After taking a few minutes to compose myself following Lady Laelyn's departure, I left my room and made my way down.
The inn's main floor buzzed with activity. Travelers filled the common room, their voices creating a steady murmur beneath the clinking of cups and occasional bursts of laughter. Servers weaved between tables, balancing trays of food and drink.
I scanned the room, looking for Lady Laelyn and her party.
They weren't among the common diners, unsurprising given their status and the recent attempts on her life. A more private setting would be both appropriate and safer.
"May I help you, sir?"
I turned to find a server standing nearby, a young woman with dark hair pulled back in a simple knot. Her smile seed professional enough, but sothing about her eyes struck as...off. Too alert, too assessing for soone whose job was rely to deliver als and clear tables.
"I'm looking for La—" I caught myself. "For the rchant party I arrived with earlier. I believe they arranged a private dining room?"
"Ah, yes." Her eyes flickered briefly. "The eastern wing, second door on the right. I can show you the way if you like."
"That won't be necessary," I replied with a polite smile. "I can find it."
I made my way through the common room, weaving between tables and nodding politely to other guests.
The eastern wing was quieter, a corridor lined with several doors that presumably led to private dining chambers. I located the second door on the right and knocked softly.
"Enter," ca Beric's voice.
I pushed open the door to find a well-appointed private dining room. A rectangular table dominated the center, set with fine ceramics and gleaming cutlery. A hearth along one wall provided both warmth and soft, flickering light, supplented by several oil lamps placed in wall sconces.
Lady Laelyn sat at the head of the table, with Beric to her right. Two other guards occupied seats further down, while an elderly woman, a companion or attendant I hadn't noticed earlier, sat to Lady Laelyn's left. An empty chair beside the elderly woman presumably awaited .
"Ah, Tomas," Lady Laelyn greeted with a warm smile. "Please, join us. We were just about to begin."
I bowed slightly as I entered. "Thank you for including , my lady."
"Nonsense," she replied. "After your service today, you're an honored guest."
I took my seat beside the elderly woman, who studied with sharp eyes that belied her advanced age. "So, this is the brave village boy?" she asked. "Mara. I serve as Lady Laelyn's companion."
"An honor to et you," I replied.
"Hmm." She continued to study with those penetrating eyes. "You have an unusual quality about you, young man. Most villagers would be overwheld by such company."
I ducked my head slightly. "I'm just grateful for their kindness, ma'am. Without Lady Laelyn's intervention, I'd likely be dead or worse."
"Yes, I heard about the village." Mara's expression softened slightly. "A terrible business. Those Skybound monsters grow bolder by the day."
I nodded, allowing genuine sorrow to enter my expression.
"Let's not dwell on such darkness during our al," Lady Laelyn interjected gently. "Tomas deserves a respite from horrors, not a reminder."
Servants entered then, bearing trays laden with food that far surpassed anything found in a village tavern. Roasted ats seasoned with herbs, fresh vegetables prepared in delicate sauces, breads still warm from the oven, and fragrant rice that stead when uncovered. They arranged the dishes on the table, filled our cups with a pale golden wine, and departed with minimal interaction.
As the door closed behind them, I noticed Beric's eyes follow their exit, his gaze lingering on the door for a mont longer than necessary.
"The inn is known for its excellent kitchen," Lady Laelyn comnted, seemingly oblivious to her guard's vigilance. "The chef trained in the Royal City before settling here."
"It looks wonderful," I replied truthfully. My current body responded to the aromas with imdiate hunger, and I dug in with the etiquette, or lack of etiquette, one would expect from a villager.
"Tell , Tomas," Mara said as we began to eat, "what skills did you practice in your village? You seem well-spoken for a miller's son."
A test, and not a particularly subtle one. I chewed slowly before answering, not rushing to defend myself.
"My mother valued learning," I explained, drawing on Tomas's mories. "She taught my letters and numbers before she passed. And the village had a small collection of books that travelers had left over the years. I read them whenever there was ti after chores."
"Comndable," Mara nodded. "Education is sadly neglected in rural areas."
"Were you apprenticed to your father?" one of the guards asked, a younger man nad Korin, if I recalled correctly.
I nodded. "Yes, I was learning the trade. Grinding grain isn't complicated, but maintaining the mill requires skill. Understanding water flow, gears, stone quality..." I allowed myself to trail off, as if realizing I might be boring them with technical details.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"Practical knowledge," Beric comnted, his first direct address to since I'd entered. "Useful skills."
I sensed a calculation behind his words, an assessnt of what value I might offer their group beyond the warning that had saved Lady Laelyn's life. He was categorizing , determining whether I was worth the risk of keeping close, or if there was more to my background.
"What will you do now?" Korin asked bluntly. "With your village gone..."
A silence fell over the table, the question hanging awkwardly in the air. It was the obvious inquiry, yet one everyone had politely avoided until now.
I looked down at my plate, letting my shoulders slump slightly as I arranged my features into an expression of quiet grief. Having lived through the destruction of the village multiple tis ant that the emotions weren't entirely feigned so that made my job easier.
"I haven't..." I began, then paused as if struggling to form the words. "Everything I knew is gone. My father, our mill, the village..." I took a slow breath. "I suppose at Hyelin City, I’ll try to find work there. I know how to fix mill machinery, perhaps so bakery or granary could use such skills."
I kept my eyes downcast, a perfect portrait of soone trying to rebuild shattered fragnts of a life into sothing with purpose. "Start small. Find a room sowhere. Work. Save a little. One day at a ti, I suppose."
When I finally looked up, Lady Laelyn was watching with an expression of mingled sympathy and thoughtfulness.
"If you don't mind traveling with a target for assassins," she said with a teasing smile, "you could co with us beyond Hyelin City. To the Blue Sun Academy."
