The wandering inn volume.., p.65
The Wandering Inn: Volume 5, page 65
part #1 of The Wandering Inn Series
Because they’d probably leveled up. Erin understood that leveling was like having a birthday. It was almost always a good thing and a cause for celebration. Okay, maybe not if you’d just become a Level 4 [Laborer], but a Level 43 [Foreman]? When people reached Level 20 or Level 30 they often hosted massive celebrations with tons of celebratory gifts.
She wondered who had leveled and what they’d gotten. Erin knew she’d leveled, but she was sort of ambivalent about it. She’d become a Level 35 [Magical Innkeeper]. But she’d gained no Skills. And when she stared around her wrecked inn, her desire to wildly celebrate sort of drained away.
“Woo. Yay.”
Erin waved her hands weakly as she peeked out one hole of a window.
“Darn it! They wrecked my outhouse! Both of them! How am I supposed to pee? Just squat over the hole and—wait, that would work. But it’s raining!”
She scowled around the inn and turned her head to the dead moth bodies.
“This is all your fault, you know.”
They didn’t reply. The moths were very dead, cut to shreds, pierced by magic, burned, crushed, and in one case bitten to death. Bird had done the biting. Erin went over to kick the nearest dead moth. She had second thoughts when she stared into its open stomach. And she had third thoughts when something inside the moth wriggled and came out.
“Gah!”
The young woman screamed and leapt back as a yellow larvae wormed its way out of the dead moth. It wriggled towards her on the floor and Erin reflexively stomped. She wasn’t wearing shoes. After a horrified moment where she felt the squish and stared at her bare feet Erin ran screaming outside. She began wiping her feet in the mud and grass and then realized something.
“Hey. Where’d the land go?”
Her inn stood on a hill. A very tall hill compared to the rest. It was one of a few tall hills around—the rest were shorter and of course there were as many valleys as hills. Only, Erin couldn’t see the valleys or more than a few hilltops. Everything else was submerged in water.
It was only a few feet deep in places, or just barely covering the grass. But the water was rising. Erin saw the water rippling as the rain poured into it in every direction as she stared around her hilltop. In the distance, Liscor was surrounded by water. If it rose five feet higher it would start flooding into the city. Erin’s inn was too high up for the water to conceivably flood—but soon almost everywhere else would be covered in water.
“Oh wow.”
Erin stared. Then she felt something wriggle on the bottom of her foot and freaked out again. She dragged the sole of her foot across the ground, avoiding the other dead moths lying around her inn. There were so many! Some were floating in the water around the inn and she could see hundreds more sunken beneath the water.
“Oh my god! How the heck am I going to get to Liscor now? And what do I do about food? And guests? And there are infested moths in my inn! What’s left of it!”
Erin clutched at her head, staring at her dilapidated inn. The second and third floors were mainly intact—if you ignored the smashed-in windows and moth bodies piled inside—but Bird’s watch tower was nothing but smithereens. The entire place needed reconstruction.
“Antinium reconstruction! They can totally build it! Yeah! All I have to do is ask Bird to—”
The [Innkeeper] turned. A thought struck her as she stared at the watery landscape. She opened her mouth.
“Wait a second. Antinium…can’t swim.”
She looked at the water. She looked at Liscor. She looked at her inn. Erin cursed. Then she saw a Drake swimming in the water. Erin hesitated. It was still early morning and she could barely see in the rain. But she thought the Drake looked familiar.
“Is that Olesm?”
“Erin! Erin! I have incredible news I have—oh.”
The Drake was swimming through the water over a valley to get to the inn. He stumbled out of the water, completely drenched and ran up to her inn. He stopped when he saw the ruined building.
“Oh. Your inn.”
“Hey Olesm. How’s it going?”
Erin smiled at him. The Drake looked at her cheerful expression and then at her inn, shock on his face.
“Erin I—I’m glad to see you’re okay. But—”
“I’m glad to see you’re okay too! Yeah, my inn’s sort of busted up. But that’s nothing some wood and nails won’t fix! If I can get someone to fix it cheap. It uh, got smashed when the moths attacked. But I’m so happy you weren’t hurt! I saw the fighting on the walls and I was so worried! I was trying to get help from Pallass, but those jerks didn’t do anything until the last minute! And then Pisces made it rain, can you believe that? He saved the day and—”
Olesm was just standing and staring at her inn. He looked heartbroken. Erin stopped talking. She walked over and gave Olesm a hug. The Drake started.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
He gaped at her. Then he realized what she was doing and hugged her back, fiercely.
