[Mkguild] Fwd: My next RR part (+ revision)

[Rimme the Weasel]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rimme the Weasel <ontherimme at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: My next RR part (+ revision)
To: Kamau Lyon <kamau.lyon at gmail.com>


Thanks for the information. I like the idea a lot; it makes more sense for
an inn to provide communal rooms rather than single rooms to strangers;
it's a bit closer to the historical reality. I'm glad, in hindsight, I
didn't include the process of Reed and Aldwin booking a room, as I had
attempted in one of my drafts.

There's no need for them to have a room all to themselves though
(especially at their price range), and there's a lot more potential for
interaction if they're in a common room with others. So here's a revision
of the scene, to take into account the new information (and to incorporate
it into the story itself, which I much prefer over wikis):

----

"Here is the common room for travelers and teamsters," the child owner of
the Companion Hearth Inn said as he reached the top of the stairs, just one
floor above the inn's dining hall. "I understand you both came from the
Jolly Collie. Most inns here don't have a common sleeping quarters like we
do. Since the last assault, we've rented most of our single rooms here to
the people who lost their homes. I hope that won't be a problem for you."

"Not at all, Darion," Reed said, looking around the room. There were
several bedrolls and pallets laying along the walls and near the center.
Most of their occupants were absent, probably out for dinner or a drink.
Only three people were present, a large man facing away from them
apparently trying to sleep, and a man and woman huddled together in the
corner, thankfully with their clothes still on. "This will do just fine."

How anyone could sleep through the chatter and clanking downstairs was
beyond Aldwin. The man and woman looked up briefly and smiled to the two
new guests, before gazing back to each other's eyes. Aldwin crossed over to
the far wall, where windows overlooked the main street. The lamps had
already been lit. High above, in the darkening sky, he could just make out
the shadows of various flying nocturnal morphs going for an early evening
flight.

"Over there," Darion pointed down the near wall; just behind a column was a
door. "That also leads to a communal room. A bit quieter and darker, if
you'd prefer not to be facing the street."

"We'll see how this works out first," Reed said quietly, mindful of the
present company. He fished out a silver coin and gave it to Darion, who
nodded with a smile.

"Dinner service has already started, so feel free to come down once you're
situated." Darion headed downstairs, leaving the two former guards
relatively alone.

It was a safe assumption that all the pallets along the wall were taken, so
Reed laid his cloak down in the middle of the room. On the road, each guard
had a blanket and a bedroll stowed away in the wagon's chest for the night.
They technically belonged to the caravan driver, though they were commonly
stolen by departing guards. In his haste, Reed had neglected to do just
that.

"I hope someone else will be willing to share their bedroll, or give up
their bed," Reed whispered as he approached Aldwin. "Once they get back
from dinner, that is."

"Did we make the right decision?" Aldwin asked quietly.

"Oh. You uncomfortable with the common room?" Reed also kept his voice low,
so that neither of the other occupants could hear them.

"No, I meant, was it a good idea to stay here in Metamor?"

[...]

"That's more formal training than I got." Reed glanced at the staircase and
looked back at Aldwin. "As long as we're here in Metamor, [...]


- Rimme


On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 8:02 PM Kamau Lyon <kamau.lyon at gmail.com> wrote:

> The location of the pair in the inn is fine. The visitors/short term
> people would be in one of eight rooms that are to the right of the hallway
> as you face the back of the building. (See floor plan) I would suggest one
> of the two rooms on the back of the inn. (Red box around them on the
> floorplan) You wouldn’t really have a view of an alleyway but the inn’s
> stable. Still, for seeing night flyers, it is a very good place to be.
>
> Having a room to themselves is unusual as most inns have very few single
> rooms. More likely they would be in a common room with other travelers.
> (Orange box on floorplan) That is one of the things that sets apart the
> Companion Hearth Inn. This is for two reasons. Darion and Jami built the
> inn as a place of defense outside the main keep after their first inn was
> destroyed. Darion, finding a small fortune on a lutin commander, gave him
> the funds needed to build what you see. Single rooms make it very difficult
> for an enemy to clear the building and each room acts as a single defense
> point. They also wanted to offer others a lodging place within the Keep.
> There were a large number of homeless after the battle of Three Gates and
> the Winter Assault. The inn was a quick solution to that problem and became
> a very popular single person’s home. You would also find a few couples,
> unable to have children due to the change the curse brought, staying there
> as well.
>
> The number of travelers staying at the inn would vary greatly. If a
> caravan came to Metamor you might have a few dozen though most of these
> would stay in the large common quarter on the second floor. The third floor
> is devoted to full-time residents of the Keep. I’m not sure how many of my
> lesser characters might be there but I know at least three of my major
> characters, Sal, Pierga and Lewis, are in residence there.
>
> As for staff, I’ve never really thought that out. Considering the number
> of possible patrons, I would guess 4 to 6 serving staff. Possibly some
> switching off duties in the kitchen. A guess would be 4 in the kitchen but
> I’ll have to research that some. General inn staff for cleaning and other
> duties I’m not sure and certainly during slow times in the tavern people
> from there could be working in that area as well. The stable would need
> some folk but again I need to look into how many to manage that.
>
> I hope that covers all your questions, probably overkill on explanation.
>
> Kamau
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.integral.org/archives/mkguild/attachments/20230915/b68bd7ec/attachment.html>