The Witch's Relay

Chapter 9: The Blue Bird Inn

"Welcome to The Blue Bird Inn, what can I do for you?" A young red-haired girl about my age asks. She is wearing a plain blue dress, and her braided hair is tied up with a matching blue ribbon.

A little too young to be hosting this inn by herself, I assume she is stepping in for a parent or the person who hired her.

I am about to reply when Heather steps in.

"We would like two rooms next to each other, with a connecting door in-between if possible." Then she adds; "also a street-view would be nice."

"Hmm, well both a connecting door and a street-view is possible, however only one of the rooms has windows."

"We'll take it."

"Awesome! For how long do you plan on staying?" She picks up and balances several dishes as she speaks.

"We plan to stay through the winter, is there possibly any discount for long-term guests?" I jump into the conversation.

"That depends" she winks at me "if I want to keep them around or not."

I bow.

"Then I hope to earn your favor, if I had a hat I would have taken it off now." She giggles a little in response.

"I will be right back once I leave these dishes in the kitchen. Meet me over by the counter kay?" Then she almost dances away towards the kitchen.

Before coming here, Master and I had gone into the adventurers guild to ask about which inns people recommend. The Blue Bird came in unanimously on top as the balance between both price and quality.

Almost immediately after reaching the counter, Vanessa comes back out.

"We take two silver a night per room here, or six gold a month, but just for you I can make that five." She puts her elbows on the counter and rests her chin in-between both her palms.

"Since we could just as well rent one room, why not give us two for the price of seven gold per month?"

Vanessa's mouth opens and shuts before once again speaking. She seems less than content. "Seven gold and eight silvers?"

"Five silvers."

"I agree to this only because we have had a bit less traffic lately, which means we have more space than normal vacant. But once the rooms start getting filled we will renegotiate. Deal?"

"Deal." I smile content. My master does the same behind me.

...

Before entering the building me and Master had also come to a little arrangement. "Should the innkeeper be a man, I will negotiate, but if we speak with a woman, then you will, since you can be seen as.. relatively.. objectively attractive.. you might have a slightly better chance than me." Heather said.

"Isn't that playing it a bit cheap?" I chuckle.

"It is never shameful to play to one's strengths." She proclaims proudly. "Since I have been gifted with the appearance of a goddess I might as well make use of it. And if you are gifted with not being ugly you should too."

"Pfft. Don't get too cocky." She.. Ignoring what she said about me, she isn't wrong though..

Not that I would ever admit to it.

...

"Can I pay upfront?"

"Of course!" The cheery in-keeper exclaims.

Master discretely slides me the money bag and I pull up seven gold coins. and five silvers, before placing it on the wooden tray Vanessa slides forward.

"Can I ask your names?" She asks.

"Of course! Apologies for my rudeness, my name is Kade Adler, and this is my traveling companion H-"

"Heather. Nice to meet you." Heather interrupts me and smiles warmly towards our host.

"Kade and Heather, I hope you have a nice stay! Let me show you to your rooms."

On the way up a flight of stairs located in the far right corner, seen from the door, Vanessa explains some rules. "Since you presumably will have your doors locked, you are expected to handle the cleaning yourselves, and no guests are permitted. Other than that, no real rules are set, except to have some general consideration regarding the peace during sleeping hours. Here's your keys."

Once in front of our rooms, she hands me a pair of small black keys.

"You can decide among yourselves who takes what room. This one has a window-" she points at the nearest door "and that one does not." She points at the next door down the hallway.

"Now I must get back to the other customers, the evening's busy hours are about to start!" She grabs the handrail and starts to descend the stairs.

"I recommend you check it out! Sometimes we might have music, but we always have a great atmosphere! And don't be afraid to spend all your money on drinks!" Her quiet giggle can be heard as she disappears down the steps.

We have a pretty lively host.

"Naturally I will take the room with a window. But in case I need to enchant something I will take over yours, that way no suspicious light will be seen from the street. She then yanks the keys out of my hands and unlocks the door.

Of course.

"You know" Heather's voice can be heard from inside the room. "It's funny that you need different keys to get into each of the rooms, but the connecting door doesn't even have a lock."

I can already imagine Master barging in all the time at completely random times.

"To keep up with the rent we will definitely need to complete adventuring quests." I point out, after seeing the dismay in Heather's eyes last time she sold her jewelry I can't imagine she wants to do it again.

"Yup, you. I am of course too powerful.

So In order not to draw attention to myself, it is only you who can take quests." She smirks with pride.

Master then giggles quietly.

"I suggest if you want a new weapon however you work hard, because that could be pricey."

"Yea, yea." I push the air in front of me away. And let myself fall onto my bed. "It's almost as if I'm getting back into my old life."

An image of my family flashes before my eyes, before I shut them and fall asleep.