The Dryad 54 New Leads

"Has anyone figured out more about that festival the man at the counter talked about?" I asked once we started eating.

"It is apparently the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of this country, which makes it a big deal. But to make things even busier the king has announced that he is stepping down. It seems like a lot of people are wanting to go to the capital to honor him and see the crowning of the new king," Gray said. It seems that he got this information from the stable boy as he was taking care of the horses.

"More visitors also means more peddlers. No wonder all the inns are full. I am not sure we are going to be able to find any place to say once we get there," Emily said with some frustration.

"Let's see if we can get some information after we finish eating," I said. "Hopefully we can learn where Maximus is and then maybe we will not have to go into the capital."

"The rain has stopped. I think we should split up. We might be able to get some more information," Istan suggested.

I figured we might as well, so I said, "Lets break up into two groups. One will stay at this inn and try to find information here and the other will head out and see what they can find." I paused for a moment to think, "Two hours should be good enough. There will not be that many people up after that. Let's meet back here by then."

It was decided that I would be in the group that stayed in the inn with Leafia and Istan while Emily and Gray would head out. They wanted to keep a man in each group, I was not really sure why we needed a man with us. Leafia was just as strong as Gray and Istan. But everyone beside Leafia and I seemed insistent on it, so I let it go. Since it really would not do to have another lady go with Gray, me sticking with the elves was the only real option we had.

After dinner we broke up into our groups. I really did not do much with gathering information this time. I guess I was there as a pretty face but I took no part in the conversations. We didn't learn anything useful, and I found my thoughts wandering in frustrated circles. We were so close and magicians were not that common. You would think that people only a day's journey from the capital would have heard of someone as ostentatious as "Maximus the Powerful".

When we gathered back together, Gray told us, "We did not find out anything about Maximus," I let out a big frustrated sigh that had been building up for the last two hours. Before my frustration could get too out of hand Gray continued, "but we did learn that all the magicians in the country work at an inst.i.tute in the capital not far from the castle."

"That's really good news," I said my frustration quickly changing to excitement. This is the first lead we had since leaving Ivy's woods, "We won't have to hunt all over the country for him. We just need to get them to tell us where he is." I paused for a moment to think and then continued, "I think we should head to the capital first thing in the morning. Here at the inn, we were not able to find out anything of use. Moving on makes more sense, to me." The others agreed. I was a little surprised at how quickly my mood changed. I had been originally frustrated, but the news of the inst.i.tute gave me a small thrill of hope. I guess I was not that different from Humans and Elves. Their emotions could start running wild if they were hungry. Since there was not much for me to sustain myself on in this town, was I getting mood swings, too?

We retired to bed that night with little further ado.

As we reached our room, Leafia said, "Are you sure you are ok sleeping in the same bed?"

I could not help roll my eyes at her, "Why would I mind sleeping with you?' I said in exasperation. Leafia again turned red. I was wondering if this would be a good time to ask her about it. However she was clearly really tired so I decided not to bring it up. "You have already slept with me twice. How is this time going to be any different just because we are on a bed? The only other option is for me to be on the floor."

Leafia finally relented and we made our way into the bed. I did not mind the cramped quarters, but at first Leafia seemed to be having a hard time. At first we were facing each other. I had my back up against the wall so I really did not have much of a choice. But I would notice that every time Leafia would look at me she would turn a little red again. The bigger issue was our arms. If we put them in front of us they would be uncomfortably pressed into the other's chest, poking each other awkwardly (elbows can be surprisingly pointy). I did my best to soften my elbows, but there was only so much I could do without completely changing my body, and I did not have the energy to spare for that. I also tried wrapping my arms around her, but she did not seem to like her face being that close to mine because she quickly pulled away. Was it a s.p.a.ce thing, or did she not like my planty smell?

After several minutes of tossing and turning, she eventually rolled over. It seemed she felt uncomfortable like she was about to fall off the bed, but I put my arm around her and pulled her closer to me. She was very still for a moment but it did not take long for her body to relax and I soon heard her steady breathing.

Seeing her sleeping peacefully helped me settle down. As I found out in Ivy's wood, the scent of Leafia's hair was very soothing. I too drifted off into the deepest sleep I'd had in many months.