I was sitting at a long wooden table in a bar. As I looked at my half-full glass of ale, I got myself drawn into the surrounding chatters of local adventurers.A tall, strong man with a long, brown beard savored his own drink and regaled his buddies with a familiar adventure story.
"See this is the first time I heard this problem occur in the Whispering Woods, you know," he continued his story. "I heard that there was a powerful vampire lurking inside that temple in the north, and he's looking for more casualties."
Another adventurer chimed in. "Aye, but ya didn't mention how that vampire could even match the strength of an entire batalyon of city guards."
I had no idea where he got that detail. First off, Archy and Gideon were not vampires. Well, at least I was sure of it. Though, I might have to agree that they both could've taken a whole platoon of guards by themselves. Archy wasn't even trying to hurt me the entire time, yet I almost failed to save that girl, with the help of the Champion of Erra.
"My cousin's friend was the gate guard," piped up a young man from across the table. "He said that vampire was still on the loose. We need to be more careful from now on."
As they told more details of the story, I remained silent enjoying the lively chatter. I did not care that much that some parts of the story were inaccurate, nor did I have a wish to come forward and them that I was one of the adventurers in that story.
Somehow I went back focusing on my tankard of ale. I wondered how they were able to create alcoholic beverages from seemingly mundane material. Perhaps I needed to pursue the art of brewing ale in the future; maybe, but not now.
Three days had passed since the last time I saw her; heck the only thing I remembered about her was her blue hair and her name, Erina, if I'm not mistaken. I wondered if she had anyone else besides her now all-dead family. well, I might need to check on her after all.
However, the reality of Gideon and Archy turning into crazy murderers felt heavy on my chest, yet I didn't tell the details to the authorities. I had to tell the guilds about what happened. Maybe tomorrow, I just needed to find the correct words before relaying the message to them.
With a deep sigh, I resigned myself to the reality. When I got the mission, I had strengthened my resolve to the possibility of my favorite seniors being dead. Now that I found out they were still alive, somehow it made everything worse and more complicated.
In the middle of the chatter of the tavern and my own thoughts, my attention was diverted by the presence of two ladies at the nearby table. Their smiles lit up their faces, giving them a radiant and captivating look, as one of them whispered into the other's ear, seeming to share secrets.
I might have enjoyed the sight a little too much thus lingered a tad too long, and one of the ladies turned her gaze towards me. I quickly averted my vision, looking back at my tankard, hoping that she didn't think I was a creep.
Rejoining the previous group, I laughed and cheered along with the rest of the group to divert my attention from the ladies, though I had to admit that I still tried to catch a glimpse of them from time to time.
When I realized it, they had stood up from their booth, readying themselves to leave the tavern. Yet to my surprise, one of them met my eyes with a wink and a smile; could she possibly be interested in me? Maybe I should've approached her indeed. Anyway, I took a long sip of my drink; the warm taste of alcohol washing away my regret of the missed opportunity.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Maybe this was for the best, I was telling myself. I didn't even know if I could stay that long in this town to know her better, knowing that I still had to deal with Archy and Gideon.
"Looks like I have to be satisfied spending another night talking to Gareth, but it's just that... he's not a woman. Haha," I muttered to myself, a chuckle escaping my lips.
With a last gulp of ale, I drained my tankard, leaving it behind on the table as I rose to depart. Pulling my coat snugly around me, I braced myself for the midday sun that greeted me outside the tavern doors.
I didn't even realize that I had spent hours in the tavern; when I came in, it was still early in the morning, and now the sun was directly overhead. A plethora of sights and sounds welcomed me as I stepped out into the busy street. Vendors yelled at the pedestrians, attempting to grab their attention with the allure of exquisite silks, freshly baked bread, and unusual spices.
As I made my way through the crowd, I noticed the diverse mix of people filling the street. Farmers in simple garb haggled with traders, while nobles in rich attire strolled by, their noses slightly upturned. I wondered if I would ever want to have a simple life staying in a city or a town like this.
My eyes shifted to a crowd of people gathering around two individuals facing off in some kind of a game. I then got closer to figure out what they were playing and found out that they were playing chess. The crowd cheered excitedly as the reigning champion seemingly had destroyed many opponents.
I got challenged to join the game; after all, I used to play chess with Gareth all the time and I had always won pretty much easily. I reached into my coin pouch and prepared five coins as a wager to join the game.
I dropped my coins into the bowl and I sat down opposite the champion; I assumed white pieces and set up the chess pieces on the board. To be honest, I felt more than confident to be able to win this bout.
The game began with a standard opening, surprisingly, he didn't make a mistake in the way Gareth used to make. Thus we played a little bit passively until we reached the middle game.
However, reaching the middle game, the difference in our power started to show. With each move, he restricted my pieces' movement as he occupied more space on the board, suffocating me in the process.
I still tried to fight back with some tactics that I could employ in the position, but somehow he deflected all my attacks and took more of my pieces as a result. At the end of the trade, I was left with only a rook, a queen, and some pawns while he still had most of his pieces intact.
A loss was drawing to a close, and I didn't know what to do anymore; at last, he took my queen after I didn't pay enough attention to his rooks. Finally, he sealed my fate with a standard bishop and queen checkmate on my king.
He leaned back with a satisfied smile. "Checkmate," he said with a smile on his face. "Maybe next time, Sir." With a dry smile, I extended my hand and shook his hand to signify my loss.
"Well played," I definitely was still feeling bitter despite saying that to him. Usually, I had been able to dismantle Gareth easily. Well, there's a reason why he challenged people to a game of chess with coins on the line, and I found the reason the hard way.
I stood up from my seat and headed to the market square with the idea of buying some fruits for Erina. I was strolling through the busy streets when I noticed a horse-drawn carriage; it seemed like a quicker ride to the town hall. "I should have considered that sooner," I said to myself. After buying what I needed, I headed straight to the carriage and requested a ride to the haver. We settled on 10 silver coins for the fare, and I hopped onto the back of the carriage.
Arriving at the town hall, I approached the guard stationed at the entrance, my request to see Erina was met with a polite but firm response. "Procedures," he explained, his tone apologetic yet unwavering. "Can't just let anyone waltz in, you know." I nodded understandingly, though a pang of impatience tugged at my resolve. "Guess patience is a virtue, even in times of urgency," I mused, resigned to the bureaucratic hurdles that stood between me and my goal.
As I entered the town hall, I followed a meticulous series of steps to gain access to the inner chambers. First, I signed in, detailing my purpose of visit with careful precision. Then, I underwent a thorough security check, ensuring my belongings were scrutinized before passing through unscathed.
After a seemingly endless wait, I finally reached the reception desk, where my credentials were verified and cross-referenced with official records. As the staff member led me through the maze of corridors, I couldn't help but feel a knot of apprehension tighten in my stomach. With each step, I wondered what condition I would find Erina in. Finally, we arrived at the door of the room where she was being cared for.
"Thank you," I murmured to the staff member, my voice tinged with gratitude as I prepared to face whatever lay beyond the threshold.
Before I could knock, the door swung open, revealing a small, dimly lit room with a bed tucked against one wall. Erina sat on the bed, her features pale and drawn by the weight of her ordeal.