Chapter 2 The Inn

Chapter 2 The Inn

         "Hey, wait, why did you hit me?  Come on, I said wait!"
         Elorn was trying to catch Elaine on the stairs, but she kept running.  The stairway led down to a dining area filled with people.  They turned to where he was standing to see what all the yelling was about, and someone began laughing.
         "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could anyone tell me where the girl went that ran through here?" he asked.
         "You mean Elaine?  Is she the one that gave you that mark on your cheek?" asked one man behind the counter.
         "Yeah, Elaine.  Can you tell me where she went?"
         "Well now, I haven't seen you here before, and I don't know why she hit you.  Kinda suspicious if you ask me..." replied the man.
         "Are you kidding me," asked Elorn loudly.  "I've been here for a whole damn week!"
         "Is that right?  Well then, why haven't I seen you before?"
         "I've been upstairs the whole time!"
         "Stay right there, I'll get the manager to confirm this."
         He waited patiently while people started whispering around him.  He noticed that a lot of the customers were men, and he started thinking that he might be in a tavern.  I've been in that one room for a week, and I have no idea where the hell I am, and now I have to deal with... whatever this is... How am I-.  His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the manager.
         "Hey!  You're that old guy that hit me in the head!  What happened to Elayne?  What did she have to get for you at the bookstore?"
         "I'm right here, and don't insult my grandpa!"
         Elorn hadn't noticed that Elaine was behind the old man.
         "Not you, my sister!  What happened to my sister, you geezer?" he yelled.
         "Please, calm down.  I don't know what you went through before I found you, but I can guarantee that I have never met you before last week, and I've never met your sister," said the manager.
         Elorn looked closer at the manager just like he did with Elaine.  He noticed that this guy looked a bit younger than the old man that had hit him.  He was starting to get a little worried that if he kept mixing people up like that; then he would make quite a few enemies.
         "Lets go to my office to discuss this more," said the manager, looking at the staring customers.
         The manager's office was small with a desk.  There were papers on the desk, and shelves on the walls.  The manager sat down at his desk and apologized for not having more chairs.
         "Now, for the matter at hand.  You have been staying at my inn for a week for free.  I try my best to keep people like you-"
         "People like me?" asked Elorn.
         "Like you and Elaine.  People not from here."
         "What... do you mean?" he asked.
         "Oh boy... Elaine, you never told him?" asked the manager.
         "I was doing my best just to take care of him.  He barely eats and he has a book with him that he stares at for hours at a time," said Elaine.
         "I see..  Elorn, is it?  Do you remember how you came to be at my inn?" asked the manager.
         The question caught him off guard.  He didn't know where he was, or how he got there.  All he knew was that the book had something to do with it.
         "Okay, where am I?  What happened?" he finally asked.
         "Elaine found you on a street near here, and you were unconscious.  She came and got me, and I carried you here."
         Elorn frowned slightly, and he looked from the manager to Elaine and back again.
         "How did I get on the street?" asked Elorn, wanting to sit down.
         "I don't know.  Every once in a while I will find people like you and Elaine on the street; people that aren't from not only this town, but also from this world.  You were hurt pretty badly, and I'm glad you are doing well."
         "What do you mean, not from this world...?  What the hell is going on?"
         "Grandpa," said Elaine, "he has memories from the other world."
         "I've never heard of that before.  Maybe it has something to do with the book you mentioned..."
         "Don't touch or look at that book!" exclaimed Elorn.
         "Why not?" asked the manager.
         "I... don't remember.  Just don't, okay?"
         "Don't worry, no one is going to.  Can you tell me what you remember?"
         Elorn explained that all he could remember were the things that he had seen in dreams while at the inn.  The manager asked if he remembered anything at all as to how he had gotten the scar, the book, or how he had gotten to the inn.  He also said that the only real memory he had was of his sister being in danger.  Elorn said that he thought the book had something to do with him getting transported.
         When the manager started bringing the discussion to a close, Elorn asked if Elaine could take him where she had found him.  She said that she would, and he went upstairs to get ready.