The echoes fading, Trevion took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he looked over the seemingly abandoned inn a second time. ”I sense the presence of evil,” he told Cassandra and any of his fellow travelers who were listening, ”It is like a fog that has settled over this place, permeating it. But…I do not feel anything menacing close at hand.”

Once the illusion is shattered Lotti comes back inside.  "Yeah just a magic trick to make the place look full and inviting.  It worked well it pulled us in."

Lotti doesn't seem overly concerned that the place is covered in dust.

"Shall we ring the bell and see what pans out?"  She moves over to the counter and will do so unless someone says something to stop her.

"One moment. Please," Ereth says to Lotti, gently but firmly, as a father might to a daughter. "I've spoken to the others and there seems to be a general agreement that we should make camp at the edge of town, set a watch, and return here in the morning. I would like to hear your thoughts, but please don't ring any bells until the matter is settled."

"What? Why?  This is an inn, and we are travellers.  Travellers stay at inns, so why don't we stay here?"

In reply to Ereth (msg # 21):

“Lotti.  I too thought to ring the bell or suggest that someone else ring the bell to see what or who might be summoned.  But now that it is clear that this entire place is permeated with evil, is either haunted or, at a minimum, under dark spells that create illusions and haunting voices, I feel even more strongly that we should leave this place now, just for the remainder of the night.  I am tired.  Several of us need healing.  We all need sleep and some need to recover spells for tomorrow.  We can return at daylight, when the evil that holds this place in thrall will be at its weakest.”

“I’m not afraid of what might happen or doubtful of our collective ability to handle the situation, but I do believe that waiting until morning is the prudent path to take.”

In reply to Lotti (msg # 22):

“Lotti: if this were a NORMAL inn, located in a NORMAL village, with some sign of NORMAL inhabitants, I would agree with you wholeheartedly.  But this is not.”

"But, but, Trevion right?" not sure she'd recalled his name correctly, "said he did didn't feel anything menacing close at hand.  If the evil is like a fog, it's going to be everywhere, and nowhere in particular, so if there is nothing right here, isn't right here as good as we're going to get rather than outside?"

In reply to Cassandra (msg # 24):

Lotti: your assessment of the fog of evil over the town definitely has merit, but since you and Ornwin are still injured and need to be tended to, can we agree to a brief respite for the evening, at the edge of town, and then upon our return in the morning, you may ring the bell or, if this place is actually inhabited during the day, take the lead in speaking with the owner of this establishment and negotiating terms for our stay here (or elsewhere in town, if appropriate).  Based on the map that the coachman left with us and his song about “You Know Where,” (which I don’t think we should name, in this place and at this moment), I have a feeling that this Village will be our hangout for some time to come.  Let us return during the revealing light of day, at full strength and health.”

In reply to Cassandra (msg # 26):

“And, since you are a ranger and have the half-elven gift of night vision and extraordinary hearing, I’d feel much safer with you protecting all of us outside, in your element, rather than trapped inside the confines of this dead building.  If all of the points I have made do not seem wise to you, then nothing else that I could say will sway you.”

Lotti squares up to Cass.  "So as a ranger, when I say don't sleep outside, the Paladin has confirmed there is evil about, it's a time to stay indoors, for he has deemed the evil is not here, does that wisdom hold any sway?"

"Look I'm not trying to win a battle of wits here, I'm tired, I hardly know you, go and sleep outside if you want, I just don't think it's wise and I want a safe bed.  Whoever wants to go, go.  I want to ring the bell and be shown to a bed."

As Ereth watched the scene with Cass and Lotti unfold, he calmly processed the information, re-assessed the options, and decided to make an executive decision. Having reached a point of total exhaustion, seeing no real alternatives, and hoping the others would understand, he quietly and calmly proceeds to ring the bell.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:11, Wed 11 May 2022.

In reply to Ereth and Lotti (msgs # 28 & # 29):

Cassandra’s shoulders slump slightly in defeat and doubt.  Whatever surge of energy and inspiration from Eir that she had received and which had briefly taken hold of her mind and given her a voice of reason for her companions now seems to have dissipated into the evil village fog and dark environs of the village. Perhaps this was just a dream.  Or a nightmare.

Who was she to make any decision or recommendation?  She was still just an inexperienced young woman.  But who was she to argue with a mighty ranger, particularly one of elven descent with many more years of life experience.  She looks briefly toward Otis, with sympathy in her eyes as she realizes he has not yet had the time to process his thoughts and make his own desires heard.

Cassandra backs up and away from the bell and the inn counter.  Perhaps she’s just being paranoid.  Afraid of phantoms and harmless illusions.  The ranger is correct.  This is (or at least at some point in the distant past was) a village inn.  Despite the haunting, what could go wrong?  Maybe ringing the bell will restore life to the inn. Or awaken the dead?  She mentally prepares for either outcome.

She realizes that she is definitely exhausted, needs sleep, and now self aware that she has become lost in her own internal thoughts and doubts.  She slowly backs up and moves into a defensible position behind Otis and Trevion.  Perhaps these burly fighters can protect her.  She’s only known them for a few hours, but she trusts them.

While still in a daze and within the turmoil of her own thoughts, she suddenly realizes to her horror that the tall, lanky mage has now moved forward.  Toward the counter.  Toward the bell.  He is going to take the risk on Lotti’s behalf.  He is going to, no, has now rung the bell.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Wed 11 May 2022.

After much deliberation, Ereth deliberately walks to the counter and taps the bell on it.  It vibrates plangently although for whom it might mourn can't be known.  A full ten seconds pass and then ten more till the bell ceases its lamentations.

