Private Tales Light At the End of the Tunnel

[Ciana]

"Ennio.." she smiled with a nod. "I'm Ciana." she introduced and chuckled at his antics as she watched.

"Ah, well, I've never had a best friend before." she admitted and cast her gaze around the darkened tavern. "The Last Chance... That's a curious name. It is very charming." she smiled with a gentle pat of her hand on the table.

"I was wandering.. I likely shouldn't have been, but it seemed to just.." Ciana cut herself off with a soft laugh and shook her head at how silly she might sound. "It sort of welcomed me in.." she shrugged.

"This is wonderful.." she said as she looked over the array of ingredients for the concoction. "Is this.. Some sort of magic?".. she asked curiously.

 

[Ennio]

"The Chance does have a knack for being exactly where it should be." Ennio commented with a smile, though didn't elaborate at all on what he was meant.

Instead he let out a laugh, smiling genuinely. "Of a sort, I suppose."

He said with a grin.

"Though it would be more accurate to call it Alchemy, I think." With a flourish the barkeep scooped up the mixing cups, pulling them apart and gently placing them onto the table in front of Ciana. "I met a man once, claimed to be a mixologist in fact. Though I think he just didn't like calling himself a bartender."

As he spoke, Ennio flawlessly began to work. Taking two of the bottles and uncorking them, pouring the liquids in an impressive helix pattern into the mixing cups. "I, on the other hand have no such hangups. Being the simple Innkeeper that I am."

A quick wink, bottles placed down, and fruits snapped up from the table. Quickly and expertly cut into smaller pieces.

"Is this your first time in a place like this?" Ennio asked, no hint of judgment in his tone, only simple curiosity as pieces of the fruit were deposited into the mixing cup. The little piece of brass scooped up seconds later as he vigorously shook it.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana's head tilted in amusement as he spoke of the inn as though it could move around. She chuckled and rested her arms on the table, leaning forward to watch Ennio work.

"Oh it seems anything but simple.." she commented with a warm smile.

"I've visited one or two places lately, but nothing quite like this. I'm on a bit of an adventure. My professor and I are travelling, and I really wanted to see a little more of this place. I hadn't been away from home in such a long time."

"How long have you been here?"

 

[Ennio]

"Ah! A student!" Ennio said with a gleeful smile as he reached over and grasped one of the tall wide rimmed glasses from the tray he had retrieved.

With a deft hand he flipped open a small box that had been sat upon the same silver, revealing tiny shards of ice. The glass shoveled some of the slivers into it's mouth, and then was placed directly in front of Ciana. "I admire a mind that wishes to learn."

The Innkeep said with a smile.

"Especially one that's open to wandering!" Ennio said with a grin as he pulled the brass cups apart ever so slightly, tipping them and pouring a bright pink and purple liquid into the now icy glass. "Here?"

He finally intoned to her question. "A few days now, I think."

Ennio mused. "Sometimes it all blurs together a little."

 

[Ciana]

Ciana nodded enthusiastically, her smile warming further as she watched him work so happily. Her blue eyes lit up at the sight of the drink as it poured into the glass, a quiet gasp drawn in.. "I've never seen a drink like th--"

"Wait..You mean.." her head tilted in confusion, though her expression was still one of wonder. "Y-you said you.. It has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.." her brow quirked.

"It moves?"

 

[Ennio]

Ennio put down the brass cups. "The Chance?"

The Innkeeper asked, almost as if confused that she had to ask at all.

"Of course." The words flowed from his lips as though not admitting to it would have somehow been some great scandal. Speaking as though Ciana should already have known the transfixing detail and her own incredulity was out of place. "How else would we get such fine customers as yourself?"

He said, gesturing to Ciana.

Never once had he denied the magic of the Chance, mostly because it was rather undeniable. Most of the time folk just chose to ignore it, deciding the eccentric innkeeper was either a liar or was trying to sell his business as something more than it was.

Foolish notions of course, because the Last Chance was something all it's own.

With a smile Ennio pushed the drink he had made a little closer to Ciana.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana bit gently on her lower lip, feeling somewhat foolish for her question, but she chuckled as he eased the sting with a compliment. "Forgive me.. Magic is very new to me.. There was no such thing back home. I have much to learn yet.." she blushed with a warm smile.

