As it was, the trio was greeted by the inn's proprietor almost as soon as they entered the mudroom. Fran was a large man who had clearly seen both battle and thinner days. Bluff and hearty, he seemed to Jerrod as if he were almost a cross between the archetypal pudgy but cheerful innkeeper who had grown corpulent by sampling his kitchen's (or perhaps his bar's) wares a little too often and an ex-army sergeant who had turned to smithing upon his retirement.
In fact that was what he was. The Horse Brass had begun as a smithy that Fran had started with his twenty year bonus after he had retired from the personal guard of the Duke of Tepleberg. He soon married and what had once been a simple smithy soon became a bustling inn. Fran, too, had changed. Like his establishment, the innkeeper had become more hospitable and, from sampling his wife's cooking (and, to a certain degree, the bar), somewhat larger.
Fran shut the door behind them and bolted it, an action which surprised Jerrod. It was almost as if they were the only customers who were welcome to enter the Horse Brass that night. It was not so late that no other travelers would be entering the city, nor was it so deep into eventide that the local citizens would be averse to stopping by the common room for a pint or two. "Perhaps," Jerrod thought, "Astall has indeed rented the entire establishment."
Fran greeted them as if he was expecting them. "Ah, the twin blades of Jillette, welcome back! You must be the young mage about whom I have heard Astall tell. Welcome, Jerrod, we have been awaiting your arrival! Follow me into the common room where the rest of your party awaits. You must be hungry and thirsty as well. We have roast fowl or ham with vegetables and potatoes, or mutton stew. There is also white, yellow, and aged cheese if you wish them. Small beer, ale, wine, fruit juices and water are available to slake your thirst. Let Sadie know what you want and it will be brought to you."
He led the trio from the mudroom off through a door way to the left of the stairs. The common room -- for so it was -- was large and spacious. It gave Jerrod the feeling of being outside at midday on a fair spring day even though as an interior room with no windows it was clearly well sealed from the chill weather and the light of the outdoors. Despite being lit by no more than a huge roaring fireplace, torches in the corners and the light which spilled through the doorway which led from the bar to the kitchen the room had a warm, sunny feel to it. Perhaps it was the dried flowers which were woven in wreaths and placed about the room or the scent of the lamb from the kitchen, but whatever it was the common room of the Horse Brass gave Jerrod a feeling of buoyancy that he had felt since the ice had come to southern Seremoreh.
"Astall, the youngsters have arrived," boomed Fran as he led the triumvirate to a table near the crackling blaze. "I'm off to prepare their rooms. Sadie," the massive innkeeper motioned to a feminine shape silhouetted in the kitchen doorway, "come and take care of the new arrivals!" With that, Fran spun on his heel headed back through the portal which marked the entry.
At the table to which the innkeeper had led Jerrod and the twins was seated a cloaked figure who looked up wearily at the travelers and (having had a rather trying day) said rather irascibly, "Finally arrived, I see. What took you so long?"
Before any of the three could reply, the old man said, "Never mind, you're here and that's what matters. Before we get down to business, get some food in your bellies. I don't want to be distracted by grumbling abdomens while I fill the three of you -- and especially you, Jerrod -- in on the current situation. Go ahead, Sadie, take their orders."
The figure in the doorway turned out to be a young woman who bore a faint resemblance to Fran, (although she was much younger and, to Jerrod's eyes, prettier) and who had hurried over to the table and was standing at Jerrod's shoulder.
"Good evening, gentlefolk. What can I get for you?" The young woman, who turned out to be Sadie, greeted the trio with a smile.
"Let's see, beautiful..." Urki winked. "I'll have the ham, a double portion of white cheese, and a triple portion of bread. I think I'll wash that down with ale and for desert I'd like to renew our old acquaintanceship."
The serving maid blushed, but she smiled and nodded at the male warrior.
Enki sighed and then grinned. "He'll never quit, Jerrod. Nothing seems to faze him. Sadie, bring me the same, except make single portions of bread and cheese and I'll forego the dessert."
The serving maid blushed a deeper shade of scarlet.
Jerrod looked askance at the twins and glanced over to Astall who seemed oblivious to Urki's suggestive comments. He shook his head and said, "Uh, the fowl, some of the aged cheese and wine for me please, girl."
Sadie nodded and beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen. As she left, Jerrod looked around the room. Scattered about at other tables around the room were other customers of the inn. Jerrod's notion that Astall had insured their solitude by chartering the entire establishment seemed less likely when he saw them, especially when he saw what a motley bunch they were.
One of the inn's patrons appeared to be nothing more than a common tinker or artisan. Seated at the bar, the man had nothing distinctive about him. He was of middle years, middle height and had a rather average if apparently somewhat flabby build. He was dressed in grays and browns that blended perfectly with his drab brown eyes and mousey brown hair. He seemed to be just the sort of local or marginal commercial traveler that one would expect to see in the common room of an inn in the evening. Perhaps, though, to be in perfect character for the fellow, the inn should have been a little less prosperous than was the Horse Brass, for the fellow did not seem to be the sort who would spend above his means. And the Horse Brass seemed clearly above his normal economic circles.
At the other tables were seated far more unusual patrons. At one table sat a large man of middle years dressed in the muted greens and browns of a woodsman. As far as Jerrod could discern from his seated form, the man was a giant. His shoulders must have been at least half again as wide as were Urki's and he was thickly thewed over every bit of the portion of his torso which was visible above the table's upper surface. His hands were enormous, so large that they made the tankard from which he sipped seem as if it was a miniaturized child's version rather than a full-sized toby.
