Edited 1/29/22 - all chapters are getting a overhaul. Things might not match until this process is complete.
I do not own the Inheritance Cycle. The Pellinor book series was used to help with some details- those I also disclaim.
Enjoy,
The Lazy Oak
When Rose emerged from her bed the next day the sun was high, and only then because Thorn was pestering her through their mindlink. Sleepily she fended him off, trying to crawl back into the enchanting space of dreams, where she was warm and comfortable. At that moment she had forgotten where she was and expected that with wakefulness would come the dripping twigs, wet hard ground, and the bone-aching cold that had been routine. When the warmth didn't disappear, nor Thorn's pestering, she suddenly remembered where she was and sat up.
What is it, Thorn? Rose asked irritably, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
The dragon grumbled in his mind and sent her his concern. The dark has lightened, and the day-circle is high and you have not yet risen.
Removing the nest of hair from in front of her face, Rose drew the sheets back and sat with her feet dangling off the side of the bed. She shook her head in confusion as she wondered if all of her future conversations with Thorn would involve riddles instead of words.
The 'day-circle'? Rose repeated as she yawned, and stretched her arms out in front of her. It's called the 'sun', Thorn. Is that why you woke me? To tell that the sun is up and I am not, or is something amiss?
No.
Then if nothing is wrong do not wake me again. I was enjoying my dreams.
She felt the dragon grumble forlornly, dismayed at have to linger in his isolated patch of woodlands, and withdrew from her mind. Rose stood up, shivering as the cool flooring offended her bare feet, and dressed in leggings and long tunic before padding out of the room into the small sitting room. There she found Ailis seated on a stout divan, wearing a dull blue cotton dress she had never seen before, sipping quietly from a tin goblet. She looked up when Rose entered.
"Did you sleep well?" Ailis asked.
"Better than I have in quite some time. And you?" Rose said, hiding another yawn. "Oh! How's Tornac? Do you happen to know?"
The woman glanced in Tornac's direction with a slight frown. "He shall be well enough soon," she said. "We however have much to do today and very little time to dally. First, though, I think that a late breakfast is in order."
Rose wiped the strands of knotted hair from her face, instantly cheered. The thought of food, a true to honest real meal, sounded far too good to be true. She quickly agreed, and after a quick wash Rose and Ailis went to the taproom for a meal, allowing Tornac the opportunity to rest peacefully in their rooms without disturbances.
The taproom was a grim room with a sandstone hearth, over which stood an empty dented copper ewer. There were wood-planked walls stained by years of wood smoke, and stained runners on the dark wooden floor. A few farmers sat quietly at tables drinking the tawny local beer, but otherwise it was almost empty.
The innkeeper was a rather portly man who introduced himself as Digne. He came over to them not long after they entered, a tray of drinks ready to be served balanced in his beefy hands, and Ailis ordered them some wine and a breakfast of sausages and fresh bread as they took a seat. After the innkeeper took their orders Ailis asked about finding a market, and was told that there was a decent one in the town of Cartama which was only a two hour or so ride east. With a nod and her thanks, she then asked after a lauders for their soiled attire. Digne assured that he would arrange for their washing to be taken to the lauders and that it would be ready by the next morning.
It was not long after the innkeeper went to serve another table that a little boy about four with a stock of curly hair and dark eyes served the wine, carrying the clay decanter with great seriousness, as if he carried the most precious crystal. Ailis looked down at the boy, as he slip the carafe clumsily onto the table nearly slipping it, and thanked him solemnly. The boy grinned toothily at her and ducking his head, he scurried away.
As Rose poured herself a good share of the spiced wine, she looked over and saw Ailis looking after the boy with her chin resting in her hands, her lips pursed. Frowning, Rose called after her but Ailis did not move until the boy disappeared around the corner.
