Fantasy Tales - The Travel Home (HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2024)
Fantasy Tales is s series of stories based in a fictional fantasy world.
INSPIRED BY THE TAIL OF HANSEL AND GRETLE
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"Brother - are you almost set?" Lucian's older sister asked as she watched her brother looking over the products of a local street merchant.
"Yes sister!" Lucian called out finishing his trade with the old bearded man and turning back to his sister.
"This place is so big! There is so much to see and father never lets us explore." Lucian said to Precila.
This trip was the first time Lucian was able to off the farm and go to the city without his father present. Normally Father and Precila would go and sometimes Lucian would be allowed to tag along but leaving the farm empty or with only one of the family at home like Mother was something that did not happen often. With Lucian getting older their father thought it would be good for them to attempt the monthly travel on their own as a right of passage. It also allowed their father and mother to have some alone time. Lucian at the age of 19 was still young and full of wonder while Precila being educated by Father and going on many of these trips since she was young was more cautious even though she was just 21 years of age.
"Well it looks like we have everything we need. Let's get going so we can cover some good ground before the suns go down." Precila said looking over the bags of supplies she and her brother were carrying.
The two began to head to the city gates their brown cloaks blowing in the cool breeze of the day. Lucian's eyes darted all over as they walked looking at the different traders, people, and stores.
"I hear a Monster Hunter traveled through here a few days ago. He had captured a Were-woman that was tormenting a village close by." Lucian heard a voice say from an open pub window as they walked down the street.
The siblings got to the city gates guarded by tall strong men in metal armor their weapons gleaming in the sun's light. Lucian thought how cool it would be to become a city guard or a monster hunter or even a traveling trader. Precila and Lucian walked out the city gates and onto the dirt pathways linking the surrounding towns and villages. Once out of the city, Precila pulled the hood of her brown cloak over her head covering her shoulder length red hair. Although the 21 year old girl had a beautiful figure the cloak hid it well. Lucian did the same pulling his hood over his short red hair. With their brown cloaks covering their pale freckled skin from the sun's rays they started their journey home. It was not uncommon to run into some random travelers along the roads as well as bandits and thieves and beast and monsters so Precila and Lucian kept their eyes forever peeled for potential threats. It seemed so sad that a place so beautiful could have such dangers.
The siblings walked for some time being sure to stay on the main roads of travel for most of the way. Normally on these trips, Precila and her father would stop at the Inn that was about half-way between the city and the home village but unfortunately, the Inn had no available rooms. The two siblings chose to keep walking to find a spot to make camp before the sun fully set. Precila and her father had this problem before and ended up camping off the road in a cave which was Precila's plan this time too. It was best to stay off the pathways at night and to stay hidden away from potential threats from bandits to monsters. As the two walked Lucian spotted a sign ahead on the road. Once the two got closer they saw it was a sign for an Inn.
"That's odd - I don't remember seeing this sign on our way down and I haven't heard of another Inn being built around here." Precila said looking a bit puzzled at the sign.
"Maybe it's new. There has been many more travelers recently. A new Inn may be profitable now" Lucian suggested looking down the less traveled path the sign pointed to.
"I'm not sure Lucian -" his sister said still convinced something was wrong.
"Well let's just take a look then. If you don't like it we can always keep moving and find another spot to rest for the night." Lucian suggested trying to appease both his sister and his curiosity.
"Very well - " Precila said with a little pout as the two wallowed the pathway.
After about a kilometer or so the siblings walked into a clearing in the beaten path where a small cottage looking building stood. It was a nice wooden two-story structure with a shed out back, a small garden of sorts, and a fence around the property. Both siblings were a bit surprised it looked like the building was well-lept but not newly built. The two moved in closer looking around. They eventually found themselves standing at the front opening in the fence deciding on if they would enter.
"Oh hello there travelers - are you looking for a place to stay the night or perhaps a hot meal?" a female voice came from the side as a woman walked around the cabin and into view.
The woman looked to be a bit taller than the siblings with long flowing silver hair. Despite her being probably double the age of either of the siblings she was still quite attractive with full curves and large breasts almost popping out of her tight green top. She was also holding a basket of freshly picked veggies from the garden.
