Authors: Alaina Stanford
"Cut it out, Nicole." Sarah snapped. "This is all wrong.
What's
going on here?
What's wrong with you
?
Where is the old Nicole, the bitch we've all grown to tolerate?
"
Jack couldn't help but grin at that remark as Sarah continued
.
"The old Nicole would have given Jack a black eye for even thinking of diving on top of her and rolling around in the grass. Instead you laughed yourself into a coma that we're just supposed to forget about because you smile and say your fine!"
"There is nothing wrong with me Sarah." Nicole's smile finally vanished.
"All right then, what about Todd? He was suppose to be an elf warrior and he's some kind of monster.
"
Sarah glanced at Todd with a sympathetic frown for a brief moment before continuing. "Nicole, you're the lawyer do something! Threaten to sue Dr. Strong if he doesn't deliver what he promised
.
This is not the adventure we paid for
.
If he can't control it I say we call the whole thing off
.
This is all your fault
.
We trusted you; you said you checked him out. You said he was completely capable of delivering the type of adventure he advertised."
"Maybe he has," Nicole smiled wickedly at them. "Maybe this is his way of telling us to lighten up. Maybe he went over our profiles last night and decided to make a few changes. After all Jack's personality is completely different from Tom's
.
Tom is a very serious concentrated individual. Jack is light-hearted and unfocused. Maybe he just shuffled us around a bit to make it more interesting and to teach us a few things about ourselves."
"Oh so now you're telling me this has turned into some sort of self growth
bullshit. “Sarah snapped.
“Look at you, Sarah. You're more confident, more in control and you've said
more in the last two minutes than I've heard you say in the last five years
.
The silent
wallflower has died."
"And you've had a mental collapse.” Sarah retorted, she
wasn't
about to admit
she found herself just as Nicole described.
''The only thing wrong with your theory, Nicole is that Jack didn't change." Hopper stepped in between the women trying to turn the conversation.
"Look, we've only got so much time here. Let's stop the analysis and make the
most of it." Jack declared, ending the discussion. "Hopper, what did you find?"
"There's a small village through the woods about a mile from here. It's got a
stable and an Inn not much more,
” Hopper
answered, then grinned through a vicious set
of fangs.
"How'd you find it so fast?" Jack asked with a quick glance at Nicole, realizing
her eyes were tracing the outline of his leathery vest and pants.
"I started jogging. These long legs can cover a mile in record time and I didn't
even break a sweat
.
Maybe being a troll isn't going to be so bad?" Hopper turned to
Sarah, "How about a kiss?" She screamed and tried to escape his grasp to no avail.
"Okay you two love birds let's get moving." Jack said heading to follow Nicole
who was already eagerly moving up the rise.
A large gray hawk kept constant vigil over the small group as they moved through the thick layer of trees and silvery brush toward the village
.
Two white squirrels hopped from branch to branch,
scurrying close to the adventurers before turning to dash back into the brush. A few paces away a
large
antlered
deer
boldly stopped to stare as they paused just inside the tree line and examined the small cluster of rustic buildings.
Several small dilapidated cottages lined the arrow dirt road that ran through the center of the tiny village
.
Each shack consisted of just enough wood and straw to keep a light rain from penetrating the exterior. Across from the tiny homes stood a large
hovel which
served as the local inn. The two-story wooden structure was in severe disrepair, although apparently still functioned.
"Maybe Hopper should stay out of sight.” Jack suggested, hesitantly, "He might
draw unwanted attention."
“What about Nicole?" Sarah answered defensively. "I don't see any elves . . ."
"If we spend all our time arguing about what to do we'll never get anything
accomplished.
I'm going in." Nicole said casually then moved forward swiftly, leaving them all behind.
"Hopper, stay here with Sarah," Jack ordered, as he jumped over a fallen log and
dashed
after Nicole.
The remnant of a sign hung above the entrance of largest dwelling. The word
'Inn'
was crudely scratched
on both sides.
"Well, I don't see any 'condemned' notices, so I guess it's safe to enter.
"
Jack
grinned wondering what kept the so called 'Inn' from crushing the small stable next door as it appeared to be leaning on it for support
.
As
they neared, Jack realized the stables were actually in worse repair than the
Inn
itself. Yet Nicole walked right past the Inn and headed toward the small stables. Moving to the entrance,
Nicole smiled in greeting at a filthy young boy dressed in rags and mud. The boy
. not
more than twelve ignored them and continued to work feverishly scraping muck from the hoof of a white mare.
Jack called to the boy as he came up beside Nicole. "Are you in charge here?"
"Yep.
"
The boy answered without
so
much as a glance in their direction.
"We’re here to . . . well we are suppose to . . ." Jack stumbled, looking for the right words.
"You've got something for us boy." Nicole said. She smiled wickedly and extended her hand toward the child. "We're in a hurry, so let's have it."
