Gilbert was terrible at managing the inn, dishes from the crude meals he made had started to pile up, the tavern hadn’t been cleaned and the tables were full of stains from spilled drinks. the floor was full of empty bottles along with some other trash.
Gilbert was sitting behind the counter with his face buried in his hands.
“How did we even manage to trash this place so quickly?... Rosie’s going to kill us all.” He murmured in a considerable hangover.
“It’s a proud way to go, my friend.” Dammar responded from the floor.
They had been up late last night, trying to keep everything in order, but ended up drinking more than anyone else during the evening. The sound of Rosie kicking open the inn’s door sounded like a lightning strike night next to their ears.
“What the fuck have you asshats done to my inn?! Never mind, we have no time for that now. We have necromancer trouble coming in soon. Dammar, get the twig and Max!” The tigress yelled while looking at the mess caused by her absence.
“Where’s Anna and Emilia? Did something happen?” Gilbert asked and perked up slightly but his headache immediately punished him for the sudden change in pose.
“Anna is… with a friend, but she’s not in any shape to fight. Something’s wrong with her head. They’re trying to go around the necromancers and give us a bit of time to prepare. Emilia will be here in a bit, I just ran as fast as I could so she was left behind.” She explained.
Dammar had gotten up from the floor and was now trying to climb the stairs towards the quest rooms. On the way up, he cursed profusely.
It took a few moments for the whole sentence to register in Gilbert’s sore head, but as soon as it did, he realized the seriousness of the situation.
“You’re saying necromancers, as in there are multiple? And what’s wrong with Anna?” The old adventurer said, trying his best not to seem completely incapacitated. “And who is this friend you’re speaking of? I assume we can trust them?”
Rosie did her best trying to explain the details of the situation. Including the death of Anastacia and what had happened in Crescent. Gilbert still remembered how easily he had been defeated by Crimson and couldn’t imagine going against two necromancers at once, but hearing that they had a second friendly necromancer too, was something that helped him to deal with it.
Xamiliere and Maximillian were in considerably better shape than their party’s third member. After a briefing about the situation, they agreed to help.
“So when can we expect for Anastacia to arrive?” Maximillian asked.
“Some time this evening, depends a bit on what route they take, or if they just hike it. They should be here by midnight at the very latest.” Rosie estimated while looking at the map she had opened on the counter.
By midnight, Emilia had arrived, but Anastacia and Alizarin were nowhere to be seen. Rosie asked Xamiliere to stay on watch near the gate while the others rested. Rosie stayed up too, using the messy inn as an excuse. Emilia stayed with her, but both of them stayed silent.
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“you need to sleep too, I’m sure Alizarin has this covered and they’re only taking a detour.” The priestess tried to break the ice. “I’ll go look for them once the sun rises.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll just get your ass killed if you find her. You’ll sit right the fuck there until I’m done with this shit and want to talk to you.” Rosie growled. “And you won’t say a word.”
As the sun rose, Xamiliere came back to report that she hadn’t seen anything nearby, friendly or hostile.
Another day passed without a sign of them and the atmosphere in the inn grew more and more tense. Even the guests who had no idea what was going on could feel it as the usually noisier regulars had become silent and serous. As the third day came to a close, Gilbert decided that it was time to go look for them, even if they didn’t have a necromancer of their own. The party they decided on was Gilbert, Maximillian and Xamiliere as they were slightly more competent with a bow than the others, and bows had proven somewhat effective against necromancers.
Without any real idea which route Anastacia and Alizarin had taken, the searches came up with nothing. They checked the nearby settlements and known campsites but none had even a trace of the two necromancers. One farmer, who lived right outside Crescent, remembered seeing two seemingly injured individuals clothed in red, travelling to north. According to him, they didn’t have a girl with them.
On the morning of the tenth day, Rosie was heading downstairs to start the breakfast preparations and send Holly home, as she noticed a familiar red robed guest sitting at one of the tables. She assumed Coquelicot had come with news about Anastacia and Alizarin, and she wasn’t wrong. On the table in front of Coquelicot, there was a folded red cloth. Rosie recognized the patterns drawn on it as the ones on Alizarin’s uniform.
“Four days ago, my people found Alizarin, dead. Now tell me innkeeper, why is Anastacia not in her room?” The high inquisitor said without turning towards Rosie. “Could it be that these two things are connected somehow?”
“NONONONO! That can’t be true! They were supposed to escape!” Rosie screamed. “Did they find any trace of Anna?!”
“Anastacia was not there, nor has she been captured. So if you don’t know where she is, we have no idea.” Coquelicot stated, still hiding her face. “Please, tell me everything you know.”
Rosie asked Holly to bring them a bottle of wine, she felt like both of them might need a drink. She then proceeded to tell Coquelicot everything that happened after they met her husband.
“After hearing your story and combining it with what I have learned from my subordinates, I’m led to believe that Anastacia is alive, somewhere out there, in a mentally unstable state… Thank you for your time Miss Rosie, I shall take my leave now.” Coquelicot said, picked up her husband’s robes and started to leave.
“Wait! I have Alizarin’s bag! Let me go get it.” Rosie realized and ran upstairs.
Coquelicot silently followed her.
Rosie had hidden the bag behind some clothes in her wardrobe. As she was digging it out, Coquelicot stepped into the room.
“I see you have forgiven the priestess…” She said and pointed at Emilia, who was still sleeping. “Good for her.”
“Yeah… Uh, here’s the bag. I haven’t looked inside but I think it’s full of notes or something.” Rosie whispered and handed the bag over.
“Of course it is… Having to write everything down was one of Alizarin’s better qualities.” The high inquisitor remarked and left the inn without farewells.
Anastacia woke up in a forest. After her initial confusion started to subside, she started to remember things. How Cerise and Carmine had found them, how Alizarin had told her to run, how it was all her fault. She huddled up against a tree, thinking she might as well stay there until this nightmare ended.
What kind of sick, twisted god would allow all this to happen in a dream they created? She yelled for Sylvia to release her and let her actually die off, but nothing happened. For a brief moment, a possibility exited in her mind, that this could all be real, but that would mean she got the real Alizarin killed.
“Girl of hurt knees, why cry?” Said a goblin that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. “We go meet forest king! He help when cry!”