As each person stepped through the door, the atmosphere changed. From the quiet whispers of Tettle, came the true heart of its community. In the warm flickering candlelight of the Inn were many Halflings, each busy with their business as they sat around small wooden tables. A path from the doorway to the bar seemed to be fashioned among the heavy rows of small tables and individual wooden chairs. It was this path that Amphi walked so confidently along, being sure all who saw her and her company knew they were both peaceful and graceful. Even with both Moofen and the naive Chime, did she accomplish this.
Amphi placed her arm across the bar and waited patiently for service. In custom of Tettle, she did not wait long. She did not care for the looks she and her party received from the patrons of the Inn, Amphi only cared about her goals for the moment at hand. She stood still, waiting for the barman to take notice of her.
This did not take long, considering Amphis height and appearance. She stood tall and spoke clearly to the aging barkeeper after he acknowledged her.
Leaning over the bar, she spoke clearly and politely ‘hello there Sir, what is your name?’ she asked with a hint in her voice that gave a command rather than a request.
The man in his sixties replied, his hair fading and leaving a shock of grey against his once black side parting. It was clear that his top hat was placed on his head to hide the fact he was going bald. Despite this, he approached Amphi with a kind smile and warmth in his eyes.
The Halfling man crossed his arms over the counter, judging that Amphi did not wish to be overheard and spoke to her both clearly and quietly. ‘How can I help you Miss?’ he said, looking her up and down. He continued, keeping his ear close to where he expected Amphi to place her lips. ‘If you’re looking for a good meal, my wife can cook her famous hams, we include all the trimmings in the price.’ He stated, his chest filling with pride and admiration for his wife.
Amphi smiled before looking back, it was clear her companions had caught what the Halfling had said. She turned back to the man and nodded ‘That sounds excellent. We’ll take that with one room, four beds if you have them to spare, Mr?’ she asked, slowly rolling her left palm in order to catch the mans' name.
For a moment, the Halfling man did not seem to catch on. When he did, he adjusted his tattered top hat and polished one of the brass buttons on his blue coat with his sleeve ‘Mr Hamthwaite, Miss’ he beamed, picking up his quill as he did so. He looked away from Amphi for just a moment whilst he dipped his quill in the bronze inkwell to his right. Before writing anything down, he leant in towards the small guestbook he kept on the bar. For a few silent moments, he thumbed through the pages, checking the ins and outs of his most recent customers. ‘Yes’ he said at last. He looked back towards Amphi ‘we have a room available, four beds as asked, Miss’ he began. Mr Hamthwaite began penning in a few small details before looking back up, one eye squinting ‘and to what name shall I mark the ahem proceeds to, Miss?’ he asked delicately.
Amphi tapped the ledger in front of Mr Hamthwaite ‘I think it would be best for both if I marked the name, Mr Hamthwaite’ she said politely.
Mr Hamthwaite kindly nodded before turning his ledger towards Amphi, followed gently by the quill. Amphi dipped the quill in the small inkwell and dabbed the excess ink off the nib. In her finest hand, she marked her full name and handed it back to Mr Hamthwaite with a warm thank you.
Mr Hamthwaite took the quill and placed it in its rightful place before taking back the ledger. He looked at Amphi and gave his best Innkeeper smile ‘thank you Miss Amph-Amphic-h’ he began.
Amphi let out a small giggle ‘it’s Miss Amphichokora Telefareece’ she explained. She nodded and smiled kindly ‘or, Amphi Teece if you prefer, Mr Hamthwaite’ she suggested.
Mr Hamthwaite smiled and continued with the booking. After asking what time Amphi and her companions would prefer dinner, he offered to show them their rooms.
After Mr Hamthwaite had taken the four travellers to their room, they began to unpack. The room itself was very spacious, despite the ceiling being low. Each of the four beds sat in each corner of the wide, wooden room. A small round rug was in the centre, giving the room one of its few decorations. Asides from the rug, a few paintings hung on the wall, presumably portraits of the Hamthwaite family. Despite the few decorations, practicality had been taken care of. A large wardrobe sat either side of the room and a bedside table with a few small drawers were placed neatly beside each bed. On each of these draws sat a small oil lamp and a book of matches. Luckily for the Hamthwaites, no matches were needed, as soon as Amphi entered the room, she slowly held her palm to each oil lamp in turn, the warm flame growing softly in each one as she done so.
At the far end of the room, opposite the door, were two doors. These lattice doors opened to reveal a small balcony which overlooked the lake and the rest of the town of Tettle on the right.
For a while, as the sky began moving from twilight to night, Amphi was pointing out all the different stars to Chime. Chime often smiled as Amphi taught her the lessons she had herself learnt. Chime tried pointing out the stars Amphi had just been talking about. They both found this was a good way to keep their minds off food.
