Several hours had passed since the young man had returned from the forest.
"Whoooo-hooooo!!!"
As the sun began to set, the entire population of men who lived within the small town had gathered together at the only tavern the town had to offer.
"Cheers' Mate!!!"
Each of the men wore torn, tattered clothing with small areas patched up with a discolored square cloth. Their clothes were a testament to the years of hard work and pride they had put in. With their wooden mugs filled to the brim, the men gathered at the center of the tavern, their laughter mingling with the scent of alcohol in the air.
"Drink up, folks, they are on the house tonight!!!"
In the center of them all was a large man with a rounded belly. His mug was raised the highest, and he was the first to down his drink in seemingly a few gulps. After he was finished, foam from the beer clung to his brown and grey hair. The crowd of men cheered loudly and followed suit.
While the atmosphere was heavy with excitement and laughter as the town achieved a milestone, the young man sat alone at the edge of the bar counter with a small mug of beer. Lost in his thoughts, he stared emptily at his reflection in the beer.
"Chin up, lad." The man from before stood in front of him from behind the counter. He was the barkeep of the Cypress Tavern and Inn and the young man's adoptive father. He had a concerned look on his face as he looked down at the gloomy boy before him, not that which a father would give towards a struggling child but as a businessman concerned with something affecting his sales. "Tonight is the night for celebration and to get wasted. I can't have you acting all mopey when you are part of why we are celebrating." The man turned around and grabbed a flesh glass of whiskey from himself. He placed it on the counter and slid it down to line towards a drunken man. "We finally get the chance to trade with the City of Pandora, which means a run-down little town of ours can grow."
The young man took a sip from his mug as he listened to the barkeep. He knew that tonight would be a major celebration to reward ten years of hard work from the town's people. He knew that after the deal was finalized, he would no longer have to bust his butt off making money for both him and his sister and for the benefit of the town. The surrounding air proved that he was not along with these thoughts. All the men and women of the town worked day in and out to raise enough money to establish a deal with the city. They worked hard, knowing that the city would buy goods from them to be sold for a massive profit. The deal also allowed them to have a major road connecting them to the city, allowing them to order medicines he needed for his twin sister.
But despite it all, he sat with a solemn expression.
"Look, Ash, what's got you so spooked?" The barkeep leaned forward with an empty mug in his right hand. "I know you. I damn well raised you myself. Anything that spooks you to the bone like this could only spell bad news for the town as a whole." He suddenly glared at the kitchen door behind him for a few seconds before looking back at Ash. "Is it something to do with Ashley? I hadn't the chance to see her all day."
"No, she's better now, Cypress." Ash finally broke his long silence as he forced a laugh. "She was roaring to do something after having to rest for so long, so she left with the town's kids to help them with a project the traveling Sister gave them." Ash took another sip of the beer in his mug. As the beer flowed down his throat, he felt his cheeks redden. "A saw something that reminded me of Ma and Pa out in the forest."
Cypress's face turned cold as Ash said those words. Ash took another sip and looked around the bar. Everyone was enjoying their night without a care in the world. Cypress leaned his head closer to Ash and waited for him to continue.
"While on a hunt today in the dense forest east of Ardor, I found a disfigured corpse of an outsider."
Cypress once again turned back towards the kitchen door with a murderous gaze. The mug in his hand creaked as his grip tightened. Noticing what he was doing, he took a deep breath and softened his expression as he grabbed a clean rag. He began cleaning his mug. "What was the man wearing?"
Ash blinked a few times at Cypress's question, not because he was trying to remember but because he never said what gender the person was. His reaction was different from what he had imagined as well. He half expected him to play it off as a fool's dream, but he seems rather unsurprised.
"It was hard to tell. His clothing was torn to shreds and stained with his blood. But try to look past the bloodstains. It had a brownish hue to it. So, probably a brown suit. Oh, and there was another person there, too. He wore a fancy-looking black suit with silver on it."
"Was the man carrying a large wooden case on his back? And did he have a scarry-looking face that screamed that he was up to no good?" Cypress spoke as he placed his mug on the shelf behind him. "Did he give off an aura that felt as if he was cursed and would bring you bad luck?"
"… That's a little too specific. But he did have some scary-looking eyes." Ash laughed awkwardly as he took another sip.
"Yo, Cypress!!!" A man grabbed Ash's arm from behind and leaned over the counter. "Give us lads another round, would ya?" Despite sawing left and right drunkenly, his speech was still understandable. However, who knew for how much longer he would remain that way.
"Yeah, yeah."
Cypress switched back towards his working personality and swiftly mixed drinks he knew the man asking would enjoy. Once finished, he placed them all on a large wooden severing tray and walked it over to a table of drunken men who roared. The man who ordered the drinks gave Ash a heavy-handed slap to the back.
"Thanks, lad, you are just like your father. Keep up the good work." With that, he wobbled towards his table and downed an entire mug, or that's what it seemed like until Ash noticed the mug's contents spilling onto the floor.
Cypress returned to the counter and dropped the wooden serving next to Ash. "What you saw in the forest is nothing that relates to us."
Ash froze with a confused look on his face. How could a murder so close to home not relate to them? What if someone from the town was next? Cypress read the obvious look on his face and spoke hushedly.
"The man you found in the forest is Hunter from the city. They differ from the hunters you know of as they work as something akin to fixers. If you wanna know more, then read some of the books Ashley adores. But along with that man was the other one you saw. Simply put, he is bad news. I would recommend that you stay away from him if you value your life."
"So I'll ask, anyway. How is this not related to us in this town?" Ash questioned in the same tone that Cypress used as he looked around the bar.
"Some negotiators from the city came along and told us that everything would be taken care of with no issues. So, while they are handling everything, stay out of the forest for the next few days." Cypress then signaled towards Ash to end the discussion as a few men approached the bar.
Ash nodded and downed the rest of his mug. He then forced a smile and made his way towards the group of drunk men living their lives, blissfully unaware of the events soon to follow.
Once Cypress finished helping the men who approached the bar, he smiled wryly at Ash, who joined the crowd. He then walked towards the kitchen area and slammed the door shut. Inside the room was a man dressed in a fancy black suit with silver.
"How long are you gonna be just sitting in my kitchen, you cursed excuse of a man?" Cypress spoke with a disgusted tone as the man before him just tilted his head. "Answer me, Ansel."
"Oh? You were talking to me?" Ansel smiled as he approached Cypress. "Whose more cursed? A man shunned by his own species or a man who murdered an entire town just because he wanted a woman who loved another? I am afraid that rumors bound to me like a parasite can hardly compare to the blood-soaked roots from which this town of trees grew."
"Bastard."
Ansel smiled at those words. "All I'm here to do is investigate some murders. I care little for the blood you and your fellow townspeople have spilled. Let me do my job, and I'll make sure those two won't learn a thing."