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As Maria and Ursa got closer to the group of men yelling at each other, their argument eventually became a little more clear, or at the very least the words being said, there were still many things and words that Maria didn't understand or had any understanding of. Ursa meanwhile didn't care much about what it was about at this current time, once the distance was almost fully closed, patrons within the bar that were not part of this group began to look back at the men with annoyance and some even got up and left the inn, clearly annoyed by the groups mid morning antics.
Ursa: "Hey you all! What in the 12 hells are you idiots complaining about? You're driving out business and it's getting annoying, can you not bring this outside or do it on your own time?"
Once Maria and Ursa are close enough to them, it is much more clear to see that it's not only 1 or 2 of the men that are arguing with each other but mostly all of them. Red faces, gritted teeth and angered expressions are the only things that are there to greet the 2 newcomers to the ongoing confrontation.
Patron 1: "I'm aware that you don't get what any of this is about lady but I've got every reason to be pissed at this asshole! Spreading nothing but pure utter crap! You know that those people are already gone and yet you still come here every day doing nothing but stirring up trouble!" The patron yells to another.
Patron 2: "stirring up crap!? I'm the one trying to warn people about them returning, meanwhile your stupid ass is doing nothing but avoiding and ignoring the issue! I've seen one walking around here lately! I know it! And once the entire town gets cut down in the middle of the night by those freaks you'll wish that you had listened to me."
As the conversation went on, Ursa's face changed from one of anger and annoyance to more of confusion and curiosity. She slowly lowered her fists and dropped her aggressive expression, looking to whoever talked next.
Patron 3: "You say that Varus…but all the weird assumptions you come up with are all that, assumptions. Have you ever once given any bit of evidence to justify the unneeded worry you're causing everybody? Just give up, all you're doing is affecting yourself, and soon enough the guards are gonna catch wind and throw you out again, or even sentence you."
Varus: "I have given this region much of my time in the army, they wouldn't throw me out just like that, and besides that…you accuse me of having no evidence? Well what if I said I DID have evidence? Would that make your stupid asses realize just what's going on?"
After a few more sentences it becomes clear that the town may have its very own representation of "boy who cried wolf" kind of character, and his aggressive and drunken looking demeanor didn't exactly help his case. Meanwhile, all that maria could do was look back and forth at the arguing party, she had seen many bar fights and arguments before but this one sounded like something serious, this wasn't a "this person cheated on me I just know it" or an "I saw this coworker do this while he wasn't looking" kind of banter that Maria was used to, this sounded serious, and the main instigator of this fight seemed keen on getting everybody to agree with him. Before the man going by the name of varus could reach into his pocket, ursa took this time to snap out of it and jumped in on the conversation, either in an attempt to calm everybody down or just because she was curious.
Ursa: "Now what are you talking about? A group? Being cut down? You're not planning on bringing in trouble here are you? Even if you are telling the truth, there hasn't been much going on around here to cause all of this. What could potential outlaws or criminals even want with this town anyways…there isn't anything here besides shops with cheap supplies. Not to mention the rott that's keeping outsiders from wanting to roam around this region in the first place."
Varus: "It's people! I swear I've seen them here! They wear normal clothes and walk around during the day, and once night hits, that's when they start doing what they do! Don't you remember Farkas? He was a regular here at this very inn, but he hasn't been seen around for damn near 3 weeks! He has no wife nor children to speak of and he drinks by himself, obviously he would have been the perfect target for such a group, nobody would notice that he was missing."
Once Varus said that person's name, a perplexed look took hold of Ursa…Farkas. While Ursa does do quite a bit of sampling of the alcohol herself, she rarely talks to the other patrons that she knows, either because they were too drunk to hold a conversation or she just saw them as too boring.
Ursa: "Well…now that you mention it i do remember lucas mentioning that name a few times while working the night, lucas, does that name mean anything to ya?"
Maria looked behind her to realize that in the chaos of all this happening, Lucas the bartender walked from behind the bar and had appeared to see what the commotion was about.
Lucas: "Yeah I remember him boss lady, that guy was a regular that came in almost every night, he was always kinda sad lookin but we liked to talk. After a few days of him not appearing here I figured that he just went off to some other random hangout…but he didn't seem like the kinda guy to stray out of his comfort zone, if he was leaving then he at least would have told me if not anybody else."
As quickly as Lucas finished that sentence, a reassured sense of excitement emanated from Varus.
Varus: "See! The bartender seemed to remember the guy! It's what i have been trying to say this whole time, this old guard's senses work wonders at sniffing out trouble makers and there is definitely trouble brewing around here, somebody has to stop it! And if it aint gonna be the guards or anybody else then it's gonna be me!"
Ursa: "Hold on now! There is no need to start going on a witch hunt when you're not even sure who IS doing it, there may be a kidnapper on the loose but if you just go out and start randomly accusing people of doing it, then you're gonna be in for it with the guards."
Patron 1: "Yeah…as if this schizo needs to give the guards more reasons to be pissed at him all the time. I swear you're gonna be asking for it pretty soon Varus. It's bad enough that you're spreading this worry to the guards who are already busy enough but now getting other random civilians roped into your deluded theories…very sorry for him bothering you ma'am."
Ursa: "Oh well…your alls yelling and knocking furniture over is very annoying but honestly im kinda interested in this whole thing. If there really is a kidnapper around the town then that's certainly a cause for concern, don't ya-"
Just before Ursa was able to finish her sentence, the creaky door to the inn slammed open, and in walked a man in shining armor. Maria looked the man up and down, her infatuation with ancient culture pouring into her mind. Whatever nation this is is even more clearly based off of the romans, the mans armored looked very similar to that of the roman legionaries of old, but with other slight differences to them. The man, looking around the building stopped when he finally found his sights on varus, it was crystal clear that he was the one the guard was looking for.
