The Reformation Wars: The Unmarked Swordsman

Chapter 11

Tom and Alice settled their horses in the stable before making their way to the familiar wooden door to the adjoining inn. Unlike their first visit, where upbeat music had greeted their ears upon swinging it aside, utter silence lingered this time. Tom narrowed his eyes. Halting Alice with a wave of his hand, he lifted his foot over the raised threshold and pushed his way through the red curtains stretching across the open doorway. His fingers brushed the hilt of his sword. 

Only a handful of the candles inside remained lit, casting a dim orange glow over the bar counter and abandoning the empty tables to darkness. The bulky innkeeper sat at one of the stools with his head hanging and a half-empty beer glass in his pudgy fingers. From the look of it, he hadn't heard Tom open the door. 

Tom cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Excuse me...am I to stay away?" 

The innkeeper slowly turned to face the young knight. All the joviality he had previously possessed had now vanished, his smile replaced by a lingering pout. 

"You're fine." the man croaked, "C'mon in." 

Tom nodded and parted the curtains again to beckon Alice through. Once she stepped through, they descended the landing platform to the main level and then crossed over to the bar. Alice's brow furrowed at the sight of the depressed innkeeper. 

"Good heavens," she began, "what misfortune has befallen you, sir?" 

The man's shoulders budged slightly in a barely perceptible shrug. "Nothin' you'd wanna hear about." 

"I sense you require catharsis, sir. I am not unwilling to be to you a listening ear." 

"Again, it's nothin' important." 

Alice sighed. "If you insist. Not to burden you, but I wouldn't mind a drink myself." 

A deep breath departed from the large man's nostrils as he slid off the bar stool and headed to the other side of the counter. "What can I get ya?" 

"Red wine. If you have the same stuff you gave me last time, I should enjoy it again." 

The innkeeper nodded and retrieved an unopened bottle. Tom moved to take the vessel from his hands to ensure the drink was safe for Alice's consumption, but she deterred him with a wave of her hand. The glass before her filled with bright red wine, and following a silent cue, the innkeeper poured one for Tom as well. 

"Your company shrank." he muttered as he returned to his stool and beer, "Why's that?" 

Alice gulped. "We...men-at-arms alit upon us when we reached our destination. Only we escaped, as far as I'm aware." 

"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, nobody'll bother you in here. I can assure you of that." 

"That is comforting indeed." 

Tom took a sip of his wine. "So, do you have a room we could use?" 

The man groped on his belt for his keychain and pulled one off. After dropping it in Tom's palm, he downed the rest of his beer in one gulp. 

"Thank you." Tom said, "Your service is most excellent." 

"Glad to hear it. I've gotta warn you, though, breakfast is gonna be slow tomorrow." 

"Why's that?" 

The innkeeper groaned. "Won't have any help." 

Alice's lips parted as a concerned expression found residence on her face. "Is your wife ill?" 

"In the head, perhaps. Just found a new lover. Some ratty Marcocian bastard passing through seduced her, I guess. Under my own roof, too!" 

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Alice said as she laid a hand on the man's broad shoulder. "Nobody deserves such treatment, and you are no exception."