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Renfir was busy eating the plate of food Miriam had brought out to him. Robinton had finished and was strumming lightly on his lute as people came and went. The rain seemed to have stopped, so people were taking the opportunity of the lull in the storm to get back to their homes.

"So Robinton tell me, how many kingdoms have you played that lute in," asked Renfir. He wanted to find an obscure way in which to determine how far afield the harper had traveled.

Robinton stopped his strumming and looked at the ranger. "Kingdom's eh? Well let me see...There was Leirian, yes now there's a kingdom if your looking for a good place to visit. Then let's see...oh yes, Mondavia. Stay away from there. Nothing but a bunch of worthless would-be magicians in Mondavia. Way too full of themselves if you ask me. Oh and there were a handful of small, no-name kingdoms that noone remembers the names of. I'd say perhaps a dozen kingdoms. Why do you ask?"

Renfir took notice when Robinton mentioned magicians. Mondavia eh? Well, he might just have to make a trip to Mondavia. If the whole kingdom was full of magicians, he might just find the book there. "Oh, no reason really. You just seem like a man who's seen a great deal in your life. Do you pick up new songs in your travels?"

"Oh my goodness yes! I didn't just graduate from harper school knowing all these songs. Many of them I wrote myself. When you've traveled as much and as far as I have young man, there are more than enough adventures to write songs about."

Yosef finished mucking the last stall and looked out of the barn door, the rain had virtually stopped and the air smelled of wet grass...well at least it must have outside, inside it smelled of horses and their droppings. He began to take some hay down from the rafters for the horses when he noticed something shining faintly in the mess of dried grass. He picked it up to examine it more closely and his eyes widened when he realized what it was.

"As I looked closer a the man dressed in the robe, I noticed a strange flutter of something behind him, but it was hidden by his body. As quietly as I could, I crept around one of the large trees, so that I could see what was going on from a different angle, and also be a bit more hidden myself.

What I saw astonished me! The scream that had caught my attention, was that of a beautiful elven woman, her hair a light brown that seemed to shimmer with copper highlights, even in the dimness of the forest. But the womans face was covered in tears, wrought with fear and anguish, as her body shook from silent sobs. She was dressed in a light and flowing tunic, that was tied at her waist and flowed to her feet. But much of it had been stained by her tears, though she was trying so hard to keep them back. My heart felt like it was being torn to shreds, watching something so delicate being hurt.

Yet the man in the robe seemed to of not touched her. He mearly stood there, looking down at her with a cold and harsh stare, waiting. His face was very sharply cut, his cheek bones prominant and angled. His eyes though, oh his eyes. They were like ice. If they had been in another person, I may of called them light blue, but in this man, they were like steel, mercilous, unforgiving." Robinton paused as the strength of the memory ran a shiver down his back.


Mean while, Ophelia had taken a pause from serving the few costumers left and cleaning up, when Robinton's story had caught her ear. Now, she had heard most of the old man's stories, but this was one that hadn't been told before at the inn. Most of Robinton's stories were kept light and entertaining. It was unusual for him to tell something so dark, but anyone who was listening to it was enraptured by it, she noticed.

It was dusty and dirty and the black smudges seemed caked onto virtually the entire exterior of the ring; but it was undoubtedly made of gold. Yosef fingered it a while and then put it in his pocket, whether he would give it to Ophelia or Miriam or simply keep it for himself he had not decided yet.

He climbed down from the rafters with the hay he had gone up to get, and started feeding the horses.
His hands moved mechanically, distributing obviously uneven amounts of hay to each horse leaving some with no more then a few mouthfuls and others with enough for two horses. Clearly his mind was not on the horses.

With his mind on both the stranger and the ring he'd found in the hay, Yosef looked around in search of a place on which to rest his aching muscles. In months, the closest thing he'd done to hard work was walk from one place to another, looking for something that would help put food in his stomach.

Spotting a crate of some sort, he turned it over and sat down. He hadn't done a whole lot, yet he felt as if he'd been working for a year. It didn't help that he couldn't stop thinking about the ring. What if it belonged to the innkeeper? What if a traveler had lost it and was on his way back to the inn now, hoping to find it again.

Yosef pondered. He was no thief, but he wasn't a fool either. If he sold it, he could make enough money to buy some new clothes and whatever else he might need. In that case, he wouldn't have to accept anything from Ophelia other than what was due him for his work in the stable. As for the man in the green cloak, he looked a bit sneaky as well as dangerous-- enough to make Yosef feel uncomfortable within ten feet of him. Perhaps in the morning the man would be gone, and he could get used to his new surroundings and do the job properly.


