The Boundless Pillar

Four days after leaving their family home, Elara and Alec noticed that the small path they had been traveling was growing broader and more pronounced. Occasionally, one of them would see a boot print or hoof mark in the damp dirt as they passed. The forest itself was changing, too, as clearings were becoming more prevalent and the signs of felled trees were becoming frequent. The stumps of the once mighty trees were the only reminder that a guardian of the forest once stood protecting the forest's denizens.

Cresting a slight rise, Elara and Alec paused to catch their breath, their eyes scanning the forest and the path ahead. Through the trees before them, Elara could see the faint outline of a village nestled on a gentle slope. The village of Oakstone was small, its thatched-roof houses huddled together for warmth and protection. A thin plume of smoke rose from one of the chimneys, a comforting sign of life and hearth. The Oakstone was a village on the edge of Caerulues ruled land. Caerulues had grown in size over the past 100 years through necessity and partial conquest. King Varric's father raged a brutal war nearly 100 years ago against the neighboring country of Mur. Both nations were small, but the resulting conflict saw tens of thousands dead and Caerulues roughly double in size. Similarly, the rapid decline and destruction of the entire region of the world allowed Caerulues to increase in size, as many villages and towns decided to join Caerulues due to its stability and military strength.

As Elara and Alec drew closer, the travelers could hear the distant murmur of voices and the occasional bark of a dog. The air was filled with the sweet scent of pine and damp earth, mingled with the more familiar aromas of cooking and wood smoke. A sense of both anticipation and trepidation filled their hearts as they approached the village gate. As they passed through, they were greeted by a chorus of hostile glares from the villagers. It seemed that the elves were not loved within Oakstone. Elara was confused by the reaction of the villages as the Salubritas Elves had always traded and treated the humans that lived there with nothing but respect. Determined to press on, they continued their journey through the winding streets of the village. The air was thick with tension, and the pair could feel the villagers' eyes following their every move. Despite the hostile reception, they managed to locate a well-appointed inn, its warm glow offering a welcome respite from the chilly evening air. After stableing the horses, they stepped inside. The innkeeper, a stern-faced man with piercing blue eyes, greeted them with a skeptical glance.

"Now, what can I do for two elves?" asked the innkeeper in a tone that was not unfriendly but was straight business.

Elara opened her mouth to speak before Alec smoothly cut her off. "We are just passing through and plan to set off at first light. We humbly ask if you have two rooms to spare for the evening?"

"Aye, we do have two rooms for ya," said the innkeeper. "It'll be six coppers per room and to stable your horses. I'll throw in two hot meals for two more coppers. How does that sound?"

"That sounds reasonable. Does the hot meal come with a tankard of ale?" asked Alec with the slightest twinkle in his eyes. "If not, then I would love to have at least one tankard with dinner."

The innkeeper's stern demeanor finally cracked as he said, "Aye, we do have the finest ale around, but it will cost ya extra. Have to make ends meet, ya know."

Reaching his hand out, Alec laughed, "I expected nothing less. The name is Alec, and this is my sister Elara. We will take two ales with dinner, and then we will go from there."

Gripping Alec's forearm, the innkeeper grinned and said, "Names Karic, let me lead ya to your rooms."

Karic led them to identical small, sparsely furnished rooms overlooking the village square. Elara's room was dimly lit by a single candle, its flickering flame casting eerie shadows across the walls. The air was thick and musty, filled with the scent of old wood and stale ale. The bed, a simple wooden frame draped in worn, coarse blankets, stood in the center of the room. The walls were adorned with strange, intricate tapestries depicting scenes of mythical creatures and heroic battles. A heavy wooden chest sat in one corner, its lid secured by a rusty padlock. A window, its panes grimy and cracked, looked out onto a cobblestone street. The other furnishings were a rickety wooden chair and a small, worn trunk.

The overall atmosphere of the room was one of slight disrepair. The quality of the craftsmanship would have been sold twenty years ago at an auction but now showed the wear and tear of countless residents. It was a far cry from the luxurious accommodations Elara had grown up with at home, but she was no dainty princess. She could handle sleeping on bed rolls in the wilderness, and a slightly rundown inn was no issue.

Elara took 15 minutes to settle into the room before she became bored. Just as she was going to knock on Alec's door, a knock echoed through the room. Standing up from the bed, Elara crossed the room in two graceful steps. Opening the door, Alec greeted Elara, "Time for some supper and ale."

Rolling her eyes at Alec's need for ale, Elara closed the door behind her and said, "Lead the way." The two made their way down the hall and then down a ricketty staircase. The noise of several tables of villages having meals and ale greeted them. Alec pointed towards a tucked-away booth that offered a good vantage of the entire inn.

On the way to the booth, Alec stopped one of the serving girls and, with a wink and a charming smile, asked, "Can you bring us our meal and some ale to that booth over there."

The serving girl blushed and nodded shyly, saying, "Yes, my lord, I'll bring your meal immediately. "Then she quickly scurried away towards the kitchen.

Sitting down in both, Elara said, "Please don't play with your food, Alec. I don't think it will be wise, as any uncouth action may bring the entire village down on us by morning."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, dearest sister. I was merely asking for our meal to be delivered." Rolling her eyes, Elara examined the common room of the inn. The inn's common room was a cavernous space, dimly lit by flickering candles that cast dancing shadows on the rough-hewn walls. The air was thick with the scent of ale, wood smoke, and sweat. A large, open hearth roared in the center of the room, its flames casting a warm glow on the faces of the patrons.

