Controlling Chaos (The Five Kingdoms Book 12) by Toby Neighbors

Author:Toby Neighbors [Neighbors, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Publisher: Mythic Adventure Publishing, LLC
Published: 2016-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The next morning the storm was worse. Snow wasn’t really falling, but the frozen crystals blew in howling gusts that made travel nearly impossible. Mansel didn’t like staying put, but he didn’t want to subject the horses, or Danella, to a dangerous journey that could cost them their lives. So they sat in the common room of the inn, which was an L-shaped building with one long wing of guest rooms. The rooms were poorly constructed and drafty, making them cold. Danella, who preferred solitude, was forced to join Mansel and the other guests in the common room.

The day passed slowly. Mansel showed Danella how to properly care for her dagger. The thin blade was beautifully forged, but didn’t hold the keenest edge. She spent a solid hour sharpening the double-edged blade and finding a sense of contentment in the simple act. Danella and Mansel were quiet, but the other guests were boisterous and heavy drinkers. Three were merchants, traveling together for safety and quite content to be snowed in. Two more were locals who had taken refuge at the inn during the bad weather. They were all men, and Danella caught their eye, but she ignored them. Mansel sat with his big sword across his lap, and the other guests gave them both a wide berth.

When the doors burst open late in the afternoon, Mansel felt his heart sink. Danella went rigid beside him as Homar, his long-haired companion, and most of the war band that traveled with them crowded into the inn. There weren’t enough rooms for all the warriors, they were forced to double up in the small rooms, but the innkeeper did his best to see to their needs. Homar and his friend gave Mansel baleful looks, although Mansel hoped their foul mood was from the weather.

It didn’t take the newcomers long to fill the common room, both with their bodies and with the noise of their rowdy revelry. The inn had a serving maid who was pinched, patted, pulled on, and propositioned by the rough men. She did her best to keep a good attitude, serving large flagons of ale until the men’s supper could be cooked.

Mansel had been nursing his own ale, but had virtually stopped drinking when Homar and his men arrived at the inn. Eventually, once the nobles had warmed themselves, declared the ale to be undrinkable, and forced the innkeeper to serve them wine, they decided to move closer to Mansel. The young warrior was sitting on a bench with his back to the wall, his feet stretched toward the fire. Danella was near him, sitting in the corner, sipping her own drink and watching the group of warriors.

“Mansel,” said Homar in a loud voice as he sat down. “I don’t think you’ve been properly introduced to Brogan. He is Lord of Skayler’s Island. Do you know it?”

“On the coast,” Mansel said. “But I’ve never been there.”

“It’s a beautiful place,” Brogan said, smoothing his long hair over his shoulders. “A thriving fiefdom.

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