The tavern was busy; there were probably twenty customers. Most were unsavory types. Nigel had no trouble fitting in. The thief sought the Innkeeper, bartered with him, and returned to Cara.
“The rates are pretty steep. He offered to throw in some fringe benefits but I told him rooms and hot meals were all we required. I advise going easy on the ale and avoiding the vintage. We must keep our wits,” Nigel reported.
Borse Badinough was a rough customer but he ran an orderly inn and the food was hot; the ale was not what they would expect from a good tavern in Lyndyn or Hillesdale. He led them to clean but austere rooms which served the purpose. Lumpy bedding was better than no bedding.
The next morning they were up at dawn. The thorns were stained with the blood of would be perpetrators. Erinnia removed the spell. They reached the entrance to the gap through the mountains about midday. It was hot and muggy and tempers were short. The river remained fifty to one hundred feet wide and the cliffs were sheer in most areas. There were frequent turns.
A rare poisonous pi ranna circled the boats.
The pi ranna was always three and fourteen one-hundredths feet long. No one had ever seen a baby pi ranna.
“If one gets close enough to the boat, I’ll spear him,” Nigel said.
“They would be easy to hit with a spell,” Dael added.
“Sure, but where would the sport be?” Nigel answered.
“Sport? Fishing is work!” Eyerthrein added. “We are working hard enough pulling these oars. How far do we travel through the mountains? There’s nothing but sheer rock on both sides of the river. When do we rest?”
“Shut up and row!” Cyttia added.
A large red fish jumped over the second boat, splashed in the water, drenched the rowers, and cooled them. The rock walls prevented cooling breezes and the midday heat was uncomfortable.
Erinnia chilled them with a Control Weather Spell. Erinnia’s spell created small clouds about twenty feet in diameter which centered over each canoe. The little clouds dropped a gentle rain upon them; she allowed a mini-bolt of lightning to zap Eyerthrein on the backside. The mischief hurt no more than a pinch and brought some brief relief from the tension.
“Very funny!” Eyerthrein said as he rubbed the area.
benjamintowe 