A double update. I know it doesn't make up for my… sporadic schedule, but… as said last chapter, yeah… right… Anyway, sorry about the huge gap between updates.
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The town hadn't been too far away, only an hour or two. It was right about where Jetrin had said it would be. The only problem had been actually FINDING the inn, but that problem wasn't too bad really. It hadn't taken too long… in fact…
"How is it that it took you an hour to find this inn?!? I knew I shouldn't have followed you!"
"Hey, it's not like I stay at inns a lot! The last time I was here, I slept in a stable!"
"Isn't the stable at the inn!"
"…" …I really hate this girl…
"Anyway, we're here, so let's go in, shall we?"
"Fine."
Jetrin was feeling a little put out. Here he was, supposedly a man of the world, a traveler with so many years on his belt, and it had taken him this long to find an inn?!? His ego was a bit bruised, and Meria's nagging had really started to irritate him.
It's not too bad though, considering I'm so unused to inns. The good thing about this, other that the bed, the hot food, and the roof over my head is finally having something to separate myself from this girl. Light! Some peace and quiet'll do me good! I've traveled alone this whole time, and this girl is putting a severe crimp in my lifestyle! These few days of peace are probably all I'll have for a while!
Ah, if only he knew…
Stepping into the inn, Jetrin spotted the innkeeper bustling about. The innkeeper wasn't your average innkeeper. Rather that a jolly, portly build, he was an intelligent looking, solid looking man. And, instead of really bustling about, it looked like he was only acting as if he was bustling about. He seemed like he was waiting for something to happen. The common room of the inn seemed a bit empty, but not desolate. The occupants looked as if they had just finished a late lunch, and the innkeeper looked desperate for something to do. Spotting Jetrin and Meria's entrance, he rushed without seeming to rush towards them.
With a wide smile on his face, he said, "Travelers, eh? Going off to see the world? Nice weather we're having, don't you think?"
Jetrin's head was spun round at the rapidity and randomness of this man's questions. Sorting out his minds, he was about to answer as best he could, but Meria beat him to it.
"Yes, yes, and not really," she quickly chattered.
"Really," responded the innkeeper amiably, "why not?"
Meria responded in similar fasion by saying, "It's much to hot nowadays."
The innkeeper chuckled at that, and gave a quick answer to her response. "Yes, I agree. Much too hot. It should be cooler by now, don't you think?"
"Yes, of course. It's nearly winter after all," Meria agreed wholeheartedly.
Meanwhile, Jetrin had a hard time keeping up with this conversation. At ordinary speed, it may have been ok, but the whole conversation about the weather had lasted less than five seconds. And, the two still prattled on and on. He had no idea what was going on, but he decided that it didn't matter.
Just idle talk. And, maybe she'll stop talking to me for a little while. Oh what a joy that would be!
"So, where are you headed?" That was the innkeeper.
"Oh we're off to Illian." Meria said this.
"Really? I hear the Dragon Reborn has started campaigning against Illian?" Innkeeper again.
"What?!?" Guess who that was.
"Really, he has. Sent his soldiers there and everything. It's the talk of the town. You're the only one who didn't know." Innkeeper again.
"Oh boy. I hope I get there soon after the end of the battle. That's the best time to make money." Alright, now guess who the person who said what was.
"You already have a lot of money from my father, why do you need more?" Innkeeper… nah, I'm just kidding.
"Oh, are you two…together?" …Kevan…now, if you believed that, that's pitiful.
"WHAT!?! NO!" Alright, now this is an ambiguous comment. If you guess who said it, and you're right, you get a prize!
"Whenever a young man and woman are traveling together without escorts, it's usually…and the father gives large sums of money… I didn't mean to offend!" The innkeeper looked rather flustered as he tried to stammer out his apologies.
"…ok…it's all right… I guess." Jetrin really didn't care much. He just wanted to get a room soon and away from all these noisy people.
"No it's not! What kind of assumption was that? He could be my brother or cousin or something!" Meria seemed pretty angry and embarrassed by the innkeeper's comment. Of course, she's got a really unmellow personality, so that's natural for her.
"But then that would be incest!" The innkeeper just can't keep his mouth shut.
"…" Ok… where in the Pit of Doom is this bloody conversation going?
Jetrin, before the innkeeper was pushed into his own grave, seeing that he'd already dug it, decided to intrude. Grabbing the innkeeper, Jetrin gave him several solid shakes back into reality. He them placed himself between the innkeeper and Meria to keep her from causing irreparable damage to the innkeeper. That's just not something you do to your host.
"Master Innkeeper," Jetrin spoke slowly and deliberately. "Can we have two rooms please?"
The innkeeper, finally faced with a situation that innkeeper school (or wherever they learn innkeepering… whatever) had prepared him for, fell into the natural order of things once more.
"Ah, yes of course! In fact, we have several rooms, how many would you two like? One?" Ok, maybe he's not back to normal, but he's almost there.
This guy must have a death wish or something.
Jetrin had to keep moving back and forth to keep blocking Meria from getting at the innkeeper. Not a fun thing.
"Two! Two rooms right!?!" The innkeeper seemed to be getting a bit panicky, but his brain seemed to slowly be coming back to working order. Or, it could just be the threat of imminent death that sent blood pumping to his brain.
Smiling a calm, disarming smile, Jetrin replied smoothly.
"Yes, and maybe a little relaxing tea. Could you show us to our rooms?"
