RavensDagger

  Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty-Three - See Ya Later!

  “Wele!” the man said with a spinning twirl that ended with a bow. “To the gra inn in all of the capital: Dewdrop Inn.” Little magic whirls and sparks took to the air behind him, flipping and twirling like teeny-tiny fireworks before they burst apart and transformed into pretty flowers.

  I cpped.

  “Greetings,” Bastion said, obviously not as impressed by the manservant’s dispy. “We’re looking for some rooms for a few days. I was hoping that I could speak with Jared.”

  “Certainly, sir Padin,” the manservant said as he rose from his bow. He took in my friends and I at a ghen nodded as if to himself. “I’m afraid that, while spectacur in its ht, this lower entrance is not as fabulous as the one above. I only hope its meager splendor is enough for such esteemed guests.”

  We were standing on the ground-level of what Bastion called the Gold Gistrict. We were close to a big wall, one of the many that we’d crossed so far while navigating the city. This one had purple banners on it, so I guessed that it was the Purple District where the castle and a bunch of other important pces were.

  The Gold District was filled with businesses. Every building we crossed had an uated entranceway with a pque telling passersby what they might expect within. The topmost floors looked a lot more iing, but I couldn’t reach them without abandoning my friends and I wouldn’t do that.

  “Follow me, if you please,” the sylph who was guarding the bottom-floor entrao the Dewdrop Inn said.

  We filed in after him and found a small, but well-decorated, waiting area. There were sofas and some potted pnts, freshly painted walls and a couple of bookcases filled with iing books. It otless, and I could only imagihat they must’ve had a couple of people with ing magi the staff.

  The far er of the room was taken up by a spiral staircase that rose up and up, with spinny wrought-iron rails and magiterns casting an eerie-white glow onto marble steps.

  The sylph paused and bowed to us again. “Would you do me the honours of allowio carry your belongings to the topmost floor?” he asked.

  Amaryllis gave him her bag, but Awen said she wao keep hers. I did give him my spade, mostly because I was worried I might bonk one of the nterns on the . As it was, the room might have been dht opulent, but it felt a bit... cramped?

  The ceiling was tall for a sylph, but for a bun it was a tiny bit on the shorter side. The stairs were worse, with my ears batting against the steps above with every step. “Who’s Jared?” I asked Bastion as I hopped up to be o him.

  “The owner of the Inn,” Bastion said. “I’ve stayed here before. Twice, but I suspect that’s enough for him to remember me.”

  “Why would you stay at an inn when you’re in the capital?” Amaryllis asked. “Don’t the padins have barracks?”

  “We do. Aire keep in the Purple District, as well as barracks within the royal castle aes. And it’s not unheard of for a padin to sleep in a guardhouse. Both times I was here, I was esc someone.”

  “Oh, diplomacy stuff?” I asked.

  “Something like that,” Bastion said. “Keep it between us, but some members of the royal family like to spend time outside of the castles and paces. Less stress, I suspect, and they get to see things that they wouldn’t, otherwise.”

  I noticed Awen and Amaryllis nodded, but I didn’t quite get it, not really. I had never really been stu any one pce for that long. It was usually very much the opposite. I could sympathize still, but not from personal experience. “So they’d stay here?”

  “For a night or two,” Bastion said. “With a plement of guards, regardless of how safe they thought they were on their own.”

  “The city seems pretty safe,” I said. It was definitely one of the more protected pces I’d ever seen. Lots of big walls, plenty of guards.

  “Goldenalden is a very safe city,” Bastion said. “But people who are looking for trouble tend to find it.”

  We reached the top floor with just a bit of huffing and puffing. It was a good thing we were all so active or else I think the stairs would have been too much.

  The top floor was very wide and tall, with a er dedicated to a small garden filled with bright flowers in full bloom, and there was even a small tree, its tru over to skim he roof with a bench tucked below it.

  Round tables dotted the room, with fy chairs o them, and at the far end was the kind of reception ter that I expected to see at an inn, though this one was a lot fancier, with a stoop and wooden sides.

  “Ah, Mister Jared is right there,” the manservant said with a gesture to the ter.

  A sylph was behind it, sitting on a stool and examining some papers with gsses perched oip of his nose. He wore an apron over a shirt a. His head rose when roached. “Ah! Greetings and weles. Dewdrop Inn--there’s always a seat for a new friend.”

  I decided that I liked Mister Jared.

  “Hello sir,” Bastion said.

  “Padin Coldfront! It has been some time,” the old sylph said. He bounced off his seat with a flutter of his wings. “How I help you, sir padin?”

  Bastioured. “I have a few... guests for you here. Travellers from all across Dirt. They’re looking for a pce to stay, and I gave them my solemn word that your inn was the greatest in Sylphfree.”

  “Ah-hah!” Jared cheered. “That it is! Now, what sort of aodations are you looking for?”

