A hot breeze shook the tall stalks of grain that surrounded the road. The smell of ripening grain filled the air. Anna took a deep breath enjoying the scent.

When she looked back down the long road, she noticed the walls of a town off in the distance. The sight caused the wiggling feeling to return. She paused for a moment and took a breath. Thokri put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

“You alright, lass?” he asked.

“Aye,” she replied.

He gave her shoulder another squeeze. She started walking again. As they got closer to the town, the wiggling feeling got worse.

It’s been a week since that awful day. Why am I being like this? Is there something wrong with me now?

The walls were short and made from stone. They looked like they’d been rebuilt from ruined ones, though that must have happened centuries ago.

The gate was open, and two guards stood in the shade inside the opening. They waved the party through the moment Voekeer showed them his guild badge.

They walked through the gate onto the main street of the town. The street was filled with people going about their day. Most were the dark-eyed, brown-skinned humans that inhabited this region. But there was also a surprising number of beast people mixed in the crowd. Of the beast folk, most were horse people with cow folk being the next most numerous and with a few cat and dog people here and there.

The wiggling feeling in her chest dissipated at the sight of so many non-humans. It was replaced by her usual curiosity when visiting a new place.

Wow! This is the most beast folk I’ve seen outside of Oldforge or the capital! I wonder what they’re doing here?

“Can we stay for the day?” Anna asked.

“I suppose we have been making good time. Any reason why?” Voekeer asked.

“Just want to look around,” Anna replied.

“Can we go find an inn? I don’t want to carry my pack around all day,” Elaine asked.

“We can get some food too!” Anna added.

“As long as it’s not more pea soup!” Lyreen said.

“You’re going to have to put up with it for a few more weeks, child,” Barika replied.

Lyreen groaned in a dramatic manner.

“Dragon pepper,” Anna said.

“What?” Lyreen asked.

“Add dragon pepper to it,” Anna replied.

“Does that help?” Lyreen asked.

“Yeah, I mean, I like it normally, but the pepper adds something fun to the taste that you might like,” Anna replied.

“I might have to try that! But I don’t have any pepper,” Lyreen said.

“I wasn’t sure if we were going to be camping or not, so I brought plenty of spices,” Anna replied.

“I was wondering why your pack was so damned heavy,” Voekeer said.

“It’s not the spices. It’s my armor,” Anna replied.

“You brought your armor?” Voekeer asked.

“Yeah, I want to show it to Beth,” Anna replied.

“Fair enough,” Voekeer said.

“How about there?” Elaine said.

Anna looked over at the building she was pointing to. It was a large two-story structure. The sign that hung above the thick wooden door had a wagon being driven by a rooster on it.

What in the fuck is that supposed to mean?

She puzzled over the meaning of that sign as they crossed the street and walked through the larger than normal front door. She was struck with the scent of roasting meat and spices the moment she stepped foot inside. As they headed into the room, she noticed that some of the tables were quite a bit larger and taller than the others.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen more than one size table at the same place! Oh, I bet it’s because the owner is a bullman. He must want his friends to have a comfortable place to sit too.

There were a few other people in the main room. Most were sipping drinks, and a few were eating what looked like boiled cabbage that had been chopped and served on a plate. When they reached the table, they took off their packs, placing them next to their chairs as they sat down.

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“SUE, WE GOT MORE GUESTS!!!” the bullman shouted.

“I’LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE!!!” a woman shouted from the back room.

The bullman sighed.

“Sorry, you caught us getting ready for dinner,” he said.

“No worries, lad. We know how it is,” Thokri replied.

“Least I can do is bring you something to drink while you wait. What’ll you have?” he asked.

“Ales,” Thokri replied.

The bullman nodded and started to fill mugs from one of the large barrels behind the bar. He put the mugs on a tray and carried it over to the table. He set the huge mugs in front of each of them, foam spilling down the side when they touched the table.

“So, you folk just here to eat, or you need rooms too?” he asked.

“Rooms, and we’d like to leave our things in them while we walk around. Is that alright?” Voekeer asked.

“That’s no problem. It’s three copper a room. You get food with that, but not the roast you’re smelling. That’s extra,” he said.

“How much?” Anna asked.

“Two more copper. If you don’t want to pay, you get stew,” he replied.

Anna dug out five copper and handed them to him.

“Someone knows what she wants,” the bullman said with a laugh.

“It smells good!” Anna replied.

He laughed again.

“Just wait till you taste it!” he added.

The rest of her friends paid him, and he went back behind the bar. She took a drink of the ale and was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Not long after, a cow woman walked out of the back room wiping her hands on her apron. Anna looked her over as she approached the table. She was a thickly built woman covered in soft brown fur and wore a simple dress similar to the ones she wore while in Oldforge.