"We saw a sign back on the road for your Inn. We have never seen it before - is this place new?" Lucian asked his eyes scanning over the attractive older woman.
"Oh - my home is not new but I recently chose to sell my extra rooms to travelers to make some extra money. I only put the sign on that road back there the other day." The woman explained with a smile as she looked at the red haired travelers.
"Won't you come inside? Let's get you settled into some rooms for the night." The older woman said as she headed to the front door of the house motioning for the siblings to follow her.
Lucian and Precila followed the friendly silver haired woman into her cabin the door closing behind them. The cabin was a nice size and felt quite welcoming. There was a fire crackling with some rocking chairs and a table in the corner, a nice big table for meals and several rooms across 2 floors. It seemed like quite a big home for this woman to live in alone.
"Your place is very nice miss -?" Precila said looking around the interior.
"Shayana. My name is Shayana." the woman said as she went over to a desk and opened up a book presumably for guests and record keeping.
"Now you are the first travelers I have gotten so I have plenty of rooms. How about I give you each your own room? I'll charge you the rate for a single room too." Shayana said flipping through the pages of her book.
"Oh that would be so kind of you." Lucian said his eyes still fixed on the attractive female Inn Keeper thinking of the various things he would like to do to her.
"All the rooms are about the same size - you two can pick any rooms you want as long as you don't pick mine." Shayana said with a giggle looking at the siblings.
Precila felt that something was quite off here but the home was nice and the woman seemed friendly so after agreeing on a price for the night she and her brother selected rooms to sleep in and put away their things. Once the Precila and Lucian got themselves settled they returned to the main room where Shayana had placed some bowls of food on the table for them.
"I am not the best cook but you two look like you could use a warm meal." the older woman said motioning to the bowls and stew she had put on the table for them.
The traveling siblings thanked their host and the three sat down to eat making conversation as they did. Shayana answered questions about her home and if she had been married or had children. The woman explained that she had been married once but her husband was long gone and that her children had grown and were off on adventures and returned once in a while with new stories. Although Shayana appeared to be friendly and kind to the travelers Precila still felt that there was something she was missing here.
As the day concluded and the night began the sun was now gone and the moonlight shined through the woods and onto the ground of the clearing around this nice Inn. Shayana cleaned up as the siblings wondered around the home looking at the various decorations allegedly collected by Shayana and her family over the years.
"I think I will go for a walk around the grounds before bed." Precila said as she put on her brown cloak and headed for the door.
"Don't wonder to far my dear. The woods at night can be a dangerous and risky place." Shayana warned with a smile as the young woman walked out the door into the cool night air.
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Precila roamed the grounds around the Inn smelling the flowers and various other plants from the garden. The property was bathed in the moonlight and made the whole area look quite nice and peaceful. She had always enjoyed the outdoors but like many things there was a downside to the beauty of the untamed wilderness between the cities and villages. Bandits, beasts, witchcraft and other horrors roamed the country sides of the kingdom and had since the dawn of age. Those concerns seemed to fade away here as Precila's brown eyes flowed across her surroundings. The house seemed so nice and peaceful - a perfect place for an Inn to gather travelers. Precila walked the perimeter of the fenced in property, wandered through the small garden and looked over the barn in back behind the Inn before walking back up to the front door. There were some rocking chairs on the porch so the lovely young woman chose to sit down for a bit enjoying the view and the cool night air. She brushed her shoulder length red hair away from her face and rocked back and forth.
After some time Lucian's sister opened up her eyes. She looked out at the land in front of her and into the darkness of the forest. It was darker than when she had sat in the chair - perhaps she dozed off for a bit. She wiggled her body awake and stoop up stretching. Knowing that she and her younger brother would have to finish their journey tomorrow and get up early she chose to head back inside the Inn and go to sleep. She walked inside to see a very quite building. Neither her brother or the Inn Keeper were here. As she closed the front door behind her and walked into the room a door on the other side of the room opened. Out from the darkness of the room Shayana walked out brushing her silver hair behind her ears.
