Joedan and Amelia had been walking for the better part of the night. Neither really spoke to the other, so they traveled in silence. As the sun started to rise, off in the distance, they could just make out the edge of a town. As they continued forward, they saw the towers at the entrance, guards standing at attention.
"Halt!" the guard said as they approached. "State your business."
"Just passing through, sir." Joedan said to the guard.
"There's a fee to enter. Unless you've got it, you'll have to go around." The guard said to them.
"How much is the fee?" Joedan asked. He looked at Amelia, guess she didn't have any money.
"3 copper," the guard said. Joedan, grumbled a little to himself but handed over the coin to the man.
"Enjoy your visit," the guard said and stepped to the side to allow them entry.
As they entered the town, they could see houses lining the street. Broken shutters along the windows. The path was uneven with cobblestones. People bustled about. As they walked by, a merchant reached out.
"2 coppers and I'll let you sample the greatest apple there ever was," the merchant said with a gap tooth smile. There was a look in his eye that rubbed Joedan the wrong way.
Amelia and Joedan stepped around the merchant. Trying their best to turn him down without things escalating. They entered the busier part of town and more of the shops began to pave the sides of the street. Looking at the signs above the doorways, they came upon an inn. Joedan motioned to Amelia and she also saw the sign. They approached the doorway and entered.
The inside smelled moldy and the scent of ale filled the air. The tables were worn and the floors even worner. There were a couple of people seated near the bar, but not a lot going on inside. A man stood behind the bar with a rag over his shoulder. He looked up as they approached.
"Can we rent a room?" Joedan asked the man.
"It'll be 10 coppers. Includes a meal and a bath, but that's it," the man said gruffly. There was no smile, no warmth, just business. Joedan reached into his pouch and slid the coin across the bar. The man snatched them up quickly and dropped a key on the bar.
"That's for your room. Number 11. Dinner is at 7. If you don't make it, you don't get it. Bath is upstairs, ready when you are."
Joedan and Amelia stepped away from the bar and headed upstairs to their room. After entering, Amelia finally spoke, "This has got to be the worst inn I have ever been to," she complained.
"You couldn't have sprung for two rooms? I hope you don't think anything is gonna happen, because there's absolutely zero chance of that happening." She said smugly.
"I wouldn't dream of it, princess." Joedan shot back.
Walking over to the bed, he set down his bed roll and said, "You can have the floor," and he winked at her. Just because he wanted to get a reaction. What do you know, the "princess" didn't like that one bit. Good, Joedan thought. While Amelia was still sputtering, Joedan said, "I'm gonna go take a bath," and headed for the door.
The bath was okay, water wasn't hot, but it beat no bath, Joedan thought. He quickly scrubbed himself down and got out. Drying off, he put on a clean set of clothes and headed back to the room. Amelia had moved all his stuff onto the floor while he was gone and was currently spread out across the bed, trying to make herself as big as she could.
Joedan laughed, genuinely laughed. This girl was hilarious. "The bath is ready if ya want one," he said. She said, "What exactly am I supposed to wear?"
"Oh, you didn't bring any other clothes?" Joedan teased and then shrugged. "You can wear some of mine while they clean yours."
He threw his other set of clothes at her. She made a face but took them reluctantly anyway. She left the room. Joedan proceeded to roll out his bedding on the floor. He looked out the window of their room, the street was still crowded with people below. Merchants called out trying to get people to purchase their various wares.
So this is Lincoln, Joedan thought to himself. If I remember correctly, it's about a four day journey from here to Restin. Should we stick to the main roads? He thought as he scratched his chin. Pulling out the chair from the desk, he sat it by the window and kicked up his feet. We've gotta grab some more food for the journey, probably need a tent since we'll be camping. Joedan emptied his coin pouch into his hand and counted out what he had. It's gonna be tight, he said to himself. He wanted to find a sword, if he could too. That boot knife was something, but he wanted something better in case there were any surprises on the road. As Joedan continued to work through his mental checklist, the door opened and Amelia strode in.
Her hair was wet and his clothes looked entirely too big on her. She did not look happy, but she didn't say anything. Joedan proceeded to tell her his plan and about their need for supplies for the rest of the trip. They still had time before dinner, so he suggested it would be best to go now.
They stepped back downstairs and there were a couple more people in the main room, but not much else had changed. "We'll have those clothes laundered in a couple hours," the man at the bar said. "Thank you," Joedan said and they both stepped through the door.
Back on the street, Amelia saw a sign for a general store, but Joedan saw a sign for a blacksmith's shop. Amelia started walking towards the store, not giving Joedan an option, so Joedan quickly stepped up beside her to go to the general store, apparently.