The sun crept over the distant hills like a gentle yawn stretching across the sky, casting golden light through the windows of the inn. Morning had broken, and with it came the quiet clatter of boots on wooden floors and the smell of baked bread drifting up from the kitchen below.
Inside the shared room of Liam, Jason, Marcus, and the dwarf, a few groggy curses and yawns filled the air.
"Gods, my back is broken," Jason muttered, rubbing his neck as he sat up from the straw-filled mattress.
Marcus was already lacing his boots, scowling at the dwarf who was still buried under the covers. "Oi! Get up, lazy stump. This ain't no royal inn."
"I am up," the dwarf grumbled, voice muffled in the blankets. "Just spiritually... not physically."
