The Green Dragon Inn - Part 3

[Elora]

Giving her hair a last precautionary smooth over, Vanwe stepped onto the verandah of the inn and peeked warily through the door. Her journey northwards had been littered with lessons of what could come from stepping carelessly into an inn. There came to her hearing the buzz of many voices and laughter, a tapestry of sound that seemed at ease. Her shoulders relaxed somewhat beneath her thin cloak and she took her first step into the Green Dragon on small and light feet.

Vanwe stood by the door, wide eyes carefully inspecting the common-room. No uniformed soldiers, which was a good sign. Her hand rose to hover by the hood of her cloak as she completed her review. Her other hand fingered the meagre coppers that remained guarded in the pouch that hung from her belt. She nibbled a full lower lip as she considered, her decision evident when she pushed her hood back and unlatched the clasp at her throat. She turned to review the system of coat pgs by the door which inhabited the wall behind her.

Just in case she was mistaken, Vanwe selected a peg that would enable her to quickly grab her cloak should she need to leave at speed. The road from Khand had been an adventure for the young elven maiden that had offered her more than a few lessons in life. It was not to be wondered at, given her mother and father, however it had taken her by surprise. Vanwe had encountered more than a few inns. Mostly, their kitchens where she would work, sometimes the commonroom when she could afford a proper meal, and the stables as beds and rooms were beyond her purse. But also, Vanwe had learnt how important it can be to make a quick escape when a soldier saw her mother in her young face or a fellow traveller looked hard enough to realise that she was too young to be on the road alone. That invariably brought her more attention than Vanwe was accustomed to, particularly in the southern realms where her mother had been particularly infamous.

Vanwe was simply clad. She had little protection against the elements in the plain periwinkle dress she wore. Her cloak was the difference between a bearable night spent under a hedge and a miserable one. Her cloak safely stowed, she turned back to the room and searched out a table. Careful to keep her gaze averted until she had more time to examine the inn's guests, Vanwe found tables and chairs were at a premium.

People gathered in clusters that she wove through, walking through fragments of their tales as she passed until at last she came to the counter. Behind it worked a very capable woman whose face held no ire in it. Given the poor state of Vanwe's finances, it boded well. Perhaps she would see if there was something she could do a little later, once she was sure.

For now, Vanwe dug into her purse and withdrew a copper that she fingered. One wide blue eye on the innkeeper and another on the room, she waited patiently for a chance to attract the innkeeper's attention. As the woman moved along the bar in her direction, Vanwe leant forward. A fall of pale blonde hair fell over her shoulder and onto the bar counter, which she hastily tucked back behind her ear.

"Excuse me, good Lady Innkeep. Might I trouble you for a glass of watered wine, please?" Vanwe held her copper forward, for she had found that sometimes innkeepers took one look at her and doubted her limited means extended even to watered wine. With a polite, hopeful smile, Vanwe made sure the innkeeper could see she was not entirely insolvent.

As she waited, Vanwe ran through her plan. It was a vague plan, but it was the best she could come up with knowing so little about the way of the world. First the wine, then a chair, then perhaps see if she could offer her services. When she had a few more coppers, then she could continue her search for her mother and her father's grave. Problem was, coppers went so quickly. Especially when the roads were so empty and she was alone with only a belt knife and what little she had learnt in the small village in Khand.

Vanwe was tired of sleeping in trees and running from bandits who kept possession of her coppers. She was also tired of soldiers mistaking her for her mother, but they possibly could give her clues. So that meant she had to go to inns where soldiers sometimes gathered. It was her only way of learning of the emerald eyed elven woman of Finarfin's House without venturing into garrisons. A vague plan, a belt knife and 3 coppers. It wasn't much, but it all Vanwe had. Hopefully, she could add a glass of watered wine to that tally and at least warm herself.

[ April 29, 2003: Message edited by: Elora ]

[ April 29, 2003: Message edited by: Elora ]