I ended up hiding in Madame Tate's room for the rest of the night, that little brat won't enter this place without permission, he won't dare. I want to see him trying, though.
For the next two days, I stayed in safety with the old Madame, and, of course, I was not lodging for free. My job consisted of entertaining the customers, the workers, and the jobless lazing around but with money to spend.
Then, when my magic act stopped and Linda was next with her group of musicians, I vanished with a puff of smoke and walked to the back of the counter to sit underneath. It was the most obvious hideout but at least it made its job.
"Darling, you can't hide forever in here," Madame Tate sighed while filling me another jar of beer, for two golden coins. Tch… I made ten golds these two days, but she made me pay her two golds for each beer. What a greedy grandma.
However, she knew that I won't say a word when the shark with the name of Matty passed by the counter sniffing the fear from my body. I knew she will come, so I immediately and with the biggest trick of magic I mastered, I crunched down and covered my body with a big mantle. Hehe… she will never notice me. Well, not if this old Madame doesn't give me out.
Anyway, I know that eventually, I had to confront my worst fears and face that little devil but for now, this feels nice. To be a coward once in a while doesn't seem that bad of an idea. Just let the world go and let me float like a leaf in the wind. Bored…
"Madame Tate, when are they going to come back?"
"Darling, are you still upset?"
Of course, I am upset, I am pouting here.
Mr. Tate, the old man had gone with Kian to another town, a bigger town with open markets and traveling merchants. They got a rumor that the supplies of beer and wine, and many other things will be at a decent cheap price, so business is business. I wanted to go too. It would be a great opportunity to ditch that little boy and go explore another town for money, but… that damn brat beat me to it and asked Mr. Tate to accompany him. Tch… I wanted to go.
However, well, if the door to freedom is closed, then I could get out through the window, right? And then my most desired freedom arrived when the old man said yes to that little boy but, when my happiness was about to set me free, I received the notice that even if the torturer went away, the frying pan remained. However, the one holding it now was no other than Jena.
I stayed with the old Madame, of course, behind the counter and in a safe zone. Free of murdering frying pans.
"Hey, did you hear about the mine of Nertil town?"
"Yeah, I heard they are hiring people… maybe I should go take a look with my boys."
"That will be useless, old man, the Kingdom closed the entrance to the mine."
This is what I like about taverns, the beer, the cheerfulness, the friends, and the unexpected flirts like Kian, but more than anything the news and the talks. Those old men liked to gather around the table to tell the news and the old tales.
"Why would they close the entrance?" the old Todd replied to the young man by his side, I guess his name was Mario.
They were workers in one of the farms near the border of the town, and they often spent the night in the inn of Madame Tate as their houses were a bit further away. Maybe a day of travel. Well, they had to come here to win a bit for their houses full of children and a caring wife.
"I don't know… exactly," the young lad, Mario looked around suspiciously and lowered his voice. Well, that was useless, inside a tavern, even if someone was trying to speak in whispers, the many ears attempting to hear their soft words were honed with years of practice. "They said, that some Elders from the Kingdom explored the zone and made a deal to buy the entire mine and the lands on the sides… Gilbert, the owner of some land there was offered twenty thousand golds for his small farm… I bet he is dancing in happiness now…"
"What?!" the old Todd almost shattered the glass. "How is that possible?"
Mario stopped the hand of the old man before they had to pay another extra for the disaster of a broken jar. They all feared the Old Madame Tate skill to get an advantage even for an extra bread crumb, and they all knew they can't be audacious inside the only inn with cheap prices for those workers in the town.
"Shh…" Mario lowered, even more, his voice, "I don't know, but some say that a kind of strange power appeared there… maybe…" he lowered more his face, "maybe ancient magic. The real one… "
"How can that be?" the old man Todd was about to slap the face of the young lad when something curious entered his ears. Silence.
He turned around to see the dozens of curious heads turned to see them with shiny eyes and prepared ears. However, what was more than impressive was the young little girl, yes, a beautiful young girl, with amazing blond hair and blue bright eyes kneeling in front of them.
I had to pass the young lad a golden coin for him to continue his story without any word out, or I will have to make him look into my eyes. Well, that would be better, but now that everyone knew about the strange magic appearing in the little town of Nertil, just let them know too.
"That…" he looked anxious and a bit flustered, why would he? He doesn't need to be that nervous. "Miss… Miss Jane, what… what do you want to know… you don't need to give me a coin…"
"Oh… that… then, okay… but you can continue your story."
That was perfect, my shy cute voice came out splendidly. However, the young man blushed even more. Dammit…
"Hahaha… little girl, he was saying that the mine on the frontier of Nertil was now in custody by the Kingdom guards." A man in a black cape and a big built continued. He didn't look like someone from the town, and he had ordered dinner for him alone.
"What else?" I asked looking at the man that took out his hood. He was a middle-aged man with a short brown beard. However, as I said before, he was not someone from this little town, the hunter cape was easily recognizable, the boots, the knives, even the arch bow, and the bag with supplies on the side. But what could be more of a give-out than those scars in the face and the hands.
"Is that coin still available?" he smiled, well, he for sure knows how to make business.