Temujin entered the tavern area of the inn and was immediately met with a man in armor towering above him by at least several good feet! He drew back, thinking him to be some sort of giant creature. This massive man opened his mouth to say something, but then a small figure dashed in between the two of them muttering "Excuse me!" in a breathless tone, heading for a certain place in the inn. The big armored man followed him soon after, perhaps seeing something interesting in the paper he carried.
Blinking, Temujin recovered from his initial shock and looked around the crowded the area with a sweeping, albeit rushed, questioning look. He needed to take in the lay of the land, of course, as well as formulate a way to ask the ultimate question: How was he supposed to make money? He responded to curious glances directed his way with narrowed, suspicious eyes, to which some of the less troublesome crowd politely responded by looking away. Those on the tougher side of things answered back with glares of their own and little mutters. He held their stares for a while before moving on to new ones. The innkeep was growing perturbed by this and began subtly moving over to the strange young man before anything could happen.
"I need money," the nomad stated plainly for all to hear. "What can I do to get some?"
The innkeeper looked flustered as he saw, in response to the question, many raised eyebrows, mutters, and several snickers. He had enough experience to know that when some young men's odd questions were met with these reactions, they tended to get all puffed up and challenging, driven to prove themselves in this room full of men--and women--of their worth. The results weren't always pretty.
"Oy, I'm sure you canna wash th' dishes fer some coin," a customer jibed.
"Or mebbe help take out th' rubbish out back," another one added.
Temujin cocked an eyebrow. "What-"
But before he could complete the question, the innkeeper was already at his side in a dash. It was rather in vain, for Temujin was only about to ask how much those tasks would pay for. But of course, the nervous man couldn't have known that--he was too busy thinking about the safety of his inn to have even waited for Temujin to finish speaking.
"I'm rather sorry, young man," the innkeeper interrupted. "We've enough staff at the moment. But perhaps you could find something on the request board?" He pointed to a big wooden board where papers of various sorts were pinned. The big armored man was also there, clearing up the reason why he had followed the little hooded figure.
Hearing no response from him, the innkeeper nudged him slowly in the board's direction, mistaking his silent awe of the big man's armor for reluctance. "You don't have to have a job in particular to do these," he explained. "They're requests put up by the townspeople, or even foreigners, for certain things like finding people, lost objects, or new objects for that matter, although it will involve some traveling--and what else? Ah! But you look like an adventurer, perhaps you'll find something to suit yourself." When they finally reached the request board the innkeeper added one last time before going back to his business, "You just have to contact the person who put up the paper you want to take up. Then once they have accepted you, you'll do the task, come back to them, and get your pay!"
Temujin stood several moments staring at the papers, giving the armored man some sidelong glances. Then again at the papers, and then the man. After several minutes of silence, he tentatively asked the other in his accented Common: "I can't read. What does it say?" His finger jabbed the middle of the little paper that the armored man had been reading.
