

Chapter 11-Carousel or Restaurant

Disclaimer: I do not own this fanfiction. Everything belongs to Brandon Mull. I own nothing except Alexis and her backstory.

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The sun rose high in the sky. We walked for hours before finding the river from the cliffs and followed it to a harbor. A run down looking town rested along the side of the river. The wooden houses looked as if they were built out of old drift wood. The windows were deformed as a result from the way the houses were built in the first place. No one stared at the three of us. They only glanced but glanced with a hostile look that made everyone look suspicious.

There was a large building on a platform spun according to the speed of the rushing river. The sign on the door said The Tavern-Go-Round. It actually looked a lot like a merry-go-round which is probably what it was named after. I pulled up the hood of my cloak in efforts to conceal my face from the fact that I was a woman.

The door to the restaurant opened and a man appeared in the doorway. He held a hand out to Jason who took it. The two of them spun out of sight. The entrance came around again and I grabbed hold of the man's wrist not exactly his hand. I found myself looking at a large room filled with tables and chairs. Most people sat at the bar while only a few people sat at tables in the very middle of the room.

No one sat at the tables along the outer walls. I glanced at the people in the restaurant. There were a few men that looked like they were soldiers from what they were wearing. I hoped that we wouldn't draw any attention to ourselves. Maybe I did since I still had my hood pulled up on a sunny day inside of a restaurant.

Jason went up to the bar where no one was sitting at. Rachel followed Jason. She clung onto his arm. I could tell she didn't like the looks that some of the soldiers were giving us. Jason sat at the bar first while I sat to his left with Rachel in beween the two of us.

Once the three of us were seated, the bartender walked over to us. He kept cleaning a wet glass in his hands. He smiled at us. "What can I do for you three? I'm Kenny." Kenny was a large man with a big overbite when he smiled and dark short hair which made his ears look bigger than they really were.

Jason looked awkward and slightly nervous when he asked. "What food do you serve?"

Kenny's smiles grew wider. "All kinds of seafood. Among other things like stew." Kenny explained. "I don't really like seafood that much." Jason mumbled

"Hm, how about I'll let you three try our famous puckerlies and if you like them you can order a whole platter. How does that sound?" Kenny asked us.

Jason and Rachel shrugged in sync. "Sure, why not?" Jason smiled at Kenny. "Great!" Kenny replied and disappears into the back room. I turn to Jason and Rachel. "You guys like raw fish? I mean can't you get food poisoning from that?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah, you can but I've had sushi before so I think I'll try them whatever puckerlies are." Rachel shrugged.

"Yeah." Jason agreed. "If I like them, what's the big deal?"

I shook my head. "Last time I had sushi, I got sick so bad. I don't wanna risk it again. So good luck if you guys get food poisoning. I'm having the stew. I've had rabbit before and actually it's pretty good."

We stopped talking when Kenny came back holding three black shells that looked similar to hermit crab shells. I picked one up and made a face at it, knowing nobody is going to see. Kenny held out a blue vile of some stuff. "This make them puckerlies tender. Just tip a bit of this into the shell." Kenny explained.

Rachel waited for Jason to pour some of the blue liquid into the black shell. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he tipped the black shell into his mouth. Jason swallowed and opened his eyes with a surprised look on his face. Rachel and I looked at Jason in question. "They're good."