By the time Ridley had gotten back to the city, the festivities had all but died down. Only a few stands and stalls were still up, mostly serving beer and salted meats. Ridley scanned his surroundings but he did not see the man in the top hat. He decided to wander around some more.

Off to one end of the city he spotted a brown shed. It looked old and abandoned.

“Can’t be that easy, can it?” He thought to himself.

As he moved towards the shed, he suddenly felt something grab a hold of his shoulder. He stopped in his tracks and turned around. It was the man with the top hat. He gave Ridley a devilish grin, his gold ring shining in the light.

“As you appear to be empty handed, my boy. I fear you were not able to locate my cargo.” The man inquired. The word ‘cargo’ started to annoy Ridley as he turned and faced the man. He wore a look of exhaustion on his face.

“Ratbag, bastard.” He thought to himself. “Now is not the time.”

Ridley stood up and gave a friendly smile. “Sorry, old chap. I did not see any cargo up in the mountains.”

A scowl laid upon the man’s face. He grumbled to himself. “They’re probably up further. Wretched creatures.” He commented. Ridley kept his friendly face as he heard more of the man grumble to himself.

“Just keep the friendly face and nod.” He thought to himself. “He’s a fucking idiot. A wretched bigwig with no soul.”.

The man gave one final wave in Ridley’s direction. “Ah no matter, lad. You did your part in this. I thank you.” The man said with a strangely warm smile. It unsettled Ridley and his friendly smile faltered. The man squinted his eyes with curiosity.

“I now offer you, my boy. A stay at the local Inn. Oh dear me where are my manners. I am Lord Talmanak. And I am the ruler of this fine city and I welcome you, Ridley Lorn.” Lord Talmanak said as he raised his hand towards Ridley.

Ridley blinked a few times in confusion. “Wait, how did you know my name. I don’t think I gave it to you.” Ridley asked. A flash of hesitation washed over Lord Talmanak’s face but disappeared.

“My boy, you must be weary of your long journey. You informed me of such information when we first met. You must have forgotten.” Lord Talmanak said with a warm smile. Ridley’s eyes darted back and forth in confusion.

“Yeah, okay. That makes sense.” He replied with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Ridley followed Lord Talmanak to a large wooden building. The words “Inn” could be seen on top of the roof in dark red letters. The sounds of cheer and laughter could be heard from inside.

“Here you will find all of your basic needs met. Food, drink women, men, whatever you wish. Just tell the bartender that I sent you and to give you a good time.” Lord Talmanak said as he adjusted the cufflinks on his sleeve. Ridley looked at Lord Talmanak with suspicion and broke out his usual willey grin.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Sure thing, good sir. And may I say, I thank you for what is to be an excellent evening.” Ridley said with a bow. Now it was Lord Talmanak who wore the look of uncertainty. But nevertheless he gestured toward the door and Ridley marched in.

The ground floor of the inn was massive. It had everything one could imagine in a luxurious tavern. Tables covered the middle area of the room, all with fine glazed dark wood and cushioned chairs. Booths lined up the walls with the same amount of pristine to them as the tables and chairs in the center. The floor was dressed with fine red carpeting and was filled with a large number of people, all singing and dancing. Music filled the air with an addicting rhythm to it that would make anyone want to throw caution to the wind, get up and dance the night away.

Ridley found himself slowly walking into the inn. He could feel the magic in the air and it started to take him away. He pondered for a moment as if he forgot something important but as the beer was passed to him and the music flowed in one ear and out the other, his worries started to melt. Everything was good, warm and fuzzy. A young woman approached Ridley and threw her arms around him and laughed. Ridley could only smile and laugh with her.

“I can get used to this. I am a bit tired.” Ridley thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around the woman.

Off in the distance a clock chimed the hour.

“Tick tock tick tock.” The woman said with glee as she leaped from Ridley and continued her dance around the room.

Ridley gave a brief pause for a moment. He had an urge inside of him to chase the woman but then something hit him.Something familiar with those words but he had trouble remembering.

“I need to leave this place.” He said to himself. He quickly got to his feet and started to head for the door. Another woman reached out for him just as he was about to leave and grabbed a hold of his arm. She was swaying back and forth from drunkenness. Her breath smelled of alcohol and overcooked meat.

“Where are you going, handsome? It’s cold out there.” She said playfully. Ridley felt a warmness drape over him again. He looked back at the festivities continuing all around him and then peered out into the cold darkness of the night. He could feel the weight of the letters in his pocket once again, as if they were calling out to him, reminding him of everything he left behind.

“I need to leave. I got something to do.” Ridley said hastily as he brushed off the woman’s hand from his shoulder. The woman looked disappointed and upset.

“Why, don’t you want to escape from the cold dreariness of the world and forget everything?”

Ridley barked out a heavy laugh. “Ha! I had already done that and honestly I regret every second of it. It did me no good then and it’ll do me no good now.” Ridley said as he tipped his hat. “Farewell.” And with that he marched out into the cold night.

“The brown shed.” Ridley thought to himself. “Got to keep moving.”

Ridley approached the brown shed with caution. It looked like a regular old shed with a latch on the doors. His eyes quickly dashed back and forth. Not another soul could be seen.

“Too easy. I don’t like it.” He thought to himself as he unsheathed his sword. The sword sent a warm feeling of excitement throughout his body. Ridley took his sword and bashed the end of the handle on the latch. The latch cracked and broke.

The first thing that Ridley had noticed as he opened the doors was how dark it was inside and then the smell hit his face. It took everything for him not to turn tail and run away from the smell. As he walked deeper into the shed, the lantern provided light to the surrounding darkness and a horrific sight. Many large figures sat on the cold floor, chained to the walls and to each other. Their flesh looked scared and torn. There were more than just a family inside the shed, there were at least a dozen. Ridley looked with disgust and horror. A fire began to burn inside him. And with a quick glance around making sure there wasn’t anyone else in the shed, he took his sword and started to break the chains off of everyone in the shed. They looked at him with a look of confusion and fear but as soon as the chains were removed they stood up and hurried their way out of the shed. Some even approached Ridley and bowed their head in thanks before heading out into the snow.

As the last ones headed out into the darkness of the night, Ridley looked around one last time. The shed was now hollow and empty. Broken chains littered the ground and the snow started to blow into the shed, covering the floor.

“As it should be.” He muttered to himself as he sheathed his sword and walked out of the barn. Outside there were a small family of them still standing there looking at him. Ridley gestured for them to follow.

“Come on I know a safe place.” He said. The group started to follow him close by as Ridley headed for the path up the mountain.