Ronny’s next order of business was to find the inn that he’d been told about. The receptionist at the Guild had warned him to avoid it if possible, but with one silver, he didn’t really have a choice. It was close to his job, so getting there should have been easy, but the task proved difficult. It was less than a mile away but despite the proximity, it’s location in the rundown side of the city, tucked away somewhere in a narrow alleyway hid the place well.

It took more than an hour to find it, but he eventually stumbled upon a rusted placard upholstered by broken chain. “Alice’s Inn” was the name, and it was supposedly the cheapest place to stay in the whole city.

A brief look at the place told him why. Other than the sign, there was nothing to suggest that the place was somewhere people could reside. The surrounding alley was covered in filth—something evidenced by the occasional rat running by—and the inn itself wasn’t much better. Most of the few windows it had were broken, and occasional rusty metal sheets in the place of bricks suggested that there’d been damage.

In his previous life, Ronny would have deemed the place unfit for living—at any price, but it was more appealing than the streets. Maybe. The old, wooden door squeaked loudly as he opened it. Inside, the place was much the same as the exterior. It looked abandoned and yet, sitting in a chair by the stairwell was a young woman.

“Umm… hello. Is this ‘Alice’s Inn’?” A rat scuttled across the floor, and the woman stomped down it with deadly accuracy.

She put a book she was reading aside, “Yeah. Good to meet you. Are you here to stay?” Her voice was articulate, like a politician’s.

“Yes. If there’s vacancy.”

She laughed, “Look around, this place is a dump. Of course there’s vacancy! Nobody should stay here if they can help it.”

“That’s a bold thing to say about the place you work.”

“I’m Alice. I own the place, so I can say what I like.” She smiled, “Plus, just looking at you makes it pretty clear that you don’t belong in a place like this. Did you fall on hard times?”

“Something like that. I can’t say a lot about it, besides that I’m more poor than I’d like to be.”

“Aren’t we all? It’s ten silver a night.”

“Oh…” Ronny shifted uncomfortably, “I uh, well I’ve only got one.”

“Oh…” Alice sighed, “I can tell that you aren’t a junkie or a criminal, and from the way you talk, I’m guessing you’re somewhat educated. Because of all that, I’ll make you a deal. You can stay here if you help me maintain the place. Hell, I can feed you too, why not.”

“Yes, of course I’ll take you up on that! I’m be indebted to you.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. There’s a lot of work to be done.

There was indeed a lot of work to be done, and that was in addition to his work in the guild. Even so, it was stupid not to accept those terms. If his living expenses were covered, a meager salary could stretch a long way. I did worry a tad though, Ronny had never had a job before today; and, now he had two. He wasn’t used to working, so it’d be a big adjustment.

“Well where should I begin?” Ronny was eager to please.

“Tomorrow, no need to be in a rush. Let’s just have dinner and call it a day.”

Ronny nodded and followed her into a kitchen, which unsurprisingly, was just as dilapidated as the everything else. It probably wasn’t entirely safe to eat anything made there, but Ronny kept quiet about any concerns he might have had.

Alice opened a dusty pantry and from it, pulled out a hardened loaf of spread. She split it in two, giving half to Ronny and half to herself. She then sat down, and he did the same. Ronny looked on with a blank expression as he took a bite. It smelled like nothing and tasted like nothing. Getting through their loaf took a while, small as it was. Chewing such an item thoroughly enough to swallow was an ordeal.

After their ‘meal’, Alice leaned forward a little, “So you’re obviously down on your luck right now. Mind if I pry a little?”

“Sure, I guess I can tell you some of it,” I really hoped he wasn’t dumb enough to reveal the truth about his situation, “I’m from a place far, far away. Far enough that you probably wouldn’t have heard of it.”

“What’s it called?”

“North Carolina, it's... an Island far from this place.”

“Yeah, never heard of it. How’d you end up here then?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I was kidnapped from my homeland by a slave trader and while he was sailing, the ship crashed. I guess I just drifted over here?” That was an amusing way to put it. And it was technically true.

Alice furrowed her brow, clearly bemused, “I see.” She didn’t believe such a tale. Ronny was a chubby man, clearly well fed. Furthermore, his clothes were in good condition—better than what a slave would get. Nobody in their right mind would take his story at face value. Regardless of doubts, she didn’t voice her suspicion, “You speak well. Are you literate?”

“Yes.” In addition to being from a modern world where literacy was a given, Ronny’s mother was a world-class novelist. He was quite literate.

“But you held as a slave?”

“It’s a long story… is literacy rare here?”

She put a hand on her chin, “Not really, but in poorer areas where people struggle just to survive, it can be.”

“I guess that makes sense. What about you though? Weren’t you reading a book when I got here?”

“Well I’m not from this area. Believe it or not, I’m from the first ring. Going to school as a child is a given there.”

“Oh wow,” Ronny didn’t know exactly what ‘the first ring’ was, but from context, it was probably a wealthier area than this, “How’d you end up over here then?”

“I’d wanted to own an inn since I was little. This was the only place I could afford.”

“But isn’t your family wealthy?”

“Sure, but I didn’t get the inheritance. Everything went to my older sister—who really doesn’t care for me.” She shrugged, “So I had to work at someone else’s tavern for a few years to afford this place.” Ronny was impressed. In his past life, if he wanted something, he would just buy it. She looked to be about the same age as him, but mentally, he felt that she was much older. “What about you, what’s your profession—if you have one, that is.”

“Well I just made it to the city today. I joined up with the guild, and I’m working on fortifying the city walls now.”

“That was a smart move. The guild offers good upward mobility, even for a foreigner like yourself. What rank did they give you?”

He pulled the rank plate from under his shirt—where he was hiding it because of the negative comments he’d gotten earlier, “Wood.”

“I see… well hopefully you can work your way up the ranks in time.” Alice smiled, not out of amusement, but goodwill.

“Yeah…” Ronny was beginning to think it was best to dodge the question going forward.

After a short silence, Alice stood up. “Well how about I show you to your room?”

He nodded and followed to the foyer and then up the stairwell. It creaked as the ascended the steps. The inn was small, with only two rooms on a floor, but tall. There were ten floors total, and his room was on the ninth.

“I’m on the floor above, just give me holler if you need anything,” said Alice as she handed him the key.

“Will do. Thanks for everything, Alice.” With that, she left Ronny to his own devices. He opened the door and checked out his new living space.

It was a futon in a small, empty room. The thin plaster that covered the walls was cracked in parts, leaving many bricks exposed and the floor’s wooden planks were dirtied with scuff marks.

On the bright side, he had a window—which opened into a wall of bricks on the other side of the alleyway. He could still use it for ventilation though. Being high in the building also came with the advantage of being harder for vermin to reach, so that was a plus.

Exhausted from his guild work, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep immediately.