The chorus reached a peak only to fall apart into laughter as Orn reached the open door. He blinked at the light as he entered the well-lit room. The room was packed with men drinking and talking.

A couple cheerful looking children ran between the tables carrying drinks, while a large man stood behind the counter at the far end pouring more. Orn weaved his way through the crowd and tables, trying not to disturb anyone. It would be a challenge at the best of times, but with a pack and an unstrung longbow it resulted in a lot of muttered apologies.

Orn just made the counter when the large man rumbled out, “What will it be?”

“A room, if you have any?” Orn asked through a gap in the men at the bar.

The large man raised an eyebrow and gestured at the crowd. “We do not have enough rooms for everyone here already.”

Orn thought that would be the case, and nodded. “I thought that would be the case, but Mart said I should ask.”

The barkeep put down the glass he had just picked up and turned his full attention to Orn for the first time. “Mart sent you, huh?”

Orn nodded, “He recommended you.”

The large man shook his head, “He probably talked your head off for hours on end too.” Apparently noticing the gear Orn was carrying he added, “Used to sleeping rough?”

“You could say that. Since there is not a room, I will just camp outside of town.” Orn replied. He was about to ask where he could do that when a woman’s voice stopped him.

“You will do no such thing!” A red haired woman said slamming a tray of small pies on the counter. Her sudden appearance caused Orn and the large man to both jump. The woman glared at Orn. “Sleeping alone in the high hills is reckless, especially these days.”

The barkeep looked at the woman with a flat expression, “Was about to tell him that.” Turning back to Orn he asked, “Got anything against sheep or shepherds?”

I have never even met any. Orn blinked confused, “No?”

“It is settled then.” The woman said placing one of the pies off the tray in his hands and pushing him through the crowd. She steered Orn through the crowd towards a door at the back.

As she opened the door, Orn found himself in a large yard filled with sheep. The heads of several dogs poked up from among the sheep and looked at them for a few moments before laying back down. She stepped out into the yard beside him.

“I did not want to say too much inside and foul the mood. Eat up boy it is a meat pie, and they are best hot.” She waited for Orn to start munching on the pie before continuing. “There are monsters out in the hills and they have been terrorizing the shepherds. So they and their flocks are here.”

She gestured at the yard turned corral, while Orn worked on the small hand pie. “They are sleeping in the barn loft as the sheep have taken over the yard and the stalls we can spare.” She pointed to a building on the other end of the sheep filled yard. “The ladder to the loft is to the left of the door. There should be a plenty of room up there. We have breakfast in the morning when you wake up.”

She gently pushed him towards the yard and before heading back through the door and heading in.

Orn tried to say thank you, but his mouth was full of meat pie and could not quite manage it. Orn brushed the crumbs from his hand, and made his way to the barn while being carefully watched by the sheep and their protectors.

The ladder was just inside the barn door, but he managed to catch sight of it in time to avoid tripping over it. The old wooden ladder creaked under his weight with every step making him grimace. A small window at the top let some of the light in showing several people wrapped in cloaks spread across the loft.

Orn found an empty space along a wall and settled in for the night.

...

Orn woke to the sound of movement. His hand reached for the handle of his knife as he shifted to see what was going on. Around him several men were slowly rising and shaking the hay out of their cloaks.

One of them noticed Orn was up and turned to the others, “He is up you, so you lot can stop tiptoeing around him.”

In response, a few sighed and the others began chatting.

Orn sat up and looked around to see he was the last person to wake up. The others were finishing packing their things and heading for the ladder. The first to reach it, placed his hand on it and moved it side to side shaking his head.

“What it wrong, Narm?” the man who noticed Orn was awake asked.

“Ladder was moved,” the man at the ladder said, then grunted as he pulled on the ladder to set it more firmly in place. “Sheep probably rubbed against it and moved it in the night.

Around the men a couple other shepherds spoke about their plans for the day. Orn caught pieces of conversation mixed in with sheep bleating. Brushing off his own things he waited his turn to head down the ladder. Once down he found himself in a sea of wool. Sheep were being rounded up by shepherds in turn and lead out a side gate in the yard. For the ones in the barn that meant running through the door, and past Orn coming off the ladder.

Walking back towards the yard he found himself buffed by spongy bodies of a few sheep. Many were eager to get out of the barn, and a few that were just friendly rubbing up against him until he stopped the scratch them behind their ears.

He walked in the back door of the inn to find it deserted except for a few of the shepherds who apparently decided to get breakfast while the other shepherds separated their flocks and headed out.

He started towards one of the empty tables when the aproned woman appeared and waved for him to follow. Shrugging he headed over to where she was placing bowls of soup and bread on the table.

She placed one in front of an empty chair and directed he take it. She was walking toward the back again when Orn called out to her.

“Mam, how much do I owe you? I do not have much on me and…” Orn trailed off as she turned to look at him, like he was being foolish.

“You do not have to worry about that, Mart already put it on his tab before he headed out. Said to tell you ‘thank you.’ Now eat, a growing boy like you needs to get a good meal in you before you start your day.” No waiting for him to say anything she headed through a set of doors to that Orn assumed as the kitchen.

Orn ate his soup and listened to the shepherds. The men gossiped about where they were taking their flocks, and their guesses about the monsters that had been threatening their herds. Since Orn did not say anything, the men did not ask him any questions.

One by one the men finished their bows and bread before heading out to yard to gather their flocks. Orn was the last to finish and was considering what the men were saying while he cleared the table.

“You do not have to do that you know?” Orn stopped and turned to see the woman standing by the door to the kitchen smiling.

He looked back at the table and realized he had stacked the bowls without thinking about it. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he looked back at the woman, “habit.”

“And it is a good one, but you can leave them there. I want you to get where you are going before dark. I was not exaggerating about the monsters. There are some out there and it has the shepherds scared. You look like a hunter so I imagine you are heading toward the mines. It is good money, and they can always use more fresh game. But it does you no good if you do not get there safely, so keep to the roads. Now get a move on before you risk being caught out at dark again.”

“Besides,” she continued in a lighter tone, “I want to show my boys that I am not the only one that wants a table cleaned after a meal.”

Laughing she turned back into the kitchen.

Orn watched her disappear around the corner then grabbed his things. Rather than going out the front, he headed out the back door to the yard. From what the shepherds had said, the monster was last seen further west than any of them were going. Orn followed the trail leaving from the gate and keeping to whichever branching path kept going west.