“I’m so glad you’re okay! And I’m fine—in fact, I’m better than fine! I levelled up and gained a new class! But your inn. Erin—”
She laughed and hugged him harder. For some reason Olesm’s concern over her inn had banished hers. Seeing him put things in perspective for her.
“The inn? Don’t worry! It’s fixable. And everyone inside is safe. All I need to do is—all I need to do is get my friends to help out a bit. I can deal with my inn. But I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Thank you.”
The Drake seemed startled. Erin just smiled. Her inn was gone, but the people were safe. Not like last time. This time it had gone right. Well, mostly right. She thought about Liscor and her heart skipped a beat.
“How’s Krshia? Selys? Zevara? Klbkch? Relc? Ilvriss?”
“All—all okay. I think. There weren’t many casualties inside the city and I heard it was mainly the adventurers who went out to fight. Everyone who stayed inside was fine and Miss Krshia actually led some Gnolls in shooting down moths—I know Selys is okay, and Wall Lord Ilvriss. I just saw Zevara.”
Erin sagged in relief.
“That’s great. Really. Wait—what about Pawn and Belgrade and Anand and—”
Olesm cut her off as she looked towards Liscor.
“Pawn’s okay! And according to Klbkch, the Antinium fought off the moths! They killed fourteen giant moths, Erin!”
“Fourteen!?”
“Yes! Their heads are lying in Liscor’s main square right now! Apparently the moths invaded from an underground dungeon entrance—one the Antinium say just opened up—and started attacking! That’s why the Antinium didn’t reinforce us until later and I became a [Strategist]!”
“What?”
Erin’s eyes widened and she released Olesm. The Drake blushed.
“Sorry, that slipped out.”
“No, that’s amazing! Did you get any Skills? That’s so great, Olesm! Isn’t that your dream? You have to tell me about it. But—”
She hesitated and looked back towards her inn. Olesm gazed around at the dead moth corpses in wonder.
“What in the name of the Ancestors happened over here, Erin? I saw glimpses, but—you killed a giant moth here, and hundreds of the smaller ones!”
She waved a hand in denial.
“I didn’t. That was all the adventurers. We had [Guardsmen] from Celum, the Goblins, the Horns of Hammerad, the Silver Swords, the Halfseekers—oh! Jelaqua!”
She grabbed his arm.
“Moore and Seborn rushed Jelaqua into the city! Do you know if she’s okay?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t visited the Adventurer’s Guild, but I can check. Where’s everyone now? Did anyone…?”
The Drake was clearly relieved when Erin quickly shook her head.
“No one died. Jelaqua got hurt, and Moore, but we healed him up. The Silver Swords went into Liscor with Drassi after the battle, and the Horns of Hammerad stayed here. They’re sleeping in Octavia’s shop and the Goblins are sleeping in the basement since everywhere else is a mess. Lyonette and Mrsha are in Octavia’s shop too.”
“That’s good. That’s good, but—what about your inn?”
“I’ll fix it.”
Erin raised her eyebrows as Olesm gave her a look of disbelief. She felt more confident after hearing about her friends.
“What? It’s doable! My walls are pretty intact—okay, there’s a hole in one wall and my outhouses are gone, but the only real damage is around the windows. And Bird’s watch tower. If I can get a team of Antinium here…”
“They won’t leave the city, Erin. The Antinium don’t leave their Hive during this season ever. They can’t swim.”
Olesm looked like he hated to be the bearer of bad news. Erin gnawed on her lip.
“Okay. Well…I might be able to hire someone from Celum. Or Pallass. Eh, that takes too much mana. Look, I’ll figure it out. But why are you here? Is something wrong?”
The Drake started guiltily.
“Me? Oh no, no—I just uh, well, I was hoping to get you to—nevermind.”
“What? Come on.”
