CHAPTER 2
She stealthily came upon a town. She watched the town's activity from the woods and around the back of buildings. She saw the comings and goings of human people. She spotted the inn. She crept up to the inn and walked inside. A human man with dark brown hair, blue eyes, and about late forties, was behind the bar washing dishes or something. Nobody was in there and she cleared her throat.
He turned and said with an eyebrow raised, "Who do we av' ere'? Yer from a fer piece away by the looks of ye. What canna do fer ye, lassie?"
She said, "Can I have a room for a week, please?"
He smiled and said, "Ah, an fine manners. It'll be six silver a night, we be havin' a pump, privy, tub in ye room. Best lodgin' round."
Sarah asked, "What's the total?"
He said ,"Four gold, two silver?" She gave him five gold coins. He smiled and handed her back eight silver. She knew the ten to one coin exchange now. She smiled at him.
He grabbed a key and said, "Room four. Meals be four coppers and drinks are two coppers. Tea is one."
Sarah asked, "Can you tell me where I can get a horse and tack? I also need clothing for men?"
He looked at her in surprise and said, "Ah yes, not be wantin' people lookin' so much?" She nodded.
He said, "Tha clothier is left, then right, an four shops to the right. Be 'Thaniel's Wear' on tha sign. Tha smithy be sellin' horses an tack. He be boardin' to fer four coppers a day and be ter ye left straight on."
She smiled and picked up her bags and said, "Thank you. Call me Sar."
He smiled and said, "Call me Griff." She nodded and went up to her room. It was a nice room, plain but had everything you needed in it. The toilet had a full bucket of moss in it. She was going to have to get used to no toilet paper. She put her bags down and got settled in taking off her raincoat and winter coat. She left for the clothier in her hoodie. She kept her hood up and her braid down her back. She ignored people's stare. She entered the store.
The old man about seventy years old was behind the counter and gruffly said, "What do ya need?"
She smiled at him and he frowned looking at her clothes. She said, "I need men's clothing for traveling." He looked surprised.
He said, "Ye be wantin' ta blend in then?" She nodded. He showed her the leggings, pants, and shirts. She got five leggings, two pants, five shirts all in black, dark blue, hunter green and dark brown. She got a long wool black winter cloak, a wide black belt, and a brown pair of boots and a black pair of lace up boots.
The old man tallied up her bill and said, "Lassie, that be twelve gold, two silver, five coppers." She gave him thirteen gold and he gave her seven silver and five coppers back. He wrapped up the items in parcels with twine and she wore the cloak with the hood up. The old man was happy to make a big sale.
She took her parcels to her room and changed her clothes. She could wear her jeans with a tunic because it was long enough to cover her, to mid thigh. She wore a black tunic, her black jeans and the black lace up boots with her jeans tucked in. She left her black boots she was wearing from her world in her room. She had her braid down her shirt and kept her gun holstered and knife on her hip under the tunic with the wide belt over the top. She put her cloak back on and went to the blacksmith.
She walked up to the blacksmith, who was early fifties with black salt and pepper hair, brown eyes and a five o'clock shadow on his bristly face. She was in a large barn and he was by his forge. He turned and gruffly asked, "Whatcha be needin'?"
She said, "I'd like to see the horses you have to sell? I will need full tack with saddle bags too, please?" He was taken aback by her politeness and being female.
He said, "This way lassie. I be seen ye don't be wantin' attention brought ta ye. I don't blame ye fer trying to hide it as a boy. But, ye need to gruff up yer voice when talkin' to people. Yer voice is a girl's and yer face is pretty, so hide it in yer cloak deeper too. Ifin' me daughter was alone an hasta hide her wares. I be wantin' her to do that ta pertect herself, I would."
Sarah said, "Thank you, sir. I will try to do that from now on. Only you, the clothier and the innkeeper know so far."
