The inside was little different than Kari remembered. It had a country inn feel despite its urban location, and its furnishings, while worn, were inviting to the eye. There was a good fire burning in the hearth that served to ward off the chill of the spring afternoon. Kari took in each minute detail as she stood just inside the door, gently scraping her feet on the welcome mat. The wooden chandeliers were extinguished in favor of the strong sunshine that streamed in through the narrow windows on the inn’s northeast side and the broader windows on its southeast side. Most appealing was the scent of roasting game birds wafting from the kitchen, and Kari’s stomach rumbled in anticipation of a proper meal.
It was early in the afternoon, so the common room was empty. Eli looked around while Kari scanned the posting board beside the door. It was covered with bills advertising services or offering payment for them. Kari was glad to see there was little in the way of emergencies: No wanted posters left by the earl or his men; no recruitment notices for mercenary companies; and nothing that suggested there was any sort of unrest outside the city itself. With nothing of interest to see, Kari gestured toward the bar. She ran her fingers across the smooth surface of one of the tables as she and Eli approached and sat down on the bar’s high stools.
Kari remembered Dave and Millie, the innkeepers who had taken such good care of her after the War ended, and how they had tried to refuse payment when all was said and done. Barcon was a primarily human town, and Kari wondered if they had sold the inn to younger humans—perhaps their children or grandchildren. Dave and Millie had looked as though they weren’t too far from retiring three years before.
She remembered ordering a double-godhammer, and the amused reaction she’d gotten. She paused in thought, realizing it had been years since she’d had one of the potent drinks. Normally, the reactions she got suggested people thought she was a drunk, but Kari was satisfied that she wasn’t. Perhaps at one point, she had flirted with being so, back when she was dying of her terminal illness and had to deal with the storm of emotions that caused. But she’d quit drinking when she’d gotten pregnant, and simply hadn't picked the habit back up.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Eli tapping on the bar, but she realized as obnoxious as it was, he was doing it to attract the attention of the innkeeper. It served its purpose, and after only moments, a terra-rir woman of perhaps a few more years than Kari emerged from the back room. Like most of her people, the rir woman had white hair and deep green eyes. Her hair, still vibrant for a woman her age, was braided into a wide tail, and her eyes creased at the corners as she smiled in welcome to her customers. She was middle-aged but still pretty; the signs of a life of toil showed but didn’t spoil her figure or the features of her face.
The innkeeper approached the bar from the other side but stopped when her eyes met Kari’s. The woman put her hand to the end of her snout. “By the gods,” she muttered, loudly enough for her guests to hear, and Kari and Eli exchanged a glance before looking to the woman for some explanation. “You… you’re Karian Vanador, aren’t you?”
Eli chuckled and Kari smiled. While most people knew Kari by name and certainly by reputation, she was often mistaken for a serilian-rir at first. People usually didn’t recognize her until they figured out she was a terra-dracon, either by seeing her teeth or, in rare cases, picking up on other subtle clues, such as the thickness of her wing muscles. With the service Kari had put in as a lieutenant colonel for the Thirty-fifth Light Division during the Apocalypse, most of the people of the southlands were familiar with her name and deeds. Kari assumed she was about to be offered free food and lodgings, as was common for hunters of any rank, especially those held in as high a regard as Kari.
“Sword of the Heavens, by Zalkar’s grace,” Kari finished, smiling. “My companion and I will need rooms for a week or so, and meals to go with them, please.”
The woman continued to stare at Kari, and there was a warmth in her expression that left Kari to wonder. It was all the demonhunter could do not to fidget under the intensity of the woman’s gaze. “You don’t remember me, do you?” the innkeeper asked. “I suppose you wouldn’t; we were never properly introduced. My name is Alyssa Sil’Nurra. We met in the market square a few years ago, when you told me my husband had been killed in the War.”
Kari put her hand to the end of her snout but blinked back the tears that threatened to flow. “Oh, I do remember you,” she whispered. Her mind whirled through the memory of her last trip through Barcon three years before. Alyssa’s daughter had asked Kari for a coin to buy food, and Alyssa had been so apologetic for imposing, despite their obvious need. Her husband, assigned to the Eleventh Light Division that broke the siege of DarkWind, had been killed when the company was wiped out. Kari had given the woman some coins to keep her and her daughter fed while they dealt with the loss. Kari never thought she’d come face to face with Alyssa again, so this chance encounter sent a shiver down her spine.
Alyssa graced Kari with an enchanted, awe-filled smile before she turned to the other door to the back rooms. “Chelsea! Come see who our newest guest is!” she called, then she turned her attention back to her patrons. “Welcome to One Small Favor, lord and lady. Can I get you something to drink before you check in?”
“I’d love a double-godhammer, please,” Kari said almost instinctively, and she had to curb the desire to laugh at herself. “Haven’t had one in ages.”
“Black coffee,” Eli answered in turn, and Alyssa nodded and went to get the hot drink before she would mix Kari’s own beverage.
A terra-rir girl came out of the back, and her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Kari. Chelsea looked like her mother must have when she was a pre-teen, and the girl dashed to the bar and stepped up on a platform behind it so she could meet the guests face-to-face. “You’re that lady that gave mommy all that money, aren’t you?” she gasped.
“That’s me. My name’s Kari.” She didn’t miss the look Eli was giving her. “I take it you’re not begging for apples anymore?”
Chelsea laughed, a high-pitched giggle that soon had Eli chuckling as well. “Not since you gave mommy all that money,” she answered. She turned toward her mother when Alyssa returned with Eli’s hot drink. “Mommy, is the demon-lady staying here?”
“Demonhunter, Chelsea,” Alyssa corrected, blushing somewhat. “Yes, she’s going to be our guest for a week or so. Why don’t you go get washed up, and we’ll see if we have time to share a meal with our guests before the supper crowd comes in, hmm?”
The girl hopped down with an emphatic okay and rushed into the back room. Alyssa placed the coffee before Eli. She then began pulling up bottles from under the bar and mixing Kari’s potent beverage, though she didn’t offer any judgmental looks or comments while she did so. Like Kari remembered Dave doing, Alyssa was quite generous with the drink—especially considering it was made completely of liquor to begin with. Once she’d finished, she slid the drink before Kari, and then poured herself a sampling glass of wine to share with her guests.
“Normally I wouldn’t do this, but to see you again… I enjoy a small glass of wine when I’m feeling thankful to the gods,” Alyssa explained. “I have some fresh turkeys roasting in the back for supper, if either of you are hungry. The supper crowd won’t be in for a couple of hours yet, but the birds are finished cooking, and I have some potato pie and vegetables to go with them. Forgive me if this seems a bit forward, but I would very much like to break bread with you if you’re willing, my lady.”