After running through every situation she could use the potion for, Lilith tossed it back into the abyss and sat up from her bed. She had a plan, or at least an idea of how to use them. “Refugees,” Lilith repeated what Lyonel had told her earlier. Although she planned to get the details from someone who came from the town, she couldn’t help but wonder what could’ve happened. Was it done by humans? Demons? If it was demons, how? Which ones and where was this town to begin with? Several questions ran through her mind, something she did far more often than it was worth.
Swinging her legs from the side of her bed, she jumped off and opened up the window. It was dark out with a handful of people outside going through their containers, making sure everything was there, or simply talking or checking up on their horses. Street lights powered by magic lit up the streets within the barrier just enough to allow the ones outside to see, but not so overpowering that it would seep into the rooms. The place was akin to a city, or at least a small section of it.
“Food,” Lilith grumbled as her stomach begged for something to eat. Slipping on her shoes, she headed towards the dining room, taking note of the people who walked by. Shirts with holes, or hair that seemed dirty. The closer she looked, the more she noticed the dishevelment of the group of refugees. Most of them did not seem prepared to suddenly leave their homes, and some of them were dragging their feet, tired from travel. Lilith kept her head low, observing, and before sitting down at a dining table, spotted two people who seemed to fit the bill. “Hey there,” Lilith said, causing the two to look up at her.
“Hello?” the female companion asked, her face questioning what she wanted.
“Would it be alright if I ask you a few questions during dinner? You can order whatever you want. I’ll pay.” The two looked at each other, and after exchanging some whispered words, offered Lilith a seat across from them. “Thank you.” Lilith called over a server and ordered food for the three of them. “Are you two with the refugee group?”
“Yes,” the female responded. “My name is Lily, and his name is-”
“Jack,” he interrupted. “What do you want?” he asked in an annoyed tone, clearly suspicious.
“Well, first. Where is your group headed to?” Lilith asked.
The two looked at each other. “The merchant city of Tarrin,” Jack responded.
Although Lilith had guessed correctly, the response still surprised her. “Why Tarrin? People say it’s the city of dreams. That you have a lot of chances to make money, but that’s not entirely true. I’ve seen far too many people fail after saying that.”
“Are you from there?” Lily asked.
“Born and raised and currently work there as a mail carrier,” Lilith pointed to her name on her jacket. “My name’s Lilith. Sorry for the late introduction.”
“The city, for some of us, is temporary,” Jack answered. “Many of us have connections there, and some of them owe us, so we're relying on these connections to hopefully give us a jump start on something. Anything.”
“I see I see. I guess your town dealt with something important? Something that was popular?”
“Trade secret,” Jack said.
“Jack!” Lily hit his shoulder. “It doesn’t even matter at this point.”
“You never know,” Jack said, not letting up from his initial response.
“It’s fine,” Lilith reassured her. “What your town dealt with isn’t important to me. What I want to know is how your town ended in ruin.” Lilith paused, and after realizing the wording she used, she corrected herself. “Sorry, I care. Of course. But, I mean, I don’t need to know what dealings your town did. Who they worked for. What happened definitely matters-”
“It’s ok, we understand,” Lily put up a hand to stop the flustered Lilith.
With cheeks slightly red, Lilith coughed into her hand, and after giving herself a moment, asked, “Do you mind sharing why?”
“No, it’s fine.” Lily took a deep breath. “Our town was situated up north. It was pretty close to the Scar, so we were well aware of the dangers. That said, we didn’t run into any problems for a long time.”
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“We were born and raised there for the past 23 years,” Jack added.
“That’s… impressive. I’m assuming the barrier around the town was a newer developed one?”
“Yes, it was,” Lily responded. “New for its time.”
“But that means it couldn’t keep the town hidden from every demon.”
“It couldn’t. A single demon did it. Black, long horns that curved backwards.” Lily said.
“Charred, black skin.” Jack mumbled, his voice shaking.
“It was tall. Towering way beyond anyone in the town.” Lily closed her eyes, her lips trembling.
“With long finger and toenails.” Jack continued.
“And those crimson eyes.” Both Lily and Jack stopped. “It had a tail too, but it felt otherworldly.”
“You saw it close up?” Lilith asked, leaning over.
Lily looked at Lilith in the eyes, a crimson red similar to what Lily had seen. She looked away. “We did,” she finally said as Jack shook his head in agreement.
“It seemed far more sophisticated than any other demon we’ve ever seen, and we’ve had to deal with our fair share,” Jack said. “It knew what it was doing, and it felt like it let us go on purpose.”