As Chime was reciting the numerous stars in the sky, Garg and Borg were both content on trying to choose which beds they should pick, and to see if any previous guests had left anything in the drawers and wardrobes. When they were satisfied the room had no treasures to give up, they joined Chime in pointing out the stars, standing either side of Amphi and Chime as they laughed and tried to determine how a set of stars could look like a chicken, or a cow, or a crow. After laughing, Amphi was trying to explain the star signs in the sky were an aid for travellers and sailors. She did not get far with this explanation before there was a gentle knock at the door.
Amphi walked quietly to the door and open it. In the doorway, a small woman stood. She wore a dark green dress with a yellow apron, her dark blonde curls sat perfectly below her yellow cooking hat. Both hands clasped together in front of her, she smile before she spoke.
‘Miss Telefareece, your dinner is ready’ she explained. She continued after dusting off her long and modest skirt ‘you and your guests are welcome to join the rest of our patrons downstairs, if you wish?’ she asked.
Amphi smiled and gave a small bow ‘thank you, Mrs Hamthwaite?’ she inquired.
The lady smiled, her kindness showing through her long years ‘yes Miss Telefareece, I am Mrs Hamthwaite’ she explained.
Amphi smiled, noticing the rest of her group was standing hopefully behind her ‘Thank you Mrs Hamthwaite, we’ll be down in a few minutes’ she said, looking back slightly towards her roommates.
Mrs Hamthwaite smiled and gave a small bow in return, never having anyone bow to her before ‘we look forward to your company Miss Telefareece. We get a little rowdy downstairs at times, mostly my husband’s doing. I hope you don’t mind that kind of thing’ she sighed.
To this, Amphi gave a perky smile ‘no, not at all, but thank you, for the warning Mrs Hamthwaite’ she added.
At this, Mrs Hamthwaite said her goodbyes and left Amphi and the rest of the party to get ready.
As promised, downstairs was packed with many Halflings unwinding after a long days labour. Many of the patrons of the Inn were laughing, singing and enjoying the wholesome food and drink which was on offer. The many oil lamps in the dark room gave a warm and welcoming light as the group sat at their small table near the front of the Inn. Despite the business of the Inn, Mrs Hamthwaite was very quick to take their order of food. She smiled as each person gave their order in turn and she went away to prepare the meals they had chosen.
As they waited for their meals, Amphi leant forward a little before speaking ‘you know, we still have a lot of ground to cover before we reach Zolk. This is only the second night of many’ she announced. She continued after a small pause ‘in fact, I would guess we have about ten Cycles ahead of us. We have to clear the forest first and foremost. After that, we will be crossing the Bain River. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as we keep a good pace. After that, we have the sands which surround Zolk. That will take a full Cycle by my reckoning’ she said, as she calculated the journey in her head.
Whilst Chime and Borg were taking this news into their consideration, Garg looked at Amphi for a moment in small wonder ‘have you seen much of the world, Amphi?’ he asked.
Amphi gave a soft, kindly laugh ‘no Garg, not nearly as much as there is to be seen. But I have been to many places in Affron before’ she began.
Before Amphi had a chance to continue, she was interrupted by the arrival of their meals. A younger Halfling of around thirty approached the table, carefully balancing four plates in her hands and arms. She had many smooth hazel rings in her hair and a soft smile as she carefully placed each of the plates on the table in front of each guest.
With two plates left, she looked at Chime and Garg in turn ‘I’m terribly sorry, but I forgot my mother’s instructions. Who asked for the fish, and who asked for the meat and potatoes?’ she asked apologetically.
Garg looked at the young Halfling and smiled as he saw her fair face. He raised one claw gently to point to his chosen meal ‘mine is the meat and potatoes, Miss’ he said, trying to sound as gentle as possible.
The Halfling woman placed Chimes fish in front of her, nodding gently at Chime before turning again to Garg ‘it’s my favourite to. Would you like some stock with that, Sir?’ she asked, smiling as she put down Gargs’ meal.
Garg smiled back ‘please Miss, if it’s no trouble’ he said.
She bowed gracefully ‘of course Sir. My name is Sheila, Sheila Hamthwaite, Sir. I am one of two of my fathers daughters’ she said.
Garg bowed gently from his seat ‘and my name is Garg, just Garg I’m afraid’ he explained. He pointed to each of his companions in turn with one of his small fingers on the end of his claw ‘this is my brother, Borg. This woman is Chime, and my last friend is Amphi’ he announced.
Sheila gave a small bow to each person before taking her leave ‘it’s my pleasure to meet you all and to meet you, Garg’. With that, she left to fetch some stock for Garg and to attend her other duties.
They each enjoyed their meals peacefully sometimes pausing to make conversation with each other. Often, Sheila Hamthwaite would come over to be sure Garg was as comfortable as possible. Each time she approached the table, Garg seemed to fill with joy. Amphi and the others smiled to themselves each time she came over, finding small entertainment in this.
