Chapter Four Hundred — Inn to the City
Chapter Four Hundred — Inn to the City The scallywags returned a few hours before sunset, slightly tipsy, smiling a lot, and with some new clothes on which made them look quite... unique. They were wearing navy blue slacks and ruffle-chested poet shirts along with small coats that stopped at about mid waist.“You three are looking good,” I said as I watched them stumble onto the ship.“Ah,” Oda said. “We spent some of our money.” He looked a little sheepish at the admission.Joe wasn’t so reserved. “What do you think, captain? Do we look good, or what?” He flexed his arms and half-turned so that I could see his silhouette better. “Bet all the girls on the shore are going to swoon when they see us.”“You wish,” Sally said.“I think you look very handsome,” I said, and Joe deflated.“When you say it like that it doesn’t make me feel nearly as cool, captain.”I blinked and wondered what he meant by that.“You’re back,” Caprica said as she came up next to me. “And in new outfits. I like them. A little... loose, compared to a good dress uniform, but you look fashionable, and having the crew in a similar uniform is always a good idea.”Joe grinned, preening a bit at the attention.“We got them all the same because they were cheaper this way,” Sally said. “They’re technically school uniforms from one of the academies, but in different colours. The tailor who made them was upset that they weren’t selling, so we got them for very little.”“Don’t go ruining the mystique of it, Sal,” Joe complained.“The only mystique here is how the tailor managed to fit anything over your ego,” Sally snapped back.And then Oda joined in and the three wandered off, firing friendly barbs at each other and the occasional shove which turned to laughter.I glanced at Caprica who shrugged. “At least they enjoyed themselves,” she said.“I guess so,” I said. “Should we be going too? We were going to stay at an inn, right?”She nodded. “I’ll go get my things and tell the others.”“Things?” I asked.“I’m hardly going to be sleeping in my day clothes while at an inn,” Caprica said.That was probably fair. “I guess I can pack up some PJs too,” I said before following Caprica down to our rooms on the deck below. It didn’t take long for us to inform the others as well. Calamity scoffed at the idea of wearing pajamass but the others got their things all packed up, and soon we were on the top deck and ready to go, all of us with an extra backpack, except for Caprica.“You know,” Amaryllis said as she looked at all the bags Caprica had packed. “I’d taken you for more of a... soldier-type in that you’d only bring the bare necessities with you.”Caprica sniffed in a princessly manner. “Don’t be foolish. A proper soldier is ready for anything, which means you have anything you might need with you.”“Is the proper soldier ready to carry her own bags?” Amaryllis asked.Caprica looked at the pile she’d pulled out of her room. “Maybe I’ll just bring the bare essentials after all.”With everyone ready, we hopped across the gangplank and then down the docks to the ground. Awen ended up having us pause a few times as she got caught up looking at the mechanisms for holding ships in place; big metal arms with pads on their ends, placed on unscrewing mounts with could be moved with some pulleys from near the ground to accommodate any size and type of airship.I ended up wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help lead her away. She could poke around later if she really wanted, but right now we were heading out to have fun!“So, the first stop is that bookshop?” I asked.“That sounds fair,” Amaryllis said. “It should be in the centre of the city, I think, which is also probably where we’ll find most of the neutral inns.”“Maybe we ought to get an inn room first then,” Calamity said. “Have a place to drop off our things.”That seemed perfectly acceptable to me. Well, anything would have been, really. I was just happy to be out spending time with my friends in a new place. I was looking forward to seeing what Inkwren was like from up close.We left the docks and entered a more residential area. The homes here were two or three stories tall and very much squished together. It looked like they were mostly condos, actually, made of a reddish-brown brick with arches over the doorways. Very smart, sensible homes, but I found that they lacked a bit of individuality. They were right up against the sidewalk, so there was no room for any lawns or anything.The city of Inkwren was impressively packed near its centre.On the next intersection, we came up to a signpost that wasn’t just labelled with the names of the streets, but also with decorated signs that pointed towards four different academies. All four of those signs were covered in graffiti, but it was clearly graffiti laid on by different brushes and with different paints.