Chapter 68

68 The town

“Welcome to the Crescent Inn. How may I help you?”

After two hours on the road with a new carriage and a new driver, they finally arrived at their lodging, tired and dirty. The only exception was Anne, who the guard graciously offered her time to bathe in their barracks bathroom.

“Ugh, I’m so tired... I think I will jump happily when I saw the bed right now.” Anne was complaining, she was getting some beaten by the slobbered after all.

“Let us take the key first, go get comfy on the sofa for now.” Justice pointed at the lounge room, where the inn also served free beverages.

Andy’s face was lit, and when he saw them also serving aggrus, he walk as fast as he could to the free beverages table. Anne opts to go straight to the sofa and get comfy, her familiar Chikara’s already sleeping in the basket. After the fight with the Slobbered, they both felt tired.

“Hey, are you alright, Anne?” Andy was asking her question with a glass of aggrus in his hand.

Let out a sigh. She shook her head at Andy. “No, I was mentally tired. I mean, fighting the monster was hard, never imagined it myself.”

“I know, right? That’s why I became a librarian, even though I have seventy percent magica, they told me I should choose a magic knight and or magi, but I don’t want it,” Andy tells her the story, the aggrus aroma fills the room, while he reminiscing his childhood, “My father, one of the chief librarian always bring books for me, I like to read lore and legend story, it was my childhood dream to become a librarian.”

“I think it was admirable you choose your job not because you’re supposed to, but because you wanted to.” Said Anne, her smile blooming, thinking how similar Andy’s circumstances were to hers.

.....

Andy looks at Anne and said, “I think you and I will be a great friend, I just knew it.”

Both of them burst out laughing, even when Xavier came to give them their room keys. The three gentlemen will occupy one room, while Anne will use the room beside them on the second floor. Justice already entered the room, Xavier told Anne that he was tired and need to go to sleep immediately.

Worried about Justice’s health, she made the tonic right away. After carefully putting Chikara on her bed, she looks at her herbs and dry flowers, hoping they would be good enough to make a good tonic. She brought a mentolitus flower and meylatee, now she just needs some caftea powder. She goes downstair and asked one of the staff.

“Excuse me, do you have some caftea powder?”

The receptionist smiled at her while pointing at the lounge room, “We have a pot full of fresh caftea right there, miss.”

“I need the caftea powder. I’m sorry. Maybe there’s a store where I could buy the caftea powder?”

The receptionist scratches his head. He seems baffled by how determined Anne was. “We have a general store two blocks from here, but... it is almost eight o’clock at night right now.”

Feeling glad that there was a general store nearby, she said thank you to the receptionist and walk outside the inn.

“Wait, miss, but it is...”

Anne never heard the receptionist plead at her, she walk outside and immediately goes into the general store. The night here differs from the capital or Viora village. It was cold and foggy, and hard to see. Thankfully, she put one small light orb in her pocket all the time.

The small orb hovering in front of her provided an ample amount of light to walk. She never knew the name of this town. Few people walk outside at this hour, and most of them were on duty. Anne felt an unsettling feeling came creeping inside of her. She walks faster, thinking that she just needs to buy the powder, and runs back to the inn.

Thankfully, she found the general store. The owner was ready to close the store when Anne came inside.

“Welcome Miss, how may I help you?” Said the store owner. He looks at her with curiosity on his face.

“I... I need one small bag of caftea powder, please.”

He took one big glass jar from one of his shelves and, using the scale, he measure a small bag of caftea powder for Anne.

The owner gave her the small bag and smiled. “It will be five iron coins, miss.”

Anne gave her one bronze coin, and while the owner counted the change for Anne, she asked her a weird question, “I’m sorry miss, it may sound rude of me, but why are you out here at this hour?”

“Err... I just need the caftea to make a tonic for my friend. I mean... are we forbidden to walk outside at this hour?”

The owner then smiles nervously at her, “Oh no, it’s not forbidden, so you’re not from around here?”

“No, sir, I’m a healer who took an exam at the capital, I and my friends are on the journey right now,” Anne answered the owner politely.

The owner was still a bit nervous. Anne could see it. There was something odd about this town. The owner gave her the change, and tell her to go back to the inn as soon as possible. Anne tried to ask him the reason, but the only thing that he said was, “It was almost nine o’clock. They could be anywhere.”

He closes the store immediately afterward. As weird as it sounds, Anne agreed with the owner, she need to go back as soon as possible. The fog was getting thicker by the minute. Anne walked and walk, feeling disoriented by the layout of the town, and it came down to her that she was lost.

Panic sets in, and she looks around, trying to find any guards to help her. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder. She screamed and turned on her back.

“Oh, I’m sorry miss, you seem lost. Are you alright?” There’s a young man with red hair and black onyx eyes. He smiled at her, revealing his perfect set of teeth.

“I... Yes, I am. I need to go back to the inn. Would you show me where the inn is? I think the name is Moonlight inn? oh no, Crescent inn.” Anne asked the stranger. She doesn’t want to feel desperate, but the truth was that she was.

The man smiled in what Anne could describe as a smile that could give you a creep. “Of course, in fact, let me take you there.”

“Oh no! You just need to give me the direction, I... I don’t want to take your time more than I’ve already had.” Nervously, Anne tried to politely refuse his offer.

On the contrary, the man seems more excited after her refusal, his eyes glowing, and his smile getting wider than before. “Oh no, I would like to help a pretty girl like you.”

The hair on the back of her neck raised, and once again she refused and this time, Anne was running as fast as she could. His last words sound like a warning to Anne. The fog makes her harder to see, but Anne will never stop, for as long as the creepy man is around the area until she bumped into someone.

Afraid that it might be the same man, she screamed at the man, “Stay away! I don’t need your help!”

The man held her tightly in his arms, and then said, “Anne, it’s me, Xavier!”

She looks at the man in front of her, and teared up as soon as a pair of golden eyes stared back at her, “Xavier! Oh, thank God you’re here!”

Xavier’s hand hold into Anne’s face, trying to see if she was injured. “What happened? Are you alright?”

Anne took a glance at her back. There was nothing there, only a thick fog and silhouettes of people around. “I... I’m alright, let’s go back now, come on.”

She asked Xavier to get her back to the inn. He was still baffled by how terrified she was. He holds his hand and they go back to the inn right away. After they arrived at the inn, the receptionist from earlier rushed to their side with a concerned face.

“Oh, you have found her, thank Gods, miss, what did you do? You go away as soon as I wanted to give you a warning.” Said the receptionist.

Xavier still holding onto Anne, can feel how terrified she was. He let out his anger directly at the receptionist. “What’s gotten into you? You should chase her outside!”

“But sir, I tried to chase her, but she disappeared in front of me.”

Anne frowned at the receptionist. “Disappeared? I was walking and then... Ugh, what is going on in this town, anyway?” Xavier and the receptionist take a glance at each other while she looks at the two of them. “Well, I’m waiting.”

“Nothing is wrong here, miss, just a normal town like the others, unless...”

“Unless what?” Asked Anne, still distraught from the earlier encounter.

“Unless you came here at the Hallow Eve month.” Said the receptionist nervously at Anne and Xavier.