- QUARIA -
Hielgan and the Princess had continued to talk for several more minutes before she left him to rest. The Princess' words were subtle and to the point, but Hielgan understood that this was her way of assessing his intelligence, and he had managed to satisfy her curiosity.
After the Princess had left, the words she had spoken to Hielgan would linger and keep him from sleeping the rest of the night. In his life, Hielgan had never once dared to question his beliefs nor try to understand why he was taking a pre-chosen path to a future he had only known from those that came before him.
'After such a brief encounter,' Hielgan thought to himself. 'I know she was not manipulating me, nor were there any signs of mind control.'
Hielgan got up from his bed and proceeded to sit on the floor with his legs crossed together, then he closed his eyes and began to meditate. If there had been any mental manipulation, he would be able to find it out and outroot it from his psych.
As he focuses his mind, Hielgan could feel an absurdly large mass of mana flowing in his body. This feeling was not strange to him, but it was surprising that he had already gained new strength in such a short amount of time.
Hielgan recalled the battle he just had with the sorceresses and wondered if this power boost had stemmed from that encounter.
"If Sarai and Rocky had not been there, I might have died."
Even though they were just magic casters, it had taken Hielgan the use of his full strength for him to take down the sorceresses. In the end, the leader managed to escape and nearly killed them all in the process.
"I need to grow stronger."
Hielgan whispered as the sun peeped through the Inn's window.
Later that morning, Hielgan descended the rickety stairs of the Inn and made his way to the reception, but seeing that there was no one at the desk, Hielgan decided that it would be better if he waited until the owner came back.
Hielgan sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting area and then looked around, the walls appeared to be falling apart, the stairs were unstable, and the wooden floor needed replacement. When Hielgan found this Inn yesterday, he thought he had struck a jackpot but in his excitement had forgotten to check the condition of the Inn.
"Three bronze coins a night isn't going to fix any of this." Hielgan muttered.
Hielgan could see some parts on the wall where it had been reinforced with wood and nails, he figured this was an attempt by the Innkeeper to try and keep the place from falling apart.
Sadly, it seemed like a matter of time before the whole place would come crashing down.
A notice board hang loosely on one of the walls, Hielgan saw a few flyers perched on it and figured they may be of interest to him. So he got up from his seat and walked over to the notice board, when he looked at the flyers he was surprised at the date they had been marked on.
"These jobs..."
"I guess you are wondering why I still keep them up there."
Hielgan recognized the voice, it had come from the Innkeeper who had finally shown up. For a man his age, he seemed to have retained a brisk tone of voice that surprised Hielgan. The Innkeeper slowly walked over to him, even though he had frisky gray hair which hang loosely on his aged cranium, the Innkeeper had a mildly buff exterior and walked with a straight posture.
"They have not been completed yet."
"Unfortunately, the Bouncing Clam has been known to hold some of the toughest jobs in Quaria." The Innkeeper stated while looking around the waiting area. "There was a time when this Inn welcomed the greatest of Adventurers that came from across Morland."
"The Bouncing Clam?"
"Aye lad, this here was the best guild in Morland." The Innkeeper exhaled. "Till the Empire decided they'd keep all the Adventurers for themselves."
"The rise of the dungeons?"
"Seems like ye' know your history lad." The Innkeeper peered at Hielgan with a sly glance. "The dungeons attracted many foolish Adventurers, and when they realized what they had signed into..."
"It was already too late, the Emperor at the time didn't know what lay in the dungeons..."
"Fearing for his Knights, he sent in the next best guinea pigs."
The Innkeeper's sighed and looked away, his rants about the Empire had reminded Hielgan of his late father and seeing this old man close to tears stirred a familiar feeling within his heart, and for a moment he seemed to feel his father's arm beckon to him from the other side.
"Hey old man, how many of these quests are still valid?"
The Innkeeper's face lit up suddenly, on his face was an expression that held hints of confusion, doubt, and relief.
"Might I ask why you want to know this lad?" The Innkeeper kept a curious gaze on Hielgan.
With an expression that harbored various emotions, the Innkeeper seemed to fathom what Hielgan was about to say, but years of living in rejection had shaped him to become a stubborn and hopeless man who just refused to believe in heroes.
"I came to Quaria to join the Royal Army and become a Holy Knight," Hielgan smirked. "One day, the bards could be singing about this moment."