Once we reached Melsbrook, I drove the wagon to the front of the inn, which was easy to spot from how we entered the town. The place was almost twice as big as Tom's inn, and the town was nearly three times as large.
"Come, you and I will go speak with Charles," I said after getting out of the wagon and turning back to Jessel to wait for her to get down.
"Umm, can you help me down? I don't want my dress to fly up cause this wagon is pretty high up…" Jessel asked shyly, and I reached over and lifted her up under the arms and set her down in front of me, and she whispered, "Thanks."
I probably could have made a comment, but I decided that I would leave her if she was going to try and be nice. Jessel definitely seemed like the type to let her emotions get the best of her, and she still seemed a bit shaken from the men's words.
"Come, and stay close to me, so you don't get lost," I told her, but Jessel scowled up at me.
"I am not a child!" She growled, but a man walked by her and moved in closer to grab my arm.
The man hadn't even noticed her, but it was clear that she had been deeply bothered by the men's comments. I decided to swallow my pride, and I took her small hand into my much larger one.
"What are you doing?!" Jessel demanded, and I tried not to grit my teeth or regret my choice.
"If you are holding my hand, no one will bother you," I growled, and Jessel looked at the ground.
"Sorry," Jessel said quietly, and I sighed again.
"If you plan on traveling with us, then you had better start acting friendlier. I can put up with your shit, but you will not be causing the girls any trouble, or I will be the one you are dealing with. Do you understand?" I asked in a tone that brooked no-nonsense.
"Yes, I get it," Jessel said, keeping her gaze on the ground.
I left things at that and pulled her along with me as we entered the inn. The inside of the place was just a larger and more open version of Tom's tavern, but a good number of people were already drinking.
"Ho! A new couple in town?!" One man called.
"Must be Adventuring lovers! Look at the body of that little thing!" Another called, making Jessel pull tighter to me.
"I would like to get my hands all over her!" the first man said, and I stopped as I felt Jessel's hand tremble in mine.
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut, or I will treat you the same as the three rapists in the back of my wagon. Each of them is frozen in place and covered in welts from the switch I still have. I am sure that I can convince some of the other good men in here to do the job for me if I hear another word about my friend," I warned, flexing my Charisma hard.
"Yeah, I would help out with that!" A big man from the corner said, standing, and then others joined him, making the two men start to look around in fear.
"Hey! Sorry! Didn't mean anything by it! We will just keep our mouths shut!" The first man said as he fished in his pocket to pull out some change.
"Yeah, we are leaving right now anyways! No need for trouble, boys! Just to men getting into the drink too early!" The other man said nervously as he dumped a handful of Ren on the table and ran out of the inn with his buddy.
"Well, that was stupid," I said and then looked down at Jessel, who was clutching me, asking, "Are you okay?"
"Umm, I think so. I am sorry I am acting this way. I just don't like men like that; they scare me," Jessel said into my side, and I nodded.
This was not the same mouthy Goddess from before. Now that Jessel had lost her immortality, she just seemed like a scared little woman.
"Don't worry about it. I don't have to be strong to keep you safe. I am the Charismatic Nameless God after all," I chuckled, and Jessel pulled away from me a bit but kept a tight grip on my hand as we walked over to the bar.
"What can I do for you? Sorry about those men, but it seems you dealt with them. Those two will think twice before cat-calling another pretty girl like the one at your side!" The man behind the bar laughed.
"Are you Charles? I am coming from Brackfield to do some trading with you since I had a bit of an accident," I explained.
"That is me! Did Tom send you? His shipment isn't due for two days! What happened?" Charles asked, and I reached in my pocket to grab the almost empty bottle.
"Here, tell me what you think of this," I said, handing him over the bottle, and Charles examined it.
"Looks like that potato shit we get from far up north. Not many like that stuff down here," Charles said, but I shook my head.
"Nope, it's not booze, and that is our problem. Try it out, and tell me how you feel," I explained, and Charles shrugged, opened the bottle, and drained the remaining contents.
His eyes went large before he even finished drinking, and when Charles had finished, he smashed the bottle on the ground.
"Holy cats hairy ass! What in Heaven's name did you just give me?! I feel ten years younger! No! Twenty!" Charles roared, and everyone in the bar turned to the three of us, making Jessel tuck back into me.
"Potion of Restorative Blessings. We can do this one of two ways. One, you buy these at ten silver Ren an ounce, or you trade me four to one in liqueur," I said, and Charles narrowed his eyes on me, and I glared back.
"That sounds like a pretty high price," Charles said, and I shrugged.