Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Reaver and The Spirit Shield ❯ Rest and Relaxation ( Chapter 23 )

Chapter Twenty-three

The exhausted innkeeper yawned as he scrawled the last few words onto a document as he sat at his desk. It had been a long night with very few customers. But that was the usual. Uschtenhiem was far from the closest city and it was too small a village to attract any tourists. Only vampire hunters usually made use of his inn. The front room was lit by the single candle at his desk, which only added to his tired state.

Deciding to call it a night, the innkeeper rose from his seat, taking the candle with him. He was about to check the fire before he retired, when the front door suddenly flew open, startling the poor man. In the doorway, he could make out two figures. One was moderately armored, the other concealed in a cloak. They stood silently in the doorway for a few moments, staring at the innkeeper.

"Please, come on in," the innkeeper gestured, placing the candle back down. Raziel and Jenise entered the inn, closing the door behind them, and approached the desk. The innkeeper made a mental note that they must be vampire hunters, based upon his poor assessment of the two. "How might I help you folks tonight?"

"We are in need of a room," Jenise replied politely. "With two beds and perhaps a bath if you might have one."

Raziel glanced questioningly at Jenise after the part where she requested the bath. She returned a look of her own which seemed to say `what?' The innkeeper turned to a cabinet behind his desk and removed a key from within.

"I just so happen to have such a room available. It is the only room I have which has a bath included, however, it is a bit pricey," he informed his guests.

"That does not matter," Jenise responded, turning back towards the man.

"Of course not," he replied. "But I do need a down payment. The room is fifty gold pieces a night. I require twenty now. The rest you can pay later…" requested the innkeeper, his voice trailing off at the sight of Jenise's disapproving look. "I'm sorry if the price seems rather high, but I have been stiffed by several hunters as of late, and I am a business man after all…"

"It's not a problem," Jenise answered the man. "Just put the room on Lord Vorador's tab. We will be staying only for the rest of tonight and will most likely be leaving late tomorrow afternoon."

The innkeeper gasped at Jenise's claim. "You are in acquaintance of Lord Vorador?" Jenise responded with a nod. "Why didn't you say so in the first place? The room is complimentary! Allow me to show you to your room!"

The innkeeper reclaimed the candle and hurried around the desk. He led the warriors up a small flight of narrow stairs and down a long hallway. He unlocked the last door on the left and opened the door before handing Jenise the key. He walked inside and lit a few candles for which to see better.

"If you need anything at all, don't be afraid to ask! I'll be in the room downstairs. If you feel hungry, just go to the diner next door. Just tell my brother who works there that I sent you, and he shall make you the best meal you ever tasted!" the innkeeper chirped.

"Thank you very much," Jenise replied, as the innkeeper left, shutting the door behind him.

"I thought he'd never leave," Raziel finally sighed, ridding himself of the hindering cloak. Jenise walked over to the bed, pushing down on it, testing its comfort. When satisfied, she sat on the bed and began removing her armor. Raziel turned away, thumbing through the few books that rested upon a nearby desk until he heard Jenise settle into the blankets.

"Aren't you going to get any rest?" the priestess asked of the reaver.

"I'm not tired. I'll stand watch, just in case."

"Alright. If you're going to be up anyway, wake me at around eleven so that I can catch breakfast," she replied, resting her head on the pillow. Raziel could tell by her breathing that she had quickly fallen asleep. Raziel sat on the other bed with a book in hand for which to pass the time. It wasn't before long, that he, the reaver of souls himself, fell asleep as well, despite his lack for need of sleep.

Raziel turned over in his bed, sleep starting to leave him. After a moment, he sprang up in bed, realizing where he was. He looked over to the bed across the room, to find it empty. Worry began to spread across Raziel's face at Jenise's disappearance. He leapt out of bed and headed towards the door, when it suddenly opened. Raziel panicked for a moment, uncertain whether or not he would be discovered, but was relieved to see Jenise enter the room.

"Oh, so I see you're finally awake! I thought you didn't need to rest?" she teased the former vampire. Raziel stammered a few moments, unable to explain his long bout of slumber. "By the way, thanks for the wake up call," the priestess continued to rub it in. She walked across the room, placing a parcel on the desk.

"What's in the bag?" Raziel inquired, changing the subject.

