Chapter 80 - The Return of an Old Friend
They arrived at an inn, and the lady at the reception greeted them.
"How many rooms would you like? One for a couple? A trio?"
"A t-trio?" Alice stammered, flustered.
"One room with three beds, right?"
"Yes."
They exchanged glances.
"Maybe three separate rooms would be a good option?" Luke suggested.
"Preferably close to each other. If not, we'll take a couple's room next to a single," Alice said.
"You know this place isn't a luxury inn, right? We can't offer something so customized. We only have rooms with multiple beds or couple's rooms. Our focus is on accommodating large numbers of regular sailors."
"So, should we take the trio or two couple's rooms?" Alice asked.
"The trio room costs 3 small crystals. The couple's room costs 2 small crystals."
I don't know how many small crystals we have. Actually… what size crystals do the skeletons drop?
Alice pondered for a moment.
Is she calculating? I must have collected about 15 crystals over the past few days, not counting the ones we already had… They stayed here eight more days in the forest and probably gathered more. And I saw the Little One looking like a military sniper, killing a bunch of skeletons.
We should have at least 50 crystals, conservatively. We couldn't carry too many.
"One trio room..."
"Better two couple's rooms; you need your privacy."
God! She was trying to save a single crystal.
"Alright!"
After giving the woman 4 crystals, she handed them two keys.
"We'll bring a bucket of hot water soon so you can clean up and sleep well. You need it. Meals are included; you get one lunch and one dinner. The next meal is dinner, served at 7 PM in the room at the end of the hall."
"Ma'am…" Luke said with a smile.
"Yes, boy?"
"How can we tell the time?"
"There's a clock in the hallway, but if you're walking around the village, the bell will ring at 6 PM."
"Thank you."
"Oh, don't miss our humble banquet. It would be an honor for our visitors. Have a good rest."
"We won't."
"May the Mother Goddess bless you."
The trio climbed the stairs of the inn.
"I'll leave... you two to have your moment."
Luke made sure the girls entered their room safely.
As if they needed protection, I'm the one being protected in this group.
Entering his room, Luke looked at the simple bed in front of him.
"God… how I missed this."
The scarf flew to the bed, stopping him from diving onto it.
"What is it?"
It pointed at Luke.
"Listen, I've been sleeping on rocks or dirt for days. I deserve to crash onto this, even if I'm dirty."
I also slept in someone's lap…
The scarf didn't let him jump on the bed.
"And you? Look at your state!"
The scarf lifted its ends, inspecting itself before looking back at Luke as if to say, 'What about me?'
"You're all dirty, you look like a rag."
The scarf gesticulated wildly, as if to say, 'Take that back! I'm not a rag!'
"I'm not wasting my time arguing with you. Just get off the bed too."
Luke flopped onto the floor, resting his head on his leather bag.
After a while, someone knocked on the door.
Finally, the bucket!
"It's me!" Alice's voice came from the other side of the door.
Luke opened the door.
"Ahem!" Alice gave a mock cough. "Anna and I bought these for you. We weren't sure if they'd fit..."
She handed him folded clothes.
"We asked for the standard size for people our age."
"Thanks!? I thought about just dispelling the cloak and summoning it again. It'd come back completely clean."
"Yes, that has its advantages. But even Anna had to buy clothes to avoid looking like a pirate. It's about the style and colors. If we need to gather information, we'll need to blend in."
"Got it, thanks."
They stood there, looking at each other in silence.
"Alright, I'm going. Have a good rest, Luke."
Phew!
Luke returned to the bed, and the scarf jumped up, preventing him from lying down.
"Again? I get it, I'll just put the clothes on the bed."
After a while, the woman from the reception knocked on the door, handing him the bucket and a towel.
"May the Mother Goddess bless you," said the woman.
Luke went back to his room and sat on a chair.
"I could soak you and use you to clean myself, you know."
The scarf jumped up, alarmed.
"I'm just kidding... or am I?"
Luke laughed as the scarf recoiled, trying to hide.
Dispelling the cloak and removing the clothes underneath, Luke started washing himself with the wet towel.
Leaning against the headboard, he accidentally bumped into a statue.
"Oops!"
Putting it back in place, he took a closer look. The statue was of a stone woman in a praying position, appearing to be on top of a boat.
Is this the Mother Goddess they talk about?
Examining the statue further, he noticed wings behind the stone woman—four of them.
Returning to his washing, Luke finished up, and for the first time in a long while... he had nothing to do. He didn't need to walk in shallow seas, rush to find water to avoid dying of thirst, or keep watch at night... finally, he had a bit of peace.
"Everything's going well; nothing can go wrong."
The scarf looked at him as if to say, 'I can't believe you just said that…'
"Let's go for a walk."
The scarf leapt onto Luke's neck.
Luke was wearing simple clothes: a white shirt and black pants. His scarf added a unique touch to his style.
Telling the girls he was going out, he let them take their baths and went to explore the rest of the village.
Walking around the area, the small village had some houses extending into the forest. Luke didn't know the rules for wandering around the place, so he stuck to the busy areas. The people were quite friendly, though some gave him strange looks.
It must be obvious that I'm not from here.
As it started getting dark, Luke saw people beginning to return to their homes. Some businesses were closing. He watched a guard lighting torch posts, finding it fascinating. He had never imagined that streetlights used to be torches in the old days.
"Lucan!"
Upon hearing his name, his real name and not the nickname, he looked around but saw nothing. The streets were beginning to empty.
He found the location of the Sailor's Bar.
"So, have you decided?"
Captain Flyn stood drinking at the establishment's door.
"Just getting to know the place..." Luke responded with a smile.
"Alright... if you're still... anyway, find me when you decide."
Captain Flyn walked away, disappearing into an alley.
Luke continued walking aimlessly.
"May the Mother Goddess bless you," said a kind old man.
"Thank you," Luke replied.
The man then made a serious face, staring at him for a moment before walking on.
Weird...
Growing tired of wandering, he heard the bell ring and decided to return to the inn. When the bell rang, he saw some people heading to the church, holding candles. Some had happy faces. The church was in the central part of the village near a fountain. Luke thought about going to take a look but changed his mind. Deep down, he felt his mind had become accustomed to staying on high alert all the time. So, he decided to ignore this strange feeling and the urge to find something to do and returned to rest. Tomorrow would be the day he spent gathering information on a way out of this Campaign Map.
"Oh my god!"
When he arrived in his room, he had a surprise. On the chair where he had been sitting... was the cursed diary.