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Rose gleefully sat on her travel trunk as she waited for the porters on the docks of Port Avanthyr. It was the first time she had been away from home, in fact the first time she had traveled anywhere and here she was, having just finished an exciting and exhilarating sea voyage to a new land. The harbour overwhelmed her senses, from the sights of the ships anchored in the bay, the sounds of gruff orders being barked to sailors or the various wares being hawked by merchants, to the smells of the salt and sea life in the air. Her sensory exploration was interrupted by a lean and tanned man standing in front of her.
“Ye called fer a porter mum?”
“Oh yes! Indeed!” said Rose as she hopped of her trunk and straightened her dress. “Miss Rose Thimblefoot at your service sir! I need to have this trunk moved to my room at the Mariner where I will be staying the night, before catching a coach to the city of Sundren tomorrow!”
The man looked passed the diminutive and cheery Hin with her outstretched hand in greeting to the trunk.
“Aye, This way mum.” He spoke, picking up the trunk, placing it squarely on his shoulder before turning and walking down the dock. Rose’s smile faded slightly and she retracted her hand before following the man and her trunk.
The Menacing Mariner, as it was called, was not far from where the whaler had dropped her off ashore. It was the only inn in town and was not what little Rose was expecting.
“Oh my, this place is dreary, though does seem full of life!” Rose’s comment did not elicit a response from the porter, to which her expression fell a little more.
As the pair approached the ramshackle two storey building, the sounds of drunken laughter and fighting could be heard over the feeble musical attempts of a bard. Rose reached for the wooden door to the establishment, but was stopped abruptly as a large hairy and tattooed arm reached out and roughly grabbed her.
“Why ‘ello der miss! Ain’t ye a pretty li’l un! Now ‘ow much does yer pleasurable company be costin’ the likes o’ me an’ my mates ‘ere?” Rose struggled under the man’s grip. She could smell the stink of whatever foul cuisine had been rotting away in his gullet mixed with bad rum.
“Get away from me you awful brute!” screamed Rose as she managed to wriggle her way from the man’s grasp at the cost of some of the finery of her dress. Quickly she sprinted after the porter and her trunk, leaving the filthy paws and drunken laughter of the brutes behind her. With as much courage and dignity as she could muster, Rose quickly secured the key to her room and hurried up to it, locking the door behind her.
With her belongings secured in her room and the door firmly locked, she quickly looked around. It was horrible! The bed was little more than a lice infested mattress on a wooden plank and rats ran freely among the crates, fishing nets and musty sails that were stored here. Even an old and cracked mirror hanging lopsided failed to bring any refinement to her current situation. Putting her head in her hands Rose began to cry deep heaving sobs until she was interrupted by a young woman’s voice.
“Don’t cry dear, it’s not that bad.” Quickly spinning to face the voice, Rose wiped the tears streaking down her cheeks.
“No? Why not? This place is horrible! It has rats, vermin, and I think someone left half a fishing boat in here! If I dare look for it, I’ll probably find a corpse rotting away too! It certainly would explain that smell though.” Said Rose as she took a careful look at the other woman.
She was a Hin about Rose’s height, but her hair was a fiercer coloured red and her face, though young, showed wrinkles and stress lines from a life much harder lived. However, it was the woman’s eyes that really drew Rose in. They were a piercing green, the kind of eyes that would look right to your soul and weigh it.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here, I thought I gave explicit instructions that I was to have a private room.” Rose said.
“Ah, well don’t be surprised dear, but the owner does like to double book the rooms. He’s not the most upstanding inn keeper you will meet, and I’m afraid most of the people in this town are not much better.”
“I see, I’m glad that I’m only staying the night then.” Rose managed a weak smile. “I’m Rose by the way.”
“A pleasure miss Rose, I’m Lilly.” Said the woman as she bowed slightly.
“I do apologise for the rough behaviour you received when you arrived. No one should be pawed at like a common strumpet, especially not one so finely dressed as yourself.” Said Lilly, causing Rose to blush slightly.
“Perhaps one day you may permit me to borrow such a fine dress? We rarely see quality of that calibre here, and I am sure to be thought of as a princess if I were to been seen in the streets. Quite the talk of the town I would imagine!”
“Oh you’re too kind Miss Lilly! I would be more than happy to lend you this dress, but that brute who accosted me ripped some of the finery and I would need to repair it first!”