I blinked, allowing genuine surprise to show on my face, though for entirely different reasons than Tomas would have felt. This was exactly what I wanted: direct entry to the Academy with their protection and sponsorship. Yet I had to appear properly astonished by such generosity.
"The Academy?" I echoed, my voice deliberately uncertain. "But... what use would I be to Lightweavers? I'm just a miller's son. I don't have any special abilities or knowledge."
"Your chanical skills could be quite valuable," Lady Laelyn suggested. "The Academy has extensive equipnt that requires maintenance: water systems, heating chanisms, chanical trainers. And beyond that..." She smiled warmly. "Everyone deserves a fresh start after tragedy. Perhaps the Blue Sun has guided our paths together for a reason."
I allowed a hesitant smile to form, as if hope were slowly dawning after days of despair. "That would... that would give purpose. A chance to be part of sothing aningful again." I ducked my head. "I'd be honored, my lady. Truly."
Mara was watching this exchange with narrowed eyes, her head tilted slightly as if listening to sothing beyond our conversation. "The Academy is not a charity house, Laelyn," she said finally, her tone gentle but firm. "Nor is it a refuge for every stray you encounter."
"Mara!" Lady Laelyn looked genuinely shocked by the older woman's bluntness.
"I'm rely stating facts," Mara replied, unperturbed. "If the boy has no affinity for the blue sun's energy, his presence would be... tolerated at best." She turned her penetrating gaze to . "Unless there's sothing more to you than appears, young miller."
The statent hung in the air like a challenge. For a mont, I wondered if she sohow sensed the suns in my inner world.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Beric cut in, his tone carefully neutral though his eyes remained watchful. "Such arrangents would require proper approvals. There are protocols for bringing outsiders to the Academy." He glanced briefly at Lady Laelyn. "Perhaps we should discuss this matter tomorrow, after we've all had ti to consider it carefully."
"Of course, Beric," Lady Laelyn conceded. "We have plenty of ti to sort out the details. For now, let's enjoy this excellent al."
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the serving girl with a carafe of wine. As she poured, I noticed sothing that sent a chill down my spine. Her movents were precise, but her eyes kept darting to the window, and there was a tension in her shoulders that hadn't been present earlier.
Azure noticed it too. "Master, the girl's behavior has changed. She's anticipating sothing."
I watched her carefully as she finished serving and left the room. The slight tremor in her hands, the quickened breathing, these were the signs of soone under pressure, soone involved in sothing that frightened them.
"Is the wine not to your liking?" Lady Laelyn asked Beric, who I now realized had not touched his glass.
"It's fine, my lady," he replied, though he made no move to drink. "I simply prefer to keep my wits about while traveling."
His caution confird my suspicions. Beric had noticed sothing amiss as well, though he concealed his concerns from Lady Laelyn, who seed oblivious to these undercurrents, continuing to sip her wine as she spoke about their plans for the journey ahead.
"If the weather holds, we should reach Hyelin City in two days. Lord Kaeven's mansion is in the western quarter, overlooking the harbor..."
As she spoke, I divided my attention between maintaining my façade of interest and tracking the movents of the inn's staff. Through the partially open door, I could see servants moving with unusual urgency, exchanging whispered words as they passed.
"Sothing has changed," Azure observed silently. "The inn's routine has been disrupted."
I nodded imperceptibly, continuing to eat my dessert with apparent enjoynt while ntally cataloging everything I'd noticed: the serving girl's nervous glances, Beric's refusal to drink, the accelerated pace of the staff outside, Lady Laelyn's complete unawareness of the tension building around us.
"Is the food poisoned?" I asked Azure.
"Not that I can detect," Azure replied after a mont. "The food and wine show no unusual properties. Whatever their purpose, it doesn't appear to involve imdiate harm through consumption."
That was sowhat reassuring.
"What do you think, Tomas?" Lady Laelyn's voice pulled from my observations.
I blinked, realizing I'd missed her question entirely. "I'm sorry, my lady. Could you repeat that?"
She smiled. "I was asking if you've ever been to Hyelin City before."
"No, never," I replied, recovering quickly. "Is it as grand as people say?"
This launched her into an enthusiastic description of Hyelin's wonders: the harbor with ships from distant lands, the markets filled with exotic goods, the grand temple of the First Light at the city's heart. I nodded and asked appropriate questions, all while continuing my subtle surveillance of our surroundings.
My guess would be that the inn's staff had been compromised. Whether bribed or threatened, they were now acting on soone else's behalf, likely reporting Lady Laelyn's presence to interested parties.
"—don't you agree, Tomas?" Lady Laelyn was looking at expectantly.
"I'm sorry, my lady," I apologized again, feigning embarrassnt. "I'm afraid the events of the day have left more tired than I realized. My mind wandered."
Her expression softened with imdiate concern. "Of course. How thoughtless of to keep you here when you must be exhausted. You've been through a terrible ordeal."
"Perhaps we should all retire early," Beric suggested smoothly, finally seeing his opening. "Tomorrow's journey will be demanding, and we should be well-rested."
Lady Laelyn looked montarily disappointed but nodded in agreent. "You're right, as always, Beric. Though I was enjoying our conversation." She cast a warm smile in my direction.
"The conversation can continue tomorrow," Beric said, rising from his seat. "On the road, where we'll have plenty of ti to talk."
I stood as well, bowing slightly to Lady Laelyn. "Thank you for your hospitality. This was... more than I could have imagined."
"You're most welco, Tomas," she replied, her voice softening. "Sleep well. Tomorrow brings us closer to safety."
The irony of her statent wasn't lost on .
If my suspicions were correct, "safety" might be the last thing tomorrow would bring.
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