The Green Dragon Inn - Part 4

Yepa Namid stepped quietly through the door, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. This land was new and strange to her. Also hot.


She slipped off her fur-lined cloak, which had become increasingly too warm as she had journeyed south. Indeed, even the clothes she wore underneath the cloak were still too warm. Her trousers, tunic, and even her boots were of sealskin, though the boots were from an older seal, and were tougher; darker grey that the softer, younger skins that made up her clothes. In contrast the heavy cloak which she now draped over her arm was the creamy white hide of the bears that populated the region from which she came.


She cut a strange figure as she crossed the inn to the bar. Her odd attire drew a few looks, but although she was small, her appearance was pleasant. Thick dark hair fell to mid-thigh length, and big dark eyes sparkled in a round, nut brown face. A grey and white dog, bearing much resemblance to a wolf, followed at her heels.

Getting a drink of water from the bar, Yepa sat down as far from the fire as possible, and sipped at her drink, gazing around all the time at the people in the common room, studying them with a curious mind. A few of them caught her eye, and she smiled, but made no move for the present. The dog curled up at her feet, closed his eyes, anddozed in the warmth of the afternoon.