A few years have passed and your medical schooling is complete and you now work at the Klyton hospital as a real doctor.



Your personal life has changed quite a bit over the past few years as well. You currently live in an apartment near the hospital with a fellow medical student. Actually she's your girlfriend. It started out as a simple roommates thing, but then it developed into something a little more. Cindy still has a year of schooling to go, and you now have a job at the hospital so you weren't planning on going anywhere just yet.



However Cindy suggests that the pair of you should leave for the Delantium Kingdom, specifically Sivak, which is the closest big city. She mentions that there are more opportunities there and she would prefer living there as well.



You don't really have any specific objections against going there, it's just you've never left Klyton, so you're probably a little nervous especially since you've managed to succeed in getting a good job here and maintain a friendly relationship with most of the people you work beside.



Well you have a year to hammer out all the plans in the meantime you're on your way to visit your mother. You don't see her as much as you used to but she is of course very proud of you and mentions that your father would be too if he were still alive. After all it was always his goal to make sure that you went into medicine for a career.



When you get to the Traveler's Inn, it never ceases to amaze you how much the place has changed and how much it has grown since the days when you were little. Wendy does most of the day to day inn management nowadays, leaving your mom to concentrate on the cooking, which she prefers in the first place. Rita still works there surprisingly enough. Apparently she found it a lot better to just hook up with various rich guys for a short period of time to get some gifts and then remain single.



Eliza is the new head barmaid. You guess that experience with the whole Griffon Inn situation boosted her confidence. She even managed to turn Flameflower and Sunshine into productive employees! You remember how friendly you were to each other and how sometimes it seemed like there was the potential for more there, but neither one of you seriously pursued it.



"Well, haven't seen you in awhile Mr. big shot doctor. You still with that…girl?" Rita asks when you walk in.

"Her name's Cindy and yes I am, Rita. What's it to you anyway?"

"Nothing, can't I be concerned for your well being? I mean we have known each other for a long time and all."

"Hm. Well I'm fine. Where's my mom?"

"She's in the kitchen as usual."



You walk past Rita, shaking your head at her sudden interest in you now that you have a good paying job. As you approach the bar, Wendy notices you.



"I see the great doctor has come for a visit. Taking a break from that girl you shacked up with huh? Anyway your mom is in the kitchen." She says and then goes back to talking with some of the patrons.



When you enter the kitchen your mom turns around to see you and smiles before rushing to give you a big hug.



"Aw mom." You say not wanting all this fuss.

"Hey indulge me, I don't get to see you as much as I used to. So how have you been? What's going on? Are you still with…that girl?"

"Her name's Cindy, geez why doesn't anyone like her? Rita and Wendy both made some snide remark about her as I came walking in."

"Sorry son, I'm sure Cindy's a nice girl and all, but the couple times you visited here with her, she was a bit pretentious, and you know Wendy doesn't care for people like that. As for Rita, well I'm sure you know why she's acts the way she does by now."

" Okay I know Cindy has a bit of that upper class personality, but Eliza was the only one who even tried to be friendly with Cindy the last time she was here!"

"Eliza would be friendly to a mountain troll as long as it wasn't eating her. It's just her nature. Not to mention she thinks you're happy with Cindy so she's happy for you."

"So, why can't you be happy for me?"

"Who said I wasn't? If that's who you want then good! I'm all for it. The question though is are you happy?"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't be moving with her to Sivak by next year if I wasn't! That's sort of why I came here today. I wanted to let you know, I'll be leaving Klyton soon."



You mother doesn't seem too emotional about this revelation, you were sort of expecting more tears or celebration. Instead she just sighs and heads off to cut some vegetables, before speaking again.



"Hmm, okay. Well as long as you're sure that's what you want to do."

"Why wouldn't it? I mean there are more opportunities in Sivak than there are here for me and Cindy. You didn't want me to stay did you? I thought you were going to sell this place and move to Teckleville anyway."

