257: Confident
As we moved deeper into the town, the first thing that stood out to me was that it wasn’t just the opening square that had been worked on. Everywhere had the same level of detail, from the small craft shops to the large buildings, one of which I suspected to be the guild.
The next thing that I noticed was the amount of bright, glowing blue items. I doubt they were of rare quality, but there were multiple uncommon items around, though at this point I couldn’t tell if it was in a garden or just supplies.
“You look shocked at something,” Jen said, shaking me out of my thoughts.
“I was surprised that the carvings go through all the streets, but then I noticed the amount of uncommon ingredients around us,” I explained.
Jen nodded. “Yeah, I think Milo mentioned it already, but the last time we came through here, none of the carving had been done. It’s really stunning, must have cost a fortune. As for the ingredients though, this isn’t surprising; the town gets a near constant supply of carcasses and plants from the forests.”
Lily, who had been walking alongside, let out a soft growl.
“Yeah, and as I’m sure she just alluded to, wood as well.” Jen added.
That dampened my mood slightly. If they were destroying the forest that Lily called home, I’d need to put a stop to it, for their sake as well as Lily’s and Sylverith’s, though I didn’t like the idea of confronting people about it.
“Yeah, it’s something I’ll have to deal with sooner than later, unfortunately,” I muttered.
As we continued along the street, it was Crisplet who was turning the most heads, and that wasn’t at all surprising considering it was a large mass of fire moving through a town that mostly comprised wood, but to draw the attention away from Lily and Gilain was impressive, though it was making me nervous.
“You don’t think they are going to have a go at Crisplet, do you? Everyone is watching him.” I asked.
Milo let out a snort. “Not a chance; nobody is approaching this group.”
It didn’t help my concern. I really didn’t know how Crisplet would react if someone tried to bully him in some way, I felt like it wouldn’t end well for the person who tried, especially with Crisplet’s tendency for overkill.
When Hari finally stopped us, I struggled to believe what I was looking at was an inn. There were at least three levels, maybe even four; the building itself looked to be made from logs, or given the appearance of being made from logs at least, though I noticed that at least on this building there was some stone used as well.
The door frame was intricately carved, with the door itself sitting partially open, and the warm glow inside was incredibly inviting. There was also a rich smell of ale, buvul and garlic grass coming from the door.
To the side, there was a separate stable that looked to be fully staffed, where Hari was currently in conversation with a surprisingly well-dressed man who was pointing into the building.
“This seems really well-run for a regular town?” I said.
Liane, who had come up alongside me, was nodding. “This town acts as a crossroads of sorts and handles a lot of travellers, probably far more than most, so they are very efficient.”
We were already moving into the stables as several people were taking the horses, while staring horrified at the group. One man who was leading the wagons was visibly pale, with sweat running down his brow.
Gilain, who walked alongside us, even commented, “See, this is a normal reaction to this level of auras.”
The wagons were moved into a separate room that was then locked. We were even escorted through a side entrance that led straight into the inn itself, which was just as large as it looked on the outside.
It was also packed, and looking around, it didn’t appear to be adventurers, but rather crafters, merchants and labourers, going by their clothing.
Hari led the way, but it didn’t matter as soon as Crisplet, Lily and Gilain walked through the door—every eye in the room turned towards us, as the room itself grew quiet.
A tall lady with a scowl came from behind the bar. “What are you all gawking at? Never seen adventurers before? Back to your meals!”
Turning to us, there was a smile all of a sudden. “Come, come, don’t worry about them. Here for lunch, drinks or rooms?”
Anthony spoke first. “Room and bath for five.”
The lady looked at him, then seemed to note the divide in the group. “Right, no bath here, but there is a bathhouse just past the stables you came in from. Did you want five rooms then?”
Anthony looked surprised. “Oh no, uh, three rooms are fine for us, thanks.”
“You got it. One silver, fifty copper. Name’s Clara. If you need anything, I’ll be the one to speak with. Room number is on the key; it’s on the second level, stairs through there,” she said, handing him the keys.
I was impressed by the efficiency, as she turned to Hari, “And you?”
Hari had a smile on his face. “Meals and rooms for seven; five rooms should do it.”
I wasn’t sure how Hari was sorting out the rooms, but I assumed I was going to be sharing with him and Milo like usual.
Clara raised an eyebrow. “I assume one of the meals and rooms is for the cat then?”
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Hari let out a laugh. He then pointed at me. “No, she’ll almost certainly steal his bed.”
Liane quickly added, “And food.”
Hari continued, “We have another party member who is off doing stuff at the moment and not here right now.”
Clara then pointed to Crisplet. “And that one?”
“Crisplet has his own brazier we’ll pull out, though if you have any rooms with a fireplace, that would work too,” Hari explained.
“I don’t know, but okay, two silver, fifty copper for the five rooms, and fifty copper for the meals,” Clara said.
I was surprised when Gilain flicked Clara a gold coin. “This should cover it all, and a round of drinks for everyone on me.”
Her eyes went wide as she held the gold coin, but quickly pocketed it, clearly not going to question it as she turned around to get the keys.
“You don’t need to do that,” Hari started.
Gilain waved him off. “It’s fine. A group should share expenses; I’ll not let you pay while providing me food on the road as well.”
