The Golden Perch Inn

[Tevildo]

Daisy turned around and grinned impishly at Tom, relishing her triumph of being the one whom mother picked to care for the younger siblings. "Yes, mum, I'll do that," she responded pertly, taking Lil's hand and heading towards the door.

"Where are we going?" the younger girl queried. "Let's do something exciting....a real adventure."

"We'll see in a minute. For now, let's go down to the common room and then we'll figure things out."

Daisy swept into the hallway with the four other children following behind her. The very last in line was Tom, who still had a sullen expression on his face. After filing into the Common Room, they sat down at one of the tables and began peering around at the other guests.

Within two minutes, Lil was complaining loudly to her older sister. "I'm hungry," she wailed. "Maybe we could get something good to eat? A big piece of pie? It's no fun just sitting here."

Daisy shook her head. "I spent all my pennies the other day in the market. We haven't any money. Not even a ha' penny."

"This isn't exciting. It's not an adventure. And I want a piece of pie," countered Lil in a dejected tone.

"Behave, Lil! Everyone is looking at us. Mum wants us to be good." Daisy gave her a stern face.

"I am being good. But this is boring..... I want to do something different than sitting in this dumb old room and watching other people eat."

"I have an idea....." A soft voice rose from the end of the table. Tom withdrew an object from his pocket and placed it triumphantly in front of the others.

Daisy turned around to look. Her jaw dropped open in surprise, as she exclaimed, "Tolman Hedgethistle! Where did you get that? Ooh....you're going to get in trouble. Big trouble!"

[Kath]

"It is so great to see you. Really. When you first approached me you told me that you had so much to tell me! Hopefully more exciting than my rather dull story, please do tell!"

Cir laughed as Jadelen stopped her runaway tongue long enough to await the answer to her question. She had almost forgotten the joy of speaking to one near her own age that was not her brother. Her brother, ah yes, that was what she'd wanted to talk to Jadelen about.

"My story isn't a great deal more interesting. Cir and I managed to slip the watchful eyes of those pilgrims and made our way here for a bit of fun, but the journey was as easy as you say yours was and we had a very warm welcome once we arrived. It was what happened this morning that I wished to tell you about! But not here. It seems however quietly you speak in this room there is always someone you haven't noticed who happens to overhear!"

Taking Jadelen by the arm again Cir began walking back to the room she and her brother had shared the night before, ignoring the feel of eyes on her back, knowing it would be Cir attempting to apologise with the soulful eyes that had got him out of trouble with her many times before. She was sure that had she been alone she would have turned and fallen prey to them, but Jadelen's presence gave her the company she would otherwise have been bereft of had she stayed mad at Cir and she stalked out of the common room without a backward glace.

Once they reached the room Cir watched as Jadelen stared round with unabashed fascination, before finally settling down on one of the beds and fixing her with a sharp look.

"So, I noticed some hostility between you and Cir back there, is that what you wanted to talk about?"

Cir nodded sadly.

"Well what on earth happened? You two have always been so close!"

"He kept things from me!" Cir cried out, the anger that had been coursing through her before returning with a vengeance. "He overheard our parents saying some not very nice things about us and rather than tell me he kept it to himself. He broke the rules. We always tell each other everything even if it's horrible, you know that. He just made me so cross!"

Realising she was reaching a level of agitation not really suitable for one of a race known for being cool and collected Cir stopped to allow herself to calm slightly and turned to her friend for reassurance.

"I'm not being stupid about all this am I Jadelen?"

[MaskedNicci]

She hadn't been seated very long at all, when suddenly a loud noise reached her keen and listening ears, and she barely had time to look up to see a mug of ale flying in her direction. Unable to stop the inevitable, she stood up in shock, staring down at the mess of ale quickly soaking through her traveling clothes. Alassë uttered a sharp sound of disapproval, her eyes darting around to fall upon the one who had may as well have walked over and dumped it over the disgruntled female.

