A/N: I don't own any of the Bethesda things either! Thank you CabbyBeau for the massive help! I also edited this by removing the lyrics and songs and adding more useful information that clears a few things up. If there's anything that's obscure or difficult to understand, please notify me.
I woke up to the sound of a violent storm.
I don't remember much because I was too busy hugging Caroline who had come in to my 'room' at some point with a look of worry and concern.
You see, I'm terribly afraid of storms, especially thunder storms. Lightning actually doesn't bother me too much; however, I'm mortified by thunder.
Let's just say I'm scared of loud noises.
All I can say is that I wasn't pleased and our little hike was delayed by quite a bit.
To be exact it lasted all morning, I could tell because the sun was past its midday mark.
We packed away all our stuff and set off for the day.
We were walking and walking, trudging along the barren forest. After a while my breath started rasping and I was in dire need of water.
Soon we found the same stream where Caroline and I caught fish the other day and I drank the clear water greedily.
A long time was spent, having a siesta in the warm afternoon breeze, inhaling the smell of the after-storm.
I could barely see the sun over the treetops, which in my mind was not a good sign. The protection of daylight was waning so I quickly suggested we stayed at that inn Caroline and I saw yesterday.
"Inn?" My mother asked confused
"Yeah, inn. We saw one somewhere near here. I think it's a bit fishy but why don't we give it a try. It's too late to set up shelter." Caroline explained
"Strange, yes, but let's give it a try." Kero's mother said hesitantly.
I put my faith into my old compass and led the way through the eerie night-time forest.
Of course, Kero argued over directions but I was right in the end because we found the inn.
The building was made of rotting mossy wood, in some places creeping ivy clung to the structure.
A derelict sign, the hinges screaming every time a wind made the notice swing, read: INN OF ILL OMEN
"Inn of Ill Omen… What a great name to get business." The sarcasm in my voice was v. strong as I opened the door.
The inn was despicable; the wood had looked as if it hadn't seen cleaning products in years; it was so dark I had to squint to get a good look at the bartender, who honestly looked the same state the wood was in.
It was a derelict place, and I was positive that there were wood-louse and maggots creeping around in the dark corners.
"Well, well, well… So rare to see customers here, but even rarer to see customers from Sylvavi." The man said slickly in a raspy voice.
"Silvavi… isn't that past tense for forest?" Caroline wondered to herself
"Yeah, I think it means 'was once a forest' or something along the lines... my Latin's rusty." I replied
"Correct. Your place was once a forest so we called it Silva, but now it is no longer a forest, so Silvavi."
"We would like the cheapest but best rooms you can offer." My mother butted in.
"Well, since it's been so long, I'll let you have two rooms, 10 gold each." He said clasping his hands together
Caroline and I looked at each other.
What was with this loony? Gold?
"We'll take it!" My mother said handing over a 20 euro note.
I was a little surprised at how the mothers did not notice his strange way of speaking and how they didn't say anything about the shitty quality of the inn.
Since the deal was sealed, we walked to our rooms which were crappy and mouldy like the rest of the inn but quite surprisingly the beds were comfortable.
Just before I went to sleep I remembered seeing a man drinking alone in a corner. He looked depressed and a little scared.
Maybe he was running away from something.
I think his name was Rufio.
I wondered what he was doing here… I decided to put my over-thinking brain to rest and just forget the trivial stuff.
Next morning I woke up bleary eyed and to be frank I looked like a zombie. I looked around the room for my clothes, but they were nowhere to be seen.
I started panicking. What if that Rufio guy was actually a rapist? What if he did something to us when we were sleeping? No, that can't be; I still had my underwear on.
A sharp rapping took me from my original panic and sent me hunting for clothes to wear. I tripped over a loose floorboard and looked up to see a dingy dresser.
I looked inside and found some laced leather trousers, a green top and a pair of worn leather boots.
"Come in!" I said looking around for a piece of something to tie my hair with.
"Ah, I see you've found the clothing I left for you. Your other ones just wouldn't be suitable anymore." The innkeeper said slyly. At the time I didn't realise what he meant so I just nodded, "You're parents sent me to fetch you."
I muttered a thank you, dismissed him and went to wake up my best friend.
She woke up bleary eyed too but it seemed that only I was committed to zombie-ness.
I got out the only things left in the drawer: A blue and green dress along with some blue shoes.
Looked more expensive than what I was wearing, but at least I was wearing trousers.
"Sorry dude, but I got the trousers first."
"Don't matter. At least it looks nice." She put it on. Surprisingly it fit her perfectly, despite her slim body.
"We need to go downstairs, we're leaving." I turned to the door and waited for my friend to catch up.
We ran downstairs being the kids we are, and I almost crashed into Rufio-guy if I hadn't done a piece of – if you'll let me say so - awesome footwork.
Caroline did.
Being the sadistic person I am, I had to try really hard not suppress my laughter and even then I let out a small giggle as I helped the poor thing up and led her to our parents.
After much faffing around and many are-you-sure-you-got-everything's and what-are-those-foul-clothes', we stepped outside.
I was glad to get out of that place.
It even smelled ranked of the dirt it wallowed in…
Hopefully the scenery would be nicer now after that ordeal.
I looked around and couldn't believe my eyes.
"What the-?"
End Chapter 2.