A Day Off

Getting to the front desk, we saw Emma look up from the task sweeping she was doing. The little lass placed a hand on her hip and let out a low whistle. "Pretty late getting up, what got you two so tire- Ow," Emma started to tease before getting cut off by Marcy cuffing her in the back of the head. "Don't annoy the customers, Emma. I am sorry about her. She just likes to nose into others' business. Now, did you enjoy your accommodations? Do you need me to fix you up a late breakfast or an early lunch? Need any laundry done?" Marcy rapid-fire took care of covering all of her bases with questions that showed off her years of experience in the hospitality business. She shot a look at Emma, who scurried away to help out elsewhere.

"Yes, the room is lovely. The bed provided a very restful sleep. We are actually planning on checking out Bairee's Egghouse and Breakfast Emporium for our breakfast. We were handed a flyer on our way into town yesterday. For the laundry, I was about to ask how we would use that service. We have a basket in the hot spring room we used that has our clothing and towels that could use a cleaning. Plus, we need some new sheets. Plus a few extra sets. I apologize, but I had to throw away the old sheet set." I handed five silvers to Marcy, "I hope this covers any inconvenience as well as lets us extend our use of that bathroom for the rest of our stay."

Giving a deep bow, "That more than covers it. Your generosity is too great, sir." Waving away her gratitude, I explained, "Service deserves appropriate compensation!"

I had Marcy first show me on her map where the emporium was, then make some shopping location recommendations. After confirming we would be present for dinner, I headed out into the sunny midday main street to get some breakfast hand in hand with Luna.

We proceeded down the street, further toward the mountain than we had been before. As we headed along the broad avenue, we spotted many different kinds of people. We saw a group of adventurers, four men, pass by us. Their roles were evident by their outfits. The three men were all melee-focused classes; the first had a one-handed mace hanging from his hip, a shield strapped to his back and a set of heavier leather armour with iron plates woven in. The second and third both had light leather armour that favoured mobility. Where they differed was their armaments. One had a longbow and quiver, while the other had dual short swords. Following up from the back was their spellcaster, wearing lightly armoured robes, his nature evident by the haze of energy I could see around him.

My eyes ran across them as I inspected their gear. Their tank, the heavily armed man, walking in the lead of their group sensed my stare. He met my eyes; then his eyes darted to Luna before returning to my own, a sneer evident on his face. Unsure of what his issue was, I made a mental note to keep my eye on him. Returning my view to the other parts of our surroundings, I spotted many vendors set up with roadside stalls. Various shops selling produce, arms and armour, dried goods, botany supplies, and a blacksmith were what I could observe from my cursory glance. I got Luna's input to help make a list of what stores we should patron after breakfast.

Before too long, we had reached our destination. Tucked in against the base of the forest-covered foot of Mount Erlia was a single floor square building, roughly 20 metres per side. The building had a unique aesthetic in the town. Surrounding it on its property was a forest of green shoots of a plant that looked like a cross between sugar cane and bamboo. The structure's walls were a light wooden frame, looking to be made of the same bamboo-like shoots. The frame had a thin paper-like covering stretched across it. The vibe of the place was very eastern from my prior world. However, it felt to be the most suited building for a hot springs town. Ask we walked through the beautifully landscaped front yard and into the open doorway.

"Greetings- Oh, if it is not the first-timers to our beautiful town! I am honoured that you would visit us on your first morning!" Dramatically bowing before us, he then rose and extended his hand out for a handshake, "Bairee Oeufman, at your service!" Exchanging a handshake with the man, "A pleasure, the name is John." Giving me a warm smile, Bairee tilted to the side to glance around me to catch Luna's eye. Meeting her gaze, he raised an eyebrow, indicating he wanted to know her name as well. "Luna," she introduced herself with a curtsy. "My, what an adorable wife you have, sir! Colour me green with envy!" The short man declared. I noticed the staff and customers present appeared to be used to Bairee's exaggerated presence.

"She is not yet my wife," I corrected him. I felt Luna hug my arm from behind in response, and Bairee giggle in delight at what I could only assume was the embarrassed expression Luna had upon her face. Bairee signalled with his short arm, and a young woman, wearing an apron-style serving outfit, came to guide us to our seat. The seating reminded me of a picnic table, but it had been cut from stone. More unexpectedly, the server helped remove my shoes, as there was an integrated 'rejuvenating' hot spring foot bath for our feet to sit in under the table. Luna and I looked through the breakfast menu. There were about ten different dishes, all of which looked delicious. Luna and I decided to share the six most tempting options. A little surprised by the volume of ordered food, the waitress headed off to the kitchen.

She returned with some local tea for me, honey and milk, and a large glass of fruit juice for Luna. As we waited for breakfast, I picked up what looked like a newspaper from the table. I opened it and discovered it seemed to be a weekly circular published by the guild. It listed advertisements and coupons for various businesses as well as warnings about dangerous areas nearby the town. Luna, who was sitting next to me, leaned towards me to read the same paper. An article cautioned low-level adventurers and civilians alike to be wary when travelling to the southern forest. That forest was in the depths of the woods we had travelled through to get here. While pondering what was lurking within to cause the disappearance mentioned in the paper, I was distracted by our food arriving.

We were brought sizeable plates, laden with a colourful variety of delicious-looking breakfast foods. Based on Luna's delighted expression, I could only guess how hungry she was. I almost expected her to start drooling right there. I took a quarter of each dish to my plate before letting Luna devastate the remainder. I had upon my plate a variety of egg-based dishes. There were boiled eggs, poached eggs, eggs benedict and quiches. The eggs were accompanied by sausages, ham, bacon and sausage patties. And the convey it to our mouths, bread, crepes and pancakes were abundant.

After stuffing myself, I found Luna already patiently waiting for me to finish my meal. How had that girl beat me! I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and patting her tummy. "Master, that hurts; I'm so full!" She whined quietly. Damn, is she ever cute. Paying the bill, I left a healthy tip and assured Bairee we would stop by again.

Now it is time to get some necessities for our travels.