"No, of course I don't want you to stay for me! Geez, I can manage just fine. Your father and I always knew the day would come that you'd move far away. As for selling this place, eh, I'm not sure yet. It is true that after your father died, my main motivation was to keep this place running to help continue paying for your education. I figured after that goal was reached I would indeed retire to Teckleville. I dunno now though. I guess after all the stuff we went through to keep this place, not to mention making it better, I've become more attached to it again."



Now you're sort of surprised to hear her say that, you thought for sure that she was fully intending on moving back to Teckleville.



"Well, no matter where you are, I hope you know I'll visit." You say.

"Oh of course, I wasn't worried about that. Well anyway I have to finish preparing this drakling. Some adventurers can't ever order something simple, well at least they brought it in themselves I suppose."



At this point you and your mother say goodbye to each other and you walk out of the kitchen. On your way out you bump into Eliza.



"Hey you! I haven't seen you in a long time! How have you been? Are things going well for you and Cindy?"

You smile at the fact that she remembered your girlfriend's name. "I've been okay. I heard about you being the head waitress now, congratulation."

"Thanks, I'm actually running a little late right now. I'll have to talk with you later, maybe we should meet sometime when we're not both busy."

"Um…yeah maybe. Well see you later." You say and quickly leave the area.



As you leave you feel a mixture of guilt, anxiety and confusion. Part of you wants to go back. You don't know if you have real feelings for Eliza or you're just deliberately thinking about sabotaging things so you don't have to move away from Klyton.

You go home

You never really had a relationship with Eliza on any romantic level; it's probably just the "idea of Eliza" that's getting to you. Your life is probably going to change a lot in the near future so your mind is starting to look for loopholes to stay.



But you shake off these feelings. Your life is going good right now, why jeopardize it with poor judgment and fear of the unknown? You overcame hardship to get where you are now. To invite more drama when it isn't necessary would be foolish.



You head home and when Cindy is finished with her classes you take her out for romantic dinner to reaffirm your dedication of your future plans together. This seems to please her greatly.



During your last remaining year in Klyton, you don't visit your family's inn anymore as a safety precaution. You don't need doubt plaguing your thoughts again. You do make one more visit to your mom before you do eventually leave though.



Thanks to Cindy's family connections in the Delantium Kingdom, your job at the Sivak hospital is more or less secured (Obviously hers is as well), though they were in need of more medical professionals anyway. The hospital there is a little newer and understaffed, so for a while you're working a little more than you usually did, but over time your workload becomes manageable.



Your life in general plays out rather mundanely, you end up living in a nice area and eventually you have a couple of children. No major problems for you ever truly crop up though.



As for the old inn, your mother eventually does sell it a few years after you initially left Klyton and retires to Teckleville. On one of your family visits you ask who bought the place and she says Wendy ended up taking it over, which doesn't surprise you. Curiosity gets the better of you and you ask your mother for more information on your old co-workers. Your mother mentions that Rita quit about a few months before she sold the place. Apparently she finally snagged a guy rich enough to settle down with. Flameflower took her place as hostess and she, along with her sister Sunshine still work there. As for Eliza your mother says she was still working as the head barmaid there.



"All seems like a lifetime ago eh?" your mother says.

"Yeah. I suppose so." You answer a little preoccupied.

"Is there something wrong son?"

"Oh no. Nothing wrong, just momentarily lost in thought."



You don't really explain anymore than that, but your mother senses that you're playing "what could've been" again. She doesn't address it directly, but does mention of how successful you are and how you've got a good life. She also mentions of how it's everything that your father and her could've hoped for you. This truth snaps you out of it, and you never dwell on the past again.



You live out the rest of your life in Sivak working as a physician until you decide to retire. You grow old with Cindy, your children eventually have their own families, and one day you fall asleep and don't wake up.



Yes, it was a good life overall, but your years as an innkeeper were definitely the ones that helped achieve it.