EyrthTales - Short Stories

The Inkeeper

A massive forest made up the greater majority of the kingdom of Ta Kkan Shuulan. The cities and towns found among the dark trees here were few and far between. There could often be found, along the long narrow dirt roads, small settlements where travellers would rest on their long journeys. These tiny villages could usually be counted on to have a small grocers shop, a pub...and always an Inn; the lifeblood of such places.

The Red Cloak Inn was found in one of these villages; a village too small to be considered one really; and the Inn was, in all, the pub and grocers shop as well.

The creak and crunch of carriage wheels on gravel brought the Inkeeper from his bed late one night, to ready himself lest his services were required.

He looked into his mirror, running his fingers through his messy black hair, and ambled down to serve his guests.

A muscular young man (who would have been handsome were it not for his murderous scowl, and nose misshapen from fights or some such) entered and sat at a bench, flicking a finger at the Inkeeper in a demand for him to come. The Inkeeper had served many in his thirtysomething years, and recognized an unsavory character when he saw one; this fellow was more than unsavory, the Inkeeper's immediate impression of him could be described with a much stronger word.

It almost escaped his notice when the door quietly opened again and a small woman with a very young child tentatively stepped through and shuffled to stand inconspicuously behind the man with head bent and gaze lowered. The inkeeper became uneasy with the picture before him. The man ordered ale and ham for himself and told the woman to sit, which she did quickly and without a noise; the child, swathed in a crimson blanket, clinging to her with its face pressed against her chest.

When the Inkeeper returned with the man's order he saw the child (who couldn't be more than two or three) turn it's head with wide eyes to stare at the ham. A little whimper escaped it and the man's arm immediately whipped out in an attempt to smash his hand against the child's mouth, too slow as the mother clutched the child to block the blow.

"She couldn't help it she's hungry!" She cried in anger, and had her own mouth backhanded in reply.

"I've told you to keep it's trap shut!" The man snarled "That goes for you too. I can't afford to feed that sniveling brat."

The young woman's face grew red but she said nothing. The Inkeeper used every ounce of will he possessed to remain calm as he returned to the kitchen. A tiny wail threaded it's way through the walls and an enraged female voice followed.

Re-entering the room with a cup of milk and cheese, he saw a trickle of blood on the child's quivering lip as it gripped it's mother in terror.

"Teach it to mind it's place." The man was saying "If you let that creature reach for my food again I'll cut its hand off." He finished as the Inkeeper placed the milk and cheese before the mother. "What the hell is this? I'm not paying for that."

"It's on the house, to quiet the child." Was the answer.

The mother gave him an thankful smile, but the man reached over and plucked up the cheese with a malicious grin. "I think this will go well with my ham."

"Then you'll be paying for the cheese."

The grin grew hard. "I'm not paying for shit, you said it's on the house." He hissed through bared teeth.

"Only if they eat it. If you eat it then you pay for it."

The man threw down the cheese with a sneer. "If I were less tired I'd kill you. You're bloody lucky I've been on the road all day."

The Inkeeper was not intimidated in the least. He regarded the man with casual indifference until the man gave up and continued eating his ham. The Inkeeper then took a chair and placed it by the woman and child.

He sat facing them as they shared the cheese, and the little girl took great gulps of the milk as she stared her big brown eyes into his amber ones.

"How old?" He asked, ignoring the man looking his way.

"2 years last month."

"What is her name?"

"Rouge."

"Beautiful...where are you headed?"

"We are going to Dael, my mother is dying and I wish to see her before she goes."

The man laughed, setting his mug down with a bang "A wealthy old hag, and Ruby here gets all her cash when she pops off. Hopefully she kicks off before we get there!"

Tears formed in the woman's eyes and she her jaw clenched in anger.

"Will you be needing a bed for the night?" The Inkeeper asked.

The man squinted at him "Can't afford it with cash. I can give you the wife for the night though, she's not much fun but she puts up a fight." He guffawed.

The Inkeeper declined, skewering the man with his amber glare in heavy disgust. The man scowled and jerked the woman to her feet, dragging her to the door and shoving her out. "Useless baggage, I can't even get any coin out of you."

The innkeeper watched them go, then untied his apron and headed for the back door to take a run.

♤♤♤

Fifteen minutes down the road the carriage stopped and the man jumped down to relieve himself of his ale. The child, seeing a firefly, pointed with wide eyes. The mother smiled and caught it, opening her hand to show the little bug glowing and flickering there. The child grinned and reached to touch it when a hand came down, squashing the bug. The father laughed as the little girl startled and began to cry.

After a moment he grew irritated of the crying and told her to shut up. The child's crying lessened but did not stop. The man went to the back of the carriage and came back, to the mother's shock and terror, holding an ax.

"Shut her up this moment or I will shut you both up for good!" He bellowed brandishing the ax with clear intent.

The mother was already jumping from the carriage, the child's cries escalated tenfold.
A giant blur burst from the forest ripping the man from his place and dragging him onto the road kicking and screaming.

The little girl sobbed into its mother's chest as the young woman stared at the macabre scene before her, dimly lit by the open carriage's lanterns.

A wolf so big it could look her straight in the eyes stood over her husband, tearing at his throat. It stopped and turned to look at her, blood clinging to its messy black fur and dripping from its grinning jowls. It then sunk it's teeth into the body's shoulder and drug it off the road and into the forest.

She stood in shock, unsure of what to do next. With shaky hands she loosed the panicked horses, thinking perhaps to ride on, when a noise behind her caused her to stiffen. The wolf had returned.

She held her breath, forgetting the horses as it approached. Rouge struggled to see what her mother was looking at, giving a little squeal when she saw the wolf. It stood, it's nose an inch away, amber eyes glowing in the dark. Rouge wiggled in her mother's arms until she could turn and reach for it, wrapping her fingers around its wet nose.

It huffed, pulled away, and began walking back towards the Inn. Then stopped and looked back as if to ask them to follow. The mother looked back at the the blood soaked earth, the running horses, then followed the wolf.

~~~~~

The creak and crunch of carriage wheels on gravel brought the Inkeeper from his bed one night, to ready himself lest his services were required.

He looked into his mirror, running his fingers through his messy black hair. Returning to the bed he quietly spoke to the woman who lay there, kissed the sleeping child, then ambled down to serve his guests.