The Briar-Route Waystation: I Bought a Run-Down Tavern in the Boundless Wilds

Elian was done with the Guild. Ten years of thankless labor as a merchant clerk was enough. He spent every copper he had on a deed to the Oaken Hearth, a waystation situated on a "busy" road just a week from the capital of the Boundless Wilds.

The merchant lied.

The "busy road" is a rutted track through ancient timber. The tavern is a ruin. And the previous owner didn't vacate for a "family emergency"—he was eaten.

But Elian is an architect of survival. He doesn't need a paved road; he needs a sturdy foundation. By trading leafy greens for Fire-bite peppers and watered-down ale for magical Ember-Draft, Elian begins to turn the Oaken Hearth into a sanctuary for the lethal denizens of the Wilds.

There’s just one logistical error he didn't account for: Beastkin biology. As the tavern fills with dominant monster-girls and primal instincts, Elian quickly learns that dealing with his new clientele requires a completely different kind of customer service.

From the seven-foot-tall Frost Wolf Alpha who has decided the human clerk is her new mate, to the Centaur caravans seeking a safe harbor, Elian will prove that in the Boundless Wilds, a human's greatest weapon isn't a sword—it's high-tier plumbing, a properly reinforced floor, and furniture built to withstand the affections of his monstrous patrons.

(Cross posted on Royal Roads)

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