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"Us humanoids, huh?", he asks, looking at the still very human-looking dragon "You know, when most people are looking for books to enjoy, they go to the local bookstore, browse around, see what catches their eye. They don't travel long distances to get very specific and rare books."

Clutch then opens a hatch behind the bar that leads to the basement. He places Akemi's meat on a platform above the hole, then uses a pulley rope to lower the platform into the basement before closing the hatch. The meat will stay chilled as long as it's down there.

"Yes, well I have a very special library in my home. There are hundreds of books, each as rare as this one, lining the shelves. Thousands more books and scrolls fill the rest of the extra space. The knowledge I have acquired is quite immense." He then closes the book, puts it back in his bag, and gets up. "I should retire to my room and allow you to close up shop in peace. Have a good night, sir." With that he goes to his designated room.

"Goodnight! Sleep well. If you need anything tonight, just knock on my door. It's the first one to the right."

After the final guest retires for the night, Clutch finishes closing up: turning off the glowing lamps on each table, putting wood in the fireplace to keep it going overnight, and locking the front door. He finally retires to his own room for the night.

OOC: The tavern is now closed for the night
If you want to go to another character's room and interact with them, you can do so now. Otherwise, morning will come soon enough...

A new day has dawned...

As the morning begins, Clutch is up early to get the tavern in order for the day, which involves putting on new batches of stew and ale for the evening. As he opens the door to get more wood for the fire, he sees that the sky is dark and the wind is even colder and stronger than it was the night before. It seems likely that a storm is on the way.

Aastidiir exits his room fresh and early, ready for the day. He sets his bag near the fireplace, places his hand on it for just a moment and utters some words, then goes to sit at the bar to await the others.

Windstep emerges not long after stretching and yawning

“Oh man, that was a really good sleep. Clutch, I’ve gotta say, you have some nice rooms!”

As he walks into the main area you see some strange figures following him. One is a tall humanoid shape made of metal and the other is a lithe metallic fox

Clutch turns around from the door to face the inside of the tavern. "I'm glad you had a restful night." He then looks at Windstep's companions. "Friends? And good morning to you as well, Asta-dear."

A pause "Anyone that plans to head out today better get going soon. Looks like a storm's brewing, and it looks to be a big one. If you'll excuse me for a moment." He says, headed out the door, which the wind closes with a loud thud.

"Interesting companions you have there, Windstep. Did you craft them yourself?"

“Why yes I did. Just a little bit of the kind of stuff I can make. Meet my steel defender and homunculus. Their names are Lethotic and Luxton.”

"Fascinating." Aastidiir stands back up and moves closer to inspect the creations. "Are they intelligent?"

The tavern door opens and Clutch walks through it, dragging a wagon behind him with firewood. He pulls it to the pile of wood near the fireplace, then begins unloading the wood on the wagon onto the pile.

He chuckles a bit

“The homunculus is about average intelligence but the steel defender is very much not. Although even though they aren’t intelligent they can communicate with me. They are slowly learning though. Also Clutch, if you would like help, my steel defender can help you”

Having finished unloading the wood, Clutch returns to his place behind the bar.

"There's plenty of work to be done if a storm really is brewing. We need more firewood cut and brought in, and we need more meat. I make sure to store enough preserved fruits and vegetables to last the winter in case we don't get any traders, but preserved meat is...just not good. And I want to make sure the shutters are in good order. We get enough wind as it is, and it's expensive to get someone to haul glass here.", Clutch answers Windstep, and then continues.

"As strong as this wind is, I'm a little worried we might be in for a mana storm as well. I've only been through a mana storm twice, but they drain the mana right out of everything, making it impossible to use magic. Not that I use magic, but glowstones power all the lights here. If it is a mana storm, we'll have to use candles or oil lamps instead. It's not exactly a great experience for people who channel mana for magic, either."

"Now then, is there anything I can get either of you? If you plan on leaving today, you need to set out as soon as you can to get ahead of the storm."

A worried look appears on Aastidiir's face at the mention of mana storms. "Oh dear, those storms exist here? I should be outside soon, then. We wouldn't want the effects of my polymorph to reverse while I'm still inside. The damage to your establishment would be rather unfortunate. But if I have time for a meal, I'll have your finest breakfast items."

Akemi stumbles out of her room, yawning, and sits down on the ground. “That’s the longest I’ve slept in at least a few full moons.” She gets up and takes out the dagger, then throws it and yells “Hikari!” and her wolf bolts out, catching the dagger in his teeth mere milliseconds after it was thrown. He then trots over to Akemi and drops the dagger. Akemi picks it up and examines it, seeing no marks. “Amazing quality.”