“Thank you.”
Teffania turned away from the woman, and continued to push through the crowd. Ludo walked next to her as he continued to glance at what the different stalls offered. “So, where are we going?”
“An inn called The Gull’s Nest.”
Ludo raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the flying sea rats overhead. “I hope it doesn’t live up to its name.”
Teffy and Lusa chuckled at his offhanded comment. Meanwhile, the streets became narrower as they descended further toward the docks. The buildings cast shadows over the road as they leaned crookedly against each other. It only took several minutes for them to find the candlemaker’s place and get their bearings.
The Gull’s Nest itself sat wedged between a rope-maker’s and what appeared to be an abandoned building. Ludo frowned as he stared at the wooden sign, where a white blob with what he expected were supposed to be wings was painted.
Wow, the painter was a real Vincent van Gogh.
Ludo rolled his eyes at the sign as he followed the girls inside.
A warm fire crackled in the hearth of the empty common room. Behind the counter, stood a thin man with a weathered face. He glanced at them with a wide, friendly smile as they filed inside.
“Hi, we need a room, please,” Teffania said.
The innkeeper looked at her, then at Lusa. But Ludo frowned as he could’ve sworn the man shot a quick look in his direction too.
I must be imagining things.
“Certainly, young miss. Can I ask how long you’ll be staying with us?”
“Uh, I’m not sure. It’ll be until the end of the Noble Tournament.”
“Oh, you managed to get tickets to watch that, did you?”
Teffy shook her head. “No, I’m one of the competitors.”
The man’s eyes almost jumped out of his skull when she said that. He practically fawned over her as he praised her for making it this far.
There it is again.
Ludo’s eyes narrowed. He was almost certain of it now. This guy was actually sneaking him a few looks.
Can he really see me? How?
“Well miss, there’s no charge if you’ve got your invitation letter. The Baron himself will cover the cost of your stay.”
Teffy reached into her sack again and presented him with her invitation. The man nodded as he took it to the fireplace and held it so the light would shine through.
“What’s that?” Lusa asked as a faint mark and some letters and numbers appeared near the bottom of the letter.
“This?” The man said as he turned to look at her. “It’s a magical mark to prove the letter is authentic. And these numbers and letters let us trace it in the register of competitors to who should have it.”
Ludo was honestly astonished that such a backwards world would have a way to counter forgeries and so on. To be fair, even Teffania seemed shocked by this.
Maybe it’s not common knowledge? Probably costs a lot to put it into practice. Wait. He said magic, didn’t he?
Although he’d already guessed it was a thing in this world, it was still amazing to hear it be confirmed. Ludo’s mind was already racing at the thought of majestic sights he would get to see. He wondered if the mages would all be old men and women having taken centuries to reach mastery, or if there would be quite a few powerful young ones.
He completely lost track of the conversation as his imagination got away from him. Next thing he knew, Teffania was being handed a key and given directions to their room. Apparently, meals were included with their stay.
While Teffy went to the room to store their sack of belongings, Lusa was pointing excitedly at a noticeboard on the wall. “Teffy, look at this.”
She turned around only to notice her sister was gone. “Oh. Ah, Ludo, come see this.”
Ludo slammed his palm against his face as the innkeeper raised an eyebrow at her. “Who’s Ludo?”
“Ludo is right…”
Lusa trailed off as she seemed to realise her mistake. She shot a sheepish smile at him while she fumbled to find the words to try and explain away her slip of the tongue.
“Don’t worry, kid,” Ludo sighed as he rubbed her head. “You can see me, can’t you?”
“Eh? Don’t know what you mean,” the innkeeper said with a sly smile while deliberately avoiding Ludo’s gaze.
“Come on, spill it. How can you see and hear me?”
“Well, I think it’s best if we have that little conversation alone. Don’t you think so?”
Ludo didn’t answer him right away. Instead, he searched the innkeeper’s face, looking for any sign of a trick being played. However, his expression remained friendly, and he seemed as though he couldn’t care if Ludo accepted to have a chat or not.
Just then, Lusa tugged at his sleeve. “Ludo?”
“Go upstairs and stay with your sister,” Ludo sighed. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Lusa pouted as she glanced at the innkeeper then back at Ludo. Her little fingers fiddled with the edge of her sleeve.
“Promise you’re not going to disappear?”
“I promise, now on you go.” He gave her a gentle shove and watched as she scurried up the stairs. “Let’s talk.”
The innkeeper waited until he heard the door close at the top of the stairs before jerking his head to the side. “This way.”
He led Ludo through a low doorway behind the counter and down a short corridor. There was a sharp tang of ale in the air as they passed a few closed doors. Eventually, the innkeeper stopped at the last door on the left and went inside.
