The Wandering Inn

Book 1: Chapter 13

Uh, is this a store?

Every head in the Adventurers Guild in Liscor turned at the voice. Grizzled Drake warriors, inhumanly tall Gnolls and several people who looked like mages appraised the speaker who had just walked into the room.

A small human. Possibly female.

Their eyes shifted away in disinterest. After a few seconds Erins heart started beating again. She decided that this was definitely not the shop she was looking for.

Ah, hello? We can help you over here.

A voice called to Erin across the low murmuring. She saw a light green Drake waving at her from behind a counter. She was much smaller and had thinner limbs than Relc. Erin guessed she was female. The dress was also a big clue.

Hesitantly Erin made her way over to the counter. The female receptionist gave her a close-lipped smile.

Good day, Miss. How can we help you today? Do you have a bounty or quest to post? Or are you registering?

Registering? Quest? Oh no, Im not here foruh, anything. I just thought this might be a blacksmith so I

Oh, I see!

The receptionist smiled again. This time Erin smiled back.

This is no shop, Miss. This is the Adventurers Guild. Didnt they have one back in your city?

The Adventurers Guild?

Erin stared around the room with renewed interest. Now that she wasnt being pierced by a thousand glares she could take in the building properly. It was a large place, and at first Erin thought shed walked into an inn. Or a bar. But now she knew what she was looking at, the receptionist behind the counter made a lot of sense.

Thats right. Here you can let the Guild know about dangerous monsters in your area, post quests and offer rewards, or if youre an adventurer yourself , you can go look at assignments or receive your reward.

The receptionist pointed to a large wooded board nailed up against one wall. It had quite a lot of parchment stuck to the wood, and several large and burly adventurers were gathered around it, talking amongst themselves.

Wow.

Erin studied the adventurers. They were all wearing armor, although the quality and amount varied from person to person. Most of the Drakes seemed content to wear only armguards or the occasional helmet without much chest armor, but several of the large hairy dog-hyena-things were wearing chainmail, and in one case, real plate armor.

That wasnt all, of course. Some adventurers werent wearing any armor at all, or weapons. Erin spotted several Drakes wearing light robes and carrying staves or daggers at their belts.

Real mages. That is so cool.

Miss? Excuse me, Miss?

Erin looked around. She realized the receptionist had been trying to get her attention for some time now.

Oh, Im really sorry. What was that you were saying?

Are you a traveler, Miss? Or maybean adventurer? Are you here to register?

The look the she-Drake gave her said this wasnt much of a possibility.

Oh no. Im uh, an innkeeper. I guess. Or maybe a wanderer? Actually, Im just new around here.

The receptionist looked interested.

An innkeeper, is it? Are you opening up a business here? Im Selys, by the way.

Selys offered Erin a hand. It was such a human gesture Erin had to smile as she shook her hand. It felt weird touching the cool scales, but not unpleasant.

Im Erin. Erin Solstice. And no, Im not uh, innkeeping here. Theres a building outside the city where I live. I guess. I just came here because I needed to go shopping. Badly.

She indicated her ripped and stained clothing.

Well, I cant leave the desk but I can give you some directions.

Selys gave Erin another smile.

Its really rare to see any Humans this far out from the coast. Your kind usually just sticks to its cities. What brings you out so far? Oh, and what are you looking for?

Um. Teleportation spell. And I need food. Flour, oil, butter, saltthat kind of thing. And I need clothing. Lots of clothing.

Well, if its food and general supplies youre looking for try the market two streets down from here. To get to it just take a left as you walk out of here and then turn right and youll be there in no time. Theyd also have some clothes there, but Im not sure if they have any made for Humans.

Oh, thats great. Thank you so much.

Erin had already forgotten the directions. She wished she had her smartphone, or Google Maps. A map would be useless since she never learned how to read them.

Im also looking for a place to get some other supplies. I dont suppose you know where

A large, hairy hand grabbed Erin by the shoulder and pulled her around.

Huh?

Erin was looking at a wall of brown hair. She was sure that wasnt there a minute ago. She looked up.

A hyenas face stared down at her. Or rather, a hyenas face on a humanoid body covered in fur. It was one of the adventurers in the inn and ithe didnt look happy.

But he wasnt saying anything. Rather, he was looming. Erin could tell it was looming by the way he stood and the way she felt like an ant. She didnt know why he was angry at her. Maybe he just wanted to pick on someone. She opened her mouth and tried diplomacy.

