The Guest House opened on a random Thursday. When all the workers left, River and Pearl stood in front of the building, looking at it with a mix of pride, anticipation and excitement. Well, at least that’s what River felt. Pearl just felt... confused. Was this her home now? How many years had it been since she had a home?

The Guest House was a modest building. Honestly, it was not something River could have afforded to build, despite how humble it was. He almost couldn’t believe that the City Lord funded all this. But then again, this was probably not a lot of money to him at all.

The Guest house had a reception desk at the entrance, which doubled as a bar counter, and a medium sized seating room with tables and chairs in case passing guests wanted to eat. There were two guest rooms for now, with the building designed in such a way that it could be expanded further later on.

There was also a single store room, a modest kitchen and a large, empty basement which was, on paper, a cold storage. In reality, River had never been there once since it was complete, nor did he intend on going unless Cliff asked him to go.

All of this had been at his behest, and so River wasn’t sure what to expect. Even if nothing really came of it, he would not be disappointed. After all, he’d slept out in the wilderness often enough - let alone inside his own building.

"What now?" Pearl asked as she stood at the entrance of the building, somewhat unsure of how to proceed.

"Now, let me cook you my famous-" before River could even complete his words, the sound of glass breaking from one of the back rooms interrupted him.

The building and rooms were brand new, not even properly used yet, so the sound of something breaking greatly distressed River who ran to the room to investigate. Within, he found a large bird, clutching tightly onto a white colored weasel, its fur stained by blood. The weasel was fighting for its life, and the bird was flapping its wings rigorously, though one of them seemed injured.

Watching the struggle between the two, mundane animals, River could not help but laugh out of anger. His precious window! It would cost at least twelve copper coins to get it replaced!

Pearl could not help but chuckle as she saw River, the weasel and the bird fight and scream at each other, filling the Guest House with its first sounds of laughter. Lex watched everything happen from within the necklace, and could not help but feel somewhat melancholic.

Back when he started the Inn, it too was completely silent, filled with only the sounds of him and his workers. It seemed that he must be approaching his 26th birthday, for older age was making him more and more sentimental. He could not help but compare everything to how it used to be. Or maybe... he was just missing the Inn now that he wasn’t connected to it anymore.

A single, deep sigh escaped Lex as he allowed himself to feel these emotions for a while. At the same time, he reflected. He had enjoyed the good times, so now in the tougher times he had overcome his shortcomings.

Though he allowed himself to wallow, there was not a shred of weakness in his demeanor. Instead, he ingrained this feeling deep in his heart. For every iota of it, he would seek recompense.

For a few hours the Guest House was filled with harmony, and when night came River and Pearl sat at the dinner table with a few extra guests. Or rather, they sat with a caged bird and a leashed weasel who were also given food under Pearl’s insistence.

River looked at the two animals eating hungrily, and suppressed his anger, which only caused Pearl to laugh. He tried so hard to keep up a happy face that to see him express his emotions was actually quite refreshing.

Hearing her laugh, River’s expression eased, and then he looked at the food on the table. There was... porridge, and boiled potatoes, marinated in lemon juice and covered in salt. It was a humble meal, but for some reason it felt so grand to him.

Just as he was about to eat, though, the sound of a knock on the door interrupted him. He looked at Pearl, and saw that she was looking at him too, unsure of how to respond.

River quickly got up to welcome the new potential guests, but when he opened the door, there was no one other.

A chill travelled down his spine as he thought about the potential for ghosts. How could he slam a ghost in the face with a shield? It would never work!

Before his imaginative mind went into a spiral, he heard the knock again, and this time it was followed by the sound of a door opening.

The basement door was open, and Cliff was standing on the steps.

"Sorry, I hope I didn’t get you at a bad time," he said with a smile before waving towards Pearl who was looking at him with confusion. She waved back.

"She can see you," River suddenly exclaimed, realizing that Cliff was no longer restricting himself from appearing before others.

"Of course she can see me. What did you think, that I was a ghost?" Cliff asked as he stepped forward. "Since you’ve gone and established the Guest House, and done everything else that I asked, I thought it was time I repaid the favor."

Pearl suddenly took off her necklace and then looked at it, before turning to Cliff.

"Are you the spirit of this necklace?" she asked, her voice suddenly a lot more commanding than he’d ever heard it.

Lex laughed.

"You could say that," he answered as he looked towards Pearl with only admiration in his eyes. "I mean you no harm, if that is your concern. If I wanted to harm you, I never would have helped River out to begin with. I am here, instead, to offer you repayment for the help you’ve given me, and discuss the future with you both."