Val remembers one inn she stopped at. It was earlier on her travels. Perhaps it was months ago, or maybe a year or two. Val hasn’t bothered to check. This inn was rather well kept despite being so far out from any town or city. Val had left a big city a couple days earlier and was heading for another smaller one. Whenever she passed an inn, she always stopped at it. She had to get more food, and it was safer than just sleeping in the woods. Wolves were about. She’d only had to deal with them once. Val managed to escape by throwing some jerky their way, and then running. Inns didn’t have wolves… usually.

Val walked into the inn. A bell rang as the door opened, and the man at the counter turned to greet her. He was a big, broad man. His muscles were practically bursting out of his vest. He had a scraggly beard and a rugged face. He likely had done physical labor before opening this inn. Perhaps construction or hunting.

The man smiled with a big, toothy grin, “Welcome, young lady. How can I help you?”

“Can I get a room… and some food?”

“Of course, kiddo! Now where…” The man looked behind Val, out the open door. Val suspects he was waiting for her family to come in. Of course, they never did. “Oh… um, do you have any money, missy?”

Val reached for her backpack and removed a small pouch. It had a handful of coins in it. “Is this enough?”

The man looked in the pouch and counted the coins. He scratched the back of his head, then sighed, “You know what, you can have a room for free. Food too.”

“Really?”

“I’d feel horrible taking all your money when you're on your own. You need to save up. Here,” the man handed over a key to Val, “Head to your room. I’ll bring you some food in a moment.” Val took the key and headed up to the room. It wasn’t too big, but anything was better than what she had become used to. The bed was soft, and the blankets were only a little itchy. An oil lantern sat on a desk, lit. The man did bring up some food. A chunk of bread with a slice of meat and some broccoli. Val eagerly chowed down. She tried to savor it, but couldn’t help herself. It’d been so long since she had a homemade meal. It brought back fond memories. It also brought back not so fond ones.