She tensed up her face dipping lower behind the flowers. He swore he could see her eyes starting to glisten and cursed himself. "... I hope you aren't wanting someplace too fancy. Unless we wait for after the tourney." Sael chickened out again and cursed himself for it. 'Damn it why is it so hard to do the right thing. I feel like I'm leading her on.... But if she cried… ugh I hate being weak.'
When her face lit up he sighed knowing he was a lost cause. 'Well if she is happy with the way things are I guess who am I to complain. Nee won't care and Ara will get over it… probably… maybe… damn it…'
Sael headed back to the barracks cursing his rotten luck. 'Why is it I can never have just one girl like me. It's either famine or forest fire er feast.' He walked into the barracks, the air so thick with tension Silvers fur was puffed out. 'Nope, definitely forest fire.'
**********
Sael plopped down next to the camp fire and watched the logs crackle with flames. Their first day had been slow. Ara had trouble keeping up and he was starting to get worried something was wrong with her. When he asked all she did was tease him saying a kiss would make it all better. In the end he'd carried her on his back. She was so light he barely even noticed except when she kept trying to caress his check or some other tom foolery. Nee hadn't seemed to care or even notice but he could feel Beth's gaze the entire time.
On the plus side Ara looked a little better after resting while being carried all day. His gaze locked on the collapsing log in the campfire he mentally sighed knowing tomorrow would still probably be more of the same.
"Don't you even think about it!" Beth's admonishing tone snapped him out of his pondering.
"Think about what?" he asked, confused.
"I saw you staring at the fire…. You better not be thinking anymore of that setting yourself on fire nonsense."
"What? No" he replied while thinking. 'Damn it I thought they forgot already.'
Beth glared down at Ara who was using his thigh as a pillow while Nee worked on getting Silver to stay in the backpack they'd prepared for her. They couldn't leave the pup alone back in Little Well for the time they would be away but at the same time taking a creature apparently as rare as a Silver Conri around would raise too many questions.
Shaking his head he patted Ara on the shoulder. "I'm laying down so go get in your own sleeping bag."
She held up her hands "A good night kiss?" she was giving him such a pathetic look he started to lean down but noticed Beth glaring at him and even Nee watching him out of the corner of her eyes.
"Quit playing around and go get to bed." She just crawled over to her sleeping bag giving him one last sad puppy look before laying down.
Sael too fled to his own sleeping bag managing to hide from other's gazes but not his own cowardliness.
**********
Amalor turned out to be a pretty impressive town even bigger than he'd expected. All the streets were paved and the buildings were made of brick and mortar instead of logs and wood like in Little Well. Everywhere they went there were people walking while carriages and wagons were a common site making the crowd part way. Venders hawked wares from booths or even simple blankets laid out while countless shops lined the streets.
Their group drew a lot of attention even if Silver was currently hidden away in his backpack. After the dozenth person stood staring at them he whispered back to the girls. "I don't see anything but humans. And we are sticking out like a sore thumb. There won't be trouble will there?" He was resisting the urge to summon in his spear.
"There are lots of non humans here. But not this part of town, most non humans will be in the… lesser district." Nee answered.
Ara added. "She means the slums and red light districts. Human's don't see other races as anything but lesser beings or play things." Ara glanced up at him and muttered. "Well most humans."
"Red light district?... I mean let's find us a place to stay!" Sael was surprised he didn't gain his desired fire resistance from the heat of their glares.
Finding a room turned out to be an issue, he hadn't considered the fact the adventurer's ball was a big deal that drew people from far and wide. Every tavern and inn, and there were many, were sold out. Eventually they were forced to head into shadier parts of the town. Here he did get to see a wide variety of other races. Elves, lots and lots of scantily clad elves, rugged dwarfs that watched them with angry glares. Green skinned humanoids that looked more plant than human. He passed animal human hybrids of countless varieties. Diminutive humans shorter than even the fairies waddled by.
It was truly a strange fantasy town unlike anything he'd witnessed during his time in Little Well. Asking for the location of an inn that might have rooms left was harder than he thought. The dwarves wouldn't even acknowledge him, the elves offered him everything but directions, the plant people tried to sell him what looked suspiciously like sentient plants, before he finally managed to get his answer from a human chinchilla looking hybrid.
Mangy Dog Inn looked about like what you'd expect from the name. A dingy mostly wood building with a sign swinging with a well mangy looking dog carved on it. Entering the establishment Sael had to resist the urge to make the girls stop crowding him. It was like trying to walk through a room full of cats trying to rub up against you. But considering some of the looks and even comments they'd been getting he couldn't bring himself to shoo them away.
The Mangy Dog wasn't run by a skeezy looking guy, nor some ugly creep, or even an non human but just a regular looking middle aged man. He was about five foot six and his brown hair was just starting to get a bit of grey. "Do you have any rooms available?"
"Just one, Last one in all of Amalor. Be five silver a night." The guy didn't beat around the bush.
"Five silver? I doubt it is the last room in Amalor." Sael could feel his butt pucker at the thought of spending so much money at once.
"Take it or don't. Someone else will."
"Fine. We will take the room. I'll go ahead and pay for three nights." Sael's eye only twitched a little as he pulled the coins out of his inventory.
The innkeeper took in the three girls with him and sneered. "Got a bit more fun than you need, eh? Might be able to work out a deal if you prefer." His lewd grin slid right off his face, Sael wasn't sure what his expression was but it made the man sweat. "Never mind. Room number eight back that way." He handed Sael a key in a hurry.
Sael dropped the fifteen silver coins into the man's hand while staring him in the eyes. "If anyone disturbs us, it's you I'm coming looking for."
The man acted as if he was trying to swallow a pineapple and just nodded. As the four of them headed down the hall the innkeeper called out. "Are you here to fight in the ball?" When Sael nodded. "What's your name?"
Sael glanced at the girls. "I'm Sael. The Fairy King." Sael walked off as the man sized up someone a head taller than him. After a moment he stepped over and yelled down a hallway. "Mingle! Get in here Mingle!"
A badger human hybrid came scrambling down the hallway. "Yes boss?"
"Head down to Gree's place. Tell him I want fifty silver on a Sael in the ball."
Mingle was already turning to leave before his boss had finished the order so skidded to a stop. "Fifty silver!?"
"You heard me fur ball. Now git!"