Chapter 25 - The Oaken Ring

Nate smirked as he walked towards the door to the Oaken Ring. He was definitely going to spend a bunch of his coins on silks and baths. Was silk underwear a thing? Surely it had to be. The Oaken Ring stood as tall as the Adventurers Guild, with the top two storeys built from wood. The entryway was a double door, currently closed, with light spilling out of the windows. Beside the door stood what he assumed was some kind of guard or bouncer. He was bald, and stood half a head shorter than Nate but something about the way he casually leaned against the wall and the long cudgel on his hip made Nate think of a serpent, coiled and dangerous.

As Nate got closer to the door the guard pushed off the wall and slid in front of him, blocking his path. Nate was half expecting the guard to send him off with a threat. Instead the guard gave him a once over, taking in the robe and boots he wore. After a short pause and the guard looking like he wanted to spit to the side, the man instead opened one of the doors and ushered him inside. Nate wasn’t sure how to react to that and moved past the guard quickly, giving him a slight nod that elicited a snort from the man.

The inside of the Oaken Ring was very different to the inn within the Adventurers Guild. Instead of a rowdy bunch of adventurers and the constant loud noise of conversation, there was an intimacy to the Oaken Ring that called to Nate’s inner introvert. Tables and booths were spread further apart leaving ample space to move about the room. There were only around ten customers interspersed around the room and they spoke quietly in their small groups, finely dressed in silks and furs.

A few serving staff were dispersed around the room, flitting from one table to another to deliver food or bottles of wine. A young man with blonde hair sat in a corner on a small makeshift stage and played some sort of stringed instrument as he sang quietly. Not enough to drown out the conversation but certainly cutting through what could’ve been an uncomfortable silence. The instrument looked a little like a guitar but fatter. Nate took all this in as he stood in the doorway, scanning the room.

A stout but attractive woman with dark hair stood behind the bar and stared at him, clearly waiting. He suppressed an awkward smile. He needed to project confidence. He needed to act like he belonged here. Striding across the room purposefully, he moved up to the bar as the woman turned to face him fully. He didn’t need to see the look in her eyes to know he was being judged and measured and this time he felt as the Identification washed over him. Keeping with his act he raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled slightly and the action took her from striking to beautiful.

What followed was a voice that flowed like honey, “What can I get for you…?”

Nate took a few seconds to think everything through. The pause was her fishing for a title. He was reasonably confident of that. But that wasn’t all. To keep up his act and the hint that he might be nobility, his bearing and turn of phrase needed to align with the expectations others would have of him. With the framework of a plan in his mind he was ready.

“Sir will be fine. And I am seeking lodging,” he said firmly.

She gave him a look over with a quirk of her lips. “Sir is it? Very well. Rooms are six silver a night.” Her eyes watched him, clearly measuring his reaction. It was slightly higher than Kiri had thought. But was a room what he wanted?

“Do you have anything better than a room available?” he asked.

Her eyes widened slightly though that was the only sign of her surprise at his question. Honeyed words quickly followed, “We do have the suite on the top floor available, however it is thirty silver a night.”

“I assume that includes breakfast and dinner as well as baths and other incidentals?” he asked.

“Of course m’..sir.”

Nate reached his left hand into his robe and his mana flowed into his ring as he accessed his spatial storage, drawing out two gold coins and placing them on the counter.

“The suite then. For seven nights,” he said as the gold shone on the bar in front of the woman. He knew he was ten silver short but he didn’t think that would matter to her. More importantly, his view of the rich had always been that they were penny pinchers. If they could shortchange someone they would. Nobility was surely the same? He supposed he would find out.

The innkeeper looked at the coins for only a moment before scooping them up. “That is fine. Do you need any assistance with your luggage, sir?”

He was pointedly ignoring the fact that he had garnered the attention of a few of the patrons of the inn, who had clearly seen the flash of gold. That made up his mind about where he would eat.

“That won’t be necessary. I will take my dinner in the suite, but first I require a bath.”

The innkeeper flashed a knowing smile at him, before motioning to one of the serving staff. A young man with black hair. She whispered something in his ear before handing him a key and the young man quickly made his way up the stairs on the side of the room.

The innkeeper turned back to Nate with an ingratiating smile and motioned to him, “If you’ll follow me sir. I’m Valeria by the way. Welcome to the Oaken Ring. I hope you enjoy your stay with us.”

Valeria led him up the stairs as they ascended the floors until they reached the top floor. A large double door led into the suite, already flung open as Nate could see the young man busily preparing the room for him. It was richly decorated, with a number of rugs flung across the floor. There was a small sitting area with a few chairs around something like a coffee table.

The bed was a four poster with a number of fluffed pillows and a couple of furs thrown over it. He could hear running water in a shielded off area at the back of the room, with a fireplace close by. Off to the side were a couple of large, comfortable looking chairs beside the window with a table for eating. The final piece of decor was a number of lamps about the room, however instead of flickering with fire, they gave off a soft, golden light from what looked like large gemstones. More Enchanting perhaps? He’d need to investigate.

“Do the accommodations please you, sir?” asked Valeria from beside him.

They more than pleased him. It looked welcoming and cosy. Comfortable, with everything he could need. But his act wouldn’t allow him to say that. So instead what he said was, “This will suffice.”

Valeria surprisingly seemed pleased with that answer. Maybe she was used to nobles who looked down their noses at everything. Perhaps he could be a bit more of himself after he had settled in. He hoped so. Putting on this act didn’t sit comfortably with him. But sometimes need came before desire he supposed. That was something he knew well enough.

“Do you require anything else, sir?” Valeria asked.

Nate was about to shake his head but stopped and instead said, “No, that will be all.”

