Mathew Amtrum
02-07-08, 11:15 PM
Mathew was bumping up and down holding on to the side of the rickety cart as it made it's way down the bumpy path. Several days have passed since his spontaneous departure from his old life. Several days since he chose to see the world he lived in rather then just hear about it. He was only a few days from his home and already he has seen more of the world then ever before. As one that lived his whole life inside the city it was amazing to see what it was really like beyond the walls that had been a symbol of home to him for many years.
Only a few days and his whole view of the world seemed to be changing. He always considered himself an active person having to run errends for his parents all of the time but now his feet felt about ready to fall off from all of the walking he has done. Even with hitching rides now and then on carts he was just not used to the amount of walking that traveling required him to do. The urge to take off his boots and massage his feet was trying to overwhelm his brain, he would have too if it wasn't for fear of falling off of the cart if he let go.
He was lucky to find a cart in this part of the woods in his opinion, with trees far larger then any he had ever seen inside the city all around him he couldn't see that far off of the road and he dared not stray for fear of wild animals and to a lesser degree bandits or something. He heard dense woods were notorious for bandits.
"How far are we from Underwood did you say we were Sir?" Mathew would ask the grizzled old man up front leading the his work mule with a crop to make sure he didn't stop to graze.
"About another hour." The man would reply gruffly in almost a rebuke. The thought of another hour in this cart in between barrels of Ale being shipped to the Peaceful something or other. Mathew couldn't really recall since at the time he was just happy to be able to get off his feet. But his sore backside was starting to rival his feet. Either way gratitude and fear of the man's crop kept him from complaining. He would just try to pass the time looking at the seemingly never changing, but new landscape. Taking in the intoxicating smell of nature that the old man was probably used to by now.
The next hour passed slowly for Mathew and when the cart finally stopped he released his death grip from the old wood that made up the cart he was foolish enough to ride in. He got up gingerly wincing slightly as he moved from his sitting position to a standing one. "Thank you for the ride Sir." He would say flashing the man a smile being truly grateful since no matter how rough the ride was at least he would have a bed to sleep in tonight instead of having to camp under a bush.
"It was nothing I was heading this way anyways." The older man would say without so much at glancing at Mathew. Taking it as a dismissal Mathew would slowly limp over to the front of the Inn that the man was making his delivery. After all one place was as good as another when you were a stranger. Taking a moment to read the worn sign Mathew would squint trying to form the letters in to words. And after a few moments he was able to decipher what the worn lettering said.
"The Peaceful Promenade huh?" He would say to himself quietly as he pushed open the door to see an all to familiar scene. Having worked in an Inn most of his life he was not surprised by what he saw. Gruff men in work clothing dicing in a corner and several pretty severing girls slipping between tables sometimes dodging a pinch from a customer that may have had a glass to many. The smell of meat wafted to the entrance from the kitchen and as if in response Mathew's stomach would rumble reminding him that he hadn't had anything other then berries and some fruit in days.
Closing the door behind him he would slowly enter the Inn looking around for an empty table to sit at since the look of some of the men at the other tables scared him to be honest. He wasn't a coward but this was a strange land to him despite being so close to his home. Homesickness and insecurity was creeping at the back of his head making him slightly paranoid of anyone that looked at him funny. He shifted his arms slightly as if to test to make sure that the blades were still there in case he wound up in trouble. And thankfully they were undisturbed.
Finally taking a seat in the middle of the Inn, one of the few open tables, though it did make him feel very exposed. He was greeted by a pretty serving girl who had a small glimmer of sweat on her forehead showing that she was not only working hard and had obviously been on her shift for a few hours at least.
"What can I get for you Deary?" She would ask with a small giggle that caused her to scrunch up her nose in a very cute manner. On Reflex Mathew would give her a flirtatious smile which she returned with a wink. He didn't really think anything of it, after all he had seen his sister do the same thing at their Inn back home. It was a trick to get guys to give you a better tip. You flirt a little bit and hoping that you might see them after your shift they give you a nice tip to help you remember them. But even knowing that she was just doing her job he couldn't help but appreciate how cute she was with golden hair that fell down to her shoulders, and sparking blue eyes with a few freckles on her cheeks. If he was back home he would likely have asked her for a dance or something.
"Ummm your cheapest ale and whatever is ready in the kitchen I suppose." He would say as his stomach gave another growl as if he needed to be reminded how hungry he was.
"Alrighty." She would say with another cute smile.
