Silas did not release Coral. Not even when it became obvious that she was actively trying to pull her arm free of his grip. He tugged her along, ignoring her attempts to squirm and twist free.
He finally let go when she and the others stopped at the back door to the Dog House.
“What are you doing?” Coral asked. She had expected to be brought back to the Adventurer’s Guild.
Silas already struck Coral as a man of few words, so it was hardly a surprise that he didn’t answer her. At least, not with words. He reached into up to the little gable roof sheltering the back door, and fished out a key that had been hidden in the bracing. Coral supposed the key was safe enough there from most people, as you would have to had been as tall as Silas to be able to reach it. For someone who towered over most people, even he had to stretch out completely.
Or a ladder. But who carried one of those around with them?
“I don’t want to be overheard,” Silas said, inserting the key and letting himself inside. Coral this time was free to enter under her own admission.
Coral’s wrist tingled where Silas’s skin had made contact with hers. She rubbed at it, confused by her roiling emotions.
At first, she had been embarrassed and incensed at being handled in such a fashion. She should have expected it, considering he had hauled her off her feet prior to this.
If Silas hadn’t wanted to be overheard, he shouldn’t have drawn so much attention with his little display back there, pulling Coral around like a misbehaving child.
Who was going to overhear them at the Adventurer’s Guild if they were in a private room?
“Won’t the owner be coming back soon? The funeral is almost over,” Coral said. At this, she turned to see a small group of people walking quietly down the cobbled road.
Coral released her wrist as Silas turned to look back at her over his shoulder. She was conscious of the way his eyes lingered on her wrist, which brought forward another unexplainable and completely unreasonable emotion. Underneath her foremost annoyance, there was a tiny part of her that had liked Silas’s touch.
Which was ridiculous.
Was jealousy eating that much at her, that when she finally gets the attention of another, her heart instantly approves – whether wanted or not. Sure, it had been embarrassing to watch Caspian flirt unabashedly with Pearl. But Coral didn’t want to complicate her life further by including a beau into her world. She was already hiding from an unwanted marriage.
Coral couldn’t deny that she would enjoy the attention from a handsome man. Perhaps it was a result of no longer having to participate in her father’s schemes to win over the sons and daughters of rich nobles. The lack of flirtations was obviously getting to her. If Silas smiled at her right now, would that be her undoing?
Oh, she was going to need to feed herself some cursed chocolate.
Silas, oblivious to Coral’s internal struggle, stepped into the darkened room and swung the door wide for her.
“I am the owner,” Silas said, waiting for her to move.
Well, damn. There went the niggling thoughts in the back of her mind that were willing to entertain some kind of courtship with Silas. Not that he seemed interested. Coral wouldn’t even acknowledge the flutter of warmth knowing that Silas was going to be her main competitor come the Night of the Undead to attract patrons.
If she ever got Moonflower Inn into a respectable state. She feared what the gothic mansion would look like with all its windows boarded up.
Pearl stepped forward first, giving Coral a sidelong glance beneath her lashes. “Silas said he doesn’t want us out in the open. I’m fine with the Dogs House if it means getting inside a few minutes earlier,” Pearl said.
Coral was forced to follow her sister, with Elwin hovering at her back looking like an overeager guard dog. Silas took them through the dark kitchen, through some back rooms and up a flight of stairs and came out to the first floor landing.
On the way up, Crowcaller had collected a lantern and lit it, rather than lighting the whole room up. She set it down at a table with the plush seats.
Coral settled herself down on one of the plush chairs and waited for someone other than herself to speak first.
Silas seemed content to sit in the dark, his eyes flashing in the lantern light.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought that you were dragging this out,” Crowcaller said. “I know you don’t find a lot of challenges in Direwood, but surely you’ve killed the Ghoul enough times now.”
Silas glowered. “This one seems like it has a strong will to survive.”
“Don’t look at me!” Coral said, crossing her arms and frowning back at Silas. “I wasn’t the one that killed it. If you ask me, you should have Caspian Acheron as bait to keep it around if you’re having so much trouble destroying its body.”
