Even with the interview being over, Rohl was hardly free to spend the rest of the day relaxing, it took another ten minutes or so for him and Kayla to fully depart the interview room and acquire Rohl’s new equipment. Given the price he had paid, the basic armour and well-crafted sword was well worth the cost, it was unlikely he’d have gotten such value if he had attempted to purchase this equipment from a vendor.
But even with this new equipment, he was still going to keep his knife near, well at least until he could return it to the Furbrough guard who had kindly lent it to him. Whilst the dagger had been free, the sword was definitely an upgrade, it gave him much better reach and fit the adventuring lifestyle far better.
However, these new changes weren’t quite enough to allow Rohl to draw his sword and practice using it. The small training room he had found himself in was far too crowded for that, all of the training dummies were being used and Rohl didn’t quite have the confidence to share, not when his skill with the blade was surely pitiful.
Every one of the several adventurers currently homing their abilities on the equipment seemed far more skilled and trained than he, it was no question that any one of them could easily beat him in a fight.
I best not embarrass myself just yet, especially since one of these might be my trial mentor, maybe I can ask them for some pointers tomorrow or get a proper trainer.
Despite Rohl’s self-deprecating thoughts, there was one small notion that prevented him from becoming too disheartened by the skill difference. He was blessed and with it, the odds would surely change.
His power could make his opponents reckless in a fight, force them into attacking their allies. And that was just for starters, who knew what else he could manage if he mastered the full extent of his ability, if he let it flow freely from him and bend the world to his wishes.
It was an intoxicating notion and one Rohl had to force his mind away from as his hand began to twitch near his still shrunken ukatar.
Not a good idea, not yet, not until I've practised.
From a quick look at the gathered adventurers, it didn’t seem as if any of them had noticed his small slip, it was possible they had but it seemed more likely he had managed to catch himself before he truly unleashed his power. Whatever the case, it had been too close to comfort and Rohl took that as his signal to depart and begin the next part of his plan. Finding somewhere to rest.
Fortunately for him, it was something he had plenty of time to consider as he finally left the guild and re-entered the streets of Elmon.
Given his lack of resources, renting a room or camping in the wild was pretty much out of the question, until he started to regularly complete contracts that was. They were expensive luxuries and whatever money Rohl hadn’t spent on his new equipment, had quickly vanished on the streets of Elmon in exchange for a rather bare change of clothes.
That left him only one real option, sleeping rough or finding somewhere he could exchange work for a bed, when he wasn’t out adventuring that was. Such criteria eliminated many sources of work and that left Rohl with only one real option, inns. Specifically, a quiet one, somewhere that didn’t really need the staff but wouldn’t say no to the occasional help.
The idea was somewhat of a longshot and if he was going to find such a place, there was only open real place to look, the city's inner streets, there was little chance of finding such a place on the crowded streets he had already walked and that left him one real choice, begin exploring one of the side streets that veered off from the busy marketplace he had passed by earlier.
Given its closeness to the main streets of Elmon, the passage Rohl found himself down wasn’t too different than any other side street he had likely come across, it was narrower for sure with houses pressing down on him from both sides. But despite that, there was just enough foot traffic that Rohl didn’t feel particularly worried about being robbed either. If anything, the place felt safe and seemed to have formed a small community of its own with just enough shops and businesses that any resident wouldn’t have to leave these streets if they truly didn’t want to.
And just as every small community had and needed, this place also had somewhere to drink. Just from a quick glance, the Sleeping Goblin Inn appeared to be everything Rohl was searching for, it was small but not so much that they wouldn’t need staff, out of the way enough that they wouldn’t get too busy, but most importantly it was currently open with one or two customers already sharing a drink together.
The inn was somewhat nestled into one of the buildings and whilst Rohl couldn’t be sure, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the inn didn’t occupy all of the building’s floors. And whilst he would have preferred to get a good look at the place before entering, the obscure glass that littered its outside made that rather difficult, at best he could make out a few blurry figures moving from within and gain a somewhat general layout of the decor.
Stairs in corner, door at back, some booths around edges, a stage in corner and some benches and other round tables. All one large room with support poles.
The place had potential and whilst Rohl hoped his journey for shelter would end here, there was still the hard part to come, persuading its owner to let him live here.
