Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Delightful, as usual, my dear." Robinton answered in response to Ophelia's first question. The second, however, warranted deeper thought so, rubbing his chin, he pondered a moment. "I'd say it's that young man over there, your newest guest." he gave a little nod indicating the dark-haired one on the far side of the room. "He's a mercenary, so he claims. Said his name was Brekke. Observe her in his presence. Listen to her voice, watch the way she moves. He's got her so flustered she doesn't walk from table to table, she glides like a song."

Ophelia turned her head, spotted her daughter and almost didn't recognize her. She looked the same but then again different. "Gracious me, I do believe you're right! It's as if she no longer has the need of her legs and feet. What do you suppose he's done to cause such a stir in a girl as particular as Miriam?" Though it was she who asked the question, Ophelia was certain she already knew the answer. In the presence of the harper, even when she was merely thinking about the harper, she felt the way Miriam looked.

Robinton chuckled softly. "He doesn't appear to have done anything. Just sits there politely and watches her beneath his lashes. Better not watch her too closely, though," he frowned slightly. "Or I'll throw him out on his ear and see that he stays out."

He would, too. Robinton thought more of Miriam than some men thought of their own daughters. And Ophelia herself could not love a child more than she loved her little girl. So, if that young man did have an eye for Miriam, he would do well to mind his manners and keep his distance for the duration of his stay. If he decided to court her and something came of the relationship, for his sake his intentions had better be honorable, and he'd better be the kind of man who well knew how to provide for a woman.

The porridge and bread were delicious, but Yosef didn't feel very hungry this morning. His thoughts kept drifting back to the ring and what to do with it, and he felt very uncomfortable living on the same premises as the man from last night. He nibbled here and spooned there before finally discarding the remainder of his meal and tending to the dishes he had soiled. He was quick about it, too, as he didn't want Ophelia to know that he had thrown away his food. She might take it as an insult and ask him to leave.

Miriam entered the kitchen just in time to see that Yosef had already finished breakfast and cleaned up after himself as well as any woman might have done. She wondered about the dishes, as no water had yet been heated for the chore, but she opted not to mention it for fear of wounding the boy's feelings. She would have to rewash them after he left for the stable. "My but you're a fast eater,"

"The porridge was very good, ma'am. Thank you." he backed himself out of the kitchen, wincing in pain and hobbling, and still feeling guilty about throwing away the uneaten portion of his breakfast. "I should get to work, now."

Miriam started to tell him to let his ankle rest for a day or two, but just like that, he was gone. And she couldn't help but feel relieved. Everyone had been looking at her strangely, especially her mother and Robinton. She hadn't thought it showed that she was nervous and overly excited, but clearly it did, and the less people who saw her in such a way, the better.

Only a song? Oh, it was much more than that. To her anyway. And how could she help but cry? Everything he wrote impressed her, but she had never heard anything so beautiful, so pure, so close to what she felt in her own bleeding heart. She loved this man to the point of extreme suffering. Every hour of every day, she endured enough pain for a hundred women. For her not to cry, she would have to be long dead or made of stone.

Without warning, Robinton reached out and dried each tear with the tip of an index finger, frowning with concern as he did so. "Such an emotional woman you are today. And Miriam walking around as if on a cloud." he leaned forward to eye her with friendly suspicion. "Are you and your daughter conspiring against me?" he teased.

Ophelia chuckled. It would be so easy if she could just tell him she loved him, which she couldn't. Oh, no. She could never do that. He had been here so long that if she were to admit that he held the key to her heart, he might just feel obliged to say that he loved her as well. She knew he would. Or well, she felt very strongly that he would. He was too kindhearted to chance shattering the spirit of a woman who loved him so much that she would give him free room and board asking only that he please her guests with a story or song.

Now, if he were to come to her one day and reveal a secret love for her, that was different. She would then pour out her heart in ways she'd never dreamed possible. Sadly, having Robinton confess to her first was the only way she would ever know for certain that he loved her because he loved her, and not because he thought she needed him to.

In silence Eliander and Renfir headed east, walking not side by side or one in front of the other but somewhere in between. Perhaps the half-elf understood that his companion did not wish to engage in casual conversation with another being, unless that being was a full-blooded elf.

As they drew nearer to the town, a man passed by on horseback, and Eliander recognized him as the one from the inn at breakfast this morning. He nodded a greeting, but Eliander paid him no mind. There was no law that said he had to be civil, just as there was no law that said he had to speak to the person beside him.

"You're awfully quiet," Renfir observed as the town came into view. They were now traveling side by side, although not necessarily on purpose. "Is it my company or merely the idea of it?"

Eliander continued to face forward. "I have spent very little time among humans, and there is little I have in common with them. Should I think of something pleasant to say, I will say it. Otherwise, feel free to speak as you wish, for I have no call not to listen."

Renfir thought that was a strange sort of answer, but he shrugged it away. His mind was on the book and nothing else. However, it would be interesting to know what it was that made the elf so unfriendly towards humans.

