"Sir?" the female elf called softly.
"Oh, are the people in the garden all guests of the inn?" Anser asked casually.
"Not all of them. Some are here just to dine—the first floor of the treehouse is the restaurant." The female elf wore a smile on her face, smooth and fair like snow cream, and appeared very patient.
"Mm, then two rooms. How much?" Anser decided to stay for now, keep an eye on Gais, and then consider the next step.
"Each room is 2 gold coins per day. Water and breakfast are free, and the room fee is prepaid." The female elf smiled brightly as she waited for Anser's response.
"So expensive?!" Anser's eyes widened in shock.
The price truly startled him. Not to mention ordinary people—even most adventurers could not afford to stay here.
The female elf pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes, seemingly quite satisfied with Anser's reaction. "Sir, Moonshadow Quelin has always been priced this way. We also have authentic and delicious moon elf cuisine here—something you can't find anywhere else."
Bratt quietly tugged at Anser and kept giving him meaningful looks. This was not a place they should stay—just lying on the bed would make his heart ache so much he wouldn't be able to sleep.
"Let's stay for two days first." Anser steeled himself, took out a platinum coin, and pressed it onto the counter.
This was an extraordinary period. Other inns would definitely raise their prices on the spot, and they might not even have rooms. It was better to stay here temporarily—they could also keep an eye on Gais and prevent him from slipping away.
He still had over a hundred gold coins on him, so staying for a few weeks wouldn't be a problem.
"May I have your name, sir?" The female elf picked up her pen and looked at Anser. "Each room needs to be registered under one person's name. An alias is also acceptable."
"Nornoth. Bratt." Anser casually spoke two names.
Gais probably wouldn't recognize him, but Anser was worried that if the other party knew his real name, he might become alert. To be safe, it was better not to reveal it.
With a few strokes, the female elf wrote down the names, then took out two copper tags with keys attached and beckoned to Anser and the others. "Please follow me."
Anser gestured for Bratt to go up first, then pulled Finn over to the window and pointed at a figure in the distance as he said, "Have Greyhawk keep an eye on that person."
"Alright." Finn took off his backpack and handed it to Anser, then hurriedly ran out of the mushroom house.
Anser slung the backpack over his shoulder and quickly went upstairs.
The decoration of the mushroom house was fresh and natural. Every detail was handled with care. Many oil paintings hung along the corridor, most of them landscapes or depictions of flora and fauna.
They went all the way to the top floor and stopped in front of the room labeled 6-1. Directly opposite was room 6-2. The naming scheme was very straightforward.
The female elf opened the door and handed the room tag to Anser, but did not go in. "My name is Darla Karones. If you need anything, you can come find me at the treehouse."
"Thank you." Anser nodded.
Darla waved with a smile and left, her steps light and brisk.
"You're really willing to spend money. Don't tell me you're coveting her looks?" Bratt tossed down his backpack and looked at him with suspicion.
"Heh." Anser ignored him and surveyed the room's layout, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
The room was about twenty square meters, tastefully decorated, with solid wood furniture. The floorboards and bed linens were very clean, and there was no trace of odor in the washroom in the corner—something ordinary cleaning methods could not achieve.
The nearly one-and-a-half-meter-wide glass window provided excellent lighting. There was also a sliding outer window; when pulled down, it was waterproof, light-blocking, and soundproof.
Anser took a few steps to the window. The nearby bay and docks, as well as the town and gardens below, all came into view.
"Look at the person wearing the blue spell robe." He waved Bratt over.
"What about him?" Bratt leaned in, full of curiosity.
"Don't stare," Anser warned. "His name is Gais—the culprit who made me fall into that huge pit."
"What a coincidence?" Bratt realized it at once, his expression turning serious.
Coincidental, yet not coincidental. The northern route was blocked, the eastern and southern routes were long, and sailing north from Silver Scale Bay was indeed one of the optimal choices.
Gais had obtained Fabian's inheritance, so staying at the best inn was perfectly normal.
"He's a wizard? Looks like he has companions." Bratt's observation was very meticulous.
"I don't recognize them." Anser frowned slightly. The other two were not magic apprentices from a mage tower.
He opened the window and leaned against the sill, pretending to admire the scenery, while his attention focused on those people.
[Gais, human, 1st-level Sorcerer (Spellscar)]
[Order of Blue Fire cleric, human, 3rd-level Sorcerer (Spellscar), 1st-level Wizard]
[Order of Blue Fire elite, human, 4th-level Sorcerer (Spellscar), 1st-level Cleric]
'Order of Blue Fire?!' Anser was shaken to the core. 'How did Gais end up mixed up with them?'
But he immediately reacted again—the point did not seem to be here.
'What is a Spellscar Sorcerer? This… isn't reasonable.'
During the Spellplague period, if you got close to a blue firestorm at short range, you could be infected. A kind of spell mark called a Spellscar would form on the surface of the body. Externally, it could manifest as blue jagged cracks, blue runes flickering like flames, or even dark-blue flame wings.
The Order of Blue Fire believed this was not a curse, but something sacred. It was not meant to be cured, but to be understood and controlled—and through it, to master a kind of magical power called blue fire.
They came to worship the Spellplague and gained their own god and savior, but in the end they were still a cult, and they disappeared after the goddess of magic returned.
This was also the origin of the sorcerer subclass, the Spellfire Sorcerer.
But right now there clearly was no out-of-control blue firestorm—at least not near Baldur's Gate—so in theory there was no chance to gain mastery of that power.
'A subclass similar to Spellfire Sorcerer?'
Faerûn had no shortage of strange branch classes, but most of them were not systematic and were hard to popularize.
For example, clerics alone had more than twenty subclasses: Life, Light, Trickery, War, Arcana, Knowledge, Grave, Blood, Night… too many to count.
It boiled down to one idea: believing in this is still believing—so you have to believe in something eventually!
"What's wrong?" Bratt spoke up, interrupting Anser's thoughts.
"This won't be easy." Anser closed the window, cutting off other people's line of sight. "Those two are from the Order of Blue Fire. One of them is an elite adventurer."
Earlier, he had heard Soladin say that the Order of Blue Fire knew about him and had even classified him as a heretic. It was possible that Gais really did know he was still alive.
And Gais had previously been a magic apprentice with no particular talent, yet in just a few days he had become a Sorcerer.
If the Order of Blue Fire truly had the ability to mass-produce spellcasters, then with a simple gesture they could draw in countless magic apprentices and full-fledged wizards. The speed at which they could expand… was hard to imagine.
"There will always be times when they're alone." Bratt chuckled, unconcerned.
"Fair point. Have Greyhawk keep watching. Call Finn up, and let's wash up and rest for a bit."
"Alright."
Two rooms: Bratt and Finn shared one, and Anser had one to himself.
After running around all day, everyone was tired and filthy. It was a good time to wash up properly and, while it was still early, take a short nap.
Down in the garden, people came and went, and the few from the Order of Blue Fire had long since disappeared. But Greyhawk had already confirmed that they had entered this mushroom house, so there was no need to rush.
Right now, he only wanted to figure out where to get some experience points and hurry up to level 4, so he would have a bit more confidence.
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