“It’s uh—well, Pawn and his Soldiers were deployed to the walls and they’re standing guard. I was hoping to treat them to a meal, but…”
He gestured at the flooded landscape, at Erin’s ruined inn, and the dead moths. Erin looked around. Dead moths, inn, waters. It was a sight to bring despair to any [Innkeeper]. Any normal one, at any rate. Erin just raised an eyebrow. Thoughts swirled and coalesced into crazy ideas in her head. She had a good one right now, in fact. She smiled as Olesm stared at her.
“No problem! Do you want the food to go or have them come here on their break?”
—-
The Horns of Hammerad woke up on the floor of Octavia’s shop almost at the same time. That was because when Ceria opened her eyes she moved her leg and kicked Pisces in the side. He sat up, which pulled the blankets off of Ksmvr. The Antinium jerked and Yvlon, who’d been sleeping under a table, sensed the movement, and banged her head as she tried to get up.
“Ow!”
Everyone in Octavia’s shop woke up, including Octavia herself. The Horns of Hammerad sat up groggily, their bodies aching, their heads still filled with fog. They stared around, remembered what had happened yesterday, and then woke up.
“Tree rot! How long have we been out?”
Ceria leapt to her feet, staring around wildly, and then turned and beamed at Pisces. He blinked at her.
“We made it! We’re alive!”
“That was certainly my inference as well.”
He winced as she jabbed him with an elbow. Yvlon got up, wincing as she rubbed at her back. She was still wearing her armor and covered in moth gore.
“Silver and steel, I’m aching all over! I haven’t slept in my armor since—Ksmvr, Ceria, Pisces, how are you?”
“We are alive. I believe this is the reason for Captain Ceria’s celebration. I am ecstatic to be alive as well.”
Ksmvr sat up as the other sleepers slowly got up. Lyonette stumbled upright as Mrsha sat up and yawned. Octavia pulled herself up from behind the counter.
“Whuzzat? Why’s everyone—oh.”
She glared at the adventurers as Ceria laughed with giddy relief. Mrsha ran over to them but recoiled as she smelled all four adventurers. They hadn’t bothered to wash last night and had literally fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. Everyone had, but in the morning the stench was unbearable.
“Ugh! Anyone got soap and a bucket of water?”
Yvlon shook her head as she examined her armor and hair. Ceria realized she was covered in guts and sniffed at her arm and gagged. Pisces brushed at his pristine robes. He was barely dirty, save for sweat and a bit of blood on one cheek. The monster guts and blood had fallen right off the enchanted clothing Ceria had bought for him. By contrast, Ksmvr looked like the survivor of some kind of massacre. He had yellow bloodstains all over his body and shallow cuts on his carapace.
Octavia eyed her guests with dismay. She opened her mouth and pointed to the door to Liscor.
“Hey everyone, thanks for sleeping in my shop. I’d be happy to sell you all a cleansing potion and some water. Why don’t you all go to Erin’s inn and then come back when you’re clean? We can talk payment then.”
“Payment? What for?”
The adventures turned to her in surprise. Octavia gave them a look.
“For sleeping in my shop. And oh, I don’t know, for using all of my potions yesterday?”
She glared and pointed. Ceria stared at the [Alchemist]’s shelves full of potions, or rather, what would have been shelves full of potions. There were barely more than two dozen potions remaining, and the rows of mana potions, healing potions, and so on were all missing. Ceria winced and heard Pisces whistle.
“Oh.”
Octavia folded her arms.
“Oh indeed. My entire stock of potions is gone. And since I doubt Erin can pay for all of them, may I ask who’s going to pay? How much gold do you lot have on you right now?”
She had a dangerous look in her eyes. Ceria eyed the Stitch-Girl and looked around.
“I uh, think we have some gold with us. Not much.”
“How much exactly?”
Ceria hesitated. The [Alchemist] was twitching slightly. She hadn’t made much of a fuss yesterday, not with Celum’s City Watch returning through her shop. Or maybe the Horns of Hammerad hadn’t heard. But now, with the absence of her entire supply clearly visible in the light of day, Octavia looked like she was about to snap.