“This Ghoul is a freak of nature. When a ghoul is slaughtered, the body parts slowly draw themselves back together. They can’t move until everything has regenerated. Ghouls don’t heal as fast as this one does. It can move and attack with out a head,” Silas growled out, looking murderous.
“I’ve not come across any records of Ghouls being capable of what it has been doing. It’s doing things it absolutely should not be.”
“How is the ghoul escaping?” Crowcaller asked, sounding more intrigued than anything else.
“The first time, it took us too long to build up enough heat on the pyre to burn. It resurrected, while burning, then ran off,” Silas said, crossing his own arms. He looked angry at having to admit what had gone wrong.
“You didn’t tie it down?” Elwin asked.
“It didn’t have a head. I didn’t expect it to reattach it while being cooked,” Silas said.
“But haven’t you taken a ghoul down before?” Pearl asked in a small voice.
“Like I said,” said Silas with an air of trying to control himself. “It has a strong will to survive. The one I dealt with way back, there was already a lit brazier to use. Fire itself won’t kill the ghoul. You need the right temperature. Otherwise, you only make it angry.”
“What other ways has it escaped,” Crowcaller asked. “You aren’t one to make mistakes, so this is highly unusual for you.”
“When we had it pinned down, it gnawed its own limbs off. With its decapitated head. It regenerates fast, so when we realised what was happening, it had torn its own arms free and took off.”
“One of our team got badly injured. After we killed it, our focus was on keeping Norden Ruesong alive. While the others burnt it. Except it regenerated faster than we were expecting and had to fight it off. The pyre in the fight got knocked out. When my team killed it again for the fifth time, we separated it’s head and ran it down one of the tunnels far enough away that gave us a chance to get Norden out of there and looked after.”
“Are you certain it’s a ghoul?” Crowcaller asked, frowning.
“I don’t know what else it could be,” Silas snapped.
“It sounds like one of the undead,” Pearl said quietly, almost as though she hadn’t hoped to be heard.
“It could be. The Ghoul would have been made by a necromancer, whether it was twenty-five years ago or not. Either way, it’s still going to come after it’s marked prey first. Anyone who doesn’t kill the Ghoul in the first strike will be its next victim,” Crowcaller said.
Silas turned his head slowly, so that he could look straight at Crowcaller, his face hidden by darkness. Except that Coral could see his clenched jaw in the lantern light.
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“There will be no more victims,” Silas snarled.
“Yes, yes,” Crowcaller said, uninterested in his foul mood. “Of course there won’t be any more victims, not with you on a hunt.”
“Tell me Coral, who struck the ghoul first,” Crowcaller said, changing the direction of the topic abruptly.
Coral was quiet for a moment as she recalled the ghoul attack. It almost felt like that night had been some horrific nightmare, only half remembered and the details foggy. “I’m not sure. Mr Acheron threw the ghoul around at first,” Coral said, thinking hard.
She could feel her body protest against years of mannerism training. Coral wanted to let herself react how her body wanted to move – to look up to the left so her eyes didn’t have anything distracting her. Namely, Silas’s devastatingly handsome face.
She wished he would clean the blood from his face.
The training won out however, and Coral changed her focus to Elwin. He looked positively elated to be here. His chest was all puffed up and chin held proudly aloft.
“Does throwing the ghoul around count as a strike if it hits something hard enough?” Coral asked.
Crowcaller tapped her knee with a finger, before saying, “It’s entirely possible. You did strike the ghoul with a blunt knife, did you not?” Crowcaller asked.
“It wasn’t that blunt,” Coral said, feeling embarrassed. It had been a stupid thing to do.
“Both Caspian Acheron and Coral are its next prey then, Crowcaller said, looking thoughtful.
“If you’re about to suggest what I think you’re going to say,” Silas grumbled out. “I’m not interested in involving anyone other than my team and apprentices. It’s bad enough inexperienced trainee’s are at high risk. It’s why Ruesong was hurt, Silas said.
“I think Coral is right. You need bait to keep it interested enough to stay so you can finish it off. Or, a cage,” Crowcaller said.
