Alaric and the rat were headed back to the inn. They had gone through a lot today, particularly Alaric.
The only major struggle that the rat went through was not having any lunch. But Alaric went through a similar struggle.
"Why does this rat like me so much?" Alaric pondered.
The rat did have a strange appearance, being white and missing an eye. Alaric was moderately suspicious of the rat. It was strange that the rat had such particular attachment to Alaric.
The main benefit that the Rat got from being with Alaric was a stable food supply, something that was in high demand in modern rat culture.
"This rat definitely is relevant." Alaric thought. He took a second to examine the rat.
Looking over it, it seemed to be a normal rat. It was skinny. Its eyes were normal, there was nothing particularly off about the rat.
There was always the possibility of something being morphed into the rat. Transformation magic was a real thing, and Alaric didn't have the ability to detect it.
"I'll leave it be. The rat is of no major inconvenience to me as of now." Alaric determined. He neither loved nor hated the rat, it was extremely neutral.
They eventually ended up back at the inn around 7:30. Alaric was tired and hungry.
The entered the inn, hearing the bell ringing.
"Welcome back." Cornelius greeted them.
"Your room should be as it was, I didn't clean it." Cornelius laughed. It would obviously be extra charge to get the room cleaned.
"Alright, well can I get some dinner for me and the rat?" Alaric asked, listening to his stomach.
"Sure. Tonight is mutton. Three char a portion. You can give me a half char for some scraps to give to the rat." Cornelius responded, moving into the small kitchen.
"Sounds good man, sounds good." Alaric said. Mutton was actually pretty good.
Alaric handed over four charred, he didn't have any half charred on him so he just tipped Cornelius.
"Keep the change." Alaric said.
A tear-esque aura streamed down Cornelious' face, but no actual tears were emitted.
"Sure thing!" Cornelious said happily.
Alaric and Cornelious both shared a love for any money there was.
Alaric waited patiently, playing with the rat while he waited.
He let the rat crawl over him, and played a game where he would let him on the floor and he would try to catch him.
The bond between Alaric and the rat was growing closer, but not enough for the rat to get a name.
After a second, Cornelious came out with the mutton, a hot, small portion with some bread and butter on the side.
Along with that, he brought a small plate full of scraps for the rat, containing trimmings from the meat and random pieces of the bread.
Both Alaric and the rat ate ravenously, but cleanly. They didn't want to waste food by having it smeared on their face or falling on their clothes.
The food was by no means very good, but it was solid given the price and circumstances. It was pretty much exactly its money's worth.
Cornelious had integrity in his pricing that was unmatched with anyone Alaric had ever encountered.
After eating, Alaric put his dishes and utensils away for Cornelious to clean.
He then head up to his room along with the rat after eating a moderate portion.
He was now in his room, and put his stuff away. His purchases today were significant.
An order was placed for a boat for him.
He bought adequate clothes for the future.
He got a machete.
He got a cursed fishing rod in exchange for a half pound of flesh.
Alaric was pleased with the haul, placing his various purchases down. It was now time for him to clean himself and relax.
He got undressed and headed to the washroom, where he rinsed his body with water and soap. Alaric liked to be clean and to try to not smell super bad. He generally felt better about himself when he felt clean.
He washed the rat gently too, getting some of the grime out of the fur. The rat was still kind of dirty, but Alaric didn't pursue it further.
After he finished washing up, he got some underwear on and lied in bed with the rat.
He then quickly got up and locked the door to his room, something that he couldn't forget to do.
He kept the ring on as he prepared to sleep.
He fell asleep quickly, contemplating about what he would do tomorrow.
"I need to go to the fisherman's guild-zzzz" Alaric was fast asleep.
Rip Rip
Alaric woke up to a strange sound. It was the middle of the night.
It sounded like something was tearing through cloth.
Rip Rip
Alaric was groggy but he got up to check out what was going on,
It was the fishing rod.
On the end of the hook, there was a shriveled up fish with sharp teeth.
"I'll fucking worry about it in the morning." Alaric thought. He was not in the mood to deal with curses at midnight. The shriveled up fish looked dead enough so that he could leave that matter until the morning.
Returning to his bed, Alaric went to sleep. In extreme times of exhaustion, even the threat of a curse seemed less of a priority than getting proper rest.
Alaric awoke to the light of day next to the rat.
He was in extreme pain. The painkiller had clearly worn off. But the pain wasn't as bad as before. He would likely want to stay in bed for the day to rest, after all such a large injury would not be practical to walk around with.
He shook the rat awake, it woke up.
He decided on a strategy. He would let the rat investigate the ground before he would go. He was clearly alive, and didn't feel any different other than the injury.
He set the rat on the ground, and it scurried around the room, making mouse noises along the way.
Five minutes passed and the rat seemed fine.
Alaric decided to get out of bed to look.
He carefully peeked at the rod, and sure enough, the strange shriveled fish was there.
He now was standing up and holding the rod to get a closer look.
The fish was grey and wrinkled, it wasn't very large. Its eyes were red and it had sharp teeth, it was almost a comically evil looking fish. Yet it didn't appear to pose much of a threat. It was dead.
Alaric carefully took it off the hook and set it on the ground.
He now took the rod in his hands to examine it.
Suddenly, the black color of the rod started to change. It was changing to a brownish-gold color.
"Huh, likely part of the curse." Alaric thought.
He was fine taking a chance on the curse, it would likely benefit him in some way, somehow.
He held the now brown and golden rod in his hands and smiled.
"This world is a good world to fish."