Free Through the Flames by Ryne Billings

the road branched off.
     
    Peering through the path that was cut through the forest, they could see a finely made two-story building, composed entirely of wood. Intricate designs were cut into the outer walls of it, making the inn appear to be partially covered in thorny vines. Other than that, only one thing truly stood out about the place. Above the large door, a flag that bore the emblem of a black raven had been hung.
     
    “I don’t suppose this is the Black Raven Inn?” Caleb asked with a glance to Katie.
     
    She could not contain her surprise at the question. “How do you know its name?”
     
    Caleb looked towards the inn, his eyes darting to one of the windows on the bottom floor. “I’m a hunter. I’d be a pretty poor excuse for one if I couldn’t tell the difference between a raven and a crow.”
     
    The image of the piece of cloth Caleb carried around with him suddenly flashed to mind.
     
    Those are the only two types of black birds that I know of, Katie thought, glancing at her new companion. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew of at least a few more.
     
    “So, is there anything I should know about this Nicolas?” Caleb asked, resting his left hand on the pommel of his longsword.
     
    She took on a thinking post at that for a few moments before answering. “Nicolas… his name is Nicolas Edge, and he is the son of a relatively low-ranking noble in Caldreth. In order to prevent his son’s business from getting out in the open, Nicolas was given the funds to have this inn built by his father. That’s about all I really feel comfortable talking about with you right now though. I don’t like talking about people behind their backs.”
     
    “That’s fine,” Caleb said with a curt nod. “Let’s just go and talk to this friend of yours.”
     
    With that, they proceeded to walk towards the inn, going through the path that had been cut in the forest. When they came closer, they could easily see that the inn had been built in a small clearing..
     
    Reaching the finely crafted doors, Caleb grasped one of the brass door handles and pulled, slowly opening the door to his right. He barely managed to suppress a grunt as he fully opened the heavy door.
     
    “It’s a good security measure,” Katie remarked as she walked past him into the inn.
     
    Once Caleb stepped through and shut the door, he began to look around. From the look on his face, Katie could tell that it was not what he had expected. She suspected that everything that he had known about inns came from stories.
     
    The spot where they were standing had a dirt floor, and there were walls to his left and right, making the area that they were in comparable to a four foot wide hallway. About five feet in front of them, there were two large wooden doors. One was to the left, and the other was to the right. Thoughts of where to go came to mind. Both doors were options, but so was the area that the hallway-like path led to.
     
    “The stables are down there,” Katie suddenly said, pointing forward. “I’m guessing Nicolas only has his horse back there at the moment.”
     
    “Where are we headed to?” Caleb asked with a sigh. It was easy to see that he was getting quite frustrated at not knowing what he was doing.
     
    “Left… definitely left,” Katie said with a small smile. “That leads to the tavern. Right leads to the rooms where we’ll be staying.”
     
    “What’s on the top floor?” Caleb asked curiously.
     
    “The top floor is used for storage,” she said simply as she walked forward.
     
    Instantly understanding that she was referring to her friend’s business as a fence, Caleb followed after her, passing her just as they reached the door. The door seemed to be just like one of the front doors, and it was just as difficult to open.
     
    Once it was pulled open, they were treated to the sight of about ten tables spread out across a wide-open room with a light colored floor made of wood.
     
    Entering, they saw a bar