Pre-read - Reap What You Sow - Chapter 5

                                                                                  Chapter 5

After wandering through the city and stopping to ask for directions, Sable found herself at the entrance to The Restless Ruse, an Inn. She didn’t expect much out of it, as she had seen the state of the buildings in the city, but was pleasantly surprised by how energetic it looked inside.

From the outside, it was a simple but large wooden building alongside the main cobblestone thoroughfare. It had two floors and many dark-stained wooden shutters. She assumed it was one for each room. The large chimney spewed dark smoke from its top, and people frequently entered and left from the sturdy wooden front door, letting the loud, rambunctious sounds leak from the doorway into the streets.

Inside, the loud joyous sounds from the clientele singing or conversing with one another created an inviting atmosphere. There were two fireplaces burning hot and a long smooth stone-topped bar counter.

In the corner of the room, near one of the burning fireplaces, was a stage—a very small stage. Performing on it was a singular musician with a weird foreign instrument. It looked like a mix between a harp and a guitar, having many strings to pluck at. It created a rich upbeat sound as the musician played—spreading music freely throughout the common room of the Inn.

The patrons didn’t seem to notice or care about her entry, only giving a quick glance and nod. She made her way to sit at the bar and then caught the attention of the bartender.

“Excuse me. How much for a room for the night and some food and drink?”

The bartender slid a wooden tankard filled with some sort of frothy alcoholic drink down past her directly into the hand of a customer as he answered.

“It’ll run ya twelve coppers for the night, two coppers per drink, and the same for some stew. You’d have to talk to Tabby about the room; I’ll let her know when I get a chance.”

Sable observed the bartender as he worked. He appeared to flow around the bar with unnatural grace and confidence. He slid full tankards of ale, mead, or beer, effortlessly down the rough stone bartop. Not a drop being spilled as they traveled down past.

Must be a skill or skills?

“I’ll take a drink and some stew. Let Tabby know I’d like a room too. Is it okay to smoke in here?”

The bartender didn’t even look at her as he responded.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. If someone asks ya to not do it near’em, just give’em space. Here’s your drink.”

He easily slid the tankard directly in front of her from several feet away, again not even spilling a single drop.

“Food will be out soon.”

Sable raised her tankard and nodded, a gesture which he appreciated as he gave a big smile and nodded in return.

She took a swig and immediately noticed that this drink was strong. Sable was used to the watered-down light beers from America. So she slightly grimaced as she drank from the tankard.

A man sitting next to her noticed and gave a good-natured laugh.

“Need to get you some more levels if that's the look you’re going to give from a single sip!”

He proceeded to follow his statement by chugging his tankard down in a single go.

Sable just gave a good natured scoff and took another sip before responding.

“I’m working on it. Long day at work?”

She gestured at his appearance. His rough white linen shirt and wool pants were coated in a layer of dirt. He had a streak of dirt from where he must have previously wiped his forehead with his forearm.

He laughed again and nodded.

“Yes, ma’am. We finished a little later than usual. It’s good honest work in the fields, though. The name’s Roe.”

Roe held up a hand, ordering another drink.

“You’re a [Farmer]? Do you guys have work this late in the season? I’m Sable. Nice to make your acquaintance.”

The man grabbed a new drink from the bartender and took a large gulp.

“Yes, ma’am. We work all the seasons. You must have some shitty farmers where you’re from if winter stops ya!”

Sable immediately thought of the vast greenhouses on Earth, which enabled the planting of whatever crops you wanted during any season. She decided not to bring that up.

“I’ve never farmed before so I wouldn’t know. I’m new to the city and was wondering if you knew of anywhere hiring. Any tips?”

It was at this time that Sable’s stew was brought out to her by a young woman, probably around the age of Jeremy.

“Hmm. Depends on what classes you have. But you can always join me and be a [Farmer]! We always need more [Farmers]!”

“I don’t have a farmer class, but I’ll think about it.” Said Sable as she blew on a spoonful of stew.

The stew was unique. It had none of the typical vegetables she knew of, but the base was familiar, thick and brown. It smelled quite nice and had a good amount of meaty chunks within.

Taking a bite, she got a taste—a red vegetable, similar in appearance to a chopped onion, had a powerful and spicy flavor. An orange one looked like a piece of celery and tasted very similar. She couldn’t place what kind of meat was in the stew, but it was pretty tasty. All in all, the stew was much more flavorful than she anticipated.

“You don’t need a class to get started on farming. You just need a farm! Having a farm makes you a [Farmer].”

Sable raised an eyebrow at that. “That’s it? You just become a [Farmer] by having a farm?”

The man nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Pays well, too! Well, if you do a good job that is.”

Sable took that information in. If all else fails, she could be a farmer. She chuckled.

It’s not much, but it’s honest work.

“I’m from far away. I never even heard of this city before today. Anything I should know?”

Roe actually seemed to accept this as a common occurrence. He let out a long sigh as he finished another tankard of alcohol.

