The Wandering Inn_Volume 1, page 128
The other girl started ticking off additional points on her fingers.
“Given the expense and probably the rarity of milk in the winter, you’d also have more costs in that area. If you’re going to sell anything, you might as well sell snow cones because all you need is some syrup. But even then, you’re going to run up against the biggest problem.”
“Which is?”
“Plagiarism. The instant one of your customers goes back to the city, every shopkeeper will be copying your recipe. It might take them a few days, but they can probably figure out how to make most of the foods from our world just from the taste alone.”
She shrugged.
“I’m sorry, but this world doesn’t have anything like copyright. Maybe you could hide the recipe for a few months, but…”
Ryoka trailed off and thought for a while. Erin was crestfallen.
“So it’s not a good idea? I was going to make all this food from our world, but if people are just going to steal everything.”
“Well hold on, it’s not a completely bad idea.”
Erin looked hopefully at the other girl. Ryoka was nodding to herself.
“It could work.”
“How?”
The taller girl lifted her shoulders fractionally.
“If they’re going to copy you, let them. Just make it clear that you were the one who invented the dish and capitalize on rumor and gossip. Keep coming out with new ideas and you’ll earn a reputation as an exciting place to be. Or—specialize. Make it so that your food might not be unique, but you’re the one who can provide the best quality.”
She stopped and eyed Erin. The other girl was smiling at her again.
“What?”
“Wow. That was so well…thought out! Hey, do you want a job working here? You can be the head innkeeper with all the ideas and I’ll be the innkeeper who does everything else.”
“No thanks.”
Ryoka said it deadpan. Erin guessed that to her, the idea of being a smiling innkeeper was probably like torture. But Ryoka had good ideas, so Erin pressed her.
“Okay, you don’t have to be an innkeeper. But what about my inn? Is there anything else I should be doing?”
It took Ryoka all of five seconds to come up with an answer as she stared around the empty room.
“Off of the top of my head—you could stand to fix up the inn. Repair all the walls and add some kind of covering to the windows and you’ll stop losing all the heat. Enchanting the kitchen is a good idea, and if you can afford it, more magic would probably help a lot. Other than that—your skeleton needs to be improved, somehow.”
“Toren? What’s wrong with him?”
Erin looked around, but then she remembered Toren was outside clearing snow away. Ryoka shrugged.
“It can only clean and haul things around. It can’t cook, can’t talk to guests or serve them without scaring the hell out of them, and it’s not really a good fighter. It’s just one skeleton. That Ksmvr chopped up at least ten of them on the way out of the ruins.”
That was true. Although, Erin had the sneaking suspicion that Toren was more competent than the other skeletons. For one thing, he seemed to be able to put himself back together whenever he got smashed, unlike his friends. She nodded though, to keep Ryoka happy. Maybe Pisces could do some upgrades, although he’d probably ask for a lot of money.
“Okay, okay. But here’s my most important question.”
Ryoka leaned forwards, intent. She was enjoying the act of coming up with ideas, Erin realized. So Erin took a deep breath and told Ryoka her biggest problem.
“You know that stream that I keep getting water from?”
“What about it?”
Erin scowled.
“It’s a pain to get the water from all the way over there, even if I make Toren do it. Is there a way to get the water to come over here? Preferably without the evil fish?”
For a second, Ryoka stared into Erin’s eyes. Erin stared back, expectantly. At last, Ryoka blinked a few times. She gestured towards the door.
“I doubt water will be a problem right now. If you need it, you can always melt some snow in a bucket. Honestly, firewood will probably be an issue soon. But about the water…have you thought of a well?”
Erin’s jaw fell open.
“Whoa.”
—-
In the end, Ryoka left two hours later than she’d intended, just as the sun was lowering past the mountains. Erin wanted Ryoka to stay, and Ryoka was adamant that she leave.
“I need to get moving. If I stay here too long, I’ll just get in your way or we’ll talk too much.”
