As they got in front of the tavern they saw it's name on a small sign. It said The Furry Friend.

˝Pft, what kind of name is that? First Furshire and now Furry friend, their naming sense is quite something.˝ Liz said while going towards the door.

˝Indeed the name is quite special.˝ Alfred said as he followed behind Liz.

As Liz opened the door she was greeted by the sight of a drinking competition between some of duty guards. There were also a few other customers eating and drinking at another table. It seemed like there were only around 5 tables in total. 

She headed towards the counter with Alfred and saw a middle-aged, slightly chubby cat-kin cleaning some tankards.

˝Excuse me, I was told by chief William to come here to get a room on his expense.˝ Liz said now in front of the counter,  she was unable to see above it because of her height.

˝Hm, who said that? Uh, was it you golem?˝ The tavernkeep asked. Alfred shook his head and pointed down at Liz.

˝You thought it was the golem, but it was me Liz the gnome!˝ Liz said while pointing at herself.

˝Ah, sorry, didn't see you there. So you said something about a room?˝ The tavernkeep asked while leaning over the counter.

˝ Like I said before, chief William sent us here for a free room for the night. And some food and drink would be nice too.˝ Liz said smilling.

˝Wait what? My old man sent you here and he'll pay for you. You must have done something important for him to do all that. Name's Geoff by the way.˝ Geoff said while offering a hand to Liz.

˝I'm Liz, and this here is Alfred. Yeah, we told him some important things about the forrest. But wait you're his son? You know he punched Bill in the face for saying some things about him.˝ Liz said while punching the air.

˝Well that little brat deserved it. I don't know where I went wrong with him. I hoped the guard would straighten him out, but no improvement yet.˝ Geoff said shrugging.

˝He didn't seem that bad. So about the room and stuff?˝ Liz said trying to speed things up so she might get some tasty food.

˝No problem, I've got a room available and of course meals are included. What about your golem? I he gonna be in the room with you? If you want you can just leave him in cellar for the night.˝ Geoff offered.

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˝I think he'll stay with me in the room if that's alright.˝  Liz said while thinking ´Better safe than sorry, who knows what someone might do if they discover that Alfred is sentient.´

˝Alright, to each their own I guess. So the room's just up the stairs. I'll have my daughter take you there. Oy! Jill get over here!˝ Geoff yelled at a young cat-kin girl currently serving drinks.

She placed down the drinks and headed back to the counter. She saw Liz and Alfred and said:

˝New huh. So what do I need to do dad?˝ Jill said waiting for an answer.

˝You just need to take them to their room and unlock it. They were sent here by your grandpa so be nice. That there's Liz and the fancy golem is called Alfred.˝ Geoff said as he gave Jill the roomkey.

˝Alright, alright. When have I ever been mean to people, seriously dad. Then if you could please follow me.˝ Jill said rolling her eyes, while waving  to Liz and Alfred to follow her. They went up the stairs to the end of a hallway and she opened the room door.

˝This here's your room, it's not much but I hope you enjoy your stay. When you're ready you can come down to eat, we have some great venison goulash today.˝ Jill said with a business smile. Then she suddenly asked:

˝So where are you from? What did you do to get my grandpa to get you free lodging? What's it like outside this village? I never get to go out, since it's ˝dangerous˝.˝ Her eyes seemed to be shinning of excitement.

˝Wow, that's a lot of questions there young lady. I'm actually from the Rubia kingdom and we traveler throught the forrest and saw something important. We told that to thing to the chief and he gave us free lodging. Also it's very dangerous outside the village. It's fun traveling around, but don't underestimate the dangers of the world.˝ Liz said trying to sound like an experienced traveler.

˝Ohh, that's so cool. So what's that kingdom like, and what's with the fancy golem?˝ Jill asked before hearing a grunting sound and turning around to see her father.

˝I told you to be nice to them, not assault them with questions. Let's go back down, you've got more work to do. Sorry about her, she gets too exited by outsiders.˝ Geoff said while taking a sad looking Jill away, her ears and tail were all droopy.

˝Alright, that was weird. Let's leave our stuff here and go down to eat!˝ Liz said as she started putting down her bakcpack. Inside the room was a single bed, with a nightstand and a small table with a wooden chair.

˝Indeed. Also why did you behave differently towards the people of this village compared to me and even Artisia?˝ Alfred said interested in her answer.

˝Oh, well you try to be polite to people you don't know or aren't comfortable with. Basically I can just be myself around or people that I consider friends.˝ Liz said nodding, thinking she gave a good answer.

˝Alright, I will do that in case someone unfamiliar talks to me. And I do prefer your usual self, it's easier to converse.˝ Alfred said as he put his backpack against the wall.

˝Thanks, now let's go feast!˝ Liz said, blushing a bit.

They headed down to the ground floor, and sat down at a table. Soon Jill came over and said:

˝So want some goulash? Also what would you like to drink? And does the golem Alfred need anything?˝ Jill asked while holding some empty tankards.

˝Yeah I'll have some goulash, and some ale please. And Alfred doesn't need anything, you see golems are powered by mana.˝ Liz says looking at the very interested waitress. Jill then went to get a bowl of goulash, some bread and a tankard of ale.

˝Here you go, if you need anything else just call my name and I'll drop by.˝ Jill said as she went back to the counter to talk to her dad.

˝This stuff's amazing Alfred. I mean your fish was great and all, but man we really need to get some seasoning. It really makes a difference. This beer is alright though, not the best but also not the worst.˝ Liz said as she wolfed down on the food.

˝Indeed proper ingredients are important, I will endeavour to improve the meals I make.˝ Alfred said with passion.

Liz then finished her meal and they headed up to their room for the night. Jill wanted to talk to them but was stopped by Geoff. When they reached the room, Liz changed into her underwair while Alfred was looking the other way. And she said:

˝Goodnight Alfred, we'll probably have to go really early in the morning so I might as well sleep. What are you gonna do? Pray again, it's become your daily routine I guess.˝ Liz said as she covered herself with a wool blanket.

˝Yes, I'll pray to Artisia to inform her of our acquisition of transport to the capital. Goodnight Liz.˝ Alfred said as he started to pray. 

Liz on the other hand thought to herself ´You probably don't need to tell her all that, she's always watching anyway.´ And she fell asleep