The figure she had been watching came over and apologized 'for any inconvenience'. Alassë couldn't help but narrow her eyes ever more in distrust. It just seemed too coincidental that the innkeeper had 'accidentally' thrown drink all over her, just as the man she had been studying leapt up to eagerly 'lend a hand'. Turning back to her wet clothes, she gave a sharp intake of breath before swallowing what was left of her pride.

"I am fine. Or I will be, once I am dried." She let out a sigh, her tone as flat and strict as could be. Alassë desperately tried to subdue forward questioning and interrogation of either of them - an action that was clearly pushing itself foremost in her mind - and deal with the problem at hand.

She knew there wouldn't be other clothes she could change into, and delicately took the handkerchief from the man. "Thank you," she muttered under her breath, begin to dab away at the seemingly endless ale.

[Folwren]

Dick was mortified and utterly speechless. The man who had supposed to serve came to lend him a hand to his feet. Dick was practically picked up and set upright before Elorn turned towards the elf. The man offered his assistance to making her comfortable again.

Dick was still aghast with embarrassment and a feeling of utter clumsiness and stupidity.

He heard the elf reply shortly to Elorn’s offered help, taking his handkerchief and beginning to dab up ale.

“I’m so sorry,” Dick began to splutter out. “I’m so sorry. I’ll run and fetch a towel. I’m so sorry.” Still repeating the words, he hurried away to the kitchen. Tollers and Gable and Cella were there, but he hardly spotted them as he made directly for the towel drawer and pulled out one of them and hurried right back out again.

“Here you are,” arriving again at the scene of the accident. “That will help you more. I am so sorry. Can I offer you anything?”

Looking truly repentant as he offered her the tea-towel, Dick hoped nothing worse would come from her. It was an awful mistake, and the fact that he would happen to trip for once in his life, with a full mug of ale in his hands, right in front of a new customer was too great to fully accept immediately.

[Firefoot]

"You stay out of this, Gable," snapped Cela, taking a passing notice as Dick hurried in, grabbed a towel, and dashed out again. She turned back to Tollers. "I don't see how helping yourself to the pie has anything to do with keeping the youngsters out of trouble - just the opposite, I'd say you're setting a very bad example for them!"

Tollers at least had the grace to look slightly abashed but offered up no words of explanation. Cela couldn't see any excuses that she would accept, anyhow. "Now you get on back out there and do your job like you're supposed to. Master Dick's looking mighty frazzled, and cleaning up spills is your job more than his. And you, too, Gable; I don't need any help in here. Both of you, out!"

The pair quickly obliged, leaving Cela alone in the kitchen. She shook her head. She was the cook, not the disciplinarian - truth be told, a disciplinarian ought not to be much needed around here, but that was such a false statement that Cela nearly laughed out loud. "Now let's see what we can do about that pie," she muttered to herself. She took a knife and cut off the edges where Tollers had fooled with the pie and irascibly tossed out those scraps. All told, at least a quarter of the pie had been wasted, and the common room seemed to be filling up quickly, from the sounds of it. Done is done, she told herself, and set the pie back on the shelf. There's other work to do.

[Child of the 7th Age]

"So? So what?" Tom stared down at his precious treasure and then grinned defiantly at his older sister. After that he snatched up the key with his right hand and began swinging it back and forth just an inch away from Daisy's noise, while continuing to talk, "Anyways, Lil is right. Nothing's happening here. Just some old gammers sawing away at each other. I'm bored. I want to go on an adventure. A real adventure doing things we've never done. This could help us. It really could. Who knows what we would find? Maybe a magic sword or a piece of treasure."

"But that's not yours." one of the siblings objected. "It's one of Master Dick's keys. He carries them on the big iron ring."

Tolman was quick to offer an explanation, "Yes, Master Dick has lots of different keys. He just didn't want this one. He left it sitting in a little basket on the top of the bar. I was trying to help him tidy up the room so I stuffed it in my pocket. That way, it won't bother anyone."