  “We’re looking for a room with at least three beds,” Amaryllis said. “I don’t think we require your fi, just a pce to rest for the week.”

  “We certainly aodate,” Jared said. “I have a fine suite ohird floor. Four modest rooms and a shared on area. We include meals at your discretion as well. We have some of the fi chefs in all of Goldenalden here. Though if you want to test your pate beyond what rovide, then I of course have some suggestions to offer as well.”

  “That sounds nice,” I said. “Are there ahings to see in Goldenalden? I want to py tourist!”

  Jared ughed. “There’s plenty! If you tell me what you enjoy then I direct you that way, but you must see the e District’s parade. It’s held every day at noon, rain or shine. And of course there’s the museum o the gress, which is itself a wonderful building to admire.”

  “Oh,” I oh-ed. “That sounds ! What’s the parade?”

  Bastion was the oo answer. “The e District is on the far side of the Green District from here. It’s where the local branches of the armed forces are stationed, at least the more bureaucratic part of the army. There’s also a training camp, and every day soldiers practice marg in formation. It draws a bit of a crowd.”

  “There’s a somewhat mean-spirited tradition involving civilians trying to make the soldiers in formation ugh,” Jared said. He looked like he was w hard not to smile. “The officers ence it, and people tend to enjoy seeing some poor cadet beied for failing to keep a straight face.”

  “That sounds mean,” I said.

  “Traditions are often unkind,” Awen muttered.

  “Shall I show you to your rooms?” Jared asked. At our nod, he flew over the ter with a buzz of his wings and quickly removed his apron to toss it behind him o a fancy brass till. “e along, gentledies.”

  Jared walked with a skip in his step, arms gesturing grandly as he spoke about the great meals they had on offer, the wonderful wines, and the spectacurly soft beds.

  I couldn’t help but grin as we went back dowairs until we reached the third floor. A corridor bisected the floor, with doors oher side of the wide passage. Jared fetched a key out from his pocket and unlocked one. “Here we are,” he said with a flourish.

  The suite was exactly what we needed. A wide room with some fy sofas and a table surrounded by seats. There was a desk in one er, o a happy potted pnt, and four smaller bedrooms, with windows overlooking the street below the inn. We had a big washroom too. It would have been annoying to share it, but I think we were all used to it after the Beaver.

  “This will do,” Amaryllis said with a satisfied huff. She immediately started iating with Jared, whose smile never wavered as Amaryllis deployed all of her trickiest tricks to lower the price. The manservant that had greeted us at the entrance brought s in ahem off to the side, the with a bow.

  I spun around, then sighed. The step wasn’t going to be fun. Still, we could put it off for just a little bit longer.

  Once Amaryllis forked over the gold and Jared bid us a good afternoon, we were left with just the four of us in our little quarters.

  “So,” I began.

  Bastion nodded, very solemn and serious. “I should be returning to report and to annouhat I’ve returned. I imagihat the demand for padins is quite high at the moment, with so many important diplomatic events in such close proximity.”

  I pouted. “It still sucks that we won’t be seeing you much,” I said. “If you have time off, you have to e and visit.”

  He chuckled. “I will. I promise, as long as you’re in Slyphfree, I’ll make a point of visiting when I afford to.”

  When he could afford to. That meant that he probably wouldn’t have all that much time. “Alright,” I said. I’d take what I could get. “You were a great crewmate, and there’s always going to be room for you on the Beaver. If you ever get tired of being a Padin, then I’m sure there’s plenty of adventuring to do, and we could always use one more friend.”

  “Thank you, Broccoli,” Bastion said.

  “I... will, with some reluce, admit that my initial impression of you was wrong,” Amaryllis said. “You are as honourable as your reputatioails. I hope all of your rades in arms are as just and level headed.”

  “My initial impressions were also quite wrong,” Bastion said. “For all of you, I think. You’re a kinder soul than I would have imagined, Awen’s delicate nature hides the spine of a true adventurer and I suspect she will have just as many songs as her uncle one day, and Broccoli, I think your unique morality is quite eye-opening.”

  Amaryllis huffed the huff of someone who didn’t know how to take a pliment.

  “Hugs?” I asked.

  “Certainly,” Bastion said.

  I squeezed him tight-tight. I’d miss Bastion. He was stoid hard to read, but he was a nice person, dependable and strong, and willing to help others just because it was the right thing to do.

  “I don’t know what you’ll be up to ,” I said. “But make sure to make plenty of friends, ahem close.”

  “I’ll be sure to take some of the lessons I’ve learo heart,” Bastion said. He sighed while gng at the door. “I think this is goodbye for now. I would ask that you three stay safe, but I don’t think you’re capable of that, so I’ll instead ask that you watch out for each other, and try not to burn down the capital while I’m here.”

  “We’ll do our best.”

  ***

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