Sam awoke late the next morning the bright sun shining through the small window. It appears the excitement from yesterday wore him out more than he had expected it to. Looking out of the window and up at the sky he surmised it to be around 10am. His father wasn’t in the room likely finishing up his business before heading back this afternoon. He had left the key on his bedside table likely so Sam could leave the room and come back to it without any issues. Sam got out of bed and changed before heading out of the room taking the key with him and walked down to the dining room. It appeared that service had stopped for the morning so he would need to find somewhere else to get something to eat.
He left the inn and headed back to the main shopping street as it would have the most food stands. There were plenty of small food vendors there he could buy something from for cheap. He walked down the street and came upon a store selling meat skewers. He stopped at the shop and ordered 4 of the skewers from the man attending the storefront. He wasn’t sure what the meat was, but it smelt like venison with some kind of sauce covering it. He found a bench and sat down immediately digging into the skewers. He felt really hungry despite the large meal he ate last night. Maybe he was about to hit a growth spurt he thought. Once he had finished the skewers he returned to the inn and spent the rest of the morning reading the book he had brought with him.
This was the latest edition of History of the Kingdom of Keivania which included the war his father had fought in. The history contained in the book was a lot more detailed than what they had been taught at the junior academy. The academy covered the basics but mostly focused on local history and taught about the various noble houses. While it was interesting, a lot of details were missing, which made it difficult to retain the specifics of the events they were taught about and surprisingly enough, nothing was taught about the war 15 years ago.
He continued to read through the book, finally reaching a part about what happened at the end of the war. After Keivania had pushed the Vinnrian’s out of our territory we raided their border villages and towns creating a buffer zone between the two territories. The book detailed the final battle of the war where the Vinnrian crown prince was captured, and the King of Vinnria was forced into a surrender, and a peace negotiation ensued.
Just as he was about to get to the conditions of the peace agreement a knock sounded on the wooden bedroom door. Sam got up off the bed and walked over to the door. “Morning Sam, it’s me” a voice sounding like that of his father said. He opened the door and his father walked into the room carrying a large box with a strap on it. “All done with my chores, the lunch service should be starting soon so let’s get something to eat before we leave” his father said. “Sounds like a plan” Sam replied. Less than 15 minutes later the two walked down the stairs and took up at an empty table in the dining room. A middle-aged waitress walked over and took their orders. As they were some of the first ones there, they didn’t have to wait long for their food to arrive. Sam and his father ate a light lunch of roast meat and vegetables before heading back up to their room to pack.
Sam checked his backpack to make sure the gift from Barlow was still there and wrapped it up in his clothes. He put the book back into his backpack and closed and pulled the draw strings tight before covering it back over and latching the flap back in place. Once he was packed up, he waited for his father to finish packing up as well. Father was now carrying an extra bag over his shoulder, likely to contain some goods as well as what he assumed would be his gift for his birthday tomorrow. Thinking about how close he was to his birthday and getting his blood skill Sam couldn’t help but smile. “Sam, stop sitting there with a dumb smile on your face. It’s time to go” his father called to him from outside the door. Sam quickly hopped up to his feet and slung his bag over his shoulders before leaving the room. There was no one at the counter when they left so they placed the key inside a deposit box and left the inn.
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They made a b-line for the town gates they enter from the day prior beginning their journey back to Kait. Much like on their trip into town they also made stops along the way to harvest herbs and mushrooms and such that they came across along the road. There wasn’t as much this time likely because they had already gotten most of it coming into town. They made good time despite the hot afternoon heat bearing down on them and before long the edge of the forest came into view, and they could see the fields surrounding Kait blanketed in the dim orange glow of the setting sun.
The sun had set before they reached the village and Arnold had once again pulled out the magic lantern to light their way. Instead of heading straight home they took a detour that brought them past the village mayor’s house. Arnold knocked on the front door and waited as footsteps could be heard coming from inside walking towards them. “Good evening, Arnold, Sam.” Paul said to them as he opened the door. “Good evening” Arnold replied. Sam gave a small nod not wanting to interrupt the conversation. “Delivered that letter for you. It should be making its way towards Highhill by now” his father said to Paul. “Thanks Arnold” replied Paul. “Was there much happening in town? I would assume not considering the time of year” Paul questioned. “There was a ship in the docks with the crest of the Royal inquisitors but other than that there was nothing,” said Arnold. “Royal Inquisitors, that’s odd. Especially out here on the border”. Paul responded. “Yeah, hopefully it’s nothing too serious. Anyway, we better be off, had a couple of long days and I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again” Arnold said. “I’ll let you two go then. See you tomorrow for the ceremony” Paul said as they turned to leave “Goodbye” They both said as they waved back to him. “Dad, what’s a Royal Inquisitor” Sam asked as they walked down the main street of the village. “Hmm, I’m not the most knowledgeable on the subject. They’re the ones who investigate crimes committed by the nobility in the name of the King. However as far as I know only members of the royal family can issue punishments to the nobility so maybe they were just here to investigate something” his father replied. “I see” Sam replied nonchalantly.
As they approached their house the smell of grilled meat and roasted potatoes filled the air. Not wanting to miss out on dinner, Sam and his father quickly made their way up to the house. Arnold moved ahead of Sam and pulled a key out of his pocket. He put it in the lock and unlocked the front door. As he pulled the door open Sam quickly slipped through in front of him. “We’re back” Sam called to the occupants of the house. “Welcome back Sam, Arnold dear” his mother replied back to them as she walked over and gave them both a hug. A loud bang was suddenly heard as his sister came running out of the washroom half naked and barreled into them giving them a hug. “Urh, your soaking wet. Go dry yourself off and get dressed before coming out to greet us. What if we had brought guests with us” Arnold scolded. Charlotte shied away as she turned and ran back to the washroom leaving a trail of wet footprints along the way. Sam now covered in water headed through the house and into his room. Instead of unpacking his backpack immediately he first decided to change into some dry clothes.
Once Sam had changed and unpacked, he returned to the dining room and sat in his usual chair waiting for his mother to finish cooking dinner. While waiting his sister launched into a tirade of questions directed at him and his father wanting to know every small detail about the trip to town. She was likely curious as it wouldn’t be long before her 10th birthday and she would soon start attending the same junior academy he did in town. Sam answered all of his sister’s questions, leaving out the part about the girl and the thugs that were chasing after her as he waited for dinner. It wasn’t a long wait as it had nearly been ready when they arrived home. As his mother placed the heaping dinner plate in front of him, Sam tore into his dinner and cleaned the plate in record time, maybe he really was having a growth spurt he thought.
After dinner he sat at the table chatting to his family. His sister had gone back to her room taking the history book Sam had brought with him to town with her. They spent an hour talking before they all went to bed. Despite the fatigue Sam lay on his bed wide awake. The excitement bubbling up within him made it impossible to sleep. Tomorrow was finally his birthday, and he would finally receive his blood skill. He spent more than an hour thinking about it and everything he hoped it would be before he finally fell asleep.
