Chapter 8: Going alone (2)

"Hmmm... Any places to stay the night in... I can recommend you a few inns where you can stay in for a few days." The shopkeeper answered to Kyle's question with a thoughtful expression.

"Thank you sir. What can you recommend me?" Kyle asked back happily as he had a relieved expression, since he was worried that he would have to sleep on the streets and he had no knowledge of the current season and temperatures.

"If you want a place that is safe, secure and comfortable to stay the night, I would highly recommend the Sleeping Beauty's Inn and the Nightly Jester's Inn as a close second. The only downside with them is their prices, since those are the most expensive inns to stay in. Or if you want a big or popular place to stay in, the King's Rest Inn would probably be your best bet, but chances are that it's full of nobles and guards who are staying the night here before leaving. If you, instead, want a place where it's quiet and without many people, the Comfy Swallow Inn is probably your best option. And as a bonus, that place also has a homely atmosphere, something which the others don't have." The shopkeeper explained for a while as he sat down on a chair to explain that.

"Thank you very much sir for your help." Kyle thanked the shopkeeper as he bowed down to express his gratitude.

"Come on kid, you are making me blush, no need to thank me. Back to the topic, Sleeping Beauty and the Nightly Jester are a couple of blocks to the north, while the King's Rest is just a couple of streets down to the east and the Comfy Swallow is on the opposite direction of the King's Rest, but you have to walk down the entire road to reach it. Anyways, get going now since I have to close shop for the night."

"Good night sir and thank you, once again." After Kyle said that, he left the clothing store and started walking towards the Comfy Swallow Inn. The King's Rest was out of the question, since it was full of nobles and the Sleeping Beauty and Nightly Jester were also slightly far and he wasn't sure if he could find them immediately, also the fact that those were expensive places didn't give him any incentives to choose them as the best place to stay the night in, so that left him with one option.

After spending around twenty minutes of walking and asking for directions, he finally stops in front of a building with a bird sign on the side. From the bird sign, Kyle easily figured out that this was probably the Comfy Swallow that he was looking for, despite the fact that he could not read any of the letters in front.

The moment he entered in, he was greeted with a pretty empty reception room. Since it was night time, he wasn't really expecting the reception to be crowded, but he hoped that there would have been an attendant behind the desk, at least. As for the interior, he didn't have much to say, wooden flooring, tables and chairs on each side of the room, as well a couple of staircases and other doors that probably led to supply or staff rooms.

Once he stopped in front of the desk, he decided to ring on the nearby bell and before long, someone came from the room behind the desk. The person who came out was an elderly man with white hair and a wrinkly face and once the old man stopped right in front Kyle, he asked with a soft tone:

"Welcome to the Comfy Swallow young man. How can I assist you?"

"I would like to stay the night here." Kyle answered while feeling slightly nervous.

"Understood, do you have companions with you or anyone else who might be joining you?"

"No, I don't have anyone like that." Kyle shook his head as he answered the old man's question.

"Room for one it is. Just write your name down on the application, the room that you want and add your signature at the bottom." The old man then passed a yellowish sheet of paper that said: "Room Application Form". After he wrote down his name, room and signature, he then passed the paper on the old man, who in return said:

"That will be 120 Til young man." At that moment, Kyle then took out a couple of small silver coins and asked:

"Is this enough?"

"More than enough, here's your change and let me get you your room key quickly." After the old man took the coins, he went to the wall with the keys, took one of them and then gave to him, as well as eight big copper coins. As he saw the copper coins, it also confirmed for Kyle that 1 Til is probably 1 small copper coin, a big copper is 10 Til and 1 small silver coin is 100.

After taking the change and key, he first put the money away and then checked on the key's number, which was 107. Then, he said "good night" and then upstairs to go inside his room and before long, he found room 107 at the deepest corner of the second floor.

Once he entered into the room, he saw that it was a pretty small room, but it was a pretty cozy room, similar to the living room in his old house and he couldn't help tear up a bit as he doing this comparison. After wiping his tear away, he quickly sat down on the bed and decided that he needed to plan for his future, and fast.

He was in a new world. He didn't have any experience with the way the world worked, so he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have any knowledge of any other people to help him either. The only things he had was some money, an insignia and his ability to cast dark magic. In the end, Kyle couldn't help but exhale slowly in frustration, as he was thinking on his current situation. He could either try to find his bearings first and then figure things from there, or he could try find a job and then get information as he worked, but he quickly chose the first option, since he had money and he didn't know what kind of jobs would be available, so it was uncertain if he would be able to find any of the jobs he was familiar with. Also he needed to know more about this world, how it works and maybe even a way back.

As he was trying to think of a plan though, he wished that he could go home, talk with his mom and dad once more, just asking about their day, to kick back and relax after completing his homework. But all of that was a luxury he could no longer afford and deep down, he knew all that and because of that, he broke into tears as he dug his head inside the pillow and let all of sorrow out.