Clomp.
  Clomp.
    Clomp.

That sounds comes from below, not from above, and draws Ereth's attention to the floor behind the counter where he notices a trapdoor.  As he watches, the door opens, and a neatly-dressed concierge emerges.  He's a slim man, wearing a white and blue vest and a tidy bellboy hat.  His voice, resoundingly chipper and cheerful, beckons:

"Welcome to the Emperor of Curd.  I'm Chester.  We're a full-service hotel.  Do you have any more luggage?  My name is Chester.  Trans or Res?"

"Ah, um... greetings Chester," the words stumbled out of Ereth's mouth due to the man's odd entrance, and the strange circumstances altogether.

"We are a party of six. I believe what you see is all we carry with us. As to the duration of our stay, I am a bit unsure. I suppose we should pay the nightly rate, as long as you would allow us to extend our stay should we decide to do so?

Ereth discreetly offers the concierge a silver piece to accompany the request.

In reply to Cassandra (msg # 30):

"Take your choice, adventurous stranger/Ring the bell and bide the danger/Or wonder till it drives you mad/ What would have happened if you had."
(Inscription in the Hall of Past Rulers in Charn, The Magician's Nephew,)

OOC: Excellent!

Chester responds with alacrity: "Stay for a day or stay for a lifetime!  We at the Emperor of Curd pride ourselves on being a full-service hotel.  Many, at first, just intend to stay for a day."

Tapping the counter, he adds, "2 gold per night or 10 for a week.  One room for each of you, but," winking conspiratorially at Ereth and Lotti, "there are interconnecting doors should you become lonely."

"You can relax in the lounge," he explains, "which is through that door," pointing to the one egress far from the lobby.

From behind the counter, he retrieves a ledger and bids you sign in so that he can fetch keys for your rooms.  The one too many sparkles in his eyes and the complete absence of creases from his uniform and bellboy's cap bespeak either his tenuous grasp of sanity or the Emperor's high standards in all matters sartorial.

He considers the silver coin offered to him by Ereth, momentarily baffled by its implications. He'd already told them it was a full-service hotel. What additional service could Ereth crave? Deftly, he smiles, "I need more silver pieces for the six rooms!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:17, Thu 12 May 2022.

Whilst Ereth is speaking to the newcomer called Chester Lotti gestures to Trevion that she wants a word in his ear, which will require that he bends down to her level.  She patiently waits for him to comply.

and when/if he does she leans in close quickly placing her hands around his neck......she then gives a mischievous giggle and removes her hands so he can straighten, beaming up at him with a wide hopeful smile as he does so.

Ereth considers the odd behavior of the concierge and decides that it fits perfectly with everything else about the place. He then says in a straightforward manner, "Keep the silver. Here's two gold. I'd like a room without any adjoining doors, if possible. Much obliged."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:17, Thu 12 May 2022.

In reply to Ereth (msg # 37):

Cassandra does some rough calculations in her head, then says to her companions: “I’m not a mathematician and I’m not as wealthy as our mage must be...”

But then her voices trails off.  She really is exhausted. She thought she heard Chester offer up a group rate to them, but then she realizes she only heard that in her head, as if in a waking dream. Not knowing whether her party will need rooms for just one day or longer, she realizes it doesn’t make sense to pay in advance for a week.  Plus, she can’t afford it.

She reaches into her pouch and produces 2 gold pieces.  She hands them to Chester and signs the ledger. “I’ll take a room for one night.  Thank you.”, she says as a room key is proferred.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Thu 12 May 2022.

After signing the ledger and receiving his room key, Ereth decides to check out the lounge while the others finish checking in.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Thu 12 May 2022.

Heading that way, he turns to Cassandra and says, "Care to join me?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:31, Thu 12 May 2022.

Cassandra, still confused about how she was so easily convinced to hand over two whole gold pieces for a room for one night in this bizarre and creepy inn, drifts along, as if in a trance, and mindlessly follows Ereth to the lounge.  Her head jerks slightly as she realizes she had just nodded off to sleep while walking to the lounge.  She definitely needed to get some rest, or a suitable stimulant, if more was to be expected of her during this interminably long day day, night, week, month. She had no idea how long it had been since she boarded that coach.

The tune sung by the coachman still continued to intrude her thoughts.  She thought about lavender and hair as she continued to follow Ereth and a suitable place to sit. Or maybe even rest her head for a moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:00, Thu 12 May 2022.

Unable to feel at ease within the strange inn, Trevion nonetheless pays Chester for single night’s stay, his gaze restlessly drifting across the dusty lobby even as he hands over the coin.

Having talked it out, not once, but twice, everybody produces his or her two gold pieces and signs the dusty, old ledger.

To Ereth's request, and all others in that vein, Chester smartly replies, "We're a full-service hotel. That's OK if you don't want a room with adjoining doors, you can have a private room."

"I just wanted you to know that, I couldn't even hear you, in the night. No one could. No one lives anywhere near here."

"In the night, in the dark, I couldn't hear you," he repeats.

Chester then retrieves six cards from behind the counter and distributes them should any of you require any of his full array of services.

It reads: "Hi! I'm Chester."  It also has "Ext. 4251" in small print on the bottom.

~~~

Those of you who saunter to the lounge discover an ill-considered room. Scarce feet from the entrance, three tables cramp a corner, abutting the back wall and the bar, which zags away from the tables halfway down the counter. On one of the tables sits a greasy deck of playing cards. Behind the counter, a barkeep fixedly scrubs the lone clean spot with a filthy rag. On his red bartender's vest, he has a pin, but you can't read the label from the entrance.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:48, Thu 12 May 2022.