Chapter Eighteen #8
“You have my thanks.” Riftan tossed him a silver coin, and the sentry broke into a wide grin and bowed his head. He darted toward the inn, calling for the innkeeper. Riftan and Maxi handed their horses over to the stable hands and followed him into the inn.
As soon as they entered, the lively conversations in the room ceased. Hiding behind Riftan, Maxi glanced nervously around the dimly lit lobby.
“You caught up faster than we expected, Commander!”
Hebaron grinned from where he sat with the knights at the closely packed wooden tables toward the back.
Soon, the other knights were leaping to their feet and rushing over to Maxi and Riftan.
Hebaron thumped Riftan on the shoulder when he reached them, but Riftan shook him off in annoyance and went to ask the innkeeper for a room.
The cold shoulder did nothing to dim Hebaron’s grin as he turned to Maxi. “I am glad to see you well, my lady. I knew the commander would find you, but I did worry that it would take awhile. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“N-No. I am perfectly well. I apologize…for worrying you.”
“No, my lady, it is us who should apologize for failing to protect you. We assumed that you would be fine since Gabel was with you…. It could have gone quite badly had the commander not gone after you. I know of no one better at tracking than the commander.”
Maxi smiled and glanced about the room. “Th-There…seem to be many missing faces. D-Did everyone get here safely?”
“Yes, everyone made it here last night. Gabel has gone to buy provisions, and the others are talking to the local mercenaries trying to gather information.” Hebaron looked her up and down, then lightly clicked his tongue.
“You must be tired, my lady. We can save the greetings for later. Why do you not go rest in your room?”
Maxi blushed and ran a hand over her tangled hair. She did not need a mirror to know how terrible she must look. She hunched her shoulders in embarrassment and scurried over to where Riftan beckoned to her from the foot of the stairs.
As soon as they entered the room at the end of the third floor, he flung their luggage on the ground. Though Maxi sorely wanted to flop onto bed, she could not bring herself to do so with clothes soaked in sweat and dust. She opted to remove her boots and damp socks first.
Riftan watched her before slowly turning away. “I have asked the innkeeper to prepare a bath for you. Try to get some rest after.”
“Wh-What about you?”
“I must go check if there is any more news from Livadon.”
“But we have just arrived…sh-should you not rest a bit—”
He was already out the door before Maxi could finish her sentence. She blinked, her mouth agape. How on earth could he turn down the opportunity of sleep after a sleepless night? She thought of going after him, but instead heaved a sigh, knowing that it was pointless when he was like this.
A little while later, a plump woman hauled a wooden tub full of water into the room.
With the door locked, Maxi stripped off her dirty clothes and immersed herself in the cold water.
Scrubbing away several days’ worth of sweat and dirt was invigorating.
She soaped her body twice and thoroughly rinsed off the lather.
After that, she painstakingly washed her tangled hair, which was matted into a dense bush.
When she finally used the clean water in the kettle to wash away the remaining traces of soap, her skin glowed as white as a newborn’s.
Content, Maxi stepped out of the tub and dried herself with a towel.
The next part was more difficult. She rummaged through her bag with a grave expression.
Miraculously, there was one clean undergarment.
All her tunics and trousers, however, were hopelessly soiled.
There had been no time to wash clothes during the journey, and they were all damp and dirty.
Maxi wrinkled her nose. Just as she was accepting that she would have to climb back into smelly garments after having washed, there was a knock at the door.
Wrapping the towel tightly around herself, Maxi asked in an embarrassed tone, “Wh-Who is it?”
“I was told to bring you a change of clothes, my lady.” It was the woman who had brought her the bathwater.
After making sure no one else was in the corridor, Maxi hastily took the clothes and dressed.
The coarse tunic hung down to her knees, but Maxi was pleased enough at having clean clothes to wear.
After tightening the belt, Maxi handed her dirty garments back to the woman and requested to have them washed.
“Where would you like your meal? Shall I bring it to your room?”
Maxi considered for a moment, then shook her head. She wanted to know what Riftan was up to, and she also wanted to make sure that none of the knights were injured.