He nodded and said, "Ye be not from around ere'. Ye talk kinda funny like them royal fae, but differnt'. Yer safe in this town of Caladh. Down the road to tha east bout a day's ride, be a big town called Áitdorcha. It is bad fer a lassie like yerself. They be kidnappin' human women fer selling to the Centaurs and Ogres as breedin' stock. Ye must stick to tha towns like ere'. Ye could go south to tha town of Àiteigin, Loch Glad, Thallansin, or Síosann. Thay be in tha northern part of the Goblin Kingdom. It be friendly thar fer humans to be livin'. Ye need ta have eyes in tha back of yer head lassie when ye be travelin' outside of kingdoms that give pertection inside tha borders. We be under the Goblin Kingdom, but it be cuz we be right on tha border of em'." He showed her three horses.
He said looking at the horses, "This be Leanbh, Sásta an Ghrian(Baby, Happy, and Sun). Ghrian(Sun) be a two year old gelding, twelve gold, Sásta be a five year old mare, be nine gold and Leanbh be a three year old mare, be ten gold." Ghrian was all black with a white star on his head. Leanbh was a brown chestnut with a black mane and tail. Sásta was a gray speckled with white socks black mane and tail.
Sarah said "If I buy the gelding Ghrian, will you give me the full tack included?"
He laughed and said, "Ye be drivin' a ard' bargain. I be doin' it, cuz ye need a good rig an strong horse ta help ye. I be a softie fer that purty ladies." Sarah giggled and it made him smile.
He said, "How long ye be stayin' in town?"
Sarah said, "A week from today. Can you board him for me for seven nights?"
He said, "Sure, it be four coppers a day." The horse was twelve gold for the horse and rig, and two silver, eight coppers for boarding. She gave him thirteen gold. He gave her back seven silver, two coppers.
She said, "Thank you, you can call me Sar."
He said, "Well Sar, I be Aron."
Sarah grabbed the saddle bags from the tack he put in the back of the stall he put Ghrian in and she asked, "Do you have a tanner in town to get leather goods, like larger saddlebags?"
Aron pointed to the right and said, "Straight to tha right, four buildin's down to tha left. It be the cobbler."
Sarah said, "Thank you, Aron. I appreciate everything you just said. I'll be heading south from here to be safe. How far is the nearest town you mentioned?"
She asked the blacksmith if he had a horse curry brush she could buy from him. He sold her a curry brush for a copper coin.
He said, "Àiteigin be about a day's ride southwest. I give ye directions when ye leave town, Sar. Ye be safe, lassie." She waved goodbye after petting Ghrian while they talked.
She went to the cobblers and the little old man said, "I see ye like me belt and boots. I included it in my trade with the clothier." The little old man and his son made beautiful leather goods and shoes.
Sarah said, "I just love it. They're both of fine quality. I'm looking for large saddle bags and a few large leather pouch bags and medium and small." The little old man got excited and was looking for what she needed. Sarah was looking at the shoes and boots he made. They really were excellent quality. She ran across a large leather tote bag in black leather. She took it up to the counter with a pair of nice black leather lined gloves. The tote bag was a heavy leather with strong handles wide enough to hold her popup tent.
The little old man said, "I found you a black large saddle bag already made and I have three kinds of bags in different sizes." She looked them over and got four large leather bags, two medium, two smaller, two coin bag size ones, the saddle bags, the gloves and the large tote.
She put everything in the tote and carried the empty saddlebags back to the inn. She paid seven gold, two silver
She sat on the bed and started breaking down her stuff and reorganizing. She stopped and went down to eat and have an ale. There were about seven people sitting at tables and talking, two up at the six seat bar.
She sat down on the end of the bar and said, "Griff, can I have an ale and what have you got to eat for dinner?" Griff smiled at her.
He said, "Lamb Stew." She gave him a silver and he gave her four coppers back. She sipped on her ale while he went to get her a bowl of stew.
He came back and gave her a big bowl of stew, a piece of bread with a spoon in it. It smelled savoy and seasoned. She loved it and it filled her up. She washed it down with a couple ales listening to the local gossip.
