Rojuun (21 page)

“Thank you both.” Liselle blushed. “Thank
you all. Thank you for keeping me safe and for . . . just for being
my friends.”

“Here we are, the White Tree Inn,” Athron
interrupted, gesturing at a large building with glittering white
wings and a signboard with the picture of a white tree upon it.

Chapter
19

The White Tree Inn was a two-level
whitewashed building with a grey roof that took up half the block
it was on. The other half of the block consisted of stables and a
yard. In addition to the sparkly white wings on the inn, there were
dark green wings on the empty stable. Glass windows were set in the
lower windows and shutters at the upper windows were open.

Tathan gave Athron a silver for his trouble
and waved him away. “Thank you for bringing us here lad.”

The boy took it and ran off the way they had
come.

“This looks like it’ll be a good place to
stay,” Tathan said. We’ll have to see how much it is. I have some
money, but it’s not wise to waste it.”

“Oh! I have money,” Vevin said. Then his
face fell. “But he took it from me and I don’t have treasure or
even money now.” The dragon moved side to side in a sad dance.

“It’s alright, Vevin,” Liselle said with a
hand on his arm. “We’ll get you some new treasure. Don’t worry
about it for now. Just having you here is treasure enough for us.”
She smiled wide at him in reassurance.

“Oh, thank you!” Vevin went back to doing
his happy dance once more.

“Alas, I also have no money. Knights do not
often need it. Even then, I used to be wealthy before my honorable
duty, but I released all physical possessions when I swore my vow,”
Sir Danth said. “As you saw, there was no longer any money in the
royal vault either, so grabbing some gold for expenses was not an
option.”

“That’s alright. As I said, I have money,”
Tathan reassured them. “I have no idea what costs are here or how
much we’ll be able to make when we do get a job. Let me handle the
finances and negotiations for rooms and services.”

The party went in the double door entrance
made of fine wood, which swung on well-oiled hinges. Tathan
realized such doors would be expensive here with as difficult as it
must be to get lumber from the forest. The scent of warm food
wafted through the common room from the kitchen. He hoped
accommodations wouldn’t be too costly. There were a few gems in his
purse, stolen in his travels. He could use them, but didn’t like to
do so. In some ways, he was just as much of a treasure hunter as
Vevin.

Some of the money, a few of the gems and
some minor jewelry had been scavenged from the warriors who had
attacked their home. He had divided it into two equal purses, one
for him and one for Liselle. Tathan had had never figured out how
to talk to her about it, so hadn’t given it to her.

The large common room had few people in it.
Tathan noticed the straw on the stone floor was clean, as were the
tables. A small fire crackled in the main fireplace, keeping the
temperature pleasant. A few patrons noted the party’s arrival, but
no one stared.

“Hello there travelers!” a tall, heavyset
woman said with a great smile. She stood at the bar, cleaning mugs.
Her hair was strawberry blonde and she had a ruddy complexion.
“I’ve not seen you in town. Come have a seat and tell me of
yourselves.” Her voice was loud and cheerful as she waved them over
to the bar with a thick hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you. Dinner’s
just about ready if you’re hungry.”

Liselle sat on one of the bar stools. “That
would be wonderful. The food smells delicious.” Indeed,
mouthwatering aromas were emanating from beyond swinging doors at
the far right of the bar.

“It is superb. My sister, Renna is the best
cook you’ll find in this town,” she stated confidently. “I’m Hulda,
by the way. The White Tree Inn is my pride and joy, though we don’t
get many customers at the moment.”

“Why don’t you get customers?” Tathan asked,
though Athron had already told him. Sometimes, it was good to hear
a story from different people. It could lead to new
information.

“Renna and I are from Swelth, a kingdom to
the west of here. We left to get away from a couple of lords who
were fighting all the time.” Hulda rolled her eyes. She had gold
piercings in each eyebrow as well as a silver one in the side of
her nose and more in her ears. “We traveled for a long time looking
for a new place to live until we found Puujan and were able to
start our own inn.”

“You were just able to start an inn?” Tathan
asked in surprise. “Most cities require all sorts of bribes and
money to build an inn or any other business.”

