"Hey, I bet ya thirsty and hungry!" The cloaked rider called to Syela. "Yes... I could do with some food..." she replied weakly. With deft hands, he guided the horse to the big mountain to their right. While they descended lower and lower, Syela felt a strange tugging at her psyche - as if she saw, in her mind, the past and the future at the same time. She shifted on the horse's back uneasily. "Don't worry about the tugging", her abductor shouted over his shoulder. "Elven Wood is like... in a different time zone. You'll know, soon..." Syela thought that he was not too comfortable with telling her the peculiarities about this place. She hoped she would be able to find out more, once her feet were back on solid ground.
With a surprising softness considering it's outward appearance the skeletal horse landed on a stretch of turf next to a cosy looking log house. "Here we are!" The rider patted Syela's leg, prompting her to climb off their ride. The girl felt stiff and sore and it took her a few paces until she felt she was standing securely on her own two legs. She watched the man tether the horse to a ring at the house's wall and then come up to her, hand outstretched. "Forgive my rude manners, lady", he announced with exaggerated flourish that made Syela smile. "I have not yet introduced myself! I'm Jolly", he told her and shook her hand wildly. Syela just scrutinized him for a moment, relishing in his growing anxiety, before she retorted dryly:"Yeah. I noticed you are." Jolly broke out in a loud, rumbling laughter that seemed to make the mountains shake. "My, you ARE a fly girl! I knew you would be", he said, nodding eagerly to himself. Syela decided that this was meant as a compliment and acknowledged it with a smile. Grinning broadly, Jolly offered her his arm. "And now let's see what the Grizzly Peak Tavern, the most notorious watering hole in all the King's boroughs, could offer us two birds tonight!" And with a grand gesture, he swept Syela away to the entrance of the log house.
Jolly led Syela to a table near the open fireplace. He had noticed her feeling the morning coolness of the mountains and made her sit close to the merrily burning fire. As soon as they had sat down a woman appeared. She seemed to be in her late thirties, had short cropped hair and finely drawn features. Syela felt an immediate sympathy towards her. "Hey Jolly", she warmly greeted the man, while her eyes never left Syela. To the girl's utter surprise she then extended her hand and said:"Welcome, Syela."
Jolly clapped her heavily on the back which made Syela gasp for breath. "A right celebrity you are around here, girl!" he exclaimed gleefully, pointedly ignoring the fact that at the woman's greeting, Syela's jaw had dropped to the floor. Then he waved his hand as if to wipe something out of the air and ordered a round of hot coffee and a shot for himself. The woman gave him a demonstrative look as he asked for the "shot" which Jolly also ignored, then smiled again at Syela and said:"I'm Carmel, by the way. I own the Grizzly Peak Tavern, and I would be more than happy if you'd come visit me very often!" With a cheerful wink she disappeared into the kitchen where Syela could hear her talking to someone in a hushed voice.
"Jolly!" Syela felt utterly confused. "Yes, honey, what is it?" He leaned closer to her and grinned. The girl rolled her eyes. "You KNOW what it is! Why does that woman-" She stopped in mid-sentence because now a young girl, probably about her age, was shyly edging closer to their table, gazing at Syela with large, shining brown eyes. She was extremely pretty, with a slim, curvy figure and long, honey-blond locks. Syela bit back a snarling remark and just watched her intently, as she inched closer to the side of the table where Jolly was sitting. "Hey there, Cailin!" he greeted the girl. She looked at him shortly before turning her eyes back on Syela, bent close to Jolly's ear and whispered just loud enough for Syela to hear:"Is... is this really her?" In an amiable gesture Jolly wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders and hugged her close. "Yes, Cailin. That's her. The one we've been waiting for for so long."
