"What are you thinking? Punching him like that in front of his own daughter. Behaving like that won't change anything and by no means it'll make you any better than them!" Elincia's face was so close while lecturing him, that he could feel her breath grazing his face.

"Are you seriously comparing me with murderers just for punching him in the face?!" screamed Bao, outraged over her accusations.

"We agreed on talking it out with them like civilized people in order to try and find a peaceful solution to solve this conflict. And what is the first thing you do? You punch him right in the face first thing in the morning!"

"No, no way... my father would've never done something like that, I won't believe a single word you just said."

"I hate to say it but mortals are capable of even gruesomer things if it's for the sake of their families and loved ones. Which still doesn't mean that I believe the story with the ghost though," said Morell standing right next to the unconscious innkeeper who rested on one of the benches in the inn.

"We know how you feel. If we wouldn't have seen her with our own eyes we would probably say the same things as you just did," said Bao with an angry undertone

Morell and the Captain pointed their eyes towards Elincia who only nodded in agreement.

"And what now?", wondered the Commander, looking at all the long faces standing around him. "You guys are hopefully not planning to kill these innocent civilians based on a stupid ghost story, are you? I won't allow that to happen."

"In which world is killing a merchant family something innocent people do?"

"Stop talking about my father like that! He didn't kill anyone!"

"No matter now if it is true or not, I won't just stand around and watch on the sidelines as you hurt or even kill them without a fair process."

A glimmer of hope emerged in the eyes of the girl sitting next to her unconscious father as the captain placed himself between them and Bao.

"And what are you going to say in front of the one judging? A ghost whispered in my ear that they killed a family? You didn't want to believe it either and I still doubt that you do! What if the..."

"What is going on here?!" A handful of men stormed through the entrance, armed with whatever they could grab, some with forks others with axes and hammers. Puddles of rainwater dropping down from their gear formed underneath them. "Release them immediately!", one of them shouted.

At first, surprised by the sudden appearance Bao's group jumped back but quickly reacted by drawing their weapons themselves and taking a defensive stance against the sudden intruders. Standing right behind the small militia force he noticed a woman, likely in her thirties, who peaked with a worried expression over the shoulder of the bearded man in front of her.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"So the other murderers came here too huh. Do you want to kill us just like you did with the merchant family?" Bao giggled as if he has lost his mind. "But I think you'll have a harder time against adventurers who are awake."

"Hold your temper, David!" Elincia stepped forward her hands raised at hip height in an attempt to calm the nervous attackers. "No one here wants any bloodshed do we?"

No one answered.

Like two parallel walls they stood face to face, you could even grasp the tension between them with your own hands as none of the two parties moved a single inch.

"Let me bring it straight to the point... did you guys kill a merchant family?", asked the captain from behind his shield.

"N... no we didn't.", the bearded responded.

Elincia shook her head in response to the captains questioning gaze.

"You are not making your situation any better by lying to us we..."

"Yes, we did it. We killed the merchant family. I and five others in this village did it." confessed the innkeeper. The man sat on the bench where he was lying before, holding his face.

"What are you saying, Father?! You are just confused from the punch before, just lay down and take a good rest."

"We had no choice but to kill them. He demanded more than half our harvest worth of money, from where should we've gotten so much? Most of the villagers couldn't even work because of the state they were in. What would you have done in my place? What if it were your children, your family, your friends?" Veins popped out on the neck of the innkeeper. "If we would have given him our harvest we wouldn't have survived the winter and if we didn't we would have died from the disease."

"Shuddup!", screamed one of the angry villagers who seemed to be in charge of the mob. It was the same bearded man as before. "We did nothing wrong by killing that stingy Man blinded by his own greed!"

"And what about the wife and the child? What if THAT happened to your family?"

"I...," the leader paused for a brief moment. "You might be right it was wrong... we... we destroyed the lives of a whole family but I can't leave this village either. My family depends on me, they'll starve to death if I leave and every sacrifice would've been in vain. That's why we stand here with our weapons pointed at you."

"But if you die here you won't be able to help them either!", shouted the captain. "Drop your weapons and we'll bring you to the nearest border castle where you'll be handed over to the guards."

"You... you forgot something... You guys didn't just kill them right?", asked Bao without getting any response from them.

Now was the crucial moment in their stalemate, the moment where the leader of the villagers had to decide if the tavern would be flooded with blood or if he would lay down his arms and with it the possibility of freedom.

"Don't do anything stupid. Take responsibility for your misdeeds and you might get another opportunity in this life." Elincia stretched out her arm with the open palm.

Muscles were tensed to the point of bursting and everyone present tried to analyze the actions and moods of each other. The drops splashing down from the clothing of the villagers sounded as loud as a ringing bell.

Bao observed the eyes of the bearded man wandering around, estimating the exact situation he was in. Everyone in Bao's group was stared from head to toe from his blue calculating eyes.

Could they overwhelm him?

Is it better to just give up?

What would bring him the most benefit in this situation?

That and far more questions must've been going through his head, thought Bao. Everyone's life depended on the decision which that one single bearded man would make.