Erin had the distinct impression that it was the second reason why Ryoka was itching to go. She’d seemed to enjoy talking with Erin, but now it was clearly alone time for the other girl.
Ryoka stepped into the two oversized boots she’d gotten from Krshia and grimaced. She stomped over to the door and turned to Erin.
“One more thing. While I’m gone, try not to tell anyone else about where we’re from. Not that Antinium, and not Krshia. Or at least, don’t tell them any secrets.”
“Like what?”
Ryoka stared at Erin until she felt uncomfortable.
“Gunpowder. How cars work. The periodic table. Anything that might upset things.”
“Upset things how?”
Ryoka opened her mouth, and then shook her head.
“I don’t know. Just try to be discreet, okay?”
She raised a finger.
“Discretion.”
Ryoka stared at Erin. Erin nodded obediently.
“Discretion. Right. Got it.”
Ryoka pulled open the door to the inn as Erin hovered anxious around her.
“You’ll be back soon though, right?”
“In a week or less. Don’t worry. Can you check on Ceria for me?”
“Oh, sure, sure. But do you want something to take with you? A snack? Lunch? Dinner? I can make something.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve got to go.”
“What about—”
“Erin. I’ll see you later.”
Ryoka stood up, pushed her feet into the ill-fitting boots she had to wear to avoid freezing her feet off, and nodded at Erin. She stepped out the door.
It was frickin’ cold outside, but Ryoka let not a trace of that show on her face. She wasn’t equipped for the winter; she was still in this world’s equivalent of a t-shirt and running leggings. But once she started running she’d warm up.
No time to start like the present, then. Ryoka took a few steps into the snow and began to jog. The snow was loose and powders around her boots. It was like running in the sand—and even harder because of the boots. It would take Ryoka quite some time to get back north.
“Good luck!”
Ryoka heard the voice, but she only raised one hand in farewell. She continued to accelerate until she was going at a decent clip. Soon, the inn was lost behind her as Ryoka ran up and down snow-covered mounds, heading back towards the main road.
That was when the air suddenly blew even more intensely, and Ryoka realized she was no longer alone. She didn’t see them right away, but she heard the voices.
“Look, look! The raven-haired one is leaving!”
“She runs, how slow! Like an insect on the ground!”
Ryoka ignored the shrill voices in the air, and the pale azure shapes that flew down out of the sky and hovered around her head. Even at close range, the Frost Fairies were hard to see. If the sky had been clear and blue, they would have been practically invisible.
They fluttered around her head, laughing, swooping about, smiling with sharp teeth as their bright eyes followed Ryoka.
So beautiful. But Ryoka didn’t want to stop for them. They were dangerous, so she pretended she couldn’t hear them. She just admired them out of the corner of her eyes whenever they flitted past.
“She runs slow! Slow and plodding, like one of the stupid grass-eaters!”
“A cow, a cow!”
Apparently, fairies were rude. Ryoka frowned. What the hell were they? And why—
Ryoka slipped as her boots hit a slick patch of ice under the snow and she nearly toppled over. She heard laughter ringing through the air around her.
“Fuck.”
The impact didn’t hurt, but the snow was freezing as it melted on Ryoka’s bare skin. She got up, brushed herself off, and began to run, faster. She needed winter gear as soon as possible, or she’d freeze in this weather.
Who would know about these strange creatures? Maybe someone who knew a lot of magic. Like Pisces or—
“Damnit.”
She’d completely forgotten to mention Teriarch and Magnolia to Erin. Oh well. They weren’t going anywhere, and besides, Ryoka would be back soon enough.
The Wandering Inn.
It was not home, and it never would be. But Ryoka thought—yes, she thought it was still a place to remember. Because she had a friend there.
A friend. Named Erin Solstice.
“Are ye smiling because ye are daft or slow, Human?”