Ailis looked up and met Rose's eyes with a sigh. "Pardon me," she said airily. "I seemed to have been lost in thought. When, oh, what's his name- that's right Digne- yes?-" Rose nodded "-When do you believe he will return? I have another question I would very much like to ask him or his wife. Providing of course that he has a wife, I believe, he does but I cannot seem to remember."
"He does," said Rose. "We frightened her half to death last night when we awoke them to get a room."
Ailis nodded thoughtfully. "I was hardly listening to a thing he said," she said. "I believe I was far too relieved and tired. This has been a long and hard journey."
Rose silently agreed, and looked down at the table. "I would like to know how much longer we have to go," she said quietly.
"Quite a long way actually," said Ailis. "We haven't gone very far, to be honest, just in circles. I took a hard look at the map this morning, and we have wasted a good chunk of time doing very little."
Closing her eyes, Rose sighed and scratched her hand. If they hadn't traveled far at all then how long would be until got somewhere where they could truly rest? She longed to find a place to sit and do nothing, and have no worry of what might come.
Shortly afterward Digne's wife, an overly cheerful woman with the same dark hair as her son, brought them their meal. After the thin fare of the previous weeks Rose's mouth was watering, and she was taken aback by how quickly her serving disappeared.
Once the food was cleared away, and two scratched tin goblets were refilled to the brim with a fair wine, they sat without speaking in the nook by the fire, very well content.
"Your husband fit, ma'am?" asked the Digne in passing, as he carried some beers to another table. "Couldn't help but notice that he looked a tad under the weather, I did."
"It's nothing a short rest can't mend," Ailis said dropping her voice into a low accent.
"Just passing through, is you?"
"That's the idea. My husband's brother is expecting us up over in Meher in a week's time."
"Meher's quite a ways over west," said Digne, shifting on his feet and ducking his head as one of the farmers called him over. "Just wanted to make sure your husband wasn't in a bad state. Have a good day, ladies." He turned away and served the men over at a table far from them, chattering happily with the rough weathered men.
Ailis nodded, her lips pressed together in a hard line, and looked to Rose who had watched the exchange quietly. "Come along, there is much that must be done today and I don't fancy wandering from this place later than we should."
Ailis and Rose then made their way to where they stabled their horses the night before and after saddling them, they rode through the snow to the market town of Cartama in the east. Rose had never been to a town market, only the overly crowded market in the many webbed streets of Urû'baen, and even then never had she been given the opportunity to join the crowd or even observe their proceedings, and so she was both fascinated by the colors and smells and sounds.
There was a lad marching around the square calling; "ribs of beef and many a pie!" He was baring a tray laden with wooden bowls filled with cooked meats, and as a man called him, he scurried over. Rose saw huge round bellied pumpkins, their orange skin slightly wrinkled from winter storage; purple and green jumbled winter cabbages; streaky red apples, sweet and slightly wrinkled, resting in large weaved baskets There were piles of dried beans and peas and yellow lentils. She saw brown grains, bunches of garlic and onions, sacks of hazelnuts, and great rounds of cheeses wrapped in leaves plumped fatly on wooden trestles. Over everything was the drifting smell of freshly baked breads, and everywhere were the sounds of donkeys braying and cows lowing and goats bleating in distant stalls and dogs barking and the chattering of townspeople bargaining, that left Rose with a strange energy burning through her veins.
Ailis was quick to pull her out of her sightseeing and into a small sweet smelling bakery, where people cast them odd and distrustful looks. Ailis looked around and bought an enough cheap, tough bread to last them quite some time before she led Rose to the clothiers. There a demanding withered woman with wiry hair covered by a blue felt hat decorated with bells that jiggled loudly as she moved about, and bargained furiously with Ailis over a plain olive-colored dress made of rough wool. After some time Ailis handed over more coins than it looked like she was willing to give and snatched the dress up. She handed it immediately presented to Rose with a loud huff. "We're enough of a curiosity traveling in winter, without proper dress and I'd rather people didn't snoop," Ailis explained to her as they whisked to the butchery.