“Wow, the competition here is... steep,” I said.“A bit uncivilised,” Amaryllis said.“Reminds me of hockey fans,” I said.We weren’t sure where the markets and inns were, so I politely flagged down a gentleman walking by and asked him for some directions.He ended up pointing us down the road, then gave us the sorts of directions that I’d expect from a local. “Take a left there, then once you’re at Ormic’s place, you’ll take a right. Keep on going until you’re at the place where Box’s Bakery used to be, and pass through the alley next to that and onto the next block over, then it’s a left and you keep going until you cross the mayor’s bridge.”Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.“Uh, thank you!” I said with a little bow. He nodded and went on his way, and once he was far enough away, I turned to my friends. “Did you understand any of that?”“I think, a little,” Awen said. “We can always find someone else once we’re closer to the centre.”That seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea, so we continued on, following the first of his directions until we got a little lost again. At least the airship docks weren’t going to be too hard to find since the dock’s traffic tower stood far taller than all of the other homes in the area.Worst case, we could bounce up to a rooftop and find our way back that way.In the meantime, I found a nice lady who pointed us towards the inns, this time with an entirely different set of directions that were just as confusing, but judging by how they were shorter, we were getting closer!The homes around us changed to more warehouses and a few small general stores, and we crossed by a school for children which I was surprised to see wasn’t part of one of the academies.Finally, however, after a good half hour of walking, we made it to the market quarter. There were several inns on this stretch of the city, and my friends immediately aimed for the nicest, most fancy looking of the lot.“You know, if we’re just going to stay at the inn for fun, it doesn’t need to be the most expensive one,” I said.“We’re hardly lacking in money, Broccoli,” Amaryllis said.“Besides, we want quality,” Caprica said. “And that comes at a price.”Calamity shrugged. “I just want free food.”I looked to Awen, my last hope for an ally, but she just shrugged in a sort of ‘what can you do’ gesture, and I decided to mostly drop the subject. “Okay, but I really don’t see why we couldn’t go somewhere nice but not too expensive and save a bit of money that we could spend on more fun stuff.”“Come on, being waited on talon and claw is fun,” Amaryllis said.“It is sorta nice,” Awen admitted.Rolling my eyes, I followed my friends into the most elaborately decorated and stately of the inns on the main street, past several brick pillars and up a grand exterior staircase to a door where a tiny mousey doorman welcomed us before pulling on a lever that opened the main door for us.The inside was just as lavish. This was less an inn, I realized, as it was a fancy hotel of some sort. The kind of place that I felt out of place in.There was a small restaurant off to the right, and what looked like a museum of sorts to the left, with some showpieces behind glass on full display with plaques and all. Tables and chairs were spread across the lobby, some of which were occupied by guests chatting, and at the end was a long counter that cut off the front of the room from the space with the hotel workers.It looked like a nice place, at least, though I couldn’t help but feel like I was a bit underdressed. I ‘eeped’ and stepped aside as a mouse person in a suit with a little mouse secretary ambled by, cigar smoke trailing above him.“Decent enough,” Caprica said. “There’s even some harpy nobility here, Amaryllis.” She gestured to a small group off to the side.Amaryllis glanced that way, then back to the counter, then her head whipped around and I saw her put a hand on her dagger wand on reflex.My ears twitched up and I looked that way too, only for my breath to catch.There were three harpy talking, two of them looked a bit like servants, but the third was definitely a noble. He was wearing a suit with trailing tails behind it, all clearly tailored and made of some very fine-looking materials.The problem wasn’t the noble, it was that I knew him. “Francisco?” I whispered.