Several wooden tables were organized down the room's length, each groaning under the weight of platters of roasted meat, steaming vegetables, crusty bread loaves, and ale tankards. A motley crew of villagers sat around the tables, their faces lit by the fire's orange glow. Some were farmers, their hands calloused from years of toil. Others were merchants, their eyes sharp and calculating. A few were travelers, their faces etched with lines of weariness and adventure.

A group of young men sat at one end of the room, their boisterous laughter filling the space. They were dressed in simple tunics and breeches, their hair tousled and unkempt. At the other end, closer to Elara and Alec, a group of elderly women sat quietly, their faces etched with wrinkles and their eyes filled with a lifetime of stories.

In the corner of the room, a group of musicians played lively tunes on their lutes and fiddles. Their music filled the room with joy and celebration, and the villagers clapped their hands and sang along. The common room was where people from all walks of life came together to eat, drink, and socialize. It was a microcosm of the village itself, where the rich and the poor, the young and the old, could mingle and share their stories.

Elara closed her eyes and focused on the sounds of the overlapping voices. She slowly started to pick out the individual conversations of the other patrons. It was a hobby she had picked up while traveling with her father when she was younger. She imagined the life the speaker had just by listening to the snippets of conversation she heard. As she got older, the hobby became a valuable intelligence-gathering skill. Slowly, Elara's ears attuned to the cacophony of voices in the bustling inn, a tapestry of conversations unfolded before them.

Near the center of the room, a group of farmers discussed the recent harvest. "The wheat yield this year is the best I've seen in a decade," one farmer said. But the drought has taken a toll on the barley." Another nodded in agreement, his face etched with worry.

Nearby, a pair of merchants were haggling over the price of a shipment of spices. "I'm telling you, that price is too high," one merchant insisted. "I can get the same goods for a lower price from the traders in the south." The other merchant countered with a lower price, but the negotiation continued.

In the midst of all the noise, Elara heard two distinct conversations. The first was from the young men at the far end of the room, "I'm telling you they were elves, and they are up to no good." One young man forcefully said. Another asked, "How can you be sure? They just looked like two travelers passing through to me." This conversation concerned Elara. The tone and anger behind the first young man's words matched that of the stares that had greeted them upon entering Oakstone.

Elara next moved her focus to the group of three well-dressed men who were only two booths down from her. "We must move quickly. If we position ourselves correctly, we stand to make a lot of gold and land in the process. If things go south, we must also be prepared for war or to escape at a moment's notice." One man whispered. "Have the elves made a move yet," another asked. "No, they have yet to respond, but I doubt we will hear from them for a bit. They have always been a slow lot." said the third.

Confused even more, Elara opened her eyes and asked Alec, "What is happening between Caerulues and Salubritas? Father didn't mention anything that was happening, and I doubt he would have sent us into a potential danger zone."

"What did you hear?" asked Alec, his jovial mood quickly fading. Before Elara could speak, the serving girl made her appearance with their meals, once again blushing as she looked at Alec. Elara quickly thanked the girl before turning her attention back to Alec.

The serving girl continued to hover at the table before looking at Alec and saying, "Let me know if you need anything else." Brushing Alec's arm as she moved away from the booth. Elara noted several glares directed at Alec, all from men, as she left. It seemed the serving girl was a popular fixture in the inn. Her attention was drawn back to Alec as he started to speak.

"Dad mentioned something to me a week before we left. He was saying something about trade routes becoming impassable and increased signs of banditry, but I didn't pay much mind to it." Taking a long sip of the ale, Alec smacked his lips, "Tasty."

Elara sat back and looked at her food. What was happening in Caerulues? If there were increased signs of banditry, why wasn't there a greater military presence along trade routes? If war was on the horizon, why weren't troops being built up along the border? In fact, shouldn't there be a garrison in Oakstone if the Salubritas Elves were the targeted enemy?

Alec and Elara continued eating their meal and slowly sipped on the ale. The once-inviting aroma of the food now seemed stale, a bitter reminder of the troubling news they had just learned.

The ever-growing noise of the inn patrons could not deafen the silence that grew between the two. Eventually, the silence was broken by the serving girl, who once more only addressed Alec, asking, "Would you like another ale?"

Shaking his head, he said, "No. I think just the one tonight won't want to become like them," pointing at a few farmers deep into several tankards.

Frowning, the serving girl asked one last time, "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do for you?" This time, she leaned slightly on the table, giving Alec a blatant view.

"No, thank you." Said Alec, although Elara could hear the longing in his tone.

"What? Am I not good enough for an elf?!" said the girl loudly. Several nearby tables and booths were now looking directly at them, and many frowned not at the serving girl but at Alec.

A young man sauntered over to their booth, grabbed the serving girl by the waist, and said, "Don't you worry, honey. I'll make sure you're entertained tonight." A slab rang through the inn, and many stopped and stared at the scene.

Suddenly, a brawl surrounded Elara and Alec, with neither quite sure how it had started, but they quickly made their way to the stairs to escape to their rooms. Alec dodged no less than three wild swings before they reached the bottom step. The two of them made it to the staircase safely and quickly ascended. Both looked at each other before moving their way down the hallway towards their rooms. Alec immediately said, "Lock your door and make sure your weapons are close at hand. We ride at dawn and need to be far from this village."

Elara only gave a single nod before moving to her room. Bolting the door, she made her way to the bed and slipped a dagger underneath the pillow. Slipping off her belt and boots, Elara got into bed with a soft groan as her tense muscles finally relaxed. Her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were that of the young man from her vision. She wondered what he was doing and where he was. And without realizing it, she whispered into the dark, "Goodnight, Caius."