Remember the plan. Hello, may I speak to the owner please, my name is… I’ve just joined the guild, looking for a place to rest when I'm not away on contracts, might only be one or two days a week that I’m here, can we come to an come to an agreement. I will work when I’m here, cleaning, serving… no performing not yet, I don’t have it in me for that. All I’d ask in exchange is somewhere to sleep. Seems a fair deal to me.
After taking a moment to quickly rehearse his proposal, Rohl stepped towards the inn’s wooden door and gently pushed it open. Whilst it was likely still too early for the inn to have that many customers, there were just enough patrons present that none of the staff seemed surprised at his arrival.
Right, who seems nicer?
To further his chances of the owner agreeing to his proposal, it was probably best he made a good impression on the staff, and even though he didn’t have a real way to know which of the two staff was the friendlier one, he could at least try to narrow it down.
His first option was to approach the waitress, a young girl only perhaps one or two years younger than him. She had long black hair that reached as far down as her waist and a small nose that gave her a rather mousy appearance. However, her appearance when combined with her rather energetic movements and bright smile gave her an overall cute appearance.
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I don’t think I've ever had that much energy or been that joyful in my life, especially not when working.
The waitress seemed like a good option, especially when compared to the other member of staff. She was also a young woman, perhaps Rohl’s age but likely not much older.
I wonder if there related perhaps a family business.
It was a possibility given the small nature of the inn, but there was no way Rohl could distinguish any relation from their appearances, the other young woman had long blond hair that had been tied together into a knot on her shoulder and her nose was much more standard. Even their attitudes were different, whilst the waitress was happy and energetic, the bartender seemed more stoic and neutral in her expressions.
Waitress it is.
With his decision made and a small smile on his lips, Rohl quickly made his way further into the dining area and managed to catch the eye of the employee.
Just from that simple exchange, she seemed to understand that Rohl wanted to speak to her.
“Hi, uhm, would I be able to speak to whoever’s in charge please?”
Rohl’s question caused a flicker of emotions to appear on the waitress’s face, a mix of curiosity and confusion. Although after giving Rohl a quick once over, it didn’t take long for those emotions to be replaced by her usual friendly smile and bright eyes.
“Of course, I shall go get him for you.”
With a small skip in her step, the young waitress hastily turned and made her way towards one of the backrooms, the second she passed through the doorway, her shouts of ‘Dad’ became clearly audible to everyone in the inn. It was somewhat amusing to Rohl as was the other employees resigned sigh and annoyed head rub.
Despite the abruptness of it all, the waitress’s call was effective as barely a minute later, she remerged with an older man in tow. There was definitely a resemblance between the two, even with the man’s much shorter black hair and stubbled face, there was enough resemblance in their facial features to see the relation.
Just as the relation was clear, it was also apparent in the man’s confused expression, that he hadn’t been expecting any visitors, especially any looking like Rohl did.
I definitely should have changed first.
Even with his likely haggard state, the man still approached with a friendly smile and an outstretched hand that Rohl shook politely. Once the base pleasantries had been exchanged, the man gestured for them to sit at the closest free table.
“So, lad, what can I help you with?”
“I’m here to see if you have any jobs going. But not as a standard job, more of an exchange, work for a bed, when I’m here. I’ve just joined the guild and I’m looking for a place to stay when I’m not out on a contract.” Rohl’s reply was far less coherent and dignified than he had planned, but it did seem the man had gotten the jist of what he was offering.
“Right, If I’m straight with you, between me, my wife and our daughters, we keep this place in tight order. I can’t say I’m looking for any extra hands, but you seem like a decent lad. How about you give me the rundown of how you see this arrangement working and I’ll talk it over with my missus. Just don’t get your hopes up, I can’t promise anything.”
The man’s offer was fair and so after a small breath, Rohl spoke again, this time with a stern and hopefully more persuasive tone and offer.
“I just arrived in Elmon and well, I’m hoping to one day be a strong adventurer, but I’ve just started and until I do start earning money as a higher-ranked adventurer, I’ll need a place to rest and recover. Given the contracts, that might only be one or two days a week. Since I can’t pay yet, I’ll work for it, whenever I’m here, put me to use, cleaning, serving, anything you need, I’ll do.”
“It’s an interesting offer and one I can’t see straining the inn, we do have spare rooms, most of our business is in drink, not renting rooms. I’ll go talk to my wife and daughters, it’s a decision that will affect all of them after all. Please wait and if you need one, help yourself to a drink, on the house.”
