The three of us found Piero’s Bistro soon after; the tavern wasn’t too large, but it wasn’t too crowded either. Most of the taverns I had been in have always had a busy crowd filling it up with noise and chatter. But this place was almost completely empty.
“Welcome!”
A friendly Human man greeted us as we entered the doorway. He was carrying a tray of drinks to a table— one of the few occupied tables— before setting it down and turning to us.
“What can I do for you today?”
Daniel approached him, nodding.
undefined“We’re looking for a place to stay for the night. And to ask some questions. We’re adventurers. Here on a job.”
The other man’s eyes grew wide and he quickly wiped his hands and turned to my companion.
“Wait, are you here for the job I sent to Viechester? I’m Piero— the one who made the request.”
“That’s right.”
Edithe spoke up, glancing around the room. Her eyes scanned the area, stopping at every person within the tavern. Then she smiled and offered a hand.
“We’re here to help. Can you tell us anything you know about these bandits?”
“Of course!”
Piero eagerly led us to a table and we began our discussion. He told us most of the same thing the guard captain, Jonathan, did. The bandits had been a problem for a while, but they were only responsible for minor offenses like stealing. There had been a few kidnappings, but nothing so major that anyone thought hiring adventurers were necessary.
“And why’s that?”
I cocked my head, curious at his reasoning. Piero wiped a sweat off his brow— he had been working all day. In fact, he was supposed to be working right now. But now that he was talking to us, he had a young Human woman take over for him.
The girl seemed only a few years older than Rachel. If I had to guess, she was about 15 years old. She brought us a platter of food and drinks as Piero explained.
“We never had the coin to afford it. Adventurers are expensive, Miss, you’ve got to understand that. It’s a dangerous job, and the reward has to reflect that effort. Maybe if I didn’t have a family young, I would have tried my hand at it too. Silvers can earn dozens, if not hundreds, of gold coins a year just by doing the most basic of jobs. But that means I can’t possibly put up enough of a reward to draw in any adventurers.”
“And you can now?”
Daniel scratched the bottom of his chin as he peered at Piero. The tavern owner nodded.
“I dug into my savings. I’ve put in everything I have ever saved up for this request, Mr Daniel. 50 gold coins. I know it may not seem like much to you adventurers. Good enough for a single job, maybe. But that’s all my money.”
“Why now? Why not before?”
Edithe prodded the man with crossed arms. His fists tightened into balls as his entire body began to quiver.
“Because they took my wife, Miss. They took my sweet Chloe. Ripped her away from my arms. I was helpless to stop them. My only consolation is knowing that Sophie managed to escape by hiding in the wine cellar. Those bastards were too busy getting drunk to notice her.”
A dark shadow was cast over Piero’s face. I could tell the mood in the table shifted. Even the girl from before, who was now serving other guests, seemed to have overheard the conversation and been affected by this dour atmosphere.
The silence lasted a total of a second before I decided to end it. Placing a hand on the man’s shoulder, I spoke reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find your wife! We’ll take care of these bandits. The Calhoul Coins, right? Just tell us where they went.”
Piero stared up at me, his eyes watering up. Then he shook his head.
“I don’t know if I can.”
Sniffling, he slumped back to his chair.
“They came in the middle of the night. Took the city’s walls before anyone noticed. And after that, it was a slaughter. It was like we were bugs hiding in the tall grass, trying to escape from the scythe. They came and they left. I don’t know where they even went.”
Daniel frowned.
“We heard that they were ransoming off the hostages.”
“They are. But not all of those who were kidnapped are being sold back. I know someone— Hugh— his children were taken from him. They demanded 10 gold coins from him. But they only let him take one back.”
“This... Hugh.”
Leaning forward, Edithe gave Piero an inquiring look.
“Where can we find him?”
“He works at the farm just outside of the city. I don’t know if you should visit him now since it’s late. I think it’s better if you find him in the morning, when he’s out there working and tilling the fields. Although… you might catch him visiting tomorrow if you wake up early enough. He’ll be doing a delivery for us at dawn.”
“We’ll see. For now, we just need a room to sleep in, if you have any available.”
“Of course. We have plenty of vacancies.”
Piero hesitated, drawing his lips to a thin line.
“I, uh, would love to provide you with a complimentary place to stay. But times are tough right now—”
“It’s fine.”
Smiling, Daniel produced a small pouch of silver coins.
“This is for the food. And the rooms.”
The tavern owner’s eyes grew round at the sight. He gratefully accepted the coins and bowed his head profusely.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you.”
With that, we were given a key to our rooms and made our way to the second floor. I was supposed to be sleeping with Edithe while Daniel stayed in a separate room, but…
“I don’t want to!”
I protested as Edithe tried to drag me inside. My eyes fixed on the bed, then snapped back to the hallway. I dug my fingers at the door frame and cried out.
“Daniel, save me!”
“Salvos, why won’t you just do what you usually do while we’re sleeping?”