Not long after Yosef returned to the stable and began watering the horses, the fearsome man arrived, collected his horse and left. It was then that the boy realized he could no longer put any weight on his wounded foot. Now feeling guilty about not being able to complete his duties at all, much less properly, he hobbled to the overturned crate and sat down. Curious, he removed his left shoe and stocking and was shocked to find that the outside of his ankle and the uppermost part of his foot were completely black and blue. Ophelia had been right about the bruise, but hadn't she said it would happen later today? How could it have gotten that much worse in so little an amount of time?

While he waited for the pain to lessen, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He had decided to take it into town and try to sell it, but now he couldn't walk, and he didn't think Ophelia would allow him to borrow a horse. She would want to know why, and he couldn't very well explain that he wanted to go to town when he had no coins to spend. He would have to tell her about the ring, and he wasn't about to do that.

Of course, he could always say he wanted to look around, get to know the townspeople, make a few friends here and there. It wouldn't be a lie, necessarily, because he would really like to do all that. The trouble was, none of those reasons were good enough to justify the borrowing of someone's horse, especially when that someone hadn't even known him for a full day. He didn't think so, anyway.

It didn't hurt to ask, did it? The very worst she could do was say no. Even if she questioned his reasons and he refused to tell her, it wasn't as if she was going to beat him over the head with a kettle. Well, she might, but he doubted it. Ophelia had treated him too kindly to be the kind of person who would hit a boy for asking to borrow something but keeping his reasons a secret. Although, she might box his ears. He didn't care too much for that, either, but it was significantly better than being beaten over the head.

Still experiencing some of the worst pain he had ever known, Yosef got up and made his way back to the inn, this time dragging his foot behind him and wincing with every inch of ground he covered. His ankle appeared to be healing, but what if it didn't heal properly? Would he hobble like this for the rest of his days? One thing was for sure, he would have to be more careful while handling shovels in the presence of horses.

They turned the corner and saw the house ahead of them. "There it is," said Renfir. "The one with the bushes all overgrown around it." Eliander looked at the house Renfir pointed out and had serious misgivings about finding anyone of any worth inside of it. "A wizard lives there?" he asked dubiously. "Why would any wizard worth the name chose to live in such squalid circumstances?" Renfir had to agree with the elf, "I know; it doesn't seem likely, but that's the information I received. Come on, let's find out if it was accurate or not." He and the elf walked up to the house and past the overgrown bushes and plants to reach the front porch. They had to side step the holes in the stairs in order to reach the door safely, but they did and Renfir knocked on the door three times. They stood there and waited, but not a sound came from inside the house. "Well, it looks like no one's home," said Eliander. Renfir was not yet ready to give up on his quest. He raised his hand to knock again when suddenly there was a voice behind them, "I wouldn't do that again if I were you." The two men turned around swiftly to find a decrepid old woman standing at the bottom of the stairs. "He doesn't like it when people bang on his door," she said. Renfir looked from her to Eliander and then back to her, "Who doesn't like it old woman?" She chuckled to herself as she answered him, "Why, the one you came seeking of course. You do know who it is that lives here don't you? You wouldn't be knocking on his door just for fun now would you?" She sneezed just then and wiped her nose across the back of her hand. "We've come to speak with the wizard who lives here," said Renfir. Eliander made a face as he watched the woman wipe her nose. He could not believe that any woman, human or elf, would allow herself to get into the state this woman was. "Oh, well then, you'll be wantin' to use the special knock then won't you?" she said. Renfir looked at her with a questioning look on his face. "Special knock? What would that be old woman?" She laughed once again and shifted herself from one foot to the other and said, "You know, the special wizards knock. One short, two long, four short then 6 long, then 3 short again and then one and a half long. I thought all wizards knew the special wizard knock. From the look of you, you're a wizard yourself. How is it you don't know the special knock?" This was beginning to get tiresome and Eliander had about had enough of the woman and her special knock when Renfir said, "Of course I know the special knock. I was just testing you to see if you really knew what it was." He turned back to the door and proceded to knock in the manner in which the old woman had instructed. Before he could get to the last four and a half knocks, the door suddenly opened and standing there was a gray haired man, a look of fury on his face. "What do you want?!" he yelled at them. "I heard you the first time you knocked! There is no need for all this incessant knocking! Who are you?" Renfir turned to look back at the woman, but she was no where to be seen.

On a small sigh that very nearly turned into a yawn, Miriam looked around. Considering that the morning dishes were cleared away and ready to be washed, and the last of the tables had been wiped, she decided it was time for a moment of fresh air, a little break for a sore back and a stuffy head. With the cloth still in her hand, she crossed the common room to the entrance door, pulled it open, and stepped outside. No rain today. Instead, she was greeted by a nice breeze and warm sunshine. Birds chirped. A butterfly appeared and landed on the very tip of a nearby sunflower.

Meanwhile, only Miriam knew the reason she had come out here, and it had nothing to do with a sore back or a stuffy head. She was simply preparing herself for the questions that would follow should her mother notice that she was no longer inside. She had never been one to leave her work unattended, so there would indeed be questions and she wanted to respond to them accordingly. There was at least one proper way for a girl to admit to her mother that she had an eye for a certain man and was now wondering where he'd gone, but she couldn't think of one. All she knew was that someone had left on horseback a short while ago, and other than Renfir and Eliander who had both gone off on foot, the only one missing was Brekke.