It's said that times goes by quickly while you're having fun. Maybe it's because one just isn't paying attention, distracted by the ongoings of whatever it is that had captured their attention. Or maybe it's because the feeling of joy isn't meant to last, only achieving its purpose in short bursts. Any longer would only spoil other feelings, making despair that much more intolerable.
Whatever the reason, that saying still stands true, and Ryan and the other's riding along in the decrepit wagon were experiencing the opposite. This day felt like it would never end. It was hot, the sun beating down on them, making them sweat buckets and shield their eyes. The wind had forsaken them, leaving them to wilt in the scorching heat without the slightest hint of relief. Their backs were sore and bruised, whoever was in charge of maintaining the roads had neglected their duties. It was summed up well enough in one word, agony.
UGH… Ben let out an audible moan, his body draped over the edge of the wagon, staring at the dusty dirt road moving slowly below them. "Are we there yet Professor? How much longer?"
"DO NOT start that up!" Professor Kal shouted out without turning to look back at him. "We still have a long way to go before we even make it to the border, let alone the capital."
They had been on the road for several days now. Always setting out their tents at night, then packing up and heading out at the break of dawn. The first few days weren't so bad, the two Professors didn't talk much but the three of them could always be seen laughing, talking, or practicing magic. Now though, only the sounds of the wagon creaking and grinding along coupled with the snorting and clopping of the horses could be heard.
UGH… A chorus of dejected moans could be heard as all three students deflated.
"Don't get all huffy, we'll be able to sleep at an inn tonight, a village is only a few hours up the road." Professor Treffle spoke up, which had been rare throughout the trip so far.
"An inn? We're supposed to be a poor family of commoners, traveling to greener pastures, escaping our woes." Professor Kal piped up; a hint of sarcasm could be heard.
Professor Treffle must not have had the patience at the moment, she opened her mouth and came up for air. "I'll be damned if I'm going to spend one more night sleeping on the ground!" She started to pull and scratch at the prickly brown tunic she had on. "And these, these, these, 'clothes', well, you can just shove them up..."
"Alright, alright, I understand!" Professor Kal held up a hand, stopping her before she could go on. "We'll rent out a few rooms, ok?"
The students, along with Professor Treffle smiled for the first time today, excited at the prospect of sleeping in a bed, even if it was only going to be stuffed with straw.
He continued. "As far as the clothes go, you all can change out of them at the inn, just nothing too fancy, ok?"
Professor Treffle turned to look at him. "I thought this was part of our 'disguise'?"
"Well, yes, I do want to pass off as commoners, but honestly, not even the lowliest of commoners would wear these things" he said, looking down and pulling at the collar of his plain brown tunic. "I just wanted to see how long you four would put up with wearing them."
Silence reigned supreme once again. Professor Kal could feel four sets of eyes burning through his flesh and into his very soul. After a moment, a scream sounded out over the desolate road. "YOU ARE JUST INTOLERABLE!!"
…..
It was nearing sunset by the time the group crested the last hill before the village. They were all taken aback by the flourishing activity happening just outside what looked like hastily built walls. City guards, along with a throng of adventurers were patrolling outside the walls. Torches were lined up only a few feet apart, pushing back the encroaching darkness and replacing it with an eerie orange glow.
The din of orders being barked, and heated conversations could be heard even from where they were located hundreds of feet away. Professor Kal kept the horses going at an even pace as they approached the crowd.
Popping his head up out of the wagon, looking forward, Ryan asked what was on everyone else's mind. "What do you think is going on?"
"I haven't the foggiest idea." Professor Kal replied, not seeming to care much about the situation.
Ignoring the Professor's less than satisfactory answer, he looked towards the other teacher, hoping for a better idea. She gave him a look and shrugged her shoulders, the universal body language of 'I don't know'.
"Maybe they're looking for someone? Or maybe there's a monster running about?" Ben offered up his thoughts as Ryan slumped back down into the back of the wagon.
"Everyone knows that there are hardly any monsters on the surface running about, they're only down in the dungeons. Even if there was a monster, I doubt it would warrant such a response as this." Laura couldn't help but to add to the conversation.
Having taken notice to a horse drawn wagon approaching, two guards hurried over to greet them. "Hurry it along. We're about to close the gates. C'mon, keep moving."
Usually, the guards at a village would want to at least check to see who was entering the town, but these guards seemed more concerned about getting everyone inside before it got dark. Not bothering to ask questions, although he was beginning to grow curious as well, he drove the horses past the wooden gate and into town.