“A cage, yes. Bait, no.” Silas said. “Have you not been listening at all? This thing is not a normal ghoul. It’s mutated, or whatever twisted magic is keeping it alive, has made it stronger and resurrects faster. For that reason alone, I won’t be bringing Coral along to dangle her like an extra juicy bone in front of this thing.”
“I didn’t offer to be bait,” Coral said sharply. “You can use Caspian for that.”
Pearl gave her a reproachful look.
Coral refused to feel any remorse for that comment. Caspian was a strong vampire, he was significantly more useful in that situation than Coral was. Had it escaped their notice that she was most definitely not an Adventurer. Up until that night, the most dangerous encounter she had with dealing with monsters was on her travels here, where she had been nestled inside a carriage while the caravan that took her and Pearl in used hired swords had dealt with any beasts that came sniffing around.
That, and being dropped on her face from two misbehaving ghosts.
“We can’t be sure the ghoul is after Caspian, seeing as he managed to kill it and present himself as another predator,” Crowcaller said. “You’ll be keeping the town safe. You’ll keep Pearl safe, if you help us.”
“No,” Silas growled out.
“Silas and his team will keep you safe, while you help the town. You can prevent more nights like the one you just witnessed tonight,” Crowcaller said, her face closing off as she spoke.
“No,” Coral said simply.
“You can’t put Coral in danger like that. She was the one who notified you all, so as far as I see it, you owe her. Coral can’t fight. What if she gets hurt?” Pearl said.
“The Guild will compensate you for your efforts,” Crowcaller said blandly.
Coral still had to pay for the cursed letter her father had sent. As she hadn’t accepted the large pile of letters accumulating in Crowcaller’s office, Coral didn’t need to pay for them. Coral had made sure to stay clear of the letters as much as possible, just in case she accidentally opened another and got cursed a second time in the process. .
The word ‘No’ wanted to come out of her mouth, urged on by self-preservation. Except Coral needed every coin she could get. More so, for her grandiose plans for Moonflower Inn.
Renovation costs and the preparations for the Night of the Undead would be quite significant. Nothing ever went smoothly when renovating. Look at her now, sitting in a dark tavern with the head of Direwood Adventurer’s Guild, and a named Adventurer, with one luring her in to be bait.
She had ghosts in her mansion to deal with. A tunnel and necromancer’s lair she now needed to fill up. A curse to discover and or absolve herself of, whatever it may be. Windows and holes needed to be boarded up, so she didn’t have the Undead wreaking havoc in her home.
She hadn’t finished removing the mould from the Winter Salon.
She hadn’t even bought winter attire for themselves. The autumn in Direwood was particularly chilly.
Coral had to start earning more money soon, otherwise they were likely to burn through what they did have.
“What kind of compensation,” Coral asked slowly.
“You can’t put a price on your life!” Pearl squeaked in outrage.
“It’s happened before,” Coral reminded Pearl.
“I’ll wipe the debt,” Crowcaller offered.
Coral had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying “Is my life worth so little to you?”. At least her father had sold her off for a hefty sum.
But here in Direwood, Coral Seaver wasn’t the daughter of a well known noble. Albeit her father’s terrible reputation. While she could have hedged for a better deal, there was nothing the Adventurer’s Guild could offer Coral that she wanted. Besides, having Crowcaller more amiable towards her would work far better in Coral’s favour.
At least, she hoped so. Crowcaller didn’t appear to be the kind to take advantage of one’s generosity.
“If you wipe the debt, destroy the remainder of those abominable letters, and assure my safety, then we have an agreement,” Coral said.
“NO,” Silas roared out, his hands grasping hard at the arms of his chair, the wood splintering between his fingers.
A shame, Coral liked these comfortable chairs.
Silas leant forward, teeth clenched hard, his eyes burning as he glared at Coral.
Coral refused to look affected by his outburst. She stared right back at him, face blank and back straight. Inside, her heart had leapt to her throat, and fear trickled through her like ice in her veins.
That was certainly an overreaction for someone who was barely acquainted.
Coral tilted her head high and let Silas fume. Let him fume. He had little say in what she decided.
“I’ll pay the debt,” Silas said.
“What?”
