The Train: Chapter I

The young man slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around only finding an empty train car, as the spell of confusion passed the man relaxed and looked outside. It was dark outside probably about four in the morning. The man looked out and saw the glitter of a village in the distance, which without a doubt is the city of Erobringen. The train sped along passing frozen ponds and trees that scattered the hills of the Faróin wilds, as the train slowed down and arrived at the station the man stood up and grabbed his luggage from the compartments above the seats. He took his things, and he left the empty train, as he stepped off from the car he looked around and saw one young women at the ticket booth with her head on the desk sleeping. The man walked over and cleared his tapped on the glass. The woman stirred and raised her head up, her hair tangled in front of her face.
“Do you know where I could maybe find a room?” The young man asked.
The women bolted up and pushed her hair out of her eyes to reveal a shocked face.
“I…I…” The lady stuttered as the man listened intently. “You could maybe try the um…uh… Kelly’s cellar! Yes, Kelly’s cellar it’s a pub just down the road, I think it has a few rooms.”
“Thank you.” The man replied nodding at the flustered young women walking toward the street away from the station.
“Wait!” The women cried. “Will you be staying here long?”
The young man chuckled. “I don’t know. I may stay here a very long time.”
“That’s…good.” The lady said to herself as the man walked out of the station staring at him leave. “Dammit…” She whispered to herself.

The young man walked into the pub only to find a fat man with a large beard wiping tables. The soft, dim light coming from scattered lanterns gave the fat man a wise, or experienced aura.
“Good morning” The fat man said. “What can I do you for?”
“Actually, I was looking for somewhere to spend the night.” The young man replied.
The fat bartender gave out a hearty laugh. “We can accommodate! It will be 5 silver pieces.” The two men walked over to the bar and the bartender handed him a key in exchange for a handful of silver coins. “Oh, and we will be name sir.”
“Yes of course.” The young man replied cautiously looking slightly uncomfortable. “Um…Nicholas...”
The bartender looked expectantly at the young man until no further answers arose. “Well then master Nicholas, enjoy your night.”
As Nicholas walked across the room toward the stairs, he silently released a breath held inside his chest for the interaction. While the stranger walked away from the bartender a look of suspicion crossed the worker’s face and as Nicholas turned to walk up the stairs he caught the stair of the barkeeper. Nicholas’s free hand moved toward the side pocket of his coat instinctively, but his conscious caught him and forced it back down.
“Do nothing that will draw suspicion to yourself.” Nicholas whispered to himself looking forward as he moved across the upstairs hall with the baggage in hand. But a thought crept into the back of Nicholas’s head. ‘It doesn’t matter what you say or do, the people will find out who you are.’