"Lets go get some food," Aldwin said. "Things will look better on a full
stomach."
"I hope the food is good." Reed answered.
A shot trip down the stairs took them to the dining room. It was as large as
the common room above it. It was lined with a dozen tables that held a large
group of people, men and women, young and old and Keepers of several different
species.
Just inside the door was a table which held piles of dishes on the end and
large platters of food. They were each handed a tray. On it was a plate filled
with vegetables and some sort of meat. Along with that was a bowl filled with
some sort of liquid which they assumed was supposed to be soup.
They found a spot at one table. They were squeezed in between a tall muscular
woman on one side and an equally tall man on the other. The soup was a watery
thing that vaguely tasted of potatos and had some bits floating in that could
have been potatoes.
The meat was pork but was actually pretty good and the carrots seemed a bit
tough but edible.
On Friday, September 15, 2023 at 02:39:36 PM EDT, Rimme the Weasel
<[email protected]> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rimme the Weasel <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: My next RR part (+ revision)
To: Kamau Lyon <[email protected]>
Thanks for the information. I like the idea a lot; it makes more sense for an
inn to provide communal rooms rather than single rooms to strangers; it's a bit
closer to the historical reality. I'm glad, in hindsight, I didn't include the
process of Reed and Aldwin booking a room, as I had attempted in one of my
drafts.
There's no need for them to have a room all to themselves though (especially at
their price range), and there's a lot more potential for interaction if they're
in a common room with others. So here's a revision of the scene, to take into
account the new information (and to incorporate it into the story itself, which
I much prefer over wikis):
----
"Here is the common room for travelers and teamsters," the child owner of the
Companion Hearth Inn said as he reached the top of the stairs, just one floor
above the inn's dining hall. "I understand you both came from the Jolly Collie.
Most inns here don't have a common sleeping quarters like we do. Since the last
assault, we've rented most of our single rooms here to the people who lost
their homes. I hope that won't be a problem for you."
"Not at all, Darion," Reed said, looking around the room. There were several
bedrolls and pallets laying along the walls and near the center. Most of their
occupants were absent, probably out for dinner or a drink. Only three people
were present, a large man facing away from them apparently trying to sleep, and
a man and woman huddled together in the corner, thankfully with their clothes
still on. "This will do just fine."
How anyone could sleep through the chatter and clanking downstairs was beyond
Aldwin. The man and woman looked up briefly and smiled to the two new guests,
before gazing back to each other's eyes. Aldwin crossed over to the far wall,
where windows overlooked the main street. The lamps had already been lit. High
above, in the darkening sky, he could just make out the shadows of various
flying nocturnal morphs going for an early evening flight.
"Over there," Darion pointed down the near wall; just behind a column was a
door. "That also leads to a communal room. A bit quieter and darker, if you'd
prefer not to be facing the street."
"We'll see how this works out first," Reed said quietly, mindful of the present
company. He fished out a silver coin and gave it to Darion, who nodded with a
smile.
"Dinner service has already started, so feel free to come down once you're
situated." Darion headed downstairs, leaving the two former guards relatively
alone.
It was a safe assumption that all the pallets along the wall were taken, so
Reed laid his cloak down in the middle of the room. On the road, each guard had
a blanket and a bedroll stowed away in the wagon's chest for the night. They
technically belonged to the caravan driver, though they were commonly stolen by
departing guards. In his haste, Reed had neglected to do just that.
"I hope someone else will be willing to share their bedroll, or give up their
bed," Reed whispered as he approached Aldwin. "Once they get back from dinner,
that is."
"Did we make the right decision?" Aldwin asked quietly.
"Oh. You uncomfortable with the common room?" Reed also kept his voice low, so
that neither of the other occupants could hear them.
"No, I meant, was it a good idea to stay here in Metamor?"
[...]
"That's more formal training than I got." Reed glanced at the staircase and
looked back at Aldwin. "As long as we're here in Metamor, [...]
- Rimme
On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 8:02 PM Kamau Lyon <[email protected]> wrote:
The location of the pair in the inn is fine. The visitors/short term people
would be in one of eight rooms that are to the right of the hallway as you face
the back of the building. (See floor plan) I would suggest one of the two rooms
on the back of the inn. (Red box around them on the floorplan) You wouldn’t
really have a view of an alleyway but the inn’s stable. Still, for seeing night
flyers, it is a very good place to be.
Having a room to themselves is unusual as most inns have very few single rooms.
More likely they would be in a common room with other travelers. (Orange box on
floorplan) That is one of the things that sets apart the Companion Hearth Inn.
This is for two reasons. Darion and Jami built the inn as a place of defense
outside the main keep after their first inn was destroyed. Darion, finding a
small fortune on a lutin commander, gave him the funds needed to build what you
see. Single rooms make it very difficult for an enemy to clear the building and
each room acts as a single defense point. They also wanted to offer others a
lodging place within the Keep. There were a large number of homeless after the
battle of Three Gates and the Winter Assault. The inn was a quick solution to
that problem and became a very popular single person’s home. You would also
find a few couples, unable to have children due to the change the curse
brought, staying there as well.
The number of travelers staying at the inn would vary greatly. If a caravan
came to Metamor you might have a few dozen though most of these would stay in
the large common quarter on the second floor. The third floor is devoted to
full-time residents of the Keep. I’m not sure how many of my lesser characters
might be there but I know at least three of my major characters, Sal, Pierga
and Lewis, are in residence there.
As for staff, I’ve never really thought that out. Considering the number of
possible patrons, I would guess 4 to 6 serving staff. Possibly some switching
off duties in the kitchen. A guess would be 4 in the kitchen but I’ll have to
research that some. General inn staff for cleaning and other duties I’m not
sure and certainly during slow times in the tavern people from there could be
working in that area as well. The stable would need some folk but again I need
to look into how many to manage that.
I hope that covers all your questions, probably overkill on explanation.
Kamau
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