He gained the opportunity to finally sleep soundly through most of the night unlike most nights out in the lands covered in fog but he suddenly awoke due to some loud noise.
“No more sleeping in! It’s time to work you lout.” He pulled his body up and then opened his eyes catching Della’s father throwing several pairs of clothes at him. They landed on his face and slid down to sit on top of his crossed legs. “Put those on and be quick about it. I won’t have you lazing about lest you wish to be fired on your first day on the job.”
While he began undressing out of the old man’s clothes Della had given him the previous day, the new set of clothes was similar to the kind the rest of the men who worked at the inn all wore. It was just a pair of black trousers along with a white shirt, black vest, and black shoes.
He got dressed quickly not wanting to earn the ire of the innkeeper for taking too long. It did appear that these particular bits of clothes fit and conformed to his body better than what he wore previously.
When he left the basement and came out to the front area of the inn, the innkeeper thrust a broom into his hands. “Get sweeping. We officially open in half an hour so those floors better be spotless.”
“Yes sir,” he kindly said.
Sweep sweep sweep. He began to sing a song within his mind. To compliment his imaginary voice, he added a string instrument to play along. The song kept his mind preoccupied as he swept the wooden floors.
He went from corner to corner of the inn’s main front room where the bar was and all the round tables for patrons to dine and chat at. He swept under each table and chair not missing a single inch of the floor.
The song he kept in his mind began to spill out into the real world. It managed to catch the attention of a young girl who wore a light green dress. He sang what he would refer to as The Sweeping Song to her and he made funny faces as he sang it aloud garnering a childish laugh.
Sweeping for all intents and purposes was a simple act to carry out. And yet somehow, he had managed to make it more of a performance only to get more and more attention as he mixed the trivial labor with song and dramatic movements of his arms and legs.
The little girl clapped as he concluded the song and held onto a goofy pose. “You’re quite funny mister,” she said.
“You think so?”
She nodded her head.
“Well, I at least try my best.” He continued to sweep knowing that there wasn’t much time left until the inn would officially open. It was still dark outside but faint illumination from the sunrise was beginning to hit the windows and come flooding inside. “Are you Della’s little sister?”
“Mhm.”
“Melia, leave him be.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the brooding man behind the bar.
“Yes father.”
Without saying another word, he could tell the innkeeper was not pleased with his behavior. He returned to his sweeping without adding any performative action to it.
When he finished sweeping, a ton of light flooded in through the windows by then. Bits of dust floated in the air making it obvious that despite just sweeping any obvious gathered dust and dirt, it was still around no matter how hard someone tried to remove it all.
“Go bring two big bags of potatoes from the basement and bring them into the kitchen.”
“Yes sir,” he said and quickly motioned away to do as ordered. Whatever the innkeeper wanted, he would give them exactly what they ordered.
He nearly jumped out of his skin as something landed on his shoulder. “Are you really beset on carrying out all of these menial tasks?” Lar had decided to appear all of a sudden as he made his way further into the basement.
“For a little while at least. It’s the least I can do for the kindness they’ve given to me.”
“Kindness? That guy threw you on your rear end seconds after you first spoke to him. If he had done that to me I would’ve killed him. If anything they’re the ones who owe you, not the other way around.”
He eventually found the potatoes and grabbed a couple of bags. They had a bit of heft to each one of them but he managed to carry them without too much difficulty. He began going back up the staircase as the cat couldn’t help but sigh annoyingly. “Well if this is what you’re planning on doing for the rest of the day, I’m out of here.”
“Go run along then. Just try not to cause any trouble.”
“Wait, I’m the one supposed to be telling you that. Well, whatever,” she said hopping off his shoulder and carefully leaving the inn.
He went into the kitchen behind the bar and dropped off a couple of big bags of potatoes onto the floor. An older woman and a few other younger girls all thanked him for his assistance. They were all preparing food for breakfast by chopping up vegetables and cooking up some sausages that made his nose go crazy as the numerous spices flooded his nose.
As he exited the kitchen and walked around the bar the innkeeper gave him a scornful glare. “Alright then you lout. Listen up.”
He stood up straight and eagerly awaited more orders from his new boss. He began informing him of their procedures for how to address patrons and how to best serve them properly. The operations weren’t exactly complicated. Being courteous was a big one which he found to be quite easy.
“The good folk of Liall around here expect to be treated well whenever they come here so when you’re out there serving patrons, you’re to be civil at all times and treat them with dignity. And I don’t care if they act like jerks. Treat them well and give them what they want. Within reason of course. Now, we can expect people to start coming in at any moment. We’re known for being busy most mornings so prepare yourself.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
He wasn’t wrong. Seconds after, the front door was propped open and a whole group of people came in. As they sat themselves down, he took charge to serve them.
They had just wanted drinks and a bit of cooked potatoes and ham so he made sure to get the food to them quickly and efficiently.
More and more people came to eat. A lot of them were guards who had gotten off guard duty for the night. Some were local farmers and then there were groups comprised of people such as five older ladies who were professors at the Liall Sorcerer’s University. Each one of them wore white robes that hid their feet and despite being in their sixties at least, they couldn’t help but hit on him.
A bout of laughter erupted from their table as he pleased them with carefully chosen words. He learned a great deal about them as he visited their table from time to time. One of them taught classes revolving around arcane symbols and sacred geometry that are regularly used for a variety of magical spells. It was undeniable that they knew a lot about magic. Most of it might’ve gone in one ear and out the other, but he thought it all to be fascinating nonetheless.