The drink looked incredible, but she wasn't prepared for it to taste as good as it looked. Her eyes lit up with delight as she sipped at it and licked at her lips. "Just wonderful!" she beamed, and wasted no time in drawing another long sip from the glass.

"That is quite the talent, I must say.." she nodded insistently.

"And you must both have many stories to tell from your adventures." she smiled, her eyes drawn up over the ceiling of the charming little tavern as she spoke to it also.

 

[Ennio]

"Oh don't you worry yourself too much, Miss. There are no apologies in the Chance." Ennio said with a wide smile, and then suddenly paused. "Well, unless you break something, or you try to fight someone, or you stumble into the wrong res-"

He stopped amending himself, waving at Ciana. "There's no need to apologize for not knowing something!"

Ennio correct, then smiled.

"Besides, you tell a Professor you walked into a teleporting tavern and they'll call you a madwoman!" He said with a chuckle, only briefly musing on how many scholars had tried to tell him the Last Chance Inn couldn't exist. Idiots! He lived in the damned thing.

"I'm glad you like it." The Tavernkeeper continued. "I thought you would."

He said, before quickly continuing. "We have endless stories here, and hearing one only costs you one yours."

Ennio finished, leaning back in his chair with a smile.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana beamed at him. She wasn't sure she'd ever met anyone so high spirited as Ennio, and she found his company to be quite pleasant. She sipped at her drink with a soft smile in her eyes as she watched him, though his request caused her brows to lift, and she set her glass down.

"Oh.. Well, let's see.." she licked the sweetness from her lips and pondered for a moment. "I'm afraid I haven't led a life of much excitement, I haven't nearly as many stories as you and the Chance.." she chuckled, her fingertips lightly drumming on the table..

"I suppose, I could tell you about my current adventure.." she quirked a slender brow and looked around at the still empty tavern. It wasn't like home, she didn't have to worry about being punished for breathing a word about magic, and Ennio was clearly quite accustomed to such things..

"Some time ago, I was overcome with a sickness, caused by light. I couldn't walk in the day, I couldn't light the hearth in my chambers over the winter months, even candles caused me discomfort." she gestured to the candle he'd been unable to light..

"And so I remained in my room, locked away from the outside world as I grew weaker by the day, and no healer could understand what ailed me. Until one day, a Professor found his way to my home, and requested to my father to help me. He could sense that my illness was not natural, but caused by magic, you see. My own magic." she whispered the last by the side of her hand with a smile..

"Professor Maric realised that my body consumes the light, and stores the energy, but because I had never used it, it started to kill me.. Magic is loathed where I am from, unnatural, dangerous and evil, and so my father allowed the Professor to take me with him, and teach me..Isn't that wonderful?"

 

[Ennio]

"How utterly fascinating!" Ennio said, having found himself utterly transfixed by Ciana's tale.

"And one that explains so much." The Innkeep said with a smile and a click of his tongue, leaning back in his chair as he tapped the table and looked up towards the ceiling. A chandelier, unlit, hung there. He shook his head, returning his attentions back to Ciana. "It truly is wondrous."

He admitted. "The strings of fate can be awfully kind."

Ennio himself knew that better than most.

"And now, I suppose, you're on your way to learning even more." He mused for a moment, letting his chair tipple back ever so slightly. The forelegs raising off the ground as he pushed his knee against the table. "Although."

The Innkeep noted with a smirk. "I don't see a Professor anywhere nearby."

He perked a curious eyebrow, although the smirk on his face said he already knew the answer of what she had done.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana's cheeks warmed slightly and she gave a rather sheepish smile.. "I.. Well, no.." she cleared her throat and suddenly felt extremely guilty. "He's asleep. And, I suppose I just let my curiosity get the better of me. I really don't get out much.." she laughed under her breath and sighed..

"I should get back, in case he wakes. I imagine he'd be quite worried to find me gone... Goodness, I have been thoughtless." her head shook in dismay.

 

[Ennio]

"Ah, what is a bit of thoughtlessness and mischief in youth?" Ennio asked with a small smile still touching his lips.