Tom stuffed the key back in the pocket of his knickers and ofered his grimy hand to his younger sister. "Come on, Lil. You lead the way and we'll all follow. I know the key is to the rooms that are just off the common area. It's the same hallway that has the stairs that lead down to the cellar. I think this might even open the cellar door. We can check that out later. Meanwhile, let's all have some fun. We'll find lots of candy to eat and maybe some other nice things." He pulled his sister up on her feet and then stared around at the others. "Well, are you coming, or are you just going to sit here like a bunch of dolts?"

[Folwren]

Lil had no question but to do as her older brother asked her to. He had always had her unswerving devotion and taking a kea wasn’t going to shake it. She didn’t question whether or not he had been wrong. Tom couldn’t be wrong. He was too smart to do that. He never got in trouble, he was so smart, except a few times.

She reached out for his hand and hopped up from her chair. He mentioned that candy might be found when they used the key to get into the rooms. Candy! One of Lil’s many weak spots. Tom payed his followers (or slaves, practically) well, when they did what he wanted. If the yield was good this time, Lil had no doubt she’d be rewarded.

Off she went, Tom’s hand holding onto hers, leading the way back into the hall from which they had just come. Hamilcar, a brother just a year older than Lil, came just behind. Next came Iris, and last of all, dragged most reluctantly by the hand, came Daisy, pronouncing prophecies of doom and destruction, but coming just the same.

Lil finally stopped, nearly half way down the hall, before a promising looking door (although it looked just the same as all the others). “Try this one,” she said, stepping back and looking at Tom.

[MaskedNicci]

The innkeeper continued sputtering his apologies, rushing off and fetching a towel to aid in her half-hearted clean up. He asked if he could offer her anything, looking dazed.

Alassë tried to refrain from any harsh insults she could throw at the innkeeper, deciding that to try and appear friendly would be the easiest way to find out more of this strange coincidence. Perhaps the innkeeper and the man were in a secret society, and they were going to tactfully interrogate her and find out if she was an enemy figure. Trying to offer a smile through clenched teeth, she murmured. "Oh, it's quite alright. I don't melt, good sir. Just something to drink would be nice. What would be even better, would be if I didn't take it all over. Keeping it in a cup would be just grand."

Mentally rebuking herself for a failing in her attempted guise of behaviour, Alassë gave out a tight-lipped sort of sound to resemble a laugh. "No harm done." She said, looking sideways at the stranger she had been inspecting upon entry, and she held up his handkerchief. "May I make arrangements for this to be cleaned, before I return it?"

[Forest Elf]

Gable sighed; she wasn’t even going to of had a piece of pie. Sometimes cook got on her nerves. When would cook learn to stop making assumptions? Doesn’t cook know by now that I don’t take baked goods, just a plain apple or a slice of older bread when I'm hungry before meals? Gable wondered to herself as she watched a leaf floating on the breeze out the window. She sat down at an empty table and closed her eyes. She put her hands on top of each other and laid her forehead down on them. She needed to think things through, though why she did though, she didn’t know.

Whose locket is that? Why are the wolves attacking? It doesn’t make sense…why would wolves attack the Inn? Why did they come and attack in the first place? What if Tollers was right and there is a hole in the Hedge? Or what if something is driving them mad enough to make them this desperate? Does it have something to do with the pony’s owner’s disappearance? Or does it have to do with one of the customers here? at the Inn?

Gable sighed…so many questions that couldn’t be answered. If she kept this up she would be getting a headache. Maybe I should take another look around the area where I found the pony…there has to be some sign of the owner, or tracks that I missed since it was dark and I can see better now that its light out. Then she began troubling herself with the question of, Should I bring someone along to help or not?

[Finduilas]

Elorn felt like laughing when the clearly ruffled Elf offered to have his handkerchief cleaned. He refrained from doing so, knowing that it probably wouldn’t improve her present state of mind.

“No thanks, ma’am. It won’t be necessary,” he replied as he took it back.

Once he had wrung out his handkerchief and returned in to his pocket, he stood, wondering what he should do. The Elf didn’t seem in the mood to talk, but he didn’t feel it would be very nice of him to leave her, seeing as she was still soaked, and in bad humor. Elorn sincerely wished that either the Elf or the landlord would help him out of this awkward situation.