It was a small sitting room. There was another hearth inside, but the fire had burned low. Two padded chairs sat facing it with a low table between them. Ludo soon noticed that the room only had a single small window on the back wall. The innkeeper gestured to one of the seats while he busied himself near one of the cabinets.
As Ludo sat down, the innkeeper came over and took the other seat. He offloaded the two mugs he carried and a pitcher onto the table before letting out a long sigh. Soon, he poured the dark liquid into the mugs and pushed one toward Ludo.
“You’re going to need that,” he said. “Trust me.”
Ludo cocked an eyebrow as he wrapped his fingers around the mug but didn’t lift it. The beer within was tar black and didn’t exactly get him excited to have it.
“Who are you?” Ludo asked.
“My name’s Zohbor,” he said with a slight smile and a hint of something else in his eye. “God of Travellers and Beer. Though around here, most folks just call me Zoh.”
Ludo squinted at him. “You’re a god?”
“So are you.” Zohbor nodded as he took a sip from his mug. A foam moustache appeared on his upper lip which he licked away. “So, what are you? God of kids or something? Hm, you’re still a newborn, that much is for certain.”
“Games, actually,” Ludo sighed as he eased further back into the chair. “This is probably a stupid question, but how can you see me? And how can the girls see you?”
“Well, kid. I’m older than you,” Zohbor said while nodding. “A lot older. As long as you’ve got enough power, it’s easy to pierce the veil and see the hidden things. Works the other way too. Very useful for going unnoticed if you want to. As for the young ladies, once you cross a certain threshold, you can make yourself visible to mortals if you want to.”
Ludo thought about that as he stared into the fire. He thought about everything he’d gone through so far. How many gods had been watching him so far without his knowing?
“How many gods are there?”
“More than you’d think,” Zohbor said as he sat his mug down. “And probably fewer than what you’re worried about. Most keep to their domains and don’t cause any trouble. Others, well, I’m sure you’ll run into one of their lot eventually.”
“And which kind are you?”
Zohbor let out a low, warm laugh that filled the room. “Ah, you don’t need to worry about me, kid. I’m happy with my tiny corner of the world. Pouring beer and giving travellers a place to rest. That’s more than enough excitement for me.”
Ludo finally smiled and took a drink from his mug.
Oh, this is good stuff!
The liquid settled with a warmth in his gut. Seeming to wash away all of his exhaustion.
“What do you know about being a god?” Ludo asked after several minutes passed in silence.
“More than you, clearly.” Zohbor chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. “But if you want me to tell you anything, you have to do something first.”
“What?”
“Swear an oath.” Zohbor said as the logs in the fire popped. “You swear to me, on your name, that you won’t reveal my true nature to anyone. Not your followers, other gods, or anything else. What I am stays between us. And no matter what happens, you’ll treat The Gull’s Nest as neutral ground. There’ll be no violence here.”
Ludo raised a brow at Zoh while he set his own mug down. “Why? Didn’t you say older gods can see you anyway?”
“Sure they can. But I’m not too worried about them. Besides, I don’t want every mortal stomping through my door to demand something from me.” Zohbor’s smile thinned as he stared into the fire. “I’ve spent a few years keeping this place running. It’s special to me. The Gull’s Nest is known from here to Vahrn’s border. The travellers trust me ‘cause I’m just Zoh the innkeeper. If they knew what I really was, well, the greed of mortals can be a fearsome thing.”
Ludo tried to imagine what would happen back on Earth if gods were real and living among them. He scowled as he quickly realised the kind of life those gods would have.
Well, that’s a bummer.
“What if I refuse?” Ludo asked out of curiosity.
“Then we’ll finish our drinks, you’ll go back to the ladies, and I’ll go back to being a regular innkeeper. From there, you can figure things out on your own. Hopefully before you make a stupid mistake.” Zohbor shrugged. “But you’ll make them. Young gods always do if they haven’t had guidance. And believe me, kid. There’s some mistakes you can’t make up for.”
Ludo stared deep into the fire. He didn’t know if Zohbor was telling the truth or not. But he needed whatever it was that Zohbor knew. As Zohbor had put it, he needed guidance. Ludo didn’t know how his powers worked, and frankly, he’d just been lucky so far. Hearing Zohbor’s concerns about mortals knowing who he was made him concerned too. It shouldn’t take much for Haroll and his men to put two and two together.
“Fine,” Ludo nodded with a serious expression as he stared at the thin man. “I, Ludo, God of Games, swear I won’t reveal your nature nor bring violence to The Gull’s Nest.”