Part 52: Finding a Place to Sleep

Chapter 5: Finding a Place to Sleep


At least the sun doesn’t set as fast as it did in Shapeir. I sure hope this is the inn, because I do not want to shack up with that Salim hippy.


Welcome Inn

Habari, bwana. Nharak sa’id, effendi. Welcome to the Welcome Inn, son of a sultan. My name is Janna Jamil, which means “beautiful paradise” in Arabic, and I am known as the welcome woman. Kreesha, the mother of magic, has a room for you here. It is the first door on the right after you go up the stairs. I hope it will serve you well. I must return to work now, but if you would like a meal, just take a seat at one of the tables.

Now there’s a welcome welcome woman. I guess this place really doesn’t have an Adventurer’s Guild if they have to put the bulletin board up in the inn.


Looks like Kreesha and Salim both have ads up in here, and even those strange junk dealers got a slip of paper onto the board.. Let’s see these oh-so-important laws…
So even the liontaurs can’t get away without an “everything else” clause. Even with that, though, these laws are far too vague for my liking. What defines “harm?” Do passive enchantments count as magic? How does one prove ownership of an object? What all is entailed in the liontaur’s definition of honor? Bah. At least I don’t have to live here.


Hello, hair of sunshine, what can I do for you?
You could keep me company. Your own hair of mahogany would make quite the contrast to mine if ever their strands were to blend together.
You will melt my heart with such talk, you of the talented tongue. Are you as skilled in deeds as in words?
You are but a simple question away from discovering for yourself. But enough of such talk. What is it that you serve in this place?
Each day, we serve a different main course. All meals come with a salad, vegetables, and warm bread with butter. Just ask for the menu of the day.
Very well, what is on the menu?
Today we have a specialty of this region, Samosa ya Swalla. It is a tasty meat pie made with gazelle.
Sounds delicious. But before I order, I wonder if you could tell me about the inn? Like maybe a little about that clown over there.
Oh, him? He’s just one of the silly clowns from the last game. He, too, has traveled far from home. You should not worry yourself much over the particulars of the inn; Kreesha is paying for all your expenses. From what I hear, however, you might be interested in one of our residents.
Who?
His name is Khatib Mukar’ram, and he was the sole survivor of the peace mission. He was once a brilliant speaker and diplomat for Tarna. Since he returned from the peace mission, though, he has been very ill and seldom speaks.
Where can I find him?
He stays in his room most of the time. Please do not disturb him while he is there. He will occasionally leave to take a meal in the restaurant, and you might talk to him then.
Alright, but I worry about what we might lose by hesitation. Anyway, let’s have that meal now.
I shall bring what you ask right away.

*You enjoy your meal. It was very tasty, if a bit strange.*



Not quite as well furnished as Shameen’s place, but the room is still nice. Things that aren’t considered “critical” by the game can be stored in the trunk, something which will appear in all future games as well.


There’s also a nice view of the moon.



Hey, man, I’ve been thinking about Julanar since you told me about her yesterday. Is there anything else you could tell me about her?
Well, I suppose I could tell you about how I restored her soul. It all began when I asked Aziza about the Fruit of Compassion…

*Seconds Pass*

…So I walked into the desert…

*More Seconds Pass*

…I then gave her water and told her a little about myself…

*Even More Seconds Pass*

…then I gave her a hug and told her her name. Is that enough information?
Sure, man, that sounds totally groovy.


So what’s in this hookah here?
Try it, man, you’ll see. Don’t go overboard, though.
Ah, but it’s not lit? Good thing I’ve got this tinderbox. Now, do I just suck on one of these pipes, or…


WWWoooowwww!!!! Let’s do it again!


OOhhhh WWWooooowwwwwww!!!!!


*You spend the next couple of years sleeping in alleyways and eating out of garbage cans.*



My mom told me to stay away from drugs. Just give me some of your magic feel-good pills and I’ll get going.


Kreesha! Rakeesh? Are you guys in here?
Welcome, Nike. We’re in the back parlor.


Rakeesh & Kreesha

Oh dear. I hope I’m not interrupting something.
Nothing you need to worry about, friend. I’m sorry you had to experience Tarna’s justice in such a manner. Crime is not common here.
Rakeesh and I were just speaking about the pledge of peace and your journey to the Simbani village.
That’s still for tomorrow, right?
Right. I intend to pledge by my honor to bring peace to Tarna. By this act, I hope the Council of Judgment will hold off making any decisions about going to war until we have a chance to do something. I’m hoping we can get the leaders of the Simbani and the Leopardmen to speak before the Hall of Judgement, and thus end forever this talk of war.
What if you can’t bring peace?
I’m certain that with the help of Nike we can bring peace here. He is a true hero, and I am proud he is with us.
Well, I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I do suppose sending an evil wizard to his death is a fairly rare accomplishment.
An accomplishment I fear you may have to top in the coming weeks. If we do fail here, I don’t think I will have time to regret my loss of honor. This will be a very bloody war. If the demons are behind it, few will survive this encounter.
Then I guess we mustn’t fail. What was it like, last time?
The gates of Tarna only close in times of war, and have only done so once in my lifetime, when the hordes of demons attacked. It must have been truly something to see those massive bronze gates opening to reveal the warriors of Tarna. The demon horde was soon driven off by our liontaur fury. Still, I had to give up the throne of Tarna in order to drive the demon wizard from this world. Otherwise, the liontaurs who died driving off the demons from the city would have died in vain. The demons would only have become more powerful, and then attacked Tarna again.
Yes, you told me about why you became a paladin. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you about all this “honor” nonsense.
I suppose the justice of Tarna may not seem harsh at first to an outsider. To call someone honorless is more than just name-calling here. A person judged to be honorless is no longer treated as a living creature. An honorless one is totally ignored, and no one will speak or sell anything to him. The honorless one will have no place to stay, no friends, and no food. Usually, such a one will sneak off with the first caravan that leaves this land. Now, though, there are no caravans because of the war. I feel very sorry for that former thief. He will not survive being honorless for very long.
But how can an entire city function by one set of mores so precisely as to ignore someone so completely when declared so by the ruling council? Surely there must be some sort of underground?
It is not a crime to kill an honorless one.
…Oh.