Alanna reached out and pulled Coram into a tight hug. Coram looked a little surprised, but returned the gesture. "It's been so long that I thought ye were dead." Coram told her.
Alanna laughed, "Don't be silly, it's barely been two months since I last saw you." A look of concern crossed Alanna's face. "What brings you here?"
"Erm. Let's go ter find somewhere quieter ter talk." Alanna glanced around the inn's tavern. A few men sat gambling for sticks with a pair of worn dice. They were sitting at the other side of the room, but within definite hearing distance.
Alanna sighed. "Fine then. Hold on for a minute. She grabbed her bags off Moonlight, and called for someone to take her horse. A man appeared, and accepted the reins that Alanna handed to him. Alanna watched him from the corner of her eye as he walked to the stables. Alanna made a mental note to herself to reward her steed for her lack of sleep and incessant energy.
Alanna began to follow Coram across the room, eyeing the gamblers nervously as she walked by them. The gamblers looked up as Alanna and Coram passed by. Alanna was careful not to look any of them straight in the eye.
Coram pulled open a door that appeared to be for a closet or some thing. But no, when he opened it, it revealed a small room with a table and a few stools surrounding it. Coram took Alanna's bags and pulled up a chair for each of them as Alanna sealed the doorway to protect from eavesdroppers.
Flames of purple light appeared in the palms of her hands as Alanna muttered a few unfamiliar words. She turned her palms down, then closed her eyes. Sweat appeared at her brow as the light traveled from her hands to the door. The door shimmered briefly with amethyst fire, then faded to its usual cast or old wood. Alanna turned to face Coram, who had turned slightly pale. "Well, you don't want those old drunks listening to us and reporting me to Roger, do you?" she asked, "I don't know if you've heard, but Roger has issued a warrant worth one hundred gold nobles for me and fifteen for any of my friends." She laughed darkly. "That includes YOU, Coram. You may not be a so-called 'ringleader' of Prince Jonathan's supporters, but I'm sure that Roger would be willing to pay money to find even you."
Coram rolled his eyes at her overreaction to his dislike of magic. "I'm not saying that sealin' the door isn't a good idea, but you still can't make me ter like that cursed gift of yers." He sat down and offered the chair next to him for Alanna. She sat down next to him, frowning.
"So why ARE you here, of all places" She asked him, wondering why he would be staying at the Bloody Sword.
"Thayet and Jon aren't here anymore. Jon was scryin' and saw a brigade of soldiers comin,' so him and Thayet left. We passed them on the"
Alanna interrupted him, "What do you mean WE Coram? Who are you hear with?"
Coram started again. "Thom. Yer brother is very ill Alanna. His magic is bein' drained even more by Roger."
Alanna grew pale. "I thought Thom was dead. How in the name of Mithros did you get him out of the palace? Roger would have made him stay and look up spells for him to control the kingdom with."
"I didn't get him out. He left himself. That's why he's dyin,' he used all the strength in him to get out of there. I'm surprised he isn't dead yet, but Duke, I mean, King Roger didn't need to suck up all of his magic to take over. I'm not too sure about details, though, but that's all I could understand from Thom's babbling on about magic gates an' that Dominion Jewel." Coram spoke fast, attempting to speak quietly, but it came out to a dull rumble.
Alanna sighed. "At least he's alive. He might know more about how Duke Roger took the Dominion Jewel from my possession. Where is he, Coram?"
"He's upstairs." Coram cringed as Alanna's purple eyes glared down upon him. "I'm sorry I didn't bring you up to him right away, but I needed to tell you about his. situation. Yer not goin' ter like the looks of him Alanna. You needed to be warned." Coram grabbed Alanna's arm as she attempted to stand and leave the room. "I'm not finished talkin' ter ya yet."
Alanna sat down and folded her arms, looking like a cross child. "Don't give me that look. Anyways, as I was sayin' earlier, I had to come to the Bloody Sword because I knew I would run into you eventually, probably sometime soon. You need to talk to Thom, and I know he won't trust me with anything of major importance."
Alanna nodded. She knew how closed off to the rest of the world Thom was. She was surprised he even talked to Coram about the matters he had already told her. "If that's all, can I please go up and see him?"
Coram sighed in exasperation. "There's no winnin' with you. Fine, follow me up ter his room." He handed her her bags as he stood up and walked to the door, Alanna close behind. He attempted to pull open the door, and let out a loud cry of surprise as his hand was zapped by purple flames that seemed to come from the door. He glared at Alanna.
Alanna grinned sheepishly at him. "Sorry. I sealed it against intruders. Apparently it works both ways." She took a few steps closer to the door, and placed her one hand upon it. The door didn't zap her. She closed her eyes and summoned the magic from the door back to her. She looked up again, and saw the remains of the purple light fading. Coram tried the door again, and to his relief, it opened without further hassle. Alanna followed him, convinced he was intentionally dragging his feet.
Coram led her to the stairs of the inn, near the front door. Alanna walked briskly, trying to keep up with Coram's long strides. They hustled up the rickety stairs, which creaked under even the light weight of Alanna. She kept her eyes on them, looking out for the signs of loose boards and prying with her gift for termite infestations. She grimaced as she realized that all the boards were rotting in some places or contained termite nests. She resigned herself to not look down, and gripped the handrail instead. Before she knew it, they were already at the top of the stairs.
Coram walked down to the last door of the hall, and pulled a key from his pocket. As he placed it in the lock, he began to speak. "I'll leave ye alone with yer brother. Ye need to catch up with him. I'll be waitin' for ye downstairs. Holler if ye need me." The door swung open. Alanna dropped her bags in surprise as she gazed down upon the deathly white face of her twin brother.
Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I have a different sort of writer's block. I have the ideas in my head, but I don't have the will to type them out. It takes me awhile to 'get in the mood' to write, and lately my brother decided that he likes to play on the computer more than he did before. So now I start to write, and I only get a few sentences or a paragraph out. Please forgive me, I will do all I can to keep updating more regularly.
