Selie nodded along as Donovan talked. She had heard of all of the lands that the swordswoman spoke of, and indeed had studied them in detail, though had only visited a few. The eastern lands in particular were a location that Selie had yet to have the pleasure of visiting; maybe she could ask Donovan for more details, when they had the time. Then again, Selie reminded herself, she should probably first focus on completing her original mission first, before worrying about matters outside of the country. Regardless, Donovan was still speaking, so Selie put the matter out of her mind for now.
"I've traveled all over this country, different parts of this continent, but I hardly ever get to stay in one place for more than a couple days. I just follow the money."
Selie listened in silence, looking at her bodyguard out of the corner of her eye. The hooded girl’s mouth started to open, before slowly drifting shut. She had been on the cusp of remarking that it sounded like quite a lonely way to live: never truly setting any roots, always making friends just to lose contact with them, forever wondering if any of the friends you do make are even still alive. It didn’t sound like the kind of life Selie would want to go through. But who was she to make a comment like that? Donovan looked fairly content, like she wouldn’t want it to be any other way. Maybe things make more sense to Selie after travelling with the sell-sword for a while, though a part of the girl had doubts.
By now, dawn was well and truly approaching, the stars fading away to make room for the light of day. A part of Selie felt some kind of guilt at the idea going to bed at the start of the day, though her drooping eyelids helped to clear such thoughts out of the way. Of course, while the two runaways were just thinking about going to sleep, the rest of the village was only just starting to wake up. Shops were opening their doors, the town’s meagre law-enforcement were beginning their rounds, and a least a few people we already gathering next to the town’s well. None of the villagers looked too surprised or disturbed at the sight of the two riders; being so close to the capital must have meant that the small hamlet wasn’t a stranger to visitors.
It wasn’t long before Selie and Donovan had found the small town’s inn. The large building looked so old and weathered that Selie wouldn’t have doubted that the place had been around since the village’s inception. It thankfully came with its own stall being horses, which the twosome steered their horses towards. As they approached, Donovan turned with a grin to Selie.
"Here we are, Miss Asher. Let's hope they have a room with two beds for us."
“Hmm. Let’s hope.” Selie nodded, somewhat uncertainly. If she was being honest, a part of her was hoping they could snag two separate rooms, since Selie wasn’t exactly used to sleeping with others being in the room with her. While it would be more expensive, and it would probably throw more suspicion on her, Selie wouldn’t deny that she was prepared to make the sacrifice if it meant increased privacy.
Regardless, soon they both had their horses tied and secure at the stall. Selie patted Alexander’s neck fondly as she dismounted, though her eyes caught something as she hopped off the stallion’s back. Namely, that there were quite a few other horses already resting at the stall, all looking freshly covered in dirt from the roads. The stall was nearly at capacity there were some many of the beasts resting in the small space. This didn’t bode well…
Misgivings aside, both Selie and Donovan made their way around the building to it’s entrance, pushing their way inside. The inn’s sign, proudly displaying the name ‘The Nobel’s Retreat,’ swung slight as they stepped into the building.
The inn’s interior was fairly murky, with all of the buildings candles and lights extinguished and the dull light of morning doing a poor job at illuminating the space. A scattered collection of chairs and tables dominated one side of the room, with a small bar situated at the very back of the space. The furniture looked like it had seen better days, being made of chipped and well marked wood, and some chairs looked about ready to just collapse under the few patrons that were up at this early hour. Selie’s eyes however focused on other feature of the room, the huge desk placed right next to the building’s staircase.
The woman behind the front desk yawned as Selie and Donovan approached, making only a token effort to cover her mouth. The brunette’s eyes looked so bleary that Selie wondered if she had only just woken up a second ago, or if she had also gone the entire night without rest. In either case, the woman didn’t look too enthusiastic to greet her new guests, only managing a small nod as Selie stepped forth.
“Salutations!” Selie waved, forcing some energy into her voice. “As odd as a request as it might be, my companion and I were looking for some lodging for the, uh, day. I don’t suppose you have any rooms available?”
If the woman thought that it was a strange request, she didn’t make any comment on it being so. In fact, all she did was silently reach for a huge ledger, flick through several pages, and run her finger down its worn pages. Selie continued to smile hopefully, though she was starting to be a bit put off by the woman’s continued silence.
After what felt like several seconds too long, the inn’s proprietress looked up.
“We have a room available.”
“…As in a room? A single room?” Selie’s fingers drummed along the desk’s top as she gave the woman a sceptical look. “What happened to all the other rooms?”
“Big band of travellers came here just a night ago, all wanted separate rooms. Staying for a few days. Had coin and big weapons, so I didn’t argue.” The woman shrugged. “Do you want the room or not?”
“I…” Selie hesitated. Looking increasingly concerned, she asked, “Is it a room with a single bed?”
The woman was silent for a moment, glancing between Selie and Donovan for a few moments. After a few seconds, something seemed to click for her, and she nodded in understanding.
“You’re in luck; it’s got a single bed and is the room with the thickest walls. Make as much a noise as you want.”
“I-what?” Selie did a double take, blinking in confusion. “’Noise?’”
The woman shrugged, eyes still thoroughly neutral.
“We don’t judge here at The Nobles Retreat. Discreetness is in the name.”
Selie was about to demand a straight answer, before sighing. She didn’t understand what was happening here, but she was far too tried. She would just have to let the matter rest.
“Fine, we’ll take the room.”
After exchanging the coin necessary (and a little extra, with the instructions that the woman ‘forget’ that they were ever at the inn), Selie took the key for their new lodgings.
Turning back to Donovan, Selie suddenly found it pretty difficult to meet the swordswoman’s eyes.
“So…I suppose…Err…” Selie struggled for a second, before settling on, “I hope you have an idea of how this is supposed to work?”