After a restful night in Shandar's Tower, the company is teleported by the wizard back to the spot on the road where they had used the Stone of Recall. The companions, now numbering four, walk toward the Teshford Arms.
Stago asks, "Isn't that the Red Rock Inn?"
Elessaria answers, "No, that's the Teshford Arms."
"Where is the Red Rock Inn?"
Routunious answers, "Other side of town."
Stago continues, "Aren't we supposed to go to the Red Rock Inn?"
Elessaria gives him a stern look and motions for him to keep his voice low. Then she says, "We are, to get information to Randal Morn, but as of yet we don't have any information to give."
"Oh."
"And," Routunious interjects, "We've already paid for our rooms here in advance. I'd recommend stopping in, and consider our options in relative comfort before we strike out again. We may also want to extend our reservations by another ten-day as we don't know how long these investigations are going to take...but with each passing hour the story seems to become more complicated."
The party enters the Teshford Arms. The day clerk employed by Olavia, a mousy little fop named Eb Farnum, has eyes that nearly pop out of his head at the sight of them.
Farnum stammers, "The travellers have...have returned! What a joy it is...to see you here again...when these troubled times might stack the odds against your safe return so considerably!"
"The road has not gotten the best of us yet," Routunious says.
"And yet," Farnum says cautiously, "I see that your number is diminished since last you left our premisis. I hope that some dire calamity has not reduced your number permanently? Perhaps you are no longer in need of all of your rooms?"
Elessaria, who has little patience for the wordy clerk's banter, interjects, "We are all of us, hale and whole and we would like to not only keep the rooms we have already paid for, but to extend the rental of those rooms for another full 10-day."
"I see, I see," stammers Farnum, "That would be perfect, and we're as fortunate to have you under our roof as you are to still be hale and whole, as you say, and payment can be made in advance, as is the custom?"
"Yes," Routunious says, sliding a small stack of gold coins to him. Farnum quickly pockets the coins as the company begins to walk past him to their rooms.
Farnum shouts, "Oh, no, you can't go to your rooms at the moment."
"May we ask why?" Elessaria asks with an icy tone.
"I need time to, uh, get the rooms ready. We've simply been over-run with business today and the staff, which by staff, I mean me. I need to change the linens and beat the mattresses to ensure that no vermin have infested the rooms while you left them vacant."
Elessaria sighs, "Very well, we will return for supper this evening. For now we'll venture into the town." The party turns to leave. As they exit the inn, a man stands and follows them to the door, watching from the steps as they head toward the river ford. Elessaria halts the party, sensing something. They turn around in the road and look back at the man who is watching them.
This goes on for a long while, then, Elessaria says, "Let him watch." She turns and continues on her way. After a moment's hesitation, the rest of the party follows her.
Stago asks, "What are we going to do?"
Elessaria responds, "Go into town, check out the ruined temple."
"Oh. Well, we could try going to the Red Rock Inn."
"We still don't have anything to tell Loudon the Cooper."
"Oh," Stago says, momentarily defeated. Brightening, he says, "What time is sundown, anyway?"
Elessaria says, "In six or seven hours."
Stago says, "Well, that's plenty of time to explore a burned down church. Let's go!"
Inside the inn, Farnum watches as the zhent agent comes back inside and sits by the fire. The two exchange a knowing nod, then Farnum snaps his fingers and a hunchbacked, slack jawed, clubfooted woman shuffles up to him with a look of mild terror on her face.
"Jewel," Farnum says to her, "I never would have placed a single coin on those green adventurers coming back to stay a second night.""Nuh...nuh....No, sir." She stutters.
"And I thought to myself, the rooms are paid for in advance and there's no reason not to let them again when their cold bodies are sleeping out in the woods somewhere and can't take advantage of the comforts of our accomodations in any respect."
"Smuh...Smuh....Smahrt business, Mr. Farnum."
"And now...instead of double the profit, we've got double the occupancy and I have to figure out how to get the merchants who've been double booked in those rooms out before these greenswords come back for dinner."
"Miss...Misss...Olaaaahvia ain't going to like you double booking the rooms and pocketing the extra money."
"No...you have, my humpbacked and clubfooted char woman, precisely pinpointed my problem."
"Thahhh...Thahhh...That's a problem alright."
"Solve it for me, would you?" Farnum says, returning to his seat behind the counter and the bottle of whisky he keeps there. Jewel looks sadly at Eb, who ignores her, then looks just as sadly up the stairs to the rooms. Slowly, she clumps her way up to evict the merchants trying to come up with some story along the way by which they will leave the inn without a refund, which she knows Eb will never give them.
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