Although she was happy with the meal and the conversation, Amphi felt a small amount of unease, something which grew as the night pushed on. She could not place her thoughts on it until after they had finished their meals. As Chime and the twins were talking about small things such as food, cooking and washing up, Amphi was observing the room around them. Although the room was warm and cosy, the Halflings in The Jolly Gentleman seemed to grow quieter as they tried to continue their evening. What began as a night of relaxation and enjoyment was turning into tightly closed groups and quiet conversations. Amphi noticed an air of nervousness and unease, but it did not seem directed towards them.
At around midnight, Mr Hamthwaite sounded a low sounding bell from behind the bar, crying out to all his customers ‘last call, five minutes’ in a loud, booming voice. This sent the remaining Halflings into near silence.
Amphi checked with the rest of her group if they wanted any last orders. Politely, they declined.
Not wishing to be a rude guest, Amphi suggested they returned to their room before the last of the other guests had left the Inn. They all agreed and stood from the table and began to walk towards the small wooden stairs.
Amphi stopped at the bar and smiled at Mr Hamthwaite. ‘Goodnight Mr Hamthwaite, please thank your wife and Daughter for the lovely meal’ she said.
Mr Hamthwaite, who had been jolly all evening with his guests appeared pale in the lamp light, he looked concerned about something and for a moment, he forgot to smile. ‘Yes, sleep well, please. Miss Telefareece’ he murmured.
‘Yes, and yourself’ she replied.
It was at this, her journey to the top of the stairs was interrupted by a loud crash through the Inns door as two men burst through them, catching their breath before explaining their sudden arrival. ‘It’s here’ one cried. He spoke again, his voice gravelled as he tried to speak in a loud whisper ‘out there, it’s here’ he repeated.
Amphi stopped, as did Chime, Garg and Borg.
Mr Hamthwaite tried to hush the man before he spoke more, but he was too late. His hushing was interrupted by the second man ‘the ghost, it’s on the path’ he said, franticly pointing towards the open door. As he pointed, the man realised his mistake and pushed the door closed, pushing his weight against it.
The first man ran up to the bar, placing both his hands far apart as he tried to get as close to Mr Hamthwaite as much as he could. ‘It’s back, George’ he explained, his voice shaken as he kept looking back towards the window. He continued, his eyes fixed on George Hamthwaites’ eyes ‘the ghost is back George, it’s right outside, now’ he cried.
George Hamthwaite lost all colour from his once red cheeks ‘are you sure? Phipp, are you certain man?’ he ordered.
Phipp nodded, his scruffy ginger hair stuck to his forehead from his sweat. ‘As sure as the nose on my face, it’s there, now’.
Garg and Borg gasped, looking at each other. ‘Amphi, it could be…’ he said, knowing Amphi knew what he meant.
Chime took a step towards Amphi, wondering what had the Halflings so panicked. Amphi held out an arm, to be sure Chime did not get involved. Instead, Amphi took a few steps away from the stairs and towards Phipp. Slowly, she approached him before softly speaking to him ‘what’s wrong, Phipp, is it?’ she asked.
Phipp nodded quickly ‘yes Miss, it’s Phipp. I live a few doors down, me and the wife-‘. As he was pointing towards the window Amphi interrupted him.
She nodded slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder to both reassure him and to turn him to face her ‘will be quite safe’ she started, although unsure as she was not certain about the situation. She continued ‘tell us about this ghost business, please’ she said, offering him a stool.
Phipp was shaking as he sat his eyes wide ‘it began some night in the last quarter Miss. He moves across the village, he’s already killed livestock Miss’ he said his voice rising as he began to explain. Phipp took a gulp of air ‘we tried to catch him once, Miss, several of us. We thought it bandits or thieves at first you see. We tried to ambush it, Miss, but it held old Vic by the throat. Old Vic, he’s dead’ at this Phipps burst into tears his head shaking as he pressed his hands against his eyes. He whispered ‘it’s coming this way’ as he tried to pull himself together
Amphi patted Phipps slowly on his shoulder before letting her grip from him. She stood up and looked at the other Halflings in the room. One was still leaning against the door; the others were silent, listening for any signs of the ghost. If Phipps account was true, they were facing something which used deadly force, ghost or no ghost. Amphi looked towards her company, Chime had already moved next to her, looking around the room with the same expression.
At last Amphi spoke, her voice was hard and commanding ‘Chime, draw the curtains, quickly now. Borg, help Mr Hamthwaite block the door. Garg, take everyone to our room, we’ll be safer above ground’ she said, pointing towards the staircase.
Chime was already drawing the first of the curtains ‘Amphi what are you going to do?’ she asked, making sure no light escaped the curtains. She was already hurrying to the next window before Amphi answered.
