The inn that the shop owner had mentioned was a bit more lewd than both Maru and Haru were expecting. The owner thought Haru had brought his sister to sell her off to work at the establishment as a courtesan of sorts. This comment had made Maru's blood boil. Causing her to instinctively draw out Haru's sword. She inflicted a nick wound on the owners neck and quickly sheathed the sword as fast as she had drawn it.
"I will cut you down where you stand. We'd like a room preferably with a separation." said Maru as she eyed the innkeep. His hand rubbed on the nick she left.
"Uh... sure. How, how many days do you want the room for miss?!" the innkeep said, bowing his head out of shame. Maru took out four bars of gold and dropped them in front of him. He quickly bent down to pick them up.
"This should be enough for a month, right?" Maru said as she began to walk past him. Haru followed after her.
"Oh yes, most certainly enough miss!" he said as he stood up and handed the bars to the girl beside him. "See to it that our guests are treated well and with respect! I apologize for my rude behavior. Uh, miss?" he asked. Maru gritted her teeth. She no longer had the want or patience to be in his presence anymore. Npc or not, he was a revolting fat pig. None the less, she turned back to him with a smile so full of innocence it took a moment for the innkeep to register what she was saying.
"Maru. My name is Maru. And I suggest you head straight to the apothecary... you have about an hour before the poison from that sword kills you." she said, turning back around. The innkeep could be heard yelling around for help. A sigh escaped her lips. "It might be two... depending on how fast it takes to travel through all that fat. But he doesn't need to know that." she muttered under her breath. A beautiful woman approached the two, bowed, and handed them a key. Haru took the key, and they followed her to the room. Finally! A bed! Maru walked to the bed and just collapsed onto it. Haru checked the room over and then locked the door. Maru was already starting to snore. Looking her over, he let out a chuckle as he moved past to close the window. As he came back by her, there was a tear coming down her cheek. He went to wipe it but pulled back when she stirred. "Takeshi, where are you??" she cried in her sleep. Haru turned and sat in the chair by the window.
When Maru woke up, the sun had already been up a couple of hours. She unintentionally held onto the bracelet around her wrist. Where was he? In the real world, it had only been maybe an hour or two at best, but it felt like forever. Her glance across the room landed on Haru, who was asleep in the chair. Taking the blanket off the bed, she covered him up. Instantly, his eyes popped open, and he went to draw his sword. Maru quickly waved her hand in front of his face, and he fell back asleep. She wanted some time alone to think for a bit. On top of that, a tired guard is never good for anyone. Though now she realized that she had put him to sleep without saying an incantation. Was her magic getting stronger that fast? Also, the npcs were a lot more life like. In here, between the quality, you could say that the roles felt reverse. Npc felt like a player, and a player felt like an npc. This world felt so real. Even though it had only been a couple of days in game, she could feel her grip on reality diminishing. Maybe she could just stay here forever. There was really nothing waiting for her in the real world anyway. She shook her head. What was she thinking? Haru began to stir. His eyes caught hers. Quickly, he stood up and bowed.
"I'm so sorry! I can't believe I fell asleep! It won't happen again, miss!" he said with a bow. Maru waved him up.
"I should hope not. Haru, you need rest just as much as I do. We may need it less compared to humans, none the less we still need it. So promise me? Promise me that you'll take time to rest?" she asked. She moved towards him and patted his shoulder. He gave a nod in response. "Out loud, Haru."
"Yes, miss. I promise to rest when I need it." He paused for a minute, "Have you eaten yet, miss?? Should I go and find us some food?"
"No. Places of food and drink will be where we get our Intel. Come on, we'll go see who all knows about Kyomi's return. Hopefully, none so we have more time to prepare." she said as she placed the concealment spell on them. Haru nodded in agreement. The two of them made their way downstairs through the inn. When the Innkeep saw them, he greeted them and bowed his head. Maru let out a sigh he had survived. "Good to see you lived another day." she lied with a smile. Then she turned towards Haru. "We need to keep an eye on him in case he tries to retaliate." she whispered. Haru nodded at her. The two finally made their way to a food stall with tables nearby. Haru went and ordered the food as Maru sat quietly, trying to listen to what was being said around her. Most of the conversations were of little to no importance. Just some small talk between npc characters. Haru made his way to the table and sat with her. He passed out the food between them both. Maru let out a sigh. There were not many players in Telan today. This was a good sign. If word had gotten out about Kyomi, the town would be bustling with people trying to get information. She rubbed her face and began eating.
"Kyomi..." Maru heard someone whisper. She quickly looked around her, but it did not seem like anyone around her had said it. "Kyomi..." This time, when she looked around, everyone had frozen in place. She stood up. What spell could freeze a whole town? And why was she unaffected? Suddenly, there was death and blood everywhere! The whole town was massacred and on fire, but everything was still frozen. Haru laid dead on the table with arrows through his neck and back. Maru moved and grabbed his sword.
"Who's there?! What have you done??!" Maru yelled. There was no answer. "Answer me damn it!!" There was nothing but silence. Maru then saw a person standing in the middle of the road in a black cloak. They turned to leave. "Hey! Stop!! Come back, who the hell are you!?" She ran as fast as she could to catch the person. When she reached them, she grabbed their shoulder and spun the person around. It was herself! The other version of her stared with evil intent and bloodshot eyes. A horrendous laugh emitted from her.
"Maru?" A voice snapped her back to reality. It was Haru! Everything was back to normal. The town was fine, along with everyone in it! "Maru?" asked Haru again. What, what was that? A spell? Or a vision?? Maru realized she was starting to draw attention standing the way she was. She quickly sat down.
"I'm fine." Maru said with a pause. She hesitated for a moment debating on how much she could really trust Haru. In the end, she decided he was probably the only one. "Haru, what do you know of visions?" she asked. He quickly locked eyes with her.
"Only the dark elves have the gift of foresight. And you would have to be of pureblood to even have a chance of having this gift." answered Haru. Maru sat stumped and pondered what he had just said. Pureblood dark elf? If Maru was truly brought in as Princess Kyomi, there was no way she would possess this gift.
"Could someone with the gift show you one of their visions???" she asked. Haru shrugged and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, miss. I don't know much else about the gift, unfortunately. Did you have one? A vision?" he asked. Maru bit her lip.
"I'm not quite sure what it was. Where can we find out more about the gift? Is there anything in the library of Telan?" she asked. Haru shook his head.
"You would have to travel to the royal library or the dark elf territory. Neither are a good idea if you're trying to stay hidden." answered Haru. Then he went back to eating his food. Maru really wished Takeshi would come back already. He could travel in the dark elf territories, no problem. Or maybe he even knew the answer already??