The Wandering Inn_Volume 1, page 436
Krshia seemed equally weighed down, despite Erin’s assurances. She looked so tired. It hurt Erin’s heart. The girl cast around for something, anything that could make the Gnoll feel better, and then remembered one of the things she had decided to do. She put a smile on her face and made it stick by sheer force of will.
Lighthearted tone. Erin took a breath and did her best.
“I know Brunkr’s in bad shape, but can I tell you about something that’s going to happen a few days from now, Krshia?”
“Hm? What is this thing, Erin Solstice?”
Krshia eyed Erin as the girl tried to summon the powers of the holiday spirit. She spread her arms.
“Christmas! I know you don’t know what that is, but listen. Back where I come from…back from my world, we have a tradition. Every year, in the winter, just before the new year starts, we celebrate Christmas.”
“Hrm. The longest day of the year, the winter solstice is yet a few days away. Before this is Christmas, you say? What happens on this day?”
“We celebrate. We give each other presents, eat lots of food—oh, and Santa Claus comes to give things to everyone!”
The Gnoll just stared at Erin. The girl tried to explain. She got most of the points across, although Krshia still didn’t understand why a fat man would run around with presents and coal to give to everyone. But the Gnoll was smiling when Erin had finished.
“So you intend to celebrate this—this day of giving soon?”
“Yes! Tomorrow, maybe? Or the day after? I know there’s not a lot of time to get gifts, but we can all try, right? But we have to do it before the new year’s. That’s very important. So…do you want to join in? I’m going to have everyone give gifts to two people so everyone gets presents. We’ll have a huge party at my inn and everything!”
Erin held her breath as Krshia thought about the idea. The Gnoll rubbed her face with a furry paw, and then smiled again.
“Christmas. Yes, it could be a nice thing to do. And I must give gifts to two others? Whom? Or will it be a surprise?”
Erin hesitated.
“I think that could get weird. I’ll come up with a list and tell everyone who their people are. I’ll uh, also make sure you don’t get Lyonette and she doesn’t get you. I guess I should keep Klbkch and Zel from being Secret Santas too.”
“Hrm. That may be wise, yes.”
Krshia bared her teeth in a smile. Erin smiled back.
“Okay. I’ve got to go. But I’ll be back. And—I’ll be back.”
“I know. Go safely, Erin. And have a merry…Christmas, yes?”
“Yeah!”
The girl waved and hurried off down the street. Krshia watched her go, and then sighed. The thought of her nephew was like a burden on her, a heavy stone. But somehow, she thought of it differently now. She managed to smile, and perhaps it was that which attracted a middle-aged Drake across the street to Krshia’s stall.
The Gnoll smiled wider, and began to talk with the Drake. Perhaps she was only there for a chat, but Krshia thought she could smell an opportunity here.
“Hello, Tesha. Have you heard of an interesting Human tradition? No? It is called ‘Christmas’. I tell you because it is coming soon, and you may wish to buy presents if you wish to partake. You see, on Christmas…”
—-
So much to do, and so little time. Erin was trying to figure out which street to go down when she saw a familiar face and scales in the crowd. She called out at once.
“Olesm!”
“Erin? I was just going to see if you were back!”
The Drake beamed at her. They stopped in the middle of the street, the vapor trails of their conversation floating upwards as they talked and shivered.
“How are you, Olesm? We barely talked before—Lyonette says you were a huge help to her while I was gone. Thank you so much!”
“Aw, it was nothing—well, actually, it was sort of hard.”
Olesm frowned as he nudged Erin. They stood aside to let a grumpy Drake wearing armor and a group of other armed Drakes stomp by. The Drake wearing the most impressive regalia snorted as he saw Erin talking with Olesm.
“Humans.”
He passed by and Olesm shook his head.
“Sorry—what was I saying? Oh yeah, I was happy to help Lyonette. But it’s a good thing she managed to patch things up with the Gnolls so they’d deliver to her. My arms nearly fell off trying to haul all the food she wanted up to the inn every day! I don’t know how you do it!”
“You get strong. See?”
Erin tried to flex her arm to show Olesm, but all the clothes on her body made that futile. Olesm smiled and then fidgeted.