Guard: "You…I've been looking for you Varus! The guards house has had enough of your trouble making! Every single day it has been something new with you but this is where we stop this bullshit. Worrying the population with your tales, causing unneeded panic and all this yelling…you can either come with me or I'll be forced to bring you in."
The guard starts to walk towards varus but he is only able to get a few feet closer to him before everything starts going to hell. Varus, still high strung and on edge, reaches behind his back and pulls out a sharp steel dagger, the glint of the blade beaming off nearby tankards and kitchenware. Maria immediately tried to back up but it was clear that a fight was about to happen. The crowd started to close in on and encircle the guard and varus, completely blocking Maria from walking away from this predicament.
[Oh no…I don't want to be a part of this…i really don't want to be a part of this! My first day here and I'm already about to witness a fight to the death…why won't everybody move??? Is this really the kind of thing that gets people excited to see?]
Varus: "D-don't move any closer to me! I know damn well who you are…the second I come with you I'll end up at the bottom of a lake! Maybe YOUR the one who has been taking people from their homes…yeah, the perfect disguise to be a guard."
Guard: "Varus…don't make me do this, you're acting like a mad man and you're clearly out of your mind, let's just get you to a place where you can calm down and talk this crap out, don't make me have to kill you, your wife is waiting at home for you, and i don't want to be the one that has to explain to her that your not coming home."
As the guard finishes his sentence, Varus slowly lowers his armed hand, his grasp on the blade shaking as his breathing becomes faster and faster.
Varus: "You leave her out of this you bastard…I'm trying to help people here and you're here trying to send the wrong person to prison over nothing. I won't let you."
With that being said, the man, stuck in his own world and already over the edge, raises his blade again and grasps it with both hands, pointing it straight at the guard. The crowd around the 2 began to beg and plead with the man to drop the dagger, but it did nothing but build up even more tension between the 2 men.
Patron 3: "Stop this varus! You can still fix this mistake! But threatening a guard is going to do you no good!"
Ursa: "He's right sir, the guard is giving you a chance to end this peacefully, just take the offer and be done with all this drama."
Varus: "I ain't gonna end up like some lunatic in a cage when I'm trying to protect people, the slavers are here in this town and I know it…"
[Jesus this is too much, they are one hundred percent about to murderize each other, why can't these people just get along, if this was happening where I came from this problem would have already been solved. I just want to walk out of here and pretend like none of this ever happened. That's perfect! I just need to push my way through these people somehow and all of this will be over with, if i don't have to be involved i won't be involved.]
With that thought completed in Maria's head, she craned her head back over her shoulder and started to back up into the crowd in order to find a weak spot to slip through. As much as she squeezed and prodded, there still didn't seem to be anywhere that she could escape from, and the fact that most of the people here were a lot bigger than her didn't exactly help. All of the sudden, the group, hell bent on watching all of this unfold, seemed to dissipate and the crowd got a lot more loose, with multiple people to her left and right quickly shooting themselves off to the side.
[Oh, it's a lot more spaced out all of the sudden, this will work just perfectly, but what is going on back-]
Varus: "I'll kill you, get out of my way!"
Guard: "Oh shit!"
With a quick step to the side, the guard that was trying to escort Varus outside the building just barely dodged the blade swing aimed for the center of his stomach. Stumbling a few feet to the side, the guard had had enough and pulled the sword from his scabbard and got into his fighting stance.
As the guard prepared to attack Varus, he only now noticed that the blade the man was wielding had red dripping down the sharp end of it, but how? He could have sworn that he perfectly dodged that attack. At this point, the crowd's focus had completely switched from Varus and the guard…to the black haired newcomer at the center of it all.
[...a-ah…what…hurts…my neck…hurts.]
The faces of the patrons that surrounded Maria were now scared and distraught looking as they stared at her. Maria slowly brings her hand up to her neck and lightly cups it around her throat, and upon bringing it back into her view, a crimson red color soaked every inch of it. looking down at her clothes, she also noticed that they too were now soaked in red. Beating. Beating…beating, slower and slower her heart pumped, and she began to get light headed as the sheer feeling of panic took hold.
[This…It cant be…me…why me.]
Maria wrapped her hands around her throat as she fell to her knees, and then on her side. With tears and blood falling to the ground she tried desperately to stop the bleeding, but nothing she did seemed to work. Laying there on the ground, choking on her own blood, Maria's breathing slowly but surely started to fade.
beating…beating…beating.
Ursa: "Oh gods, what the hell! What did you do, Varus! Somebody heal her! Anybody!?"
Varus: "Oh shit! W-wait I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It wasn't meant to be her! I was aiming for the guard, it wasn't meant to be her! Goddamnit!"
Guard: "Ma'am, girl! Just hold onto it for a bit longer, I'll call for a healer and she should be here in no time! You just have to hang in there!"
beating...beating......beating.
[Do i want this…this is what i asked for…in that old world…but why…am I…scared]
As seconds go by, Maria's vision and hearing start to get blurry and incomprehensible, at this point, all she can see are blurry figures above her frantically moving around the room.
Ursa: "Hey! Who the hell are you? Are you the healers we called for?"
???: "No but the healer the guard is looking for is too far away, we know a closer place just trust us."
Ursa: "Hurry! She is going to die any second! Please help!"
beating...…..beating.........…beat…ing..............................…
[I guess…this really isn't…a dream.]
And with that as her finale thought, that black haired girl, alone and scared in this brand new world that she found herself in, took her final breath, and fell asleep once again.