The face of the forester was heavily beard with closely-cropped whiskers the color of a mahogany so deep that it was almost black. The beard was perhaps a shade or two darker than the woodsman's long, dark hair. His eyes were at odds with the rest of his intimidating appearance. The soft olive green of their pupils seemed to radiate gentleness and, even in the relatively dim light of the taproom, the man's eyes seemed to twinkle with an uncomplicated mirth that made one want to smile and share whatever jest it was that gave them their sparkle.
Sitting across from the ranger was a fellow dressed in the dark robes of some sort of cleric. He looked like no priest that Jerrod had ever seen before, however. Not only was he uncommonly tall -- he must have been at least two hands over two strides tall, matching the apparent height of his comrade -- he was exceedingly slender. Another facet of his attire that made him look like no servant of the gods upon whom Jerrod had previously laid eyes, was the enormous double-bladed axe which was strapped across his back.
"Quite a pair," Jerrod mused to himself, "I wonder if the cleric's front is as singular as his rear appears to be? It would appear, however, that Astall did not lease the entire establishment or if he did, he apparently doesn't mind the innkeeper earning a coin or two on the side."
There were two other customers in the inn and their presences were even more startling to Jerrod than were those of the woodsman and his priestly companion. Each sat alone. At a table in the corner apparently lost in thought was a woman dressed entirely in loose fitting black. She was as beautiful as any woman that Jerrod had ever seen before, yet she had a complexion and appearance unlike any to which he had hitherto been exposed.
Her skin was flawless. Not a scar nor even a blemish marred her countenance. Her complexion seemed to Jerrod as if it had been lightly dusted with saffron. Her eyes were large dark pools of tranquil brown which were the shape of almonds and tilted sharply up at the corners like those of cat. Her hair was long and straight. It cascaded down over her shoulders both front and back at least as far as the table top. It was the color of ebony and was distinguishable from the woman's odd garb only by its incredible sheen, which like the twinkle in the forester's eyes, was even more remarkable because of the dim lighting in the room. The strangeness of the effect was only heightened by the fact that the torch in the corner cast no light on her features because it was located directly behind her. Jerrod immediately fell in love (or perhaps lust was a better description of the passion that nearly overwhelmed him).
The other patron of the inn's common room was perhaps the most remarkable of all of the clients present. Seated directly in front of the fireplace engrossed in the process of devouring a meal at least thrice the size of that which Urki had ordered was something or rather someone not quite human. He or she or it was even larger than the ranger, but unlike that worthy, the creature in question had no hair at all. Its shape was human, albeit much larger, but its skin was rough and warty and the color of dark emeralds. Their ears flared and were pointy. Their eyes,...their eyes were like those of the lady in black in shape and tilt. Unlike hers, however, the creature's eyes were golden around the edges with jet black pupils which nearly filled the all but the periphery of the ocular. Its teeth were sharp and well separated. They resembled a wolf's more than they did those of a human being.
The creature was smoothly muscled despite is enormous proportions and like a man it wore clothing. Its upper body, all that Jerrod could see at the moment, was clad in a smooth buckskin vest which left it arms bare. There was a leather band which wrapped around its forehead and disappeared behind its skull. Despite its ferocious aspect, the creature ate with the manners and dignity of a member of the gentry. It was altogether the most disconcerting image with which Jerrod had ever been presented. "Perhaps," he thought with his mouth agape, "I should get out a bit more!"
Jerrod turned toward his mentor, who -- like Jerrod's escort to Pond Eddy -- was watching the young mage's growing astonishment with wry amusement.
"You seem to be a bit taken aback, youngster, is something troubling you?" Astall chuckled and grinned wryly as he continued. "There is more to the world than you have yet seen, and unfortunately all of it is not so benign as a collection of unusual tavern patrons."
Astall grew abruptly more serious. "Jerrod, we are in grave danger. Seremoreh faces a threat which could destroy all that is good and just. You are a part of the key to defeating the evil that threatens our way of life. Would that you were not, for you are still young and not yet grown into your full power. But ready or no, you must face your rede, for if you do not we all will fall. I cannot face it for you, would that I could, but I am not the one the fates have designated. My magic, though it surpasses your own by far at this point in our lives, would be woefully inadequate to stem the tide of evil. I have my part to play, but you have a role which no other can fill. You, if you can grow into the mage that you could be and do it in time, can do more in some ways than I, with all of my learning, can. But even you cannot stem the growing horror alone. You need aid. Aid that I cannot personally completely provide. That is why I have had the twins bring you here. Enki's and Urki's fate are inextricably interwoven with yours. You must grow to trust one another without reservation. You must abandon your prejudices or we are all doomed."
Jerrod looked at his teacher uncomprehendingly. "What are you saying? How can I do what you can not? You are far beyond me in skill and knowledge. What can two warriors do that neither of us can? And what is this dire threat which Seremoreh faces that you have yet to reveal?"
"I am saying that there are tasks which must be completed which only you can accomplish. I have my role but my path is not the same as yours. And I am saying that you cannot accomplish those tasks without the aid of the two warriors who you have no doubt treated with scorn. And not only their aid. You will need the assistance of several others without whom you will earn only death. As to the dire threat which faces Seremoreh, I think it behooves me start at the beginning so you will truly understand how appalling a threat we face and just how important it is for you to fulfill the quest with which you will be faced."
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