‘Once you’re finished with the curtains Chime, we’re going upstairs with the rest of them. We’re going to the balcony’. She turned to Mr Hamthwaite ‘George, if you have any weapons, find them. After that, do what you can to secure that door’ she explained. Once again, Amphi pointed to the stairs ‘the rest of you, follow Garg’ she called, running up the stairs as fast as she could.
Chime shortly followed Amphi up the stairs, checking Borg and Mr Hamthwaite once more. Behind her followed Mrs Hamthwaite and her daughters, along with half a dozen Halflings who remained behind
Amphi looked about the room, it seemed much smaller with so many people in it and only four beds ‘is this everyone, Sheila?’ she asked.
Sheila nodded ‘yes, Miss. I think so’ she said in a hurry.
Amphi pointed gently towards Sheila as she walked across the room to note that she understood. One by one, Amphi turned off the oil lamps, whispering as she did ‘we’ll be better hidden this way’ she explained, looking at the worried faces of the Halflings. She ushered Chime to follow her, instructing her in soft whispers. ‘Come on, Chime. Let’s have a look on the balcony’ she hushed, crouching down and leading Chime by the hand. Slowly, she opened the doors to the balcony and they crept through, silently stepping into the night.
Amphi peeked at the town below, only her head revealed above the balcony, Chimes head slowly followed. At first, nothing moved. The long silence was only broken with a Halfling trying to hold his breath and taking another gulp of air.
Chime nudged Amphi, pointing towards her right carefully ‘Amphi, down there. I think I see it’ she whispered.
Amphis eyes followed Chimes finger. Chime was right; there was definitely something down there. What that something was Amphi was not sure. The figure moved slowly along the path, about twenty metres from the Inn. At first, no sound came from the cloak as it aimlessly drifted from one step to another. Then, a scratch in the air came. Another scratch followed, slow and dull. Amphi and Chime watched carefully as the figure moved. Scratch, thump. Scratch, thump. Each scratch came like metal, twisting and pushing against more metal. The thumps were dull and damp as if a boot fell in wet mud. A small yellow glow came from what looked like the hood of the creature, a round dark yellow glow from the left of inside the hood. It moved closer to the Inn. Although nobody spoke or made a sound, silence was no longer in the air. A wailing sound filled the room, as if something in the distance of the night was in great pain. It whispered to everyone in the room, its breathing and cries rasped in shrill whispers. More sounds and voices followed and filled the air, whispering in dark echoes from a great distance. The voices still seemed far away and muffled, but the words could be heard by all. The voices called for help, cried out in pain and agony, men, women and children all called out for mercy.
Chime raised her voice, trying to speak over the many voices in the air ‘Amphi, I can’t see it’ she called.
Amphi looked down quickly and nervously, the creature was out of sight. Amphi stood up, looking towards the night franticly. She cried out as she headed towards the room door ‘it’s under the balcony, it’s at the door!’
Amphi ran to the door, dodging some of the Halflings as she ran. She paused, only to find her spear. She looked at her spear in the dark as she gripped it tightly, heading out of the room door and down the wooden stairs.
Chime tried calling out in a loud whisper ‘Amphi, Amphi!’ without any success, Chime followed Amphi down the stairs.
Amphi rushed to the front door, keeping her breath steady ‘Borg, where is it?’ she said, trying to keep a whisper despite the foul voices in the air.
Borg was pushing against the fine furniture he and Mr Hamthwaite had used to barricade the door. ‘I think it’s at the door, but I haven’t looked’ he explained.
Amphi walked around the room with a great stride, snuffing out all the lamps save the one remaining behind the bar. The room was dark except the faint glow of the one oil lamp, its light licking across the room.
Chime moved quickly to the middle of the room, only then, did she notice how empty the room looked with some of the tables and chairs pushed to one place. She stood still, her hands held outward as she listened and watched in silence. Her eyes darted from one corner of the room to another, her head moved much more slowly.
She spoke quietly, trying to ignore the voices filling the air ‘Amphi, the shadows’ she exclaimed. Chime was not sure if it was a trick of the lamp, or her imagination. She saw in the corner of her eyes ever so briefly, the shadows in the room moved. Whenever she looked more carefully, they remained still, as shadows should.
Before Amphi could speak, Borg let out a small cry ‘they’re moving’ he said. He did not have a chance to point to what he saw; a loud noise broke his concentration.
A deep scratching noise moved outside, whining in short bursts. This noise followed along the windows, the grey scratch moving across each piece of glass.
Chime moved slowly towards the window to her left, following the noise from behind the curtains. She looked at Amphi for a moment, her hand held tight on the curtain edge. Her hand shook as quickly as her heart beat. Before she could think any further, Chime thrust the curtain open as far as her arm would let her. That dull glow grew brighter as the cloaked figure beheld her. His gaze met hers, through the dull cut of the window. His cloaked claw pressed against the pane, the cracks appearing more. The metallic smile on the creatures face caught Chime; its glistening reflection mocked her in the dark. Chime heard a clash in her ears as her eyes rolled and forgot how to focus. Chime slipped into dizziness and the dark.
