The Right Rudder Inn began its life as a boarding house during the early days of the war. Its original clientele were members of a small air-defense unit that had been stationed in the small village. Not wanting to spend the time and money to construct proper barracks, the government at the time paid for their board. As Cain's Point grew in size following the end of the war, so did the building.
With every new generation of owner came added floors and extensions. About 30 years ago, a few of the surrounding buildings were purchased and eventually taken in by the sprawling structure. While most other businesses remained open during the winter, the Inn would shut down to enact repairs and renovations.
It was no surprise to the sisters that the Inn would still be closed even this late in spring. The owners always wanted to make sure everything was perfect for another season, and would not dare open with construction still going on. What did surprise Mand, was the fact that one of the owners was gripping her arm, and the arm of her sister VERY tightly.
The large figure loomed over both of them for a moment, then bent down to take a closer look at his catch. In the pale illumination provided by the moonlight, the eyes of the large man turned from rage, to a soft gentleness.
"Mand! Val!" the Innkeeper shouted, his grip relaxing, "I'm so sorry I startled you!"
Carl Boatswain was not only known as one of the owners of the "Right Rudder Inn", but he was also known as the tallest man in town. He stooped down and gathered both girls into a wide, bearlike hug.
Val grinned, "Well we were kind of breaking in to your home... which we do every year."
Carl nodded, "And always glad of it!" He laughed, "Though I do sometimes hope you two will eventually break your bad habits!"
Two years ago on a dark winter night, Mand and Val were short on funds and desperate to escape a the cold. With the building being dark, they let themselves into what they thought was some sort of abandoned warehouse. Carl discovered the two the next morning as he did his morning rounds. Instead of going to the city guard, he guided the two to the kitchen, cooked them breakfast and listened to their story. They had been friends ever since that time.
The girls waited a moment for Carl to strike a match and light an oil-lamp.
"How's Claire doing?" Mand asked while Carl gently lit the wick.
Carl shook the match and replaced the glass on the lantern, picking it up and casting a glow over the face of the girls. "She's doing great! Keeping the books in order like always! It's too bad you came so late, I'm sure she would have been happy to stay up if she knew you were coming!"
He made a motion for the girls to follow him, "Your room is this way."
They would need Carl to guide them to their room. The hodge-podge of expansions meant that the building had an almost nonsensical layout beyond the foyer. Many first-time guests had indeed gotten lost in the inn, ending up at a dead-end, or in a lavatory when searching for their rooms. Even with the bizarre layout, every summer the Inn would be filled with travelers and traders from all corners of the globe looking to do business in town.
"I noticed that the lock seemed a little more... complex this year," said Val. "Claire is certainly getting much better and creating them. It's gotta take her a while to modify all those keys though."
Carl stopped, looking a little grim. "The lock should be just temporary. Claire installed it after we had a little trouble late last fall."
Mand cocked an eyebrow, "I hope it's nothing serious?"
"We had some guests who were VERY interested in Claire's gift. They offered to bring her to a place where she could improve and be around others like her. Clare gave them a firm but polite no, saying that it would be irresponsible as a business owner for her to abandon her livelihood, and her partner," Carl said the last part with a sense of pride. "We suggested that they find another place to stay."
"And they wouldn't take no for an answer?" Val guessed.
"They broke into her room during the night and tried to kidnap her," the Innkeepers face turned very grim. "They were half-way to the docks when I caught up to them. If Claire hadn't been making it miserable for them to carry her, they might have made it. When they saw me coming they dropped her and took off. I was told by a dockworker that they boarded a ship and left that night."
"Have they been back since?" asked Mand.
"No, the harbor froze shortly after they left. We haven't had much in the way of outside visitors in town until now. We've been keeping things fairly... secure ever since they left."
The two girls looked at each other, both carried a worried expression.
"Here's your room, same as last year." Carl said, stopping at a door at the end of the hall. "We actually didn't do too much work over the winter, so it shouldn't be THAT hard to find us in the morning."
The girls thanked the innkeeper and entered their room. Carl made sure that they didn't need anything else before departing back down the hall. The room was very simple - Two beds, each in a little nook under a sloped ceiling next to the walls on both the left and right side of the room. A nightstand sat between the beds, with a washbasin and a jug of water on top. Above the nightstand was a octagonal window that looked out into the harbor.
The girls shrugged off their packs. Val began removing her boots while Mand gazed out the window. The streets and the harbor were very quiet, as they should be at that time of night. Only a handful of ships, most of them fishing schooners, could be seen berthed at the docks.
"You going to get some sleep?" asked Val as she removed her socks. She wiggled her toes, enjoying the sensation of having them free from cramped boots.
Mand continued to gaze out the window, oblivious to the question.
Val got up from the bed and moved next to her sister, waving a hand in front of her face, "Earth to big sis? You're worried about what Carl said aren't you."
"Remember our visit to Bolwood?" asked Val, turning towards her sister.
"Yeah, it was only a couple of weeks ago. We did some work repairing and sharpening sawblades there."
"Remember WHY we got the work?"
Val thought for a couple of moments. "The foreman told us that the boy who usually does it went away to a special school last fall. You think there's a connection there?"
"Seems like a very similar situation, only Claire wasn't willing to go. "
Despite the warm comfort of the fresh sheets, both sisters had trouble sleeping that night.