Ryoka glanced up. A fairy was hovering around her head. She smiled at Ryoka as, too late, the Runner pretended not to see her.
“I knew it! Ye can see us!”
The fairy turned to the rest of her flock, or herd, or swarm or whatever they were called en-massse.
“Harken, sisters! This human sees us but pretends we are naught but dust in the wind!”
Ryoka ignored them. The Frost Fairies were nearly a hundred in the air now, a huge mass that whirled around. They were…arguing, or perhaps debating. Ryoka listened.
“Bah. Who cares what mortals think? What fools these mortals be! Let us go and bring snow and ice to the rest of this mudball!”
“No, no! I want to stay at the inn!”
“The running cow interests me. I say we follow her!”
They split up. The majority of the swarm flew up into the air, and blew away, south. More Frost Fairies flew back in the direction of the inn, but a small group of ten or so kept pace with Ryoka as she kept running.
They were pleasant company, laughing, flying around Ryoka, for about one second. Then one landed on Ryoka’s head and bent down until she was upside-down in Ryoka’s vision.
“I know ye can hear me, Human. Say something.”
The best way to deal with people she didn’t like was to ignore them. That was Ryoka’s tried and true method, and she tried it now.
“Are ye a fool? Speak!”
Ryoka’s hand came up and brushed at the fairy. The tiny creature was making Ryoka’s forehead go numb and giving her a headache. The fairy fluttered up, outraged.
Ignore them. Just ignore them.
“Pay attention to us!”
“Speak, cow!”
“We grace your filthy ears with words. Answer back!”
One of them landed in Ryoka’s hair and began to pull strands out. She shouted in Ryoka’s ear with a voice that was far too loud for her small body.
“Hey. Heeeeey. Hey! Listen to me, Human!”
Ryoka snarled.
“Piss off!”
—-
Erin sighed. She stared up at the ceiling. Ryoka’s leaving had left her empty as her inn. But she had to keep going. She wasn’t alone anymore.
That put a smile on her face. It was replaced instantly by a yawn.
“Man. I’m tired.”
All that talking and fighting and eye-poking earlier today had left Erin really tired. She knew she should probably do something constructive, but her brain told her the most constructive thing she could do was sleep.
One step at a time. One day at a time. Erin closed her eyes and went to sleep.
[Warrior Level 2!]
[Skill – Lesser Endurance Obtained!]
“Gaaah!”
Sometimes Erin forgot how surprising the disembodied voice in her head could be. She jerked up, lost her balance in her chair, and toppled backwards.
She crashed into the floorboards, which didn’t hurt so much after the first few seconds. Erin lay on the ground and stared at the ceiling.
“Warrior? Me?”
She thought about that for a second. Then Erin’s eyes closed and she decided it was another thing that the Erin of tomorrow would have to deal with.
Lie on the ground. Go to sleep for a few more minutes. Wake up when the blood rushes to your head.
Get up, brush teeth. Erin kept forgetting that part. Crawl into blankets in kitchen.
Go to sleep.
“Hello Erin—”
“Aah!”
Erin shot out of her blankets and grabbed the first thing that came to hand and threw it at the person who’d spoken.
Her [Unerring Aim] worked perfectly. The pillow flew through the air and struck Pisces in the chest. He blinked as it fell to the ground.
“Ah. Did I wake you by any chance? My deepest apologies.”
For a second, the dirty mage standing in Erin’s kitchen with robes wet and dripping from the snow was like a dream. Then it became horrible reality and Erin rolled over.
“Go away!”
She threw another pillow at him. Pisces looked hurt. He sniffed and wiped at his runny nose with his robes.
“It’s just me. There’s no need to be so dramatic.”
“How’d you get in here?”
“The door was unlocked.”
Erin sat up in her bed, grumpily staring at Pisces. The thing about locking doors was starting to make more and more sense. She glared at Pisces.
“I’m closed. Go away.”
“You were open just a few minutes ago for your friend.”
