Rojuun (22 page)

Vevin’s expression saddened. Liselle frowned
at Tathan. “So proper and so concerned for my purity, Cousin?” she
asked with eyes narrowed. The innkeeper looked at the two of them
with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Yes. It’s my job to protect you and keep
you safe,” Tathan said. “Vevin and I can share a room.” He didn’t
like the way his cousin was looking at him. It made him nervous.
The flower pin in her hair seemed to be glaring at him just like
the flowers had back in that forest clearing. He noticed its petals
became a darker purple when angry.

Liselle’s eyes narrowed even further. “I
see. Let me explain something to you.” She pointed her finger at
him. “I know you wish to protect me and I appreciate that. You
don’t get to make decisions for me though. Especially not with
regards to who shares my bedroom or even my bed. Is that clear,
Cousin?”

Tathan looked into his cousin’s eyes. There
was fire in them . . . literally. Blue flame ghosted the pupils and
irises from behind. He didn’t like it, but had a sense this wasn’t
an argument he could have with her, let alone win. “Yes . . . it’s
clear, Cousin.”

“Good,” Liselle said. The fire left her eyes
as she straightened, though her gaze was stern toward him. She
turned to Vevin. “If you are willing to take the floor, you may
sleep in my room, Vevin. I don’t mind if you share a room with
Tathan though.”

Vevin’s face brightened and he bounded off
his chair to do a happy dance. “I don’t mind the floor at all!” His
purple hair bounced around as he danced. Hulda stared at him,
wild-eyed at the sight.

Tathan wasn’t happy about the arrangement.
“Let’s sit down and have some dinner before we rest. We can figure
out what to do next while we eat.”

“Take a seat at one of the tables then. I’ll
have dinner brought to you,” Hulda said, gesturing to the tables
around the common room.

“No dinner for me, thank you.” Sir Danth
held up his hand to make certain Hulda did not get him anything.
She looked puzzled but nodded as she headed toward the kitchen.
Tathan chose a round table along the wall and sat so that his back
faced the door.

Tathan had learned from various shady
characters that you should always sit facing the door while keeping
your back against the wall. He realized quickly that it was easy to
spot the most dishonest people in a room by who sat with their back
to the wall and watched the door all the time. Tathan had taken to
sitting with his back to the door because those dishonest people
ignored him the instant he did. Most rogues tended to neglect the
fact that trouble didn’t usually announce itself when it walked in
the front door anyway.

Sir Danth took the seat against the wall
instead. He leaned back, crossing his arms as his helmeted gaze
settled on the doorway. Tathan got the impression that their hollow
knight wasn’t completely noble. Liselle sat on Tathan’s left while
Vevin stood for a moment, wanting to sit next to her. He finally
settled on the remaining chair across from Liselle.

Tathan studied the dragon for a moment. It
had been hard to read him at first, but once a person learned his
dances, it became easier to figure out the dragon’s moods. In fact,
Vevin tended to wear his emotions on his sleeve, or more
accurately, in his dance. The purple haired being was staring at
Liselle the way a puppy dog would its master. Tathan didn’t know
whether to be worried about it or not. Vevin either had a crush on
Liselle, or just adored her the way a pet would. He hoped it was
the latter even though the thought of his cousin having a dragon
for a pet was a bit disconcerting.

“So what are we going to do next, Master
Tathan?” Sir Danth asked. His voice was clearer than one would
imagine coming out of a suit of armor. There was a metallic tint to
it, but it wasn’t heavy. Tathan wondered idly how the knight
produced it without a mouth or vocal cords.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about our next
move.” Tathan used peripheral vision to see that no one was
listening in before continuing in a quiet tone. Everyone leaned in
to hear. “I want to spend the night here at least. We can find out
more about the Rojuun by talking to people.” Tathan looked at Sir
Danth. “You mentioned taking a walk tonight. I think that’s a good
idea. See what you can discover about the town and its people. I
plan to explore a bit as well. I want to see what sort of guilds
the town has and whether or not there’s a dark side.

“A dark side? That sounds dangerous. Will
you be alright, Cousin?” Liselle asked with a worried tone in her
voice.