"Just what is going on?" Professor Treffle asked no one in particular as they entered the village.
Just like on the outside of the walls, the inside was lit up by what must have been nearing a thousand torches and bonfires. Everything was lit up like it was mid-morning, not almost dusk. It was several degrees warmer behind the walls as well and the smoke being given off tickled their throats, causing them to cough. Residents were rushing around, nailing boards onto windows, and reinforcing doorways.
Professor Treffle looked on; her previous sour face replaced with one filled with worry. "The inn had better be open."
…..
Fortunately for her, the inn was in fact still open. They had found it easily enough, and it was almost completely empty, so they had the pick of the litter when it came to rooms. Although the innkeeper did look like he hadn't slept in several days, he was more than happy to rent them out his best rooms. Though it does have to be said that the 'best' rooms in an inn of this size weren't much to write home about.
With the carriage and horses put to stable, they had all congregated in the small restaurant attached to the inn. They were all excited to eat something that wasn't hard tack or salted meat. The students were talking amongst themselves, trying to decide on what to order, although the menu was only a few items long. Even the taciturn Professor Treffle was joining in the conversation, which was a rare sight to see. Professor Kal was seated at their table as well, perusing the menu, although there wasn't anything that seemed to interest him.
A waiter, wearing a plain brown tunic and a white apron stained with the day's special, came up to their table to take their order. "What will it be?"
He looked just as tired as the innkeeper, dark circles hanging underneath his eyes. His exhaustion must have been making him impatient, his foot was tapping out an odd rhythm as he waited for the group.
"I want the beef stew." Ben was the first to state what he wanted; his mouth was practically drooling as he spoke.
"The same for me." Ryan quickly added on.
"Meat pie, please and thank you."
"Just the special." Laura and Professor Treffle said respectively.
Turning his head, the waiter directed his attention towards Professor Kal. "And you?"
"I want to know what is happening around here. Everyone we've seen has been running around like it's the war all over again." He said, leveling his gaze at the exhausted looking waiter.
"Haaa." The waiter started off with a long sigh. "It's been awful these last few nights, everyone's on edge."
"We can see that much." Professor Treffle exclaimed, everyone else nodding in agreement.
Shifting his weight a little, he narrowed his eyes slightly before continuing. "Right, well, it all started three nights ago. It was the dead of night; I don't even think the moon was out. Only the local patrol was awake. I just remember the screams, the awful screams." He paused for a moment staring past them all, as if reliving the moment.
Before the waiter could regress into his own mind, Professor Kal loudly cleared his throat, bringing him back to reality. Blinking rapidly, the waiter continued. "Anyway, almost twenty people went missing the first night, with no trace. It's only gotten worse since then. Nobody has even seen what has been taking them. How is that possible, how…" He trailed off, staring off into the distance once more.
Professor Treffle gave Professor Kal a worried look, Ryan and the others started to murmur amongst themselves. The waiter was still giving the empty chair behind them the thousand-yard stare. "Right!" Professor Kal said, clapping his hands together loudly. "I'm sure they're all hungry, better be off then."
Snapping out of his trance, the waiter shook his head a couple of times before silently retreating into the kitchen, mumbling words only he could hear. The restaurant's atmosphere felt like it had suddenly grown much colder and much more foreboding.
Laura subconsciously scootched closer to Ryan, Ben was looking around himself, making sure nothing was sneaking up on them. Professor Treffle leaned over and whispered into Professor Kal's ear. "Do you think we're safe? What do you think is taking people?"
Without a care for whoever was around him, he gave his honest opinion. "Oh, I'll be fine. I don't know about you four though. Probably some nest of horrendous man-eating monsters has taken up residence not too far from this village, using it as some sort of all you can eat buffet."
The students visibly blanched, their minds went way back to the incident deep in the forest, the one where they themselves almost became dinner for a pack of wolves. They didn't want to imagine what it must be like for the people who were taken away from their homes. How terrified they must have been, how lonely they must have felt as they were ripped from their beds and dragged off without any idea about what was happening.
"Pro… Professor." Ryan started, shifting in is seat. "Shouldn't we… you know." He paused before looking around and leaning forward and lowering his voice to avoid any eavesdroppers. "Save them or something."