Hulda shrugged her stout shoulders. “It’s
different here. The Rojuun had the city built all at once. They
designed the entire thing with the help of human architects.” She
leaned on the bar as she continued to speak. “There are still a lot
of buildings, homes and businesses that a person can move into. You
just have to agree to pay some sort of tithe or tax in exchange and
you can have one.”

“What sort of tithe or tax?” Tathan asked,
instantly suspicious.

“Oh, it depends upon what you can do. I
offer the Rojuun free room and board, and also a place to perform
whenever they like. They accept that,” Hulda said.

“Are there any staying here now?” Liselle
asked, looking around the common room to see if any were in
sight.

“Nah, not at the moment,” she replied. “They
don’t stay here too often, although sometimes one will wander in to
perform on the stage over there.” Hulda pointed to a stage at the
opposite end of the common room. It took up the entire wall, coming
out a good twenty-five feet. “All inns have large stages and there
are other platforms in common areas around town.”

“I heard they liked performing,” Liselle
said to Hulda. Tathan liked that his cousin was asking questions.
Most people found him to be too suspicious and tended to guard
their answers. He noticed that they took to Liselle right away.

Hulda did respond well to Liselle. “Oh yes.
They’re always singing and playing instruments. Some dance or just
move slowly. I don’t understand it, honestly.”

“What do you mean by moving slowly?” Liselle
asked in puzzlement.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me, but they
think it’s ‘art’ for some reason.” Hulda shook her head in
amusement.

“I’d really like to meet one or at least see
one,” Liselle said. “They sound fascinating and even a little
scary.”

“Aye, at first they’re scary but once you
get used to them, they can be interesting.” Hulda became
thoughtful. “At times, I think they’re even beautiful. Their voices
are different from humans, sort of haunting.”

“How so?” Liselle asked.

“They have more than one voice,” Hulda said
in a low tone, leaning forward. “When they sing, it’s like there
are two or three voices coming out of them, but I don’t know where
from. Even when they talk, they use two voices.”

“That sounds amazing,” Liselle said. “When
do you think one will show up?”

Tathan could tell that his cousin was
getting excited about the idea of the Rojuun. It worried him. He
ignored the fact that almost everything worried him.

“I don’t know,” Hulda said. “Sometimes they
show up every day. Other times they don’t show up for a week or
two. It’s been a few days since one was last in here to perform.”
The innkeeper scanned over the party. “Say, where are you from? You
strike me as an odd lot.” Her eyes stopped on Vevin whose head was
bobbing from side to side. His silver eyes gleamed and sharp teeth
were in a big smile.

Tathan was surprised that people appeared to
ignore Vevin most of the time. Neither Athron nor the guardsmen had
paid attention to the dragon who walked among them in human
form.

“We’re an odd lot from various places,”
Tathan admitted, drawing Hulda’s attention to him. “I’m a bit of a
traveler myself. In fact, I’ve been to Swelth before, but only for
a short time. That kingdom has a bit too much conflict. The lords
have recruiters who search for capable young men to fight for
them.” Tathan grinned winningly at the innkeeper.

“Aye, I lost my betrothed that way. Of
course, he was an ugly git, so I wasn’t sad,” Hulda said with a
wink. Then her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. “You’ll not
distract me though. Humans don’t have silver eyes and sharp teeth.”
She jerked her head toward Vevin. “He’s not Rojuun either. So what
is he, and is he safe?” she demanded.

That was a difficult question and Tathan
wasn’t entirely convinced. “Vevin
is
safe. He’s just . . .
different. Don’t worry, alright?” Hulda just stared at him,
obviously not even remotely reassured.

Liselle saved him. “Vevin is my friend. He
protects me because it’s so dangerous in the world.” She smiled at
the suspicious innkeeper. “I’ve found there are many things in the
world that aren’t human and can’t be explained, but it doesn’t make
them bad. Vevin is good,” Liselle stated firmly.

Hulda looked from Liselle to Vevin and then
back again. “Well . . . if he’s not dangerous . . .” she said.

“Oh he’s dangerous alright. Very dangerous,”
Liselle admitted. “But Vevin likes me and protects me. He’s the
sort of dangerous you want on your side.” Vevin nodded
vigorously.

