By the time they reached the next town, the sun was fading and her burst of energy from the reward that she had received was long gone. It was all she could do not to drag her feet as she walked along next to Ward, aware that he had shortened his pace for her but unable to bring herself to protest or care. Every inch of her ached and even if she didn't have blisters, her feet hurt! She couldn't wait to fall into bed or even just sit down and take the weight off of them for a little while.

He encouraged, "It's not much further now and this town has an inn that we can stay at. You can have a hot meal and soak away the soreness and grime of travel."

She nodded, the idea of a bath sounding absolutely marvelous. However, she needed to carry her own weight and not remain reliant upon his kindness. She admitted tiredly, "That sounds wonderful but I will pay for my room and dinner. I don't want you to take that upon yourself, especially since I invited myself along on your circuit and I do have a stipend."

He acceded easily, "Very well, I won't protest. However, you are not a burden, just so that you know. If I had thought that you were incapable or couldn't keep up, I wouldn't have brought you along in the first place. Yes, I may assist a bit at first while you're still gaining knowledge but I know that you only need a bit of time before you're traveling like a native of Audrilandre."

A bit of her weariness dropped away at that admission even as she felt her ears burn. She hadn't known that he'd thought that highly of her capabilities, even if this was the easy part of the journey and she still had the option of turning back from this town if she so desired. Switching the subject so that she wouldn't get emotional over the praise, she always became more expressive when she was tired, she asked, "So, how long are you planning on staying here?"

He guided her down a street, pointing out indicators that meant an inn was close as he thought the question over, "Not more than a day or two, I think. Although it's been a while since I've been here because it's at the very start of my circuit, the two guardians here are very capable. I'll most likely just be reviewing and approving paperwork as well as a couple of times of showing my face so that people can remember that I'm the head guardian of this region. Other than that, things should go smoothly but you will have enough time to seek your answers here."

The inn came into sight, a carved sign hanging outside indicating that it was The Dancing Boar. She had to admit that whoever had carved the sign had been very skilled, the wooden pig looked like it was about to leap off the sign and dance down the street. "Do you always stay at inns? Or is there some sort of guard house that you should be staying at instead, 'cause I can stay on my own."

He shrugged, "There are some guard barracks, although I tend to stay in the inns when I pass through towns, which makes me more accessible. However, should I choose to stay in a barracks, you are welcome to stay there as well. Guardians are allowed to bring guests as long as they register them to the guestbook in case of any incidents, although all offices and sensitive areas are warded to prevent anyone who is not a guardian from entering them. A guardian can guide a person through them but cannot be coerced to bring a person through the wards."

She listened intently, fascinated at this detail. "How are the wards done?"

He shrugged, holding open the door for her, "Maybe another time, when there aren't any ears around that might take the information in a way that is not merely academic curiosity."

She flushed at the gentle rebuke, suddenly aware of the good-natured noise that emanated from the open door. She said softly, "Oh, of course. I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I can lose all track of common sense and awareness when I'm intrigued by something."

He grinned, following her into the warm inn, "No worries, I was already aware of this. Come on, let's get our rooms sorted and then we can get some dinner. I'm starving and tonight it's," he paused and inhaled deeply, "Beef stew, it smells like, which means that there will undoubtedly be warm, fluffy biscuits and an apple cobbler that is so delicious it can make you positively weep in joy for getting to taste it."

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The desk clerk called, amusement lacing his voice, "Been dreaming about Ma's cobbler again, Ward?"

He grinned at the man, striding over and clasping his hand, "You know it, Derrick. I swear, I'm tempted to cut my route into quarters instead of one long circuit if only so I could get my hands on the cobbler more often."

Derrick grinned back at him, "Well, you're in luck. Ma figured that you'd be passing through either today or tomorrow, so the cobbler is on the menu for the next three days."

Ward beamed at that, "Your mother is a saint."

The words slipped out before Ria could stop them, "So, the reason that you stay at the inn is to be more accessible, hmm? It has absolutely nothing to do with baked goods, right?"

She flushed as their attention turned to her, cursing her lack of a filter when she was tired. Derrick offered her an easy smile, "This one likes to pretend he's all mature and things but he has a bigger sweet tooth than any kid that I know. And who might you be, Miss?"

Ward mock scowled at them but they could both see the smile threatening to break free. Ria hesitated, unsure of how to properly introduce herself to what was obviously Ward's friend, even after Faye had drilled her on etiquette and greetings. Thankfully, Ward saw her hesitation and quickly jumped in. "Derrick, this is Miss Allegria Willows, a newly arrived star traveler. Ria, this is one of my oldest friends, Derrick Woods. He and his family run the inn here and have for generations now."

She saw Derrick shoot Ward an uncertain glance, after all, there hadn't been a drop since the one four months before and the natives only referred to star travelers as new for the first two months of their stay on Audrilandre. However, he didn't remark upon it, "Pleased to meet you, Miss Willows. Will you be staying here at The Dancing Boar or are you visiting someone in town?"

Ward spoke up, although he glanced at her for permission first and she managed to nod, "She's traveling the circuit with me for now, Der. If we could get two rooms and some of that excellent dinner, that would be wonderful."

Ria nodded, "Yes, please. Excuse my slowness, I'm afraid that I'm rather fatigued."

He nodded, immediately flipping open the ledger, "Well, let's get you settled quickly so that you can eat and rest. Us Woods pride ourselves on taking the very best care of any travelers that pass through." He quickly skimmed the ledger, "Ah, this will work, we have two rooms next to each other that are free that you two can have. And since you're with Ward, you'll receive the usual guardian discount. So for two nights and meals, it will be one yuple."

She frowned at that even as she reached for her coin pouch, "That seems suspiciously low. Shouldn't it be at least three yuples?"

Ward watched her, pride in his expression at how quickly she seemed to be adapting to the prices and customs of Audrilandre. Derrick shook his head, "Normally, it is three yuples. However, since guardians oversee the well-being of Audrilandre, anywhere they stay receives compensation when they send in a chit that Ward gives us when he stays here. Since you are traveling with him, you are part of his party and we automatically receive compensation for you as well. Since that is the case, it would be unscrupulous to charge you the regular rate."

It took her a moment to process it all before nodding and passing over a yuple. "Thank you for the explanation. I look forward to trying the apple cobbler."

Derrick grinned and accepted the yuple before stepping out from behind the counter, "Your rooms are this way, if you'll follow me."

Falling into step behind him, Ward murmured just loud enough for her to hear, "Well done, Ria. You spotted the rate difference immediately and even had a good guess for the correct amount. See, you'll be an experienced traveler in no time."

Ria offered him a weary smile, "I'm just glad that I didn't offend him with my questions. I'm so tired and my filter is nearly gone. I need to eat and sleep before I do something truly foolish."

Ward laughed, "Don't worry, I'll make sure that you don't do anything. However, don't forget to message Lynne before you fall asleep. The pair of us will never hear the end of it if you don't."

Ria mock-shuddered and immediately pulled open the guide, flicking it to the communication screen. "I'm surprised that I don't already have a million messages from her."

He grinned, "I bet her that she couldn't wait to message you until you messaged her first. I knew that she is just stubborn enough to want to win the bet. I figured that you deserved at least a little bit of peace on your first day while you adjusted to traveling."

Grateful for his consideration, she muttered her thanks as she quickly typed out a message and sent it. "There, all done. Now off to dinner and rest."