Celandine and I rode in silence for a short time, then she asked, “Do you think that is the demon who will help us?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know. Then what are we doing here? What good is prophecy if you don’t know what it means?”
“None, I suppose.”
“Then what are we risking ourselves for?”
I grabbed the reins of her horse and said, “The only way to understand prophecy is to do what it says. Now stop sniveling.”
She glared at me but kept her peace. Her fear kept her silent more than I did.
TWILIGHT had fallen, spreading a blue haze across the trees. An inn sat in a small clearing. In the dim light I made out a sign. It had a crude drawing of the demon we had just seen, and words proclaimed it the Black Demon Inn. Krakus had been here a long time.
I tied the horses up outside, and we entered. The place smelled stale. The windows were open, and the spring wind blew through the place, but it would take weeks for the sourness of winter to be blown away. When my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I saw the place was almost empty.
Only three of the small scarred tables were in use. A group of five farmers sat drinking and laughing. Two men in chain mail sat eating at another table. Their swords were out on the table beside them, sheathed. And a young man dressed all in black sat at the last table near the stairs. A young girl no more than twelve sat with him. Her eyes were downcast, and she was obviously afraid.
Celandine stiffened beside me. She had recognized the robes of a healer, a black healer. The host came over to us, smiling, “And how may I help you this night, travelers?”
“Food, stabling for the horses, and a room for the night.”
“One gold ducat will get you all you desire.” His leer was obvious. I looked blankly at him. He explained patiently, “All our guests have the choice of three fair ladies to keep them company for a time.”
“No, thank you. My wife and I are quite fine, alone.”
He shrugged. “As you wish, but if I were you I’d have my wife pull up her hood. And have her lower her eyes.”
“She is fine as she is.”
He shrugged again. “Just trying to help. The stables are to the left. My boy will see to them. When you return, I will have your dinners waiting.”
We went out and led the horses and Ulliam to the stables. They were cramped, and a dirty boy of about ten scuttled up to take the horses. He did not try to take Ulliam, and I did not offer. While he brushed down the horses, I tended the unicorn. The boy was dirty and perhaps not quite bright, but he brushed the horses well, and the feed he gave them was good quality.
We took a small table near the wall so I could watch the room. It was then that I noticed a small demon, barely three feet high, cleaning tables. He balanced the dirty dishes above his head with impossibly long arms. He was a bright green in color and scaled rather than skin-covered. Celandine and I stared after him as he disappeared into the back.
She stared at me, and I shrugged. In the end it would be Celandine who said what the token was and where it was. My job was just to help her get it.
The little demon also brought our food. Neither of us spoke as it put down bowls of stew, thick slices of brown bread, and tankards of some liquid. He seemed accustomed to silence and raced back through the tables with his empty tray.
The stew was hot, the meat and vegetables a little stringy, but it had been a hard winter. Stores were running low everywhere, but the bread was fresh and good. One of the farmers I had noticed earlier came to stand beside us. He bumped into our table, unsteady on his feet. He smelled of beer. “Is this pretty thing your wife, Varellian?”
“Yes.”
“How much for a night with her?”
I stared at him a moment, not sure I had understood. “I said she is my wife.”
“I heard you. How much for the night?”
“We are new to Lolth and do not understand all the customs. Are you saying that Loltuns sell their wives for money, like whores?”
“You brought her in here, with her face showing. She looked at every man in the place, bold as a basilisk. What else would you be doing but selling?”
I understood the host’s warning now, but it was too late. “We are not Loltun, and I am not selling my wife.”
He scowled at that. “The other three women are busy, and I don’t go near a black healer. I have need of a woman, and she is the only one available.”