“I don’t suppose you’re free right now, Erin? I’d love to chat with you—I mean, there’s so much I’ve been meaning to show you, and I’d love to play a game if…”
Erin sighed and Olesm’s face fell.
“I’m sorry, Olesm. But I’m so busy! I have to go to the Mage’s Guild after this, and then…”
“I completely understand. I’ll ask again later.”
Olesm raised his claws and made to back away. Erin felt a pang as she saw how disappointed he was—and how hard he was trying to hide that fact.
“Why don’t you come to the inn after lunch? I’ll definitely have time to talk then. We can play a few games of chess and—oh, I can show you how to play Shogi!”
The blue-scaled Drake paused. His tail began to wag hopefully in the snow.
“Really? You mean it? I won’t be interrupting?”
“I’ll make time. It’s a promise, okay? After lunch. You can make it, right?”
“I’ll be there! No problem! Let me just—I’ll have to get my notes, and a bottle of fresh ink—and I can show you all the letters I’ve received. I’ll be there! At your inn, right? Definitely!”
Erin smiled as Olesm rushed off, practically jumping for joy. Then she frowned.
“After lunch? Gotta go faster, then.”
She stomped down the street, searching for the Mage’s Guild. In truth, Erin had never been there, but it wasn’t hard to find the place.
There wasn’t a line this early in the day, and the Drake at the counter was clearly bored. He didn’t seem any happier to have to serve anyone, but Erin gave him her best smile anyways.
“Hi there, you do messages by spell, right? Can I send a message to…Invrisil? How much would that cost, actually?”
The Drake stared at Erin, and grudgingly pointed his claw to a large sign with prices listed right above his head. Erin turned red and stared at them.
“Payment is up front. We don’t send packages by magic either; you’ll need to go to a Walled City or another city for that.”
The Drake’s voice was testy. Erin nodded a few times.
“Got it…not too pricy, huh. Okay, I think I’d like to send a message to my friend! Can I send it now, or do I have to wait?”
The Drake pointed to the sign again.
“There’s a fee for quick deliveries. Just tell me your friend’s name and I’ll have it addressed to her.”
Erin gave him Ryoka’s name, spelling it out for him as he frowned over the odd spelling, grumbling about Human names. Her message was simple, and was written verbatim.
“Hey Ryoka, this is Erin! I need help! I just spoke with Krshia—you know she’s got a nephew, Brunkr, right? Well, he’s got an infected hand and I was wondering—okay. Wow. That much? Um, Ryoka, lots of money to send this, so…how to heal infected hand? Also, when are you coming back? Christmas is soon. Come back soon!”
After that, Erin had to pay and wait for the [Clerk] to take the letter upstairs to the [Mage] on duty. She got a small receipt and her change—she was paying in gold coins since the Gold-rank adventurers didn’t seem to have smaller denominations.
Erin wondered if Ryoka would get the message. She was about to hurry back to her inn when the Drake at the desk suddenly called out after her.
“Miss? Miss Human!”
She came back to the counter. He was frowning at something that had just shot down a small tube from upstairs. It was a slip of parchment, folded up. He showed it to Erin.
“A reply just came back. It seems your friend has already received your message. She is at the Mage’s Guild in Invrisil this moment.”
“What?”
Erin stared at the [Clerk.]
“That’s a weird coincidence.”
He didn’t look as astounded as Erin felt.
“It happens. Normally we would take in her message with the rest as it comes in, but she paid to send a reply back fast.”
“Oh. Well then…can you tell Ryoka I’m here? Or do I have to send another message?”
The Drake paused. He looked reluctant to be awake, and more reluctant to have to speak with an uninformed customer, but Erin’s smile wore him down and he decided to be helpful.
“Why don’t I send a message requesting a two-way communication between you two?”
“Wow. You can do that? Thank you! But will it cost a lot?”
The Drake coughed, looking around the empty building.
“If you were paying for a mage to be on standby, yes. But it’s clear around here and I know Invrisil has mages to spare…we’ll deliver all your messages sent immediately for an upfront fee, and every message sent afterwards. It’s not cheap, but if you have the gold to spend you can get a reply right away.”