“That many of you?” Lilith asked. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but why would it let that many of you survive?”
Jack shrugged. “I wish I knew that answer for myself.”
“Who ordered the chicken breast?” Interrupted by the server, she placed the meals in front of the three of them, causing both Jack and Lily to divert their attention from Lilith to the food, chowing down on the meals they ordered. Lilith watched them for a brief moment with a smile before eating her dinner as well. Outside of the chewing and drinking, it was a quiet dinner, and Lilith had no intention of disturbing the silence. They ate and ate with Jack occasionally eating too fast and having to down some water while banging his chest while Lily demanded him to eat slowly, yet not listening to her own words of caution. By the time Lilith finished her meal, the two had been long done with theirs, licking their lips and making sure every bit of food was gone.
“You can order more if you want, just not too much, since my pockets aren’t that deep.”
“Then I’ll-”
“No, it’s fine. You already gave us enough,” Lily stopped Jack, his face questioning her decision.
“Please, order more if you’re hungry. Just think of it as payment for the information you’re giving me.”
Jack quickly raised his hand, ignoring Lily and calling over a server to order both of them more food. Lily sighed and shook her head in her hand. “Thank you for your generosity.”
“Before the next round arrives, do you mind continuing?”
“Where were we?” Jack rubbed his chin, tracing back to what was said. “Right, the demon.”
“It definitely came from beyond the Scar.” Lily said with conviction. It was the only thing that made sense, and Lilith couldn’t help but agree. That said, it was weird. The demon that the two described wasn’t any demon Lilith had read about in her books, and even though there’s always the scare of what could cross, nothing too serious ever did. Only the typical weaklings (compared to other possibilities) currently roamed around.
“Probably deep within, too,” Lilith added. “But why? Weirdly enough, I don’t think we’ve ever seen something powerful cross the Scar and come down south. It’s a mystery that no one has figured out, but why now?”
“Are you sure it’s from deep within?” Jack asked with a face full of concern.
Lilith looked over at Jack, and as soon as she was about to question what he meant, it kicked in. “Do you mean it came from inside the Scar itself?”
Jack nodded his head. “I mean…” He looked over at Lily, then back at Lilith. “We’ve seen some things crawl out from it before, but nothing on that level.”
"We can't rule that out," Lilith said, leaning back in her chair and chewing on the idea before continuing. “I’m no expert. I don’t know everything, nor do I think I ever will, but it makes sense the more I think about it, but it’s still weird. Why would it let you all just go freely? What did it do after? Where did it go?”
Both Lily and Jack thought about the question, trying to dig up some memories of what happened, but they both couldn’t give a straight answer. They ran away, and the only times when they looked back, it stood there with no intention of leaving.
“So it either stayed there, or went back,” Lilith said after a moment of deliberation. “Was it only your town? No news of anywhere else?”
“I doubt it,” Jack said. “There’s very few who would live that close to the Scar, and I think, if the demon in question was sentient enough, they probably wouldn’t go that far down south.”
“Maybe,” Lilith mumbled. “Hopefully this won’t become an issue for me,” she said in a half joking manner.
“You're setting yourself up for exactly that,” Lily said.
“What happens, happens.” Lilith took out enough silver to pay for the meals they had eaten, for the two more meals that were on their way, extra silver for their help, and a temporary pass with Lilith’s name on it. “Here’s the money for the meals and some spare silver, and as for this pass,” Lilith handed it to Lily directly. “Although temporary, it will help you get into Tarrin a lot easier, and if you show it to a receptionist at the Mailroom-”
Lily had a face filled with confusion and wonder, “Thank you, but why?” she asked.
“I’m sure you’ve mentioned it to the adventurer’s guild already, but please, when you get there, ask for an audience with the branch manager, Alex. He might look scary, but he’s far from it. ”
“But why the Mailroom?” Jack asked. “What could they possibly do?”
“Alex has connections, and he has his own past that I won’t get into. Just trust me, he’s the right person to tell this to.”
“Alright,” Lily said, gripping the pass tightly with a determined face. “If you say it will, I’ll believe you.”
“Thank you. Also, if you he asks, just tell him I’m doing fine. Now then,” Lilith sat up and brushed her pants. “Please enjoy the other meal. I’m going to head back to my room and sleep. If I don’t see you tomorrow, I wish you two a pleasant journey and hope everything works out for you.”
“You too,” they both said.