Bob The Innkeeper

From what Bob understood of the situation, as long as the workers were from the poor section, they didn"t need to be a part of the guild, they only had to purchase the materials from it, since it was the only source of building materials in the city. But even then, the cost of the materials was to be cut in half to ensure that the poor people could afford it. Many of the poor had tried in the past, to build a building and have a business, but it never worked out, because the buildings were torn down and pieced out overnight, leaving the area barren the next morning when the owner showed up.

With the influx of adventurers flooding the area because of Bob, that wasn"t a threat anymore. He had agreed to help a man who used to make ropes open a very small shop, Martha wanted a new location that was more secure, another man came forward hoping to open a farrier"s business, and several women wanted to open a candle shop. Bob could see all of those businesses helping the poor, and the adventurers, and agreed readily. He knew the more businesses that opened up here, the more upset n.o.ble people would become, and it tickled him to think about it.

Hector came into the inn, and spied him behind his new bar, arranging the new bottles of alcohol he had purchased from local vendors. They had been more than happy to sell to him, when they heard the quant.i.ty he was wanting of the various things, and had sent shipments over right then and there.

"Bob, I just heard from Paul, at the clerk"s office, and apparently all of the permits you requested went through. Clark is going to be the laughing stock of the whole city!" he exclaimed, beaming happily as he handed over the rolled parchments with the confirmations.

"How"s Lord Winston doing?" asked Bob, taking them from his dad and setting them on an empty shelf for the moment.

"Lord Winston? Alright, I guess? Why?" asked his dad, confused by the question.

"I just heard some strange news that he was bothering Aunt Georgianna and my cousin because they were trying to sell alchemical items outside of the city, to avoid the taxes he had gotten pa.s.sed on them."

"I heard they had a store they had opened just outside of town, but I thought that was because the boy wanted to be closer to his wife"s family. I don"t deal much with alchemical stuff. It"s too easy for people to see you as a warlock or a witch, and then you get the paladins involved and all they ever want to do with you, is burn you at the stake."

Bob smiled at his dad"s disgruntled shake of his head and said, "You mean they don"t make a bridge out of them?"

"What?" his dad asked, not having heard him.

"Nothing, it was just a joke I heard one time. Anyways, thanks for bringing these to me. I haven"t had a moment to do much. It seems there"s been too many other things going on."

"Look, I have a question. Some of the people on the streets have been talking about something that I would like to get cleared up. Did you have a lich and a dragon come in here earlier?"

Bob laughed at the concerned look on his dad"s face.

"Dad, I"m safe here. There"s no way anyone could try anything with all of the adventurers that are around. How are Leo and Zach doing for you? The dizziness and shortness of breath starting to fade?"

"They"ve been paid and released. I told them I was feeling much better. I haven"t had any issues since lunch, and with all the walking I"ve been doing, I would have thought I would be worse."

Bob nodded, knowing that the two were over in a corner discussing their next move. They had spotted the moonflower mission and were trying to decide if it was worth the time it would take to fetch one.

"Why don"t you have a seat and I"ll make you a drink? I know that you used to like drinking these when you and mom were courting," he said, turning to the bottles behind him.

"How would you know that?" his dad grumbled, sitting down at one of the stools. Several adventurers were watching like hawks. Bob had told them he wasn"t going to start serving drinks until that evening, when he got his gla.s.ses delivered.

"Mom told me when I was younger," he lied, keeping his back turned to his father, so he wouldn"t notice the struggle he had saying that.

Setting a gla.s.s down in front of his father, he watched him sniff it before taking a sip.

"It smells like cherries, but has a faint taste of roses. How did you pull off a Cherry Rose?" he asked setting the drink down with a somber look. "No one"s been able to make one of these in years, at least, not since old Dave died."

"I took lessons once I decided to have a bar. I can make all sorts of drinks, as long as I have the stuff for it."

"You"re going to make more money than me, son. I"m really proud of you."

Bob c.o.c.ked his head to the side and smiled at his dad. He knew that his dad loved him, but this was something he had wanted to hear for a long time. Who knew it took alcohol to get it?

"Did you hear that Lord Winston"s daughter was arrested?" asked an adventurer to another, from across the room.

"Which one?" asked the other adventurer.

"The oldest, Lily, I think her name was. She"s being held at the City Lord"s personal jail."

"That"s insane. Any idea what she was arrested for?"

"I heard she was a witch, but I"m not sure. The guy who told me was pretty drunk this morning."

"This morning? Sure he was drunk?"

"Oh yes! He still had the bottle of wine in his hand. He claimed he was one of the guys who arrested her, and that he would never get some of those images out of his head."

Bob watched his father staring into his drink, lost in memories, and smiled at several of the adventurers as they came forward.

"Are you serving drinks yet? We know you said it wouldn"t be until later, but we just saw you give that guy one…" said one of the big guys in full plate armor.

"If I have the ingredients, I am open for business."

The next couple of hours were filled with serving ale and making drinks. Once they realized he could make them, there was a huge interest in seeing how many different ones he could make. He made over twenty different kinds before his dad got up and left.

Not two minutes after his dad"s departure, a town crier ran into the inn, and began shouting that the king had arrived in town early. The festival that was supposed to start in a week would be starting tomorrow, and everyone in the inn began to cheer. The town crier was grabbed up and sat at the bar, where two different drinks were placed before him, and a platter of roast meat and potatoes from the kitchen. The young man looked at them in amazement, and began to chow down before they were taken away.

In the back Royce crowed in delight, claiming he finally had his song done, but he wouldn"t sing it until he had been fed and given a drink as well.

"It"s custom to treat the bard with a drink before he sings, and never to let his cup run dry until he finishes!" cried Bob, to the laughs and cheers from the crowd of adventurers.

A mug filled to the brim with dark stout ale was place before the bard, and as he lifted it to drink, a second platter with roast and potatoes appeared. They didn"t give him but five minutes to eat and drink as much as he could before they started demanding he sing his song.

Clearing his throat after a hearty chug of ale, he picked up his lyre and began to sing his song.

"She sat at the table, gazing at him. Fire danced in her eyes as she sat so prim. The hint of color to her fair hair, told of things incredibly rare!"

The adventurers quieted down to listen, and he jumped up onto his chair for the next verse.

"His laugh was odd, a sound that brought chills. No one could doubt, this guy had many kills! Who could have guessed they were old friends? A dragon and a lich, a pair no cleric could cleanse!"

There were some laughs as a couple of clerics looked at each other in annoyance. They had missed the pair, but it was obvious they had heard of the two.
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"Could it be fate? That brought them here? Bob"s bar and inn, a safe place to drink beer! Though the dragon was fare and the lich not gross, none could see through their illusions, nor draw close. They sat and chatted for hours on end, making many wonder if they were more than just friends.

"Her eyes seemed to glow and his seemed so dull, but that"s what happens when you have fire and death in your soul. Many would think a lich quite evil, though when he came to the bar, he was actually quite civil!"

Bob spied Alastair sidle past the adventurers and sit in an empty seat, giving him a wide grin.

"Enjoying the magic I placed on your place?" she asked.

"Yes, actually. I"m afraid to ask how much I owe you for it though."

She laughed softly and looked around. "Consider it an early birthday present. I hope you make it another year. With that power growth, there"s going to be a lot of interest in you."