Advent of Eternity - Chapter 103 (Patreon)

The search didn’t take long. After backtracking through the city, they located an inn a few streets away from the town square. Like the surrounding buildings, it was only a single story. Despite its height, the inn was as large as a dozen houses put together, and a small plume of smoke rose from a chimney on the far left side of it.

“What’s the point of keeping everything so low?” Cyll muttered as they approached the door, where an old sign simply read ‘inn’. “I mean, they could have saved so much room if they just remembered that up was a valid direction to build things in.”

For once, Knell found himself wholeheartedly agreeing with Cyll. Shaking his head, he stepped into the inn. Warm lanternlight washed over him, along with the faint scene of spiced meat and mead.

The inn had a dozen tables scattered throughout the main room, and conversation filled the air. Many of the tables had large parties sitting at them, but there were still a few free. Knell approached the counter, his staff clicking against the dull wood beneath his feet.

“Looking for a place to stay?” the elderly man behind the counter asked, peeling his eyes away from a bowl of stew that a waitress was delivering to one of the tables. He did a double take at Knell’s appearance, then paled as he took in the rest of the crew behind him.

“We are,” Knell said. “What are the prices?”

“Inns are free in Rosewood. The food isn’t,” the man stammered, adjusting his apron. He dug a key out of a pocket and tossed it to Knell. “Helps keep people inside after hours.”

The key was plain brass, with the number thirteen embossed on a flat disk that was attached to the end of the handle.

“How generous,” Knell said, slipping the key into a pocket. “Thank you very much. And how much for the food? There are four of us.”

“How about a flat ten silver?”

Knell dug the requested coin out of his pouch and placed it on the countertop. “Done. And how much for a question?”

The barkeep’s eyes darkened. “Not for sale, since I know the question you’re going to ask. Apologies.”

“No matter.” Knell turned and tapped over to a table near the edge of the room. He took a seat against the wall and eased himself into a chair, leaning his staff across his lap as his crew took seats around him. Absentmindedly, Knell started a mental clock.

“Why didn’t you push?” Stix asked.

“Because we’ll find out soon enough, and there’s no point starting a fight. The barkeep looked fairly timid, but he immediately clammed up when I asked him about questions. I doubt anybody is going to talk too easily, and I want to understand more before making a scene.”

“I can always squeeze it out of someone later,” Cyll said, inspecting his fingernails. “Won’t be any trouble at all.”

“I think you mean pry,” Maya said. “The phrase is ‘pry it out of someone’, not squeeze.”

“No,” Cyll said, flashing her a dangerous grin. “I meant squeeze.”

Knell turned his attention away from his crew and scanned the room. There wasn’t any clear pattern in the other people in the inn. Some looked like travelers, bearing only light weaponry and stained clothing that spoke tales of weeks on the road. Others were better protected, but their gear ranged in quality from great to poor and everything in between.

However, despite the sizable crowd in the inn, he didn’t spot Adventurer’s Guild colors anywhere – nor could he find the colors of the local Ruler.

Knell drummed his fingers on the table. A group of rough men in the corner of the room caught his eye. There were five of them, and the small one at the far side of the table kept glancing in his direction.

Stix and Maya were both completely oblivious to it, and Cyll’s back was to them. He turned his face away, but kept his attention on the group.

A waitress emerged from the kitchen with a plate bearing four large bowls. She slipped through the room with years of experience in avoiding customers and slid everything down in front of them. Knell’s clock told him that it hadn’t even been a minute yet.

“Ooh,” Cyll said, rubbing his hands together. “Food.”

“Do you happen to have a spoon?” Stix asked, studying the bowl.

“Those cost extra,” the waitress said.

Stix started to laugh, then stopped when she realized the other woman was dead serious. She sighed. “Seriously?”

“Just use your fingers,” Cyll said. “Wipe ‘em off on the table when you’re done. Embrace your primal instincts.”

“If I did that, I’d probably try to rip your throat out,” Stix said, scrunching her nose. She glanced up at the waitress. “I’m fine without utensils, Thank you, though.”

One of the rough men from the table Knell had been watching stood as the waitress turned her attention to Knell. “Did you want a spoon? Only a copper.”

“No,” he replied. “I think I’ll be quite fine. Thank you.”

She shrugged and headed back to the kitchen. Knell lifted his bowl to his lips and took a sip of the broth. It wasn’t the best he’d ever had, but it was more than passable. He set it down as the man arrived at the edge of their table, just a few paces behind Cyll.

“Can I help you?” Knell asked. He could smell the alcohol on the man’s breath from where he sat.

“You’re him, ain’t ya?”

“Could that question even get any more open ended?” Knell asked, taking another drink of the soup. “Please get to the point.”

“The… you know. Pirate.”

“How astute,” Knell said dryly. “Was it my hat that gave it away? Or perhaps the skull on my shoulder?”

The man hiccupped. “Not just any pirate. You’re the Withered Rose crew. H-heard rumors ‘bout your ugly ass face.”

“Hey, look at that,” Cyll said. “We’re famous! I love being famous. Done it a few times, you know. Did you want me to sign your back with my dagger?”

“That is indeed us,” Knell said. “Why do you ask?”