Professor Kal looked at his protégé like he had ran over his beloved dog, his face scrunched up in an expression of disbelief. "And why in the world would we want to go sticking our noses into any of that? Ahhh… I see." His face contorting into a lecherous grin. "Trying to impress your girlfriend there, are we? Have a little bit of that… Hero complex, do we?"
"N… No, o… of course not. I… I was just thinking since you're such a powerful mage, that maybe there was something that you could do." Ryan vehemently denied Professor Kal's suggestive prodding even as his face turned a shade remanence of beets.
Laura's face was nearly the same color as she felt a wave of heat flush into her cheeks. She even started to lean away from Ryan as she had realized just how close she was sitting to him. Professor Treffle rolled her eyes while Benjamin was stifling some laughter from across the table.
"You are right about one thing; I am very powerful." Professor Kal said matter of factly. "But you won't get anything with mere flattery." After stopping to take a long draw from an ornate goblet that no one had notice appear on the table, Professor Kal continued. "The only thing you will get if you continue on this train of thought is dead. I'm sure you can understand that much, can't you?"
Ryan looked down, only giving a silent nod in reply. Before anything else could be said, the waiter had returned with the food they had ordered, bringing the conversation to an end. They all ate in silence, thinking over everything that they had learned since they came to the village.
As the meal wrapped up, Laura couldn't hold back the question she was dying to ask. "Pro… Professor Kal, ca… can we stay in your room tonight?"
Nearly choking on a mouthful of wine, Professor Kal took a moment to regain his composure. "My room? Absolutely NOT!"
His reply was as swift as it was absolute, not even Laura's upturned puppy dog eyes had any effect on the man. Seemingly finished with the conversation and his wine, Professor Kal stood up to leave. Before he could, Professor Treffle spoke up. "You three may stay in my room tonight, I would feel much better about your safety if you were close by."
As she spat those words out like venom, she was giving Professor Kal a glare that could freeze a lake solid. The three of them visibly relaxed when they heard her words. Almost as if giving up, Professor Kal's body went limp, and he stared up at the ceiling. He let out a resounding UGH. "Fine, here, take this thing if you want. It'll keep you scaredy cats safe at night so at least you won't all be huddle together shaking in your boots!"
As he openly mocked them, he made to pull something out of his deep pocket and produced an item with the visage of a human shaped figure. He plopped the cat sized item onto the middle of the table with a resonant thump that shook the silverware. Without saying another word, he turned around and marched straight up to his room, leaving the four of them behind.
"He's such a child." Professor Treffle voiced, not caring that the students heard her.
"Did we make him mad?" Ben asked as he leaned over to pick up the statue.
"I don't think so, I've only ever seen him mad that one-time Clerance tried to pull a fast one on him." Ryan offered up as he watched the Professor stomp up the stairs.
"Oh yeah, I remember that. Whatever happened to him anyway?" Laura asked, taking interest in the statue Ben now held in his hands.
Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea."
"Give me that!" Professor Treffle commanded as she stood up and held her hand out to Benjamin. He timidly handed over the statue. "Thing's creepy, you can have it."
The figure was only vaguely shaped like a human, it had two legs and two arms, that is where the similarities ended. Its head was a stark white animal skull, something similar to a deer or elk. Large antlers branched out from the skull, sticking out like thorns. Large, serrated teeth jutted out from its gaping maw, nothing that a deer would use to eat. Its chest was wide, bits of flesh and gore were peeled off its exposed ribs. Its arms were so long that they almost came down to touch the pedestal it stood on, large claws tipping its three fingers and thumb. Its legs were rippling with muscle, some of which you could see through open wounds and torn fur.
A disgusted look was plastered all over the Professor's face as she turned it over in her hands. The form was so realistic, so well made, that she could almost smell the rot coming off of the hard stone it was carved out of.
"What is that thing?" Laura asked, equally as disgusted as the Professor.
"I've never seen anything like it before, I don't know." She answered honestly.
"How is that supposed to keep us safe? Scare off whatever is kidnapping people?" Ben asked sarcastically.
"I don't know that either. And don't get snippy with me." Professor Treffle said as she put the statue away into her own storage ring and directed her gaze towards Ben.
"Sorry, Professor, or, I mean, mom." He replied, earning an even more steely gaze for himself.
"You're as bad as he is." Was all she said before she too turned and stomped up the stairs herself.
Once she had disappeared up the stairs, they all started to laugh uninhibitedly, the tension seemed to have melted as if it was never there to begin with.