“Very good, sir. Dinner will be up shortly. Would you prefer wine with your dinner or something else?”

“Wine if you please. Something spicy,” the words came out of his mouth. It was something he had seen in a movie once. He’d never really had wine before. Michael had ‘borrowed’ some of his fathers whiskey once and alongside Jung the three of them had gotten a bit tipsy but that was Nate's grand total experience with alcohol.

He realised he had made a mistake in saying ‘please’. Valeria glanced at him, unsure for a moment, before she nodded her ascent and after waiting for him to step into the room, closed the door behind him as he entered. He walked across the wooden floor, avoiding the rugs. He didn’t want to get them dirty and he was sure there was dirt on the bottom of his boots from his trek through the forest. He wasn’t terribly sore but he hadn’t had a proper wash in almost a week. The lake water in the Dungeon had done an alright job but a severe lack of soap had limited the effects.

Walking around the wooden barrier that shielded the tub he blanched. While speaking with Valeria and taking in the room he had completely forgotten about the young man who had been preparing the room.

“Apologies sir, can I assist you?” he motioned at Nate’s clothes.

Too surprised to keep to his act, all Nate could say was, “Umm, no. That will be all.”

They stared at each other for a moment before the young man quickly made his exit. Nate waited till he had heard the doors close before he started stripping. It was a slow process with only one hand. As he took off his shirt, he saw how much it had degraded. The process had slowed a little without the higher ambient mana from the Dungeon, but it was still coming apart at the seams. His pants weren’t much better and his underwear was a lost cause. Tomorrow was a new day so he would buy new clothes. With that in mind he tossed all of them into the fireplace. Stripped down, he sunk down into the full bath. He could see faucets against the wall that had clearly filled the wooden tub, however rather than taps they had large simple looking gemstones above them. More enchanting he guessed.

Without another thought he sunk up to his neck in the tub. The water was beautifully warm and they must’ve added something scented as the smell was divine and relaxing, reminding him of lavender. Dunking his head he was disgusted to see how much dirt and dust sloughed off into the water and repeated the action a few times, scrubbing at his blonde hair with his good hand.

A knock at the door pulled him away from his cleaning and he called out in what he hoped was an imperious voice, “Come.”

A moment later he heard a clatter as something was placed on the table by the window. The voice, a girl this time, called out, “When sir is finished just ring the silver bell and someone will be along to collect the tray.”

Nate didn’t say anything, not even sure what to say to a statement like that so just remained silent. After a few awkward seconds he heard footsteps, followed by the door closing. He continued to relax in the bath for a bit longer but didn’t want to eat his food cold. Not after eating cold and burnt lobster meat for a couple of days and charcoaled boar prior to that.

Climbing out of the bath, he found a handle that seemed to empty it, pulling it and listening to the water drain away as he tried to dry himself with one hand. Finally giving up and considering himself dry enough he pulled his robe back on, relying on the cleaning enchantment on it. He felt the cleanest he had in over a week. Even prior to leaving Earth he hadn’t been this clean. Sitting down in the large seat by the window he was treated to a view of the central square of Helmfirth from on high. He could see how during the day the place would be bustling with stalls and guessed it functioned as the town's market.

The food was delicious and tasted a little like steak. He’d not had it often back on Earth. Steak was expensive. He’d had it a couple of times when Michael’s parents had invited him to stay for dinner. This was better though. Succulent and juicy. Something that might’ve been vegetables were on the side and he ate everything. He only sipped the purple wine and found that it was spicy just like he had asked. With a full stomach and a still clear head he rang the silver bell on the side of the tray. Less than a minute later there was another knock at the door. Prepared for it now, he said “Come.”

Expecting it to be the young man or one of the girls from the floor of the inn he was surprised when it was Valeria herself. She crossed the room quietly and put everything onto his tray, noting the unfinished wine.

“How was everything, sir?” she asked, that honeyed voice of hers flowing over the silence of the room rather than cutting through it.

“More than satisfactory, Valeria,” he said, stopping himself from thanking her like his natural instincts told him to.

“I’m glad. I’ll leave you to your rest then, sir,” she said, placing a key down on the table as she picked up the tray and left as quietly as she had arrived.

Nate picked up the key, moving to the door and locking it before heading for the bed. It wasn’t that late but he’d been walking all day and felt safe and comfortable for the first time in a week. The bed called to him and he carefully climbed into it, robe still on as he pulled the furs over him. His caution hadn’t completely fled him and he felt Frick sense his desire and appear a moment later.

“I dunno, boss man. I reckon that guy would’ve let you try and make goblins with him, if you catch my drift,” said the little blue goblin, waggling his blue eyebrows.

Nate just snorted, “I’ve got time for that in the same way you’ve got time for anything doesn’t involve getting yourself more mana.”

“Heh. It’s true. Mana is love. Mana is life. Your world had the best sayings, boss man. Can we go there someday?” Frick asked.

“Maybe. It’s definitely on my list of things to look into. But I need to sleep. You on watch duty Frick?”

“Yeah, I got you, boss man. I’ll keep an eye out. Want me to wake you too?” the Familiar asked, as it flitted around the room.

“Yeah. But not until after the sun has been up for a little bit,” he answered with a yawn.

“Mind if I do a little bit of information gathering, boss man?”

“Yeah go ahead. Just don’t get caught.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” Frick said with a toothy grin.

Nate watched as the Familiar shifted into a small animal that looked like a six legged lizard with a long neck. The thing flicked its tongue at Nate before dropping to the floor without a sound as gravity asserted itself. He could feel the stronger pull on his mana reserve but figured he could handle the drain for at least four hours, if not longer. With a sigh he rolled over and was asleep a few breaths later.