The Elementals

Chapter 11: Revealed Emotions and Forgotten Memories

The sun was just starting to retire when they arrived at Hartlepool. It took them four hours to get there, having to stop and dress Lily's wound after a while of her saying she was fine until she passed out from blood loss. They tried to convince Alexis to clean her wound and wrap it up while they were at it, but she insisted that she was going to do it on her own when they got to the Inn. The guards, which were elves and fauns, didn't bat an eye at the group as they walked through the gate. Their defenses weren't nearly as high compared to Narthwich and Wanborne, which was strange considering they were closer to danger. Despite the time of day, the path was still busy with the residents.

It looked like they were having some sort of celebration. Young females giggled and flirted with the guards drunkenly as they stumbled along their way. A few of them looked in the teens' direction and waved as they batted their eyes and adjusted their breasts. Loud music was being played and there was a large group of people dancing in the middle of town, letting out happy cries and cheering. Most of the guards could be seen there, grabbing at young women and pulling them close as they were teased. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and picked up the pace with the others close behind her.

"This shit better not go on for too long," she growled, running a hand through her hair. They made it to the Inn and burst through the door, closing it behind them quickly. What was going on outside was still audible, but it wasn't too bad.

Inside the Inn, all was calm. An older faun with greying hair had his hooves propped up on the counter and was leaning back in his chair. He turned a page in the book he was reading and cast a quick glance up at the group.

"Welcome," he said, throwing his legs off of the counter. He blinked a few times and took off the glasses that sat at the edge of his small nose, rubbing between his orange eyes. "Staying the night?"

"Yeah. We've had a long day," Elizabeth said, looking over her shoulder at the door. "How long are they gonna be like that?"

"The party? It shouldn't go on for too long, so you can expect them to disperse in a little while. The guards will eventually give in to the drunken advances from the girls and bed them," he said with a shrug. He saw the annoyed looks on their faces and chuckled. "You don't have to worry about them coming here for that. There's another 'Inn' at the opposite end of town that they use just for it. You'll get a good nights rest here."

"That's good to hear," Brandon said with a sigh.

"Are any of you hungry? I can whip up a mean vegetable stew really quick if you'd like."

"No thanks, we don't really have an appetite," Kyle said, yawning. The faun chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Well, I'll stop keeping you here and go ahead and get you settled. The rooms are just ten coin. The name's Jarvis, so call if you need anything." He smiled at them as they all payed and headed up to claim a room.

All of them were open and he said they could choose one of their liking and he'd mark it down just in case someone else came in with the intentions to actually sleep. They put their things away and headed back downstairs to shower.

Alexis waited an hour before she went back down; she didn't feel like being around the others at the moment. Her brain was jumbled and she wasn't thinking clearly, mindlessly looking around her room and poking at her wound as she waited. When she couldn't hear anymore movement from her neighboring rooms, she got up and headed downstairs. She went to Jarvis and asked for a medical kit, which he had handy under the counter, and thanked him, then went to take her shower. The soap burned her wound but she toughed through it, then stood under the running water for about ten minutes to clear her head.