Amphi placed her arm across the bar and waited patiently for service. In custom of Tettle, she did not wait long. She did not care for the looks she and her party received from the patrons of the Inn, Amphi only cared about her goals for the moment at hand. She stood still, waiting for the barman to take notice of her.
This did not take long, considering Amphis height and appearance. She stood tall and spoke clearly to the aging barkeeper after he acknowledged her.
Leaning over the bar, she spoke clearly and politely ‘hello there Sir, what is your name?’ she asked with a hint in her voice that gave a command rather than a request.
The man in his sixties replied, his hair fading and leaving a shock of grey against his once black side parting. It was clear that his top hat was placed on his head to hide the fact he was going bald. Despite this, he approached Amphi with a kind smile and warmth in his eyes.
The Halfling man crossed his arms over the counter, judging that Amphi did not wish to be overheard and spoke to her both clearly and quietly. ‘How can I help you Miss?’ he said, looking her up and down. He continued, keeping his ear close to where he expected Amphi to place her lips. ‘If you’re looking for a good meal, my wife can cook her famous hams, we include all the trimmings in the price.’ He stated, his chest filling with pride and admiration for his wife.
Amphi smiled before looking back, it was clear her companions had caught what the Halfling had said. She turned back to the man and nodded ‘That sounds excellent. We’ll take that with one room, four beds if you have them to spare, Mr?’ she asked, slowly rolling her left palm in order to catch the mans' name.
For a moment, the Halfling man did not seem to catch on. When he did, he adjusted his tattered top hat and polished one of the brass buttons on his blue coat with his sleeve ‘Mr Hamthwaite, Miss’ he beamed, picking up his quill as he did so. He looked away from Amphi for just a moment whilst he dipped his quill in the bronze inkwell to his right. Before writing anything down, he leant in towards the small guestbook he kept on the bar. For a few silent moments, he thumbed through the pages, checking the ins and outs of his most recent customers. ‘Yes’ he said at last. He looked back towards Amphi ‘we have a room available, four beds as asked, Miss’ he began. Mr Hamthwaite began penning in a few small details before looking back up, one eye squinting ‘and to what name shall I mark the ahem proceeds to, Miss?’ he asked delicately.
Amphi tapped the ledger in front of Mr Hamthwaite ‘I think it would be best for both if I marked the name, Mr Hamthwaite’ she said politely.
Mr Hamthwaite kindly nodded before turning his ledger towards Amphi, followed gently by the quill. Amphi dipped the quill in the small inkwell and dabbed the excess ink off the nib. In her finest hand, she marked her full name and handed it back to Mr Hamthwaite with a warm thank you.
Mr Hamthwaite took the quill and placed it in its rightful place before taking back the ledger. He looked at Amphi and gave his best Innkeeper smile ‘thank you Miss Amph-Amphic-h’ he began.
Amphi let out a small giggle ‘it’s Miss Amphichokora Telefareece’ she explained. She nodded and smiled kindly ‘or, Amphi Teece if you prefer, Mr Hamthwaite’ she suggested.
Mr Hamthwaite smiled and continued with the booking. After asking what time Amphi and her companions would prefer dinner, he offered to show them their rooms.
After Mr Hamthwaite had taken the four travellers to their room, they began to unpack. The room itself was very spacious, despite the ceiling being low. Each of the four beds sat in each corner of the wide, wooden room. A small round rug was in the centre, giving the room one of its few decorations. Asides from the rug, a few paintings hung on the wall, presumably portraits of the Hamthwaite family. Despite the few decorations, practicality had been taken care of. A large wardrobe sat either side of the room and a bedside table with a few small drawers were placed neatly beside each bed. On each of these draws sat a small oil lamp and a book of matches. Luckily for the Hamthwaites, no matches were needed, as soon as Amphi entered the room, she slowly held her palm to each oil lamp in turn, the warm flame growing softly in each one as she done so.
At the far end of the room, opposite the door, were two doors. These lattice doors opened to reveal a small balcony which overlooked the lake and the rest of the town of Tettle on the right.
For a while, as the sky began moving from twilight to night, Amphi was pointing out all the different stars to Chime. Chime often smiled as Amphi taught her the lessons she had herself learnt. Chime tried pointing out the stars Amphi had just been talking about. They both found this was a good way to keep their minds off food.
As Chime was reciting the numerous stars in the sky, Garg and Borg were both content on trying to choose which beds they should pick, and to see if any previous guests had left anything in the drawers and wardrobes. When they were satisfied the room had no treasures to give up, they joined Chime in pointing out the stars, standing either side of Amphi and Chime as they laughed and tried to determine how a set of stars could look like a chicken, or a cow, or a crow. After laughing, Amphi was trying to explain the star signs in the sky were an aid for travellers and sailors. She did not get far with this explanation before there was a gentle knock at the door.
