"Do you have any rooms? I'd like to stay the night, and get something to eat." Having taken off his cloak, Yavi began asking the landlady whether she had any rooms available today.
"We do. Just one night, is it? Have a look at what you'd like to eat, and we'll settle everything together once you've ordered." The landlady welcomed Yavi warmly. "We have freshly cooked pork chops today, and cool ale from the cellar. It's refreshing and takes the weariness right out of you. Would you like some?"
"Then I'll have black pepper pork chop noodles, with a sausage and a fried egg. I'd like the egg runny. And a tankard of cold ale to finish."
"All right, let me work that out for you." The landlady picked up something resembling an abacus from the counter and began moving things around. Yavi couldn't quite make sense of it. Although it resembled an abacus, it worked rather differently. "That comes to eight crowns and fifty-five groats. Just give me eight crowns and fifty groats."
Yavi took the exact amount from inside his clothes and placed it on the counter. The landlady collected the coins and told him to find a seat; his food would be ready shortly.
Yavi chose a seat near the window. The evening breeze brushed gently against his face, not particularly warm and carrying a hint of coolness that made him feel wonderfully comfortable. He sighed softly. His exhausting day of travel ended here. Tomorrow, he would get up early and continue toward Oxenfurt...
While Yavi was making plans for tomorrow, the landlady brought over a tankard of foamy ale and set it before him. "Try our ale first and quench your thirst."
Rather than answer, Yavi gave the landlady a slight smile in acknowledgment, then lifted the tankard and gulped it down.
"Hah! Ahhh..."
Refreshing! A great mouthful of ale went down, and Yavi immediately felt refreshed from head to toe. The instant it entered his mouth, countless fine bubbles filled it with a rich malty aroma. The cold liquid flowed straight down his throat, washing away the heat and fatigue in his body. As he savored it, the sweet fragrance of malt lingered in his mouth. Even Yavi, who normally wasn't much of a drinker, couldn't resist another great mouthful.
By the time the black pepper pork chop noodles arrived, Yavi had drained the tankard. He raised the empty vessel and waved it at the landlady, who grinned, turned, and went into the cellar to draw another tankard of ale, then set it on his table. Meanwhile, Yavi had his knife and fork ready to enjoy the sizzling, steaming food. A thick layer of black pepper sauce covered the searing-hot pork chop, bubbling and sizzling in the heat. A runny fried egg sat atop the noodles. He gently cut it open with his knife, and golden yolk slowly spilled out, coating every strand of noodle evenly.
Gulp!
Yavi swallowed. His stomach, which hadn't felt particularly hungry before, now let out a thunderous roar. He reached out, and a pair of chopsticks suddenly appeared in his hand. He had made them himself; after all those years he had lived before, he still felt more accustomed to using chopsticks.
Yavi eagerly picked up the fried egg, now emptied of its yolk, and put it in his mouth. Its edges had been fried slightly crisp, but the upper part still retained the characteristic springiness of egg white. He finished it in a few quick bites, then picked up the sausage, fried until its casing had split, and took a great, satisfying bite. The split sausage burst with juices in his mouth, its firm texture proving that it was packed full of meat. The slightly spicy seasoning seemed to awaken his taste buds. Before he had even swallowed the sausage, Yavi picked up a mouthful of noodles, every strand coated in golden yolk, and slurped them into his mouth in a whirlwind. The slippery yolk ensured that the noodles went down without obstruction. The chewy, smooth noodles mingled with the spicy sausage in his mouth, as dazzling and colorful as bursting fireworks. He cut off a piece of pork chop covered in sauce and found it somewhat ordinary, without anything especially outstanding about it. Still, Yavi was very satisfied.
After chewing heartily a few times, he swallowed. Feeling food in his stomach, Yavi let out a satisfied moan, lifted the cold ale, and took another great swig. Only then did he release a long breath and look out the window. It was completely dark outside now, with everything beyond the reach of the torchlight shrouded in blackness. That posed little difficulty for Yavi, however, because he had kept his Witcher Senses active all along. He only deliberately switched them off once he reached a relatively familiar, safe place; otherwise, he kept them active at all times. Leaving them on for long periods placed no strain on him, though he might overhear other people speaking ill of him.
"Hey! Have you heard? A griffin attacked people on the road east a couple of days ago. Griffins may be ferocious beasts, but normally they don't venture into areas where people are often active..."
"I heard about that. This griffin isn't attacking people for food. It's just attacking them. Who knows what damned plague the thing caught? It attacks anyone it sees. I saw an official Temerian bounty notice in Mulbrydale a couple of days ago. It said anyone who kills the griffin can collect four hundred crowns!"
"How much? Four hundred crowns? That'd be enough for me to spend half a month lying on top of women!"
"Why is your head full of nothing but women? Can't you think about anything else...?"
Yavi happened to "overhear" the conversation among the people sitting around the fireplace. They were the same people who had kept looking him over when he first entered the tavern.
Four hundred crowns is already a very high bounty. And I'll have to follow the road east to get to Oxenfurt anyway. If I run into it, I'll see whether I can complete the contract. Having heard what they said, Yavi decided to try his luck on the road tomorrow. If it really was possible, he wouldn't mind some extra income.
Yavi quickly finished the dinner on his plate, then went to the landlady to collect his room key. "Your room is the last one at the far end of the second floor. We haven't had many guests lately, so it's relatively quiet up there. Better for getting some rest."
"Thank you." Yavi took the key, went upstairs, and found his room. He set his backpack on the table and took off his cloak and shoes. There wasn't much in the backpack, only some clothes, simple food and water, and the like, along with a dozen or so crowns. Its main purpose was to keep up appearances. After all, one couldn't very well travel empty-handed, but Yavi could, because he had the Tiger Talisman's storage space.
Just as Yavi had nearly finished taking off his outer clothes, three knocks sounded at the door. He cautiously opened it a crack and found a young woman in revealing clothes standing outside, then opened the door...