"Have what?" The boy dropped the horse's leg and straightened up, staring
intently at Nicole.
"You've got our supplies and money boy. Hand them over and be quick about it."
Nicole answered, her eyes sparkling in the dim light of the stables. The boy stood unmoving, his eyes wide, mouth agape staring at Nicole.
"We don't want any trouble." Jack added with a smile, stepping in front of
Nicole. "We just want what we've got coming." Jack knew those were the wrong words
as soon as he told them. He stepped back a pace expecting a gang of cutthroats to jump
out of the rafters and 'give it to them'.
"A tall, really old man, dropped off some stuff a while back." The boy glanced at
Jack. "If you can tell me what the two looked like that
were
with him, you can have the
it."
"How about a tiny dark-eyed man and a delicious blonde nymph.
"
Jack said with
a wink at Nicole.
The boy's eyes narrowed centering back on Nicole. "Elves don't usually work for
humans.”
"That's none of your concern boy." Nicole snapped with controlled glee. "Now
get those supplies."
"And a map.
"
Jack added
.
He stepped toward the boy to offer assistance and
jerked back after the overwhelming stench of the stables reached him.
"There's horses in the back corral, you should head out there and get what
ya
need. I’ll get your supplies from the
Inn
Keeper." The boy answered, pointing toward the far end of the stables. "Where's the others
? They dead already?"
"They're around." Jack answered. Taking a deep breath he followed Nicole
t
oward the far end of the stables calling after her, "How did you know this was the right
place?"
"It's all part of the game. It can't be too difficult right at the start or we'd get
discouraged
. Besides, how are we going to defend ourselves if we don't have any
weapons or get anywhere without horses?"
"Like in a video game
.
The first thing you do is check your weapons." Jack
a
nswered as he shoved open the stable door and rushed outside to take a deep breath of
fresh air. The back corral was a large grassy area containing half a dozen horses of various health and age. The remains of a wooden fence surrounded the small corral. It was just tall and sturdy enough to discourage the horses from bolting.
"Hopper's going to need a large horse and we should find something mild mannered for Sarah." Jack dictated. He gingerly opened the rickety gate and headed into the corral. "Do you know how to ride?"
"No idea." Nicole answered cheerfully. "But I'm sure I can figure it out." She pushed past him and cooed to a speckled gray stallion. The horse answered with a gentle whinny and trotted over to her. Nicole took hold of its mane, leapt onto its bare back and galloped off across the field.
"The inherent trait stuff at work again." Jack grinned. The same horrible stench from the stables suddenly reappeared. Jack turned around to find the
stable boy
staring past him at Nicole's retreating form.
"I got your stuff." He announced, his eyes frozen on the beautiful exotic elf. “You have
ta
find the falls
.
There's a cave under it that's got what
ya
need
.
After that
ya
head for the valley on the other side of the mountain."
"And then?" Jack backed away, searching casually for breathable air.
"Not for me
ta
say." The boy never took his eyes from Nicole. "She's a woodland, you know.
"
He whispered, looking at Jack out of the corner of his eyes. Without another
word the boy tossed Jack a small assortment of pouches then darted quickly inside the
stables
.
Glancing briefly at Nicole's retreating form, Jack turned and followed.
"Wait!" He reluctantly entered the stables after the boy, "Is this it?"
"Yeah.
"
The boy replied as he began to scatter straw around an empty stall.
"
Where's our weapons
?"
"Inn Keeper's got '
em
.
Says you got to pay."
"I see." Jack frowned, and opened one of the larger pouches. He dumped the contents into his hand and was rewarded with a small pile of gold coins
.
Four of the other bags contained over a dozen coins each, all gold. The remaining pouch held a small animal pelt with a map scrawled on the soft inside skin. Holding out half a dozen of the coins to the boy, he asked, "Will this be enough?"
"Half a bag's too much, but he's
gonna
want more." The boy stopped working and
Studied him
.
"Why you
askin
' me
?
Ain't
you bought weapons afore?"
"I've . . . always made my own." Jack smiled brightly at the disgusting youth and
tried to look convincing. Jack glanced back out the door and saw Nicole still galloping
around the corral on the speckled gray. "I don't know what's gotten into her." He said as he turned back to the boy. "Tell . . . the elf I've gone to the Inn. And see if you can get her to saddle the horses."
"Them woodlands is wild.
"
The boy looked at him shaking his head.
"Just tell her I'm at the
Inn."
Jack growled, heading for the front entrance. The boy nodded and glanced nervously toward the back door.
The interior of the
Inn
reminded Jack of Dr. Strong's Clinic, dark, stuffy and something just didn’t smell right
.
The main room consisted of a scattering of tables made from long wooden planks propped up on what appeared to be tree stumps with smaller versions serving as benches. The tables still held the remains of the previous night. Dirty mugs, dishes and a couple of patrons snored among the clutter.