- - -
Karp approached the Traitor's Tavern wearing the light everyday leather outfit of a Forester. Her brisk steps flowed when free from the heavy training leathers and chainmail. This far south in the Lush Forest, people wore pants made of soft brown leather that hung loosely off the skin and ended just below the knees. To keep the arms and chest cool, clothing makers left leather tops without sleeves, and artisans left tops open to the collar bone. Even during the winter, Foresters only needed to wear long sleeves and full pants. Far east near the royal port and far north near the Crossroads, leather outfits covered the entire body during the summer, and multiple layers of fur insulated people from snow and sleet.
Karp reached the solid wooden doors of a famous inn known for its rich history. To impress locals, the regional lord had built the Traitor's Tavern Inn as the first large-scale wooden building in that section of the Lush Forest. Soon after The Conqueror claimed his empire, a local lord built the tavern. Sturdy logs driven deep into the ground formed the foundation, and wooden beams framed the interior. Thin wood planks dyed gray layered over the exterior to protect it from wind and rain. Curved light red clay tiles imported from the Clay Workers of the Arid Desert covered the roof.
The inn lost its status as provincial capital when the lesser lord died at the failed rebellion during the First Council four hundred years ago. When The Demon Reborn named a new regional lord, the newly appointed ruler moved the region's capital south toward the ocean and built a new stronghold made of stone. The new lord then used the original provincial capital's keep as a way station along the first leg of the trade route to the Crossroads. Traders supplied the Crossroads with lumber, salted meat, seafood, and leather. The village slowly morphed from a community dependent on serving the lordship to a town based on free trade with travelers and tradespeople. Recently, the Village of the Traitor's Tavern had become the world's center for selling cloth.
Karp winced as she pushed open the door and walked into the main hall. She gingerly crossed a floor of loose wooden beams resting on the ground. She sat at a small table near the stairs to the second floor. A serving girl brought her a mug almost as soon as she sat.
˝one good thing about living in an inn, always close to beer. i'm going to eat later.”
Karp always spoke with an even inflection, and people who didn't know her had trouble reading her intentions. Karp tried a little smile, but the serving girl left with a queer glance. Sitting in the tavern in pain made Karp reflect on the events that had propelled her to the village in the first place. She had never had an easy life. While still a child, her parents had died and left her no inheritance or land, so she lived on a nearby farm in exchange for working as a farmhand. She broke up soil in the fields, hauled hay bales, picked vegetables, and helped sell crops at market. During the winter, she chopped wood or cleaned the house. She dutifully completed any task she needed in order to earn her bed and bread for the day. The tedious, unfulfilling work dampened her spirits, but as long as she lived, she dreamed of the future. However, everything changed around Karp's fourteenth birthday. The farmer tried convincing her that he knew of “easier work” than field labor. Her childish mind couldn't comprehend his exact meaning, but her instincts screamed for her to run and she fled.
Karp journeyed town to town working fields and completing odd jobs. She survived this way until winter when all fieldwork stopped. One day, with nowhere to stay and no one to help her, she collapsed in the snow behind a nearby tavern. On the verge of death, she saw the world swirl and crack. After the sky and ground broke apart, she awoke in a desert. Sand replaced snow, and the sun warmed her face. No longer freezing to death, enough fatigue left her body for her to stagger back onto her feet. She marched toward the only visible landmark, mountains rising in the distance.
Comments (0)
See all