“In that case, let’s have a chat!”
Erin plonked gold coins on the counter and the Drake sighed only slightly before scribbling down on a bit of parchment. He had to talk to the [Mage] on duty—and then send a message to Invrisil to Ryoka and the people there. But in the end Erin found herself dictating responses to him and waiting for a response as Ryoka got messages back on her end and replied.
It was a thousand, no, ten thousand times worse than the most disjointed Skype call. Erin had to dictate a message to the [Clerk] and then wait for as many as ten minutes for a reply. She passed that time chatting with him and introducing the idea of Christmas to his world, but it was still arduous.
When all was transcribed and done, the conversation the [Clerk] had written down for Erin read like a chat session, albeit one marked down with ink on parchment.
[Erin] – Hi Ryoka! This is Erin! Are you okay? How are things? I’m in Liscor right now! The Horns of Hammerad brought me back! How’s Magnolia doing? What’s up?
[Ryoka] – Don’t waste money. What’s this about infection? Describe. How bad; symptoms. Any complications on return?
[Erin] – Sorry. No bad things! Met Teriarch—mean! Brunkr has tons of pus—yellow and stinky! Mrsha bit, now whole arm is bad! Krshia says choppy-chop. I say no! How to fix?
[Ryoka] – Will talk T later. Brunkr needs antibiotics. Can’t heal with time; penicillin is best bet. Can tell how to make, but too slow. Chop might be only way, but must make sure new wound does not spread. Let me think. Wait for response.
The message looked like Ryoka had had to spell out penicillin letter by letter for the poor [Clerk] on duty. Erin had to wait eight minutes for the next response.
[Ryoka] – P recipe: needs to let mold grow. If you know origin—poultice. Must grow greenish-blue mold on orange or bread. But must isolate. Not all molds are P obviously. Very difficult; hire O to do it. In meantime, best bet is disinfection and honey.
[Erin] – Honey? Really?
[Ryoka] – Yes. Honey can have antibiotic if natural. Clean wound thoroughly. Use hot, salt water. Clean area, apply clean dressing. Think germs. Change dressings regularly. Honey must be applied after cleaning.
[Erin] – Got it. Will try! And…new thought! What about matches?
[Ryoka] – Matches? Why?
[Erin] – Christmas! It’s Christmas soon! You must come back with presents! We will have party! Can you take carriage back? Tell Reynold he is invited too!
[Ryoka] – Will try. Much to do here. Matches—talk O. Needs P from Periodic Table for striking box. Powdered glass, P…striker. Combine with sulfur and other things for match head. Other ingredients can figure out. Understand?
[Erin] – Sort of. I know P from table!
[Ryoka] – Red P. Not sure if discovered. See if O knows. May be substitute. For striking box, understand? Can use sandpaper maybe instead.
[Erin] – Got it! When coming back?
[Ryoka] – Unsure.
[Erin] – Come, please! Party is in two days! Come for Christmas! Tell Magnolia she is Scrooge! Ressa is cool.
[Ryoka] – Will try. Leaving now.
Possibly there had never been such a confusing conversation for any [Clerk] to record. Both girls didn’t bother with grammar when delivering their messages and indeed, the only reason the words were spelled correctly was that the [Mages] couldn’t handle texting slang. Erin left the Drake at the desk with her money pouch lighter, but newfound hope in her heart. She strode out of the guild, muttering to herself and thinking fast.
“Penicillin, matches, and honey. I can get Lyonette to help with that, but Ryoka sure knows a lot. If she knows how matches work…hm…I should have asked about…wait, that gives me a great idea!”
Erin patted at her pockets, looking for something to write with, and then marched back inside the Mage’s Guild to borrow the [Clerk]’s quill for a second. She ended up going back to Krshia to buy an inkpot and ink.
It was hard to scribble on parchment and walk, and in the end Erin had to wait until she got back to the inn to write on the back of the piece of parchment. She’d already tripped once and stained quite a lot of snow black.
When Erin was hiking up towards her inn, she noticed a good deal more activity going on. That was confirmed by a ball of white fur that shot out the door as she got close.