“Slatt here is newly built. Only around two decades old. We call it a city, but it’s more like a town. It’s technically a city cause of the walls and whatnot, but it’s not as big as the others. We accept all folk here, so don’t go running ur mouth off at some of them beast folk. We come down hard on that type’ah stuff. Where’d you come from anyway?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Sable replied.

That caused Roe to look concerned. He scooted his chair closer and glanced around to make sure nobody was overhearing. “You from Darronasis? I heard that people been leaving cause’o that big war—nasty business that is. You’ll be alright here, though. None of us would pipe up and tattle.”

That caught Sable’s attention. “Not from there, no. There’s a war? Is it nearby? Should I be worried?”

Roe inspected her, clearly looking for a lie, but eventually eased a bit and waved off her concern. “Nah, we’ll be alright. Darronasis is to the south on the other side of Staliton Peak. It’s a big’ol civil war—nothing for us to be worried about. Oh, here comes Tabby.”

Sable looked over her shoulder and saw a plump woman walking along the bar. She wore a leather apron and had her hair done up in a thick ponytail. She looked to be in her forties, and strode about like she owned the place. In this case, she probably did. Their eyes met, and Tabby wandered over. “You the one looking for a room?”

Sable smiled and nodded. “That would be me. Four copper for the food and drink, then twelve for the room?” Sable asked.

“Aye, that’d be correct. Let me go fetch you a key.”

Sable evaded questions about where she came from by Roe as she waited for Tabby to return. It didn’t take long, as Tabby returned with a large iron key ring fitted with a good number of keys.

Sable took out a silver coin from her jacket’s pocket and handed it over, watching closely to try and make out the denominations. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need to use both of her silver coins. She was worried that a silver coin was the equivalent of ten copper ones, but it seemed her worries were for naught.

Tabby took the Silver coin with a smile. She flung through the key ring and then plucked at the one she wanted. A duplicate of the key on the iron ring was pulled from the key itself. Sable tried not to jump in surprise. Tabby handed the duplicate key and fourteen copper coins over to Sable and smiled. “You’ll be good till noon. Breakfast is at The Note. Don’t be late, or it’ll get cold, or we’ll run out.”

Tabby was about to walk away when Sable spoke. “You hiring by any chance? I’m new to the city and need a job. I’m a hard worker and know my way around a kitchen.”

Tabby paused, turned back, and looked interested. She leaned on the stone bartop, much to the displeasure of the bartender. “We might be able to find you some work. Which classes you got? And, what level are they? Any good skills for an Inn?”

Sable sat confidently.  “No classes, levels, or skills. But, I'll grab the first class that fits the need.”

Sable really needed a job here. The amount of information she could get by eavesdropping on the patrons was potentially life-saving. Simple things like the coinage denominations were useful; nothing she could learn would go unused. If she could create a profile of classes and observe skills, she could get a baseline about the powers of the world. Not having access to the library anymore made getting a job here even more appealing.

Unfortunately, she was not being given a real chance to earn her place.

Tabby looked uncomfortable. She fiddled with the keyring and looked to be trying to find the words to let Sable down easy.  “Maybe you can come back once you have a class useful to the Inn. I don’t think you would be a good fit without any skills. Do you have any talents? Anything you can do that’s special?”

Sable thought for a moment, and Tabby waited patiently. Slowly, Sable glanced over to the small stage in the corner—A slight smile grew on her face.

“I don’t have skills for it, but I’m pretty good at singing. I bet I know more songs than anybody in this city.”

That caught Tabby’s attention.  “I ain’t got the money to pay for a full time [Bard], but I’m willing to listen if you wanna go give it a shot.”

Tabby turned to the musician on stage and waved to get his attention, giving him a gesture to signal a break. The man, who looked to be around Sable’s age, looked up and calmly nodded. He finished his upbeat song and then left the stage, sitting down at a table with what appeared to be friends and happily began chatting.

Sable wasn’t used to singing in front of a crowd. She usually only sang during the occasional karaoke outing or when she was in her car. She liked downloading the instrumentals to songs on her phone and pretending to be the singer. It was slightly embarrassing, but hopefully, all that practice would pay off now.

Alright. You can do this. This is nothing.

She made her way up on stage, noting the extremely slurred and loud shouts of encouragement from Roe.

Her phone wouldn’t be loud enough to play over the sounds of chatter in the Inn. So she was going to have to do this acapella. She didn’t know many songs that would sound nice without the instrumentals, but she did have one in mind. The lyrics wouldn’t be confusing to this world, either.

She coughed to clear her throat as the nerves kicked in. She looked around the room, noticing the patrons as they lowered their voices and looked curious, especially the musician, or [Bard], who had just left the stage.

She started off shaky, the nerves were apparent in her voice, but after a few seconds of getting into the groove and closing her eyes, her rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow cleared up.

