Go to the Wayside Inn

Although the time it will take you to reach your destination is short, the journey takes you through many twists and turns in the dark back streets of the town. You pass through narrow alleys, with the cracked walls of buildings to either side of you threatening to crumble away at any moment. Boards cover several of the windows that you walk by. When you finally spot the sign for the Wayside Inn, it’s hanging askew above the door of a rickety, two-story wooden building. The place looks incredibly small for an inn, and the state of the building fits right in with the dilapidated structures in this part of town. No light can be seen coming through the windows on either floor, though there is a sign on the door suggesting that they’re open.

No wonder the elf warned me I might not sleep well, you think. This place looks like it’ll fall apart any second.

You briefly consider finding another inn for the night. The catgirl did show you a few around town, but that was in daylight and you still haven’t really gotten your bearings after only half a day in this town. There’s no guarantee you’d find one, and if you got lost you might not even find this place again. No, you’re going to have to put up with the Wayside Inn for at least one night. You can find a better place to stay in the morning. Thrusting aside your misgivings about the place, you open the door and step inside.

A bell rings as you step through the door. The place is totally dark inside, though your eyes are adjusted enough to just barely make out your surroundings. The room you’re standing in is no larger than the main room of your apartment was in your old life: to either side of you sit wooden tables with a stool each, the staircase leading to the upper floor comes half-way into the room along the left-hand wall, a small desk sits near the back wall acting as a reception, and a shelf with books and cleaning supplies stands against the right-hand wall.

Suddenly, a door opens at the back of the room, and a large figure comes through. You struggle to get a good look at the newcomer as they reach for something on the shelf beside you. Without a sound, light floods out from the object the person pulled from the shelf, and you realize that it’s a lantern with another one of those crystals in it. The person takes it over to the reception desk and sits down. With the light of the lantern, the person you thought was huge actually appears much thinner and scrawnier. He’s a human man, from the looks of him, with messy white hair and sharp red eyes. His skin is almost as white as his hair. In his later years, if you had to guess, though the underlighting of the lantern isn’t doing him any favors.

“I was told I can get a room here for five coppers,” you say.

“Five, huh?” says the albino man. “Someone’s awfully generous, telling you that.”

“I won’t go higher,” you say. You’ve already warmed up your bartering skills with the tailor, there’s no way this innkeeper’s going to milk you for any coin. Especially not for a place this broken down.

“Oh, no, I’ll take the five,” he says. You hand him the coins. “I actually meant they were being generous to me. I rarely get any business, you see, on account of my condition.” He stands up slowly. “You don’t seem phased by me, though. It’s thanks to rare folk like you that I’m barely able to scrape by at my age.”

“In that case,” you say, “I’m glad to give you my business.”

A grin spreads over his face. “Spoken like a lad who was unsure before. Saw how shit the building looks and got worried, did you?” He laughs and makes his way around the desk over to the stairs. “When I bought her, this place was in even worse shape, if you can believe it. But I’m getting too old to work on her anymore. Your room is the first one on the right. The young lady I pay to help me out showed up late today, so she might still be dusting around up there. I’d go with you, but if my old bones fall down these stairs it’s over for me.”

You thank the man for his welcome and head up the stairs. The second floor consists of a hallway with two doors on either side, for a total of four rooms. The hall is lit by a dim crystal resting in a sconce on the far wall. You’re reaching for the handle of the first door on the right when the door further down opens up. Out of the door walks a catgirl with short, black hair and a dirty, beige gown. She has a towel in one hand and a duster in the other, both of which drop unceremoniously to the floor when she turns her head and sees you standing there.