Bakkian Chronicles, Book I - The Prophecy (19 page)

After two hours of solid walking they finally emerged from the forest to a very welcoming sight: the impressive Zylan river stretching from east to west as far as the eye could see. And there, running parallel to the mighty river was the enchanted road they had been so desperately searching for.

“
Oh, score!!!” Steve let out a loud whoop of victory. “Is THAT a sight for sore eyes!”

Sarah sighed, relief flooding through her system, soothing her more than a glass of iced tea could ever do, and boy was she craving a glass of tea. Shading her eyes from the sun, she scanned up and down the road, looking for any forks that might have led them astray. Nothing.

This was indeed a good sign. Now that the road was again in sight, she wanted nothing more than to be standing square in the middle of it. She grabbed her husband’s hand and pulled him behind her, practically breaking out in a run in order to get to the safety-enhanced road as soon as possible. Once on it, she finally released his hand and turned to face him.

“
Are you okay?” Steve could only imagine how relieved his wife must be to be back on the path. He hadn’t registered one word of complaint as he was drug along behind his wife during her urgent dash to the enchanted road.

“
Just very glad to be right here. Very, very glad.” She sighed again.

“
Tell you what, the way I see it, that village Kornal spoke of should be close. Let’s see if we can find a place to stay for the night.”

“
And how do we pay for it?”

“
We have the grif.”

“
What if it’s not enough?”

“
Then we’ll figure something out. Come on.” It was his turn to take her hand and pull her down the road.

In high spirits, the two visitors journeyed east, adopting a hurried pace. Steve glanced up, noting the position of the sun. It was directly overhead, placing the time somewhere around noon. If they kept due east at a respectable pace, then he figured they should be able to reach the village of Donlari just before sunset. He had every intention of procuring a room for the night with a bed and decent provisions. And, he was fairly confident that his single gold grif would be more than adequate to cover the cost of the room plus the supplies.

Walking silently hand-in-hand, both observed the immense slow-moving river. They could just make out a boat of some sort with what looked like cargo and supplies on it, gently drifting downriver.

The Zylan river, running parallel to the road they were on, was the main method of transportation for the Lentarian people when it came to moving supplies from the western region of the kingdom to the east. Citizens used the wide, calm river to transport crops, manufactured goods, livestock, etc, to the main capital city, R’Tal.

Steve looked at the smooth, glass-like texture of the river and wondered if they might be able to make a raft of some sort so they wouldn’t have to walk. He rapidly nixed that idea. The river simply wasn’t flowing that fast. Besides, he wouldn’t trust any raft he was capable of making to be seaworthy.

True to his earlier estimate, just as the sun was about to dip below the horizon, two weary Americans beheld the village of Donlari as it was preparing to settle down for the night. Not wasting any time, Steve walked straight over to the first person he saw, a local who was busy packing his wares into his cart.

Steve cleared his throat. “Pardon me, can you tell me where we can find the nearest inn?”

The merchant glanced up, noticing a potential sale. “Good evening, travelers! What might I be able to do for ye? Have ye an interest in fine crockery?” He hastily pulled a few choice pots from his cart and proffered them to Sarah. “Ye will not find a finer made pot in these parts, let me assure ye.”

Steve gave his best amiable smile. “Not today, thanks. Can you point us to the closest inn? Is there one in this village?”

The merchant noted the strange affliction to the way they spoke, but he had heard far stranger. Nodding, he pointed towards a street still packed with people. “Ye will find several here in this village. The closest is just
down that alley
. Follow the alley until it dead-ends, then turn right. Ye cannot miss it. Thacken Lodge. Ye will do no better in Donlari.”

“
Thank you.”

The merchant nodded, dragging his cart away, disappearing into the crowds of people. Steve shifted the pack to his other shoulder to give his aching right shoulder a break.

“
Come on,” Steve took her hand. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be caught out here when it gets dark.”

Thacken Lodge was a large, three story stone and mortar structure with several chimneys poking out of the top of the thickly thatched roof. Dark smoke was billowing out of one of the chimneys as cheerful lights and music beckoned to the two of them from the open double doors. Giving Sarah a brave smile, he ducked into the inn, his wife following closely on his heels. Navigating around the bustling patrons, Steve glanced around, noticing the huge vaulted ceiling with the exposed rafters, the roaring fire in the huge hearth, and running along the entire length of the far wall, a large wooden counter. The medieval equivalent of a bar? Several patrons were seated at various spots along the counter. Figuring the large man behind the bar to be the owner, he headed in that direction.

Sarah blinked her eyes, waiting for them to adjust. The atmosphere felt warm and welcoming to her, albeit a tad on the dirty side. There was a crackling fire in the hearth against the far wall. Sounds of banging pots and general laughter came from a room to the right of the roaring fire. The kitchen maybe? Scents of burnt meat wafted lazily about. Numerous scarred tables and benches were scattered across the room. Many were empty, so she reasoned the lodge had to have at least a few vacancies.

Steve finally made it to the counter and caught the proprietor’s attention. The burly overweight man ambled in his direction, wiping his hands on a worn, greasy apron. “What can I do for ye?”

“
We need provisions, and a room for the night. Do you have any available?”