“Hey Mrsha! I’m back! Whoops, don’t make me spill this on your fur. Let me just write this down…bicycle…there!”
Erin laughed, tried to fend off Mrsha, and get inside all at once. When she finally made it in, she saw that the Horns of Hammerad were up.
“Hey guys! Are the others not back yet?”
“They’re still on the road. But they should be back by tonight.”
Yvlon blinked at Erin, still looking tired. It was still early morning Erin realized. Everyone was having breakfast as Lyonette heated up Erin’s crepes.
Putting Mrsha on a table, Erin grabbed a crepe and devoured it with her gloves still on. Then she turned to Ceria.
“I just had a chat with Ryoka?”
“You did?”
All of the Horns of Hammerad sat up. Erin nodded as she gulped from a glass of water Mrsha rushed over to her. It was half-empty from being spilled as the Gnoll ran with it, but Erin appreciated the effort.
“I was talking with her! She was in Invrisil, and she sent me [Messages]! She’ll be back soon—in time for Christmas, I hope! She says she’s got messages for you too, Ceria! Apparently she identified all those items you found!”
“She did?”
The Horns of Hammerad were out of the door like a shot. Pisces only stopped long enough to grab as much food as he could hold; Yvlon, Ceria, and Ksmvr didn’t even wait to do that. Bemused, Erin stood aside and watched them storming down the hill, slipping and sliding in the snow. She could hear Ksmvr shouting after them as he brought up the rear.
“What is Christmas? Pisces, please ex—”
“Hey, Pisces moves really fast with that [Flash Step] spell. He can eat and outrun Ceria! Wish I could do that.”
Erin stared at the figures rushing towards Liscor. She shook her head and then turned. Mrsha and Lyonette were staring over the remains of the half-eaten breakfast. Erin smiled at both and then clapped her hands.
“Lyonette!”
“Yes, Erin?”
“I need more honey. And bees.”
“Honey? You mean—we have half a jar left.”
“I know, but I’ll need an extra jar for something special. You told me we can get it from the hive without Toren. Could you show me how you do that now, or is that no good?”
Lyonette hesitated. Her eyes went to Erin, and then the door. She hesitated, swallowed hard, and then stood straight and nodded.
“I can do it. Just give me an hour or two and I’ll be back with honey.”
“No, I’m coming with you. It’s dangerous, right? I’ll do it with you.”
Erin smiled at Lyonette. The girl smiled back. Both girls went over to the box of faerie flowers.
“They’re blooming nicely. Wow, I see new shoots already! Do you think it’s the mana in the inn?”
“It might be. Um—I’ll need to take a few, but the dead ones work best I think. We just need to start a fire in front of the bee cave you see—”
“Got it. What happens if the flowers don’t work? Do we run or hide?”
“Yes.”
“And if the bees start waking up when we’re in the cave?”
“…”
“…Let’s take all these flowers, okay?”
Erin grabbed empty glass jars as Lyonette found the sharpest knife in the kitchen. Both girls were ready to go when they heard an anxious whine. They turned and saw Mrsha, huddling by the door.
Mrsha was shivering. Lyonette hurried over to her and stroked Mrsha’s head as she whispered comfortingly to the Gnoll.
“You don’t have to come. In fact, you’re staying far away. And no following me this time, okay?”
The Gnoll licked anxiously at Lyonette’s face and reached for her, but Lyonette made her sit. Erin watched the two hug before Lyonette got up. She was silent at first as they marched towards the cave in the snow. But then Erin felt compelled to speak.
“No one’s dying today. Right, Lyonette?”
“That’s right.”
The young girl’s face was set with determination. It was a long, hard march in the deep snow to the cave, but Lyonette knew the way and in short order she’d built the fire in front of the cave. There were ashes from the last one. Erin watched as she tossed the flowers in the fire and then both girls huddled in the snow outside of the cave.
It didn’t take long for them to hear the bees come after the fire—and then fall asleep. Lyonette hurried into the cave with Erin right behind her. The girl froze as she saw a sea of fallen bees resting on the floor, but Lyonette stepped past them towards the massive bee hive in the back. Despite harvesting from it several times before, the hive looked as obscenely bloated as before.