“Oh no,” Awen said.Amaryllis’ eyes narrowed then she shook her head. “No. No, that’s not him.”At her voice, the non-Francisco harpy turned, and I saw that she was right. He was a bit taller, with a more pronounced jawline and much softer eyes. Maybe he was a year or two older as well, though it was hard to guess. His gaze flittered over our group, then locked onto Amaryllis. “Amy?”Amaryllis let out a sigh and let go of her daggerwand. I idly noticed Calamity slinging his bow back over his back. “Hello, Valerian,” she said.The harpy gestured to his companions, then walked over, wings spreading wide. “I haven’t seen you in ages!” he said. “Not since just before Francisco learned of the engagement. I heard you put that off. Bet he’s upset! Haha!” He grabbed her in a massive bearhug.I had been hugging Amaryllis daily for a while now, so I was pretty sure her hug tolerance was at an all-time high for her, but it still looked like she didn’t find this hug particularly pleasant. “Yes, he took it about as well as you might expect,” she said. “What are you doing here? Last I saw you, you were in Farseeing.”“Ah, I left the capital and ventured all the way here on a quest!” he said as he twirled away. His cheeks were a bit flushed as he brought his talons in over his chest. “A quest for love!”This... was not what I was expecting from Francisco’s brother.“But what are you doing here? Aiming to attend one of the Academies?”“No, nothing like that. We’re stopping by Inkwren to refuel. We’re on our way south. Back home, in fact,” Amaryllis said. It was even somewhat sorta true. She leaned to her side, pitching her voice low so that only my friends and I could hear. “Alright, maybe you were right, the discount inn might have been a better idea after all.”
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Chapter Four Hundred and One — Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Chapter Four Hundred and One — Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Valerian led us to his rooms on the top floor of the hotel, which meant taking turns piling into a teensy-tiny elevator where another mouse-person threw a lever to bring us up. We did it in batches, waiting for everyone to gather in the lushly carpeted corridor above.“Have you been here for long?” Amaryllis asked.The noblebird made a so-so gesture with one wing. “About nine months now, maybe? A little longer? One full school year at the Academies here, basically.”“Oh, you’re a student?” I asked.Valerian shook his head. “Oh, no. I’ve picked up a few tutors for some side-lessons, because if you’re in Inkwren you might as well. There are so many teachers and students who wish they were teachers here. Pick any subject and you can learn a lot about it.”“Is learning from a teacher better than practising something on your own?” I asked.“It is,” Caprica confirmed. “Teachers will usually have skills that cause their students to pick up new skills and additional experience faster. They’re mostly small buffs, but they’re invaluable if you want to learn something quickly. I had a number of fantastic tutors back home that helped me with things that I would never want to use a precious skill slot on.”“Indeed,” Valerian said. “If you’re staying in Inkwren for a while, then maybe I could suggest a few? The prices are extremely competitive, and there’s someone for almost any skill.”I couldn’t think of any specific skill I wanted to upgrade... unless I could learn a chivalry skill? That would be handy! I wanted that Dork Knight skill to get rid of Adorable once and for all!One of Valerian’s servants opened the door to his rooms and we filed in, discovering a large living space with a few sofas around a low table and a number of bookshelves on the wall around an unlit fireplace.“Make yourselves comfortable,” he said. “My manservant shall be making some tea for anyone that wants it. Perhaps some little cakes as well? Amaryllis, does one of your servants want to join mine?”Amaryllis blinked, then carefully scanned our group. “Ah, we skipped introductions, didn’t we?” she asked.“Oh, I’m afraid we did,” Valerian said. I had the impression he’d realized he made a small mistake and was ready to apologise for it.Compared to his brother Franscico, Valerian was very polite. He hadn’t challenged us to a single duel yet, and hadn’t insulted anyone, their race, or their parentage! It was probably not very nice of me to expect anyone to be as mean as their mean sibling, however.“This is Calamity, he’s an expert hunter and marksman,” Amaryllis said as she started her introductions. “That’s Captain Broccoli Bunch of the airship the Beaver Cleaver. It’s the vessel that we’ve been travelling around on for some time.”