Chapter 3: A Good Old-Fashioned Inn

  “Excuse me, do you have a vacancy for one?”

  The innkeeper, a heavy-set lady, perhaps in her 40s, smiled and responded. “We do! Welcome to the Bretten Sunset Inn. How long will you be staying?”

  “Just one night, for now,” said Garfield. “I don’t know my plans beyond that.”

  “All right. One night for you will be nine silver.”

  Garfield pulled out one of the duplicated gold coins. “Actually, I found this small gold coin while I was walking earlier, but it looks a bit off. Could you tell me if this is okay?” Garfield handed it to the innkeeper. She inspected it carefully.

  “Looks good to me. Meals are extra and are served over there.” The innkeeper pointed to the attached restaurant and also discussed other details about the inn while making change.

  Garfield proceeded to his assigned room. It was spartan, and the bed didn’t look particularly comfortable. Garfield thought to himself, ‘I’m THIS close to teleporting somewhere remote and summoning a real house right now…’

  Ultimately, Garfield decided to stick with the inn and try the restaurant. He wandered in and found several people eating or drinking. He tried to sit in the quietest part of the room, but a man holding a beer stein stumbled over to Garfield’s table and sat in the opposite seat.

  “Haven’t seen you here before!”

  “…Indeed,” Garfield replied.

  “You here on business or pleasure?”

  “No.”

  “Oh…” the man trailed off. “Why ARE you here then?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Hungry… HAHAHA GOOD ONE! You hear about the divine beast?”

  In response, Garfield asked, “The one by the west gate?”

  “Yeah! I didn’t see it, but I heard it was taller than the clouds and had many different heads! Word on the street is that it’s a warning from above, if you know what I mean. You reap what you sow, I always say.”

  Suddenly, this conversation became interesting. However, the waitress came over. “Mort, leave the customer alone! Go back over there. Anyway, welcome to the Bretten Sunset Inn! Are you here for dinner or just drinks?”

  “Food,” said Garfield. “I don’t need drinks but could you bring me an empty mug?”

  “Empty? Oh uh, sure. Your choices are…”

  None of the food sounded terribly appetizing, so Garfield ordered whatever seemed like it would be the most thoroughly cooked… something with thin slices of beef and fried potato on a large piece of bread. He didn’t remember what it was called by the time the food came, but the sauce was surprisingly tangy, in a good way.

  “Also, here’s a mug. Why did you want it empty?” the waitress asked.

  “I’ll provide my own water.”

  “You’ll what?”

  “Oh, uh, here’s a neat spell I learned. ?Make Water?.” Garfield filled his mug with magically-produced water, then thought, ‘No way am I drinking the local water! Screw that.’

  “Wow, magic!” the waitress shouted loudly enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear. The other guests ran over to see, but the mug was already full.

  “Do mine!” Mort stuck out his mug. Garfield filled it with water the same way.

  “Wow! Now make it into mead!” Mort insisted.

  Garfield actually considered doing it, but decided not to. The symbolism was just awful. “Sorry, that’s beyond me.”

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  After the meal, Garfield made his way towards his room but was stopped by the innkeeper who had first checked him into the inn. “Oh, are you an adventurer or perhaps associated with the Magic Guild? I heard you used support magic at the restaurant.”

  “I recently registered with the Adventurer’s Guild,” answered Garfield. “I do use magic.”

  “Impressive! Please consider a longer-term stay with us after your plans are settled. Also, if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, could my nephew meet with you? He’s learning support magic at the Magic Academy associated with the Magic Guild. I’m sure he’d love to ask you some questions.”

  “Uh, sure.” Garfield reluctantly agreed. “If the opportunity presents itself.”

  Garfield returned to his room and placed the crappy bed into the Infinity Satchel because, why not. He summoned a magically enchanted comfortable bed, set a magic wake-up alarm, and went to sleep.

  Around the same time, in one chamber at the Royal Palace, the King sat at a large table along with the Prime Minister, Captain of the Royal Guard, crown prince, first princess, and the Guild Masters from the Capital’s Adventurer’s Guild and Magic Guild. Several other select advisors and deputies sat around the periphery of the room.

  “Where is Kay?” the King asked.

  The Prime Minister replied, “She was in the Royal Library just a little while—Oh, here she is.”