Another group he tended to were those same pipe-smoking sorcerers that had been at the inn the day before. He noticed that unlike the sorceresses, they wore much larger pointy hats that did quite the swell job of obscuring their faces from his perspective.
“Don’t I recognize you?” one older sorcerer said as they pushed a finger up to the far edge of their hat to readjust it upon their white-haired head. Doing so made it so they could look each other in the eye without him being forced to sit. They stuck their pipe back into their mouth and took several puffs blowing a cloud full of smoke all around. “Why yes, you’re that man that was kicked out yesterday aren’t you?”
“That’d be me.”
“Ha! I had thought he had acted a bit harshly towards you. It’s good to see he rectified everything. Since I’ve been coming here he’s showcased both immense kindness and ruthfulness at differing points. You’ve been able to see both in such a short period it would seem.”
The dark-robed sorcerers were a mix of older and younger aged men who worked at the same nearby sorcerer’s university that those white-robed sorceresses worked at. Apparently the two sexes wore differently colored robes with the men wearing darker ones and the women the more light-based ones. And depending on the intensity of the shade, it would indicate their place in the university’s hierarchy.
He knew very little of magic. But if he ever had any questions, he knew who to ask. Unfortunately for now, since he was busy going from table to table, he never could really ask anything related to that subject in any meaningful detail.
By mid-day, he was afforded a ten-minute break. He stood outside the front of the inn with one leg crossed over the other as he leaned his back up against the edge of the inn’s east corner.
He thought he caught something exiting the inn. He turned his head noticing Della coming over towards him.
“How’s your first day going so far?”
“Honestly, I’m finding it quite nice. It’s a good change of pace compared to what I was dealing with before.”
Walking through bogs and dealing with nasty creatures every other day that were eager to kill anything alive to working in an inn serving drinks and food to people was a whole world of difference. He preferred the latter for sure. It made for far comfier living.
“I’m glad you’re finding it to your liking,” she said and came over to lean against the wall with him to his right. “I’ve been working here basically all of my life. My father inherited it from his parents and one day I’m going to inherit it from him. I’m expecting to just be an old woman one day still trudging along in this very same place. Or so I hope that’s the case at least.”
“It’s a simple life but certainly not a bad one. I was wondering though. Is everyone that works here besides me part of your family?”
“Right now yeah. In the past, we’ve had some who weren’t part of our family working here but that hasn’t been the case for the last year. Thankfully our family’s quite big but it’s not always enough especially when it gets busy. Having you around has already been immensely helpful. And I get the impression our patrons are liking you.”
“People just can’t help but like me. Except for that father of yours. But I bet you I’ll get him to like me too one of these days. I’ll keep trying to at least.”
She laughed a little. “I hope I am to bear witness to whenever that happens.” Della took a step forward no longer leaning beside him. She had her back briefly turned away from in front of him and then twirled around with her hands clasped together. “Say, I’d like you to come to a certain place with me tonight. If you’re alright with doing that of course. I wouldn’t want to impose on you.”
“Oh? I wouldn’t mind going someplace with you.”
“Oh, good. There’s this place that I think you’d enjoy seeing and it’s not far from here. Since you’ve only recently come inside Liall for the first time, I thought it might be a nice place to visit.”
“Where or what exactly is it?”
“That’s going to remain a secret for now. I promise it’ll be worth it though.”
“Secret, eh? Well, now I guess I have something special to look forward to at the end of the day.”
He was curious about where she intended to take him. If she meant to keep it a secret for now however, he was more than fine with that. Plus, he enjoyed surprises.
Until they were to share a moment later that night, he continued to work his shift. The inn managed to stay busy throughout the afternoon. The place was an inn, but they had garnered a reputation for having high standards not just for their over-the-night services but for the taste of their food. And the bits of food he had tasted were quite good. He didn’t have much else to compare it to but his tongue would never lie to him. As a result of this, they received regular customers day and night including many repeat customers such as the city guard and even people who associated with the relatively nearby Liall Sorcerer’s University.
While he served a small group of people at a round table, he heard a group of people coming in. Without even looking at them, he could tell they were heavily armored. With every step they took, a heavy thud landed on the wooden floor due to their choice to wear heavy armor even on their feet.
A loud boisterous whistle got his attention. “You’ve got new patrons to serve.”
“I’ll be there in one moment.” He finished assisting a pair of patrons at one of the round tables and began to make way for the new heavily armored bunch who sat near a table closest to the entrance. They had taken off their helms and sat them down on the floor. There were at least four of them with two men and two women. When he came to lend him his services, a man with a wide and ferocious jaw and a tightly trimmed haircut eyed him first.
“Welcome to The Drunken Pony. How may I be of service?”
As he listened to their requests for fresh drinks and freshly made food, he began to realize something. That woman who sat down towards his right had a familiar face. Where have I seen her before?
He began to try to remember where he might’ve seen her before and then he remembered that this woman was the same person who had threatened to slay him if he ever came into contact with them again.
She was indeed the very same woman who had done the killing blow towards the giant and wielded a sword that possessed a raging fire that consumed the blade.
He swallowed the saliva gathering in his mouth and tried to position himself so that she didn’t see his face.
Well now. This is certainly inconvenient.