Editing Chapter 4.18

{{Infobox_episode|title = Chapter 4.18|published = March 13, 2018|previousChapter = [[Chapter 4.17]]
[[Chapter 1.06 D]] (Side-Story)|wordcount = 11,114|nextChapter = [[Chapter 4.19]]|link=[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/03/13/4-18/  Chapter 4.18]}}'''Chapter 4.18'''  is the 24th chapter of [[Volume 4]] and [[Book 5]], '''The Last Light'''.

== tl;dr ==
Erin plays with chess with her [[Niers Astoragon|mysterious opponent]] again and buys Bird a good bow. [[Venitra]] and [[Ijvani]] arrive in [[Esthelm]].

== Synopsis ==

* Erin starts her morning being screamed at by Agnes for taking her employees and then firing them. The gold-rank adventurers feel suitably entertained while Erin talks to the representatives on behalf of Celum's innkeepers, Timbor Parithad of the Drunken Swordsman and Ulia Ovena of Blazehound. Erin feigns ignorance for a bit before pointing out how most of Agnes' recent income came from her work and Maran and Safry being poor workers meant she was justified to fire them. Ryoka leaves with Ivolethe to practice reading the wind as Agnes threatens a dispute between Celum's innkeepers and the Wandering Inn. Erin manages to scare them off after telling them her levels and reminding them of the Necromancer that stays in her inn and her guard, Bird.
* Lyonette has been more involved in running the inn since Safry and Maran were fired and Erin had decided that raising Mrsha was more important than managing the inn which meant Lyonette had free reign to keep the Gnoll occupied if needed. She finds Mrsha playing with Erin's ghostly chessboard and watches in horror as Mrsha scatters the pieces and board which are then put back by the person on the other side. Lyonette spanks Mrsha as she trips the barmaid on her way to tell Erin about the chessboard.
* Erin finally remembers the board and notices that the position had been set up to recreate the last position the game was in since Erin left. Lyonette explains that after she and Olesm played a few games the owner kept resetting the game back to this position every time. Erin finally moves a piece and the responding move seems reluctant. The game continues for a six minutes more before she beats them. She then resets the board and turns it around and offers another game. Pawn arrives with his soldiers and Anand and Belgrade, he leaves for the city after realising Erin is busy but leaves his soldiers behind to enjoy the food.
* Olesm sets up an analysis board with the two [Tacticians] as he makes notes for his newsletter. Erin notices the injuries of the two and has them sit nearby as she continues to play. Erin loses that game and realises that these games had been a test for the other person to determine if it was Erin on the other side. Erin spends the rest of the day playing with her opponent falling into a dance of chess with them, eventually she only stops when her hand hurts and notices how dark it is. She sleeps and levels up.
* The next morning Erin decides not to play chess for the day and has a feeling in her stomache. She calls out to Bird and after conferring with Pawn about the extension of the inn she realises that Bird's bow is kind of basic. Ryoka suggests consulting with Krshia as the Gnolls are well known hunters and Erin takes some gold to go see her. On the way Lyonette shows Erin how much Apista has grown, nearly twice the size of a regular Ashfire Bee. She visits Krshia and she mentions that Brunkr is feeling much better since her visit. They go to see a Gnoll [Bowyer] who gives her a discount (down to 26 gold) on account of Ryoka's gift. Erin takes out the coin she received from her mysterious guests and Krshia mentions that it is ancient and that she should aska Dwarf to see what metal it is.
* On the way back Erin gets stopped frequently by the Gnolls asking to see the bow. She gives Bird the bow as advance payment for guarding the inn and Halrac comments on how good the bow is too. Erin persuades Halrac to show Bird how to shoot the bow properly and also suggests that she'll get Lyonette a weapon and maybe a teacher too. She heads to Octavia but still feels that feeling in her stomache. She asks Octavia to continue working on the penicillin and asks about Healing Slimes. Octavia has no idea about it but suggests she talks to a mage before Erin buys a bunch of potions from her for a severe discount.
* Back in the inn she tells Lyonette to gather all the mages and gives her the keywords "slimes", "healing" and "acid". Erin's feeling still hasn't gone away so she goes to see Brunkr next. Brunkr mentions his aspirations to become a [Knight] and Erin asks him to train Lyonette. She tellls him that she feels uneasy and something's coming and she wants everyone to be prepared.
* Venitra and Ijvani finally arrive at a city, Esthelm, not Liscor after passing over a mountain. Ijvani tells Venitra that she should have brought Kerash as he knows Izril better, but Venitra reminds her that she and Oom are the best trackers. Ijvani refutes this as she can't use her magic to find the target and she points Venitra towards Liscor after she starts walking the wrong way.

== Characters ==
* [[Erin Solstice]]
* [[Agnes]]
* [[Timbor Parithad]] (''First Appearance'')
* [[Ulia Ovena]] (''First Appearance'')
* [[Lyonette du Marquin]]
* [[Ishkr]]
* [[Ceria Springwalker]]
* [[Pisces]]
* [[Jelaqua Ivirith]]
* [[Typhenous]]
* [[Halrac Everam]]
* [[Ryoka Griffin]]
* [[Ivolethe]]
* [[Bird]]
* [[Octavia Cotton|Octavia]]
* [[Mrsha]]
* [[Niers Astoragon]] (''As a Chess Opponent'')
* [[Pawn]]
* Painted Antinium Soldiers
** [[Yellow Splatters]]
* [[Olesm Swifttail]]
* [[Anand]]
* [[Belgrade]]
* [[Drassi]]
* [[Apista]]
* [[Krshia Silverfang]]
* Brathiak (''First Appearance'')
* [[Brunkr]]
* [[Venitra]]
* [[Ijvani]]
* [[Oom]] (''Mentioned'')

== Locations ==
* [[The Wandering Inn]]
* [[Liscor]]
** Krshia's Shop
** Brathiak's Shop
** Krshia’s House
* [[Stitchworks]]

== Items ==
* Magical Chess Board
* Recurve Yew Bow
* Coin that shone white and silver

== Statistics Obtained ==

==== Erin Solstice ====
* Classes/Levels = [Magical Innkeeper] Lv. 31 (+1)
[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume 4]]
[[Category:Book 5]]