The two walked silently back to the inn, each engrossed deep in their own thoughts. Fey was honestly relieved that her brother was alright though still worried about when he would wake up, after all Mongol's cronies were still after them.
It was only a matter of time until they were found. Rook af course noticed the turmoil on Fey was going through, it was written all over her face. She seemed quite an expressive individual, wore every emotion so vividly. However, without knowing the details of her predicament there wasn't much he could do for her.
He also didn't want to get needlessly involved in whatever was going on with the elves. Unless she decided to tell him herself all he could do was watch over her.
Soon they were at the inn, it was quite busy for the day with a lot of adventurers gathered for their evening meals. Sounds of laughter, a bit of singing and a whole lot of loud story telling filled the room.
"You're back already," a hearty voice called behind them.
Fey and Rook turned to the ever cheery Boers marching over to them. They had taken a seat at the far most corner, away from most of the loud chatter, singing and drinking.
"I just wanted to apologize for earlier. Just like my wife said, I speak before I think. Sorry if I caused you two trouble," he nervously scratched the back of his head as he spoke giving a sheepish grin.
"It's quite alright Mr. Boers, you don't need to apologize," Fey couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed having Boers apologize.
"What she said. No harm done," Rook followed up, taking a sip of his drink and watched the man chuckle in delight. He was truly a joyful person, rarely did he miss a smile on his face.
"Is that so, well then--" before Boers could continue he was interrupted by a loud shout, to be specific his name being yelled across the room.
Over on the othe side a group of men were frantically waving their arms at him, beckoning him over to their table.
"Sorry guys, looks like the boys need me. Got a good game of drinking going on..." he leaned in on their table and spoke in a low voice, "Whoever drinks the most wins. Today will be the day I beat big Hans over there."
"Are you sure about that? You know you're going to get scolded by Gia," Rook wasn't particularly worried about more just curious as to why the man would risk making Gia mad to earn a few coins while getting wasted. He suspected Boers was only in the game to drink as much as he can.
"Not to worry about that. The ol' lady's fine with it as long as the folks over there fork over a pretty penny. It's good business if you think about it," Boers laughed at the though of it...until he abruptly paused and sighed, "Unfortunately I have to pay for my drinks as well, the damn woman. I own the store you know!" He turned towards the kitchen as he said the last part.
"Well then, hope you two have a good time. I know I will," and with that he turned around and walked over to his circle of friends and less than a minute later they were already the loudest group in the building.
Rook watched them for a few seconds then turned his eyes to Fey who gazed in fascination at all the different groups of people. While most people would much rather be annoyed by all the noise and yelling and a few filthy jokes in between it seemed like a whole new experience for her.
And on truth it was, most elven gathering were tame in nature, quiet conversations, relaxed music being the general theme.
Here it was just chaotic and she was loving every second of it. Rook noticed her ears twitching in excitement and couldn't help but break into a small smile.
Soon Gia herself came over to their table taking their order and bringing over their meal. They ate silently, each in their own thoughts until they were both done.
"You should take a rest," Fey was startled by
Rook's voice seeing him rise from his seat.
"Are you going somewhere?" She looked at him as he took his pouch from his belt and dropped a few coins on the table.
"Troll hunting," as he fixed the pouch back onto his belt he looked right into her eyes, "I won't be back for a while. It's best you get some rest. Gia'll take care of you."
"Oh, umm, sure. I don't really have much to do anyway," Fey would have liked to say more but held herself back.
With that Rook left, weapons strapped and his cloak covering him into the mountains as darkness crept in. Apparently it was the time most trolls were actively outside but most people would still have preferred to hunt them during the day.
In the end Fey went back to her room and lay on her bed. For the first hour her thoughts circled between her brother and back home.
Perhaps it was foolish of them to embark on this quest alone, a thought that echoed in her mind over and over again.
In truth when she chose to join her brother in the search for the heart she merely thought of it as a chance to explore outside elven lands. The odds of them finding any leads on the heart to her weren't a concern. However her brother was serious about it, a chance to take their house to the top of the elven caste. In th midst of her many thoughts, she found herself slowly drifting off into sleep and before she realized she was snoring softly.
Early morning, the sound of the chiming bell rang through Lina's shop and the person ushering himself in made Lina wince, her face scrunching up in surprise.
"Another night of hunting?" As Rook approached her she took note of all the blood, scratches and bruises he was covered in. Of course most of the blood wasn't his but still made for a disturbing sight.
"The least you could do is clean up before you waltz into my store. You're gonna scare my customers..." and in the brief moment she said that both of them stared at each other for a moment before Rook proceeded to look around the empty store.
"What custo-"
"Don't say it!" Lina cut him off so he wouldn't finish his statement. Her store really didn't get much clientele and she was okay with it but it still stung if someone else brought it up.
"Fine," Rook couldn't help but smile at her reaction, "How is he doing?" He asked referring to their elf patient who was currently recovering in the backroom.
"He's getting better but hasn't woken up yet. The wounds healed up pretty well. The sister's here too," Lina spoke, in between sorting her front desk, moving things around even though they we already neatly arranged.
Rook reached into his pouch, grabbing a few silvers and gently placing them in the table. Lina didn't speak, just grabbed them and shoved them in one of the drawer, got up and guided him to the other room where the two siblings were.
Fey was there seated on the bed, looking over her brother while recounting all that's happened to her since they arrived at this town. She cheerful chirped away while her hand occasionally ran over his hair. Truly, the two were attached to each other.
"Looks like your brother's doing well," Rook spoke startling Fey who jumped up, her face all red when she realized they probably heard her talking to herself.
"Ah...yes. I don't think it'll be too long before he wakes up," a smile lit up her face as she saw Faus' ear twitch.
"It's all thanks to the two of you. I'll be sure to repay you...somehow," her voice trailed of towards the end but her resolve remained the same. She felt indebted to the both of them, a debt that she would pay back several times once she and her brother were safely back in elven territory.
"It's alright Fey, as long as the two of you are safe that's good enough for me," That statement earned Rook an incredulous look from Lina.
"Speak for yourself! You better make good on that promise," Lina was dead set on getting whatever she could from a couple of high born elves.
"I'll be heading back to the inn, you can stay if you want," Despite seeming alright Rook was worn out from a night of hunting. He wanted some rest as soon as possible. Fey chose to stay by her brother's side so Rook took his leave and headed back to get some much needed sleep.
The next two days were uneventful, Fey visited her brother as often as possible while Rook continued with his nightly hunts. The frantic blizzards also calmed down and the town grew a bit busier. More and more adventurers going out for hunts, more shops open, overally the atmosphere was bustling with activity.
And soon three new comers would waltz in on the excitable town, hoping to find their targets ripe for the taking...