“I’ll be fine,” he reassured her with a
smile. “I know my way around towns and I take care of myself. In
fact, I prefer the city streets at night. They’re home to me.”

“I know you can take care of yourself,
Cousin,” Liselle said. “I’ve seen how you handle your sword. It’s
just that I worry about you.” There was a look of concern in her
eyes as she placed her hand on his. “I sense that you’ve seen
trouble and perhaps it follows you.”

He would not discuss that with her. Tathan
could feel it watching him, although it hadn’t been bad when they
were traveling through the forest. He had hoped it would be gone in
Puujan, but he could sense it was stronger. Tathan squeezed
Liselle’s hand and forced a smile for her. “I know you worry about
me, Cousin. I promise I’ll be careful.”

Liselle looked at him dubiously. At that
moment, Hulda and a younger woman came out with food.

“It’s the finest stew you’ll ever taste,”
Hulda claimed as she placed the bowls on the table. The young woman
with her set down a basket with bread and a plate with fresh turned
butter. “This is Trina.” Hulda gestured to the woman. “She’ll get
you drinks and anything else you need.”

“Thank you very much Hulda,” Liselle said.
“It looks and smells wonderful.” Tathan had already taken a bite
and noticed the taste was as good as Hulda claimed.

The party ate in silence for a little while.
Sir Danth didn’t eat, staring at the doorway lost in whatever
thoughts rattled around in his armor. The knight was quiet most of
the time. Tathan wondered if it was because he didn’t have anything
to say or if it took effort to do so.

Sir Danth abruptly sat up straight. Tathan
heard someone behind him and turned around to look. He became very
still as he watched the pale creature glide through the door. It
was wearing an extravagant robe that touched the floor. Dark reds,
blues and greens all intertwined in patterns Tathan had never seen.
The creature’s movement was such that there seemed to be no steps,
only a smooth flow as it progressed forward.

This had to be a Rojuun from all the
descriptions they had been given. It had four arms, which ended in
long, graceful hands and fingers. The cat-like eyes caught a
person’s attention right away. It was hard not to stare at the
turquoise irises set in an upside down teardrop shape. They were
more captivating than Tathan had seen in all but the most
extraordinary humans.

The Rojuun had a lute in each of its right
hands. It nodded in acknowledgement as Hulda greeted it. “You will
get me red wine,” it ordered the innkeeper pleasantly. Its voice
sounded like two intertwined. Tathan noted that it commanded the
wine as though obedience was expected. There was no request in its
voices regardless of how pleasant the Rojuun was about it.

The creature was taller than anyone had
mentioned, nearly seven feet. Tathan realized that all the doorways
they had seen in the city were at least eight feet high. The grace
with which it moved to the stage was beauty in itself. The gliding
step of the creature made it look as though he was floating on
air.

Functionally, the arms and legs worked just
like a human’s with elbows, knees, wrists and ankles. Tathan did
recognize that the four long-knives sheathed on the Rojuun’s belt
would be deadly in the hands of a trained individual.

They watched it put the lutes on a small
table near the middle of the stage. Then he took a tall stool from
the back of the stage and placed it near the table. The creature
seemed incapable of doing anything without grace, even sitting.
When it settled its feet upon one of the crossbars of the stool,
Tathan could see the creature was wearing silver slippers on long,
thin feet.

The head of the creature was very much like
that of a human. It had thick, black hair flowing down its back.
The nose looked much like a human’s, only longer while the mouth
was somewhat wider. Tathan noticed there were earrings all the way
from the lobes to the top of the ears. There were also piercings in
the eyebrows and nose.

Hulda brought a bottle of wine and one of
the finest crystal glasses Tathan had ever seen to the Rojuun. She
poured a glass for him then set it and the bottle on the table. The
creature took a slow sip before setting it back down. It drank just
like a human . . . only more gracefully. Tathan decided he didn’t
like the Rojuun just because they were so much more graceful than
humans were.

It took the lute in its upper set of hands
to tune it for a moment. After doing that, it moved the lute to the
lower hands and picked up the other with the upper hands, tuning it
as well. Tathan watched in fascination as it strummed the first
lute to compare tones on the second lute. It was as though two
people were playing at the same time. Looking around, he could see
the rest of the party was just as fascinated.

