Walking out of the laundry section of the bathhouse, Alex was in his tunic and trousers while going back to the cubbies in the bath section. G had yet to appear at the desks or front of the building, so Alex left them a message and looked around at the immediately nearby buildings outside.
Across the road from the large bathhouse was a much smaller, albeit still big, tavern. The building was constructed of dark wood and was 2 stories tall. Even from across the street, Alex could hear a raucous atmosphere coming from the interior, and the windows on the first floor gave him a view of a lively group of patrons partaking of food.
Feeling his stomach growling from the sight of food so close to him, Alex messaged G that he would be at the tavern across the street then walked across the street to the building.
The smell of warm meals wafted from the open windows near the kitchen, providing a scent that was both comforting and stimulating for his appetite. The sound of dishes clanking indicated that food was constantly being prepared, likely because of how busy the tavern appeared to be; several people had drifted to this place from the streets since he had first exited the larger bathhouse.
Approaching the open door and walking in, Alex took in the interior of the tavern. Warm lighting illuminated the lively room, casting shades of orange and yellow onto the round wooden tables decorating the room. Populating many of the tables were varying sizes of groups, most of them talking with each other at full volume, causing a passive chatter to fill the usual silence of an empty room.
Seeing a new person entering the building from behind the counter, a woman with a bright expression wearing worn clothing and an apron looked to Alex in the entryway.
"Hello, sir! If your here for food, just find an open seat and we'll get to you soon. We don't have any open rooms at the moment, so I'm sorry if you came to rent a room."
"Alright, thank you."
Surveying the room for an open table, Alex moved to one of the tables next to a wall, which happened to be free at the moment. Taking a seat, he felt for the money he grabbed from his cubby.
'I wonder how much this is worth…gold is usually one of the highest currencies in games, so I don't think I will be short on funds, but it could be weird to pay for food with a silver piece…'
Putting the complicated thoughts out of his mind, Alex enjoyed the mid day weather and lively bustle of the streets visible from his seat.
'It's incredible that all of this feels so real. The people seem to be capable of independent thought and express emotion, the sensory effects of the simulation have no inconsistencies so far, and so many people can be connected all at once…it really puts the situation in perspective when the government decided to make something like this possible instead of trying to fix the dying real world. I guess I can't blame them though, I like it here more too.'
In the midst of his thoughts, he felt a thump that brought him back to reality. A cup of water had been placed onto the table he was leaning on, and the woman who shouted to Alex when he first entered the building was taking back her hand from the cup. Turning to him, she smiled and spoke.
"I'm sorry for the wait; welcome to my tavern. I'm sorry, but we have to charge first before serving since some unsavory types like to leave before paying…anyway, we have 3 options right now. First, you can get the daily lunch option, which is just what came in from the butcher today. That includes half a kilogram of the meat today, and a tankard of ale. For an extra cost, you can get that with a few bread rolls with butter and some jam. Finally, for those with sensitive stomachs or just as a lighter option, we have a stew with an assortment of meats and produce from the surrounding fields. Which would you like?"
Taking a moment to think, Alex decided to get the second option since G would probably be a while, and he could just save the food for later.
"Could I get the second option, please."
"Absolutely! That will be 3 copper pieces."
Trying to appear casual, Alex pulled out one of the silver coins from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"I'm sorry, but do you have change for a silver?"
"Oh yes, let me go grab some."
Quickly shuffling back to the desk separating this room from what he assumed was the kitchens, the woman in the apron dug into one of the lower drawers and pulled out a handful of coins. Walking back to Alex's table, she placed 7 copper coins on the table.
"Alright, I'll bring your food to you shortly. Thank you for your patronage."
Performing a small bow, the woman retreated back to the kitchen to prepare the food. Looking around the tavern, Alex took in the sight of the other patrons. Some of them looked to be wearing working clothes, stained with various materials such as oil, blood, and grease. Others were wearing armor belonging to the guards, likely off duty or in between shifts. Some appeared to be in different sets of armor, likely groups of adventurers who were resting in town while they had the chance.
'This is definitely a good place for a tavern. No need for them to have any bathing facilities since there is one right across the road, and anyone coming out of the bathhouse is likely to come here for food since it's right here…'
Feeling another thump on the table, Alex looked across the table and saw G putting a trunk under the table and sitting down. Fully clad in the now clean stone armor, they looked like a statue from a beautiful garden.
"Finally finished, I see. I just ordered some food, and it sounds like it's more than enough for me, so feel free to grab some."
"Yeah yeah, sorry it takes 10 minutes to take this stuff off. Anyway, did you like the baths? The private section was pretty nice, so I'll probably remember this place."
"It was nice, yeah. I don't usually like that stuff, but I guess it helps that we had just spent hours trekking the forest. I doubt I'll be using the public section next time though…it was definitely making me feel exposed."
"Ha, I get it. This place isn't too far from the gates if you want to try and rent a room. I sure wouldn't mind being this close to the bathhouse."
"The person who took my order said that they were filled up at the moment, so it looks like that's not an option right now. We can always ask again in the future."
Looking a little disappointed, G turned to look out the window at the streets filled with traffic.
"I see…well, we'll just hope it's not next time. It's not like we need to sleep here anyway, this being a Dream and all anyway. But we do need somewhere to store our stuff and relax so we aren't too stressed."
Letting the conversation stop and allowing himself to think, Alex thought about their next course of action.
'Let's see, we need to store or sell what's in the trunks, then either get a wagon or something else to carry anything we bring back from the forest. We also need basic tools like a hunting knife and various bags for things like meat or herbs. As for weapons…we both need a bit of improvement. My bow is weak, and G's spear broke. One can be repaired fairly easily, but a good bow could be costly…I guess I'll just stick with more arrows for now.'
"Hey, stop spacing out; it looks like your foods coming."
Looking up, Alex saw the woman coming out from the kitchen with a tray. On it was a large plate of meat, it looked like some type of wild game like deer, a metal tankard filled with an amber foaming liquid, a small bowl with 3 round rolls cross shaped marks on the top of them. The sides of the bowl had a glob of jam and butter, and the meat had a dull looking knife stapled into it.
Bringing the tray over to their table, the woman slid it onto the surface of the table, and stood back.
"Please enjoy your meal!"