27

Hospitality

Through towers of books and shelves of charts, maps, and other volumes, Blume followed Dilinor.

He didn't pull a single book from its shelf or disturb a page of any parchment or scroll, but instead looked at each carefully before moving on to another section of the library. It was as if what he was looking for would suddenly jump at him as soon as he saw it.

He had spurned the help of the librarians who had surrounded him. Some had offered him a chance to look at the section on elves the library had, which in Blume's mind was quite extensive. Four tall shelves filled to the brim with books and scrolls and charts stood before them.

The librarian had indicated them with his hand, and his expression showed that he thought there could be nothing else more pleasing to the eye of an elf then the display in front of him.

He was wrong.

Dilinor simply sniffed, turned up his nose, and continued his searching through what seemed like endless aisles of books.

"You know," Blume said after what must have been two or three hours of following after Dilinor. “These librarians actually do know what is inside of their own books."

Her helping Ealrin and Holve with their research to find a legendary tree had shown her that.

The librarians had been most helpful. They brought them book after book on trees, vegetation, old legends, and anything else that could possibly pertain to what they quested for.

Dilinor ignored her and kept up his own search.

"You must at least be getting hungry," Blume said as she rubbed her stomach, which was growling at her. How long had it been since she had left the house which smelled of food ready to eat?

"Where are you planning on eating?" she asked. She very much doubted all the elves brought enough food with them on their ships. The elves were probably prepared to pay for food at the various inns and markets around Lone Peak.

"I have not made plans where I will next dine," he replied, finally giving one of her many asked questions an answer.

This may have been his longest answer yet and, knowing that everyone must eat, Blume took this for a sign.

“Do you remember where we bumped into one another?" she asked. "There's a family there who has lots of food and could probably spare some for you."

It was true that their host family often had guests other than the crew that had taken over their house. Their business was at least successful enough to keep food on the table, if not to furnish the place well.

Blume could tell the thought of food had given Dilinor pause.

He stood up straight and examined the several shelves on the level he had yet to fully search.

"Lead the way," he said, placing his hands behind his back.

Blume gave him a winning smile and reached for his hand. He considered it for a moment before looking back up at her face questioningly. She withdrew it, shrugged her shoulders and said, "Follow me then."

When they exited the library, the twin suns of Gilia had nearly set, and Blume knew that she would be in for a good talking to when she finally returned home.

Even though the hour was late, the streets of Lone Peak were still filled with the newcomers and the merchants who fought for their coins. Moving a vast number of elves across the sea and far from their homeland required a large amount of food and other supplies.

Merchants were more than willing to meet those needs. Storeowners were haggling outside their businesses in hopes to make a sale to the new coming people. Barrels of grain, reams of cloth, crates of fruit and vegetables seemed to fly from the stores fronts. Nearly every elf Blume saw on their trip back to the Brewer's was carrying some type of container of food. They all seemed to be trading and buying as fast as they could carry off their purchase.

Some of the citizens of Darrion simply looked out their windows and gawked at the strange newcomers. Blume, having come from a more diverse land, was used to the sight of elves and dwarves and halflings and continued on in her normal stride. Some of the people in Darrion, however, had perhaps never seen anyone other than a human.

If indeed they had come in contact with an elf, there was nothing like the sight that met them now. Richly dressed and adorned in gold and valuable jewels, the look of some of the elves was enough even to give Blume pause.

"Where are your parents?" she asked as they neared the house where she could smell the leftover food wafting out to the street.

"Attending to their duties," Dilinor answered, in what Blume considered to be his normal concise speech.

When they approached the front of the coffee shop, Blume could see that business was booming for their hosts as well. Elves trading valuables were carrying out small barrels of what Blume knew to be coffee beans. The crest of the Brewers was on each container. She was glad that the family would be seeing their own business expand because of the visitors. They worked hard for their family's business.

"Have you ever had coffee?" she asked Dilinor, who was observing the shop with mild interest.

His nose turned up again and Blume saw the same air of superiority she had many times since meeting Dilinor that morning.

"I am too young for such a drink," he replied, as if it were the end of the matter.

"But you're thirty-three!" Blume retorted. "I'm sixteen and I drink it all the time."

Dilinor gave her a look that she wasn't able to discern immediately.

"Such is your race," he said, shaking his head.

“My race?” she started, uneasy about the last statement he had made. “We drink coffee, but what's that got to do about anything?”

Dilinor did not answer, he simply continued to observe what was around him and ignore Blume's questioning look. There was no more to say about the matter in Blume's opinion, so she led him into the house. She had expected to find everyone gathered around various tables in the back kitchen where they ate their meals. The front of the shop was typically reserved for customers.

Instead, Blume saw unfamiliar faces and Frederick at the counter frantically selling anything within reach.

"Hey Blume! I've already sold half our stock!” Frederick called out in a merry but busy tone. The store's owner and patriarch of the family was a tall, lanky bearded man who smelled of coffee beans no matter where he was. His hair and eyes matched the color of his wares, brown and dark. “Who's your friend?"

Blume almost answered him but then saw he was far too busy for a conversation and had even begun another transaction without waiting for her to reply.

She helped herself behind the counter and into the back room that served as the family's private dinning area. Blume offered Dilinor a seat and began to spoon the stew she had smelled being prepared hours before into a bowl and served him.

She procured a spoon as well as a glass of water and set it all before him before serving herself and sitting opposite him at the table that occupied most of the space in the dining room. Leading up to this, Blume had almost expected him to turn up his nose at such a meager meal and refuse to eat. In stark contrast, she found he had completely emptied his bowl before she had managed her second spoonful.

"Uh," she began. "Would you like more?"

In response, he held out his bowl to her in a dignified but very hungry manner. Dilinor ate through three more bowls of stew before slowing down. Blume satisfied her appetite with a single bowl and a small piece of bread.

"Do you eat where you come from?" she asked out of genuine curiosity. The only people who Blume saw eat as much as Dilinor were either dwarves with bottomless stomachs, or people who have not had a decent meal in several days.

"Our food was conserved to ensure that we made the trip here with plenty leftover."

Blume understood.

On their own journey to Irradan, under the careful guidance of Felicia, food had been rationed so that even if an emergency had occurred and they were blown off course or assailed by a storm that delayed them several days, their food stores would not be depleted.

"Well," she tried to say encouragingly. "Now that you're here, you can eat a little more freely."

Dilinor's eyes went wide at this and he stared down at his bowl with an odd expression.

Fear?

He abruptly thanked Blume for the food before almost flying out of the store. She tried to follow him but was hindered by the crowd still gathered within the business. By the time she made it out to the streets, Dilinor was gone.

"I've met several strange people," Blume said out loud. "But this elf might be the strangest."

As she was turning to go back inside, Jurrin ran up to the shop, nearly out of breath.

"Miss Blume!" he gasped "Prisoner. Escaped. Looking for him!"

Blume hardly had time to process this before Ealrin and Holve came running up behind the halfling, out of breath and red in the face.