I knew that staring was rude, but I couldn’t help myself. There were just so many people, and no two were the same. I didn’t mean that the people within were all dressed in strange ways, though there was certainly some of that, I meant that at a glance I counted five different species of people all sitting at different tables and doing... whatever it was adventurers did in an inn.

There was a table with three small people that had translucent wings, all sitting on stools which were taller to accommodate their height. They wore tight-fitting uniforms in dark blues that looked like dress uniforms for officers back home, with medals and tassels on their shoulders and cute little caps.

A bigger table off to one side had a mixed group. Grenoils and a human and a large person with a hunched back and legs that bent the wrong way. They had long, long arms tucked against their side, and their entire body was covered in beige wraps of cloth that did nothing to hide their strange proportions. They even had goggles on.

Someone squawked. “Look at the newbie,” and I realised they were talking about me.

It had come from a table with four bird people at it. Their arms were actual wings that ended in taloned hands and their uncovered legs were covered in fine feathers.

“Sorry,” I said with a sheepish smile before I skipped over to the counter.

Behind the bar was a large grenoil who stood like a queen surveilling her people, hands carefully cleaning out a mug with a corner of her apron until she caught sight of me and looked me up and down. “You look lost, girlie,” she said.

“Ah, I was, I think, until now.” I gestured to one of the stools near her. “Can I sit here?”

She croaked. “Go ahead.”

I smiled at her and plopped myself down. “Um, I’m looking for a miss Julliette. Do you know her?”

“It’s Misses, and I know her better zan anyone. Who’s asking?” She filled up a mug with something from a tap and sent it sliding across the counter just as a barmaid passed to pick it up.

“Eh, I am? I met a team from the Exploration Guild in the woods. Emeric said that I should ask you about a place to stay, and maybe work.” I smiled hopefully.

She eyed me up and down. “I’m not a charity, no matter what zat idiot Emeric thinks.”

I shook my head. “No, no, that’s okay. If you don’t have work then I’ll find something. Um, do you sell food?”

“Oh course we sell food!” she roared. “Nine cop for ze best meal you’ve ever eaten.”

“Are there bugs in it?” I asked as I started reaching into my bag. I had three little pouches made from some cloth I’d knotted together. One for each sort of coin I’d found. I pulled out the copper pouch and emptied it on the counter, then counted them out. “Ah, I only have eight,” I said.

Julliette eyed my meager copper coin supply, then snapped a hand out and stuffed them somewhere so fast that I couldn’t see where they went. “You’re too zin,” she said before moving back. There was an opening at the back in the wall, a window into a busy kitchen where a couple of grenoil and one of those cloth-wrapped people were cooking up a storm. Juliette screamed a few numbers at them before returning to me. “You said you were looking for work?” she asked.

“Um, yeah! I’m just level four though, so I can’t do too much.”

Julliette shook her big head. “What is someone like you doing out here? Trying to get yourself killed?”

“No, I got lost. Sorry?”

“Tch. Fine. What can you do?”

I beamed at her. “I can clean, and I can cook and bake a little, and I’ve got the Gardening skill.”

“You have ze cooking or baking skills?” she asked.

“No,” I said with a shake.

“Zen you’re useless in my kitchen. Go ask Dylan if he needs the help.” At my confused look she elaborated. “He’s ze alchemist. If you can’t find him in zis pisshole zen you’re hopeless.”

“That sounds great!” I said. “Um, do you have rooms here? With showers?”

“We do. Two lesser sil a night.” She glared at me. “We have smaller rooms too. No showers, but zere is a communal shower for our guests. One sil a night.”

“Okay, great. How much copper is a sil worth?” I was going to need to get the hang of their money system sooner or later.

Juliette pressed a hand over her face. “Emeric, damn you,” she muttered. “Nancy! You’re in charge for a moment,” she called out. A barmaid on the floor made that thumbs-up gesture Valerie had made before.

The large frog woman walked back to the window just as a platter appeared then she returned and placed it before me.

My eyes widened at the bounty. There was a big potato with a slice cut into it to release some steam and a square of butter melting away atop it. Some stew in a stone bowl that didn’t have any bugs in it that I could tell. Some slices of sausage with a sauce over them that was still smoking and half of a round loaf of bread that looked crisp and fresh. There were even some veggies to the side.

Juliette, who I decided then and there was the best frog person ever, placed a big mug of milk next to my plate.

I picked up the fork next to the plate and started taking big bites of everything. “Oh, oh this is so good,” I said.

“Don’t talk wiz your mouth full,” Julliette grumbled, but there was a spark of joy in her eyes. Maybe. Reading grenoil moods wasn’t my forte.

“But it’s so good,” I said after swallowing. I tried a bite of everything and it was all delicious. Even the milk was fresh and yummy.

“Tch,” Juliette said. She reached under the counter for something, then came up with a handful of coins. She laid them out in a row. The first was a copper coin, then a small nickel-sized silver coin, then a quarter-sized coin that was also silver. Finally she placed a gold coin like the one Leonard had given me at the end. “Cop, lesser silver, pure sil, lesser gold. Zere’re ozer coins. Gold galleons and ze like. I’m not fool enough to keep zem here. And ozer places have zeir own currencies. Your coins are worzless too far West or past ze mountains to ze east.”

