by Pirateaba
Erin beams and bustles off. A few seconds later Lyonette appears with some drinks.
“I have water and milk. And ale. Which one do you want?”
“I’ll have the ale.”
“I shall have water.”
She puts the drinks on our table and leaves. I stare at her back. Huh. Erin managed to make her useful. There’s something I thought I would never see.
“You seem interested in the former thief.”
I look at Klbkch and nod.
“I uh, think she’s special.”
“She did possess a number of powerful magical artifacts. And she claims kinship with Magnolia Reinhart.”
“Right. She might be more than that.”
“How so?”
“It’s complicated. I’ll explain it later. Right now, I’d like to ask a few more questions about what’s going on in Liscor.”
“I see. I will answer to the best of my abilities.”
Honestly, Lyonette is small potatoes next to everything we’ve been discussing. I put her out of my mind and concentrate on more pressing concerns.
“Apparently all these Gold-rank adventurers are in town looking for a dungeon that’s buried underground. But the Antinium should know about it already. Is there a dungeon, and if there is, what’s inside of it?”
Klbkch sits back in his chair. He regards the stripped bee carcass and pushes it away.
“There is a dungeon under Liscor. My Hive has been doing battle with the monsters emerging from the dungeon for many years now. Some are drawn to the location; many seem to have nests within the dungeon. But there are traps and many magical defenses as well. Until recently, my Queen had desired to secure the dungeon herself, so that our Hive might reap the rewards of what is contained within. However, this has proved unfeasible and so she has elected to open an entrance in the hopes that adventurers might eliminate some of the traps….”
—-
Erin beamed around the room. She had Antinium eating, Drakes eating, Gnolls eating…she had a full inn for once! And everyone looked happy.
Well, true, the Antinium just looked expressionless and Lyon kept turning green every time she looked at them devouring the bugs—as did the Drakes and Gnolls for that matter—but the point was, she was in business!
And to top it all off, just as a family of Drakes exited the inn after paying Lyonette, in walked Krshia.
“Oh, hey Krshia! I’m so glad you could make it! Brunkr’s not coming?”
Krshia smiled briefly.
“He is nursing the bite young Mrsha gave him. I believe he is also afraid of you, yes?”
Erin laughed. Privately, she was glad Brunkr wasn’t with Krshia. He was kind of a jerk. Out of the corner of Erin’s eye, she saw Ryoka and Klbkch turn in their seats. Krshia nodded gravely at Erin and smiled ever so slightly as Mrsha bounded over, tail wagging.
“It is good to see you, Erin Solstice. And you too, young Mrsha, yes?”
She bent down and ruffled the the younger Gnoll’s fur gently. Mrsha sniffed at Krshia and the taller Gnoll sniffed back. Then she looked at Erin.
“It has been too long since I have come here. I would eat here, unless you think it unwise?”
“Oh, no, no. Come in? Unless—”
Erin glanced over, suddenly concerned, and saw Lyonette. The girl had frozen against one wall, eyes wide as she stared at Krshia. The Gnoll sniffed.
“I will not be troubled by the thief, no. And I would sit with Ryoka Griffin and Klbkch if they will have me.”
“Sounds good.”
Ryoka stood up and Klbkch politely made room so Krshia could sit at their table. Both seemed intent, but Erin was just happy to take Krshia’s order—honey-glazed roast ribs, made with real honey—before she bustled off into the kitchen.
She was so busy! Lyon and Toren were filling drinks and serving food, but Erin kept having to cook things. Which she didn’t mind, but it was a relief to sit down after a while and play a game or two of chess with Bird and the other Workers. She won of course; but the games were fun, especially when she played them without looking at the chessboards.
The ghostly chess board called to Erin, and after a while she played some more with her mysterious opponent. They always seemed to be awake; once Erin moved a piece she’d receive a countermove within the hour at the latest, and then they’d both play for as long as she was able. She really did wonder who was on the other end.
