Chapter 17: Chapter 17 – The Twins (Krossa Mine I)

The inn door swung open, and a rush of warm air blasted my chilled face along with the chatter of its occupants. Once inside, I noticed a large hearth with dancing flames in the far corner of the main chamber where a few people had gathered. To the right, a dozen tables rested, of which, half were occupied with punters who drank and conversed like drunk people normally do, in any world apparently.

The bar itself was situated to the left of us where an older-looking lady cleaned the counter with a drenched rag. The fine dress she wore looked of decent quality, and she adorned a few pieces of jewellery that glimmered in the light of the fire. She looked like someone who was in a high position of management here.

Azer led me to the lady, who raised her head before giving the traveling merchant a welcoming smile, “Azer, haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?” She asked.

“Indeed, not bad at all. You know how it can be out there.” He replied.

“Aye, it’s a bit quiet here today as you can tell. People are talking about bandits again. I bet you already know this.” She pointed at me, “Looks like you’ve hired a new guard.”

“Indeed, this is Ali’Creed.” He motioned towards me, “He’s more… of a friend. We’ll be needing a couple of rooms tonight.”

The lady turned to face me and sniffed before frowning, “That’s not all he’ll be needing, smells worse than a cow’s ass. He’s not sleeping in one of my beds like that. It’ll be extra for the bath and laundry.”

I didn’t blame her for her evaluation of me. Now that she mentioned it, I had yet to bathe since arriving in this world and my cloak was still covered in puke from when I fought the black goo monster. I sort of forgot about it since my nose blocked the smell out. I cleared my throat, “How much will it cost all together?”

“It’s twenty coppers for the room, I can give you a discount for the bath and laundry… the best I can do is thirty. I can add a warm meal there as well.”

I wasn’t sure if this was a good price or not, so I gave Azer a quick glance. He gave me a quick nod, so I assumed it was a good deal, having this stingy merchant with me had some decent benefits. “Alright, thirty coppers it is.” I agreed. Before I could open the inventory to withdraw the coins Azer motioned with his head not to do it before I realized why. He didn’t want me to cause a scene as the system might look suspicious. Unbeknown to him, he stole the XP I would have gained for bartering.

Azer removed his lockbox from the satchel he always carried and unlocked it before counting sixty coppers and passing them over. The lady dropped them into a metal container behind the counter, where they jingled as they piled atop a larger amount. “This is for both of us and if you don’t mind, add a meal in for my guards as well. We’ll be buying a few rounds of Bosa to wash it down with.”

The lady gave him a quick frown, “Alright.” She sighed before turning around to where a small door led to the back of the establishment. “Tove!” The lady shouted before a young-looking girl scurried out. “Get a warm bath ready in the vacant rooms, don’t take long!”

“Yes, my lady,” Tove replied, bowing her head. She looked as though she was in her early twenties and rather flustered by the work here, must have only just started working here or something. She definitely looked the bar waitress type as her curves seemed to jiggle in all the right places. I bet the owner was making some decent coin from all the punters she was bringing in.

She glanced at me and noticed me drooling over her like a hawk would do its prey, her cheeks went a little red before she ran off to the back with a slightly angry look. She probably thought I was some dirty sick covered hobo. I really needed a wash.

The lady turned back to face us, “There’s a table at the back near the fire, you should have some privacy there. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a bar to run.”

“Indeed, many thanks. If you see the Krossa brothers, send them over to us. My friend here would like to speak to them about something.” Azer stated before adding, “Bring us four pints of Bosa and whatever stew you have boiling in the back, the road has emptied our stomachs.”

“There’s some vegetable stew left over from earlier. I’ll get Tove to warm it up when she’s done with the rooms. Now stop hogging my bar and get to the table. The drinks will be over soon.” The lady commanded before waving us away with a shoo.

“Indeed.” Azer agreed before motioning us to follow him. We took our seats when Azer added, “she’s not always like that. Her husband is always away, and she tends to get heated, if you get my gist.”

“Right… listen, I don’t want to talk about that, but I need to know something, do I really smell that bad?” I asked. Surely, he would have said something earlier if I did because all this time, I’ve been walking around smelling like cow dung as the lady put it.

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“As travellers, we’re used to it but most of these townsfolk take a lot of comforts for granted. Don’t worry too much about it, you’ll be smelling great once Tove rubs your back with some soap.” Azer chuckled with a wink. What a prick! he probably noticed me gawking at her earlier.

“I can clean myself, thank you.” I scoffed. Looking at something nice doesn’t mean I want to do anything stupid. The young vitality this system had granted me sure awoke some parts of me that I thought were all but dead a long time ago. Good thing the cloak covered the entirety of my body and prevented any embarrassing mishaps. Not sure what’s going on with me and why I’m feeling so immature as of late. It could be due to an imbalance of hormones since becoming physically younger once again. “Anyway… is that lady the owner of the Inn?”

“Indeed. You could say that. Her husband owns the business but is always away with the duke doing things only the rich people do. Her name's Brina and she’s run this business with only a handful of girls for the last five years. Her husband just spends his way under some other younger girl's dress.”

“Urgh.” I scoffed. People like that make me sick to my stomach, annoyed I put my mind at ease and began sipping the bosa.

A few moments later, I took a look around and noticed a few of the punters had left, it seemed to be getting late so I didn’t blame them, especially since the bandit attacks had become more common. It was only a matter of time before violence came knocking on the town gate.

I was lost in thought when the door swung open and woke me from my daydream. Two men entered covered in dirt and sweat, reminding me of them construction workers back on earth. One of the men noticed Azer and gave him a wave before they both made their way to the bar and conversed with Brina.

Brina mumbled a few words pointing towards us, the men turned their gazes and shook their heads in acknowledgment. They swiftly made their way to our table.

“Azer, how do you do, old friend?” The largest of the two greeted.

Azer got up and shook both their hands before giving them a small brotherly hug. They must have been well acquainted from the past, but then again it seemed like the merchant knew just about everyone here. “Indeed, all good, Artos. You and your brother look like you’ve been stuck in a mine all day like the good old days. Tell me, how are things?”

“You know we’ve not been in a mine for years; this is from working in these damn fields. We’ve been on Jarven’s Farm today. They’re always looking for hard-working men to plough the fields, most people are too scared to venture beyond the gate as bandit attacks have been getting worse lately.” Artos replied with a sad look painted on his face.

“Indeed, I have heard many rumours bouncing around. The situation is grave but… you know, we always endure.” Azer sighed before turning to face me. “This man here wishes to propose something to you and your brother if you're interested, but first you're more than welcome to take a seat with us while we eat. I’m sure Brina will fetch some food for all of us shortly.”

Artos and his brother both gave me a strange stare as if to ask me what the hell I wanted with them. The other brother, who was tall and thin compared to Artos, seemed to be getting more agitated now. Artos shook his head and motioned him to calm down, “Atreyu, relax. Come, take a seat, and at least hear what he has to say.”

It didn’t take a genius to know which was the smarter of the two. I would need to keep my cool if there was going to be any hope of them agreeing with my proposal. Now that the brothers were closer, I got a better look at both of them. Artos looked very jacked and seemed like someone who could handle himself well in a fight. Even with the dirt covering his face, I could tell he was also the handsome one and most likely many young ladies wanted to court the guy.

On the other hand, Atreyu looked and acted like some kind of rogue. He seemed rougher around the edges when compared to his brother and had this mischievous energy surrounding him. I think I found out who the black sheep of the family was, the scars on his face didn’t exactly help when trying not to judge him. I could bet all my silver he was the one that usually got both of them into trouble which seemed to make the encounter with the guard at the gate more sense.

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