Um. Hi. Are youare you a werewolf?

It was definitely the wrong thing to say. The pissed-off look on the hairy hyena-guys face only got worse. He growled at her in a rumbling voice that sounded likewell, what Erin imagined a dog would sound like if it could talk.

Do I look like a werewolf?

N-no?

Erin backed up a step and found the counter was right behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Selys gazing at her worriedly, but the receptionist didnt come to her aid.

The not-werewolf leaned over and growled in her face.

Im a Gnoll.

His breath was terrible. Erin felt weak at the knees just smelling it.

Right. Im very sorry about that. Um. Can I help you?

Youre in my way.

Right. Sorry. Sorry about that.

Erin stepped to one side so he could get to Selys. He didnt move forward, though. Instead he just glared some more.

Isis there something else you want?

The Gnoll twisted his neck and cracked it. It sounded like firecrackers going off and scared the hell out of Erin.

I dont like Humans. They smell.

Erin stepped away again, but the angry Gnoll just followed her. She knew she was being watched by the other adventurers in the room now. But like Selys, they seemed content to watch the human-bullying without making a move.

R-really? I cant smell anything.

Thats because Humans cant smell anything.

The comment came from behind Erin but she was too scared to turn around. It had the same growling quality to the voice though, so she was sure it was another Gnoll.

Right. Well. Im sorry about that.

Erin tried to sidestep the Gnoll but he blocked her way.

I dont want humans in here. You dont belong.

Hold on.

At last Selys came to Erins aid. The female Drake leaned over the counter and called out to the Gnoll.

You cant just kick someone out who

He looked at her and snarled. Selys flinched and shut up.

Across the room Erin saw the Drakes in the room stir. One of them hissed softly.

The Gnoll glared at the Drakes and they glared right back. One of his hands twitched towards the sword at his side, but he didnt make any move to grab it. Still, the tension was so thick that Erin was sure if a Gnoll or Drake moved the room would explode.

Erin was wondering whether she should run when the Gnoll broke off the staring contest and swung around to her.

You. Youre stinking up this place with dirt and filth. I can smell the things youve rolled in.

He jabbed at Erins stained shirt with one pointed claw. She jumped back nervously from the long, filthy nails.

Oh. Yeah. Um, Im really sorry about that. Its just that Ive been sort of fending for myself and I didnt have a change of clothes so

The Gnoll leaned forward. Erin could see the individual whiskers protruding out of his snout. She could smell his rancid breath. But she was mainly focused on his jagged teeth.

Begone.

Erin hesitated. She cast one glance towards Selys, but the receptionist wouldnt meet her eyes.

The Gnoll growled and Erin backed up. He herded her towards the door and once she was out, he slammed it shut behind her.

That was the first building Erin was kicked out of in her visit to the city. It wasnt her last. Not by a long shot.

-

Erin walked through the city, feeling the unwelcome sun warming the back of her neck. She was hot, sweaty, and tired. But most of all she was anxious. It was a terrible, biting pain in her stomach that refused to leave her no matter how much she tried to relax. Because she couldnt.

She was lost. Not just geographically, but in every sense. Still, Erin had to keep moving or stand out even more than she already did. Right now she was making her way to the market Selys had told her about. And she was lost.

It was still strange to walk through the city. On one hand, it looked almost like a city Erin could imagine was made by humans. The buildings were still buildings, made of stone and wood. The streets were dirt, but hard dirt, and in places they were paved by cobblestones. It didnt look bad. True, there was a lot more roundness in the architecture of the buildings a lot of gently sloping roofs and open rooftops rather than the angular buildings Erin was used to. It was the people that really got to her.

They werent human. No matter how long Erin stayed in the city and walked its streets, she couldnt get over that. Every face she saw in the crowd was inhuman, and the majority of them were Drakes. There was the occasional Gnoll or other furry face in the lot, but they were mostly reptilian.

All kinds of reptilian, too. Long snouts, delicate spines on the neck, elongated neck, big eyes, slitted eyes, stub snouts. They all had very large teeth, though. Only rarely did Erin glimpse a walking ant-man or ant-woman she couldnt tell walking by.

She wished theyd stop looking at her. That was the one thing that made walking through this city so hard. While she was staring at the exotic sites and people, they were staring right back. And it seemed that they didnt like what they saw.

Erin tried to walk quickly down the street. That way shed avoid offending anyone else. She didnt have a good record at the moment.

