The journey through the woods took longer than it should have. Running just attracted more creatures to chase them. Moving quietly and carefully ensured running across something.. followed by running. There were other little sanctuaries along the way, including a stone-walled building (where you had to climb over the walls) in an area infested with demonic chipmunks. Since Aviri was usually carrying Trilup, the otter girl kept watch on the branches above, just in case there were squirrels as well.
By mid-afternoon, the trio managed to get clear of the woods. The path continued on through cultivated fields towards a village.
Linyala wipes her paws on her vest and looks around. "Is it just me or were there way too many things in there that wanted ta eat us? There's no way we taste that good." She grumbles aloud, "I hope the rest of this road isn't as... Infested."
"Lapi are supposed to be delicious, I've heard," Trilup offers.
Aviri, wearied from habing carried Trilup so often, just glances at her as he walks, relieved, into the cultivated lands. "Nobody farms where there are monsters," he says, claiming far more knowledge than he really had. "Just glad were out of there!"
"Unless there are monster farms," Trilup notes. "They probably keep the livestock closer to town. Maybe the forest monsters only attack people? And kill them instead of eating them? I can't imagine a monster bunny eating someone.. they're so small.."
Aviri looks at her, eyes wide. "You did see that thing, right? It was all mouth!"
"Yeah, but no room for a stomach!" Trilup points out, stretching her legs. "I bet it'd just.. chew you up. Into bits. Like a saw!"
Lin shudders, "It had to be cute an' terrifyin' at the same time. so, what do you guys think the odds are that the town up there'll be full o' vampires or demons or 'Quavi eatin' monsters?" She jokes, pointing up the road.
Aviri looks at the town, pondering. "Low, but I wouldn't really care. Vampires seem cool enough, demons it doesn't matter if they're in the town or not--they'll still get ya. And I'm not a "'Quavi." He grins at Lin.
"Not any Akwavi down this way, so they'd have to be awfully hungry," Trilup notes. "Besides, we're cute an' terrifying too!"
"An' pretty close to completely unarmed an' not prepared fer all the fights we keep gettin into." Lin adds, "It's some kinda miracle we haven't been eaten by something yet, disolved an' eaten, or been bodyswapped by the box. How're we s'posed ta be ready fer stuff like that?"
"I think not being ready is the whole point of the box's tricks," Trilup says, and saunters towards the village. "I mean, if you were trying to keep someone from doing something, you'd try to scare them off or make 'em really annoyed, right?"
Aviri nods. "Yeah, you'd think that'd work, but I happen to know it's not very effective."
"Well it ain't getting the best of us!" Lin states, "Can't scare a scout off a good puzzle. Even if it does go an turn ya into soup." She walks quietly behind Trilup towards the village.
"Spotties," Trilup whispers, as some of the locals move past.. all towering over the Stonebarrowites. "Do either of you know how to do the hand-talky stuff?"
Lin's stomach makes an unearthly rumbling. "Nope, but I think that was the body language for I'm hungry. I could put away a pail of scallops after all that running!"
Aviri shrugs. "Just because they don't speak doesn't mean they can't hear," he says. "Listen to the music...."
"Think they can read?" Lin asks, "Cause then not knowing the hand talking shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just write notes."
"Oh, right!" Trilup says, and points to the Inn. "They can understand us, at least. We can figure out what they're saying too, I bet!"
Lin scoots towards the inn and tugs on Aviri's sleeve. "Can we get some food please?" She asks, applying the huge otter eyes of pleading.
Aviri nods and heads toward the tavern. "Alright, alright," he says patiently, wary of the larger creatures. He was hungry, too, of course, the last of his rations having been eaten way back in the forest.
The inn is 'rustic' certainly, with way more stone than buildings in Stonebarrow use (meaning this village was probably pre-swamp-flooding). There's a lot of interesting odors from the kitchen, and the tables are all occupied - although some have plenty of room for more. It's eerily quiet, aside from the quartet playing in the corner. The music is rather heavy on the drums.
Lin sniffs enthusiasticaly at the aromas of food. "Should we find a table or tank to someone at the counter?" She whispers to the others.
"I could sit," Trilup says.
Aviri nods. "Sitting's a good idea, especially after that." He gestures behind them, in the general direction of the forest as he begins looking for a less-occupied table.
Lin gets a nose full of spicy scents when sniffs too deeply. There's a lot of roast meat, certainly. One round table only has two Savanites sitting at it, an older male and a young girl that looks like his daughter.
