The door thumped open, wind blowing leaves through the lobby, letting in a man wearing a grey cloak. Dark eyes darted around the room as he warily took in everyone.
His eyes settled upon a man sitting in a corner of the restaurant and he strode imperiously over.
“Baleron, I have been looking for you.”
“I’ve no interest in your words.”
“It is time! Your people need you! Or would you see them burn?”
Fist clenching Baleron said, “Very well, if I must.”
“You must!”
At the front desk Alec checked off the “reluctant heir” box on his bingo card.
Author’s Note: The reluctant heir who refuses the call is a classic figure. Really it should be the free space. Mysterious Inns are a common trope in many fantasy stories. I imagine the owner, Alec in this case, and workers probably need to keep themselves entertained when they keep on seeing the same sorts of people come in all the time. [Editor: This is the first in a series. The rest of these fun pieces will appear over the next few days.]
This one amused me. It is a trope that comes up painfully often in fantasy, though some good stories have used it.
Oh yes! Tropes themselves aren’t bad after all, it’s just how you use them. You can make something really fantastic with chicken or just something bland, but it’s not the chicken’s fault.