The Dragon and the Snake

The air was thick with moisture as the sun started to dry up the recent rains. A haze was rising from the ground as the clouds parted and more sun shone through. Alec fanned himself with his tablecloth as he leant in the doorway looking for a cool breeze. There had only been a few customers today at his roadside inn. Usually on this road there would be more, but the recent rains had kept the usual foot traffic down to a minimum. This had also meant that his raucous cook, Gareth, became idle and took to the drink more often. Alec shook his head. There was a bad employment choice if ever he had made one. The cook was a large man of a strong build and fiery temper. No one dared complain about the meals that he put out, that is, not twice anyways. Alec took one last look up and down the hazy road, sighed and turned to go back into the Inn.

A chill crept down his spine as a voice sounded directly behind him.

'Are you open?'

Trying not to run, to give into the sudden rush of fear Alec turned around. What he saw was a tall man dressed in a long travelling cloak with a large straw hat that covered the face and a strap that went across the chest.

'Excuse me?' Alec asked tentatively, wondering where this person had come from as not a moment ago there had been no one on the roads as far as his eyes could see.

'Are you open?' Came the level reply. It was not harsh but every time he spoke Alec got the sensation of a sharp sword being sharpened on a wet stone.

'Ye-yes we are,' he replied, trying to regain his composure. 'For those that can afford it we have drink and food, a dry place and bed if needed.'

The man extended a gloved hand from out of his cloak.

'Will this do?' he asked holding up a gold coin.

Alec' eyes went wide.

'Yes, certainly sir. Please,' he said moving to the side, 'come this way.'

The straw hat moved slightly and then the cloaked man walked inside, following Alec towards one of the nicer placed booths. The inside of the Inn was large and spacious, with booths running around the side, a fire place, small dance floor, musician corner and a long bar lined with stools at the front and many drinks behind. Opposite the main door on the other side was a staircase that led up to the guest rooms on the second floor. The usually busy roadside Inn was quiet in the afternoon heat but would become livelier in the evening as people came in from the fields in the nearby farms.

The cloaked man turned abruptly and walked over to a particular table and chair and stood by it.

'Is here ok?'

Alec turned and rushed over.

'Of course, wherever you please. May I get you anything in particular?'

'Food and drink,' was the same level reply. 'Lots of it.'

'Right away,' and with that Alec left quickly. He had come across many different travellers in his life. Some filthy, some dangerous, some loud, some quiet, some well-paying and others stingy. And then there was the kind that you could not wait to see the back of. There was something about this man that unsettled him more than he would have liked to admit. Even the heat seemed to have gone out of the room.

'Hey, Gareth, we've got a customer,' he said in the kitchen. Gareth had an open wine bottle and a chunk of roast beef in front of him. By the looks of it, it was not his first bottle of wine either. 'I want a hot main, two serves.'

'Bah, get it yourself!'

'Now!'

Alec left and brought the cloaked man some drink and small food while he waited. To Alec it seemed as though he had not moved, not even shifted slightly, since he had sat down and even though the straw hat did not move it felt as though his every movement was being watched.

'Your food will be out shortly,' he said to the cloaked man. Alec did not know if it was his imagination or not, but he thought that the hat nodded slightly.

'What's that man doing,' Alec said quietly to himself as he returned to the kitchen. There were no sounds of preparation and only the clink and chink of bottles. When he got back in the kitchen it was to find Gareth with a wine bottle in each hand taking swills from each.

'Gareth, what are you doing?'

Gareth spun around and glared at him.

'What does it look like? I'm enjoying myself I am!' he roared while taking another swig of alcohol.

'I'm not paying you to enjoy yourself! I'm paying you to cook. The customer out there has paid good money for food and that's what they'll get!'

'He can go stick it. You can go stick it.'

'C'mon Gareth, it's what you're getting paid for,' Alec said and then tried another tact, instantly regretting it when the words left his mouth. 'And this one is different. He paid a full gold coin, he won't show his face and there's something about him that I don't want to see more of.'

'Oh, oh he's got you scared does he?' When Alec' face paled the burly cook roared with laughter. 'Oh boy, I've got to see this.'

Alec protested and tried to hold Gareth back but the man brushed the small Inn keeper to the side and walked out of the kitchen, past the bar and into the main room. He spotted the cloaked figure and walked up to him.

'So, you've got Alec here all scared and quaking. Watcha going to do if I don't get you your food?'

There was a moment that to Alec seemed to go on for some time where the cloaked man said and did nothing.

'I'll be hungry,' he eventually said, the hat moving slightly to 'look' at Gareth. 'You'll be sad.'

Gareth laughed and brought his clenched fist down on a nearby table, shattering it into two.

He lunged towards the cloaked figure, 'Now listen here you.' He was cut short and there was a dull thunderous clap. Alec could not see what had happened but Gareth keeled over clutching his midriff. The cloaked figure grabbed Gareth by the collar and lifted him up closer to him and said something into his ear. Gareth nodded fervently, got up shakily and walked away.

Alec was stunned but tried to form some sort of apology.

'Nothing to worry,' was the same calm reply, as if nothing strange had happened at all. 'More drink please.'

Alec nodded and moved as fast as his confused state would allow. After filling up another drink he returned to the cloaked figure. He looked around then and saw Gareth bring a tray of food out from the kitchen and set it down on the table with more care than Alec had ever seen.

'Thank you both,' the cloaked man said. His hands moving deftly to the food and underneath the straw hat.

'You-you're welcome,' they both said. 'Let us know if there's anything else.'

Once again there was the maybe nod from the straw hat.

It was not long after that, that both Alec and Gareth stood at the double doorway to the Inn and watched the cloaked man walk away. On his back he carried a long package and on his side you could tell that a sword was worn on the hip. Now also slung on his back was a package of food and drink.

‘I hoped he liked that chocolate cake,’ Gareth mused out loud. ‘It’s my Mum’s recipe you see? You’ve got to get the right blend of chocolate and alcohol. Mum said that if someone could stand straight after a single serve then you hadn’t made it right… he had two helpings.’

'Gareth, what did he say to you?' Alec finally asked as the cloaked man disappeared from eyesight.

Gareth looked thoughtful for a moment, looked away and then back down at the Inn keeper.

'Life is good,' was his thoughtful reply.

And it was.