Enar's Vacation - Open Beta

Chapter 11

4857 Words

This is a beta version of Enar's Vacation. Changes can - and probably will - be made as a result of reader feedback. I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you'll take the time to give me some feedback. It will help me make this story the best it can be.

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Enar stepped out of the forest right where he'd entered it, at the stone by the side of the road near the cider-house. Coming back down had been a lot easier than going up, but even then it had been quite a walk, and he looked forward to sitting down with a good meal.

He'd sat there for quite a while, on the bench at the top of the hill watching the wind sprites play. He'd laughed and giggled at their antics, even yelled encouragement when they did something that particularly impressed him. At first he'd thought of them like a bunch of playful puppies, but when he threw a stick and yelled fetch they'd completely ignored it. Strange little buggers.

This was such an amazing story to bring home. He puffed his chest out and put a spring in his step. Everyone would be so impressed.

So far his stay in the anetacht had been great, and from what he'd gathered, the afternoon would continue in style - a good meal, and a long nap. What more could he ask for?

Coming out here on vacation had been a great idea. Just getting out of the city was good. He'd needed that. Maybe he'd stay and not come back. What would it cost to get a burrow and live permanently out here? Was it even possible? It'd probably be too much hassle, but it was nice to think about.

Maybe he'd find a nice local girl. They could settle down and start a family and grow old together. He smiled to himself. A man could dream.

First he'd have lunch though. His belly rumbled and he walked a little faster. Maybe he could ask Rolf about finding a burrow for himself later. Rolf would know.

While he'd been playing with wind sprites the space in front of the inn had filled with people. They stood in little groups or sat at the tables. Children ran all over the place, yelling and screaming and chasing each other. Two men struggled to get another table out through the door of the inn, and a waitress with an empty tray waited for them to get out of the way and let her in. Hedgie was nowhere to be seen, but the door to the stable had been shut, and children climbed in the tree she'd stood under.

Enar tried to spot someone he recognized. One of the kids in the tree might have been Elsie, but he wasn't sure and he didn't want to get closer to check. The kids would all stare at him, and he could be wrong. It'd be embarrassing.

"Hello! Enar! Over here! Enar!" Rolf's voice boomed from somewhere in the crowd and everyone turned to look at him.

Everyone.

Everyone in the entire crowd stared at him. His face grew warm. Where was Rolf? He squirmed and fidgeted. Where? His feet stuck to the ground and wouldn't move. Everyone stared.

Finally - after half an eternity - he spotted his host. Rolf stood at the edge of the crow with his wife and another couple. Waving his hands in the air, and yelling at the top of his lungs, he made quite a spectacle. Heaving a sigh of relief, Enar waved back and hurried over - keeping his eyes straight, careful not to look at anyone else.

"There you are my friend. How was the walk? Did you make it to the top? Nice view, right?" Rolf clapped him on the back, and, before Enar could even begin to reply, he started introducing the two fylkin with him and Beired. "This here is Burre and this is his wife Gitta. They're from down by Littleford and they're a bunch of greedy miserable bastards. If Gitta didn't make the best apple tarts in seven hills I wouldn't have anything to do with them. If you're lucky we might get some after we herd down the sheep there on Infday."