“Thank you.” With the surprisingly short conversation over, the man left and after a nod to the eavesdropping staff members, gathered them in the back room for a conversation.
I guess his wife’s back there, could be a kitchen or office. I wonder what everyone’s exact role is around here.
It was hard for Rohl to tell just what the room directly behind the bar was, it was most likely storage or kitchen but given how the owner was stood blocking the doorway, Rohl couldn’t be sure.
I suppose I'll find out if they accept. I hope they do; it’ll be a pain having to have conversations like this multiple times over. Plus, this is in a decent location, near the market and not too far from the guild.
Rohl was half tempted to make a short prayer that it went well, but to him that seemed a rather wasteful decision, he wasn’t keen on wasting his patron’s time on such a pointless payer, especially when he had done little to earn the blessing she had gifted him with.
I wonder if there is a god of inns I could ask. Hopefully, they’ll just agree, I’d rather not have to agree to any barding, I don’t have it in me.
Since Rohl had no idea if there was, wondering about it now was not particularly helpful, especially not as the man and his two daughters finally reappeared from the back room. It was hard to tell from his expression if it was good news or not but the rather excited and nervous energy erupting from the younger daughter's face did give him a small glimmer of hope.
I best stand, probably more polite.
“I believe we have a deal lad; we can work out the specifics later but first, I’d say it’s time for a round of inductions. These two are my daughters Nia and Lola. Nia handles the majority of the front of house and Lola serves the drinks.” Despite it being rather obvious which daughter was which, that didn’t stop the man from wrapping an arm around each of them and pulling them in as he spoke.
“I’m Philson, Philson Kutcher but you can just call me Phil, I handle most of the cooking, not that anyone comes here for the food. And finally, my wife Alicen, she’s in the office, but I’m sure she’ll introduce herself after she’s finished our tax requirements. We have a son, as well, Tyler but he’s flown the coop already, lives in Stipus nowadays, but he does drop by for the holidays.” Philsen finished with a kind smile and an unspoken invitation for Rohl to introduce himself next.
“Thank you, sincerely thank you for this chance. I’m Rohl, Rohl Bluedawn. I don’t have my trial until tomorrow, so if you have any work for me to do already?”
“I’m sure we can find you something, given it’s your first day, we’ll start easy. Nia give him a small tour and see if you can find any chores for him, Lola should be able to handle the front for a while.”
Before Rohl could get in another word or so much as offer to shake Philsen’s hand once more, he found himself being half dragged by the young waitress who seemed just as happy about the arrangement as he did.
“Right, okay, so, the bedrooms are all upstairs, Mum and Dad have one, me and Lola, plus a bunch of guest rooms and yours too, I guess. They are all empty at the moment, which is great as it means I don’t have to clean them. The kitchen, office and storage are all in the back, best I show you that first.” Just as she behaved, Nia tended to speak in an equally quick and excitable manner, almost to the point where it was hard for Rohl to follow whatever she was saying.
But still, he remained quiet and at least tried to look attentive as the young girl all but dragged him through the dining area, past the bar and through a small door just on his right.
“This is where we do a lot of the prep, laundry, store stock and other random junk Dad won’t get rid of in case we need it. I personally love our collection of old tablecloths; real important we hang on to them.”
Even with her exaggerated words, Rohl couldn’t deny that she had described the room perfectly, it was essentially a storage room full of kegs, old furniture, and other assorted inn knick-knacks.
“Right so you see those boxes full of old bedding, it needs washing and drying, there’s a tub here somewhere, water out back and a cloth line as well. Good luck, thank you, glad to have you with us.”
In a rather impressive fashion, Nia had managed to lead him into the room, distract him and then sneak out behind him without Rohl so much as noticing what she was up to. If it wasn’t for the sound of the door closing behind him, he doubted he would have even noticed she’d snuck out.
That wasn’t much of a tour. I perhaps have the feeling she just used me to do her own chores. Ah well, works still work and if it gets the family to like me, all the better.
With the rest of his day now likely dedicated to washing and drying used bedding, there was little else for Rohl to do but sigh and get on with the life he had conceded himself to.
Once that beast is dead, this will all have been worth it. This is the first step in a long journey, one I won’t fail. I will not fail you again.