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Chapter 33 - Gooseberry inn

The Gooseberry inn wasn't much to brag about. It's patrons were loud, it's tables were old and it's chairs squeaked. Not that you could hear them over the third rate bards in the corner butchering the ears of those loud patrons. As she stepped into the inn, Faye flinched as a mug filled with mead was thrown towards the godawful musicians to her right. Luckily, there was a metal fence that seemed to protect the musicians from most of the impact of the wooden mug. It did not, however, protect them from the liquid splashed onto both their persons and their instruments. It seemed the players were used to this sort of treatment however, as they wiped their instruments swiftly and began playing once again, with barely a pause in between.

Although their music was awful, they sure had talent in cleaning up a spill....

Faye slowly made her way through the crowd to the bar. There, she found a motley crew of men laughing and slamming their mugs atop the bar. She tried to navigate carefully around the men, but felt her arm grasped suddenly.

"Hey, I don't remember you being around here?" A deep voice spoke at her side. She turned to find a man, shorter than her 6' form, bearded face, rosy tint on his cheeks suggesting he was already knee deep in whatever alcohol he'd decided to indulge in for the evening. Seeing his dirty form and torn clothes, Faye figured it was something cheap, but strong.

She stared at the man without saying anything. Slowly, the man's friends, already embarrassed by him, started trying to convince the man to mind their one evening.

As the man's grip waned, Faye ripped her arm free and turned to leave. She heard some curses coming behind her from the overly intoxicated man, but paid them no mind.

She was new in town and didn't want to get in a fight as soon as she stepped foot in a new city! She didn't know if getting into a bar fight would land her in jail. She didn't have money to pay a fine and she really didn't want to spend how ever many days making up for punching some drunkard in the face by doing community service.

Slowly, she made her way to the bar. There was a woman behind the bar taking orders and another man could be seen doing the same further down.

Faye approached the bar and tried to get the woman's attention. It took a while, as the inn seemed rather busy that the moment and everyone seemed to want to order a drink at the same time.

Finally, a short woman in her mid thirties with her hair pulled back into a bun stopped in front of Faye. "Sorry about the wait, hun, what can I get for ya?"

"I-I'm looking for a place to stay? I...heard you might have rooms? Here?" She felt like an idiot as she listened to herself talk.

"A room? Alright, how many nights? It's 3 silver a night, and you're expected to pay up front."

Faye furrowed her brows. "I heard it was 2 silver a night..."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Alright, 2 then! How many nights?" She seemed impatient.

"Uh- three." Faye tried to hurry with an answer.

"Alright, that's six silver then."

Faye nodded and hurried to give the woman her coins. The woman accepted them, counted them, gave Faye a dirty look, then began recording days information into a large ledger.

"your room is up the stairs, to the right, it has a number 3 on it." She paused, her eyes roaming over Fayes form. "You do know what a three looks like, right?"

Faye furrowed get brow, but ignored the woman's inquisition and instead began heading toward her room for the night. She could hardly wait to lay in a bed! A real bed!

She found herself almost buzzing with energy as she made her way upstairs. A couple people bumped into her on their way down, they mumbled words of apology, but Faye didn't pay them any mind.

Finally, she reached the second floor and found her room. The door was ajar, and she pushed it open with a smile on her face.

The smile froze as she took in the condition of the room before her. It wasn't furnished, except a single bed. There was a small window that didn't appear to be openable and the room itself seemed to be only big enough for that in bed to fit in.

It was barely a room and resembled more of a closet with a bed in it....

Slowly, Faye stepped in and shut the door behind her. There was light coming in through the window, so she could still see despite the door being closed.

The floors were wooden, though they were terribly scratched. As she took in the walls, Faye realized why the room was so small. It seemed that it was once bigger, but the owners had build a wall down the middle of the original room, creating two much smaller rooms.

Although functional, Faye was a bit disappointed in her lodging. Especially since it cost two whole silver PER NIGHT!

Just how rich was this town?!?!

She shook her head and headed back down stairs. There wasn't a lock on the door and she didn't want to leave her things in the room alone in case someone stole them. It didn't exactly seem unlikely to happen in this type of place....

Faye reached the bar again and inquired about a bath. She was pretty nasty after spending the last few weeks alone in the wilderness....

Unfortunately, the inn didn't have a bath and instead offered a Paul of water with a cotton cloth to wash yourself with in your room. Without any other option, Faye agreed to have it sent up.