• The Midnight Escapade

    Thoumas surveyed the small inn with his one good eye narrowed in suspicion. This was defiantly a seedy looking place. With his mouth set in a grim line he slid gracefully of the back of his chestnut mare and led her towards the stable by the reins. The hostler greeted him with a gap toothed, but cheery grin and promised to take good care of “the young master’s mount.” The smile didn’t reach his eyes which were roaming over Thoumas’s belt where his wallet was tied. The young noble shook the man’s hand and slipped him a gold piece. Hopefully that would be enough to keep his belongings safe for the night. He was beginning to think he would have been better off sleeping out in the woods despite the reports of bandits roaming freely through this area. Too late now, the hostler was already leading his only transportation into her stall. The hostler shooed Thoumas out of his barn and onto the well worn path and into the inn full of shady looking men.
    The main room was a haven for a traveler who wished to remain unnoticed, it had an abundance of corners hidden in shadow. That was just as well for Thoumas who wished nothing more than to drench himself in obscurity. He placed an order at the bar for a room and a drink. The bartender had a menacing air about him, he spoke in an oily drawl that sent chills down Thoumas’s spine, and his dirty apron was smeared with what looked like blood. The young man was glad to get away once he had placed his order. The floor of the inn was covered with rushes that smelled strongly of sour ail and rotten meat. Thoumas wrinkled his nose and stepped over a hefty man lying in the stinking mess and groaning incoherently. A barmaid was fanning him with one hand as she shook his broad shoulder with the other. Thoumas saw one of the man’s eyes open and glint with wicked mirth as he shot up and kissed the unsuspecting girl on the lips. She scowled and swatted him with the back of her hand before bustling off to serve another customer.
    Thoumas settled at a table near the back of the room and away from all the raucous. He felt a hand tap his shoulder and he looked up to smile, and thank the maid who handed him his drink but froze with disbelief when their eyes met. She had vivid amethyst eyes that seemed to glow in the shadowy light. The woman would have been striking even without that most prominent feature, she had olive colored skin and her slender face was framed with wispy, honey brown curls. Almost more astounding to the noble was that her hair flowed down her back to brush her waist. In the Kingdom of Aelethia, only the highest ranked nobles dared to wear their hair so long. The barmaid smiled with more than a little amusement and reached across the distance between them to cup his chin gently and close his mouth which had been hanging open as though he were a complete imbecile. Thoumas felt his face flush and he immediately tried to lose himself within the dark depths of his pewter goblet only to discover, with much disgust, that there was something suspicious floating around in it. He glanced up again to ask her to take in back, but she was already across the room tending to another customer. He shied away from calling her over to help him, still embarrassed about his behavior. After a moments contemplation, Thoumas unceremoniously dumped the contents of his goblet onto the floor and stomped upstairs to his room.
    The chamber was a little cramped, with only enough room for a small bed and a wash basin but it smelled clean enough so he removed his boots and checked to make sure everything was still in the bags he’d left with a maidservant at the door. They had obviously been looked through, that was to be expected, but fortunately he carried anything of value on his person so nothing had been taken. He pulled of his right glove and then carefully slipped off the left one, one finger at a time to reveal, not flesh, but a claw of mottled blue and green scales. Each of his fingers was tipped with a black talon that had been carefully trimmed so it didn’t poke through the thick fabric of his glove. He stared at the monstrosity with some disgust and then dipped both hands into the washbasin to clean off a weeks worth of road dust. Thoumas also removed the black eye patch covering his right eye to wash his face. He stared at his reflection in the water. His black hair was dripping wet from the washing he’d given it, revealing slightly pointed ears. His newly uncovered eye was electric blue with a reptilian-like pupil, and surrounded by soft mottled scaled that matched the ones on his hand. Otherwise his face could pass as normal; high cheekbones, full lips, and a smooth chin, dragon kin never have to worry about shaving. When he finished, Thoumas blew out the lamp and drifted off to sleep.
    He awoke to a piercing scream sometime after midnight. He leapt to his feet and peered out the window, it was starting to get light. He had overslept. He pulled on his gloves and covered his eye before rushing down the stairs, both of his packs in hand. The woman from last night was on the ground, one hand held aloft to block her attacker’s next blow. It was the bartender, Thoumas noted sourly. He caught the man’s arm as it descended towards its victim. “No real man attacks a helpless woman,” He rumbled angrily.
    “That is not a woman,” exclaimed the bartender, “That is a worthless, thieving wench who deserves to hang at the gallows!” Thoumas shoved the man away angrily, and helped the barmaid to her feet. Blood dribbled out of the corner of her mouth. She wiped it away angrily and spit a mouthful at her boss’s feet.
    “You worthless pig scum, you can’t face me in a fair fight so you attack me from behind,” she was shaking with rage, “and you call yourself a man?”
    “Get out of here Anette, go back to your filthy, lying father!” Anette lurched towards the man with an angry hiss, but Thoumas caught her around the middle and pushed her out the door. He followed after dropping a couple silver pieces onto the table, “For your trouble,” he explained quietly. His horse was tethered to a tree near the front door, grazing without a care in the world. He caught sight of the hostler disappearing into the stable. He had apparently watched the whole episode through the window.
    “I’m not letting him just throw me out,” she exclaimed angrily, “I do have some pride.” Anette began to saunter towards the door. Thoumas caught her hand and pulled her towards his horse instead.
    “Lord knows what he will do to you if you return. If you want to retain your pride then come with me. I will take you back to your father.” There was a devious glint in Anette’s eyes as she sized up her rescuer.
    “Oh, so you’re my knight in shining armor then? Delivering me from the hands of my oppressor,” She regarded him thoughtfully, “Doesn’t that mean you’re supposed to sweep me off my feet and bring me home to your glorious castle so you can take me to wife?” Thoumas could only stare in shock as he listened to her lilting brogue. Anette laughed good naturedly, “I’m only kidding laddybuck, I appreciate the offer, now don’t just stand there; help me up onto that great hulking beast of your so we can be on our way.” Thoumas obliged, easily lifting the tiny woman into the saddle before climbing up himself. His passenger laughed uproariously, “You might want to untie your horse before we go, that is, unless you’re planning on dragging this tree behind us all the way to my father’s court?” He blushed and leaned down to untie the rope before nudging the horse into a trot; this was going to be a long ride.