“Hi!” I said.He nodded in my direction and smiled a little. “Pleasure,” he said.“This is Lady Awen Bristlecone, of Mattergrove,” Amaryllis said, and Valerian stood a little taller as he took Awen’s hand and bowed over it.“Ah, a pleasure, Lady Bristlecone,” he said.Awen shifted her feet just-so and did a little curtsy, tugging up the side of her coat instead of a skirt in what was clearly a practised gesture.“And finally, this is Caprica Sylph, princess of Sylphfree,” Amaryllis said.I don’t think anyone but Amaryllis' closest friends would have noticed the sheer joy she had in presenting Caprica. She did it so casually!“Greetings,” Caprica said. She didn’t bow or curtsy or anything.Valerian, on the other hand, swept down into an elaborate bow, and I noticed a bit of a blush touching his cheeks. “Princess! This is an honour, truly. I never expected to meet one of Sylphfree’s own royalty here.”“I’m on a trip, currently,” Caprica said. “Visiting a few interesting places.”“Well, I certainly hope you find my accommodations interesting enough,” he said. “Do you need anything? I’ve been reliably told that the sylph have a particularly sweet tooth.”Caprica shook her head in a polite denial, but I noticed the way her wings fluttered a bit. Was she just being polite? “Something sweet would be nice,” I said, and she shot me a grateful look.“Certainly!” Valerian said.Soon all of us were gathered at the sofa, drinking tea, and sampling from a small platter of choice pastries with lots of icing and little nuts.“So, if you’re not here just to further your education, what are you doing in Inkwren?” Amaryllis asked. “Nine months is too long to be here just to buy local goods.”“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Valerian said. “Inkwren has, of course, the best ink in the world. It comes from that lake to the north of here, the Blue Lake. They grind the scales of some rare fish and extract their oil as a dye, and they mix that with locally grown flax to make a smooth, quick-drying ink that really stands out. They also have the best bookbinders. A custom job can take months, however. But... no, I’m not here for that, nor for an education.”“Then what are you here for?” Amaryllis asked.“This is somewhat embarrassing,” he said. “But I’m here... for love.” The harpy sighed and leaned back into his sofa.Judging by the looks that passed on the faces of his serving staff, they’d seen this bit before.“Who’s the lucky lady?” Calamity asked.“Oh, I’m afraid my love’s not a lady,” Valerian said.Calamity blinked. “Who’s the lucky guy?”“P-pardon? No, I meant, she’s not of noble birth.” Valerian pressed a talon to his chest. “My brother has said that I’m bringing ill-repute onto the Hawk name, but I don’t care! My heart has never felt such warmth before. Her name rolls off my tongue like sweet dew. Cottage.”“Her name is Cottage?” I asked, and he nodded. “Does, uh, she know that you feel this way?”“Of course!” he said. “Though her family also disavows our relationship. We have been secreting letters to each other for some time now, but the distance made it hard. Hence, my stay here, in Inkwren itself. It has made things easier, though the nearness makes my heart ache so much more.”Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.“You’re... very infatuated,” Caprica said. “Is she a student here, then?”“At the Mitytea Academy, yes,” he said. “She’s getting an education in art history, cookery, and politics.”I tried to see what those three subjects had to do with each other, and couldn’t quite see the link, but maybe Cottage was just very passionate about diverse things. “How did you meet?” I asked.“Oh, she came with a group of first years from Mitytea and visited the capital. I ran into her at a museum there, and we spoke for some time. Our first meeting was a disaster. I had so many prejudices that made us clash. But she still agreed to continue our argument over brunch the next day. Then the next... and then we started trading letters even if I had to hide them from my family. They would never approve, you see.”“Because she’s not noble-born?” I asked.“Hmm? Oh no, because she disagrees about the greatness of harpy art. She thinks that our modern art movement is tripe and foolhardy and lacks artistic integrity.”“Oh,” I said.“Well, that and she’s not a harpy. That’s also somewhat of an issue, but even if she’s not noble-born, her family are decently well-regarded merchants and artists, and so that kind of consideration shouldn’t matter.”“Well, I hope things go well for you,” Amaryllis said.