Aviri walks carefully, shyly over to the table, trying to attrack the occupants' attention with a few sheepish waves.
The girl goes wide-eyed, while the father nods to Aviri and raises an eyebrow, while turning his ears forward to show attention.
Aviri gulps in nervousness. "Would you two mind, terribly, to share your table with us?" He gestures to the two otters and himself.
The man gestures with his hand to the empty seats and nods, while the girl leans in closer to his side. Maybe she's never seen Lapi of Akwavi before.
Lin beams at them and hops up next to the girl. "Hi, I'm Lin." She chirps quietly, "Nice ta meetcha!"
Aviri sits down, both trying to keep his distance from the local and trying to not be rude about it, settling down for sitting a quarter of the table around from him.
Trilup sits and smiles as well.
The lapi fiddles with his fingers at the edge of the table. "Thanks," he says, realizing he hadn't done that yet.
The Savanite mine points to the trio, then tilts his head and makes a vague 'out there' gesture before pointing back to the table. A server come by, and puts a plate in front of the man and daughter. It's got cubes of meat on wooden skewers, with a few vegetables between them. The girl takes one quickly and starts eating, never taking her eyes off the newcomers.
"We're from Stonebarrow," Aviri says to the man, his thought interrupted as he tracks the waiter's path away from them. How does one get a menu from a mute? He returns his attention to the man. "Had an ... interesting trip through the forest to get here."
It's not possible for the room to go quiet, but there's a sense of more people looking at them now. The man also raises both eyebrows. He points to them again, gestures as if to encompass the village, then draws a finger across his throat in a questioning manner.
"We ain't asasins." Lin pouts, "Why does everyone we meet think that?" She looks dejected that they'd just assume they were big meanies.
The Savanite wiggles his ears at Lin's reactions, and just shrugs. He raises a hand to one ear and makes hand-puppet-talking actions into it, then uses both hands to make a flapping bird gesture.
"Well rumours ain't everythin'. That was a long time ago an' things are better now." Lin chirps, "Nothin's perfect of course but I'm gettin a distinct feelin' that what everyone's heard is really blown outa proportion."
"Or, if it's not," Aviri says, "it's from a time long passed. We're just regular people."
One of the advantages of being able to talk with your hands is that you can talk with your mouth full, as the man eats his kebab. He gestures to the trio again, then turns his hand fingers down and makes a two-fingered walking motion, then a sort of hand-shrug.
"We're delivering something," Aviri says. He gestures to Lin to provide more details as he continues looking around for a waiter, or some way to gauge what all they sell.
It looks like there are the kebabs, but also several tureens of stew and soup. Vegetables are all roasted and seasoned it appears.. it isn't certain if the soup is meat-free or not.
Lin shrugs at Aviri and scoots around on her seat to better face their company. "We're s'posed ta finish a delivery to Blackshire Castle from one of the wars with all the undead an zombies that happened a while ago. The original courrier died and left us instructions fer completin' the delivery. Might be a little late now but at least it'll get where it was goin'." She explains then takes another snif. "Is that hotroot soup I smell? That stuff is the best. Watercress an' leeks and enough spice ta set yer tongue on fire."
The man nods, then nods again and smiles. He sticks out his tongue and fans it to indicate just how spicy the soup is.
Aviri nods, having figured out what he's likely to be able to order ... if he can order at all, that is.
"Well that'd be just the thing fer puttin' some bounce back in the paws after all that runnin." Lin chirps, "How does one go 'bout procurin some o' those fine vittles? Ooh an' those kebabs smell good too!"
The man raises his hand and waves to the server, who comes over and looks the visitors up and down. Some hand-signs are exchanged, and the server turns to trio and holds up five fingers.
Aviri looks between the two and tentatively pulls five coins out of his bag, offering them to the waiter uncertainly.
The waiter nods and smiles, taking the coins. He heads back into the kitchen.. then reappears a moment later with some mugs of water. Fairly large mugs, at that.
Aviri tentatively sips at the water before taking a long draught from the mug.
It's water. Cool, so probably from a well. It isn't much longer before the man returns again, this time with three bowls of soup and three big chunks of dark bread. A third trip brings a plate of four kebabs for Lin and Trilup.
Lin grins at the waiter and thanks him. She starts slow, diping a corner of the bread in the soup and chewing thoughtfuly. Then she picks up her bowl and takes a hearty slurp. "Yep!" She chirps, "This is great."
Trilup immediately dunks her bread and starts spooning soup into her mouth.
