Editing ALVATIA: Ingsby - Inn
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The front door opens directly into the hall; an irregular stone doorstep keeps the entrance from being scuffed into a rut. Perhaps a score of people could be seated here; the room is 14 feet deep and 30 feet long. Several trestle tables and rickety stools crowd the hard, uneven dirt floor of this room; a broad hearth and chimney dominates the room. Every few days, a new layer of reeds is spread over the floor, and the old layer is burned in the hearth. An iron arm and kettle testify to the use of the hearth for at least some of the cooking duties here; two niches in the stone chimney front above the hearth can hold small items for warming. Rough timbers cross the room just above head height; a few planks have been placed upon them to support a collection of cheeses, blankets, old buckets, and other items. Above the timbers, the dark and shaggy underside of the thatch sags between the roof beams; a shadowy fuzz of cobwebs obscures the underside of the roof ridge. The outer walls, roughly textured and unpainted, have seen rough use; bits of wattle and straw protrude here and there. The interior walls at each end of this room are of undaubed wattle. An open doorway in one interior wall leads further into the building; a small back door opens into a squalid pasture, where the inn’s patrons relieve themselves; the small brewshed sits in this pasture. The hall smells of stale ale, sweat, smoke, thatch, mold, bedding, the byre, and the kitchen. Two shuttered but unglazed windows, one in front and one in back, let some light into the hall by day; at night, the fireplace or perhaps a single oil lamp provide the only light. Another “cat door,” this one without a flap, opens into the byre. | The front door opens directly into the hall; an irregular stone doorstep keeps the entrance from being scuffed into a rut. Perhaps a score of people could be seated here; the room is 14 feet deep and 30 feet long. Several trestle tables and rickety stools crowd the hard, uneven dirt floor of this room; a broad hearth and chimney dominates the room. Every few days, a new layer of reeds is spread over the floor, and the old layer is burned in the hearth. An iron arm and kettle testify to the use of the hearth for at least some of the cooking duties here; two niches in the stone chimney front above the hearth can hold small items for warming. Rough timbers cross the room just above head height; a few planks have been placed upon them to support a collection of cheeses, blankets, old buckets, and other items. Above the timbers, the dark and shaggy underside of the thatch sags between the roof beams; a shadowy fuzz of cobwebs obscures the underside of the roof ridge. The outer walls, roughly textured and unpainted, have seen rough use; bits of wattle and straw protrude here and there. The interior walls at each end of this room are of undaubed wattle. An open doorway in one interior wall leads further into the building; a small back door opens into a squalid pasture, where the inn’s patrons relieve themselves; the small brewshed sits in this pasture. The hall smells of stale ale, sweat, smoke, thatch, mold, bedding, the byre, and the kitchen. Two shuttered but unglazed windows, one in front and one in back, let some light into the hall by day; at night, the fireplace or perhaps a single oil lamp provide the only light. Another “cat door,” this one without a flap, opens into the byre. | ||
| − | The interior door from the hall leads to the kitchen, which smells more strongly of cooking odors. A simple floor hearth without a chimney is centered on the dirt floor, straddled by an iron tripod which supports another kettle. The thatch, ceiling timbers, and roof beams in this room are heavily darkened by smoke from the hearth; a few cobwebs billow in the upper angles of the roof. Two trestle tables are in this room, used as work surfaces by the innkeeper. At night, these tables are taken apart, and the innkeeper’s family sleeps here; two stained and battered chests contain the bedding and finer possessions of the family. Pegs or shelves on the sturdier parts of the wall support the simple implements of the innkeeper – wooden spoons, pottery bowls, a goat's udder colander, and a large collection of shapeless leather | + | The interior door from the hall leads to the kitchen, which smells more strongly of cooking odors. A simple floor hearth without a chimney is centered on the dirt floor, straddled by an iron tripod which supports another kettle. The thatch, ceiling timbers, and roof beams in this room are heavily darkened by smoke from the hearth; a few cobwebs billow in the upper angles of the roof. Two trestle tables are in this room, used as work surfaces