THE MORNING AFTER
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys, Author here, I would be making a few changes in the story so it would fit the requirements for my contract. Don't worry, it's nothing major that would affect the story, just a few changes to the name of some items, so you don't have to read the whole story again. And yes, you read that right. Thanks to your undying support, WebNovel has offered me a contract for Living armor owns a tavern, so cheers to you guys! I would like to take this opportunity to thank my readers for giving my story a chance to grow and improve. Hopefully, this contract would help me improve my story and entertain you guys even more. Again, Thank you Very much! Now, back to our story!
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Rhoanne woke up and found herself suffering from a massive hangover. She found herself staring at a ceiling which she hasn't seen before. She was embraced with a warm and subtle yellow light that illuminated the room partially. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't remember what happened last night. The last thing she remembered before she passed out, was giving a toast to everybody before they leave for Tenrocks city.
"Boss!... Urgh..."
As she looked around for the whereabouts of her employer, she heaved a sigh of relief as she saw him sleeping soundly on a bed next to her. Not a moment sooner, hunger and thirst crawled up her neck.
"Ahaha... Ouch... I guess I was wrong,"
A memory of her bragging to Nico and Gus has immediately entered her mind. She laughed and came to admire the green-fairy drink that was on the bedside table. No alcoholic bottle has ever conquered Rhoanne the Adventurer. Back in Tenrocks City's Adventurer's Guild, she is known for drinking every single alcoholic bottle known to the land of Circa with ease. Her empty bottles were beautifully displayed inside the Guild, where it became a popular conversation piece for the adventurers to talk about.
"Boss! Wake up!"
"Urghh... My head... Rhoanne?"
Nico slowly opened his eyes, pain and discomfort have made its way to his head. Simply put, he woke up with a massive hangover.
"Yes, It's me."
"Where are we? Is it Morning already?"
Nico also wondered where he was since this is the first time he has ever laid eyes on this room.
He doesn't even remember how he got here in the first place.
"I'm not sure Boss, I woke up in this same room with you."
"I need water and food,"
"You and me both Boss, let's get out of here."
Not a moment sooner, their stomachs started rumbling and their bodies demanded water.
Alcohol is a diuretic. It causes your body to remove fluids from your blood through your renal system, at a much faster rate than any other liquids. Combined with sweating and vomiting, which also contributes to loss of body fluids, It is no mystery for a person to develop a mild case of dehydration after a night of hard-drinking. Simply put, they didn't drink enough water with alcohol.
As they got out of bed, they noticed that the room was unlike any other room they stayed at.
there were round glass-like things that emitted a brighter light than candles or lanterns.
Rhoanne and Nico admired the beauty of a rustic-modern earth lampshade. Mirrored Sliding doors replaced the conventional cabinets. The mirrors in Circa were only hand mirrors which symbolizes the owner's wealth and status. Mirrors large enough to reflect the whole body were totally unheard of, yet here it is installed on a sliding door right beside the door.
As they exit the door, they saw a hallway full of doors completely identical to the door of their room. The Hallway has been carpeted throughout. They noticed that the doors were labeled differently by embossing a different number on each door. Nico and Rhoanne have safely assumed that they ended up sleeping inside an Inn which they have never stayed at before. Suddenly, a small person came out from one of the identical doors.
"Aahh! There's Mister Nico and Elder Sister Rhoanne!"
Little Sage came running to her Elder Sister Rhoanne. As she was about to hug her, she immediately stopped running midway as her nostrils enlarged and face turned sour.
"Pee--yoo! You guys stink!"
Little Sage pinched her nose as she complained about their combined stench of alcohol and sweat.
Rhoanne felt disappointed since she was denied a hug from one of her favorite children, Little Sage.
A moment later, Sarah and the rest of the children have also appeared in the same hallway. They came out of the different rooms simultaneously.
"Ahahaha! The room is fun!"--
"Did you see the other you in your room as well?!--
"The beds are really bouncy! I can jump on them forever!"--
"I wonder if I can take this blanket home with me"--
While the children were all talking excitedly about their rooms, Sarah decided to talk to Nico and Rhoanne.
"My Goodness! Are you two alright?"
Sarah noticed their bloodshot eyes with a stench of vomit, sweat, and alcohol. She couldn't help but worry for her friends.
"We'll be fine. We just need to eat and we are definitely good!"
Rhoanne kept rubbing her belly as her thirst and hunger intensifies even more.
"No, we're not fine with just food Rhoanne, we definitely need a hot bath after breakfast!"
Nico reminded his bodyguard that they seriously need to take a bath. Ever since Little Sage made a stinky comment about them, He became more conscious of his appearance. After all, he is a proud merchant, so he doesn't want to ruin his professional demeanor.
As they made their way to the stairs, everyone paused as they heard two people conversing with each other in one of the rooms. Their voices were getting louder as they heard them made their way to the door.
"Sir Molt! How is your chest?"---
"It's fine. I don't understand it either, I can't find a single bruise on my body and I don't feel pain anywhere! How about you Rita, any injuries?"---
"I'm fine sir, Judging from the mysterious things in the room, we should be in a sorcerer's home, he must have used magic to illuminate the room. Is he the one that saved us?---
"We should think about that later, Deputy Daniel is still Missing! We should ask this sorcerer of yours if he knows anything about Daniel's whereabouts."---
Their door flung open in front of Nico and everybody else.
As Rita laid eyes on Rhoanne and Nico, she was surprised to recognize these two individuals in front of her.
"Y..You! You guys are supposed to be dead!" Rita pointed her finger at the confused Merchant duo.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you Miss, but as you can see, we're still alive and well. You clearly must be talking about someone else. I'm sorry, who might you be?"
Nico believed that this is the first time they met. He was curious about her question that made him think that something happened last night.
"No... I can never forget a face and the clothes you were wearing. Both of you were sprawled on the ground just outside the dungeon!"
Nico and Rhoanne shuddered as they remembered some of the shameful events that led them there.
"Ahh... that. I'm sorry, we might have confused you with that situation. We have been drinking heavily last night, and clearly we have lost consciousness somewhere outside the dungeon entrance."
Nico answered promptly as he himself were not sure of the details that occurred last night.
"They do reek of alcohol Rita, judging from their appearance, they are telling the truth."
Sheriff Molt doesn't need to use Rita's ability to tell if they were lying, Molt has already experienced a fair share of being drunk himself.
Sherrif Molt's comment made Nico even more conscious. If he were not dying of thirst and hunger, he would have taken a bath right away.
"Hello, Elder Sister, my name is Little Sage! Did you sleep here as well?"
"Urm... Hello... M..my name is Rita, little one."
Rita was not used to handling children, since her childhood comprised of swordplay and lessons from the clergy which prepared her for high positions such as church, state or commercial affairs.
"You have a beautiful sword there elder sister! what is it called? it's so thin!"
Gretel and Cindy couldn't help but admire her rapier which bears her family crest.
Since Griffin wanted to be a Knight, there was no way he is not familiar with Phanzal City's Sheriff Molt and his exploits. Griffin and Ray asked all sorts of questions which Molt happily replied to.
As they went down the stairs together to look for some food and answers, they saw the clay Golem Amanda sweeping the floor so earnestly.
"Good Morning Dear Guests, Master has kindly paid for everyone's room. Please follow me, as the payment includes a complimentary breakfast from this establishment.