Amphi walked quietly to the door and open it. In the doorway, a small woman stood. She wore a dark green dress with a yellow apron, her dark blonde curls sat perfectly below her yellow cooking hat. Both hands clasped together in front of her, she smile before she spoke.
‘Miss Telefareece, your dinner is ready’ she explained. She continued after dusting off her long and modest skirt ‘you and your guests are welcome to join the rest of our patrons downstairs, if you wish?’ she asked.
Amphi smiled and gave a small bow ‘thank you, Mrs Hamthwaite?’ she inquired.
The lady smiled, her kindness showing through her long years ‘yes Miss Telefareece, I am Mrs Hamthwaite’ she explained.
Amphi smiled, noticing the rest of her group was standing hopefully behind her ‘Thank you Mrs Hamthwaite, we’ll be down in a few minutes’ she said, looking back slightly towards her roommates.
Mrs Hamthwaite smiled and gave a small bow in return, never having anyone bow to her before ‘we look forward to your company Miss Telefareece. We get a little rowdy downstairs at times, mostly my husband’s doing. I hope you don’t mind that kind of thing’ she sighed.
To this, Amphi gave a perky smile ‘no, not at all, but thank you, for the warning Mrs Hamthwaite’ she added.
At this, Mrs Hamthwaite said her goodbyes and left Amphi and the rest of the party to get ready.
As promised, downstairs was packed with many Halflings unwinding after a long days labour. Many of the patrons of the Inn were laughing, singing and enjoying the wholesome food and drink which was on offer. The many oil lamps in the dark room gave a warm and welcoming light as the group sat at their small table near the front of the Inn. Despite the business of the Inn, Mrs Hamthwaite was very quick to take their order of food. She smiled as each person gave their order in turn and she went away to prepare the meals they had chosen.
As they waited for their meals, Amphi leant forward a little before speaking ‘you know, we still have a lot of ground to cover before we reach Zolk. This is only the second night of many’ she announced. She continued after a small pause ‘in fact, I would guess we have about ten Cycles ahead of us. We have to clear the forest first and foremost. After that, we will be crossing the Bain River. It shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as we keep a good pace. After that, we have the sands which surround Zolk. That will take a full Cycle by my reckoning’ she said, as she calculated the journey in her head.
Whilst Chime and Borg were taking this news into their consideration, Garg looked at Amphi for a moment in small wonder ‘have you seen much of the world, Amphi?’ he asked.
Amphi gave a soft, kindly laugh ‘no Garg, not nearly as much as there is to be seen. But I have been to many places in Affron before’ she began.
Before Amphi had a chance to continue, she was interrupted by the arrival of their meals. A younger Halfling of around thirty approached the table, carefully balancing four plates in her hands and arms. She had many smooth hazel rings in her hair and a soft smile as she carefully placed each of the plates on the table in front of each guest.
With two plates left, she looked at Chime and Garg in turn ‘I’m terribly sorry, but I forgot my mother’s instructions. Who asked for the fish, and who asked for the meat and potatoes?’ she asked apologetically.
Garg looked at the young Halfling and smiled as he saw her fair face. He raised one claw gently to point to his chosen meal ‘mine is the meat and potatoes, Miss’ he said, trying to sound as gentle as possible.
The Halfling woman placed Chimes fish in front of her, nodding gently at Chime before turning again to Garg ‘it’s my favourite to. Would you like some stock with that, Sir?’ she asked, smiling as she put down Gargs’ meal.
Garg smiled back ‘please Miss, if it’s no trouble’ he said.
She bowed gracefully ‘of course Sir. My name is Sheila, Sheila Hamthwaite, Sir. I am one of two of my fathers daughters’ she said.
Garg bowed gently from his seat ‘and my name is Garg, just Garg I’m afraid’ he explained. He pointed to each of his companions in turn with one of his small fingers on the end of his claw ‘this is my brother, Borg. This woman is Chime, and my last friend is Amphi’ he announced.
Sheila gave a small bow to each person before taking her leave ‘it’s my pleasure to meet you all and to meet you, Garg’. With that, she left to fetch some stock for Garg and to attend her other duties.
They each enjoyed their meals peacefully sometimes pausing to make conversation with each other. Often, Sheila Hamthwaite would come over to be sure Garg was as comfortable as possible. Each time she approached the table, Garg seemed to fill with joy. Amphi and the others smiled to themselves each time she came over, finding small entertainment in this.