“I’ll pay off your Reverse Fee debt,” Silas repeated.
Coral stared at him, her own haughty indifference gone.
“Why,” Coral asked, both suspicious and confused. What could this man possibly have taken offense to, that he would rather pay a hefty fee over having her sit on the guidelines while he worked? Sure, there was a certain level of risk involved, but Silas was a named Adventurer. Surely that counted towards her safety, didn’t it?
Besides, no one would willingly pay that much for a stranger.
“I’ll not have a,” Silas paused, looking at Coral with contempt before continuing to say, “A delicate woman, exposed in such a dangerous position.”
Coral glared at him. What was it that he was going to say originally before thinking better? At least he had edited whatever he was about to say. It would have marked his own doom. Coral was no Ghoul, but she’d mark him as her next prey if he continued to be so rude to her.
Crowcaller shifted in her seat so that she could look at Silas easily, her shoulder’s relaxed and held an air of indifference. “If you are unable to complete this assignment, then you leave me with no other choice but to pass it on to another-“
“No. Coral is not bait,” Silas said sharply. “I’ll pay in full, and she can wait until I’ve dealt with the Ghoul.”
“And then what?” Coral prompted. “Owe you a favour for paying off my debt?”
Coral had been in that position before, and it had never been a pleasant experience. She didn’t know Silas, nor did she want to give him the opportunity to call in a favour. Ironic, as Coral was willing for others to be in the position Silas was wanting to put her. Coral was the one who wanted to be owed favours, not the other way around.
It didn’t sit right with her, being in debt. Even more so for someone else to willingly pay for her. Coral was happy to accept help when she could, but not financial aid. She was determined to make it in the world without monetary assistance from others. Coral would earn every last coin that passes through her hard-working hands.
Even if it was just to rub her dead father’s memory in it. Thank you Eirek Farley for that particular unrelenting standard she set for herself.
“Thank you for your offer, Silas. However, I can’t accept,” Coral told him.
Silas was furious. He had accused her of being prideful, which she brushed aside. Coral wouldn’t deny that she could be prideful, and she didn’t necessarily see it as a wholly terrible thing.
Seriously, the man should go eat something to take the edge off his anger. And bathe for good measure. It would have improved the musty, earthen smell permeating from him.
Silas managed to reign in his crankiness long enough to explain that there were five tunnels that he and his team had been scouting over the course of the last half day.
That was how he came to pop out of a crypt in the cemetery. It had been the only closed off path they hadn’t explored.
Overall, all tunnels lead from a main cavern, with one leading straight from the necromancers lair.
Charming.
Another tunnel snaked out around Direwood village and out where most of the farmer’s fields were located. Which explained the bovine skeletons found in the cavern. The ghoul had it’s pick of the livestock. It never goes unnoticed when animals goes missing, it was merely thought they had been lost to the odd monster hunting in the surrounding forest.
Two tunnels were found to loop around and connect to a hobgoblin’s cave, which Silas thankfully glossed over the details by the disturbed looks on Pearl’s and Coral’s faces.
There was a disturbing amount of dead things that had access to Moonflower Inn’s basement. Oddly, Coral was glad of having discovering the tunnel before the Night of the Undead, lest she come face to face with a half-rotten hobgoblin. Could hobgoblins use their magic in that necrotic state? Coral certainly hoped not.
The last tunnel opened out into a cave, exposed to the very road she and Pearl had taken to get to Direwood Village. Coral knew this by the description Silas gave of a particular tower Coral recalled on her travels.
He, Crowcaller and even Elwin discussed the nuances of what type of cage they would need. The idea being that they would entrap the ghoul inside the cage, then light the whole thing on fire. It was decided they needed material able to withstand great heat so the metal didn’t melt and warp with a very much alive ghoul inside. Specifically, a cage designed to hold a small dragon.
Now that Coral had a moment to appreciate the most stupidest of her decisions to date, she wondered if she could stay inside of said cage until it came time to lure the monster in. Being bait wasn’t a comforting role. She felt very much like a wriggling worm at the end of a hook. At the very least, Coral’s stomach felt a bit worm-like just thinking about being bait.