Surprisingly, that night had been still and dreamless. Or as still as dreamless as possibly a night before a dangerous quest can be. When she woke up, Éolan felt chilled. Raising her head from the prickly bed cover she saw the window had been opened during the night, and still a breeze could be felt filling the room. She quickly got up and sat on the edge of the bed, feeling the cold in her bones.
My belongings! she thought and rubbed her cold face.
And whose room is this?She looked about. The room was simple: wooden floor, a dead hearth with a bowl of water upon the mantlepiece, a couple of chairs and a small round table with a white cloth on it, a tiny wardrobe, and a chest near the bed. From outside, a pale morning light shone faintly through the morning mist. The sky looked laden, and rain was again imminent that day for sure. Shivers running down her spine, Éolan slowly got up to close the window. No sound could be heard coming from the rest of the inn. 'I must be really early,' she muttered closing the window and looking at the mist that lay outside, grey and wet. It was easy to lose yourself in that void, she felt, unable to get lay eyes off it, peering deep into the emptiness.
But then her fingers felt something cold and gooey on the window apron. 'Mud!' she exclaimed, frightened. Someone had been in the room while she slept. Upon closer looking, strange footprints (or markings resembling them, but more spoor-like and beastly) were all over the floor, going both to and from the window. Freezing fear came over her and she felt a tightening in her throat. From outside came the first sound that morning: a swish, as if of a cloth left to dry in strong wind. In the blink of an eye, it was gone, and silence returned.
Éolan washed her face in the bowl and was out, trying to make not a sound in the hallway. The wing of the inn where they had drunk and talked last night was a bit warmer, and she recalled a little of their chat: the leaving knight, the weird easterner, the curious Bree-lander (whatever that was) and the dwarf. A man sat in the corner, drinking alone. Besides him, her bag. He was a peculiar fellow, unlike any she had seen in Rohan. Dressed all in a cloak of the darkest grey that hid his face, he seemed a shape made of mist and dew. And he moved thus. His gloved hand left a coin on the table and he was gone from the inn, walking out like a ghost.
'Unusual fellow,' said the inn keeper whom Éolan did not notice. He was swiping the floor and she was startled upon hearing his voice. 'Oh, forgive me! I 'aven't scared ya, 'ave I? I should learn not to creep on like that. My wife always tells me that.' He gave a hearty chuckle and Éolan nodded.
Her items were all there and she was thankful.
Thank the grass beneath the sky! But who was that... man? The same icy tremor she felt in 'her' room ran from her head to toe.
'Oh, miss...' said the inn keeper. 'I almost forgot. You must be one of those King's folks that came here last night, no?'
'Yes, I am indeed,' she said, immediately thinking that they had forgotten her and left.
'The fellow. The one in whose room you slept, remember? No? Well... Well, he came back and saw you there. Felt bad for you, had no heart to wake you up, he said! He paid for it, so no worries. He also told me to give you a nice breakfast when you wake up. All paid for, too! So I'll be right back! You enjoy yourself by the fire, it's just starting to crack up!'
'I... Thank you.'
She blushed and was blushing even as the inn keeper brought her her food. She had not expected any kind of kindness, and was grateful for it as much as she was for the fire besides her; and had it not been for the strange disturbances in the room and the eerie sounds in the mist, she would have felt more embarrassed than she was.
I must never let this happen again! She ate the stew and the freshly baked bread so sweet it tasted like a cake. The inn keeper brought her tea and sugar rolls with delicious jam, which she welcomed more than gladly. She ate with her mind swinging between shame and fear, feeling guilty for eating the food every time she remembered she had stolen someone's room and left them sleeping who knew where in a cold rainy night.
Thankfully I had my clothes on, she thought not even daring think about it further.
With every sporadic blow of the wind outside and the cracking of the timber in hearth, her heart would skip a beat and she would look about to make sure there were no signs of anything uncanny. Soon, she had finished her meal and smiled without even knowing it. In the small moment of rest, the hour for guests to start arriving came, and a few people were already inside having their breakfast. Guests would soon come to the room, and that meant her new friends. Waiting for them, she decided to keep her discovery a secret. Unless of course some of them had experienced it too that night, in which case she would share her observations. But for a moment, she wanted to enjoy the tea now cool enough for drinking, and think about merrier things, if she could, for there was enough trouble and strange people (or wights) in the days to come.
@Vor@POOHEAD189@BCTheEntity@Jbcool@DrunkasaurusRex