Easily disappearing into the crowd, I wandered the streets for a while. I knew where the alchemist was, however, I was heading somewhere else, the place I intended to stay for my time in the city.
Soon, I was in the run-down part of town, not quite the slums, but not far off. After walking past several people who gave me a quizzical look but saw my low-quality clothes, soon went about their business. In these parts of cities, wealthy people were always looked at with suspicion.
After a few minutes of walking, I finally came to my destination, a two-story building. It didn't look like the most stable building in the world, in fact, it looked like one well-placed strike with a hammer could send it crumbling to the ground. However, I discovered this during my time as a delivery boy for a popular and successful guild, back when I was an obvious kid. The guild would accept low-level players and got them to run low-level, repeatable quests to build the reputation of the guild in that city. Not to mention take sixty percent of the rewards, which was measly to begin with.
One day, as I was mindlessly running quest after quest, I received a special quest when my personal reputation hit the cap. It was a simple delivery quest, and the rewards were normal, the only difference was where the delivery point was. And after a long time talking to the NPC, I found out that you could actually rent the building, which was extremely rare to find a property to rent or own in this game and it was, not only cheaper than inns in the long run, but you also get a lot more benefits than most inns can offer. A place to keep your stuff being the major benefit.
Knocking three times on the front door, I patiently waited, all the while trying to remember the name of the NPC that unlocked this opportunity. Then, the door suddenly opened to an old woman.
She looked like the typical loving grandmother, with a clean, crinkle-free plain dress and tied-back long white hair. Her face was filled with wrinkles and a warm smile. She looked up at me with a patient look in her eyes, which had a hint of curiosity to them.
"Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Cain. I heard from a lady called Harley that you might have a property for rent?" I spoke in the most pleasant tone I could muster. Luckily, the name I was searching for came to me as soon as I started talking.
As I was sighing away the tension in my mind, the old lady started to laugh a small jokey laugh.
"I didn't think I would live to see the day when someone would call that ruffian a 'lady'." After hearing her speak, I was worried that I made a mistake, however, that didn't seem to be the case.
"My name is Gladden. Nice to meet you. And as Harley has said, I do have a property to rent, this house to be specific. Would you like a tour before we discuss a price?" She offered after her introduction. She got straight to the topic at hand. However, I didn't mind the bluntness, in fact, I preferred it, if it meant that I could possibly have my own bed as soon as possible.
I only knew the basic layout of the building, as I never had the money to rent this place before. And to say that I wasn't curious, would be a lie.
"If that isn't too much trouble, I would be thankful for the opportunity." I smiled as I spoke, hoping to not seem like a suspicious person. But in hindsight, I might have looked even more suspicious because of it.
"Then, come inside. We can have a nice cup of tea after a little tour." She opened the door fully and stepped to one side.
Inside was a hallway with a set of stairs leading to the first floor, on the right. A door on the left and right side of the hall and behind the stairs seemed to lead deeper into the house. Besides that, it was a plain medieval town house. But that itself was charming to someone like me who lived in the modern era.
"Now, where to begin." She mused, with a hint of amusement in her voice. "I suppose with this room." She concluded as she ushered me to the room on the left.
As I entered the room, I saw a dining table and chairs with a cabinet for dinnerware and a window overlooking the street outside. It was a basic dining room, but even that was a luxury for a player like me.
"This, as you can tell, is the dining room. Though, I don't have many chances to use this as much as I did in the past." Gladden explained as she stared off into space as if she was recalling some memories.
"It's been a long time since I sat and shared a meal with someone as well," I said with a weak smile. Even in my past life I always ate alone.
With a small laugh, as if to lighten the mood, she spoke again. "Well, shall we move on?" although she asked, she was already out the door.
The next room was a sitting room with two armchairs, a small table for drinks, a bookcase, with a few old books on the shelves. And a fireplace that had the remains of a fire smouldering inside. It was a pleasant room that would be nice to relax in the evening with a book and a hot drink.
Next was upstairs. At the top of the stairs, the hallway split to the left and right. On the left was a room on the left-hand wall and a room on the right, with a window at the end of the hall.
On the right of the hall, I spotted three doors, two on the left wall and one on the right. There was also a railing that overlooked the downstairs hallway.
Down the left-hand corridor were two bedrooms. Inside both of them were a simple bed, wardrobe and a dressing table and chair. Each had a window that looked out into a side alley that ran down the length of the house and disappeared between two other houses.