One man was talking about his cousin's daughter who had gone missing. She was coming to see his mother and she disappeared. He was afraid that the kidnappers were pinching people in the Goblin Kingdom inside the border, because she was just going from town to the outskirts of Thallansin, to a cottage outside of the town by the lake to the east. Sarah thought that was scary for her to just disappear like that.
A woman came in and sat down with a couple men and was telling them about a Lord Elidyr of the Elven Kingdom, who commissioned her to make dresses for his daughter. She said it will help her family for a while. She said she had three dresses she was working on already.
A man came in and was telling Griff that the fall harvest was plentiful this year and Goblin King paid them handsomely for the abundance they pulled for his winter stores. He said the king was keeping company with Lady Zilyana of the Fairy Kingdom and Princess Emiline of the Fairy Kingdom.
Sarah went up to her room and took a bath, dumping the water out the window when she was done. She refilled it halfway to wash and rinse her hair. She put on her shorts and a t-shirt for bed. She stoked the fire and dried her hair and braided it. Her hair was getting very long and thick. She braided it was halfway past her butt and unbraided it was past her butt. The room got nice and warm and she sat down reading the four books she brought with her until she fell asleep.
—--2nd day
She slept hard into the morning. She got up and went to the bathroom. She washed her face, brushed her hair. She got dressed again and went down for breakfast and had tea and pastry. Griff sat next to her and had his tea and breakfast.
Griff gruffly said, "Yer one of me better tenants. Ye paid up front and don' complain." She chuckled at him.
His wife came from the back and said, "Griff quit flirting with the lassie and come help me with the venison haunches. I want you to cut them into roasts and I'll visit with our new tenant." He grumbled and said she was no fun.
Sarah put her hand out and the woman shook it. Sarah said, "I'm Sar, I'll be her for the next six days. You are the best cook I have ever tasted. That lamb stew was the best tasting food, frankly, that I've ever had in my life."
She grinned and said, "Me name be Abigail. Me husband said yer a very nice young girl alone from far away. He said ye got here on foot and ye needed clothes and a horse. Did ye find what yer needin', Sar?"
Sarah said, "Oh yes, thank you for asking. I found exactly what I needed. I have a lovely black gelding named Ghrian. He sold him to me with full tack. He is boarding him at the stable for me until next Wednesday."
Griff came out and said he had finished with the venison and Abigail had to go back in the kitchen area.
Sarah took another hot tea up to her room. She went through her stuff and reorganized to accommodate the new stuff. The leather bags were larger than the gallon plastic bags that would fit inside the saddle bags and she was going to pack around it so they wouldn't jingle.
She split her gold in two and after washing it in the tub to get the dirt off of it all and drying it. She counted her gold coins and had a grand total of 813 gold,19 silver, and 13 coppers. No wonder she was so fucking heavy and exhausted when she got here until she put her bags in the room. During her repacking of gold, she split the gold in 390 coins on each side of the saddle bags. She was evenly distributing the extra weight. It weighed evenly at 24.37 pounds on each side of the saddle bags. She thought the coins weigh about an ounce, so it's an estimate. The large saddle bags held the gold which she had her raincoat folded and stuffed around the gold in the bag and added her two books in front. She stuffed her towels around the other gold coins on the other side with her shampoo, conditioner, and a few bars of soap wrapped up in there. The regular saddle bags she wanted up by the withers of the horse. They all had buckles on the outside of each bag. Her large round duffle bag would be strapped and tied down to the back of the saddle across the horse's butt. Her backpack of food was safer there because it was waterproof and the straps could adjust to go around the duffle bag. She had enough rope to secure the entire tie down. Her shoulder bag was much lighter now and could hook over the saddle with the handles tied together attached to the other totes handles she recently bought. The black leather was big enough to put the tent disk in and hang the other side with her boots in it. It had a domed pop up tent inside, it was x-large so you could walk in bent over, but roomy enough to shelter all the bags from the horse and herself.