"Umm…" The innkeeper was looking warily at the now no longer rabid, yet still frustrated at not being able to smack the innkeeper, Meria.
Continuing in his comfortable, calming tone, Jetrin said, "I'm sure she'll follow wherever you go."
Even if it's only for a chance to give you a solid hit. Sheesh, she's a bit of trouble if she can't take a little bit of stupidity. Light knows I always do!
"That's not very comforting." The innkeeper responded.
Through a series of complex maneuvers, the two were able to get the slightly calmer Meria into her room with minimal damage to the innkeeper. She appeared to have calmed down a bit, since she didn't chase after the innkeeper after they got her in her room and then rushed out. Jetrin and the innkeeper walked to the common room and, sitting at an empty table, awaited their tea.
"Oh my, that was quite a bit of excitement!" the innkeeper commented heartily.
"Really? You know Sal, that was a bit extreme there, especially since you don't know the girl." The tea came, and the two took it from the server gratefully.
"What, me, extreme? Salinus Maudrin is never extreme! I simply enjoy excitement wherever I can find it, and it's not very exciting if the person knows me!" Sal sipped at his tea.
"Really… I'll give you that one, but I've been in your inn two times before this, and this type of scene always seems to happen. And that's not counting the times on the road. I can't imagine how this inn survived those… seven times. And there are probably a lot more times this's happened around here." Jetrin looked at his tea. It was still too hot, but Sal just drank it down.
"Hey, being an innkeeper is a dull job you know. I need some excitement, some fun. I've had this inn for two years, and nothing fun ever happens." Sal didn't even seem to have felt that scalding hot tea burn his mouth.
Jetrin looked at Sal funny. "You've been causing trouble for a long time, even when you're father owned this inn." The tea was still pretty hot, so Jetrin continued to ignore it. Sal was starting to look at it with a glint in his eye, but Jetrin scooted it closer to himself.
Bringing his attention back to the matter at hand, Sal nodded. "Yeah. Back all those years ago, when you first came by the inn, you scared me. A whole lot younger then me, but really serious!"
Jetrin shook his head. "All those years? Four years is a long time, I guess. And what were you, twenty?"
"Yeah, and you were seventeen. Right? Those were the days." Sal called another server over and got another cup of hot, scalding, liquid fire type tea… which he promptly gulped down.
Jetrin suppressed a laugh. "If I remember correctly, you wanted to run away from home, and I let you come with me… and you came back after about half a year. You said the wandering life didn't suit you."
Sal sighed at the old memories. "Yeah, but the excitement did. Nowadays it gets pretty boring. Ever since my dad left the inn to me…" Sal looked downcast at this, as if his ordinarily energetic mood was dampened by bad memories.
Jetrin couldn't hold back his laugh then. "Yeah, wasn't that a kick in the pants! He left you this inn, and off he goes to see the world! I didn't even know until I came back, what was it, three months ago?"
"More like five." Sal laughed at Jetrin's comment too. "Yeah, here I was, wanting adventure, and dad makes me stay here and goes off to have an adventure… It's really, really irritating." Sal added a comic display of fake anger to punctuate his point.
Jetrin laughed at this. "Yeah. And you can't leave the inn. You're father trusted you with it, and if he comes back to find it sold, he'll go berserk."
"Yeah, yeah. Speaking of berserk, who was that girl?"
Jetrin looked at Sal askance. "What, the girl you were mocking and who might've killed you, Master Innkeeper?"
"Yes, and stop calling me that! I have enough to remind me I'm just an innkeeper without you saying that!" Sal ordered up a third cup of incredible, magma hot tea and slurped it down. Boy, he seems to love his tea, doesn't he?
Jetrin sipped at his now sufficiently cool tea. Eh… how should I explain this…
___________________________________________Yee-Haw!__________________________________________________________________
Alright, before I do anything else, know that Sal isn't a vital character (maybe), the whole thing in the beginning was an act, and Sal and Jetrin are good friends from way back (which you probably already got from the chapter). As for Jetrin's changed attitude (Mr. Happy Man), he's different around good friends, less stiff and more easy in speech. He thinks less and says more. That's about all I can say about that.
That place over there with the thing
J: So… where the hell did Sal come from?
TI: Alright, I explained all that above, so don't ask.
J: Ah…
TI: And he wasn't a planned character, he just popped out of nowhere.
J: Hm….
TI: And to answer your other question, I'm lazy.
J: Oh… hey, wait, what other question?
TI: Y'know, from the other chapter.
J: Mm…
TI: Oh, and I was sick for a week.
J: Gee… did the sickness affect your eyes?
TI: No…
J: Your brain?
TI: No…
J: Your hands?
TI: No… what're you getting at?
J: What I'm saying is, is that being sick isn't a useful excuse when typing is involved. You could still type, couldn't you?
TI: …Fine. Then I go back to my first excuse.
J: The lazy one?
TI: Yeah.
J: Ah…
Review:
(TI: I'm really afraid of
flames for my late updating…)
(J: Well, if you updated sooner, this wouldn't be a problem.)
(TI: Yeah, but the reviews have been piling up. I haven't checked them yet.)
(J: Don't you get e-mails whenever you get a review?)
(TI: Yeah… I haven't opened any fanfiction.net e-mail yet.)
(J: Doesn't that make the whole thing worthless?)
(TI: Eh… anyway, I'm scared to check.)
(J: Are you a man or a mouse?)
(TI: Squeak, squeak.)
(J: …)
Speaking of which, how many reviews do I have, anyway? I would check, but… meh.