“You’re right Miss Rose. Come, it’s getting dark and you must be tired. Put out that candle and we’ll find a warm place for you to sleep. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the rats off you, I’ll keep you safe Miss Rose.”
“Ye called fer a porter mum?”
“Oh yes! Indeed!” said Rose as she hopped of her trunk and straightened her dress. “Miss Rose Thimblefoot at your service sir! I need to have this trunk moved to my room at the Mariner where I will be staying the night, before catching a coach to the city of Sundren tomorrow!”
The man looked passed the diminutive and cheery Hin with her outstretched hand in greeting to the trunk.
“Aye, This way mum.” He spoke, picking up the trunk, placing it squarely on his shoulder before turning and walking down the dock. Rose’s smile faded slightly and she retracted her hand before following the man and her trunk.
The Menacing Mariner, as it was called, was not far from where the whaler had dropped her off ashore. It was the only inn in town and was not what little Rose was expecting.
“Oh my, this place is dreary, though does seem full of life!” Rose’s comment did not elicit a response from the porter, to which her expression fell a little more.
As the pair approached the ramshackle two storey building, the sounds of drunken laughter and fighting could be heard over the feeble musical attempts of a bard. Rose reached for the wooden door to the establishment, but was stopped abruptly as a large hairy and tattooed arm reached out and roughly grabbed her.
“Why ‘ello der miss! Ain’t ye a pretty li’l un! Now ‘ow much does yer pleasurable company be costin’ the likes o’ me an’ my mates ‘ere?” Rose struggled under the man’s grip. She could smell the stink of whatever foul cuisine had been rotting away in his gullet mixed with bad rum.
“Get away from me you awful brute!” screamed Rose as she managed to wriggle her way from the man’s grasp at the cost of some of the finery of her dress. Quickly she sprinted after the porter and her trunk, leaving the filthy paws and drunken laughter of the brutes behind her. With as much courage and dignity as she could muster, Rose quickly secured the key to her room and hurried up to it, locking the door behind her.
With her belongings secured in her room and the door firmly locked, she quickly looked around. It was horrible! The bed was little more than a lice infested mattress on a wooden plank and rats ran freely among the crates, fishing nets and musty sails that were stored here. Even an old and cracked mirror hanging lopsided failed to bring any refinement to her current situation. Putting her head in her hands Rose began to cry deep heaving sobs until she was interrupted by a young woman’s voice.
“Don’t cry dear, it’s not that bad.” Quickly spinning to face the voice, Rose wiped the tears streaking down her cheeks.
“No? Why not? This place is horrible! It has rats, vermin, and I think someone left half a fishing boat in here! If I dare look for it, I’ll probably find a corpse rotting away too! It certainly would explain that smell though.” Said Rose as she took a careful look at the other woman.
She was a Hin about Rose’s height, but her hair was a fiercer coloured red and her face, though young, showed wrinkles and stress lines from a life much harder lived. However, it was the woman’s eyes that really drew Rose in. They were a piercing green, the kind of eyes that would look right to your soul and weigh it.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here, I thought I gave explicit instructions that I was to have a private room.” Rose said.
“Ah, well don’t be surprised dear, but the owner does like to double book the rooms. He’s not the most upstanding inn keeper you will meet, and I’m afraid most of the people in this town are not much better.”
“I see, I’m glad that I’m only staying the night then.” Rose managed a weak smile. “I’m Rose by the way.”
“A pleasure miss Rose, I’m Lilly.” Said the woman as she bowed slightly.
“I do apologise for the rough behaviour you received when you arrived. No one should be pawed at like a common strumpet, especially not one so finely dressed as yourself.” Said Lilly, causing Rose to blush slightly.
“Perhaps one day you may permit me to borrow such a fine dress? We rarely see quality of that calibre here, and I am sure to be thought of as a princess if I were to been seen in the streets. Quite the talk of the town I would imagine!”
“Oh you’re too kind Miss Lilly! I would be more than happy to lend you this dress, but that brute who accosted me ripped some of the finery and I would need to repair it first!”
“You’re right Miss Rose. Come, it’s getting dark and you must be tired. Put out that candle and we’ll find a warm place for you to sleep. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the rats off you, I’ll keep you safe Miss Rose.”
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