Letting out a sigh of relief Mathew would lean back in to the chair silently wishing that it had a cushion but grateful that it was at least still. His fingers began to tap on the unpolished wood of the table as he waited for his food eager to get some real food in to his stomach at last.
Only a few days and his whole view of the world seemed to be changing. He always considered himself an active person having to run errends for his parents all of the time but now his feet felt about ready to fall off from all of the walking he has done. Even with hitching rides now and then on carts he was just not used to the amount of walking that traveling required him to do. The urge to take off his boots and massage his feet was trying to overwhelm his brain, he would have too if it wasn't for fear of falling off of the cart if he let go.
He was lucky to find a cart in this part of the woods in his opinion, with trees far larger then any he had ever seen inside the city all around him he couldn't see that far off of the road and he dared not stray for fear of wild animals and to a lesser degree bandits or something. He heard dense woods were notorious for bandits.
"How far are we from Underwood did you say we were Sir?" Mathew would ask the grizzled old man up front leading the his work mule with a crop to make sure he didn't stop to graze.
"About another hour." The man would reply gruffly in almost a rebuke. The thought of another hour in this cart in between barrels of Ale being shipped to the Peaceful something or other. Mathew couldn't really recall since at the time he was just happy to be able to get off his feet. But his sore backside was starting to rival his feet. Either way gratitude and fear of the man's crop kept him from complaining. He would just try to pass the time looking at the seemingly never changing, but new landscape. Taking in the intoxicating smell of nature that the old man was probably used to by now.
The next hour passed slowly for Mathew and when the cart finally stopped he released his death grip from the old wood that made up the cart he was foolish enough to ride in. He got up gingerly wincing slightly as he moved from his sitting position to a standing one. "Thank you for the ride Sir." He would say flashing the man a smile being truly grateful since no matter how rough the ride was at least he would have a bed to sleep in tonight instead of having to camp under a bush.
"It was nothing I was heading this way anyways." The older man would say without so much at glancing at Mathew. Taking it as a dismissal Mathew would slowly limp over to the front of the Inn that the man was making his delivery. After all one place was as good as another when you were a stranger. Taking a moment to read the worn sign Mathew would squint trying to form the letters in to words. And after a few moments he was able to decipher what the worn lettering said.
"The Peaceful Promenade huh?" He would say to himself quietly as he pushed open the door to see an all to familiar scene. Having worked in an Inn most of his life he was not surprised by what he saw. Gruff men in work clothing dicing in a corner and several pretty severing girls slipping between tables sometimes dodging a pinch from a customer that may have had a glass to many. The smell of meat wafted to the entrance from the kitchen and as if in response Mathew's stomach would rumble reminding him that he hadn't had anything other then berries and some fruit in days.
Closing the door behind him he would slowly enter the Inn looking around for an empty table to sit at since the look of some of the men at the other tables scared him to be honest. He wasn't a coward but this was a strange land to him despite being so close to his home. Homesickness and insecurity was creeping at the back of his head making him slightly paranoid of anyone that looked at him funny. He shifted his arms slightly as if to test to make sure that the blades were still there in case he wound up in trouble. And thankfully they were undisturbed.
Finally taking a seat in the middle of the Inn, one of the few open tables, though it did make him feel very exposed. He was greeted by a pretty serving girl who had a small glimmer of sweat on her forehead showing that she was not only working hard and had obviously been on her shift for a few hours at least.
"What can I get for you Deary?" She would ask with a small giggle that caused her to scrunch up her nose in a very cute manner. On Reflex Mathew would give her a flirtatious smile which she returned with a wink. He didn't really think anything of it, after all he had seen his sister do the same thing at their Inn back home. It was a trick to get guys to give you a better tip. You flirt a little bit and hoping that you might see them after your shift they give you a nice tip to help you remember them. But even knowing that she was just doing her job he couldn't help but appreciate how cute she was with golden hair that fell down to her shoulders, and sparking blue eyes with a few freckles on her cheeks. If he was back home he would likely have asked her for a dance or something.
"Ummm your cheapest ale and whatever is ready in the kitchen I suppose." He would say as his stomach gave another growl as if he needed to be reminded how hungry he was.
"Alrighty." She would say with another cute smile.
Letting out a sigh of relief Mathew would lean back in to the chair silently wishing that it had a cushion but grateful that it was at least still. His fingers began to tap on the unpolished wood of the table as he waited for his food eager to get some real food in to his stomach at last.