章 55: An unexpected reunion

The humble bard stopped playing his song and retreated toward the wall, alert of any danger lurking. He held his small harp closer to his heart; it was his only means to get coins and he wouldn't lose them. No one moved as she started walking toward the group. Her eyes caused a terror in the heart of everyone. It was cold, almost devoid of any mercy. All remaining faces creaked at the sight. Humans would never have red eyes. It wasn't in their gene unless a demon made his mark. Was she a vampire?

Two hybrids rushed into the tavern with fangs and claws ready to use. They waited till everything quieted down then jumped into the fiasco to take the root of the conflict. At the sight of the men on the ground, they drew their swords and pointed them at the elves. Stephan couldn't help but think the situation turned worse and it had to be fixed. He thought of a way to make the whole thing like a joke but he couldn't. He just couldn't because they were stronger than him. One thing he had to keep in mind at all times was that if a situation having a huge marginality of doubt wasn't ideal step in.

He couldn't give up on the elves or the messengers; he needed them all to get to the end of the test. If a gem was meant to be found, he had to find it. There had just been something of use with it. He wasn't ready to give it up. His hand moved to his wand at the back of his shoulders but soon let it go. It wasn't worth it to put himself in danger for people who caused trouble and weren't thinking of how others were involved.

"Throw your swords aside, you elves! You are coming with us," the guards were delighted at the thought they could have something refreshing for once in that dull town. They started sweeping dust because of boredom.

"No one is going anywhere, hybrids. Return from where you came, we were having a gentle chat and you are disturbing us," the white-haired said after downing another tankard. Her voice was intimidating. She didn't need to draw signs to inflict her spells upon them. The guards bowed their heads and excused themselves, walking out of the tavern, completely hypnotized.

Stephan stepped back further, putting the elves between him and the elves. The white-haired woman didn't miss what happened. She let the apprentice mage hide from her. Her mouth twisted into a smirk, how would someone like him hide from her?

She stopped in front of the elves and eyed them suspiciously. "Why are you here? I gather you are not welcome in here. What do you want from this place?"

"Lodging and beer," Richard answered with a hard, rough voice. He wasn't pleased by the fight. He wanted to save his energy for unwanted occurrences but his plan was destroyed because of some ruffians. "You don't look like a vampire."

"I am not."

"Then why the red eyes? You don't seem like a witch either."

"It's a secret I will keep to myself, elf," she looked at his pointy ears. "I didn't expect that someone would such a ruckus when I wanted to have a moment to drink. Thank you for making my night trashy!"

She looked aside and noticed Soprana. The latter waved at her happily. Stephan nowhere to be seen. The innkeeper was hiding under his counter, thinking things would blow up further. Stephan finally reached his side. He hushed him and recommended him to keep quiet until everything ended.

"Soprana!" The white-haired woman exclaimed. "I have never thought I would see you around. What brought you to this desolated town ruled by vampires?"

"I came with someone and I don't see him anywhere. It seemed he hid somewhere," she looked around and noticed two hands coming from behind the counter, they grabbed an empty mug and appeared next to the barrel of beer. The hands opened the tap and filled the mug of ale and then returned to where they came from. "He is surely odd."

Stephan returned to his place, holding the mug as if it was something dear to him, a treasure. He had never tasted ale and he intended to end his virgin mouth at the moment. The innkeeper stared at him confused. He wanted to stop him from getting free beer but he remembered he told him everything would be paid by the apprentice mage. He swore to make him cough a lot of gold coins.

"It seems the lad is under the counter," Stephan flinched hearing the stranger woman mentioning him. "Let's all sit down and enjoy our night! I will be paying for your beers!"

"You don't have to do that. I meant a plan for tonight and I intend to make it succeed," the witch glanced at Richard and flushed slightly. "Hey! Innkeeper, Take us to our chambers! I will be taking a chamber alone and they can divide the other two."

The proprietor's head emerged from behind the counter. He searched in his canvas apron pocket and brought out a key. "You can go to the first floor. There are only the luxurious rooms left."

"No, we have more," the woman pointed at the unconscious men on the ground. "They will be sleeping here so no need to give them their chambers. Be shameless and don't refund them! I am sure they paid for one night and there is no rule stating a refund in case of lending the room to another one."

The innkeeper cringed at how shameless her words were. However, it wasn't something bad. He didn't want any more chaos in his inn. His hand picked up the rest of the keys and put the whole set on the counter. "If they asked me, I would say you robbed me of them and since I am a weak man, everyone will believe me," the woman and the innkeeper shared a handshake grinning. "It has been a good deal to work with you!"