“Okay,” I said as I chowed down. It was hard to focus with all the yummy flavours running across my tongue, but I made the effort anyway.

“Ten cop to a lesser sil, ten of those to a pure sil, ten of those to a lesser gold,” she explained.

“So... a thousand copper to one lesser gold?” I asked.

She nodded. “Zat’s right.”

“So for one lesser gold I could buy... a hundred and forty of these meals. Minus the tip.”

Julliette laughed and swept the coins off the table. “You’d be a good customer if you did.”

I smiled. I was truly tempted. “How much does most work pay, by the hour, I mean?”

“By ze hour? I pay my barmaids two sil a day. Ze cooks four,” she said.

“Oh, okay,” I said. “How much does a loaf of bread cost?”

“A loaf of...” she shook her head again. “Here, four cop. In a proper city and most towns, one or two.”

“Things are expensive here?” I asked before using a chunk of bread to dab at the stew.

Juliette nodded. “Ay, zey are. We’re far from any town zat can supply us. Most zings we need are brought in from Port Royal and some of ze towns along ze way. No farms means no local crops.”

That made sense. I supposed that the outpost had other sources of income, or at least something to attract people to it temporarily. It didn’t seem like a permanent place yet. Maybe one day it would become a proper town, with farms and livestock and normal villagers. I looked around the bar and all I saw were people that looked ready for adventure.

“So, I need a place to sleep,” I said.

“One sil a night,” Juliette said.

“Ah, okay,” I agreed. “Do you need anyone to help you clean and stuff like that?” I asked her.

She snorted. “I always do. You could stay in ze tents if you want. Zey cost two cop a night. But if you wake up naked and wizout anyzing to your name, zat’s your problem.”

“Right, your inn seems much nicer,” I said. “I have some things to sell. I should go do that soon to afford a room.”

Juliette grabbed a rag and started rubbing at her counter absentmindedly. “Ze first room down zat corridor,” she said with a nod to the side. “Go clean it. I’ll give you a cop if it’s to my liking.”

A copper, which was a tenth of the value of a small room. “How many rooms does your inn have?” I asked.

“Forty,” she said with a growing smile. “But I wouldn’t pay you more for caring for ze bigger rooms.”

“Right,” I said. I looked down and was disappointed to find that all of my food was gone. I shoved the sadness aside by reminding myself that I could afford hundreds of these meals now thanks to Leonard. “Um, I’m supposed to go to Port Royal, are there ways to get there?”

“Yes. You walk. You ride wiz a caravan. You hire a mage to teleport you,” Juliette said.

“Teleport?” I asked with wonder.

“Zat’s usually a few lesser gold for ze distance between here and Port Royal. Triple it here because no mage will want to take you.”

I winced. “Okay. How about the caravan option?”

“Ze last caravan arrived yesterday morning. Ze next one arrives in a week. Ze guards for it have all been hired already from ze local adventurers, so you’d need to buy passage to go wiz zem. A few sil. More for food.”

A week then. A week to gather things and make some money to be able to live in a proper city. A week to explore and meet people and make friends. I grinned at Juliette. “Brilliant!”

I hopped off the stool and moved over to the side towards the room she had pointed out. “I’ll get to cleaning then,” I said as I held my bag to the side. “Can I put this somewhere?”

She took the bag and stuffed it behind the bar. “Cleaning zings are in the cupboard under ze stairs.”

“Got it!” I said.

I found the room and slid in with a broom and some rags. It was a small space, with a simple undecorated bed to one side, a chair and desk at the far end and a tiny window overlooking the back of the inn.

I could see the tents she had mentioned. They weren’t actual tents, but small squat buildings with cloth walls and roofs. Some had the sides rolled up to reveal hammocks all in a row within. There was what I suspected was a latrine at the far end, a human man coming out and hopping around as he buckled his belt. Not very fancy. A room would be much nicer, even if it was simple.

My plan so far was pretty simple, but I could go over it again and again as I broomed the floor and did the bed and rubbed the top of the desk free of dust. Get a room, then spend the night. In the morning try to sell all of my loot. Then maybe I could work in the inn. That did sound kind of cool.

But I also wanted to see the world around the outpost and maybe find more cool stuff! The adventurers here had to be around for something. Maybe I could help?

I wiped my brow and looked over my work. It was good enough.

I set aside all of the cleaning stuff and went to fetch Juliette. “Problem?” she asked. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how to do ze bed. I swear children zese days are...” she stopped when she stood by the door. “Did... did you polish ze floor?”

The floor looked clean, nice and well cared for and just a little sparkly. “I just cleaned it,” I said.

“And ze bed?”

The bed looked fresh and welcoming. It even smelled nice, like fresh hay. Probably because that’s what was in the mattress. “I made it right, right?” I asked. “Um, I can try harder, if you want.”

Juliette eyed me. “You have the Cleaning skill zen. Good. One cop a room,” she said.

I grinned. “Okay!”