Mrsha wandered around the busy room as Selys ate and laughed with some Drakes that she knew. The young Gnoll peeked at the chessboards, and after she overcame her initial skittishness with the Antinium Workers, she sniffed at their bees, tried to eat a chess piece, and eventually sat on Erin’s lap, drowsy with exhaustion.
“Uh oh. Time for someone to go to sleep.”
Erin carried Mrsha upstairs and put her in a small bed she’d made up in Ryoka’s room. The Gnoll curled up in her blankets and Erin’s heart hurt for a second.
This was no place for a young Gnoll, no matter what Ryoka thought. She had to find Mrsha a home, maybe with Krshia or another Gnoll family. If only that nasty Brunkr wasn’t there, and if only Mrsha didn’t have white fur. It wasn’t unlucky. It was…beautiful.
“Maybe a bucket of paint.”
Erin softly murmured the words as she closed the door and tiptoed back downstairs. She entered the common room with a big smile, just in time to hear Ryoka cursing. And Erin was relieved that Mrsha wasn’t around to hear that.
—-
“Fuck.”
I know it’s unoriginal. I know there are a thousand different curse words I can use to express my ire. But there’s just something simple about that word. And I’m annoyed, so I’m not in the mood to wax poetic in my anger.
“I am sorry, Ryoka Griffin.”
Krshia sits at the table and stares gravely at me over her meal of ribs. She lifts one up delicately and chews at the tender meat. I stare at the remains of my second hamburger and scowl.
“You’re sure it’s not enough? Really sure?”
The Gnoll shrugs her broad shoulders.
“It is a valuable gift. But it is not enough, yes? What you offer is a secret, the kind that may shape the world. But it will do so too slowly, and it is…”
She hesitates. Krshia, taps her claws on the table as if in thought.
“Forgive me. I do not know this word. It is not enough.”
“Inadequate?”
“Hrm. Yes. It is inadequate to what must be given at the meeting of the tribes. It is a valuable gift, but one too cheaply won.”
“I am unsure as to the meaning of your statement, Krshia Silverfang.”
Klbkch speaks to Krshia and she nods at him. They’re very polite towards each other, Klbkch and Krshia. I get the impression they respect each other—but they might not like each other’s company.
“It is hard to explain to non-Gnolls. I shall do the best I can.”
She puts down her bone, totally cleaned of all meat and takes a drink from her ale. I massage my temples and listen.
“Each tribe, each one knows of the gathering that occurs every decade. And so all tribes work to collect or make something that will help all Gnollkind, yes? Some tribes amass wealth to be shared out; that is an easy way of doing things. Others collect food, or arms—my tribe received a Dwarven-made set of arms at the last gathering. The tribe who collected such weapons for every tribe rose in standing much from that.”
“And your tribe wanted to gather spellbooks.”
I understand that part. Krshia’s brows draw together and she sighs heavily.
“Yes. It was supposed to be a secret, but it is hard to hide in Liscor. In any case, it would have been a great gift, one worthy of much praise among the tribes.”
“And yet, this information Ryoka has shared with you has the potential to change your entire race, does it not?”
Again, Krshia nods at Klbkch.
“It does. But there are two reasons why it is not enough. The first, it is
that it is not a good secret to have, yes? It raises many problems.”
“Such as?”
“Mrr. When I think of what you have said, it means that to gain a higher level, one must take only one class. This is…problematic. If one must take only one class, it means Gnolls must choose their classes early and never change them. That will make life in the tribes more difficult.”
I guess I see the problem. Gnoll tribes are very practical; everyone contributes towards making the tribe a better place. One day someone might be a hunter, but the next they could take over cooking duty if need be. If everyone has one class though, then suddenly everyone’s a specialist. And, to quote Robert A. Heinlein, specialization is for insects.
“I see the problem.”
“Not all of it. The second problem is that such choices of classes must be made when Gnolls are very young; barely more than cubs, yes?”
Krshia looks troubled. She shakes her head.
“It is not what I or any of my tribe would wish, to force our young to do what they might not want. And yet, it would be necessary. We would have to decide the fate of our next generation. And that is…troubling.”
