Chapter 1.2: The Boy From the Inn (II)
As Johann was startled by the sudden opening of the door, his father walked into the room, setting his file case on the coffee table before greeting him.
"Welcome, Johann. Let's continue from where we left off on the last lesson, answering the question list, okay?" Jules told his son as he picked some sheets of paper from the shelves and spare inkwell and quill from a drawer, setting them on the coffee table and sitting by his son's side.
Some time passed as Johann answered the questions, sometimes asking his father about what he couldn't understand, until he finished the list about an hour and a half later. Jules arranged the sheets of paper into a stack and set it aside, before turning to Johann.
"Well, we have some free time on our hands. Is there anything you are curious about or wondering?" Jules asked. Johann got up and looked around the room for a bit, before pointing at the calendar.
"I want to know how do I use the calendar" the boy said, to which his dad got up and stood beside him. The father explained the year, the months, the weeks and the days as shown on the calendar, which can be summarized as:
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The year has 13 months, each with 28 days, for a total of 364 days.
The months were Rousing Light, Bright Light, Upper Earth, Upper Fire, Upper Wind, Upper Ice, Lower Earth, Lower Fire, Lower Wind, Lower Ice, Deep Dark, Restful Dark and Balance, in that order.
Each month had its unique elemental energy composition, except Dark and Light, which maintained the same one across two months each.
Each month had four 7-day-long weeks, each corresponding to a phase of the Moon, and the days in a week were named after the elements. The week began in Lumen, followed by Tellus, Ignis, Ventus, Glacies, and ending in Umbra and Lacus, representing the cycle of the elements.
The calendar had the months represented as a 7x4 square grid each, each with its own color. Tan, Pink, Pale Green, and White for the Upper Months, Brown, Red, Deep Green and Light Gray for the Lower Months, and Purple, Medium Gray and Yellow for the Dark, Balance and Light Months.
The Light and Upper Months were in two rows at the top, the Lower and Dark Months in other two in the middle section, and Balance was by itself at the bottom, following the months' sequence in the year.
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After his dad introduced how the calendar worked and what it represented, Johann followed up by asking questions regarding both the calendar and other subjects he was curious about.
Jules answered all the questions he could, but he made sure to not dismiss the questions he didn't know the answer to, encouraging Johann to write them down so he could seek the answers later.
As father and son talked and interacted in this manner, time flew by and, before they knew it, it was already 11 in the morning, an hour before noon.
"Johann, I think now's a good time to wrap up here. We still need to go home and have lunch early to help at the Inn's dining hall" Jules called out.
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"Okay, dad. Thanks for the lesson today!" Johann thanked his dad and stood up to get ready to head back.
"You're welcome, Johann. Oh, also! Here, about what you asked last time, I found an old one for you to look into. There's also some tools in here" Jules said as he retrieved two things from his desk drawer before handing them to Johann.
The first was a small, palm-sized clock. It had a lid that slid open into two to show the clock face, and the entire casing looked like it was once shining, but was now dull and tarnished. The clock face was essentially the same as the one on the wall.
The second was a rather small leather case. Inside it were many thin and delicate screw drivers, wrenches and pliers, seemingly sized for delicate work rather than construction. It was probably meant to work on the clock his dad gave him.
"I hope you can find the answers I couldn't give you in there, and I'd love to hear them as well if you want" Jules smiled warmly as Johann looked gratefully and excitedly between him and the clock.
As they finished putting away the study materials, father and son left the Tollhouse and headed back home to eat. Each still had things to do after the meal, so they shouldn't waste time.
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As they both got to the Frontier Hügel, Jules and Johann felt their stomachs rumbling in response to the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen. They washed their hands in the rain barrel outside the back door before coming inside.
"Honey, we're home! Do you need any help in the kitchen?" Jules announced to and asked his wife as he crossed the door.
"In the kitchen? Gods, no! I don't want to meet Lady Tanala anytime soon! Why don't you set the table and then watch the counter while I finish up here?" Sofie jokingly poked fun at her husband's culinary talent, before asking for help in other things.
"Humpf! I didn't want to cook anyway!" Jules pretended to pout as though he were really offended by his wife's comments.
"Wow, dad... is your cooking really that 'divine', to arrange a meeting with Mother Tanala?" Johann smirked at his dad, as well as his cooking that was, supposedly, to die for.
"... No comments" Jules responded to his son with playful denial, before they both got to work setting the table. As they finished, they waited at the counter for lunch to be ready, while talking about lessons, current events, and acquaintances.
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After having lunch among family, Sofie cooked, Jules manned the counter and Johann took the orders as people trickled into the dining hall for lunch.
Some time after the start of lunchtime, a group of guards, seemingly fresh out of their shift of patrol, arrived noisily causing a ruckus. Their loud voices and rough appearance scared Johann stiff, which prompted his dad to approach him and lay his hands on his shoulders.
"Johann, watch the counter for me for a bit. Let me deal with those gentlemen for now" Jules said, nudging his son towards the counter before walking towards the table the guards sat at.
The table had eight guards sitting around it, each wearing disheveled armor and uniforms and with uneasy, restless eyes. Their faces were marred by exhaustion and likely worry, and probably more than a little insanity was already creeping in.
"Greetings, gentlemen. What can I do for you today?" Jules called out to the group, ready to take their orders as humbly as possible to avoid issues.
"We want fried sausages, enough for eight, eight tankards of ale, and four large portions of salted peanuts" the largest of the guards said, a lot louder than necessary.
"I see. I'll get those as soon as possible, but please be patient as they're outside the usual menu for lunch" Jules responded appeasingly.
"Bullshit! Just do what we told you, already!" the guard became agitated, taking the words as some sort of affront, and began to shout aggressively.
"... I'll do so right away, sir." Jules scribbled on his notepad coldly before walking away towards the counter. As he left, the guards loudly mocked, as though they'd just put him in his place.
At the counter, Peter, the town healer, was speaking to Johann to keep his focus away from the commotion. He greeted Jules as he arrived.
"What a mess, huh? Want me to call the guards? Well, the decent ones, I mean." Peter offered.
"Yeah, I'd be thankful if you'd do that. I need to manage things here to keep them under control." Jules gratefully accepted. As the healer paid for his meal and left, Jules turned towards Johann.
"Son, take this order to your mom, and then you can go. Take the clock and tools if you want. I'll take care of things around here." Jules dismissed Johann so he wouldn't have to see the whole ordeal.
Johann promptly agreed, sensing his dad's seriousness, and left towards the kitchen after grabbing his things below the counter.
As Johann left, Jules stood icily behind the counter, noting down each guard's description and misdeeds. That report would be delivered to the Captain that same afternoon, so they'd face due punishment.