Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) (17 page)

AS SOON AS EAN walked into the High Horse Inn, his senses were assaulted with braying laughter, ashy smoke, and the strong scent of ale. The bar was packed, with the stools full and people standing in-between them. The two areas with tables did not have a single empty seat, with extra chairs placed near the round tables and people crammed into the benches around the longer tables near the stage. Even the path that ran through the middle of the bar was full of people standing and resting their drinks on the partitions.

As he searched in vain for a place to sit, a hand grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"There you are!" Azalea's words were slurred and her eyes were only half open as she swayed slightly in front of him. "I thought you had abandoned me here, which I suppose wouldn't have been the worst thing with all the wonderful people to feed on, but I would have been very mad at you. You wouldn't leave me behind, would you?"

Ean didn't know if it was because she was drunk off of all the people here, but Azalea actually sounded a little sad at the mention of being left behind. Was there a softer side to the Yulari? He almost felt sympathy for the woman, but then her usual smirk appeared.

"Of course you wouldn't leave me behind." Reaching over, she patted him not so gently on the cheek. "You wouldn't survive long without me. Now come on, I've saved us a seat right near the front of the stage. I wanna see why so many people are all worked up over this Sparkteller person."

Azalea dragged Ean into the crowd. The people made way for the two of them, although Ean was sure they had no idea they were doing it. Waves of what seemed like heat emanated from the Yulari, and Ean was sure she was using the same trick she always used to get her way.

"Gentlemen," she said as they reached one of the long tables in front of the stage. "Thank you for holding our seats. You can leave now."

Three imposing men that looked like they would be good in a fight, quickly rose and moved out of the way. One even went as far as to offer Azalea a bow as he shuffled away. With the men gone, Azalea and Ean took a seat on the bench with plenty of space between them. Azalea seemed to like the space and gave anyone that tried to sit with them a look that made them turn right around. Ean decided that now was as good of a time as any to talk to the Yulari about what he had planned.

"Azalea, I need you to do something for me..." Ean said, leaning in so he could be heard over the roar of the crowd.

"Oh, little one," she replied, patting his leg with her hand. "I've decided we're never going to 'do' anything. If you develop feelings for me, which you most certainly will, I'm sure it will just complicate our little arrangement. Don't you agree?"

Ean stared at her. What did she mean? How would doing him a favor make him fall for...

"No, no, I wasn't talking about that," he said hastily. "I mean, I need you to... well... do whatever you do that makes people do whatever you ask. We need to get a ride with another caravan, and with no money, the only way that will happen is if you charm our way onto it again."

Letting out a musical laugh, Azalea patted his leg again as she leaned in closer to him.

"Oh, well that I can certainly handle. I just need to know who to talk to and what demeaning job you would like to perform during the trip this time. Maybe instead of shoveling horse dung, you can help with digging the latrines." Laughing again at her own joke, or what Ean hoped was a joke, she nudged him playfully with her shoulder.

Ean decided to ignore the jab. "I don't know the exact person you need to speak to, but it's the Ciantar family that owns the caravan. They allow booking of passage at their home, which is a little ways down the street past the inn. We have to be at the home sometime during midmorning in order to arrange to ride with them."

"Say no more. I'll take care of everything tomorrow".

"You mean, we will take care of everything tomorrow".

"No. I know I'm a bit giddy at the moment, but I did mean 'I.' You can't help with what I do, and you'll probably go and say something dumb that will make it harder for me to get what we want. Best for you to stay out of my way."

"I still think--" her hand covered his mouth before he could get another word out.

"I said, say no more! Now if you don't mind, I would like to drink in a little more of all this excitement before the man comes out and does his little show." Turning around on the bench so that she could lean back against the table, Azalea took in a long breath and sighed happily. Not knowing what else to do, Ean moved into a similar position and slowly surveyed the surrounding tables.

It seemed that the inn took a first-come, first-served attitude when it came to who had been allowed in for the show. The crowded was an interesting mix; fancily dressed citizens sitting with workers still in their dirty clothes, bakers and cooks still covered in bits of food sitting with hunters and butchers still covered in... other things. It was a unique collection of people, both human and even a few Taruun, making up the crowd, and they all seemed to be getting along, regardless of their profession.

With Azalea ignoring him and nothing else to do, Ean decided it wouldn't hurt to order one mug of beer. Waving a serving girl over he ordered two drinks, one for himself and one for Azalea, which were quickly delivered.

Ean managed to get a single sip out of his drink when the inn staff began moving about the room, lowering the lights. As soon as the last lantern was snuffed, the crowd grew silent in anticipation. When two men stepped out onto the stage, one carrying a drum and the other some kind of flute, the excitement intensified. Were these two the Sparktellers?

A third man walked out, dressed in a red coat with golden designs twirling about the sleeves and running down his blue pants.
The crowd erupted into applause. The man moved to the center of the stage and made a few bows towards the crowd. His long gray hair waved about as he bowed and he was forced to move it out of his face each time. After he had finished bowing, he stood there smiling broadly as he surveyed the audience. Chants of "Tremain the Sparkteller" and "Tremain the Amazing" started up amongst the crowd, which only seemed to make the man's grin widen even more.