  Kay, Court Mage, joined the others at the table. She was surprisingly young considering her senior position in the kingdom. As the King recalled, she was 25, having learned magic since she was a small child. She had an intelligent look, due primarily to her spectacles, but she’d be quite a beauty if she tried. The King wasn’t aware of her expressing any interest in marriage or romance, however. She was essentially already married to the study of magic and the wonders of the world. “My apologies.”

  The King resumed the meeting. “Let’s start with the scene. Captain, what did you learn from those present?”

  “We were able to identify several guards who were present when the divine beast appeared. They haven’t told us much. It’s like they’re afraid to admit anything about what they saw. All we got was that the beast appeared suddenly and then walked away.”

  “I could have told you that!” the King bellowed. “Continue to detain them until they calm down. See what else they will tell you.”

  “Yes, my King.”

  “Kay, what did you learn about that creature?” the King asked.

  “Using the sketch provided by Princess Charlotte, I scoured the Royal Library for mention of an excessively large hydra-type creature. Unfortunately, I have not yet found any evidence that such a creature existed in the past. If something that big truly existed, I’m sure there would be records of it. Alas, I don’t think I will find anything.”

  “This only just happened today,” the King noted. “Continue to investigate.”

  The Court Mage nodded. The King turned to look at the Guild Masters. “What have you two learned?”

  The Magic Guild Master went first. “So far, I too have failed to discover any stories of mythological beasts like the one I saw earlier today.”

  “Could someone have summoned it with magic?” said the King.

  “I don’t see how that is possible. It goes against everything we know about Magic. I can’t rule it out entirely, though.”

  The Court Mage also nodded along. The King looked at the first princess. “That’s also what my daughter told me. How about the Adventurer’s Guild?”

  “Shortly before this meeting, I received a report that Swifty located the divine beast right at sunset,” answered the Adventurer’s Guild Master.

  The King heard plenty of chatter in response to that surprise. “Where is it!?”

  “In the Red Mountains,” the Guild Master replied. “Near the northern border with the Empire. Apparently, it looked like it was sleeping with all its heads lowered to the ground.” The Guild Master pointed to a spot on the map laid out on the table.

  The King directed his next question to the whole group. “Is there anything important near there?”

  The Prime Minister answered, “My King, for us, that area is very remote and is historically only of concern as a possible path for a surprise incursion into our lands by the Empire. However, I believe on the Empire’s side of the border there are several mining colonies not too far from that location.”

  “Father,” the first princess asked, “could the divine beast be blocking the route to prevent the Empire from launching an invasion?”

  “I won’t rule anything out, but that’s probably not likely. The Empire might perceive it that way, though… Continue to observe the creature but do not have anyone approach or agitate it.”

  The Adventurer’s Guild Master nodded deeply. The King moved on to the next topic. “How is the merchant’s district holding up? Grenn, where are you?”

  “Here, my King. There was no damage to the walls, and thankfully only a few minor injuries were reported due to the short-term chaos. However, I learned that we had great difficulty evacuating the western portions of the city. I recommend we bolster our plans and develop new methods for communication and evacuation in the event of another emergency.”

  “Do it,” the King commanded. “Keep the other district managers apprised of your efforts and report back to me at a later date.”

  “Yes, my King.”

  “Does anyone have anything else?” the King asked. “If not, we’ll hold a similar meeting at the same time tomorrow.”

  “Father, should we not decide what to do to the divine beast?” the crown prince said. “It poses a threat to our Kingdom so long as it’s left unchecked.”

  “What would you have me do? Our advisors don’t think we can slow that thing down no matter how much military force we throw at it. There’s no point in sending a detachment to contain that beast, and we might inadvertently provoke a response.”

  The King looked to his Captain, who concurred.

  The King declared the path forward. “All we can do for now is watch and wait for more information. I don’t want anybody taking action on their own authority or risking destabilizing the situation. IS THAT CLEAR?”

  “Yes, my King!” everyone responded in unison.

  “Does anyone have anything else?”

  The Prime Minister had one more proposal. “My King, should we not send a missive to the Empire explaining the situation and offering to cooperate?”

  “Not yet. I want more information before we act. Let’s get this group together at the same time tomorrow. If you learn anything urgent, report it via the Royal Guard.”