She wasn’t a fantastic singer by any means. She wasn’t ever going to win any awards or sign with a music label, but she was good. Her voice wasn’t as high as a soprano, she was an alto, and she most definitely didn’t look the part for singing this song either. Her tomboyish appearance didn’t coincide with the song, but the patrons didn’t seem to care either way.

Halfway through the song, she heard someone joining in. She opened an eye and spotted the [Bard] playing along, almost exactly like the ukelele from the original track. This gave her confidence.

After a few minutes, she finished and opened her eyes, seeing nearly everyone in the room looking at her. Then, they all clapped politely. Roe was the outlier, hooting and hollering from his seat at the bar. She gave him an exasperated wave and smile, then walked back to her seat in front of a smiling Tabby.

“A beautiful song. I don’t think I could pay you full time, but once in awhile I could offer you a spot. That song didn’t quite fit the mood of an Inn.”

That’s better than nothing at all.

“I’d take that over nothing. If it was quieter in here, I could do my own instrumentals.”

Tabby was about to continue chatting, but she looked over Sable’s shoulder and barked a laugh.  “Looks like you got company. Stop by once in awhile and we’ll see about getting you a spot.”

Sable felt a tap on her shoulder, turning to see the [Bard] taking off his brown, feathered tipped hat. “A wonderful performance!”

He bowed. “Jonathan Kard, but my friends call me Jonny. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Jonathan was well-spoken, perhaps fitting for a [Bard]. “I couldn’t help but join in at hearing a new song! I’m a traveling performer, and I had thought I'd heard most of what the Alliance had to offer!”

Jonathan seemed nice enough, maybe slightly over the top, but she wasn’t one to judge. “Sable. Thank’s for not leaving me out to dry. Joining in was a nice thing for you to do. You were surprisingly close to the original. Fancy skill or just raw talent?”

Jonny donned his hat and then sat next to Sable. “[Melodious Accompaniment]. I don’t often get a chance to use it, as it requires another. Would you mind me performing that song on occasion? I found it rather uniquely suited to my Zither.” He indicated to his musical instrument, held underneath his arm.

Sable didn’t see the harm of having the song spread. It wasn’t like it was hers to begin with. She shrugged. “Feel free. Hey, do you think I might earn the [Bard] class by singing like that?”

Jonny pondered for only a moment before shaking his head. “I’m afraid not. [Bards] are indeed musically inclined, but we rely on instruments and we partake in a lot of traveling. Perhaps you might obtain a class similar to [Singer] or [Siren]. I’m more inclined towards the [Singer] myself. [Sirens] are not socially accepted in some circles.”

I might get a class!

Sable would be lying if she said that classes and skills didn’t sound amazing. She’d seen some of the effects of skills and even magic. She wouldn’t mind a skill that made her sound like a proper lead singer. It would surely help in finding a stable job as well.

“I’d accept either at this point. I don’t have any classes.”

Jonny looked mightily surprised, and Roe nearly sprayed his drink across the bartop. He was mid-drink when he heard, causing him to choke and cough.

“Well. I’m not one to pry into personal affairs, but perhaps for your own safety you should accept the next one that comes along. I know people tend to be picky, but there’s nothing wrong with a class for your personal enjoyment.”

Safety?

Sable grew slightly concerned at hearing that she needed a class for her safety. She didn’t think being a high-level [Cleaner] was gonna make her safer than she was now.

“I grew up in a place where I wasn’t told about classes and skills. I only just heard of them today. What do you mean ‘Safety’?”

Roe looked at her like she was an alien, which she technically was, but Jonny seemed to take her at her word. “I’ve heard of small isolated groups who forsake classes and the likes. A terrible life to live in my opinion, but to each their own. I once met an older gentlemen in Zanathar, polite as can be, no classes for some religious purpose. He sadly passed away not long after.”

Sable tried to play along. This excuse for being classless was as good as any. “I ran away from home. Turns out I've been missing a lot of the world. Where is Zanathar?”

Jonny seemed happy that she had fled her ‘small isolated group’. So he happily began his explanations. “Zanathar! The home of the Halflings! It’s the small continent, north of Lor. The Tepid Sea separating them is quite a nice place to relax. It’s a great vacation spot and has wonderfully delectable foods.”

He coughed, slightly embarrassed at his rambling. “I’m well traveled, as per my occupation.”

Sable was feeling the effects of her single tankard of alcohol. She knew it was strong, but it was stronger than she anticipated. The liquid courage helped with the nerves of singing, but she was tired and sore from the long walk into the city.  “I think I’m going to call it a night here guys. Nice to meet you both. Maybe we’ll see eachother again.”

Jonny seemed to take this as a polite escape from the conversation. He took his hat off and bowed once more. “Let me not keep you.”

He returned to the stage and began to play another tune as Sable left to find her room. Glancing to her side, she noticed that Roe was snoring on the bartop.

Hope he enjoys going to work with a hangover.