"A life has to be lived." The Innkeeper pointed out. "And it sounds as though you've not gotten to live much of yours."

The smile on Ennio's face turned sad for just a brief moment, as though he were mourning the loss of the years she'd spent trapped within her fathers House. He shook his head, slowly pushing himself back from the table and standing up.

A hand was extended towards Ciana. "I am sure your teacher won't notice your absence for a little while yet."

He told her, the smile on his face returning. "Just enough time, I think, to indulge that curiosity one more time."

 

[Ciana]

Ciana's lips twisted and she gave him a look of uncertainty, but he did have a point.. She considered his hand for only a few seconds before reaching to take it with a grin, her curiosity getting the best of her. In a way, she supposed, this was learning too..

"I suppose I could stay a little while longer.." she chuckled.

 

[Ennio]

"Then please, come with me." Ennio said, gently taking her hand and beginning to lead her towards the back of the common room.

There they found a door, seemingly plain as would be found in any other Tavern. Yet as Ennio pulled out a key from his pocket, Ciana would see something change, the lock beneath the handle seeming almost to shift to fit the key itself.

He said nothing as he pulled open the door, leading her into a still darkened hallway where only the barest candlelight lit their way. "I have a suspicion that you will want to see this."

Ennio mused as he began to lead her through the hall, ignoring the dozens of doors they passed. Though if Ciana looked she would see such labels upon them as; 'The Mists of Mire', 'The Pools of the Drowned City', 'The Halls of Thanasis', and many more.

They walked until they Ennio stopped in one door in particular.

"I think..." He said, reaching up and scrubbing away some of the dust off the plaque upon the door. "This is it."

It read; 'The Beaches of Beré'.

 

[Ciana]

Ciana smiled warmly as she followed behind him, her gaze bright with intrigue as he took her through a magical door, leading to a corridor of what looked like more magical doors. “Are… Are these places?..” She asked, looking at the names as she passed them. She read the name on the door they stood before now and drew in a breath.

“A beach?..Really?” she asked eagerly and smiled sheepishly at him, hoping that he wasn’t joking with her.

 

[Ennio]

"Well, they're more like themes." Ennio contended with a slight frown, not entirely sure how else he would go about describing it.

The Last Chance Inn was a strange place at the best of time. Many rooms, all seeming to shift and change at an almost random rate and time. He had long ago given up trying to puzzle out the reason for anything, instead embracing the chaotic madness.

A move that had made him much happier, and had been surprisingly successful in helping him find his way around. "But, yes."

He said, grabbing the handle.

"A very special beach." Ennio spoke as the door began to fall open, revealing not a beach of sun and bright white sand, but instead an expanse of an underground lake. A beach of black sand, lit only by the barest glow of what appeared to be bio-luminescent algae slowly washing up onto the shore.

 

[Ciana]

"Ohh!" Ciana's fingertips pressed over her lips, since it was unbecoming of a Lady to gape as she was. Her eyes widened with delight, and she glanced to Ennio, ensuring she had permission before stepping over the threshold and onto the black sand.

"This is.." her head shook and she frowned. "What's a better word for wonderful?" she laughed under her breath. She felt an instant sense of calm settle over her in this place, the ebb and flow of the water, the sound of which echoed around the cavern, and the soft blue light that illuminated it so gently.

"I love it." she said, turning to smile brightly at Ennio over her shoulder. "Thank you, Ennio."

 

[Ennio]

"There is no need of thanks." Ennio said as slowly he stepped onto the black sandy beaches, his eyes flicking around for a brief moment.

"It's not the real beach of Bere of course." Even the Chance couldn't do that, or well, it could, but then Ciana wouldn't be getting back to her professor. Least not for a few months, and while that would have been a very funny prank he doubted it was something that she would be amused by. "But a close enough approximation."

The Innkeeper sat himself down. "The Tavern likes to do this."

It was rare that he got to speak so openly about the Chance. Most people disbelieved him or thought him a fool. Those who didn't think him a madman either wanted to study the place or tear it apart. The result was usually always the same.

A quick sealing of his trap, and a jaunt across the world.

"Make little reminders of where it's been." He smiled. "There's a town just there."

Ennio said, pointing down the coastline. "I believe that was where were perched for the week."