Hulda’s eyes widened and she took a step
back. The innkeeper looked at the four of them before settling on
the knight. “And are you dangerous as well, Sir Knight?” she
asked.

“No. I’m not at all dangerous, my good
lady,” Sir Danth said with a straight face. Not that he was capable
of any other sort of face, not having one and all. But the helmet
was very good at hiding expressions . . . or would have been had he
had any expressions. “I dance through fields of wildflowers and
gaze at clouds, imagining what shapes they might be.”

Vevin was the first to giggle after a moment
of silence in which they all stared at the black-armored knight.
Liselle and Tathan burst into laughter immediately thereafter. The
innkeeper took a moment, but then she joined in the laughter as
well. Sir Danth looked pleased with himself. Tathan wondered how he
managed to convey such impressions through the armor like that.

After a moment, the laughter died down. “We
won’t harm your inn, Hulda. I promise,” Liselle reassured her with
a smile. “Would it be possible to get a room and bath as well as
dinner?” she asked hopefully.

“Where are my manners?” Hulda smoothed her
apron and looked toward the kitchen. “Dinner is ready now. You
should have some while it’s fresh and hot.” She smiled at Liselle.
“I’ll have your bath heated while you eat. I know how nice it is
after traveling.” She looked at the rest of the party. “How many
rooms will you be needing?”

“We need . . .” Tathan realized that he had
no idea. Up to this point, they had slept under the open sky. He
and Liselle normally rested in sleeping rolls next to each other.
Sir Danth didn’t sleep and Vevin just curled up on the ground.
Nothing bothered the dragon, even when it was breezy or rainy
outside.

“I do not need a room, Master Tathan,” Sir
Danth said. “I will sit in the common room and reflect, or go for a
walk around the town should the whim take me.”

“Alright.” Tathan thought for a moment then
turned to Hulda and asked, “How much are the rooms, dinner and the
bath.”

“The rooms are two uun silver pieces each
with an evening and morning meal included,” she answered. “Dinner
without a room is one uun silver. The bath is one uun silver with
or without the room.” She spoke as though it was something she told
people often. “If you want drink, we have good ale for a copper uun
and a local red or white wine for two copper uun.”

“Uun silver?” Tathan asked.

“Ah yes. If you are new to Rojuun
civilization, you probably don’t know that they have their own
money,” Hulda said apologetically. “It’s called ‘uun’. They have
gold, silver and copper just like most kingdoms.” The innkeeper
pulled coins out of a purse underneath her apron. She laid three
down. They were small with intricate designs on them. Copper was
the smallest of the three. “Four copper uuns make a silver uun and
eight silver uuns make a gold uun.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. In most
countries, it’s ten copper to a silver and ten silver to a gold
piece,” Tathan insisted with a frown.

“Aye, they’re an odd bunch with the money,”
Hulda admitted. “But four and eight are holy numbers to them. They
don’t explain why, but that’s the way it is.” She shrugged with her
hands out helplessly. “Most people use silver for just about
everything as there aren’t a lot of copper or gold coins
available.”

“I see,” Tathan said, bringing out his small
belt-pouch. He didn’t tell anyone about the other pouches in
various places around his body. They had some of his gold coins and
jewels, which he didn’t like to show to would be thieves. “I mainly
have coins from Altordan. They’re widely accepted everywhere,” he
said, pulling out seven silver pieces from that country. “Will you
accept them or do you need the uun coins?”

“Aye, I’ll accept them. The Rojuun exchange
almost all coins at equal values” she said. Hulda put away her
three coins and then counted the seven silver pieces Tathan had put
out. “Seven silver. Does that mean you’ll be wanting three rooms
and a bath?” she asked.

“Two rooms, a bath for Liselle and one for
me. One silver for all the information and advice,” Tathan said
with a smile to the helpful woman. He turned to Vevin. “We can
share a room, Vevin. If you want a bath, I’ll pay for that
too.”

“I’d rather sleep with Lady Liselle,” Vevin
said with an eager nod of the head.

“Umm . . . no.” The idea of Vevin sleeping
in his cousin’s room bothered Tathan. He didn’t think a dragon
would be attracted to a human, but until now, he didn’t even know
that dragons could take human form. “It’s not proper for a man and
woman to sleep in the same room if they aren’t married.”