On the right side of the second floor was the master bedroom, the bathroom and a room that was currently used for storage.
The master bedroom was the largest room and had better quality furniture that was also more used than the others. The main difference was the rug that was on the floor, it looked old and frayed but seeing as it was still a centre place in the room, it must have had sentimental value.
The bathroom had a bathtub, made out of wood, which actually made me feel happy on seeing. However, there wasn't really a toilet as this world didn't have plumbing, so the wooden privy that seemed to have a compartment to place a bucket underneath, was the way you relieve yourself. Thankfully, in this game, you didn't have to use the facilities, which was a silent relief. But that being said, you did have to bathe, or at least keep clean, as people wouldn't talk to you if smelt terrible.
"And that's the upstairs. The only places yet to see are the kitchen and the garden." Gladden spoke as she closed the room of the storage room. The only thing to say about that is that it was as big as the other rooms and would be perfect for me to set up an alchemical lab.
I followed Gladden as she led me down the stairs and behind the stairs to a door that led into the kitchen. Inside, was a cast iron cooking range, with hooks to the side with a range of pans hanging. A counter space with a shelf with pots, plates and cups was next to the cooking space.
A small table and chairs sat in the middle of the room, with a perfect view out the window of the garden outside.
There was another door that sat opposite the door that led to the garden. But as Gladden was walking towards the black kettle that was on top of the cooking range, I guessed that the door led to a pantry or something similar.
"Tea?" She asked, as she picked two cups off the shelf and placed them on the counter. I nodded my head and took a seat at the table.
"Well, what do you think?" She asked as she poured liquid into the cups.
"It's a nice house, maybe a little big for just me. But I do like my own space." I joked, which she laughed at my words.
"It wasn't always this empty, when my kids were still young, this house felt as small as a chicken coop and just as hectic." Her face had a happy smile as she recalled pleasant memories and walked over to the table with two teas.
"Sounds like you had quite the busy time." I smiled as I accepted the cup of tea she offered.
She laughed as she took a seat at the table opposite me and took a small sip of her tea. I followed suit. The tea was aromatic and tasted a little woody and herby but was pleasant and comforting taste.
"So, for the price of rent for a house this size is usually 9 to 10 silver a month. However, as the house is a little old and you seem like a nice man, I was thinking 7 silvers." The look in her eyes changed when she started to speak about price. She reminded me of a practised merchant and just as ruthless.
"That sounds reasonable. Could you tell me more about any rules? I'm actually an alchemist in training and was wondering if I could turn a room into a workspace." I asked. Of course, I didn't have to tell her what I was planning, but something told me that it was best to be open with this woman.
"Oh? Well, that is unexpected." She said with a surprised look. "Well, you are free to do whatever you want with the house, as long as you don't tear down the walls." she joked, and I joined in with her laugh.
"I'm relieved to hear that. I tend to lose track of time when I'm doing my research, so I'll be glad to be in a nice environment to focus in." I thought aloud as I took another sip of tea.
"I'll be glad if this house could be a home to someone else." She added as she joined me in drinking tea.
"Well, if it's all fine for you, I'll be living with my son and his family on his farm outside of town. He or one of his kids can come to collect the rent on the last day of each month."
"That's fine with me. Though, as I am an adventurer, I might not be home on the day they arrive. So, I'll leave the rent money in an envelope on the kitchen table." I explained.
"I would appreciate that. When would you like to move in? My son will be visiting today, so it's up to you." She asked.
"As soon as possible. Though, I don't mind waiting for a few days."
"Well, all I need to move is the things in storage and my son could do that today. So, how about you come back late afternoon." She said as she placed the cup onto the table, with a pleasant smile on her face.
"Sure, that works for me. I have someone I have to visit anyway. But before that, here's the first month's rent." I said as I pulled 7 silvers from my pouch and placed it on the table.
She smiled and took the money. The time it took for us to finish a single cup of tea, we settled everything and agreed to meet back here later today.
I stood up after some small talk with Gladden and said my goodbyes.
After leaving the house, I headed towards the main thoroughfare with my coin pouch feeling a lot lighter. However, I felt better knowing that I had a safe place to stay for the month. Though, it would be quite difficult to make rent at the moment. But, with the plan I had in mind, I should be able to make it, with plenty of leeway.
With that thought in mind, I decided to pay the alchemist a visit. Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up some old alchemist tools and equipment for cheap. And if I'm lucky, they will have some spells for sale. Though, I think my purse would start crying if they did.