She borrowed a pair of slippers from the innkeeper and went down to the first floor where the knights were conversing loudly over their meals. Ulyseon shot up as soon as he saw her.
“My lady!” he said, making his way over to her. “I heard that you were back. Thank God you are all right!”
“I-I apologize…for worrying you,” said Maxi, looking up at the young man who was close to tears.
Garrow had followed Ulyseon. He hung his head, his face as pale as a ghost. “We have no excuse, my lady. We did not even notice that you had been separated from the party…. We have failed you as your guards.”
“B-Both of you…please, stop it. It was because…R-Rem got spooked by the goblin attack. If anyone is to blame…i-it is me for not having better control of my horse.”
The young men’s faces remained downcast despite her efforts to console them. Maxi was looking troubled when Gabel approached from behind.
“Are you hurt anywhere, my lady?”
“I-I am all right. What about the knights? Is anyone hurt? I-If anyone requires my—”
“Everyone is perfectly fine, my lady. Please, sit. I will ask them to bring you something to eat.”
He pulled out an empty chair for her, then beckoned to one of the workers. A few moments later, a young server with neatly braided hair placed freshly baked bread, smoked goose, and a mashed turnip salad on the table.
Maxi’s eyes roamed about the room as she ate. Sensing her unasked question, Gabel spoke. “Sir Riftan has gone to meet with the merchants to procure provisions before we depart tomorrow.”
“W-We depart tomorrow?”
“The horses are too exhausted for us to leave immediately,” he answered.
“What’s more, the road ahead is true wilderness.
We will have to source enough water and fodder for the horses to make it the full journey.
In all honesty, it will be quite difficult to acquire everything we need in a single day. ”
Maxi nodded as she shoveled a large slice of meat into her mouth.
By the time she had finished her meal, Riftan had still not returned.
She observed the knights for a while as they discussed their itinerary, then returned to her room and slumped onto the bed.
Though the inn’s linens were nowhere near the quality of the wool-stuffed silk blankets in Calypse Castle, they felt like heaven compared to the bumpy ground or stone cave.
Maxi fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.
The room was dark when she awoke. Surprised, Maxi sat up, wondering how long she had been asleep.
A dark form next to her drew her eye. Squinting, she could make out Riftan’s silhouette lying with his back to her, his long legs stretched out.
Maxi blinked until her sight acclimated to the dark, then gingerly got out of bed and crept around so she could see his face.
She worried that her movements might wake him, but he remained still even as she lay down facing him.
Relieved, Maxi snuggled against his broad chest. He must have bathed and changed into fresh clothes, for he smelled of soap and hay.
She pressed her face against his warm chest and breathed in the scent.
Although he stirred, he did not wake. After staring up at his smooth face for as long as she could keep her eyes open, Maxi went back to sleep, her mind at ease.
—
They prepared to depart even before the sun was up.
Maxi rose from the bed half asleep and splashed water on her face.
She combed her disheveled hair, which always seemed twice as bushy in the morning, and arranged it in a neat braid.
Much to her relief, the clothes she had entrusted to the staff to be washed were crisp and dry thanks to the previous day’s sun.
She donned trousers, a new shirt, and boots, carefully packing her spare garments into her bag.
The knights were busily lugging supplies out to the horses when she stepped out of the room with her belongings slung over her back. When she followed them out, she spotted Riftan securing his saddlebags to Talon. She cheerfully rushed over.
“R-Riftan! When did you wake up? I didn’t notice you getting out of—” Maxi stopped when she saw that Riftan was in mid-conversation with a man.
He spared her a glance before turning back to the man, handing him a few derhams from a leather pouch. “Good, then. I will take the carts.”
“Thank you, sir. I shall load them with fodder for you at once.” After slipping the coins into his pocket, the man retrieved two large baggage carts that had been tied under a tree.
“Are we…bringing carts with us?” Maxi asked, wide-eyed, surprised at the luxury.
“We will be traveling through plains from now on. There is a small mountain on the way, but no more rugged paths like yesterday.”
Maxi smiled brightly at his words. She was sick and tired of climbing mountains. “I-I see. Then…how much longer do we have to go?”
“We will reach the port within a week. From there, we will sail to Livadon.”