“This tune is entitled ‘Light Blue Bugs
floating along a Sad River’. I insist you enjoy it,” the Rojuun
commanded. It began to play the twin lutes, fingers delicately
picking at the strings. The party watched in awe as the sounds of
the dual lutes intertwined, flowing throughout the inn’s common
room.

Tathan had seen numerous lute players in his
travels, even a few troupes of musicians playing together. None of
them sounded like this though. The creature played melodies on the
top lute while strumming rhythms, harmonies and countermelodies on
the bottom lute. Its fingers danced along the strings, both sets of
hands working independently of each other.

The creature swayed from side to side,
smiling as it played. From time to time, the Rojuun would close its
eyes, lost in the music. There was no other sound in the room as
everyone watched, entranced. Tathan noticed that the Rojuun glanced
at the lutes now and then, but for the most part played without
looking.

Tathan enjoyed the music in spite of a
strong urge not to because the creature had insisted the audience
enjoy it. It was mysterious, even giving the impression that light
blue bugs
were
flowing down a sad river.

After a few moments, the creature finished
the song. The last few notes hung over the common room for a bit
and everyone remained still. Then the creature stood and bowed. All
of the listeners started clapping at once. It seemed that everyone
had enjoyed it as told.

The Rojuun took one last drink of the wine
before out of the inn, leaving everyone wanting more. “Only one
song?” Liselle asked plaintively.

“Aye,” Hulda said standing next to their
table. Tathan hadn’t even noticed her, which was unusual for him.
“Sometimes they play a few songs, but they usually just play one or
two that they’re working on.”

“It was so beautiful,” Liselle said. “His
fingers looked as though they were dancing across the strings when
he played. I’ve never seen or heard anything like it.”

“It was extraordinary.” Sir Danth turned to
the innkeeper. “Was it a male Rojuun? It looked to be.”

Hulda nodded. “Yes. Female Rojuun are
shorter and have breasts, which aren’t large, but you can tell.
Their features are also more delicate. If anything, their music is
more beautiful than that of the males, though that’s just my
opinion. You might want to know that female Rojuun are often
referred to as ‘feju’, while male Rojuun are called ‘meju’. It
takes a little while to get used to.” She left to fetch the wine
and glass from the stage.

“So now we know what they look like,” Sir
Danth stated. “The music was wonderful, but I find it hard to
believe the entire race is comprised of artists. In the best times
of Morhain, there were only a few minstrels, most of whom played at
courts for the nobles and royalty.”

“There are quite a few musicians in this day
and age. The best play for the courts, but many inns and taverns
have minstrels play on small stages or tables. Many faires have
entire troupes of minstrels as well,” Tathan explained.

“Oh! I’ve heard of faires,” Liselle said
excitedly. “I’d love to go to one. I hear that people wear colorful
clothes and there’s dancing, music and treats of all kinds.”

Tathan didn’t like the idea of Liselle being
at a faire. “Rogues and all sorts of dangers exist as well,
Cousin.”

“Yes, I’d imagine there’s at least one rogue
at a faire anytime you arrive, Cousin,” she said with a sly
grin.

“Oh ha, ha.” Tathan stuck his tongue out at
her and they all laughed. Tathan decided that it was nice to have
friends to laugh with. He had been a loner most of his life. “In
any case, I’ve never seen any human play the lute like that. Of
course, most humans don’t have two sets of hands.”

“Most humans?” Sir Danth asked with raised
eyebrows. Tathan did a double take and realized the knight’s visor
was still on. He had no idea how he got the impression that the
knight had raised eyebrows.

“Well . . . speaking of the faires, I was at
one where a person had an extra arm,” Tathan admitted. “It was a
birth defect. Most people die when that happens and those that live
sometimes join the freak show at faires where customers pay to see
them.”

Liselle narrowed her eyes. “You paid to gawk
at someone with a birth defect?” She seemed very upset by the
concept.

“Of course not, Cousin,” Tathan reassured
her. “I’m a rogue and would never pay for such a thing. I snuck
in.”