A Brief Change of Scenery
Fiction Friday
Michael stared in dismay at the interior of the little shack. When Galin had mentioned moving somewhere for a few weeks, this is not what he had pictured.
“Master Galin,” Michael said, pinching his nose and covering his mouth, “why are we here again?”
Galin turned around. He had removed his magic infused ring, so he looked like he rarely did as his real self: a man in his prime with a short brown beard, though his hair was getting longer than he usually let it. “I thought I told you.”
“No, you didn’t,” Michael grumbled. “All you said was you were looking for something.”
“I said more that,” Galin returned as he rummaged through what was left in the couple rooms of the shack.
“We could have stayed anywhere,” Michael complained. “But why this place?” Normally he didn’t complain about whatever Galin did, but this was an extreme case.
“Because,” Galin replied, down to his waist in what looked to Michael to be a pile of rubbish, “I want to lay low while I am here. This kingdom’s ruler doesn’t take too kindly to me.”
“And what, pray tell me, did you do to upset him,” Michael retorted, stepping over what could have been a decaying animal corpse, but he couldn’t tell for sure.
“That I have no idea,” Galin replied, pulling himself out of the pile of rubbish with something in his hands.
“I’m sure you do,” he said. Rosie wouldn’t go anywhere near this place. She was back home in the house Galin let her have, so why did Michael have to come here.
“So what do you want here anyway?” Michael asked, trying to ignore the stench and inspecting the room.
“I am looking for something,” Galin said distractedly.
“What?”
“That I shall keep to myself,” Galin said, giving Michael a look. Michael almost stuck out his tongue in reply.
“Where will we be sleeping?” Michael said, trying to change the subject. He was going to add that he hoped it wasn’t in here but Galin answered before he could.
“You and I will sleep in here of course. There actually is something dead in the loft. Don't worry, our stay will be brief.”
Michael gave up arguing, and went outside. He breathed in the fresh air, and, with a choice curse for Galin, left the vicinity of the rundown place, looking for something interesting. Just about anything would do. He wandered about the golden-brown trees, enjoying the brisk breeze.
Coming to the edge of a small cliff, he saw a town nestled in a small dip in the land. This was situated next to a lake with a castle on an island in the middle. A wooden wall ran along the edge of the town with a gate on each of the four sides.
As the gates were currently open, Michael decided to go to town. The castle gates were open as well, but Galin would warn him against it of course. He wasn’t sure what he’d do there anyway besides looking for any valuables Galin might want. Walking down streets looking for merchants would be interesting enough anyway.
Feeling hungry, he decided to find a tavern first and get something to eat. Finding one was easy. All Michael had to do was go past a few buildings after entering the town and there was the tavern. Walking in under the sign that read The Orc’s Tusk, Michael found a vacant seat and waited for the tavern maid.
He saw her appear through a doorway, holding two steins of ale. She was a handsome elf maid clad in an apron over a simple brown dress. Her two long ears stuck out under her golden hair which flowed over her shoulders and down her back like a waterfall. When she had delivered her steins, she looked around the room. When she saw Michael, she made her way over.
Michael looked around the room. It was a large room, with oaken beams supporting the ceiling at regular intervals. Tables and seats filled the open room in no particular order, and white were curtains drawn to let in as much light as could be. Altogether, it was a cozy place, warmed by a fire off to one corner.
“What do you want, darling?” the elf maiden said when she arrived, flashing a bewitching smile.
Michael gave a friendly smile in return. “I’d like a good stew, if you have one.”
“We have a stew,” she said with a chuckle that sounded like crystal bells.
“I’ll take it, and some ale.”
“Just a moment,” she said, stopping. She turned back to Michael, tossing her golden tresses in the process, and smiled again. “I haven’t seen you before, what brings you here?”
“I’m traveling,” he replied.
“Do you have a sweetheart back home?”
“Yes, she’s very dear to me,” Michael said, about to tell the elf all about Rosie, but her smile disappeared, and she turned her back to him without saying a further word.
Shrugging, Michael waited. A young man sat down next to him.
“She got all angry at me too when I told her I had a sweetheart back home. Course, I lied about that. So, what brings you through?”
“My master is on some business or other,” Michael sighed. “I don’t know what; he hasn’t said much.”
“My master is the same way,” his companion laughed. “Always going after something or another and not telling me the time of day. Course, he’s a wizard, so things are always bound to be interesting. But not when he takes me off to who knows where.” He gave a hearty laugh.
Michael laughed, then he grew somber. There wasn’t anything to do, and the place he was sleeping was dirty and smelled. It was always the same when Galin went searching for things. He sighed. Why couldn’t Galin have left him home. He buried his face in his hands. It was going to be a long three weeks.
The End God bless