Ailis assisted Rose slip into the one of the shop's backrooms while no one was looking, and there she was able to change into the dress. Stuffing her tunic into Ailis' shoulder bag, she had left her leggings on under the dress for warmth, she walked back outside, scarcely flitting around the hefty shopkeeper, and rejoined Ailis at the edge of the square where two minstrels were playing the pipes and a fiddle. They were dressed in bright clothes, with navy scarves tied around their necks, and a hat laid on the ground in front of them for coins. Ailis drifted in a leisurely fashion around the market chatting with the stallholders, Rose following behind silently keeping an ear out for the minstrels' loud singing. As the sellers told them of the recent events, Rose slowly began to feel disheartened and troubled, and began wishing to leave the market and the music behind to ride back the hamlet with the inn.
It was just before dusk when they returned from Cartama with a supply of dried fruits and meats, barely flour and grain, a little oil and vinegar, some of the tough pasty bread, and a small sack of oaks for the horses. After carrying their supplies to the room they packed their baggage as Rose talked to Tornac about what she had seen.
Tornac seemed to have arisen from bed at last, glassy eyed and still flushed with fever, and they decided that they should eat in their room that night and arranged for a meal to be brought to them. They ate a tasty roast with crumpled vegetables followed by creamed apple pasties in routine silence, and Rose took care to eat slowly. Her stomach had been offended by the haste in which she ate in that morning.
Afterwards they sat near the lit hearth as Ailis had promised a tale from her homeland which seemed to become more and more outlandish as it went on, and soon she found herself full of burning humor. As the tale came to a close Tornac reached over and slid the carafe of wine back from Ailis' reach. He caught Rose's eyes and winked, completely ignoring the dark look Ailis sent him as he did so. "What you have will be enough, I say," he said as Rose covered her smile with her hand, not wanting Ailis to turn on her.
"Wine is hardly alcohol, Tornac," Ailis said severely. "It would take much more than a small glass to set me out of sorts. Oh, stop it, you rogue, and give it here."
Rose bit back a laugh as Tornac spiritedly moved the pitcher onto the ground beside him earning him a very harsh look from the woman. The good humor did not last as Tornac began to cough into his chest, he quickly turned away from them, and his face peaked.
When the coughed stopped, leaving Tornac completely breathless, Rose asked if he wished to rest but her concern was met with a harsh refusal. Rose looked away, her face feeling very hot, and blankly watched the dancing fire.
Not long after, the innkeeper returned to clear away the plates. "That was a king among meals," commented Tornac, and Digne smiled happily at him looking pleased.
"Nesta will be grand happy to hear that," he said. "She takes a lot of care in cooking, so she does, even if business is slow and most don't mind enough to notice."
"Things have gotten worse over the past few years, that's for sure," said Tornac. "My cousin runs an inn near Belatona, and can scarce keep body and soul together".
Digne's crooked eyebrows lifted. "I hear the taxes is getting worse in the south. And them titled folk leave scarce little for the people to make life with, living high on the sweat of others with nary a thank you," he said with a sad shake of head. He shifted and seemed to settle in for a long conversation. "Worse yet, I've rumors of raids in the north. Urgals, they say, coming down from the mountains and raves whole villages. Nesta fears they may their head our way soon and we'll have to flee."
"It's bad, make no mistakes," Tornac paused to cough hoarsely into his hands. "These may be dark days indeed, Mr. Digne, but know that not all folks are like that, some are still decent"-he fought back a cough- "Dark days or no, I have to get some sleep."
"And I have my own business to be getting to, instead of yammering here like an old woman," said Digne. "A good night to you!"
After he left, Ailis, who had sat silently beside Rose during the conversion, stood up and locked the door behind him. She looked thoughtful. "I don't know about you but I'm going to use the advantages of bathing while there's still a chance to," Ailis said and left the room.
