I paid these strange people only a brief glance before ignoring them to focus on trying to find an inn. The problem wasn't that this town didn't have them but rather there were too many with some form of gimmick. Like I found one where you could only rent a vertical bed. That is to say a bed that was basically flat against the wall. It was ridiculous and not even something you could undo as the beds were literally nailed in place. There was another that was entirely covered in bones both inside and out.-
Maybe I was hoping for too much but a simple bed roll on the floor would do in my opinion.
"Oi, you there!" A deep oddly british sounding voice called out.
I looked around confused.
"Yes you! Tall halfie bloke! Over here!" the voice called again and I frowned as it was definitely talking about me.
I continued looking around for whoever was calling out at me but could see anyone even looking at me really.
"Bloody hell you stupid git! Look down!" the voice said with exasperation.
I looked down and saw on the nearby barrel a large yellow colored grapefruit.
"Stanley?" I asked hesitantly.
"About bloody time you ruddy numpty brat! You act like you couldn't even see me right in front of you, some people just got no manners." the grapefruit said with an annoyed tone.
"No offense but why are you even trying to get my attention to begin with?" I asked quickly adapting my mind for this ridiculous situation.
"The big boss told me to keep an eye on you. Said you might find it a right trouble to adapt at first. Gotta say he's right too. You've been wandering about the place like your heads been screwed on upside down and scrambled like an egg." the Grapefruit said rudely.
"I won't lie and say this place isn't a bit confusing. Honestly just trying to find a normal bed is proving difficult." I admitted with a sigh.
"Ah, you want the Wastrel's purse then. Dredhwen is usually asleep behind the counter but a quick shake usually is enough to wake her. Been there for over two hundred years you know." the grapefruit said with a chuckle.
"Right, and where exactly is this place at? Verbal directions please." I asked with clarification.
"Down the way about a block and hang a left. It's at the edge of the water." the fruit said with a scoff.
"Thank you." I said before turning to follow the directions given.
It didn't take me long at all to find the Wastrel's purse. Like the grapefruit said it was right at the edge of the water located at the edge of the town. The building was a dark colored one with gloomy architecture and wooden structure that was partially held above the water by stilts. It wasn't very big though, maybe the size of a four bedroom two story home.-
I walked up the dark colored steps and pushed open the door to the place and was a little surprised at how clean it was. Everything was on a shelve or rack and there was no mud or dirt on the floor near the door. Behind the plain wooden counter stood, yes stood, a surprisingly tall Bosmer woman with black bags under her eyes and her head tilted down as she slept in place. I walked over to the counter and snapped my fingers loudly.
"Hmm? Oh, were you standing there long? I didn't notice." the woman said with a yawn.
"I'd like a room please." I said calmly.
"Just that? Help yourself." she said before pulling out a key from behind the counter and setting it down and going back to sleep.
I just stared at her speechlessly before shaking my head and taking the key. I walked up the rough stairs that were basically just logs with notched cut into them set side by side and had planks wedged into the open space. It certainly worked but felt a bit primitive in my opinion. There were only two doors at the top of the stairs in a narrow hallway.-
The key worked on the first of these doors and I walked into the room.
It was oddly plain.
A single large bed, nightstand and small table with a single chair for meals. That was it. The bed was also one with a legit cotton mattress on it which felt amazing. The day might not have been a long one for me but I wasn't in a terrible hurry or anything. Besides I'd had several experiences in this short span of a few hours that had left me inspired in different ways. -
For example learning about Grummite biology helped my medicine skill. Passwall itself was a marvel of magical might that I learned a lot just walking through. My alteration, illusion and mysticism skills all had new insights that I needed to digest. Not to mention the spell tome I found that I was eager to learn. I took off my strange boots and laid awake on the bed with my eyes closed as I mentally parsed my new insights from the madness that tried to sneak in with them. I fully focused on the theory I already mastered and lined up these new insights logically in that frame work. there was no room for half baked insanity to be woven in.-
When I was done my respective skills had risen by at least two levels each. Mysticism made the greatest leap at six points of advancement. This was mostly because a lot of what made Passwall special was done using the school and seeing so many examples of it at once was an excellent stimulant for it's progress. The school of magic was one that tended to edge to closest to madness so I wasn't terribly surprised by the many examples I saw. Madness was simply a risk that came with trying to master the school of magic that was most closely tied to manipulating reality itself.-
Once I finished digesting my insights I cracked open that tome I found greedily as I sought the knowledge within. I ended up frowning heavily in short order though as most of the book was manic ramblings. The few bits actually involved with summoning the beasts were hidden deeply within this nonsense so I couldn't even skip it without risking missing something important. I ended up pulling a blank book and pencil out of my storage plane to copy down the actual important parts in an actual guide to summoning one of these things. I knew that the college didn't have the spell and figured it would make a nice gift for Urag.