“Oh.”
Oh. Oh. I get it. Klbkch looks confused, but this is about free will. Gnolls probably hate to force their kindred to do anything; it’s all give and take. Putting someone in a set path for life might work in China with tiger moms, but it’s not going to fly among Gnoll parents.
Well, shit.
“I see your problem, Krshia. But this information might help in any case. Even if you don’t choose to make your kids take one class, at least Gnolls can be more aware of what’s happening.”
She nods.
“This is so, and even with these issues, it is an important gift. A secret of the world. It will take all the tribes to decide if such knowledge should be shared or hoarded.”
“Well, only Selys knows about it so you might have a chance of keeping the secret. Would all Gnolls be so uh, tight-lipped though?”
“If it is decided, they would not betray the pack.”
Hmm. That’s a lot of confidence. I shake my head.
“Okay, what’s the second reason why the secret isn’t good enough?”
“It is too cheap. For a work of ten years, it is too cheap. I am sorry.”
Krshia spreads her hands on the table. She looks at me and Klbkch.
“It is an important secret, but you and Klbkch have uncovered it in days, yes? The other tribes have labored for a decade to bring that which is most valuable to us. How can my tribe’s Chieftain raise her head high with only one small secret to offer the other clans?”
When she puts it like that…I look at Klbkch. Damnit. I really thought we’d solved the problem.
“I get it. I’ll…I’ll think of something else, okay?”
Krshia nods gravely.
“That you have made such an important discovery will help, Ryoka Griffin. I will share what you have told me with the Gnolls in the city. That will please them and keep them obedient. For now.”
And like that, the secret spreads. No matter what Krshia says, I feel like in a year everyone will know about this leveling system. Oh well. I’ll take what benefits I can get from it for now. I need to tell Erin about that too, though. But…
I put my head in my hands as Krshia and Klbkch look at me. Gods. I thought I really had it, this time. But instead I haven’t solved anything.
Just what am I going to do? I think of Teriarch, and I know I have to leave soon. But Mrsha’s still here, and Magnolia’s spies are all over the place and there’s people from my world in her mansion—
What am I going to do?
—-
Ryoka looked like she was having a busy conversation with Krshia and Klbkch, so Erin left them too it. She was busy playing chess, cleaning up dishes, talking to patrons—
“Aha! I see yon keg is unguarded! I declare it plunder!”
“Free drinks! On the house!”
—And chasing Frost Faeries.
“They’re not free! Stop that, you little thieves!”
Erin shouted as she ran after the Frost Faeries. They laughed as they swooped around with mugs in their hands—they were amazingly strong to be able to carry the heavy containers so easily.
Chess board, drunk faeries, collecting payment from her guests—Erin ran around until her feet were sore and it was past midnight. Only then did the last of her guests leave.
Bird departed with Klbkch and the other Workers as Erin bid them good night—or an early morning, rather. Krshia had already left, and Ryoka was sitting at one of the tables, her head in her hands.
“Hey Ryoka. I’m going to lock up, okay?”
The other girl nodded silently, and Erin closed up the inn. Ryoka looked stressed, but Erin felt good as she curled up in her kitchen cot. She’d done some solid innkeeping today, and gotten a lot of cool stuff she couldn’t wait to mess around with tomorrow.
[Innkeeper Level 26!]
And for once, it sounded like the world agreed with her.
—-
The next day, Erin woke up early because she had to pee. She stumbled around, banging into pots with her face and nearly knocking over the jar full of Snow Golem snow, before she finally made it to the outhouse. She sat, shivering, as she did her business, and then went back into the inn and tried to get to sleep.
The only problem was that the cold had done the work of a cup of coffee, and no matter how Erin tossed and turned she couldn’t doze off again. So she got up, despite having only had about two hours of sleep in total.
“Mrshbvg?”
Lyonette blinked at Erin as she came down the stairs—early for once—and found breakfast was already made. Erin stared at her food and scowled as Lyonette opened her mouth.