When Clara came back with the keys, Hari quickly handed them out, giving one to Gilain, one to Jen, one to me, and holding on to the last two, which I assumed were for Luis and himself.
“I’m not sharing?” I asked, confused.
Hari raised an eyebrow. “With us? No, but with those two, yes. With an inn this large, there’s no reason for all of us to cram into a small room.”
Looking around, I noticed that Milo had already moved off to take a table, managing to get a larger one just off to the side of the fireplace, as a small group that was sitting there seemed to move away as he approached.
Hari turned back to Clara. “I don’t suppose you’d mind if Crisplet here used your fireplace? You wouldn’t need any logs to burn while we’re there.”
Clara shrugged. “Sure, just don’t burn the place down.”
The moment the words left her lips, Crisplet burst across the room, causing a couple of people to cry out in fright, hitting the fireplace, which was mostly smouldering at that point, causing it to burst into flame. Immediately a warmth filled the room.
“Where was he this past winter? I need to get me a fire elemental,” Clara said with a laugh.
We all moved to the table as Clara poured everyone in the inn drinks, which would have been at least thirty people or more, and it was only early afternoon. My attention was drawn to the fireplace however.
From a distance it appeared to be stone, and inside the fire itself, I’m sure it was, but on the outside it was made of wood, a grey, rocky-looking wood, where the dark grey bark cracked giving it the appearance of stacked stone.
“How… why does that not burn?” I asked as I sat at the table.
“Special kind of wood. If I were to guess, it would have some stone properties in the wood itself, making it very difficult, if not impossible, to burn without some serious magic,” Milo explained.
I shifted closer, reaching out to touch it where it was cool like stone as well, but unlike stone next to a fireplace, this had absorbed no heat at all.
“I wonder if you could make pot handles out of this; they’d always be cool. It’s absorbed no heat,” I commented.
Milo let out a laugh. “I should have expected that; it’s always food with you.”
The door to the inn opened, as three individuals stepped inside, one wearing some very clean, fine-looking clothing who I expected was some kind of official in this town, and admittedly I immediately feared the worst.
That fear was confirmed when he locked eyes with our group before making a line straight towards us, the angry look on his face telling me this wasn’t about to be a pleasant conversation.
I also noticed Luis had slipped in through the partially open door behind them and was currently leaning against the wall by the entrance with his hood up.
“You there, adventurers,” he said, waving his hand.
Hari stood up to intercept, letting out a sigh.
“You need to leave; you can’t stay here,” the man said.
Hari surprised me by just saying, “No.”
The room was silent except for Clara, who was still serving drinks as if nothing had happened, pointing to Gilain and telling them it’s on the house from him.
Gilain himself had a giant grin on his face as he watched everything unfold.
“No? No! You can’t say no to me. I run this town, and you come into a town made of wood with a fire elemental and some dangerous beast?” the man said.
“I see, and you are?” Hari asked bluntly.
Hari wasn’t acting his normal self right now. Normally he’d be trying to deescalate, but right now he just sounded annoyed and fed up, and every eye in the room was locked on him.
“I am the steward to Lord Farrow’s house here, and you…” he began.
Hari raised a hand. “Let me stop you right there.”
I decided now was as good a time as any. I couldn’t avoid it forever.
“I’ll butt in here. I was going to see you tomorrow anyway, but I guess now works. I am Trevor Ashmoon, or Lord Ashmoon; this town and all neighbouring towns and villages that border the dark forest fall under my domain, as I’ve been instructed by the king. You’ve all been informed of this already, so have Lord Farrow come here so we can talk,” I said, mustering all the confidence I could.
I noticed a small nod from Milo, while Liane had a giant grin on her face.
“I’ll not be made a fool of,” the man started to say.
Luis made his way forward, not removing his hood, but holding out a crest that glowed orange and looked like the royal seal, which seemed to emanate power. “What he says is true. This is the royal crest granted by the king, so you understand we are acting on his behalf. Unless you wish to be facing charges of treason, I would advise you to listen to what the lord has told you.”
The man looked conflicted, but clearly understood the seal.
“I’ll organise a meeting for you to see the lord then,” he said.
I shook my head. “No, you’ll have Lord Farrow come here, now. We’ll talk right now; don’t keep me waiting.”
The man left without another word, and the moment the door closed behind him, there was a cheer in the inn, as everyone who had been holding their breath cheered and raised their mugs, likely half to say thanks for the drink, and the others might not have liked the man; I wasn’t sure.
I just fell back in my seat, letting out a deep breath.
“Where did that come from?” Jen asked.
Liane had a giant smile on her face, giving me a nod of approval.
Looking up, I saw a grin on Luis’s face before he seemed to just flow back into the crowd.
Hari still had a frown on his face, but I wasn’t sure why.
“What’s your plan now?” Hari asked.
I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really know. I know this is one of the towns I need to stop the logging of the dark forest in, so I have to have the conversation eventually.”
Hari and Milo nodded.
“We have your back either way,” Hari said.
Clara came around with drinks, dropping them at the table, where Gilain pulled out another gold coin and flicked it into the air towards her, which she managed to catch mid-air, while holding a tray.
“Another round or two for everyone; seems he’s got entertainment on the way,” Gilain laughed, earning another round of cheers from people in the inn who heard.
All it gave me was the feeling of dread in my stomach; I really wasn’t ready to do this in public so openly.