Kicked out of three shops. And two homes.

To be fair, some of them looked like shops. Why no one put up any signs so people could tell the difference was beyond Erin.

Well, there are signs. I just cant read them.

It was a funny thing. Erin could speak the exact same language as Relc and Klbkch, but for some reason she couldnt read anything they wrote. It was probably becauseof magic.

Magic. Either that, or theyre all bilingual. Or trilingual. Or something.

A Drake walking the opposite way down the street gave her an odd look. Erin shut up. Her habit of talking to herself was making her weirder than normal.

Still, that alone didnt explain why it seemed like the entire city hated her. True, she kept walking into places and asking where she was, but that wasokay, that was really annoying. But she was just as unfavorably received on the street, it seemed.

Move it, Human.

Out of the way, smooth skin.

Watch it, fleshbag.

Actually, no one had ever said that last one to her. Or the second one, either. Or the first in point of fact. They didnt say anything at all, really. Almost all of the Drakes stared at her, while the Gnolls and other furry people walked as far away from her as possible. But they all watched her constantly.

Some glanced out of the corner of their eyes. Others were less discreet and openly stared at her. Erin saw a few small lizard-children pointing at her and felt out of place. In a sea of scales and fur, she was the only human. She felt so alone it hurt.

Erin turned right and found herself on another kind of street. This one was wider, had cobblestone paving, and a lot of wooden stalls. It was a market.

Finally.

Erin sighed with relief and walked forward. Shed finally reached her destination, and it had only taken heran hour. Possibly two.

And better luck, Erin seemed to be in the section selling food. Tons of shopkeepers stood or sat in their shaded stalls displaying bins full of food. Here was a Drake selling weird blue-leaved plants that looked like oversized white carrotsor dead maggots. There was another Drake cutting meat for a waiting customer as flies buzzed around his stall. And there was

A Gnoll.

Erin passed by a larger stall than most, tended to by a tall Gnoll, although they were all tall in her eyes. This one seemed to be selling a lot of stuff, and not just food. Erin was tempted to stop and browse, but the Gnoll shopkeeper complicated things. She was dithering when the Gnoll spotted her and roared out above the general hubbub.

You, Human! If youre looking for a bargain, shop here!

Erins heart jumped. Gnolls were, like Relc, loud. And her voice had put every eye back on Erin. She hesitated, and then walked over.

As she approached the Gnolls nose wrinkled and she waved a paw in front of her face. Erins heart sank, but the Gnoll made no comment.

Well, what are you seeking?

The Gnoll looked intently at Erin. She looked angry, or maybe Gnolls always sounded brisk and impatient.

Oh um. Im just looking.

Erin edged back from the Gnolls shop. She really didnt want to be chased out of the market yet.

Hrmf. Suit yourself.

The Gnoll looked away. Heitwas definitely annoyed now, even if he hadnt been before. Erin backed away and looked towards the next stall.

This one looked equally promising. And better yet, it was tended to by a Drake. Which wasnt that much better, true, but at least he wasnt wrinkling his nose. Maybe because he wasnt looking at her.

Erin approached the stall carefully and gazed at the many items on display. Lets see. There were lots of bags piled up neatly, and in front of them there were little bins of their contents on display. That was good, since Erin couldnt read any of the words on the store signs.

But there! She saw flour, salt, and even sugar on display along with other dried goods. The Drake was selling dried sausages that hung from hooks at the top of his little shop, dried onions and garlic in baskets, and a number of dried roots and spices in one corner of the shop.

Hi. Is this a food shop?

The Drake looked over at her.

What does it look like, Human?

Erin winced internally at the tone of his voice. But he wasnt wrinkling his nose still or glaring. He just looked annoyed.

Oh, Im looking for food. Lots of it.

She heard a very loud and angry snort come from the Gnoll shopkeeper. She winced, externally this time.

What you see is what I have.

The Drake indicated his goods with a wave of one claw. That sounded like an invitation to Erin, so she stepped inside the stall and peered around. Flour was what she was most interested in. With that and a bit of oil, salt, etc. she could make bread, pasta, and other filling things. It was the best place to start. She bent down to examine the flour

No touching the food with your filthy hands unless youre buying!

The Drakes voice made Erin jump away. She caught herself before she fell backwards. He was glaring at her.

Dont touch. Youll stink it up with your Human smell.

Sorry. Sorry.

Erin backed away from the goods on display, hands raised. She guessed she really did smell.