Tornac began to cough once more, before he too stood and excused himself, leaving Rose alone in on the divan. There she sat dreamily sipping on hot spiced wine, staring into the fire, feeling the warmth. The wind brew thick flakes of snow against the window and howled through the trees outside, and she felt extremely grateful she wasn't out in the night. As soon as she finished the wine, she roused herself and contacted Thorn before heading to bed.
Waking late the next morning, Rose emerged feeling stronger than she had in a long time. She lounged lazily, feeling no hurry to rise. There would be plenty of hastiness again soon, so why not enjoy a comfortable bed while she could?
Eventually, she got out of bed and clothed herself in the stiff, coarse dress Ailis purchased the prior day, before padding into the sitting room where Ailis and Tornac were eating a breakfast of sausages, boiled eggs, and black beans. She sat down near them and joined them in their meal.
Over their meal, they discussed their immediate plans. Ailis thought they should leave for Ludène, an ample sized town that balanced along the rocky shores of Woadark Lake, the following day. "I think our best bet to voyage on the road for now," she said. "I imagine that if your health were to decline again, Tornac, we would be within the reaches of aid."
Tornac eyed her over his wine glass, which was raised close to his mouth, and he took a long draft.
"What about Tho- our sizable friend?" asked Rose. "We cannot have him pursuing us along the road, surely, someone will be bound to notice him."
Ailis hesitated. "It might be best to ask him that question."
Travel along the road if you must. Thorn's voice sounded loudly in Rose's head: he had been so quiet she had forgotten she was still in connection with him through their mind-touch. I will fly high so that no will see me.
When he remained silent she turned to Ailis, who was moving the beans around the plate with her knife in distaste, and told her of the dragon's answer. Ailis nodded in understanding, and pushed the beans away. "Rest up while you can," Ailis said, getting up to check in on the horses. "I'm planning on us leaving early tomorrow."
For the rest of the day, they lounged in the inn and it wasn't long before Rose grew weary of the wood grained walls, and she walked outside to observe a group of grubby, barefoot children that were playing in the road. From the shadowing overhang of the stables she saw the children were pitifully thin and their clothes were rags and scraps, barely enough to keep them warm in the summertime let alone winter. They were playing a sort of game she had never seen before, one of the children had a rag tied around his head covering his eyes and the other children ran around him shouting out nonsense until the blinded child would grab at them. After a time a small boy, little more than two years, was shoved out of the way by an older girl as she ran out of the way of the blindfolded boy, and began to bawl as he fell into a puddle. One of boys, with a mass of black hair on his head, backhanded the girl across her head and the wet boy began to scream more loudly causing the boy with his eyes covered to rip off the cloth and shouted angrily at them.
Suddenly a door shot open and a big woman ran out, holding a frying pan, screaming. "'nough o' this, hollerin' an' whatsnot! What do ya thinkin' ya doin'? Getter back ta yer mo'her awl o' ya!"
The children looked up, frightened, and scrambled off into one of the houses.
After the woman shuffled back inside her home, Rose hurried inside the Lazy Oak, up the narrow stairway and into the rooms they were renting. For the rest of the day, she stayed inside talking silently with Thorn, as Tornac was sleeping the day away and Ailis was nowhere to be found.
Eventually she bid Thorn a good night, and made her way to bed, quickly falling asleep. Rose woke in the blackness before dawn to the sound of rain drumming on the roof, and she sighed. Reluctantly she dragged herself out of the warm bed and dressed, shivering in the cold. She, Tornac and Ailis made a hasty breakfast, standing up in the kitchen with Digne and his wife before walking to the sables and after burdening their horses they rode out into the mucky streets of the hamlet. A rainy blackness covered them, and Rose contacted Thorn, and he agreed to fly high above them. The half moon westerned slowly into long bands of dark clouds, giving little light. She looked back at the welcoming golden lit windows of the inn through the darkness, and thought of the warm shelter they had left.
