Chapter 67: A Drunken Night

Nana couldn't help but break into laughter as she walked into the INN.

Ty watched on with slight confusion before joining her inside.

They found the old INN lady sitting atop Todd's back, ordering him to clean spots he had missed.

Waving at them when they walked in, she said, "Thank you for the helper. I've discovered places that I haven't seen in years.

Spots I thought were black leather decor were actually just covered in black dust for years!"

She bellowed with a small, ladylike laugh.

Todd groaned and confirmed, holding up a pure black rag that used to be plain white, and black particles covered his green mossed hands.

Ty observed as she asked the big, lumbering man to bring her down so she could have lunch, thanking him for his assistance with a nod.

"Why did you two leave me this morning? I woke up to being left out of all the fun, and she told me you all volunteered me to be her helper," Todd questioned.

Ty couldn't help but smirk. "Well, you looked like you needed to sleep in. I've heard you've been worked to the bone lately. Though we didn't expect the INN lady to work you that hard."

Ty chimed in, "Regardless, let's get some food in our system, and then we'll be heading out. We might stop by the pub for a few drinks. I wanna see if I can taste beer."

Todd appeared slightly jarred by this comment, his expression one of disbelief. "How can a skeleton taste anything?" he asked, his face showing his shock.

Ty shrugged, trying to offer an explanation. "Well, to be honest, I'm not fully sure. But when the King had his big dinner, I could taste the food, and it sort of disintegrated as I ate it. I can't really explain fully, but I hope to learn more about it."

Fixing her expression with a smile, she stated, "It will be nice to get some drinks for sure, though. It has felt like a while since I had a good beer."

Ty, walking down the hall to fetch some new clothes, responded, "Uh, you might be older than you look, but no one is going to believe you and serve you alcohol here, well at least I think so."

Confused, she asked, "W-what? Why is that?"

Ty explained, "Kids aren't allowed to drink, of course."

She took a moment to think about it, pondering Ty's logic, and eventually just pouted a bit before following him to get a fresh change of clothes.

As the evening wore on, Ty decided to try a local beer, intrigued by the idea of tasting something again.

To his surprise, the beer had a surprisingly sweet flavor, and he found himself sipping it with newfound appreciation. The experience was unlike anything he had anticipated.

It was then that Ty noticed Mattison in a corner of the pub, accompanied by a female companion. Mattison, with a slightly flushed face from the alcohol, waved at Ty and called out, "Good to see you! Have you come to join the party?"

With an unabashed display of affection, Mattison gave his companion a deep kiss before excusing himself and making his way over to Ty and the group.

He seemed cheerful and friendly, commenting, "I hope you've enjoyed the food and drinks. This pub is pretty much the go-to place after a day's work."

Todd joined in the laughter, nodding his head in agreement as he downed an entire keg of beer, much to the amusement of the tipsy general. "I'm still shocked seeing a normal Ogre," Todd remarked, a grin on his face. "Guess you live long enough to see the craziest things," he added with a hearty laugh.

Mattison, with his arm draped around Ty's shoulder, leaned in to whisper into Ty's ear, his voice somewhat slurred from the alcohol. "You find any cute girls you like? Something about this town is that it's not in short supply of hot girls," he nudged Ty playfully on the shoulder.

Ty chuckled and looked around at the lively pub, taking in the dancers and the elegantly dressed women. "I already have someone, sadly," he replied, a hint of warmth in his voice. "So, I'm not exactly looking. Just enjoying some beers."

Ty, raised an eyebrow, an honest glint in his eye. "What about you, though? I'd assume a general is pretty high up; shouldn't you be finding someone to settle down with?"

He stuttered about only being in his early 20s

Ty was taken aback by Mattison's age, which seemed far younger than he had expected for someone in such a high-ranking position.

"Wow," Ty exclaimed, clearly impressed. "I hope I get to see your leadership in action one day. We're going to get ready to head out after a night of sleep. If we don't see you till then, it was great meeting you, General Mattison."

Placing a firm hand on Mattison's shoulder, Ty bid farewell before heading out.

Todd stumbled after Ty, as Mattison had a surprised face watching Nana's arm, which had taken on a glistening red hue, miraculously keeping him upright.

Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled, "I must have had too much to drink to think a small girl is holding up a looth that big." He staggered off to finish his beer.

As they made their way back to the INN, they noticed the door had been cracked in half. To their dismay, the once well-lit surroundings had been plunged into darkness.

They spotted a shadowy figure, cloaked in darkness, standing over a small figure, muttering incantations.

Panic surged through Nana as she snapped her fingers toward the figure. In an instant, the cloaked figure exploded into a mist of black vapor before reforming and darting toward Nana and her companions.