That was the thing about Pisces. Unlike Ryoka, who didn’t read social cues that well, Pisces could readily pick up on unspoken messages. His problem was that he just chose to ignore them.
Erin wriggled around in her blankets until she could both remain in her warm nest and glare at Pisces.
“Ryoka is special. You’re not. Go away.”
“After all I’ve done for you and Ceria both, this is how you repay me? I came here in good faith, hoping to provide you with custom for your business when I could have stayed in the city.”
Pisces sniffed, hurt. He seemed to be neglecting the fact that he didn’t actually pay Erin for the food he ate here.
“Ryoka gets food if she’s hungry. You don’t. You wait until I’m awake for food.”
Again, the mage sniffed and Erin swore to herself that if he sneezed on her or dripped snot on her head she would stab him.
“Your indulgence in your newfound friend is commendable Although, perhaps you shouldn’t have let her go. She ran into trouble as soon as she left. A group of sprites started following her. I saw her run off with a swarm of them hovering over her head.”
“Swarm? What swarm?”
“A swarm of those…creatures. The sprites. The beings who brought this delightful snow for the winter we’re now experiencing. The, ah, Winter Sprites.”
“Winter Sprites? You mean the fairies!”
Erin was out of her blankets and running outside in a second. She ran outside in her bare feet, yelped, scrambled for shoes, and then there they were.
A shimmering, sparkling cloud of bodies hovered over Erin’s inn. Faint, lithe shapes of fairies hovered and dove as their laugher rang through the air.
“Oh no. They’re here.”
Pisces emerged from the inn. Erin paid no notice to him, although he instantly began urging her back inside.
“Come on. They haven’t noticed us yet. If we stay indoors they’ll go away. They don’t enter buildings.”
“What? No. I want to look at them.”
Erin replied absently as Pisces pulled at her sleeve. He squinted at her and then up at the fairies suspiciously.
“Why? They’re just pests.”
She didn’t reply. How he could call the wonderous beings floating abouve his head ‘pests’, Erin had no idea. Like Ceria, there was an otherworldly, unearthly look to the Frost Fairies. They were beautiful as part of the world, but they were mythic, strange and delightful in all the ways they were not part of the world.
“They’re so…magical.”
Erin breathed the words as she stared upwards, entranced. Pisces turned and stared expressionlessly at Erin. She waved a hand at him.
“You don’t count.”
He shook his head.
“Horrible creatures. I don’t know what you see in them.”
“What?”
Finally Erin stopped staring long enough to glare at Pisces. She gestured at the fairies as they flew around, chasing each other and laughing overhead.
“How can you not be amazed by that? Look at them! They look like crystal and—ice come to life! They look exactly like how I imagined fairies would look! How is that horrible?”
Pisces eyed Erin as if she’d lost her wits. He stared upwards, and then spoke in a puzzled voice.
“Fairies? I don’t see any small winged creatures. They just look like fuzzy blobs to me.”
Now it was Erin’s turn to stare at Pisces. She waved a hand in front of his face and he jerked back.
“Stop that.”
“How can you not see them?”
“See what? Those are Winter Sprites. The children call them fairies, but they’re just floating pieces of annoyance. They come around and bring winter and bother people, but that’s all.”
“No, they’re fairies!”
“Are you insane?”
Their argument had attacted the attention of the Frost Fairies above. They flew down towards Erin and Pisces. He yelped and scuttled back towards the door, but Erin remained still. She stared up, eyes shining as a fairy flew down in front of her.
The creature wasn’t like a Human, or even Ceria in terms of anatomy. For one thing, neither humans nor half-elves were made of what looked like fluid ice and pure crystal. But the fairies had different bodies in other ways as well. They had no breasts or other genitalia, and they had two sets of wings, like a dragonfly. In fact, their eyes were pupil-less, much like those insects. But for all of that, they looked like beautiful little girls to Erin.
