The first thing I did after waking up was look around me. I knew I wouldn't wake up for no reason, so something must have happened.
I activated my skill to see better in the dark, scanning every shadowy corner. No one was there. The room was as empty as it was when I fell asleep.
Well, not completely empty. Yula was sleeping beside me, wearing what looked like silk pajamas, and she looked gorgeous.
I couldn't help but stare at her for a while, but then I got up from the bed with the intention of finding out why I had woken up.
My dark cloak was draped over the wooden table on the other side of the room. I put it on before leaving my room.
The tavern was silent. All the guests were asleep, and the restaurant downstairs was closed. I didn't see any employees and guessed they were also sleeping like everyone else.
I was about to leave the tavern when I heard voices outside. In fact, there were two voices.
"Are you sure they will leave by morning?" a man asked.
"Yes, I am. They only paid me to take care of the carriage for one day."
"Good."
"But what do you want with them?"
There was no response after that, and I knew I had to act. With swift and quiet movements, I stepped away from the door and found a place to hide.
The counter where the bartender worked seemed like the best option, so I hid there. Someone opened the door and then closed it again.
I waited a few seconds before moving back to the door, but when I got there, the men were gone.
Who were they? I knew one man was the one we hired to take care of our carriage, but the other wanted information about us.
The first thing that came to my mind was bandits. Bandits were common, as Yula had told me.
But we didn't have anything valuable with us, so why were they targeting us?
Anyway, I went back to my room and looked out the window. The window faced the tavern's front door, which explained how I managed to hear something while sleeping.
I waited there, watching through the window for a few minutes. With my enhanced vision, it was much easier to see through the night, especially away from the tavern where the light was nonexistent.
For a moment, I thought I saw something moving toward the woods. It was hard to tell if it was something real or just my mind playing tricks on me, especially given what had happened.
Anyway, with nothing else to do, I returned to my bed and slept for the remaining hours until morning.
The first thing I did in the morning was share everything that happened with Yula. She was already awake, drinking tea at the table inside the room.
"What?" she said, almost spilling her tea. "Are you sure they said that?"
I nodded. "Yes, I am. We should be careful and leave this place as soon as possible."
We wouldn't have stayed more than one night even if that situation hadn't occurred, but because of it, we decided to leave much earlier.
The restaurant had opened early in the morning. We grabbed something to eat before leaving the tavern.
My eyes met those of the man who took care of the carriage. He simply said "good morning" with a nod. He didn't mention the events of the previous night.
I didn't say anything either. It was better to keep a low profile and not alert others to what we knew. We still didn't know what the man wanted from us, but it certainly wouldn't be good, so acting clueless was the best choice.
Both of us were rested after sleeping through the night, so there was no need for one of us to control the carriage while the other slept. Therefore, I stood beside Yula and talked with her.
I wanted to know more about the city we were heading to. According to Yula, it was one of the most important cities in the whole Kingdom.
"The city is next to the ocean, which makes it a hub for trading activities. That's why we can find a lot of things there," Yula said.
The city was called Zorathil. I asked how Steward knew a mage who was staying in the city, but Yula didn't have an answer.
Anyway, this journey felt different. Perhaps it was because of the strange conversation I overheard the night before, but I had a sense that someone was following us.
Did I have proof? No, not at all. We saw a few carriages along the way like last time, but that was it. I didn't see anyone following us.
But it was a feeling etched into my soul. I was not the type of person to ignore my instincts.
Despite the odd feeling, everything went well, and after a few days, we arrived in Zorathil. The city was right next to the ocean, just as Yula had said.
The city had great walls around it, with guards controlling who entered and who left. From afar, I saw some tall buildings. It was clearly well-developed, which was expected, given that it was a major trading hub.
A guard checked our belongings before we entered the city. The inspection was quick, and we were inside the city in less than five minutes.
I looked around, observing the people walking from place to place, the vendors selling all sorts of items along the streets, and the stores brimming with goods.
It was not a bad city. I was surprised by how well-built it was.
"It's a nice place, right?" Yula said.
"This isn't your first time here?" I asked.
"No, not at all."
I wanted to explore the city, but that was something for another time.
We couldn't waste any time, so we went straight to our current task: finding the mage who could help the village.