PlainsWalker: a D&D story

Ch 7: Come Together

"I thought you said Janan was a town?" Gabe asked in disbelief.

"It is a town," Misty's disembodied voice replied.

"No..." he stated incredulously, "that's twelve buildings on a muddy crossroads."

"Yes...a town." She leaned down to stare at him from atop his hood, "What's the problem?"

Gabe growled low in his throat. "Nothing." Pulling the hood up a bit further, he made sure his ears were effectively covered. "Just hope they have a place we can dry out and get some chow." The sunset was veiled by low clouds casting a premature night on the sleepy village. I thought my hometown was small. Least we had a stoplight.

Every building he could see sported steep thickly thatched roofs. Anything over two stories had jettied floors. Dim firelight glowed from a handful of windows. The smell of turned soil mixed with green growth filled the air. So much for gathering intel. Gabe doubted this place had a dedicated library. Most of the residence energy would be better used tending the fields surrounding the town. Maybe I'll get lucky. I'm certainly due some.

A solitary guard clutching a lantern and a billhook stood as the only visible security for the 'town.' Lacking walls, a moat, or even a presentable fence, one couldn't keep a cow out of such a place. At least the man was awake enough to do his job.

"Watcher business?" he asked. His voice had a thick country burl that made Gabe think of Louisiana bayous and levees. Not French but not English either. "Oy! Watcher doin 'ere?" The man's sharp tone shook Gabe out of his thoughts.

Apologizing, Gabe hastily explained he was passing through and just needed a place to stay for the night. The guard grumbled pointing towards one of the larger buildings at the town's center. Thanking him Gabe moved on. Other than blinking curiously at the riderless horse that followed the elf, the Guard merely returned to his vigil. "Foreigners," he grunted.

Once they were far enough out of earshot Gabe couldn't help but chuckle. "Man, that accent was thick," he felt Misty shift invisibly atop his head, "Could barely understand him." Misty had suggested she stay out of sight for the duration of their stay. Having no desire to draw any unnecessary attention Gabe agreed.

"Glad one of us could," she mumbled sounding a bit annoyed. Even if certain mystical creatures were commonplace in Mercia it paid to be cautious. A pixie would still be a strange sight especially in a backwater hamlet like Janan.

"How's that?" he asked curiously.

He could feel her upside-down gaze drill into him. "I don't understand common," she stated.

What were you listening to? "But he wasn't," Gabe retorted touching a thumb to his chest. "I understood him just fine."

Her condescension was so palpable he could practically feel her eyes rolling. "Because you both were speaking common."

Gabe stumbled a step. Fortunately, the street was empty enough no one could overhear their conversation. "How the hell can I be speaking..." It was like waking up in the forest all over again. Both overwhelming and annoying. The migraine was also beginning to return with his renewed frustration. Rubbing his eyes, Gabe waved off the issue. "You know what? Forget about it!" This world just wouldn't stop and behave the way it should. I am too damn tired and hungry to figure this shit out, right now!

As he approached the tavern, he noticed several locals were eyeballing him. They were pointing and murmuring behind hoods and shawls. Subtle as a neon sign. News traveled fast in small towns. He'd hoped to arrive unnoticed, but a hooded elf being followed by a horse tended to draw attention.