The owner of the lodge scratched his beard with a huge hand. “I s’pose ye are one of
Rhenyon’s
men? Still irks me why I must give away m’ best rooms fer free.”

“
Umm, I’m not with Rhenyon, whoever that is. I just need food and lodging for the night. I can-”

The owner leaned precariously over the bar, studying Steve intently. He then noticed Sarah behind him, watching closely.

“
Good news, indeed. But can ye pay?”

“
Well,” Steve stammered, “I have a-”

The owner cut him off. “Can ye perform some type of service in exchange?”

The rusty wheels upstairs ground into motion. “I can probably help out with cooking. I seem to have the ability to heat things up.” He looked at the large man in front of them and smiled. “Rapidly.”

The man’s jaw hit the counter. One would have thought that the stranger had just announced that he had slept with his daughter. “Speak ye the truth? Can ye affect large cauldrons or are ye limited to small objects?”

Now he was in for it. He hadn’t expected the innkeeper to actually entertain his notion of helping in the kitchen. Did they have a shortage of cooks in this tavern? Steve shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “I haven’t noticed any size
limitations
, if that’s what you’re wondering. Umm, do you actually need some help in the kitchen?”

Their new friend ran his hands through his thick, black hair.

“
Ye might have heard me before. Rhenyon is the captain of the royal guards. He and most of his men will be staying here tonight and are due to arrive at any moment. The king’s soldiers get free lodging wherever they go, and I have to have enough food ready when they arrive, which I do. But I was given no notice this time, and the food has not yet been prepared. My wife can cook for that many, but it takes time to prepare that much food. So,” he tapped his meaty finger on Steve’s chest, “help my wife get that food ready in time, and the two of ye may stay the night with a meal. We have an accord, yes?”

Steve’s grin ran from ear to ear. “Deal.” He offered his arm, which was grasped in return. He turned to Sarah. “Can you watch the pack? Seems I have a little cooking to do.” He turned back to the barkeep. “Umm, sir, can my wife sit at one of the tables and wait for me? We’ve been travelling all day. I know she’s tired.”

“
Call me Thack. As for yer wife, not a problem. Better yet…” He whistled shrilly. A small, skinny boy of perhaps ten years darted out from one of the back rooms. “Ellis, take the lady and her things up to a room. See that she has what she needs.”

The boy took the pack easily on his shoulder and gestured for Sarah to follow.

“
Go on up, babe. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“
I’ll go up and get us settled. Then I’ll be back. I’ll bet I can help out, too.”

“
Hon, don’t start. Just go up and rest.”

“
Nothing doing. We’re in this together. Besides, I don’t want to be alone up there.”

Thacken, who had heard the entire argument, shook his head. If another person was willing to help his wife out, no one would catch him arguing.

“
Okay, fine. But try to rest a little, will you? Join me when you can.” He kissed his wife tenderly and watched as she disappeared up the stairs.

He clapped his hands together. “Okay, show me where I can find the kitchen.”

Thacken whistled again, loud and shrill. “Bolli, come out here for a moment, will ye?”

A harassed, middle aged woman wearing a brown apron appeared in one of the doorways.

“
Thack, what is it? I have not the time for these interruptions. There’s much work to be done an’ I don’ see ye doing it!!”

“
This is…” Thacken looked at Steve.

“
My name is Steve.”

“
Steve. He will be assisting ye while ye are cooking for Rhenyon and his men.”

“
A man? In my kitchen? Are ye daft? This is not the time for jokes, Thack.”

Steve spoke up. “Believe it or not, ma’am, I think I can help you out. I have a knack for making things hot. Really hot really fast.”

“
Do ye now? Unless ye can somehow manage to heat up three cauldrons at the same time, ye would just be in my way.”

Steve smiled. “As a matter of fact, I believe I can.”

Bolli’s eyes widened. She studied Steve a moment. “Changed my mind, I have. If ye can do what ye say ye can do, then ye just became our guest of honor. This way, hurry!”

Bolli guided Steve into the back of the kitchen where three enormous metal pots were sitting against the back wall. Two were full of what looked like stew, and the third was being prepped. She had clearly been interrupted in the middle of finishing the final cauldron.

“
So what can ye do? How do ye plan on heating all three?”

Steve looked around. “Where can we put these things that won’t be affected by intense heat?”

Bolli gestured to a section of the wall where a series of metal hooks were protruding from the stone. “Ye can put the pots there. I typically do not prepare this much food at one time, but I had Thack install extra hooks in case I ever needed to.”

“
Will it hold the weight of the cauldron and the food?”

“
Thacken fastened those hooks into solid stone. They are going nowhere, trust me.”

Grunting and straining, Steve hung two of the full pots on their hooks in the huge hearth. After Bolli finished preparing the third, he (with Bolli’s help) hung it next to the other two.

Stretching her back, Bolli eyed her assistant. “Now what?”

Steve gently guided Thacken’s wife away from the enormous metal pots.

“
To make sure I get this right, I’m going to heat just one cauldron first. Keep an eye on the contents. I’ll start increasing the heat, and it’s going to cook. Fast. If it starts getting too hot too fast, let me know, okay? Once it looks good, we’ll start on the other two. Sound good?”