Chapter Four
As we sat in my room seated in the chairs from our own, a tap on the window alerted us.
"What was that?" I said, standing up.
"How are we supposed to know?" Zahra replied, staying seated.
I heard another, and walked to the window, opening the blinds.
"We're on the second floor?" I didn't realize this until now.
"I wasn't aware." Roy said, looking curiously at the rooftops out the window.
I then noticed two men dressed in black throwing pebbles at our window, apparently to get our attention. As I opened it, I got hit on the forehead.
"Nice aim!" I shouted down to them.
"Sir! We must speak with you!"
"Come on up, then!"
"Thank you!" As they proceeded to the front door of the inn I closed the blinds and sat back down.
"What did they want?" Roy said curiously.
"To talk to us."
"What did you tell them?"
"I told them to come on up."
"What if they wanted to kill us?" Zahra said oddly frightfully.
"We can take them, don't worry." She didn't seem very relieved.
Then we hard three rhythmic knocks on the door.
"Who is it?" I said thinking I knew who it was.
"The stone throwers" The voice of one of the men outside said.
"Come on in" I heard the door handle click, and the door swung open.
The two men were dressed in the clothes of a ninja. Black full body suit, covering their head except for a small slit for their eyes and a hole for the mouth. Zahra turned her chair around and faced the window, staring intently at it.
"Sorry we don't have any more chairs" I said, then noticing both of them had an arm of their suit brown instead of black.
"What's with the blood?" I guessed that's what it was, as ninjas often fought.
"We are ninjas, after all."
"Of course. Now tell me please, why do you wish to speak with us?" My two companions just sat there rather quietly.
"New information for you. On the murderers."
"How much will that be?"
"Please! We do not wish for pay."
"Alright then. Whatcha got?"
"The three went north to city of Harsen."
"How can you be sure?" Roy finally spoke
"We have our ways."
"Well, thank you very much. Are you sure you want nothing?" Roy asked hoping they'd allow us to pay them back.
"I didn't say we wanted noting. Just that we didn't want pay."
"How else shall we return the favor?" As he spoke this I noticed Zahra being amazingly quiet.
"Give us a room. Just for the night."
"Just one?" I rejoined the conversation
"Just one."
"Is this information going to anyone besides us? Has it already?"
"I told two others, who were working together."
"That's not too bad." I shrugged, looking at them. "Alright, I'll go see if they have anything left."
"Thank you, sir!" I stood up and walked out the door, through the wooden hall and into the open room.
"I need a room, ma'am!"
"That'll be seventy five, sir."
"Seventy five? What? It was only twenty five earlier!"
"I have to charge out late rate" She said the words 'late rate' as if it were something she had just made up.
"I haven't got time to argue, ma'am, fifty."
"Done!" I tossed two red and one gold rupees on to the table and slid them over to her as she tossed me the key.
"Right next to your room, sir."
"Ah, thank you." I wasn't sure I liked that very much, and it showed.
"Here you go." I said, tossing them the key as I walked in the door.
"What room is this to?"
"The one next to mine."
"Thank you, sir. We'll be off now."
"Won't you stay with us?"
"No, We're awful tiered."
"Ok then, goodnight. But tell me, why doesn't he talk?" I pointed at the silent one.
"I can talk. I talk through him."
"What?"
"We're twins. Telepathic, kind of." "Yes, yes. We are."
"Oh. So then half the stuff he says is from you?"
"More or less."
"Ok." They walked out the door without saying another word.
"That was interesting." I said, sitting back in my chair.
"It was." Zahra said, still looking intently at the window.
"You love that window, don't you?"
"What? Oh, yes."
"I'm going to bed." Roy kissed Zahra and walked towards the door.
"Goodnight." We said in unison.
"I'm gonna go take a bath. You know where they are in this place?"
"Not a clue." She stood up and walked towards the door.
"Aren't you gonna help me find them?"
"What?"
"It's not like I'm asking you to come in with me."
"I suppose not." I got up and followed her out the door.
As we walked down the long dim wooden corridor towards the main chamber, we started talking.
"What's it like?" She looked up at me curiously.
"What's what like?"
"Being a mercenary and all"
"It's interesting, to say the least."
"Do you like it?"
"Most of the time, except when we're living in poor houses."
"That sounds awful!"
"Yeah. Wait, you were a slave right? I wouldn't think you knew anything else?"
"I don't. I was just sympathizing, even though I've been through it" She said rather awkwardly, as though she didn't really know what she was saying.
"I see."
We then approached the desk where the lady was still sitting, polishing her glasses.
"Excuse me, Where are the bath houses?"
"Ladies' through the door to your left, Men's the right."
"Thank you."
"You're not allowed in there, by the way."
"What? Oh! I wasn't going in there."
"Of course you weren't." She said that in a rather sarcastic tone.
"I'll be going to bed." I said, starting to walk away."
"Goodnight."
"'Night." I walked back to my room and laid down for the night.