Aviri peers at his soup suspiciously for a moment, as if expecting a miniature cow to rise up from its depths. After this doesn't happen he shrugs and begins eating.
It's pretty spicy.. but the bread helps to cut it a bit. It's got potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and peppers in it, along with corn and beans and even some rice, making it pretty thick. Trilup also offers Aviri one of the roasted onions from her kebab.
Aviri's ears flush red under the spices, and he quickly takes a long drink of water in a futile attempt to cool his tongue. He starts breathing heavily through his mouth, looking around, wondering why nobody else's mouth is on fire!
Linyala lets out a deep breath and drinks a few mouthfuls from her mug. "We're def'nitely stopping here on the way back. These folks can cook! Doin' alright Aviri?"
The waiter does notice.. and brings Aviri a mug of milk.
Savanite girl seems terribly amused by the Lapi's reaction, as well.
Aviri takes a large sip of the milk and holds it in his mouth, letting it absorb the oils before gulping. "Hot!" he says, eyes wide. He picks up a piece of bread and takes a bite of that instead.
"Well, spicy," Trilup admits. "I don't think kitties actually likes stuff to be too hot hot."
Lin giggles, "You're welcome over fer dinner next time my pa is makin his famous 'otroot stew. It's not quite as thick an there're little dumplins bobbin in it. They sorta balance the spice a little. S'a secret recipe though an he says he'll only teach it to me when I'm old enough to weild it responsably." She wolfs down the rest of her first kebab.
Aviri takes another sip of soup, milk at the ready. He manages to get it down, clenching his teeth and turning red again as he bears through the pain. "Think I'll pass on that," he says, responding to Lin's invitation.
"I bet it uses Scumble," Trilup says.
"Duno." Lin says, "It's never exploded when we were eatin' it."
The father and daughter finish up their own meal, and the man gives the trio a gesture that probably means 'safe travels' or some other sort of blessing before they leave.
Lin waves goodbye and smiles. "They were nice." She says once they're gone.
Aviri nods, finally hopening his mouth and taking another sip, his ears once again steaming.
Trilup attacks her meat like a starving otter. "Eat up, Aviri," she says. "You need it!"
Lin offers Aviri half of her bread. "Have ye never had hot food before?" She asks the lapi while licking her bowl clean.
Aviri shakes his head and takes another sip of milk before attacking the bread. "It's ... hot!" he says. "Thanks for the bread." He pushes his bowl of soup over as a kind of trade.
Linyala reaches over to pull the bowl to her side of the table and uses the motion to take a look around the room. "Thanks, looked like you were havin' trouble with it. You kin have some of the veggies offa my kabobs too if ya want." She chirps.
The band is still playing it's dance music, but nobody is dancing. Most are hunched over their food or having gestured conversations. It looks like the novelty of the visitors has worn off for now.
Aviri continues into his bread. "How're you holding up, Trilup?" he asks brightly.
With a muffled burp, Trilup finishes her meal and pats her belly.
Lin finishes off the last of her soup and leans back, sipping at her water contentedly. "Think we kin find a caravan headin towards Blackshire?" She muses, "Could speed things along an we may be past the forest but the map did say there was a Road of Fluffy Doom ta deal with too."
"This place ain't on the map," Trilup notes.
The waiter comes around to clear the plates and bowls. Silently, of course.
Aviri says, "I thought the forest was Fluffy Doom...."
"Was it?" Lin pulls out the map and unrolls it on the table. "Fluffy doom, fluffy doom."
"Don't you remember all the fluffy things that wanted to eat us?" Aviri asks.
"No, not the woods, this village.." Trilup says, and points to the map. Where they are now is just.. ruins on the map. Blackshire Village is just a mile away.
"Yeah, but I haven't checked the map in a couple days 'cause we knew where we were going." Lin chirps, "Doesn't hurt to check and plot out the last leg of the trip. That an I want to add a note about that forest. Just somethin' sayin' that there are those safe spots an it isn't impossible to get through if ye keep to the paths and run whenever somethin's after you."
Aviri looks around. "Oh," he says. "Well, the map must be old, then." He shrugs and takes a sip of water.
Lin adds the village to the map as well with a little note about the good food. "Why wait? We kin get there in less time than we've spent here!" She says excitedly.
Aviri nods into his bread. "We could," he says, "or we could finish our meals."
The waiter returns again, this time with a bowl of whipped cream and a plate of fresh strawberries.
Linyala looks indescribably pleased. "Yes. Let's finish our meals." She agrees heartily.