by the innkeeper. At night, these tables are taken apart, and the innkeeper’s family sleeps here; two stained and battered chests contain the bedding and finer possessions of the family. Pegs or shelves on the sturdier parts of the wall support the simple implements of the innkeeper – wooden spoons, pottery bowls, a goat's udder colander, and a large collection of shapeless leather “jacks” for serving ale. A ceramic firestopper leans against the wall when it is not in use. The end (interior) walls of the kitchen are undaubed wattle, each with an open doorway; a rickety ladder leads up to a loft over the last section of the building. A shuttered window is let into each of the outside walls of this room. Past the kitchen, the last section of the inn is divided by a wattle wall into two sections: a pantry and a buttery. The pantry is used to store bread, eggs, salt fish or meat, etc.; the buttery stores ale, milk, and other beverages. Both are a clutter of shelves, baskets, jars, barrels, tubs, and other containers. The loft above this section holds hay, grain, dried fruit in baskets, piles and sacks of vegetables, and other supplies. There are no windows in this section of the inn. Plenty of rat dropping indicate the interest of rodents in the contents of this bay. |
Several cords of firewood are piled under the back eaves of the inn. | Several cords of firewood are piled under the back eaves of the inn. | ||
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His wife, Ethel, is a careworn and fatigued woman. Almost ten years younger than her husband, she has coarse black hair and dark eyes. She usually smells of kitchen smoke. Caring for her children, and working in the kitchen, have left her with little time for rest or the appreciation of pleasure. She is very pious, and when free time is (rarely) presented will be found at the shrine. | His wife, Ethel, is a careworn and fatigued woman. Almost ten years younger than her husband, she has coarse black hair and dark eyes. She usually smells of kitchen smoke. Caring for her children, and working in the kitchen, have left her with little time for rest or the appreciation of pleasure. She is very pious, and when free time is (rarely) presented will be found at the shrine. | ||
| − | ===Gertrude | + | ===Gertrude Long=== |
Ethel’s sister, Gertrude, is 35 years old. She and her son, Ronald, became part of John Long’s household after her husband died of a fall into a frozen pond four years ago. Gertrude appreciates what her sister and John have done for her and Ronald, but John is not someone who encourages loyalty or gratitude. Given half a chance, Ethel would leave the inn, or even Ingsby, if she thought she and her son would be better off. Ethel has charge of the ale-brewing for the inn, and is proud of the fact that she has never been fined for weak ale. | Ethel’s sister, Gertrude, is 35 years old. She and her son, Ronald, became part of John Long’s household after her husband died of a fall into a frozen pond four years ago. Gertrude appreciates what her sister and John have done for her and Ronald, but John is not someone who encourages loyalty or gratitude. Given half a chance, Ethel would leave the inn, or even Ingsby, if she thought she and her son would be better off. Ethel has charge of the ale-brewing for the inn, and is proud of the fact that she has never been fined for weak ale. | ||
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Ethel and Gertrude are the older sisters of Bertram, the village wright. | Ethel and Gertrude are the older sisters of Bertram, the village wright. | ||
| − | ===Ronald | + | ===Ronald Long=== |
Ronald is the 13 year old son of Gertrude. He does not enjoy living at the inn, as John and Ethel’s younger children are not very nice to him. He is given a lot of chores to do in the inn yard, and has been considering going to a city, or entering service with some lord. | Ronald is the 13 year old son of Gertrude. He does not enjoy living at the inn, as John and Ethel’s younger children are not very nice to him. He is given a lot of chores to do in the inn yard, and has been considering going to a city, or entering service with some lord. | ||
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===Terry Long=== | ===Terry Long=== | ||
| − | ===John Long | + | ===John Long=== |
Two younger children, Terry (age 10) and John (age 9), are also part of the household; they often tease Ronald. Of all the children in the village, these two boys have the least chores to do, and thus the most free time. | Two younger children, Terry (age 10) and John (age 9), are also part of the household; they often tease Ronald. Of all the children in the village, these two boys have the least chores to do, and thus the most free time. | ||
