After his proclamation, a short discussion was had. Well, a discussion was maybe an overstatement. While it had not escalated to a shouting match, it was close. His companions clearly were not happy with his idea, however, neither had a better idea. In the end they relented and a plan was formed. The mayor worked in his office until late and often slept there as well. They would wait until he was the only one left, then take out the remaining guard and interrogate him in his office. I was a crude plan, but none of them were used to this kind of work so it was the best they could come up with.

This is what found them hours later in an alley close to this mayoral office, keeping to the shadows.

"I'm still not sure why we can't simply ask him. This seems awfully convoluted." The Paladin had been complaining for over half an hour and it was getting on his nerves.

"Look. I understand this seems strange to you, but the mayor is a politician and politicians are all lying bastards." He really did not get The Paladin. Maybe it was because he was older, maybe that is why he still believed in this stuff. He saw a fleeting look pass The Paladin's face, but he was never great with expressions, so he did not even try to decipher it. He merely turned his head back to the office and waited.

A few minutes later and they all saw the last remaining assistant leave the office. Doris was one of the personal assistant to the mayor and was the person they had spoken to the most. She said there was a second assistant, but they had not met them yet. She was the one who even convinced the innkeeper to let them stay there for free. He did not like bureaucrats, but she seemed nice, maybe that was because she had given him free stuff, but still.

"Alright, we go in 1 minute. Light Cleric, prepare to put the guard to sleep. We don't need to kill him, but we also can't be disturbed."

Her face looked shocked for a moment. "I would never kill an innocent guard! How dare you even suggest something to truly vile!"

"Keep it down, we can't draw attention to ourselves."

"No! I am done with this bullshirt. We have been talking and you seem awfully happy to just kill people here. We are guests in this village and the people here have been nothing but nice. I won't have you randomly kill someone simply because they are in our way."

"Alright calm down, I wasn't suggesting killing him, alright. It's just something to keep in mind, there is a killer on the loose after all."

The Light Cleric huffed at this but cast her spell on the guard. Lay and be calm in the sun my child. A flash of light and the guard collapsed down into the grass. They quickly moved forward and saw the guard was sleeping peacefully down in the grass. Moving towards the door, it was unlocked. Fools, not even a lock on the door and only a single guard. This village would never stop surprising him with their carefree attitude. They dragged the guard into the welcome hall and bound him to one of the waiting chairs. He was heavy, especially with his armor so all three had to work together to move him and even then, it left them exhausted.

Breathing heavily, The Fire Druid sat on the bench to recuperate. Despite the success, he felt more and more unsure about their course of action. He was not a fan of authority in general, but kidnapping was not something he normally would have even considered. This situation was getting to him, and he felt his consciousness grow heavier by the minute. He stood up saying nothing. The others were probably even more uncomfortable, he had to seem resolved. "Alright, let's get some fucking answers."

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The mayor was sitting in his chair as the group walked in. He looked up and looked surprised to see them. He slimed and spoke to them as if they were visiting him at a normal time of day. "Well, hello there. I did not hear you come in. It is rather late, so I hope that whatever brought you here is urgent. I'm catching up on some paperwork, I always leave it for last."

The Fire Druid was the first to speak: "We are here for answers. I hope you can give them to us."

"Well, I do like being helpful, but this seems like a strange time. Why don't you come back in the morning, first thing? You are new here, so it is only natural you have questions. Are you perhaps looking to settle down? We have some empty space remaining, now might just be the time to buy it."

"I'm not talking about stuff like that. I am talking about your behaviour. You people are way too nice and normal. This whole village is strange."

"Why I have no idea what you are talking about. We are happy here and friendly to strangers, I'm not sure if that's supposed to be strange."

"Don't talk like that! You and everyone here is so strange! What is wrong with the people here."

The Paladin and Light Cleric were looking at this exchange with ever increasing trepidation. When he pitched this idea, it already seemed strange to them, but he was getting more and more riled up. When The Fire Druid began shouting, The Paladin decided to step in.

"Alright, alright, let us remain calm. I believe my teammate here has forgot to mention some context. Please allow me."

The Fire Druid wheeled around and almost began shouting to The Paladin but the look in his eyes stopped him. He walked back and sat down against the wall, trying to calm himself down. He had just began venting, he had such a plan before he walked in, but that all went straight out the window. He always did this. The Paladin picked the conversation back up.

"What I think my friend here is trying to say is that we were sent here to find and stop a killer, but there haven’t been any deaths yet and it's making him paranoid."

The change was immediate. The demeanour of the mayor changing in seconds.

"I see. A killer you say. That is something quite serious. Have you found anything yet?"

"No, which is precisely the problem. We can't go home until the killer is found so we have been stuck here for quite a while."

"Well, this is not a bad place to remain for a while. Why do not you all return to the inn and tomorrow we will talk. While there has not been a murder here for years, I'm sure that I can be of service somehow."

"We'll do that. I again apologise for my companion. His outburst was stress related and I will make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Of course, please do not worry. It's not the first time I have shouted at."

They left the office, released the still unconscious guard, and walked back to the inn in silence. The Fire Druid was stewing in his thoughts. He began fussing with his red hair, making a general mess of it while trying to straighten it out. "FUCK, that went horribly. I thought I had things under control. I. I tried to remain so calm, I really don't know what happened there."

The Light Cleric responded this time, she had been rather silent, so it shocked him for a moment. "Don't worry. You have been very stressed, like all of us, and I think that this caused a slow build up of stress during this week. I am sure the mayor understands. Just, get some sleep tonight, ok?"

He nodded his head and when they reached the inn, he went directly up to his room. He tried to sleep but was kept from sleep due to his mind playing the scene over and over again in his head. He felt like such an idiot. He knew better than this, he was better than this. He had always had an explosive nature, but this was out of character even for him. He was getting more and more annoyed with himself. This distraction keeping him awake was the only reason he heard it. The sound of his window opening from the outside.

He shot upright and instinct took over. He had slept in dungeons before and had even been ambushed often during his various druid trails, so he was ready immediately. A stream of fire shot from his palm and hits the window. A gurgling scream and then a thunk could be heard from his position. He walked forward, keeping his hand raised and looked out the window. There he saw a strange sight. It was the farmer, Ben, he was wearing his work clothing and appeared to have a knife in hand. The farmer was an assassin? How did that career path happen? He suddenly remembered his team and stormed out the door.