“Thank you,” Valerian replied. “But please, you must have travelled at least from the capital to get here, do you carry any good gossip?”Amaryllis revealed that no, we didn’t come from the Harpy Mountains, that instead we came from the north, in the Snowlands, and before that we were in the Trenton Flats, and before that we were in Sylphfree, and before that we were down by the Grey Wall, and before that we were in Deepmarsh, and it was only before that that we had originated in the Harpy Mountains. As it turned out, Valerian’s own news from home was a lot more recent than our own.I wasn’t able to keep up with all of the political talk, so I sipped at my tea and listened to the back and forth between Valerian, Amaryllis and Caprica, exchanging the occasional look with Calamity and Awen who were also a bit excluded.“That’ll have repercussions on the economy,” Amaryllis said after Valerian mentioned something about a large pacifist group rising among the younger nobility. “It might hit my family as well. Fewer warships being produced will impact all the shipyards. We’ll have to return to trying to corner the civilian market.”“Private warships might not be a bad idea,” Valerian said. “I’ve heard plenty of stories about pirates roving along the west and eastern sides of the mountains. Usually we only need to worry about them to the east, but they’ve been growing bold as of late.”“That’s concerning,” Amaryllis said. “Where are they coming from?”“I suspect they were always around. But with worry over war with Sylphfree rising, most of the airforce’s ships were moved northwards and to the east.”Amaryllis nodded. “Which means far fewer ships on patrol down here. That’ll make trade with Mattergrove and the Independent Cities far more risky.”The political talk continued for a little bit longer, but then I noticed Valerian looking over our group. “Hmm. Most of you are young ladies,” he said.“What am I, a steak?” Calamity muttered.“Did you just notice?” Amaryllis asked, a bit sardonic. She’d mostly been polite so far, actually. It seemed that she got along much better with Valerian than with his brother, at least.Valerian chuckled. “No. I just had an idea, but it’s a little... oh, nevermind.”“You can’t leave it off at that,” I said. “Now I’m curious.”Valerian shuffled on his seat. “This is too much to ask,” he said. “But... you are all adventurers, of sorts?”“We’re explorers,” Amaryllis rebutted. “We venture where few have gone and further the world’s knowledge. We don’t run around looking for trouble.”I decided not to speak up at that, because I was pretty sure running around and looking for trouble was sort of something we did a lot of. Or maybe we just ran around a lot and trouble tended to find us?“Ah, I see, I see,” Valerian said. “Well... perhaps the intrepid captain would be interested in some low-risk work?”My ears perked up. “What sort?” I asked.“I’m looking for someone to bring my dear Cottage a letter. But my servants have been barred entry into the Academy, and at the moment, only a student may enter.”“That’s inconvenient,” I said.“Isn’t it! Fortunately, I have been plotting a way around this. Cottage can leave the school at times to send me her own letters, though her parents have been interfering. She does have friends who can assist her, but now I find myself unable to reply.”I nodded along. That did seem like it wasn’t great.“But if you could just sneak into the Academy and deliver my letter for me...” he said, hopeful.“That sounds exceptionally dangerous and ill-thought out,” Amaryllis noted blandly.“I have ways of mitigating the risk!” Valerian said. “I have a full wardrobe of Mitytea Academy girl’s uniforms.”“Specifically girl’s uniforms?” Calamity asked. “Why?”“It’s an all-girls academy,” Valerian said.“And you have several of these uniforms?” Amaryllis asked.Valerian flushed. “I was going to try to sneak into the school myself, but I was caught.”I stared at him. Valerian was a tall, wide-shouldered and somewhat muscular harpy, with dark brown and black plumaage. He didn’t look girlish at all.“You tried to sneak into an all-girl’s academy while dressed in their uniform,” Amaryllis repeated, as if to be sure.“It was quite humiliating,” he assured us. “But you... ah, I think you could make it! The guards barely look at the students entering the academy, and I know exactly where Cottage’s dormitory is and where she spends her free time. She mentioned both in some of her letters. If you can deliver my letter, and perhaps a small package, I could make it worth your time! I promise!”
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