When the man seemed to have heard enough applause and chants of his own name, he raised his hands, instantly silencing the crowd. When he spoke, his voice boomed as it echoed around the room.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for such a prestigious welcome! As much as I love to travel about the land, sharing my stories with all to hear, I never receive as warm of a welcome as I do when I perform here at the High Horse Inn!"

Again the room erupted into applause and chants of the Sparkteller's name. Fists and empty mugs were banged onto table tops, and a few of the women even made some remarks that put a little color into Ean's face. Apparently the man was known for more than just being an excellent Sparkteller. This time Tremain just took everything in and waited for the crowd to die down on its own before speaking again.

"Now, for those few that have the misfortune of never having seen me perform before," he paused as laughter filled the room before continuing. "My name is Tremain Faustman, and I will be your Sparkteller for the evening." Again he paused as applause filled the room.

The man sure likes to receive adulation
, Ean thought as he sipped at his drink. Tremain waited for the applause to die down on its own again before continuing.

"Tonight, I intend to amaze you with stories of bravery and action, tug at your heart with stories of love and heartbreak, and terrify you with stories of the most horrendous beasts and monsters. But don't worry, I'll give those that are faint of heart fair warning to leave before I get to those stories."

He winked at the audience, which brought around another round of laughter. The man was effective at controlling the crowd, and as much as Ean wanted to hate his smarmy attitude, he couldn't help but laugh along with everyone else. Taking another sip of his drink, Ean listened as the man continued on.

"Now what story should I begin with?" Another pause as a variety of names were shouted out, none of which Ean had ever heard of before. After a moment, Tremain reached out and seemed to grasp at something in front of him and pull it in. "Ah yes, an excellent suggestion."

Cupping his hands together, he brought them to his face and opened them just enough to peek inside. He glanced quickly at the crowd with a grin and then returned his gaze to what was in his hand. Closing his hands together again, he returned his attention to the crowd.

"Should I show you what story I've caught?" He barely finished his sentence before the crowd yelled out a resounding "Yes!"

"Alright then, here it is... the tale of Dayson and the Beast!"

Throwing his hands out wide, multicolor sparks seemed to shoot out of his fingertips. At first they seemed to be shooting out at random but as more and more of those sparks escaped his fingers, they began to pool together in front of him. Ean's jaw dropped as those sparks began to form the image of two bodies up on the stage.

The first body was clearly a dark skinned man dressed in deep red, leather armor with short hair of a similar color. The image stood almost two heads higher than Tremain and was twice as wide as the thin Sparkteller. He carried a small dagger in each hand, the thin blades on each seeming to writhe in the air. Ean wasn't sure if that effect was on purpose or if whatever Tremain was doing caused it. Most of the image was highly detailed, but the face of the man was a blur of colors and did not have any distinguishable features.

The second body that appeared was certainly not human. Four legs covered in a purplish shell that ended in points where the feet should have been stretched up to a torso that appeared more human than its lower half. Two pairs of arms stuck out of its body, the lower set was shorter and ended in points while the upper set was normal sized but ended in a pair of pinchers. Its head was more insect than human, with four large antennae sticking out of the top.

Ean almost fell out of his chair. It was the same type of creature from his dream, or vision, or whatever it was that he had experienced. The ugly creature, which at the moment was standing face to face with the man that Ean assumed was Dayson, could have come directly from his vision. Ean's first instinct was to get out of his chair and run, but since the other people in the room were all applauding loudly and not running for their lives, Ean stayed cautiously still.

Glancing to his right, he was surprised to see Azalea in a state of near panic. The Yulari was half way on the table, one foot on the bench and the other almost on the table as well. Her mouth had dropped open more than Ean's had, and the effects of her binging on the emotions of the room seemed to have disappeared.

The people immediately around them began to laugh at her reaction until she shot them all a look. Whatever she put into that look made everyone quiet down real quick. Fortunately, the other patrons didn't seem to notice, and the Sparkteller launched into his story.

The story of Dayson focused on the man's quest to kill the beast that had murdered a caravan of traders near some city that no longer existed. The story itself wasn't very interesting, but the Sparkteller was able to bring it to life with his skill in creating images. Ean watched as Tremain recreated the gruesome scene of the creature attacking the caravan, as Dayson tracked the creature's trail of destruction and then the final battle. It was amazing what the Sparkteller could do with what clearly had to be some form of magic. The story had been so entertaining that Ean barely noticed that he had not only finished off his own drink, but also Azalea's.

When the story was finished, the room erupted in applause, most people standing in ovation. Ean was quick to join them and was surprised to see Azalea on her feet clapping as well. He never would have expected the Yulari to be that entertained by a simple story, even one so amazingly portrayed, but she was applauding just as loudly as everyone else.

Tremain seemed to be taking it all in, a giant smile painted on his face as the applause washed over him. Tiny beads of sweat covered his face and he was taking long breaths but the smile never left his lips. Ean's hands were starting to hurt from the length of the applause when Tremain raised both hands to silence the crowd. Most kept applauding a little longer, but the Sparkteller didn't seem to mind. When the last of the applause finally died off, Tremain spoke to the crowd.