The town was not remarkable in any way. There were several houses, a big cross section of wall, and one Inn. Lyn had also heard there were some shops, but she didn't want to take the time to look for them as they had just bought their supplies earlier that afternoon from a friendly merchant. She sighed and smiled into Kent's back as the small group approached the closest stone building with a worn, but repainted, sign.
There weren't many people on the street, but it seemed the reason was obvious to Lyn. Bandits, probably, or there could be other villainous creatures lurking around the area. It was a good thing they came then, if the villagers could not take care of the problem themselves. Maybe there was a reason that they had come, more than their simple mission.
Grass was not plentiful in the area, contrasting the hills they had just came from, but there were more small gardens surrounding the visible houses, including flowers as well as vegetables. Everything was in its place, and a place for everything that needed to be there. The town seemed so… sterile, especially with the ten foot walls dividing the town into four equal pieces. Why should there be a wall at all? She sighed. It didn't really matter. They were practically in their beds, ready to spend a comfy night off the ground. Although last night had been the first for Kent and Sain to sleep outside she slept in a bed since she left home, and she was looking forward to it.
A man came out of the front of the gray building as the two horses approached. He was dressed in a plain, clean shirt and smiled up at them. As they stopped, he stepped up to meet them and held his hand out for Lyn to take, which she did after an elbowing from Kent. The merchant then proceeded to help the lady off, and to regain her balance after the bouncing ride.
"Thank you, sir," she said politely, manners not leaving her in this awkward position. Sain had already dismounted and approached the small cluster of people as the man released Lyn's hand. They waited a few seconds for Kent to join them before speaking.
"You are visitors?" He asked, still smiling. He looked at Lyn who nodded in response to his question, though the answer was obvious.
"We are looking for a place to stay tonight, actually. Do you own this Inn?" Sain asked, coming forward after Lyn remained silent. She seemed rather shy towards this man and very unwilling to speak with him.
"Yes, and I must say I am happy to see you. I've had to put up with those local good-for-nothings for the past month. It's nice to see some new faces," he winked at Lyn, who immediately turned away, towards Kent, unable to fabricate a coherent verbal insult for the man. Finally the seller turned to the two men, neither of which looked very happy. That was unusual for Sain, because he was rather easygoing, but Kent always had a grimace on his face.
The Innkeeper smiled uneasily and turned to lead them to the Inn. Once at the door, he motioned for a boy sitting beside the counter on a stool to get the horses that were still held by the two knights. Lyn was standing behind them, hidden by the animal's rump. The boy quickly relieved the knights, who finally walked into the Inn and watched the keeper step behind a tall wooden counter.
"How many rooms will you need?" The innkeeper asked, pulling out a book that was half blank. He wrote something down quickly before meeting Kent's gaze. He was standing in front of the other two, directly facing the man, and obviously taking charge of this situation.
The inside of the Inn was actually more pleasant than the group thought it would be, and the common room was full of the people that did look questionable, but Lyn wasn't worried because she was flanked by her companions. She was sure this village was just under a little trouble and nothing more, which would explain why there were so many people at this location. Lyn withdrew her gaze from the tables and turned her eyes to Kent. Instead of responding to the innkeeper, he turned back to her with a questioning gaze.
"How much money do we have left?" Kent made a point to keep his voice so low that Sain could not even hear them. The said knight moved closer, feeling left out of an important decision and slightly jealous of being left out.
"What?" he cut in immediately.
"Enough, I think. We spent quite a bit at the last town, but we should be able to purchase three rooms for one night…" Lyn's look was uneasy, and she didn't sound sure of herself at all.
Kent turned back to the Inn owner without replying to Lyn's comment. He knew they didn't have much and that this was a very frivolous activity, but he had a solution that would make them both happy.
"Give us two rooms, sir," he said. Lyn turned to him, ready to say something about it and the Keeper raised an eyebrow at them. It was obvious they had three people.
"There is only one bed per room…" he responded uneasily. The storekeeper wasn't going to lose that extra money with no effort. He shifted from his left foot to his right and back again before the brunette replied.
Sain had to control himself from smiling too wide.
"No problem! Kent and I are boon companions-used to sleeping in the same bed!" The knight clapped Kent on the back, not too hard, but enough to make a hollow 'pah' sound. Lyn scoffed at the cliché line that the knight used so often.
Kent turned back to the Innkeeper and looked at him expectantly, ignoring Sain's hand on his shoulder. The plump man gulped and complied with his stare, apparently not too eager to start a fight and lose his first customers in weeks, even if he was cheated a little bit of money. Slowly, the Innkeeper was beginning to think arguing wasn't worth it.
With a deflated look, he finally grabbed two keys from behind the counter and started down a hallway hidden off in a far corner.The Innkeeperdidn't bother to turn around to make sure the troupe was following him, and he didn't want to. The place they were headed was as plain as the rest of the building, but it looked a little more used than the stairs behind the counter.
Next to it was another hall that was shorter andvibrated sounds of pans and sweet smells of home cooking from a ways off. As they passed by, Kent had to pull Sain from walking that way, instead of to their rooms.
"You'll have plenty of food in a few moments," he said roughly, though he knew Sain was probably looking for something more… curvy, than a loaf of bread. The knight turned sharply to look at his friend, staring at him with a sort of hurt-confused look. His eyes loitered for a few more seconds, until they turned around a corner and faced about twenty doors down the next hallway. The keeper walked past the first few doors and finally stopped halfway down the hall. Halting at a door that simple said 'six,' he turned back to the pair of knights and handed over their key. After Kent accepted and looked towards Lyn, the man handed a replica to her as well.
"Your room is right next door," he sighed, pointing to 'seven.' Lyn looked towards the door and Kent could almost hear her gulp. She didn't want to share a room with the men, but she didn't want to stay by herself; her feelings were rather obvious.
But, then again, there wasn't really anything he could do about it. He wanted to share a bed with Sain and if they had all slept in the same room they wouldn't be able to do… anything. Not that anything would happen, though. Kent still had suspicions that Sain was mad at him or something. But he seemed to be acting happy as usual, possibly even more.
Lyn approached her door and turned the key in the lock. It clicked open unsurprisingly and she pushed it open without stepping in. She gave it a blank look while both of the menwatched her and sighed deeply like she was about to face the monster from hell. Lyn looked back at them and they both turned away quickly, not wanting to be caught watching her in such a way. Kent shoved his key into the keyhole in a similar fashion and threw the door forward, walking in.
"I'll go fetch our things from the stables," Sain volunteered, looking at Kent. His friend nodded and turned to Lyn would smiled a little.
"Thank you, Sain."
"Of course!" He gave her a winning smile and leaned forward in an unconscious bow. "I'll only be a moment," Sain promised and continued the way they had just come, following the retreating Innkeeper. Lyn watched them leave, and then turned to Kent, now that they were finally alone.
But he was still watching where Sain had just left.
