Fear of Fire and Shadow (The Fade #1) - Samantha Young Page 0,75
an adventurer who’d dared the mountains to find it.
“The Pool of Phaedra.”
The man smirked. “An’ what would a sprite like ye want with the Pool?”
I shrugged. “I’m on a spiritual journey and that is all I wish to say on the matter.”
He laughed, and I bit my lip. I’d sounded far too well-bred. But he didn’t say anything, just chuckled. “Well, don’t be gettin’ all ornery, yer business is yer business.” He laughed again, shaking his head. There was something jolly about him. I began to relax.
“My name is Brint,” he told me, his booming voice carrying beyond us. “Brint Lokam. I’m about the closest thing Hill o’ Hope has to a mayor.”
“Hill o’ Hope?” I asked in confusion.
Brint grinned and gestured to the open land before us. “Hill o’ Hope.” He winked. “We here at Hill o’ Hope have what some folks call an ironic sense o’ humor.” He drawled out the i in ironic.
I couldn’t help but return his smile. “My name is Ro—” I stopped, remembering I was supposed to be a boy. “Rolfe. My name is Rolfe.”
“Nice to meet ye, Rolfe. Well, ye don’t look like ye can cause much trouble. Why don’t ye join us at Hope Tavern?” Brint pointed to the larger shack lit up in the distance. “They’ll give ye some gristle and grub, maybe a splash o’ ale.” He winked again. “It’s no’ much but it’s somethin’. Plus, folks are in a good mood lately, what with the Iavii people who used to crawl all over these parts havin’ taken off for greener pastures.
“Once yer done fillin’ up, ye can come back with me.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, and I noticed the shack up the hill behind us. A single light flickered in the window. “The wife will be more than happy to put a pallet by the fire for ye so ye can get some rest before movin’ on in yer spiritual journey.”
I smiled at his teasing. I knew I probably wouldn’t get a better offer, so I nodded in thanks and followed him down the hill toward Hope Tavern. My first encounter with an Alvernian mountain person was not unfolding as I’d always imagined. The preconceived notion that they were all awful, uncivilized, ill-mannered people was further challenged when we entered the tavern. Brint introduced me to the roughest-looking people I’d ever seen. Even rougher than gypsies and the rookery thugs. I couldn’t decipher age among them; they were all so weather beaten and worn, laughter wrinkles tickling the corners of everyone’s eyes.
Despite the obvious fact that their lives were hard, that they didn’t have much of anything, they were so friendly and jolly and happy. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. No, they weren’t well-mannered as a rule, but in spite of that, no one was ill-mannered to me. And, if I were to go by the stories they regaled me with, amidst this uncivilized, isolated community of theirs was a true civilization of camaraderie and teamwork.
More shocking for me still, I watched the barkeep—who had thrust a plate of strange food and the darkest ale I’d ever seen at me—kiss a man who slid over the bar and wrapped his arms around him. Wide-eyed, I glanced around to see if anyone was looking, but no one cared.
Brint caught my look and laughed, explaining the two men were old lovers. Back home in Silvera, I knew of rumors of men who preferred other men, but society pretended it didn’t exist, happy to ignore it as long as the men in question kept it hidden. I’d always believed that people should be free to love whomever they chose, and it amazed me that up here, in the heart of savage country, people were freer and more loving than back in Silvera.
My worry eased. The situation in Alvernia wasn’t nearly so bad as we’d been led to believe. Mayhap Haydyn need never marry Andrei, whose father perpetuated the telling of tales of the uncivilized Alvernian mountain people.
Once again, I had been ignorant and prejudiced.
I decided then and there, as I enjoyed the rambunctious company of the people of Hill o’ Hope, that I would never again draw an opinion on a subject until I’d researched said subject thoroughly. I thought of Haydyn’s long-forgotten failed philanthropy regarding these people. If we’d listened to her, we would have done a lot of good. Once again, I was ashamed.
After I’d eaten, I relaxed beside Brint, listening as his