Chapter 20: Rumors and reality
It took them a while to locate the Cracked Leaf Inn. It was nestled in the busiest part of town, oddly hidden between two three-story buildings that dominated the town's central area. Wooden boards hung from the dozens of shops, and rickety stairs led to those on the second and third stories.
Though Irwin felt his heart race at the prospect of walking up the exposed ladders and stairs, many didn't seem to care. A hubbub of people walked and climbed from shop to shop, and all looked perfectly at ease. An old lady, gray and wrinkly, walked a narrow ladder next to a twenty-foot drop as if it were nothing.
Still, as odd as everything looked, the thing that dominated the area was a wooden building that partially hung from the sides of the others, bulging outward. It had a massive sign on the wall with worn red letters.
"Wignut's trader's society," Greldo said as he gaped at the building.
Irwin wasn't doing any better, his eyes drifting to the Cracked Leaf, which sat in the gap between the buildings, almost as if everything had been built around it to accommodate its existence. A sign above its center window showed a leaf cracked in half as if made of stone, with letters below. The building and those around it almost seemed a whole thing, and he let his gaze wander around for a while. They didn't have anything remotely as big or odd in Malorin.
"Let's find the others, then see if we can get some boots," he finally said, causing Greldo to shake out of his stupor.
"Okay," his friend muttered, and they wound their way through the increasingly dense mass of people.
"Watch out for pickpockets," Ambraz whispered from Irwin's chest pocket.
He blinked, then quickly put a hand over his coin while looking around fearfully. There were many people walking around, but he didn't spot someone who seemed ready to steal the little coin he had.
A short area before the oddly small door that led into the Inn was cleared of people, and a guard stood leaning against the wall, his eyes darting from left to right. When he saw Irwin and Greldo approach, he raised an eyebrow.
"With the sorceress, I take it? She be in the leftmost rentable group room. Get there right quick, and no dilly-dallying," the guard grunted in heavily accented common.
Irwin and Greldo nodded but remained in place as the guard gave them a death stare. After a few more seconds, the guard turned his attention back to the mass of people.