It took Aaron and Daniel a total of thirty-two hours to get to Greyspire from Begtuak Village. It was night when they arrived. They searched for the nearest tavern called The Grazing Calf.

The Grazig Calf sat on the outskirts of Greyspire. It was small and only intended for travelers who are new to the city. Especially those who needed somewhere to stay with no questions asked. Aaron turned to Daniel as he was climbing off of the carriage.

“You go inside and wait for me. Ask them if they have two rooms available. I’ll deal with the horse and carriage.”

Daniel nods and starts to walk inside. He reached the door when Aaron calls out.

“Hey!”

Daniel turns back to him.

“You okay?”

Daniel nods and walks inside. Aaron pauses for a minute before using the reigns to get the horse moving again.

—

The inside of the Grazing Calf was cozy. As Daniel walked inside, the first one he could see was an elderly man at the front desk. The man looked up at the door and saw Daniel standing there.

“How may I help you, young man?”

Daniel walked over to the desk, “I need two rooms for a few days.”

The man turned around and grabbed a couple of keys and placed them down on the desk. He pulled out some paperwork and spread it out atop the desk and handed Daniel and pencil. Daniel grabbed it and started reading the paperwork until something caught his eye.

“It says here that if the holder of the key fails to pay by the end of the agreed time, then the holder will be bound to the key and not allowed to leave until all fines are paid. If the holder attempts to nullify the contract by means such as magic or destruction of the contract, then the holder will be bound to the key until the contract is reviewed and reconstituted by the proprietor of the establishment.”

The man looked at Daniel, “Oh that's just some extra security that was put in place after we had a bunch of customers decide that they didn't want to pay their fees. As long as everything is kept up with, you won't anything to worry about.” He grins at Daniel.

Daniel finishes reading the papers and as he signs for the keys and the rooms, a tall figure walks inside and stands directly behind him. The old man looks up at him and holds up a finger. Daniel leans back and pushes the papers to the man.

The old man looks at him, “Is this your friend?”

Daniel turns around and raises his head to meet the gaze of the man who just entered the tavern. He is twice the size of Daniel. His hand alone could cover Daniel’s entire face. Daniel shakes his head no and then turns back to the old man.

“My friend will be in here soon.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Then you can wait just in there for him. I'll need him to sign for his key when he arrives.”

The old man points to a doorway that leads to a room filled with tables and chairs. Daniel nods and walks into the room and sits down at one of the tables.

“I need one room for two nights.”

“Alright. Let me get your papers and your key.”

The tavern didn't have that many customers tonight. The only people that were there were Daniel, the tall man that walked in behind him, and two more people sitting at their tables. The tall man walked up the stairs out of sight. Daniel kept looking at the door, waiting for Aaron to walk through.

--

Aaron took the horse and carriage behindg the tavern to a stable. He climbed off the carriage and unhooked the horse and gave the horse a stall by itself. The horse walked over to some leftover hay on the ground and started eating it. He watched the horse as it ate until he heard a crunch in the hay towards the door. He quickly turned to see who was behind him, pulling out a knife as he turns.

“Calm down. I'm just here to feed the horses.” A boy was standing in the doorway to the stable.

Aaron looks at him, knife still in hand and still on guard. The boy holds both of his hands up, a bucket of water in each hand. Aaron looks him up and down, checking to see if he could be armed. After a very tense moment of standing there, looking at each other, Aaron sheaths his knife.

“I work at this tavern and I take care of the animals in this stable. My grandpa runs the front desk.” The boy kinda smiles at Aaron, hoping to get him to relax. Aaron doesn't relax at all and just keeps watching him as he walks through the stable.

“May I ask you a question?” The boy says as he stops and turns towards Aaron.

“What?”

“What adventures have you gone on?”

Aaron raises an eyebrow, “I don't go on adventures. I go on jobs.”

“Then what jobs have you done?”

Aaron stared at him.

“What are you doing here in Greyspire?”

“I thought this was a no questions asked establishment.”

“Yeah. But I've been stuck here my entire life and I want to leave. I can't though since this is my family’s business. I have to help make it better and fix it up and wash the dishes and make the bed and feed the horses.”

“Sounds pretty exciting to me.” The sarcasm in Aaron’s voice was more than obvious.

“It's not. It's miserable. But I can't say that in front of grandpa. Ever since dad ran off, he hasn't been the same. Always checking on me to see if I'm here.”

“Seems like he doesn't want you to leave. He probably needs your help here to run it.”

“He doesn't need my help. He's told me time and time again that he used to run it by himself during the time when my dad left him alone.”

Aaron looked at him and that’s when he noticed it. Sticking out from under the boy's hat was two fluffy-looking ears.

“So your father is human and I’m guessing your mother is a Vulpiit?”

The boy suddenly froze, dropping the bucket he was holding to feed the horses with. He slowly turned to face Aaron.

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”

Aaron shakes his head, “No. I recommend you get a better hat though. Your ears are poking out.”

The boy pulls his hat down to cover his furry ears as Aaron starts heading for the door to the stables.

“How do I know you won’t tell anyone?”

Aaron smiles at the boy, “You don’t.” He steps out of the stable and heads back to the Grazing Calf.