The shopkeeper directed his full and unhappy attention towards her.

What do you want? Name it and Ill fetch it for you.

Oh, okay.

Erin floundered.

Um. Im looking for a few things, actually. Uh, do you have any butter?

Its right there on the sign.

The Drake tapped the little piece of paper pinned to the stall. Erin looked at it desperately, but just saw squiggles and lines in all the wrong places.

Uh. I cant read that. Sorry.

He hissed softly in annoyance. Erin winced again.

But Id like some. Butter, that is.

He slowly and grudgingly turned and pulled out a small pot with a small cork for a lid.

Oh. Great.

Erin wasnt sure if she should ask to see how much butter was inside. She wanted to hold the little pot too, but the shopkeepers expression also vetoed that idea.

And uh, Id like some oil too. Do you have another jar?

The Drake sighed loudly in annoyance.

I dont have all day to play fetch for you, Human. Just tell me what you want to buy first.

Okay.

He wasnt throwing things or chasing her away, so that was as good as it was going to get, Erin guessed. She took a deep breath and rattled off whatever she could remember she needed.

Im looking for some flour, salt, butter, oil, and sugar. Oh! And yeast. Ill need yeast too. If you have it.

The Drake didnt move.

Anything else?

Erin looked around quickly.

Um. Those sausages. How much do they cost?

Erin pointed to the sausages hanging from a hook. They looked mouthwateringly plump. She had the idea she could fry some up with the pasta. Just the thought was making her stomach rumble.

The Drakes eyes flicked over to them.

How many?

Erin rummaged in her pocket and pulled out her precious coins. She saw the Drakes eyes widen just a fraction as she showed him the mix of silver and bronze and three gold coins.

Well, if Ive got enough Id like to buy a few of those. And some onions.

There werent many vegetables here. Only some garlic and shriveled roots on one bin. But she could always go to the Gnoll and askwell, maybe not the Gnoll. But there were probably other shops that sold produce.

The Drake eyed the coins in her hand and flicked his eyes up to her. Erin felt like she was being assessed, and she didnt enjoy the feeling. For all she was a paying customer he still looked like was angry at her for some reason.

At last the shopkeeper seemed to come to a decision. He flicked his tongue out of his mouth and glared at her.

Three gold coins. Eight silver. That will buy you a bag of flour, oil, butter, four sausages, two onions, and bag of sugar, salt and yeast.

Erin hesitated. She eyed the meaningless symbols on the little plaque again.

Areare you sure thats the price? I mean, it sounds like a lot

Are you calling me a liar?

The Drake raised his voice angrily. Erin could see other customers and shopkeeper looking around.

No, no! I was just saying that

Typical Humans. Walking in here, stinking up the market, and insulting any non-Humans you find. You should be grateful the Guard doesnt run you out of the city! First that damn Necromancer comes here, and now this smelly one that cant even read.

He seemed to be inflating with rage. Erin didnt know what shed done to set him offbesides the smellbut she tried to be diplomatic.

Look, I was just asking about the price.

I just gave you my price. Take it or leave it.

But can we negotiate? I mean, how about two gold coins? Whats the price of the flour? If I pay you

The Drake shopkeeper let out a strangled hissing sound.

Human, I have a business to run and a store to manage! Either pay me my price or be gone. You wont find a better offer in this market.

Looking around Erin guessed that was true. She was getting unfriendly looks from the other shopkeepers down the street, especially the Gnoll whose wares shed walked by.

Okay. Ill buy it all.

She placed the gold and silver coins on the counter since he wasnt holding his hand out. He eyed the coins, sniffed once, and swept them away.

Here. Your food. Take it.

The shopkeeper began grabbing items and slamming them down on the counter. He shoved them all together in a huge untidy pile and threw a few dented copper coins down too. Some rolled onto the ground.

Erin hesitated but the shopkeepers scaly back was already expressively turned away. She heard what sounded like hissing laughter and muttered comments from behind her and turned red.

Slowly, Erin bent down and began picking up the fallen copper coins. She tried to avoid looking at anyone or anything.

When she finally stood up the shopkeeper was looking at her expressionlessly. He flicked one claw towards her.

If youre done grubbing in the dirt, I have more customers to serve.

Erin knew her face was red. Her eyes were burning, but she was determined not to do anything else. She took a deep breath, and tried to steady her voice as much as possible. Still it wobbled a bit as she said one last thing.

Can I buy a bag?