“Th- there’s a bounty on you lot, you know,” the man said, wiping his nose with the back of a sleeve. “Two hundred gold.”

“Oh?” Knell asked. “From whom?”

“Some Scion,” the man replied, hiccupping again. He rested an unsteady hand on the short sword hanging at his side. Behind him, the other four people that had been sitting at his table rose to their feet. “It’s good m-money, though. You’re awful brave ‘sittin round like this.”

“Brave?” Knell asked, raising the bowl of soup to his lips and taking another drink. He licked his lips clean. There was no point delaying dinner for something like this. “Whyever so?”

Cyll cocked his head to the side and caught his captain’s eye, but Knell just shook his head slightly.

The drunkard drew the sword from his side unsteadily and his group arrived behind him, their hands all on their weapons.

“I think you might want to collect your friend. He’s about to do something that you’re going to regret.”

“Tod is his own man,” one of the others said, giving them a dry grin. “We ain’t friends. Just business partners.”

“S-say, was that bounty dead or alive?” the drunk man asked.

“Either,” the other man said, watching Knell carefully. “I don’t reckon it mattered.”

Knell sighed. His eyes flickered golden for an instant. He raised the bowl to his lips one more time, drinking the rest of the broth before handing it to Stix. She took it uncertainly.

“Could you all take your bowls off the table for a moment?” Knell asked.

Everyone obliged.

“Thank you,” Knell said.

The drunk fool reached for him, raising the sword threateningly. Knell grabbed his staff, rapping it hard against the man’s shins. He cried out, staggering in pain. As he lowered his center of mass, Knell grabbed the man by the collar and slammed his face into the table with a loud crack.

His cry turned into a whimper as his nose broke. Knell yanked him up by the hair, the blade hidden within his staff sliding free. In a smooth motion, he placed it against the man’s neck.

“You’re wasting my time,” Knell said, his voice neutral. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a fork at your table?”

The man stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth working but no words coming out of it. Knell sighed and glanced at one of his stunned companions.

“Did he have a fork?”

“I – yes, of course he did,” the man that had spoken before said, taking a step back.

“Good. Go get it for me.”

“I–”

“That was not a request.”

The man swallowed and paced back to their table. He picked up the fork and brought it over to their table, tossing it down in front of Knell without getting too close.

“Thank you,” Knell said, shoving Tod away. The drunkard staggered into one of his companions, who steadied him before they both fell over. “You can put your bowls now. Thank you, Stix.”

She nodded mutely, returning the remainder of his own meal to him. Knell inclined his head, then set it on the table.

“Why are you still here?” Knell asked, turning his glowing eyes on them. “And put that sword away. If you keep it out, I might mistake you for an actual opponent. You don’t want that.”

Tod hurriedly shoved his sword back into its scabbard and raised his hands, retreating to the safety of their table. His companions fell back with him, casting nervous glances in their direction.

Knell wiped his new fork off and speared a piece of meat from his bowl, returning to eating.

“I thought you were going to kill him,” Stix said.

“That would have been a poor idea. We’re inside, and I would have gotten blood on the table. I prefer to avoid eating when there’s blood in the immediate vicinity.”

“Not to mention we might have gotten kicked out for fighting,” Cyll said, licking the soup off his fingers. “And until we figure out why people don’t want to go outside at night, that’s not a good idea.”

“I didn’t even realize you were capable of thinking rationally,” Stix said. “I guess I stand corrected.”

“Don’t worry, I keep it very, very limited,” Cyll said. He glanced at her bowl. “You going to finish that?”

“Yes,” Stix said, narrowing her eyes. “Knell, when you’re done with that fork, can I use it?”

“Help yourself,” Knell replied, picking off the last few pieces and tossing the fork over. Stix caught it and gave him a nod. She finished the rest of her food and went to offer it to Maya, but she’d managed to already finish off everything in her bowl.

Once they’d all completed their meals, Knell rose from the table and headed through an open door at the end of the room. It led into a long hallway with doors all along the left side and plain wall on the right.

They made their way down to room thirteen and he slipped the key into its respective keyhole, pushing the wooden door open with a creak. The room behind it wasn’t small, but it certainly wasn’t large.

There were two beds on either side of it and a desk against the back wall. More notably, there wasn’t a single window. Knell pursed his lips.

“Unfortunate. Something tells me all the rooms are equally windowless.”

“We could always make one,” Cyll offered.

“Not yet. Tonight, we sleep with a watch.” Knell approached the bed on the right and, after a quick inspection for bugs, sat down. “I’m claiming this.”

The other three’s eyes all turned toward the other remaining bed. Stix was the fastest, throwing herself headlong into the covers an instant before Cyll reached it. Maya changed course, grabbing the chair at the desk.

“Oh, come on,” Cyll said, crossing his arms. “That was my backup.”

“Should have been faster,” Maya said, sitting down in it and rocking back experimentally. It creaked, and she grimaced, quickly moving back to a stable position.

“Cap, permission to brawl to the death over a bed?”

“Denied.”

“Figures,” Cyll grumbled.

“We’ll rotate as we swap watch,” Knell said. “You’re first. Choose someone to wake up for the next one and take their spot.”

He laid down and closed his eyes, slipping into meditation. After all, there was no point wasting perfectly good hours sleeping.