“I have leveled up in this…[Barmaid] class yet again.”
“Good for you.”
“And I have a Skill! [Basic Cooking]!”
Her tone made this seem like an outrage rather than a good thing. Erin eyed Lyonette wearily from her table as Toren stepped into the inn. She’d told him to come back in the morning.
“It is an outrage! Why would I need such a Skill?”
“…To cook stuff?”
Erin held her head in her hands. She sighed as she spooned delicious honey onto her buttery crepes. At least that was good.
“Honestly, Lyon. It would help me out if you can cook. And you could manage the inn when I’m gone, too.”
The girl paused with a huge forkful of dripping crepe a quarter of the way towards her mouth.
“I could?”
“Yes? No? Maybe? I’m gonna go out and get more bees. That’s what I’m gonna do. The Antinium like them.”
Erin groaned into her food. She looked around at Toren.
“Hey. You.”
He looked back over at her. He seemed almost…annoyed, or antsy. He kept fidgeting in place, as if he was bored. But Erin was too tired and grumpy to care.
“Get the sleigh ready. And get some jars. We’re going exploring again.”
He stared at her, and then stomped out the door, not even bothering to close it until Erin raised her voice and called him back. Lyonette stared at the skeleton and then at Erin.
“Me? You mean, I would own the inn?”
“Not own. But you’d be like uh, a temporary innkeeper. It’d be like your castle, and you’d be like a princes—”
Erin bit her tongue on the words. Lyonette was staring at her.
“Ahahaha. I mean uh. Yeah! Like a princess in a castle, except…not. Yeah.”
She looked around wildly. Ryoka and Mrsha were still asleep, but she knew the young Gnoll would be up soon, and thus, by default, Ryoka.
“I’m uh, I’m going to go get more bees with Toren now. I’ll be back soon—you just hold down the fort. There’s plenty of crepes and if anyone comes by, you can serve them hamburgers. I showed you how to make them, and [Basic Cooking] will do all the rest. Bye!”
She
fled the inn before she could say anything else. Outside, Toren stood next to the sledge. He wasn’t wearing his jingling harness. Erin scowled at him.
“Come on, put on the harness, Toren! I haven’t got all day.”
Soon enough, she was in the sledge and Toren was pulling it along. Erin told him to go back to the bee cave. She distinctly felt him hesitate, but soon enough they were there.
“Okay. Here’s the plan.”
Erin crouched in the snow as Toren stared at her. She’d chosen a place far, far away from the cave and with a lot of snow for cover. She pointed at him.
“You go in the cave with two jars this time. Try to get as much honey and as many bees as possible. Actually, go in with four jars, okay? I want two jars of honey and honeycomb, and two full of bees.”
Upon reflection, she probably could have ordered him to do all that by himself, but there was something satisfying about getting out and doing the job herself. Sort of. Erin hid in the snow and watched as Toren ran about and ended up getting lifted into the sky and shattered again by the bees. But he got the honey and a lot of bees, surprisingly.
“Good job, Toren!”
She said it to the head as she helped put him back together. The skeleton just stared at Erin as she gingerly held up the jar he’d stuffed with living bees. Some were still buzzing against the lid.
“Creepy. Okay, next we’re going to look for more mushrooms, okay?”
Erin had the vague idea she could feed them to the Frost Faeries, but she really just wanted to stock up before she went back into the inn. It was only just past breakfast, so she had plenty of time.
The sledge felt wonderfully soft as Erin climbed back into it. She’d added a blanket and a pillow since yesterday, and now she snuggled into them, keeping the jar of dead bees far away from her on the sledge as Toren pulled them onward.
Yes, this was the life. Being an [Innkeeper] was hard work when you were doing all the cooking, but now Lyonette was finally pulling some of her weight and Toren was pulling Erin’s weight and more besides.
The landscape passed by Erin’s fluttering eyes as she rearranged the pillow on the sledge. It was so comfy here. And there was something hypnotic about travelling like this. It was almost like a ferry ride, but with snow instead of water. And Erin had always slept well on car trips.