ALL NOVEL 42. Back to the Black Bear Inn
The large group walked through the evening streets of Haligrad, talking amongst each other as they navigated the city towards the inn Astaria suggested. It took them around half an hour at their current pace to make their way towards the market square, their trip quite quick despite their fatigue thanks to the usually busy main streets that linked the two public spaces being practically deserted at the current hour.
When they reached the market square the atmosphere was more lively with some of the establishments that were still open having limited outside seating that was occupied by people still enjoying the evening.
Astaria led them up towards the big double wooden doors of the familiar 3 story building and walked inside without any hesitation. The inn was quite similar to when she was there earlier, however far livelier. The room was still half filled with people drinking and chatting at the late hour, the atmosphere resembling many modern bars just with a medieval style.
Their large group drew the attention of almost everyone in the room as a large crowd of 12 people entering so late was quite rare. Their entrance was made more noticeable by their appearances, Astaria’s blood covered robe at the front with a mixed group of warriors, merchants, and a potion maker in tow.
As Astaria walked into the dining area, she took her robe off and put it into her inventory, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere with the bloody sight or smell. As soon as she had revealed herself she was immediately rushed by a woman in a waitress dress with her long brown hair trailing behind her. The woman, who Astaria immediately recognised to be Anna called out to her.
“Astaria? I can’t believe it! The other Immortal warriors here all said you took on Square Jaw! Are you alright?”
Astaria gave a little chuckle as she placatingly patted the woman’s shoulder who was examining her all over.
“Yes, we did, and it was an easy fight, so you don’t need to worry.”
Anna’s eyes eventually landed on the bloody hole in the upper left arm of Astaria’s blouse as she exclaimed.
“Oh, you were hurt, my god, you let me check!”
By this point the entire room had exploded as all the patrons, locals and the players alike, all broke into an uproar. It was clear everyone had realised who she was and had been previously discussing her recent exploits.
Seeing how this situation could get easily annoying, Astaria held Anne by the shoulders as she tried to ease the woman’s concerns. She could not fully understand why this woman had latched onto her like she did, but reasoned that it could just be her personality or there might be deeper reasons she might not know about.
“Calm down Anne, it’s all been healed by a potion, I am fine. However, if I don’t say something to the crowd that looks like they are about to rush me, then things could get messy.”
Astaria glanced over to Connor who was watching the unfolding scene with a smirk on his face.
“Eagle, instead of standing there watching, lend a hand and sort out the room arrangements with Anne.”
With a mock salute, Connor walked up to Anne and started to introduce himself while Astaria found a decent chair to stand on while she moved to address the chaotic mass of people all making a racket. She noticed that Ben and Tyrell had moved to flank where she was standing ready to block anyone who became overly enthusiastic, something she appreciated given her current appearance.
Astaria started by clapping her hands a few times to get everyone’s attention, the room becoming quiet as everyone looked towards the beautiful woman standing on a chair. They clearly all held some anticipation as they waited for her to start speaking.
“Apologies for disrupting everyone, but I want to clear a few things up before everything gets too chaotic. First, as you can see, I am Astaria. I would appreciate it if you kept my appearance secret for the time being. My situation is a little complicated and I would like to keep the publicity to a minimum for now.”
Looking around the crowd, she could see a few faces filled with confusion while others looked at her curiously. Some of the small groups murmured amongst themselves as they started to speculate, clearly intrigued by the new mystery being dangled in front of them.
“Next, yes, I am the one who killed Square Jaw alongside a party. If you want the details, ask Stormbane here, he is good at telling a story.”
Astaria gestured to Tyrell to her side, everyone’s attention momentarily shifting to the man as she continued speaking.
“For anyone with questions about the guild, feel free to speak to Eagle over there, he is the Vice Guild Master and currently in charge of most guild affairs.”
She gestured to Connor who was now speaking with Anne in the entry hall, organising who of their group would be staying at the inn. Upon hearing his name, he momentarily glanced over and gave an award-winning smile while waving his hand to all the people now directing their attention to him.
“Now I hope you don’t mind, but some of us are exhausted from the raid and days’ worth of grinding, so please don’t bombard us. After we get some drinks down, we would all be more than happy to answer any questions.”
With her impromptu speech over, the crowd calmed down somewhat, many returning to their seats while others stood in groups. The atmosphere remained filled with energy as they all conversed trying to decide when would be a good time to approach the group.
Tyrell lightly bumped Astaria on her shoulder with his fist, his tone filled with jest as he spoke.
“Hey man, that was hash dumping me with story time, but how can I decline after you hype me up like that?”
Astaria let out a huff of laughter as she rolled her eyes, silently thankful that the crowd of the inn’s patrons had settled down.
“Well, I didn’t lie. Anyway, give us a shout if you need a hand, I’m sure Russel would happily join you in a comedic duo, especially when his so-called solution for being a lightweight fails.”
Tyrell’s eyes lit up with mirth as he let out a laugh, clearly imagining how things would play out when Russel realised his grand idea had failed.
“Ha, man, I’m looking forward to that, I’ma laugh so hard.”
Tyrell moved over to one side as he started speaking to the room, his movement away from the group drawing attention as all the patrons were waiting for a chance to gather information.
Astaria and Ben returned to the rest of the group in the entryway as they finalised the room arrangements.
“Astaria, you’re fine with sharing a room with Roxanne and Marie, right?”
Astaria looked over at Connor who was leaning against the counter waiting for her response.
“That’s fine. Is that all of the rooms sorted?”
Connor gave a brief nod as he glanced over the group to see if there were any last-minute changes.
“That is us all sorted.”
With a pleased nod that they had managed to get everyone who was staying a bed, Astaria gestured to the busy room behind her that was now listening to Tyrell as he began his retelling of the day’s exploits.
“Ok, great. Go on ahead and get some drinks. I will pay for the rooms and join you shortly.”
With that, the entryway quickly cleared leaving Anne and Astaria alone. She was somewhat thankful since by the time she moved to join her group, the patrons would have had the opportunity to speak to her guild members and there would be fewer people asking her questions.
Admittedly, it was quite sly of her, but she was tired, and a guild should share in their burdens, right?
Now with no interruptions, Anne walked around the counter and carefully grabbed Astaria’s arm, eying the singed and bloody hole like it was her mortal enemy.
“How did this happen?”
Astaria gave Anne a wry smile as she gave a short and concise explanation.
“I was a little careless and just got caught by a little bit of shrapnel from Square Jaw becoming berserk. Honestly, Anna, you don’t need to worry. Square Jaw is nothing compared to what I plan to fight in the future.”
Anna looked Astaria in the eye as her face visibly paled.
“Promise me you will be more careful? I know I can’t stop you from fighting, but every time I have seen you, you have been covered in blood.”
Astaria gave the young woman a reassuring smile while she pat her hand currently resting on her arm.
“I promise, but you need to remember that I am an immortal warrior, so I won’t be in any actual danger, so stop worrying. After all, I came to this world to fight. Anyway, I need to pay for our rooms for the night. How much will it come to?”
Anna reluctantly let go of Astaria’s arm as she moved back around the counter, briefly looking at the ledger as she calculated the total cost for their group.
“So that’s one couples room at 2 silver a night… and 3 four-person rooms at 3 silver a night. So, 11 silver, is that alright?”
Astaria pulled up her inventory and withdrew 11 silver coins, placing them on the counter with a smile.