“So, what can I get you?” she asked.

“What’s ready?” Anna asked.

“Got stew or steamed vegetables,” she replied.

“Steamed vegetables?” Lyreen asked.

“Yeah, we steam them, chop them up, and mix butter and spices in. It’s pretty good if you ask me,” the woman replied.

“I’d like to try that, miss,” Lyreen said.

“Sure thing,” the woman replied.

“I’ll have that as well,” Barika said.

“So will I,” Elaine added.

“Me too!” Anna said.

Rose gave the woman a thumbs up.

“Might as well,” Voekeer said.

“Aye,” Thokri said with a nod.

“Alright, well, I’ll have it out in a few,” the woman replied.

“Thanks!” Anna said.

“You’re welcome, hon,” the woman replied. She walked away from the table, flicking her tail back and forth as she made her way to the back room of the inn.

Once the woman slipped into the back, Anna looked around at the other guests for a moment. Most looked as if they were fellow travelers stopping at the inn for either a quick meal or stopping early to rest in the safety of a larger settlement. As usual, most of the travelers were men with the few women that accompanied them trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

As she glanced around the room, she did catch one young woman staring. She paused to give the woman a closer look.

Blue eyes. Don’t see that often. Her hair’s light too. Maybe she’s got some Northman blood in her. Those men sitting with her look like relatives, probably brothers and her father I’m guessing. Wonder where they’re going?

The woman smiled shyly at her, so she smiled back. After a moment, she broke eye contact with the young woman and continued to look around the room.

The cow woman walked out of the back room carrying a tray filled with plates of steaming food and walked over to their table. She set a plate in front of each of them.

“Enjoy,” she said before leaving again.

The boiled vegetables turned out to be mostly boiled cabbage with a few chunks of onion and carrot mixed in, and the spices were nothing more than roughly ground dragon pepper.

Well, there is a lot of butter, so it’s going to taste good.

She took a bite and wasn’t at all surprised by what she tasted.

Yep, boiled cabbage with butter on it.

She continued to eat, enjoying her meal despite its simplicity. The barmaid returned with a pitcher to top off their drinks. She also dropped their keys on the table before heading to refill the drinks at a nearby table.

Anna picked up one of the large iron keys and stuffed it into her belt pouch. After eating the rest of the cabbage as quickly as she could without drawing any attention to herself, she picked up the mug of ale and started to drink. She gulped it down and finished the full mug off quickly. Once done, she slammed the mug down on the table and let out a thunderous belch.

“That stuff is great! Well, I’m going to go and check out my room. I’ll be back down in a few,” she said.

Her friends nodded and mumbled things as she got up and took her pack. She headed for the stairs, passing by the widely spaced tables as she went.

When she reached the stairs, she noticed they were wider than usual as well, and the ceiling above them was higher up, though the stairs and the railing were normal. She climbed up and was surprised when none of the steps squeaked.

When she reached the second floor, she glanced at an open window to her right and a large door without a number straight ahead of her.

Must be the innkeeper’s room.

She followed the hallway to the left and looked for the room that matched the number on her key.

Oh, nice, it’s on the left. That means I’ll be able to look out onto the street!

She unlocked the large door with the iron key and went into the room. It was roughly the same size as the rooms in most inns. The only real difference was that it had a much higher ceiling. The room itself was sparsely furnished, only containing a bed and table.

Look at that bed! You could fit five of me on that thing!

She took off her pack and dropped it next to the door then ran over to the huge bed and jumped face-first onto it. She landed with a thunk, the bed being much firmer than she had expected, and started to laugh. She just laid there and kept laughing. She wasn’t even sure why she was laughing. Something just seemed funny.

“Well, she’s finally lost it,” Lyreen said.

“I don’t think she had it to begin with,” Elaine added.

Anna rolled onto her back and sat up, taking a few breaths to calm herself before sliding off the bed.

“Sorry, it’s just, uh, that bed wasn’t as bouncy as I thought. That’s all,” Anna replied.

“Well, we’re all ready to go when you are,” Lyreen said.

“I’m good,” Anna replied.

The three of them walked out of her room and joined the other members of the party in the hallway. Anna locked her room and summoned an eye and tentacle to guard her things, instructing them to warn her if anyone tried to get into her or her friends’ rooms. With security out of the way, they left the inn and headed out onto the busy street.

“Well lass, you wanted to look around, so which way?” Thokri asked.

“South for now. I’ll pick a side street when one looks interesting,” she replied.

Thokri nodded, and the others didn’t seem to mind too, so she started walking down the main road.