The Knight's Wanderer

Joseph was surprised when the woman waved them in, smiling to Eliza curiously. "Thank you again for bringing me here." He mused quite easily. He followed the woman afterwards, happily keeping a mild mannered conversation about books in general. His love of books and stories was eminent, but made sense for his work. "It's a lovely place, this area. And the books here are well kept too."
 
The older woman chuckled, "Thank you sonny." She puttered about the room, clearing space for them.
 
He turned to Eliza with a questioning glance before turning to look at some of the nearby books. Helping cautiously to clear them, he found one and smiled. "This is a good book. There's a copy in another town that I got to read." He looked to the woman curiously, then to Eliza. "It's about knights, and has a good expression of them. The protagonist reminds me of you, Miss Knight."
 
Eliza's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?" She leaned against a small piece of wall that the older woman had cleared. "Miss Laura, you needn't clean up so much."
 
He smiled to her, noting his agreement regarding the cleaning, but then deciding to help a bit since the older woman seemed to be against stopping at that point. "Miss Eliza, why don't we help out? Ah, but you have work to do, right? I'll help here, so I shouldn't make you stay here if you're staying just for me..."
 
Laura stopped cleaning, instead moving to put on tea. "Oh, dear mister scholar, Eliza is simply waiting for a cup of tea while I tell her what needs to be fixed around here."

Eliza chuckled, "It is true."
 
"My apologies...I made a horrid assumption." He laughed nervously, putting the book he was hold down. "And please, my name is Joseph. It's much simpler to call me such, ma'am. Is there a way I can be of help as well?"
 
Laura laughed. "Nonsense, young Joseph." She waved a hand. "You are here for learning, Eliza always comes to help."

Eliza smiled. "I come by once a week."
 
"While it's true I come for business and knowledge, it doesn't mean I can't help in the process." Joseph protested lightly, but let out a sigh afterwards- it was foolish to argue much, he'd often found, especially with the wiser people in towns. He listened instead to the note of Eliza's regular visits, smiling a bit. "It's good of you to come so often. I'm sure the books are happy for visitors regularly as well."
 
Eliza smiled. Laura laughed. "She takes some of the books home."
 
"I'm sure they're happier then." He mused easily. "There are stories in the northern mountains that say that books take in part of the writer's soul...And that the books become haunted if left alone too long, because the soul get's lonely. So it's a relief these books are never alone."
 
Eliza nodded. "You know a lot of stories of hauntings."
 
"They're pretty popular in the mountain regions- often used to keep kids out of dangerous places and to keep them responsible with certain things. I know other stories too. For example, there's a rumor in that same town that a woman who goes to the temple in the latest hours prior to trying to have a child will be more likely to have one than one who doesn't, and then towards the valleys in the south, there's one where if you don't clear your crops by the season's end, they'll up and walk out of the soil and come back to bring infertile soil to alter your own in spite."
 
She grimaced. "Pleasant..."

Laura laughed. "There is one here if you wish to hear the tale."
 
A new tale? Certainly for a tale-spinner, it was a joy indeed to hear such a possibility. "I'd love to hear it if you have the time."
 
Laura motioned that they should sit at the table and she brought out some cups, pouring tea.

"Then have a seat and we shall speak of this tale."
 
He took a seat as told to, and was happy to listen to the story. As he did, he'd keep an eye on both women in the room, while his ears stayed tuned only to the voice speaking. He took a sip of tea once in a while, but mostly was put and quiet. It was an amazing story in his mind, and he was careful to keep it memorized to write in his journal later. "An amazing tale."
 
Laura sat down and so did Eliza. Laura began the tale "in this town we have a story. On our roads there is tale of a horseman that rides. Only he is no ordinary horseman..."
 
"What does this horseman do that's so unusual?" He asked curiously. A horseman was a common character in tales, yes, but there were so many of them he wasn't sure what type of tale it would be off of it by itself. He listened carefully to meet a response from Laura, while wondering if Eliza had heard the story already. Would it be boring to her to hear it again?
 
Eliza shivered her face paling. Laura continued. "He runs travelers off the road. Running them over with the hooves of his skeleton horse. His face is nothing but a skull and he strikes fear into his victims. He takes patches of their skin, trying to fix his face..."
 
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