Amtyo grimaced. Cheery inn, yeah right. The whole entrance room of the Song of Elves Tavern and Inn fell in a blanket of silence as he entered, broken only by the occasional murmur of words between customers. No need to ask what the lack of normal excitement and buzz was for, though: Amtyo knew that one could only look so good after spending nearly a month in dark caverns far below the surface of the planet.

He looked around the hall. Familiar faces he once had known had disappeared, and even the nice bartender had seemed to take a change for the worse, appearing much older and angrier. Even though he had only been gone for a month, it seemed the whole planet had changed. Any day last month, there were brawls, yells, and a feeling that peace was still around. That feeling, along with the joy and delight in the air, had disappeared.

After spending less than a minute looking around, he took another step in. Dirt and soot fell off him as he moved; he looked down at it in disgust. After moving to take a seat in the bar, he decided against it. Just imagine a nice, long, shower, he thought with a smirk, and immediately he seemed to feel better. Boy, was he tired! He was only fourteen; no way he could have gone on four hours of sleep every night.

He went up to the table and threw a gold coin on it. Without speaking, the bartender reached down and grabbed a key- covered in dirt- with his room number on it. 13, Amtyo thought. How appropriate. He muttered thanks and wandered off.

He was almost out of the room. Tired, dirty, and grumpy, all he could think of was a shower and sleep. But that would have to be put off, and a voice sounded from behind him.

"Wait, stop!"