The Human man spoke from his doorway.
“Because there’s nothing to read here! And doing nothing is boring!”
Sighing, Edithe let go of my hand and I stumbled forward. I grinned triumphantly.
“I am free!”
“What are you going to do, Salvos? It’s night and most people will be asleep.”
I spun around to face her, innocently hiding my hands behind my back.
“I’ll ask around the town about these bandits! And that guard captain, Jonathan! You two don’t trust him, right?”
My companions exchanged a glance. Edithe crossed her arms while Daniel rubbed a hand on his sword’s hilt.
“It’s definitely suspicious how the Calhoul Coins were able to take the city walls so easily. Even if they were mostly Golds. It was almost like they were let in.”
“Yeah. We saw the kind of devastation brought to all the towns and cities he attacked. This was nothing like that. Only the town seemed to have been looted and plundered. I definitely don’t trust that guard captain at all.”
The two seemed to come to some kind of a mutual agreement; I didn’t really see it, but I nodded my head nonetheless.
“That’s exactly why I should investigate!”
I dug into my pockets and produced my Necklace of Lesser Obfuscation; I had not been wearing it. Apparently, I came across as a [Mage] as long as I was in my Mortal Form. Linking its chains around my neck, I stood proudly before Daniel and Edithe.
“Look! Now they won’t know I’m an adventurer. I can ask any questions I want and I won’t rouse suspicion from Jonathan!”
“...they know what you look like, Salvos.”
Daniel pointed out. I scowled and gestured at Edithe.
“I can just wear some of her clothes! They won’t suspect a thing!”
He still seemed unconvinced, until I met his gaze.
“Trust me, Daniel. I’ll be fine. I’m not going to be reckless or stupid. I’m just going to look around. Alright?”
“...fine.”
Finally, the Human man acquiesced. Edithe was fine with it too. She provided me with a change of attire; it apparently was used by her for more formal wear. A white, silken dress that was embroidered around its sleeves and collar. Its flounce fell to my knees, frills lightly dangling around my legs.
She gave me a brown hood to wear, along with a sun hat to cover my freely flowing silver hair. Looking at my disguise, I grinned and stepped out of the room. I’m a Princess, I thought proudly.
My bracelet was worn for all to see around my forearms, and the Ring of Lesser Obfuscation looked like any ordinary pendant hanging resting on my chest. I tinkered with the artifact, making me appear like a Level 21 [Mage].
“See, Daniel? There’s nothing to be worried about!”
The Human man was nowhere to be seen. I rapped lightly on his door to no response.
“Huh. Did he fall asleep, I wonder.”
Edithe chuckled and patted me on the back.
“Just go. And stay safe. Make sure to return to the inn by morning.”
I beamed and gave her a thumbs up.
“Of course! Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
Skipping happily down the hallway, I made my way out of Piero’s Bistro and to the town square. It was empty.
Night had fallen while we were busy questioning Piero, and now it was even later since I had to get changed and convince my companions to let me wander the city. My mood was immediately dampened, like a storm cloud was hanging over my face.
“Where is everyone?”
Sighing, my slippers sunk into the soft earth as I made my way through the empty town. Lulica was not the biggest Human settlement I had been in. In fact, if I had to liken it to something, it would be like one of those towns surrounding Warrington, but slightly larger.
There were a few distinct differences between them however, one being the wall surrounding Lulica. It was not the most defensive or sturdiest wall I had seen— it was only made of wood— but it was present. Just as Edithe had observed, it had not fallen from the bandit attacks, despite being apparently breached twice.
Another difference was the state of Lulica; it was almost like Silvergrove after Lucerna’s attack. Entire houses were toppled, piles of burnt wood and ashes remain where buildings were, and blood stained the earth where corpses once lay.
I noted a few Humans bundling themselves around large fires. They had no shelter— no homes to sleep in. I approached one of these groups and took a seat next to a gruff Human man. He grunted and faced me.
“What do you want, lady? Can’t you see we have no room at the fire? Take your flashy jewels and get a room at one of the nearby inns.”
I blinked and stared at the man.
“Why would I do that? I want to be here.”
“Don’t be stupid, lady. Do you really think you can walk around dressed like that without running into any trouble?”
I cocked my head.
“Yes. Why not?”
The large man— taller than even Daniel, almost as tall as I was when I was not in my Mortal Form— furrowed his brows. His face was scarred. A large cut ran across one of his cheeks, making the scowl on his face even more sharp.
“Fuckin’ rich people. Fine. Do as you wish. But don’t blame me if something happens to you.”
He turned back to the fire, clearly ignoring my presence there. I looked over at a few of the other Humans huddled around the flames. They pointedly avoided my gaze, focusing on the dancing orange light as if it had caught them in some kind of a trance.
A small chuckle came from behind me and a hooded man stood before me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, tilting his head up to reveal a bright, white smile.
“Hey, don’t let that man bother you. He’s just upset that he lost his house during the raid.”
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