I used dispel magic to shut down the ritual. We left the runes intact as evidence for the guards. Afterwards Lucy went outside to check the villagers while I woke up the innkeeper. He was confused at first and shocked once I showed him the ritual in the basement. After that he decided to have a drink. His memories were still hazy but I assumed it would get better with time. While I was explaining the situation to the innkeeper, the guards finally emerged. The men in charge approached our table.

“Good morning. We eh… might have been a little too careless yesterday. There is some potential danger from roaming demons. Please be careful. We will immediately start patrolling the area.”

The poor guy seemed rather embarrassed. Before he could leave I said: “Good morning. Your carelessness was due to the influence of a demon. Do not worry, we dealt with it. You can find the evidence in the cellar. The ritual is inactive now but you might want to destroy the runes. We left them as evidence for you.”

The man looked confused. “Excuse me? You said you dealt with a demon here? You and the innkeeper?”

“Ah no, it was Lucy and myself. I am Amaya, by the way.”

The man suddenly stood straighter. “Lady Amaya, it is an honour. Thank you for your help. We will check the cellar immediately.”

The innkeeper frowned. “Are you famous?” he asked me.

“Lucy and myself have been working with the duke recently. We fought the demon lord.”

He was speechless at first, his mouth hanging open. Once he recovered he said: “My lady I had no idea! And now you also saved our village. Can I offer you anything?”

“No no, it is fine. You just had a major shock. Relax.” I smiled reassuringly.

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“My lady you are too kind.”

He still looked uncertain how to behave in my presence. So I excused myself and wandered outside. I saw Lucy at the pier and walked towards her.

“How are the people?” I asked her.

“So far they seem fine. I only told a few of them to be careful of demons. They reacted a bit surprised but concerned. I did not want to spread the full story yet. Maybe we should let the guard do that. We are strangers here with no real authority after all.”

“Good thinking. Have you found where the baker lives? Maybe we should have a talk with him.”

“As a matter of fact I did.” She said smiling.

“Lead the way.”

I followed her to a small house. There was a shop on the ground floor and presumably a living space on the 2nd floor. The smell of fresh bread welcomed us as we entered. The man was clean shaven, bald and wearing an apron. He was a bit on the heavier side.

“Good day travellers! What can I do for you?” He greeted us enthusiastically.

“We would like to talk to you about your work for the duke.” I said.

I saw a brief flash of concern on his face.

“I am not sure what you mean. I have not sold any bread to the duke, as far as I know.”

Lucy responded: “There was a demon in the cellar of the inn. It put a spell on the whole village to prevent you from reporting anything suspicious. I know we are not from here but we are helping William with this whole mess. You might have received a report about us? Although the spell might have made you ignore it.”

The poor man looked rather uncomfortable. “I assure you I am a simple baker. I have no idea what you're talking about. It is certainly a wild tale.”

Thinking about it, we had no real way to prove our identity. Even most of the guards from Iron Rock did not know how we looked. They only knew our names and that we were a night elf and a fox kin. We really needed some form of identification.

“I understand your caution.” I said. “You don’t need to confirm anything, we just wanted you to know that you were under a spell. And that the demon was summoned by the Empire. They used this village to get troops and supplies into the surrounding area, where they had a base. They were also aware of your true identity. We will make a similar report back in Iron Rock. You can still see the ritual in the basement of the inn although the guards might be destroying it right now.”

He looked a bit pale but he did not admit anything. I admired his professionalism. So we just left.

“What now?” Lucy asked.

“I think we could stay another day. Maybe we patrol the forest a bit, spend the night at the inn and go back to Iron Rock tomorrow.”

“You also want to try the local food.” Lucy teased.

“That too.” I said smiling.