Schultzemer Adventures: Fritz, the Fearless Innkeeper

“Your room is ready,” the dour woman said as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. A slight hunch in her back made it appear as if she was just a second away from curling into a foetal position and hiding in the darkest corner of the small lobby.

“Oh good, my head’s killing me. It was a rough night out there last night.” Fritz adjusted the collar of his shirt and took his hat off to rub his eyes. “I don’t know how many… or how much I had last night, but it was a lot.”

The woman eyed him suspiciously before mumbling something about ‘drunkards’ as she grabbed a key from behind her desk and tossed it to him with surprising speed for someone so thin.

He caught the key and turned around to face her again. “I told you, I wasn’t drunk! The air was just heavy with fog last night, so moving through it was hard work. I got lost in the mist when I left the tavern, that’s why I came here instead of going home straight away! Thank goodness I did though; otherwise I wouldn’t have seen this beautiful young woman here at my hotel!” He gestured to the mysterious stranger standing next to him on the right, who had been there all along but he hadn’t noticed until now because he had been talking.

Fritz looked back at the woman behind the desk, expecting her to be surprised by what he said; but he was met only by her tired gaze and drooping shoulders. “Yes, yes… whatever you say,” she muttered as she turned towards a large book that sat on top of a shelf behind where she stood. She sighed as she opened it and began to search for something inside its pages.

The young woman next to him smiled politely and nodded at him as if he were a sweet old man with dementia who had just said a funny thing about himself; which he supposed he kind of had done by now. She didn't speak though, which made Fritz wonder if she couldn't speak - or if maybe she hadn't even wanted to talk in the first place? He turned back towards his room and walked up to it while holding his key out in front of him like an ancient sword in a fight against evil spirits. He inserted it into its lock and turned it before pushing open the door into his room. The hinges groaned loudly as they dragged themselves across their wooden frame and let him into his abode before closing themselves up behind him with finality - locking out all of the life-giving light outside - as he stepped inside.

He flipped over a candle that sat on top of a side table next to his bed and held it up above his head so that he could look around at all of this new setting's details without getting any wax anywhere on himself or anything else in sight; realisation hit him quickly after that however when he saw that there really wasn't much detail at all to be found aside from the bed itself, which sat in the middle of an empty floor covered simply by an unadorned rug atop wooden boards. There was no window in sight either; but then again, when did walls have windows? Maybe this room's window was round instead of square…? No, probably not; then again, nothing would surprise him anymore after what happened last night after all - sober, drunk or otherwise!

His thoughts were interrupted by noises that could only be made by footsteps making their way towards him; some soft like those belonging to a cat's paw while others were loud like those belonging to a horse's hoof: steps belonging to two different sets of feet were approaching from somewhere outside in front of him - probably from down below through the lobby? He heard voices speaking German mixed with an accent that sounded like that from his village Schultzemer… or maybe it was just another accent he didn't recognise? Maybe they weren't even speaking German? Maybe they spoke another language altogether? Now who's being paranoid now?! Of course they're speaking German! They wouldn't be here if they weren't! What do you think you've gotten yourself into here? You've always wanted adventure though... so here you go! Take this opportunity while you can! Be bold! Be brave! But be quiet too! Don't do anything stupid – remember last night at least! That went well... right?! Be that guy again – not this one! Being this guy will get you killed – remember last night at least! That went well... right?! Be that girl again – not this one! Being this girl will get you killed – remember yesterday morning at least! That went well... right?! Be Fritz Rentner instead – not this young woman here… being her will get her killed – remember yesterday morning at least! That went well... right?! Oh boy... maybe staying inside is better after all.... This room doesn't seem very safe anyway…. Too many bad memories associated with each item inside…. And yet… none of them are bad memories for me personally… They're all things I'd rather associate myself with than not… Yes… stay inside…. At least we'll survive until morning…. Hopefully morning comes soon enough....