“We’ll uh, talk with Erin. Why don’t we step through and—”
“You lot used forty one healing potions, thirty five mana potions, every tripvine bag I have, all of my combat supplies, over six crates of stamina potions—”
Pisces yanked the door open as Octavia began to shout. He grabbed Ksmvr and pushed him through as Lyonette scooped Mrsha up.
“Through the door!”
The Horns of Hammerad rushed out of Octavia’s shop as the [Alchemist] shouted at their backs. Octavia’s voice followed them before Yvlon could slam the door shut.
“Tell Erin I want payment or I’ll—”
The door cut the last of her words off. The Horns of Hammerad stared at each other sheepishly, and then stared. Lyonette, who’d followed them with Mrsha in her arms froze. The Gnoll cub whimpered.
Erin’s inn lay in front of them, gutted by combat. The bodies of the moths lay where they had fallen. Shattered glass on the floors, splintered wood—the memory of what Erin’s inn had been jarred with the image in front of him. Ceria leaned against the door.
“Oh, tree rot.”
The half-Elf stared blankly at the desolation. She’d remembered seeing the inn destroyed, but that had been in the heat of battle. She hadn’t thought about what it would mean. But now—
“Oh no.”
Lyonette looked close to tears as she gazed around her home. Mrsha looked up at her with wide eyes, and at the moth corpses, the holes where windows should be. She gazed at Lyonette for reassurance, but the [Barmaid] had none to give. Pisces muttered an obscenity and Yvlon echoed it with something worse. Ksmvr just clicked his mandibles together softly.
“It’s all gone.”
Ceria stared around, wondering how on earth Erin could fix this. She looked towards the kitchen and wondered if Erin was asleep. What could she say? Would Liscor pay to fix all this? No—could it be fixed? And the bodies—
“Hey guys! Good morning! Is everyone okay?”
Erin walked into her inn, beaming. She was drenched with rain and smiled at her friends. They stared at her.
“Erin.”
“Hey Ceria! Are you guys okay? Yvlon, how are your arms? Ksmvr, how are your three arms? Pisces, good job with the rain! Can you turn it off for a while? Lyonette, Mrsha, how are you two? How are you Mrsha, hungry?”
She went over to them, still smiling. The others looked at her, concerned. Ceria hesitated before putting a hand on Erin’s shoulder.
“Erin, are you okay? Your inn—”
“What, this? This isn’t a thing. Holes in the wall? What holes? Nothing a few boards and nails won’t fix! The important thing is you’re all okay. Hey, anyone want breakfast?”
Before she could be interrupted, Erin swept into the kitchen and came out with a plate full of strange wrapped objects drizzled with red sauce. The Horns of Hammerad stared at the steaming plate of hot food. Pisces and Mrsha’s stomachs rumbled as one.
“Enchiladas! Sort of. I made them as close to the real thing as I could, although the hot sauce tastes different. Here! I think I have one table that’s not destroyed or covered in dead moth.”
She ushered the bewildered adventurers, Lyonette, and Mrsha over to a table. In short order Erin came back out with cups, milk, and utensils. Though Ceria was very confused, she began eating and realized she was famished.
“How did you make all this?”
Erin gave Yvlon a blank look as the woman tried to talk and inhale her food at the same time.
“What, this? I have [Field of Preservation], remember? All my food in the pantries is good! Heck, the dead moths are probably still preserved too. Which is sort of a problem because it turns out there are things living in them.”
“What?”
Every head turned to stare at the moths. Erin nodded.
“Olesm came by this morning! Swam here, actually. He told me there are larvae living in the moths! And small moths hiding too. We need to clear them out of the inn before they lay eggs. Pity—I was going to see if I could fry them.”
It felt like Ceria was half a step behind Erin’s train of thought. She saw rain falling through a hole in Erin’s wall as the [Innkeeper] beamed and refilled Mrsha’s mug.
“Fry them. Moths?”
“Yup! It was going to be this promotional thing, you know?”
Erin stepped back and raised her hands, pitching her voice like a food vendor.
“Breaded moth legs! Moth wings glazed with honey! Get your roasted moths here—first plate is free!”
She dropped her hands.
“But I don’t think people want to eat moth larvae, so that’s out. Anyways, I was hoping I could get you to help with some stuff after breakfast. Anyone want seconds?”
