The next morning, Jasper stumbled down the creaky stairs, looking disheveled. Dia sat at the counter, eating, and glanced up at him with a mixture of amusement and disdain. Jasper's eyes met hers, and he flashed a charming smile. "I must be blessed to have seen an angel this morning."
Dia shook her head and continued eating. "You need a wash," she said bluntly.
Jasper's smile faltered, and he bellowed, "Where's that dusty old man?"
Giles appeared, scowling at Jasper. "You're looking for me?"
Jasper turned on him. "Did you stick me in that awful bed last night?"
Giles replied calmly, "Yes, and you should thank this lady here. She paid for your room and convinced me to let you stay."
Jasper's face darkened. "I can bloody well pay for my own room."
Giles shot back, "You were in no shape to do that last night."
Jasper turned to Dia, his eyes narrowing. "Why did you do it? You weren't too fond of me yesterday."
Dia dropped her spoon and turned to face him. "What makes you think I did it for something?"
Jasper scoffed. "I'm a smart man-,"
"Of course you are" Giles snorted, mocking Jasper.
Jasper ignored him. and continued. "And also, no one does anything for nothing. What do you want?"
Dia rose from her seat. "Wash up and eat, then we can talk." She walked out of the tavern, leaving Jasper looking stunned.
Meanwhile, Dia headed to the market square to buy a horse for her journey to Nordhagen. As she browsed the stalls, one majestic Friesian caught her eye. It's sleek black coat, impressive built and flowing mane. She gasped in excitement and admiration.
"The Friesian," the horse monger said, "is a lovely and very impressive horse. Sold to me by an old knight. He's majestic."
Dia asked, "How old is he?"
The horse monger replied, "11 years old." Dia smiled, her hand reaching out to touch the horse's soft coat, closing her eyes.
"How much is it?" she asked, already fearing the answer.
The horse monger said, "350 gold coins."
Dia's eyes shot open, she wasn't expecting that. She turned to the horse monger, shocked. "Obviously, you can't afford it," he chuckled and she frowned.
Dia turned back to the horse, admiration in her eyes. "I'll own you," she whispered, before turning around and walking away. But not before throwing the monger an intimidating look.
On her way back to the tavern, she ran into Thomas, who greeted her with a fake laugh. "Young traveler, we meet again. What a coincidence."
Dia muttered under her breath, "An unfortunate one."
Thomas approached Dia, his bodyguards lurking in the background. "I assumed you'd be departing this morning, but it seems you're not quite ready," he said, his tone laced with condescension.
Dia's eyes narrowed. "I didn't specify a particular time for my departure."
Thomas took a step closer, his smile faltering. "Are you headed to the tavern?"
Dia's annoyance grew. "Yes," she replied curtly and made to walked away.
Thomas called after her. "You never told me your name."
Dia's stopped to answer, her back turned to him. "It's Dia."
Thomas's smile returned, but it seemed forced. "Dia. I'll have to remember that."
Just then, a scream pierced the air, followed by the sound of clashing steel. Dia's eyes darted toward the commotion, her hand instinctively reaching for her sword but she grasped air instead. Groaning inwardly, she watched the scene unfold before her.
A group of men, armed but not armored emerged from the chaos. One of them, a burly man with a scar above his left eyebrow, stepped forward holding a commoner before him, his knife at the commoner's throat. "Thomas, remember me?" he growled.
Thomas's eyes widened in recognition. "Gorin"
Gorin's grin twisted into a snarl. "I'm glad you remember me. You stole my land, my money, and my wife. You think you can just waltz away from that? I'm here to take all of that back"
Thomas's face paled, but he stood his ground. "You're a madman, Gorin. That land belongs to Vylonia, and you know it. Everything on that land, living or dead belongs to Vylonia"
"To Vylonia or you!" Gorin yelled. The commoner in his grasp shook in fear.
Thoma's guard came from all direction, surrounding Thomas, swords at the ready.
Gorin's eyes flashed with anger. "You choose the hard way, then. You'll see my wrath!"
With a swift motion, Gorin slit the throat of the commoner he held hostage. Dia's eyes widened and people screamed in horror as the man crumpled to the ground. Dead, with blood spurting out of his throat.
The men with Gorin charged forward, swords drawn. Thomas's bodyguards rushed to defend him, but they were vastly outnumbered.
Dia watched in dismay as the fight intensified. She knew she had to act quickly if she wanted to escape.
Without hesitation, she turned and sprinted toward the tavern. As she burst through the door, she met Jasper and Giles at each other's faces. She yelled, "Jasper, we need to leave, now!"
Jasper turned, his eyes wide with confusion. "Beauty, you never told me where we were actually going or what we're doing or-"
"I don't have time for your useless speech!" Dia snapped. "All I need is for you to come with me right now, or I can't guarantee that your head will be resting on your neck soon enough!"
"Don't threaten me, girl!" Jasper retorted.
"It's not a threat!" Dia shot back. "I'm not about to be caught in some town war"
"What's going on?" Giles asked, his voice trembling.
Just then, the barkeep rushed in, panting. "Me...men...fighting...killing...outside..."
"What's going on?" Jasper asked, making Dia groan.
She quickly packed up while Giles and Jasper rushed to the window, it see what was happening, right outside, a few feet away from the tavern, were men fighting, soldiers and uniformed men. "Good gods!" Giles exclaimed.
"We should go, beauty," Jasper said, his voice laced with fear. "I haven't seen enough of the world yet, I'm not ready to die. I'll go anywhere you want, I promise, just take me out of here!"
Dia sighed and nodded eagerly. Jasper rushed to pack his things, and so did Dia. With one last look at Giles, Jasper followed Dia out of the tavern.
Dia rushed to the market place with one thought in mind. This could be her chance after all. "Where are you going? You're going to get killed!" Jasper cried.
"Stay behind me!" Dia yelled, as she rushed into the stall, the war growing more intense behind her. The horse monger had long since fled for his dear life.
Right there, she found the horse, quickly releasing it and climbing onto its back. She instantly felt very tall. "Hay!" The horse ran out of the stall.
She veered it toward Jasper. "What- You stole it!" Jasper exclaimed.
"No time. Get on!" Dia yelled.
Jasper struggled to get on the horse's back, and after much difficulty, he did.
Dia pulled the horse's mane, prompting it to race toward the entrance. The guard positioned at the gate raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.
"I need my weapons," Dia demanded, her voice firm.
"I cannot-" the guard began.
"My weapons!" Dia demanded fiercely again.
"I cannot miss. You have stolen a horse, I cannot let you leave". The guard hesitated, but Dia's gaze brooked no argument. With a swift motion, she dismounted and approached the guard, her fist flying toward his temple.
Jasper winced as the guard crumpled to the ground. "Ouch!"
Dia ignored him, searching for her weapons among the guard's belongings. Finally, she found what she was looking for and turned to Jasper.
"Let's get out of here!"
Together, they made for the gatehouse, using the chain and winch to raise the portcullis. As they emerged from the town, an arrow whizzed past them, embedding itself in the wall.
Without hesitation, Dia urged the horse forward, galloping away from the danger behind them.