Wondering in the Wondering Inn

[Steffen]

OOC: I must say, this board is bloody brilliant. Kudos!

IC:


Thick, muddy puddles were all that was left of the narrow Wilderness Road as an auburn stallion trudged through the muck, his rider weary from the continuous downfall of rain. He’d lost track of how long it’d been raining, but was sure it had been nearly a week since sunlight pierced through the forest canopy. Sopping wet, Steffen pulled his drenched hood farther over his face in an attempt to block out the stinging raindrops. It was a pointless endeavor, but nonetheless comforting. He’d been travelling for months now, or what he thought had to be months. He lost track after the first few weeks. But being as young as he was, it was quite unusual for a man of his age to be traveling for such a lengthily time.

Steffen was nearly twenty now and would have been tending to his father’s grain harvest had he not gotten into a bit of trouble in his village. He’d been accused of stealing from the king and deflowering the princess, both crimes punishable by death. Not that they were false accusations, of course, for they had reason to be upset with him. His excuse about the princess was that she was the one to seduce him, and therefore she should be punished, not him. But somehow he figured the king would not see things his way, especially considering he’d stolen a few priceless heirlooms that had once belonged to the queen. And once the king found out that he was the culprit, he fled.

Now, however, he was beginning to miss the warm living room hearth and his mother’s decadent cooking skills. All he carried with him was dried meat, some fruit, and small portions of bread, most of which were gone by now. He was tired, hungry, and in need of a good bath. As these things were running through his mind, the forest parted slightly, revealing a cobblestone road. A sigh of relief escaped him as he thanked whatever gods were out there that he was close to some kind of civilization. He hadn’t seen an actual road in weeks.

As the horse trotted lightly down the road, relieved to have something solid under his feet, Steffen noticed the rain had suddenly ceased. It was odd that only moments ago it had been pouring and now the sun shown as though rainclouds were miles away. He shrugged it off and continued on, figuring it was some kind of enchantment.

It wasn’t long before he came to the town and what an odd place it was! He’d never seen such things before in all his life. It wasn’t long before he began feeling a bit out of place. Steffen was a sturdy young man with shaggy dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a mannerism that matched that of royalty, even though he was far from it. The clothes he wore portrayed his status as a commoner as they consisted of a white poet shirt, brown trousers, thick, black boots, and a heavy black cloak with a raven emblem on the front. It was pinned with a shiny silver brooch depicting a bird with outstretched wings. It was the symbol of his family line.

Although he was aware of the impeding danger of walking through a strange town while being pursued by an army of the king’s men, Steffen felt strangely safe. His only means of protection was an old rusted saber concealed beneath his cloak and hardly the training to use it. Suffice to say, he needed shelter and soon.

The first Inn he came to was the Wondering Hills Inn. It looked decent, a bit strange, but decent. He dismounted the horse and strode in, a bit nervous at the strange atmosphere. Approaching the front desk, Steffen removed his soaked cloak hood, revealing his moist moppy black hair.

"Hi..." he said, glancing around the elaborate front room, "Are there rooms available for the night?"

[Epiphany]

Busy. Busy. Busy. That's what she assumed she would be when the Inn took down it's sign and announced that it was finally open for business. The evening before she had passed out a few flyers around town and there seemed to be a good buzz about the place in general. Hoping that the uniqueness of the oriental architecture mixed in with a woodsy decor, would draw in a curious eye.

The morning was spent at the Reception desk - usually De'Ryanna's station, but she was tending it for the moment - fixing things and trying to have an overall good appearance. For the occasion she had chosen to wear a blue tunic with a silver trim and looped around the middle with a braided silver belt. Dusky-blonde hair pulled back behind her ears.

She had been busy working on constructing a chart when she heard someone come in through the front door. He looked weather-beaten and road-weary. "Oh my." She said more to herself then anything else. Putting down the paperwork she reached for a box of tissues and offered one to him. Sure they wouldn't do much, but they could help prevent him from dripping all over the desk. Or he could use them to wipe his face.

"Welcome Sir to Tel'Ranaemyn," it was said with a smile, though a hint of curiosity was in her light colored eyes. "I am Epiphany and yes, I'm sure we can get you in a room." There was a slight moment of hesitation as she pulled out a couple sheets of paper and placed them on the desk along with a pen. They were simple papers, stating that he was renting a room at the Inn and for how long.

"Travel far?" There was the curiosity coming out. To her knowledge it hadn't rained all day so, to see him looking as if he had taken a swim made her curious.

[Steffen]

Steffen raised a curious eyebrow at the box of tissues offered to him by the young woman. Then it dawned on him that he was still soaked to the bone and probably had tracked in water all over the place. He quickly took a tissue and used it to soak up the water he'd dripped on the counter. "Sorry" he mumbled a bit bashfully.

He began filling out the information on the papers, glancing to the woman when she asked about his travels. She seemed genuinly curious about him and Steffen wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to talk about himself.

"I'm Steffen of the clan Galadrin" he introduced himself with a hint of an English accent. "And to say that I've traveled far would be an understatement. A full moon cycle has passed since I left home."

He finished filling out the forms for only a single night's stay and pulled out a small coin sack. He wasn't quite sure how much it would cost him. The only money he had was from what he'd made selling the queen's jewels to an old merchant. It was a decent amount, but he had to remind himself that it needed to last him as long as possible. "So... how much do I owe for the room?" he asked.

[Epiphany]

"A pleasure, Steffen, I'm sure. A month is an awfully long time to travel." He seemed pleasant enough, and she treated him to a smile. "For a decent room, it is about a silver a night." Decent entailed a bed, bathroom, desk and chair. As was explained in the papers.

Hand extended to take the papers from him she looked at it before turning her attention to him once more. "We also take services in exchange for rooms for we have a desire to shelter those need it. For whatever reason." the last part was added in after a brief pause. The length of travel he had, no wonder he was feeling tired and looked worn.

From under the bar she pulled out a box that contained keys to the various rooms. One of them retrieved, she held it out to him. "Right up the stairs there. It should be the third or fourth door on the right." Epiphany hadn't memorized the room numbers yet but, to her recollection, she believed that she was sending him in the right location.

"If you need anything, I'm at your service."

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