Although she was happy with the meal and the conversation, Amphi felt a small amount of unease, something which grew as the night pushed on. She could not place her thoughts on it until after they had finished their meals. As Chime and the twins were talking about small things such as food, cooking and washing up, Amphi was observing the room around them. Although the room was warm and cosy, the Halflings in The Jolly Gentleman seemed to grow quieter as they tried to continue their evening. What began as a night of relaxation and enjoyment was turning into tightly closed groups and quiet conversations. Amphi noticed an air of nervousness and unease, but it did not seem directed towards them.
At around midnight, Mr Hamthwaite sounded a low sounding bell from behind the bar, crying out to all his customers ‘last call, five minutes’ in a loud, booming voice. This sent the remaining Halflings into near silence.
Amphi checked with the rest of her group if they wanted any last orders. Politely, they declined.
Not wishing to be a rude guest, Amphi suggested they returned to their room before the last of the other guests had left the Inn. They all agreed and stood from the table and began to walk towards the small wooden stairs.
Amphi stopped at the bar and smiled at Mr Hamthwaite. ‘Goodnight Mr Hamthwaite, please thank your wife and Daughter for the lovely meal’ she said.
Mr Hamthwaite, who had been jolly all evening with his guests appeared pale in the lamp light, he looked concerned about something and for a moment, he forgot to smile. ‘Yes, sleep well, please. Miss Telefareece’ he murmured.
‘Yes, and yourself’ she replied.
It was at this, her journey to the top of the stairs was interrupted by a loud crash through the Inns door as two men burst through them, catching their breath before explaining their sudden arrival. ‘It’s here’ one cried. He spoke again, his voice gravelled as he tried to speak in a loud whisper ‘out there, it’s here’ he repeated.
Amphi stopped, as did Chime, Garg and Borg.
Mr Hamthwaite tried to hush the man before he spoke more, but he was too late. His hushing was interrupted by the second man ‘the ghost, it’s on the path’ he said, franticly pointing towards the open door. As he pointed, the man realised his mistake and pushed the door closed, pushing his weight against it.
The first man ran up to the bar, placing both his hands far apart as he tried to get as close to Mr Hamthwaite as much as he could. ‘It’s back, George’ he explained, his voice shaken as he kept looking back towards the window. He continued, his eyes fixed on George Hamthwaites’ eyes ‘the ghost is back George, it’s right outside, now’ he cried.
George Hamthwaite lost all colour from his once red cheeks ‘are you sure? Phipp, are you certain man?’ he ordered.
Phipp nodded, his scruffy ginger hair stuck to his forehead from his sweat. ‘As sure as the nose on my face, it’s there, now’.
Garg and Borg gasped, looking at each other. ‘Amphi, it could be…’ he said, knowing Amphi knew what he meant.
Chime took a step towards Amphi, wondering what had the Halflings so panicked. Amphi held out an arm, to be sure Chime did not get involved. Instead, Amphi took a few steps away from the stairs and towards Phipp. Slowly, she approached him before softly speaking to him ‘what’s wrong, Phipp, is it?’ she asked.
Phipp nodded quickly ‘yes Miss, it’s Phipp. I live a few doors down, me and the wife-‘. As he was pointing towards the window Amphi interrupted him.
She nodded slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder to both reassure him and to turn him to face her ‘will be quite safe’ she started, although unsure as she was not certain about the situation. She continued ‘tell us about this ghost business, please’ she said, offering him a stool.
Phipp was shaking as he sat his eyes wide ‘it began some night in the last quarter Miss. He moves across the village, he’s already killed livestock Miss’ he said his voice rising as he began to explain. Phipp took a gulp of air ‘we tried to catch him once, Miss, several of us. We thought it bandits or thieves at first you see. We tried to ambush it, Miss, but it held old Vic by the throat. Old Vic, he’s dead’ at this Phipps burst into tears his head shaking as he pressed his hands against his eyes. He whispered ‘it’s coming this way’ as he tried to pull himself together
Amphi patted Phipps slowly on his shoulder before letting her grip from him. She stood up and looked at the other Halflings in the room. One was still leaning against the door; the others were silent, listening for any signs of the ghost. If Phipps account was true, they were facing something which used deadly force, ghost or no ghost. Amphi looked towards her company, Chime had already moved next to her, looking around the room with the same expression.
At last Amphi spoke, her voice was hard and commanding ‘Chime, draw the curtains, quickly now. Borg, help Mr Hamthwaite block the door. Garg, take everyone to our room, we’ll be safer above ground’ she said, pointing towards the staircase.
Chime was already drawing the first of the curtains ‘Amphi what are you going to do?’ she asked, making sure no light escaped the curtains. She was already hurrying to the next window before Amphi answered.
‘Once you’re finished with the curtains Chime, we’re going upstairs with the rest of them. We’re going to the balcony’. She turned to Mr Hamthwaite ‘George, if you have any weapons, find them. After that, do what you can to secure that door’ she explained. Once again, Amphi pointed to the stairs ‘the rest of you, follow Garg’ she called, running up the stairs as fast as she could.
