[The Society's joy kept Ebony Forest bright and sunny all day long.
Sorrow, in turn, let people sink beneath dark clouds in the market.
A damp, overcast dome of sky, a sticky climate, a muddy tundra—the gray-blue light had replaced the pale pink beneath the clouds, while a line of orange still hazed along the horizon, making the market look as though it were forever covered by the gloom of sunset.
The residents here had once all lived in Ebony Forest, so if you looked only at race, you could not tell much of a difference.
But they seemed to live in the shadows of days long past, forever hanging their heads in dejection. Centaurs sprawled listlessly across the tundra, and rabbits drooped their long, oversized ears.
An atmosphere painted by emotion was very hard to break, and it made you unable to help lowering your eyes as well.
It was like being in the academy library, where you would unconsciously lean close and whisper in a voice only two people could hear, afraid that one careless sound would disturb the quiet surroundings.
In the market, it was also very hard to summon even the faintest smile.
When people greeted one another, they would not stand up and wave hello.
A sigh meant "hello."]
"Sigh—after all the hardship of reaching Road's End, your lives are already over. New guests, are you? Look at that, I asked one question too many again. After all, this is the only inn in the market. Only newcomers would stay here."
The inn before them spoke.
Its legs and feet were sunk deep into the wetland's riverbank—and they really were legs and feet, giant-sized, roughly ten pairs at a glance, which guaranteed its stability.
Looking upward, it was a two-story building stacked from brick and