5
Chloris knew it was too late to find an inn, but being inside a walled city made her feel that much better. She would have to find a doorway or alley shielded from the night. If she didn't fall asleep, she would probably last the night.
Grimly she flitted from door to door around the city, ducking into shadows as the watch crept past. Finally she found an ally that housed nothing else with a shadowed doorway. After checking to make sure there was another way out of her hiding place then the one she just came through, she settled herself in for another sleepless night.
Being part dark elf, she needed less sleep than even the toughest person; it was just because of this that she had survived the long trek through the forest. Even so, she was exhausted, and, even though she tried her best to keep it at bay, sleep took her.
A beautiful lake smooth as glass.
She gazed into it, enthralled by its splendor. The smoothness puzzled her, inviting her to stare into its depths. She leaned forward, trying to see the bottom of it.
What mysteries did it hold?
She crept closer towards the edge.
Where was her reflection?
Forward she leaned so she could see better. Her hair fell forward and brushed the surface.
Sluggishly, ripples formed on the water, curiously larger than they should be. Suddenly apprehension seized her. Something told her that the lake should not have been disturbed.
Hurriedly she tried to back away, but was held by a strange force. Unable to move, she stared unwillingly into the waters depths.
Shock seized her as the water formed a shape. Terror apprehended her as she realized what it was. A man, black hair pasted to his scalp by blood, was sprawled against a chair. Blood soaked his chair. His eyes were an unseeing blue, fogged over by pain. A dark figure stood over him.
She screamed as she saw the figure raise a knife. Horrified, she tried to claw herself away from the edge. But to her dismay she was drawn forward, dragged helplessly, she fell in.
The iron smell of death filled her nostrils. Breath left her, and sorrow filled her. The unseeing eyes of the now dead man filled her vision…
Chloris woke wet and with a cough. Sometime during the night her hood had fallen down, and water dripped into her eyes from her soaked hair. Her bones were stiff form the unprotected cold and they cracked when she moved. She would have to find a place to clean up so that she could travel in an easier, more respectable way.
First she would have to find an inn that she would be inconspicuous in. she pulled her cloak over her eyes so that no one could see them. She swept out of the alley wringing out the ends of her cloak as she went. It was still early, but she could feel the town coming alive around her. Women opened the shutters of houses, men starting out to market, beggars leaving doorways for street corners. Chloris didn't want to alienate herself as an outsider by asking questions, but she had to find an inn.
She made sure that the cloak was pulled well over her eyes before she stopped a jolly looking man for directions. He looked her up and down and told her that the inn she wanted was an old one up the street.
I must look awful, she thought wryly.
She followed the man's instructions to a dark building with an ominous sign swinging in an unseen breeze. The sign read, The Black Sand. Well, she thought, at least I'll blend in.
Self-consciously, Chloris pulled her cloak around her as best she could. With her hand on her dagger she stepped through the door.
The smell of smoke and alcohol assaulted her senses, but this was no loud boisterous place. There was little to no light and very few customers. All seemed to be hunched in brooding silence over their drinks. Black cloaks were a commonplace item, and from the look on the bartender's face, people like this were not a new occurrence.
She sat at the counter as far from the other customers as she could manage intent on getting a room as quickly as she could.
The bartender strode over, eyes narrowed, a dirty polishing cloth in his hand. Under the pretense of polishing the counter, Chloris saw the innkeeper sizing her up.
She was about to say something when he spoke. His voice made the hair on Chloris' neck stand on end. A bad sign.
"'s not off'n tha females come inta this here fine inn."
A quiet chuckle swept through the room, followed by the thud of a glass being set down. A tall man came to sit down beside her.
Chloris stiffened, hand going back to her dagger, pulling it halfway out of its sheath beneath her cloak.
"wha' ya be wan'n with us folk?" the bartender continued.
Keeping one eye on the man next to her, she replyed, "I am looking for a safe place to clean up and stay for a couple of days. After that I will move on. That's all." She was beginning to wish she had never come.
"But, " she added as an afterthought, " I can find somewhere else."
"Of course," said the innkeeper with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "once ya show us that face of yours."
Chloris started. She fought to keep her voice calm as she said, "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"Yur aweful pale, do ya ever take tha' cloak off?"
Chloris stood and backed away until she hit the wall behind her. The other people stood as well, and their eyes followed her.
"Look," she said, "I will find another place to stay, honestly."
"Sorry, I'm afraid we can' do tha' 'un."
With frantic eyes, Chloris began to count the people in the shadows. Ten.
"Why not." She was keeping them talking while she edged towards the door. They moved slowly to surround her.
"Cause ya know this place exists."
Damn, thought Chloris, I walked in on some conspiracy.
A calm voice surprised her. "Please," it was the man next to her, "if you cooperate you might be safe."
She eyed the group. It seemed that all chance of talking her way out of this was past. She settled into a fighters crouch.
He held out his hands. "come now," he continued, "is it so hard to pull back your hood for a minute? Besides there is ten of us and one of you. Use common sense."
Chloris could see that there was no getting out of this situation by peaceful means, what was to stop them from reporting her to the town guard after seeing her eye? She reached towards her hood, but instead unsheathed the dagger around her neck and charged into the group. Even with her sight and quick reflexes she knew it was a losing battle before she started, but she continued. It was when the bartender ran up behind her and knocked her cloak off that something strange happened.
She whirled to face the next attack, but none came. There was a collective gasp, which she expected, what she hadn't anticipated, however, was the man in front of her's reaction.
"God's who are you?"
She recognized the voice of the man that had told her that she was outnumbered. His voice was not calm anymore, it was more of a shocked murmur. He took a step forward.
She slashed her dagger in the air in front of her to keep him away. The sight of her furry must have brought him to his senses.
"You will be safe here," he said with a distracted smile. "Follow me."
Chloris bent to pick up her cloak. Then, keeping her eyes on the group and the dagger in her hand, she followed the man up a set of stairs into a dim hallway.
Chloris resettled her cloak around her shoulders, he then led her through a dark doorway. She followed slowly, making sure that the door didn't swing fully shut behind her.
The room was plain, but not shabby. A small bed was in the corner and a dresser and a mirror were against the wall. A latched window opened up to the wall of the next building.
Chloris sharpened her Eye's sight so that she could see through the shadows in the corners. There was nothing but cobwebs and a chair.
He pulled up the chair for her and sat on the bed. She made sure it was a good length from him.
"First," he said, seeming to have regained his control, "we will both put down our weapons." He took his a dagger from his belt and through it into a cobweb infested corner.
Chloris didn't make a move to do the same. He didn't seem to notice, "Now we will both take of our cloaks and show our faces to each other."
"Wait," Chloris said suddenly, surprising herself, "the only reason that you would throw down your weapon for a stranger is that you have another, less obvious one at your disposal. After seeing my eyes, you know I could take you down with them alone, so you must have something equally as powerful. Tell me what it is first."
There was a strong bitter tone to his voice when he answered, "I had hoped that you would trust me. It would have made my explanation easier."
"I have not gotten through my life by trusting anyone," she retorted.
"Yes, I thought it might have been that way, but perhaps it you listen you and I might see eye to eye."
He stood and shrugged his cloak off. As he straitened and shook dark hair out of his eyes, Chloris gasped.
His eyes were both red as blood.