The Dryad 56 Fell Beas

"You are right," Leafia said and then turned to the others. "Let's try and find a place to stay. It will likely take longer than normal, but Laurel has been anxious all day to find Faun, so let's do the best we can." The group all nodded vigorously at Leafia's statement. Well, Gray's nod might not have been vigorous. Curt might be a better word for it.

Leafia's words made me reflect. I guess at least today, I was not any better than these mortals. I was getting so frustrated about a little traffic. I need to keep my calm. I continued thinking as we started our searching for an inn. Every time we came across an inn one of our party would jump down and run inside. Almost invariably they would head back out in a few moments with their head down.
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This was a good experience for me as I continued to ponder my behavior. I needed to keep my head cool. Getting worked up would only make things harder. A good example of this would be our search for the inn. It seems that if I got mad at the inn keeper, they would be even less likely to help us out.

After the umpteenth try (I did not bother to keep count), Gray came back out with mixed looks on his face. "The bad news is that they do not have any room, but they did point out some inns on some smaller streets that we might have better luck with."

It was true that these easier to find inns would be the first to fill up. But my positive thoughts about finding a place were soon dashed. We tried several of the inns on the back streets but were only able to find one that had a small single room in it. From the innkeeper it sounded like it would be a stretch to even fit two people inside the room.

Finding this first opening in the several hours we had been looking Istan said "Miss Laurel, please take the room to rest. The rest of us will keep looking for other accommodations."

"No, let's keep looking," I replied. "It will be easier if we are together. And I don't think I could be comfortable in such a small room." I was doing my best to make my words not stand out to others that might overhear us.

However, Istan insisted that I take the room, pressing on with, "This might be the only room we find." He looked at me pleadingly. "You are not well and need rest."

Being locked up in a small room was the last thing that I needed. I felt my stress rising at Istan's audacity. Since when is it a good idea to lock plants in a small dark room covered in blankets? I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself down and very flatly, "I am not staying in that room."

Our search continued until the evening had officially come. Some of the shops were still open since nightfall was coming so early, but many had already closed. We called a temporary halt in our hunt for accommodations as loud rumbles began to shake the land (or at least Leafia's stomach). These rumbles caused ma.s.s panic (in the form of Leafia turning red). So we valiantly decided to find the cause of these rumbles and stop them for good. But first we would need to gather the sacred weapons (food). The Journey for the weapons was perilous as many strove for treasure for their own nefarious plans (Gray waited in line at the street vendor). At last the hero returned with the sacred weapons. The party quickly set out and vanquished the fell best that was causing the dreaded quakes.

We were sitting in a small square we had found, waiting for Gray to get the food. I found my mind wandering after reading a sign for a play that would be put on next week. The play was about a Hero going on an epic journey to defeat a wicked dragon. The sign really made me want to narrate everything to myself as if it was some great feat. I was feeling rather giddy at the moment at finally having a chance to rest. There were a few trees in this square, making the place practically bursting with their spiritual essence (at least compared to the rest of the city). It was probably the trees more than the chance to rest that was bringing on this happy mood of mine, but I might as well enjoy it as we relish in the spoils of our victory over Leafia's stomach.

I also enjoyed the food. I had not had anything like it before. It was some type of meat wrapped up in a flat piece of bread. There was also some sort of white sauce on top of the meat. I have to admit that this is some of the best food I have had. It is almost worth the effort to eat (was I starting to turn into Ivy and care about food?).

"What are we going to do about an inn?" Emily asked once the party had eaten enough food to quell the terrible monster that is hunger.

"I think the only thing we can do is try a couple more places. If we can't find anything, we will have to head back out of town to camp," Gray said slightly sourly.

"I thought that we would be able to rest once we made it to the capital," Leafia grumbled.

"What are you talking about Leafy? It is so much more restful outside the city than it is in here with all the hustle. And this air is so devoid of magic," I said, wanting to feel contrary for no real reason. I noticed that as our conversation continued our volume slowly increased. Part of that was just out of habit, but things were getting louder in the square around us, causing us to speak up.

"That is somewhat true, but I would really like a bed to sleep on," she retorted back at me. "That reminds me, you promised that you would explain more about what happened earlier."

"As I said earlier, I was sustaining myself using the spiritual power in the environment. When we entered the city that spiritual power suddenly disappeared." I said this in a quiet tone so that others nearby would not be able to overhear. "From what I have learned over the years, me running out of spiritual energy feels similar to you not having air to breathe."

This comment elicited a shudder from Leafia. I am guessing there was some history from that. It seemed more than just an intellectual response. "Then how are you alright now?"

"I have an internal reservoir of energy. I will be able to last several days if I restrain the use of my powers. Just like you can go for a while without food," I said calmly.

"But what are we going to do after that?" Leafia asked.

"I think that we should head out of the city. We should not make Miss Laurel stay in the city when she will starve," Istan said pa.s.sionately over the growing din around us.

I wanted to ignore him, but the looks on several of their faces seemed to show that they agreed with him, at least in part. So instead, I explained. "We are here to find Faun. A few days of discomfort is nothing compared to the prospects of finding her." Seeing that this did not fully satisfy them, I continued "Hopefully we will be done before I run low on energy, but if not, I will either have to leave the city or find a way to get by without this cloak. I will let you know when we need to leave the city so I can regain my strength." The noise level in the square had gotten even worse. Shouting could be heard coming from a shop that seemed to deal in herbs. I was having a hard time keeping my voice down. I was thinking about suggesting that we move but the conversation kept flowing.

"How would taking you cloak off help you?" Gray asked raising an eyebrow.

I was tempted to speak louder so that I could be heard but that would increase the risk of being overheard by others. Luckily things started to quiet down quickly as a woman stormed out of the shop. It was a slightly older lady, I would guess that she was in her mid forties. She was not heavyset but you could tell that she was not a normal commoner from the little extra weight she had. Though her clothes also gave that away. She sat down with a loud huff not that far from us. I could tell that she was trying to calm herself down. Whatever had upset her had taken a toll on her. The whispers and stares of the crowd died down as they slowly dispersed now that the commotion had ended.