Chime shortly followed Amphi up the stairs, checking Borg and Mr Hamthwaite once more. Behind her followed Mrs Hamthwaite and her daughters, along with half a dozen Halflings who remained behind
Amphi looked about the room, it seemed much smaller with so many people in it and only four beds ‘is this everyone, Sheila?’ she asked.
Sheila nodded ‘yes, Miss. I think so’ she said in a hurry.
Amphi pointed gently towards Sheila as she walked across the room to note that she understood. One by one, Amphi turned off the oil lamps, whispering as she did ‘we’ll be better hidden this way’ she explained, looking at the worried faces of the Halflings. She ushered Chime to follow her, instructing her in soft whispers. ‘Come on, Chime. Let’s have a look on the balcony’ she hushed, crouching down and leading Chime by the hand. Slowly, she opened the doors to the balcony and they crept through, silently stepping into the night.
Amphi peeked at the town below, only her head revealed above the balcony, Chimes head slowly followed. At first, nothing moved. The long silence was only broken with a Halfling trying to hold his breath and taking another gulp of air.
Chime nudged Amphi, pointing towards her right carefully ‘Amphi, down there. I think I see it’ she whispered.
Amphis eyes followed Chimes finger. Chime was right; there was definitely something down there. What that something was Amphi was not sure. The figure moved slowly along the path, about twenty metres from the Inn. At first, no sound came from the cloak as it aimlessly drifted from one step to another. Then, a scratch in the air came. Another scratch followed, slow and dull. Amphi and Chime watched carefully as the figure moved. Scratch, thump. Scratch, thump. Each scratch came like metal, twisting and pushing against more metal. The thumps were dull and damp as if a boot fell in wet mud. A small yellow glow came from what looked like the hood of the creature, a round dark yellow glow from the left of inside the hood. It moved closer to the Inn. Although nobody spoke or made a sound, silence was no longer in the air. A wailing sound filled the room, as if something in the distance of the night was in great pain. It whispered to everyone in the room, its breathing and cries rasped in shrill whispers. More sounds and voices followed and filled the air, whispering in dark echoes from a great distance. The voices still seemed far away and muffled, but the words could be heard by all. The voices called for help, cried out in pain and agony, men, women and children all called out for mercy.
Chime raised her voice, trying to speak over the many voices in the air ‘Amphi, I can’t see it’ she called.
Amphi looked down quickly and nervously, the creature was out of sight. Amphi stood up, looking towards the night franticly. She cried out as she headed towards the room door ‘it’s under the balcony, it’s at the door!’
Amphi ran to the door, dodging some of the Halflings as she ran. She paused, only to find her spear. She looked at her spear in the dark as she gripped it tightly, heading out of the room door and down the wooden stairs.
Chime tried calling out in a loud whisper ‘Amphi, Amphi!’ without any success, Chime followed Amphi down the stairs.
Amphi rushed to the front door, keeping her breath steady ‘Borg, where is it?’ she said, trying to keep a whisper despite the foul voices in the air.
Borg was pushing against the fine furniture he and Mr Hamthwaite had used to barricade the door. ‘I think it’s at the door, but I haven’t looked’ he explained.
Amphi walked around the room with a great stride, snuffing out all the lamps save the one remaining behind the bar. The room was dark except the faint glow of the one oil lamp, its light licking across the room.
Chime moved quickly to the middle of the room, only then, did she notice how empty the room looked with some of the tables and chairs pushed to one place. She stood still, her hands held outward as she listened and watched in silence. Her eyes darted from one corner of the room to another, her head moved much more slowly.
She spoke quietly, trying to ignore the voices filling the air ‘Amphi, the shadows’ she exclaimed. Chime was not sure if it was a trick of the lamp, or her imagination. She saw in the corner of her eyes ever so briefly, the shadows in the room moved. Whenever she looked more carefully, they remained still, as shadows should.
Before Amphi could speak, Borg let out a small cry ‘they’re moving’ he said. He did not have a chance to point to what he saw; a loud noise broke his concentration.
A deep scratching noise moved outside, whining in short bursts. This noise followed along the windows, the grey scratch moving across each piece of glass.
Chime moved slowly towards the window to her left, following the noise from behind the curtains. She looked at Amphi for a moment, her hand held tight on the curtain edge. Her hand shook as quickly as her heart beat. Before she could think any further, Chime thrust the curtain open as far as her arm would let her. That dull glow grew brighter as the cloaked figure beheld her. His gaze met hers, through the dull cut of the window. His cloaked claw pressed against the pane, the cracks appearing more. The metallic smile on the creatures face caught Chime; its glistening reflection mocked her in the dark. Chime heard a clash in her ears as her eyes rolled and forgot how to focus. Chime slipped into dizziness and the dark.