Now that his thirst had been quenched and his belly was full, Brekke stood up, stretched, and looked around for the young woman who had introduced herself as Miriam. The man and the elf were still present. They both glanced at him, somewhat suspiciously, but said nothing. Good. As long as they didn't bother him, he wouldn't bother them. Spotting Miriam as she carried a box into the kitchen, he held up a hand singling for her to wait. He then introduced himself, complimented her on the soup, thanked her for the service, and went upstairs. He really wanted that bath, but he especially couldn't wait to go to sleep. His biggest worry now was the state of the bed. He preferred a hard mattress, and of late he'd found nothing that suited him well enough to induce a good night's rest.

Whether he slept well or not, in the morning he would have go to town and start asking the usual questions. There must be someone who needed his services, and right now he was bored enough to accept another bowl of stew as payment.

Yosef entered through the back door, only to find the common room empty of customers. There were still cups and dishes on some of the tables, so he grabbed as many as he could and carried them into the kitchen.

"Oh! I didn't know anyone was still up", he said as he saw Miriam seated at the table. "I found these out there. Did they need to be brought back here?"

"Yes, thank you Yosef. Just put them in the bucket on the counter over there. I'll see to their washing later." She watched him walk over to the corner where a bucket sat on the floor with the other dirty dishes from the nights clientel. "Are you hungry? There's still some stew left and if it's not eaten, it's going to get thrown out."

He turned as she spoke, standing upright after depositing the dishes in the bucket. His stomach was telling him to answer yes to her question and that is exactly what he did. She rose and taking a bowl from a shelf, spooned what was left of the stew into it and handed it to him.

"You can sit here", she said as she indicated the table she had been sitting at. "I have a few things to attend to." She walked back out into the common room and proceded to straighten up the room and gather the remaining cups and dishes. She heard steps on the stairs and turned to see her mother coming down them.

"I'll lock up dear. Has Yosef come in yet?" Ophelia asked of her daughter as she headed to the front door and threw the deadbolt across it.

"Yes Mother, he has. He's eating something in the kitchen. I'll be done shortly. I just have to wash the dishes and close up the kitchen. You go to bed. I can ask Yosef to help me." Her mother nodded her agreement and went back upstairs after locking up the cash box and placing it in it's hiding spot, which only she and Miriam knew.

Robinton awoke and felt the stiffness in his back. No, he was definately not getting any younger and if the weather kept getting colder, it was going to be a bad winter. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and slipped his feet into his slippers. His was a canopy bed, complete with side curtains that would be pulled closed when the winds began to blow. Ophelia had purchased it specifically for him not long after he had arrived here. That was his first indication of her fondness for him. He hummed a tune under his breath as he exited his room and made his way down the hall to the common bathing room. Turning the handle, he found he was in luck and the door opened, allowing him access into the room. He went to the table and poured the water from the pitcher into the wash basin and splashed the ice cold water onto his face. It was his morning ritual and regardless of where he was, the first thing he needed every morning was cold water on his face to wake himself up. He heard a knock on the door and went to answer it.

"Why good morning young sir. I was just finishing up. The room is all yours", he said to Brekke, who was standing in the hallway.

"Thank you harper. Do you happen to know if there is any hot water for the bath?"

Robinton replied, "Unless the ladies are up already and have some heating, I would wager the answer to that is no. Why don't we go downstairs and see for ourselves?"

They reached the kitchen and found it empty and cold. Robinton started to work on the fire as Brekke went outside and started bringing in buckets of water to heat over the fire.

Yosef heard someone out in the back courtyard, working the water pump and got up to go see who it was. It was the same man he had met the night before in the stables. He wasn't sure what to do, as the man gave him a creepy feeling. He went back to his room and took his time getting dressed.

Robinton had a good fire stoked when Brekke returned with the last bucket of water. He poured it into the pot hanging over the fire and then set the bucket back down by the door. "So Harper, what's your name? I'm Brekke; mercenary by trade."

Robinton took a seat at the table and gestered to the other chair opposite him. "Robinton's the name and entertaining is my game," he said with a laugh. "A merc eh? Haven't seen many of your ilk around these parts for some time now. What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

Brekke wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. His mind kept going back to his dream and to Miriam, whom he had only met last night, but felt like he had known all his life. "I was hoping to find some work. I've been going from town to town, but so far, no luck. You seem to be ensconced here at the Inn. How long have you been here?"

"Me? It seems like a lifetime, but in reality it's been only about 10 years now. I've watched those two women go through some rough times in those 10 years and I've come to think of Miriam as my own daughter."

The mention of her name brought her face into his mind again and he got up to go check on the water in order to cover his discomfort. He could see the steam rising from the pot and gingerly dipped a finger in it to check the temperature. Pulling it out quickly, he turned and said, "Well Robinton, it looks like my bath water is ready. I shall take my leave of you and hope to see you later." Using a rag he found next to the fireplace, he lifted the post of water from the hook and carried it out of the kitchen and upstairs to the still empty bathing room.