"Some extra food for our journey. James, the owner of the diner, felt obliged to fix me up a little food after I told him how long we'd be traveling."

"Did you tell him our destination?" asked a worried Raziel.

"Of course not! And have the whole town asking me questions? It was hard enough to try to explain your absence at breakfast!" she remarked.

"Have you rested well enough?"

"Yes, I feel much better, though I have yet to bathe myself. I feel so disgusting. You don't mind waiting do you? I'd like to look my best when I meet the almighty Janos Audron," she chirped.

"Ha! Compared to me, he wouldn't even notice!" Raziel joked, earning a smirk from Jenise.

"I won't be long. We can leave after I'm done," she informed, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Raziel listened as he heard the priestess turn on the water. He turned his attention back to the book he had been reading the night before. The book wasn't meant for educational purposes, but for entertainment. It was a story about a great warrior who fought valiantly against an evil and cruel monster. It was almost like a fairy tale. And like most fairy tales, there was an element of romance. The warrior had fallen in love with a beautiful maiden from a distant land, but their romance was a forbidden one…but Raziel was uninterested in those parts of the story. So he just skipped through the pages, reading about the battle between the hero and antagonist.

Before Raziel realized it, an hour had passed by, and Jenise had finished her bath. She emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed, but still towel drying her wet hair. Raziel turned his attention from the book, placing it on the bed beside him. As he watched Jenise dry her hair the best she could, he could plainly see that it reached down to the small of her back; a lot more hair than he'd originally thought she had.

Once satisfied that her hair was dry enough, Jenise put her hair back into the usual bun. She gathered her sword, shield, and the parcel of food. Raziel rose from the bed, and replaced the cloak about his form, holding it tight to his body. The two then left the room and headed downstairs, dropping the key off at the desk and left the inn. There were a few of the village residents milling about the streets, buying and selling, or conversing amongst themselves. Most took no notice of the two warriors passing by. A few gave a curious gaze before continuing on their way.

It was late afternoon when Jenise and Raziel left the village that would become the great city of Uschtenhiem. The place of destination was still a day ahead of them. Fortunately, they would not encounter many more humans north of Uschtenhiem. However, they knew they might come in contact with vampires. Hopefully, those vampires would not be hostile.

The terrain once again turned rugged. The warriors found themselves traveling through some of the northern mountains, but Raziel knew this was the route to Janos Audron's sanctuary. The canyons proved difficult to maneuver, and some even dangerous. But this did not stop the priestess and the reaver. Day turned to dusk, and dusk became night. Jenise had long ago begun to wonder if they would ever reach Janos's retreat. They had stopped during nightfall so that Jenise could eat the tidbits of food provided for her. That had been hours ago, and now her stomach pleaded for more sustenance.

As dawn approached, Jenise began to feel exhaustion tugging at every limb. Raziel was aware, but pushed on. The priestess did nothing to complain. She, too, was eager to reach their desired goal and she was determined not to stop again until they arrived. But doubt still flickered in the back of her mind.

Just as Jenise thought her body would give out before she did, the narrow canyon passageway that she and Raziel had been traveling suddenly opened up to a large lake. Spotting the lake and extremely wore out from the trek, Jenise collapsed to her knees, panting and out of breath. Raziel, who had been in front of her, had stopped in place, taking in the view.

"You got to be kidding me," Jenise panted. "We have to cross that now too?"

"No, we're here," replied Raziel calmly. Jenise snapped her head up, inspecting the full sight of the lake. Her eyes widened in surprise. High up above the lake, there was a building carved into the cliff face. To the left, about halfway down, there was an entrance, reachable by a long flight of stairs. Jenise followed them down, to a cliff path overlooking the lake. From the path, was a series of bridges across the lake, three in all. Each bridge connected large stones emerged from the surface of the water. The closest bridge connected to the ground off to Jenise's left.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" inquired the priestess.

Author's Note: I realized last night that up until this point I have been making a huge error. I have been writing Mobius, instead of the correct spelling Moebius. I'm truly sorry! I vow, from this day forward (or rather, this chapter forward) that I will spell his name correctly! Unfortunately for all you Moebius fans out there, I won't be going through all twenty-two previous chapters to fix my mistakes. Please don't hate me!