The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance

By: Chiara Bullen

Published by Random House Worlds, 2026-07-07

An ambitious young scholar is sent to research the mysteries of an adventurer's inn—only to uncover a centuries-old secret while finding true friendship and a new home in this heartwarming cozy fantasy.

Mount Vengeance is legendary. For most, it’s an adventure, or a quest to prove themselves worthy of fame and glory. For Ainsworth Gladsly, it’s the perfect thesis material.

Ainsworth is an ambitious research fellow and up-and-coming historian, finally ready to make his mark on the world. When his supervisor learns of the rumored Misnich Inn at the foot of Mount Vengeance, she sends Ainsworth to be the first to document the exploits of the bold adventurers who seek to face the perils of the mountain and the dragon said to inhabit it.

The inn is far from the sophisticated city life he’s grown to love, but even as he grudgingly warms to its rustic charm—and its lovely innkeeper, Honey—the mystery of the mountain refuses to reveal itself. Worse, Ainsworth can’t find evidence that anyone has ever undertaken the climb. Even the bravest warriors who stay at the inn turn away from Mount Vengeance the next day.

With Ainsworth’s reputation as an academic on the line, it’s a mystery he can’t allow to remain unsolved—even if he has to push the adventurers up the mountain himself.