Blue Rain Houses
Frequently traveled roads often have inns spaced out at intervals of a day's journey, so travelers can hop one to the other on longer journeys.
But sometimes, due to chance or mishaps travelers end up in between these ideally spaced inns. Many less well-traveled roads and paths do not have inns along their routes, or at least not along all of their routes.
Camping in the woods or on the side is the road is not impossible but it is something Scarterrans do not like to do, and it's something Scarterrans do not like to tolerate on or near their lands, but it is normally a last resort. Travelers prefer to stay in a house, or at least a barn. Saying "I stayed in a gnomish inn" a common slang term for "I stayed at a stranger's house and paid them money or did some chores for them in return." The term gnomish inn is used even though the practice is hardly exclusive to gnomes.
Most commoners have a love/hate hate relationship with strangers where they both fear and distrust strangers but they also yearn to meet with strangers for news and diversion. This means a stranger in town might be able to sweet talk a local into giving them a place to sleep or they might ask the wrong local for help and get a pitch fork pointed at them.
Most Scarterran rural folk usually judge whether they welcome or shun strangers on a case-by-case basis depending on how the strangers in questions look and act. But there are Scarterrans that are either extra trusting or at least extra curious about strangers. In nearly every village, one can say "The people at that house are the most likely to take you all in".
These houses are often known as "Blue Rain Houses".
History
Mera is the goddess of many things including hearth fires and peace between disparate peoples. She is commonly associated with the color blue.
Nami is the goddess of many things including safe travels and all forms of weather. Nami is a complicated goddess who certainly has a dark side, but her benevolent side is associated with gentle rains.
A fluffy blue cloud or a blue rainbow or a blue drawing of stylized raindrops is sometimes used as a symbol for shelter and hospitality. A tradition has gradually arisen where peasant families who want to associate their home with providing hospitality to strangers inovke both Mera and Nami by painting blue rain symbology on or near the entrances to their houses or simply painting the door blue.
A few houses of xenophobic families have gone the opposite route and used red symbols on the door as a sort of "No Soliciting Sign" but this practice has not caught on and sometimes a red door is just red because the owners because the owners like the color.
Execution
A Blue Rain House is not a chariable institution and the owners of Blue Rain Houses are not normally rich people. Payment for food and shelter is expected and a would-be visitor that refuses to offer payment will be turned away, blue door or no blue door.
More often than not, payment for a Blue Rain House is typically more expensive than an actual inn. If an actual inn was an option, they'd go there instead. Travelers visiting a Blue Rain House don't have a lot of other options and their would-be hosts know this.
Haggling is permitted and payment need not be monetary. Guests can provide food or offer labor. Very commonly, guests offer tales and songs as part of their payment or if they are entertainers by trade, as the entirety of their payment.
Components and tools
Sometimes, Blue Rain Houses make enough income from their side hustle acting as part-time inns that they add amenities to their homes. Such homes may have extra beds or privacy curtains.
Blue Rain Houses are often a bit bigger than average peasant houses and many have bigger stables which comes in handy for taking on guests' mounts and pack animals.
In many cases, when an area evolves from a lowly trafficked area into a highly traffic area, sometimes Blue Rian Houses transition into becoming full-time inns.
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