Aviri happily takes a strawberry and, scooping it in cream, drops it into his mouth, stem and all.
Trilup is very careful to count the berries before grabbing some for herself. "How do they make the white stuff?" she wonders.
Aviri shrugs as he chews, his face pure bliss around the bright berry.
"Musht be magic to taste thish good." Lin sighs around a mouthful of strawberry and whipped cream.
All too soon, the dessert is gone.
Avir sighed contentedly, a quarter of a loaf of breat still on the table. "Goood meal," he says, though he wonders whether it only tasted so good because they were alive--something that hadn't been so assured not too long ago.
"If we get to Blackshire village, we may have to get a room at the inn," Trilup observes, looking at the light through a window. "How hard do you think it is to see the.. uh.. Duchess? Count?"
"Well, we're mesengers. We should just be able ta say so an' walk right in." Lin chirps, "At least I think that's how it works." She sighs and wiggles down in her chair to get more comfortable.
"'Cept there are four more keys to figure out," Trilup notes.
"Yeah, but shouldn't the packagee have the code ta open the box?" Lin asks, "I'd think they'd have that bit of information so they didn't have ta risk life an' limb just ta get their potentially vital thingey."
"Maybe only the one guy knew it. If he's dead, then we've gotta be able to open the box," Aviri says.
Lin laughs and covers her eyes with a paw. "Right, an' with our luck, Silver woulda been the one with the code an' she can't tell us."
Amelia says, "Well, do we want to head over.. or see if we can get a room here tonight?" Trilup asks, then lowers her voice to a whisper to say, "It's prolly cheaper here.""
Aviri nods to Trilup. "It probably is, and we've gotta figure out that box before we can deliver it, anyway."
Lin winks at her companions, "An somethin' tells me these folks aren't the type to ask a lot of questions."
"Do we want to try and figure out a key here though? They might get spooked," Trilup asks.
Aviri shoots Lin a look. "We can go a bit out of town to do it," he says. "Looks save enough, at least. Better than the Path of Fluffy Doom."
"I guess we'd better get a room before trying anything at least," Trilup suggests, looking pointedly at Aviri.
Aviri nods. "Right ... yeah." He looks around, as if someone would have a sign on their chest that said "Rooms for Rent"
Linyala nods and sits up, bouncing a little on the chair. "The town isn't really big. It shouldn't be hard to find a place behind a little rise that would keep anything it does out of a direct sort o' line of sight." She says.
Aviri nods. "Alright, though we should find a place to sleep, first." He begins walking around carefully, wondering if his curioisty would catch anyone's eye so he wouldn't have to initiate conversation with a random mute stranger.
The waiter taps Aviri on the shoulder from behind.
Aviri startles, turning around quickly. "Oh ... sorry," he says, breathing slightly heavily. "You uh ... anyway, is there anywhere we could sleep the night? A ... rented room or somethinggggg?" He sags when he realizes this is an inn.
The waiter grins, wiggling his ears a bit. Then points towards a ladder leading up to the second floor.
Aviri nods. "How much will it be?"
The waiter holds up his right hand with two fingers, and his left hand with one.
The lapi looks at it, his right ear twitching slightly. "One night for two sheckles?"
"Or is it twelve sheckles for one night or twenty one?" Lin asks, appearing at Aviri's elbow.
The waiter touches his nose and winks to Aviri.
Aviri produces two coins and offers them, wondering if he's getting a discount or something.
The waiter takes the coins, and rummages through his apron to produce a carved-stone key. It's got a wooden tag attached, with '1' on it.
"Thanks!" says the lapi as he slips the key into one of his pockets. He nods to the waiter, and then makes for the ladder, motioning to the otters.
Lin nods her gratitude to the waiter with a smile and follows the lapi up the ladder.
The room isn't much. There's fresh straw with a blanket over it for a bed, a small shelf with a washing bowl and pitcher, and a chamberpot (a very clean one). The bed-pile is big enough for everyone, given that the otters tend to pile up anyway.
Aviri sets his back in a coner and collapses on one end of the makeshift bed. "We gonna try the lock tonight, or ... wait until tomorrow?"
"We kin aparently only try it once a day." Lin chirps and puts her pack down near Aviri's, "T'would be a shame to waste one. How's about we kick up oour feet an' head out a couple hours before the sun sets? I just hope it isn't excessively toothy this time."
"You know, the box can probably hear us," Trilup notes, as she sets her pack down. "Let's try to not give it ideas.."