Capítulo 55: Hagerty Inn

Whether by amazing luck or a bitter curse, the cabin wasn't just a cabin. This was an inn either in the ass end of nowhere or maybe we fell near an important road. Several carriages covered in snow lined the side of a barn. Inside the heavy log building, I heard the neighing of horses and smelled stale hay.

I had so many questions. How did they manage to grow hay in this ice-covered world? It couldn't be easy or profitable or was there a type of hay that grew even in a tundra. Magic was a solution, but nothing was free. Were there farmer magicians? There had to be. Why use carriages when technology was available? Why use horses when magical constructs were available? How widespread was magic? I knew that I didn't know and that made me nervous.

"What are you thinking about?" Star asked in a whisper.

"The economics of magic farming and whether it is cheaper to grow hay with magic in a tundra or use magical constructs to pull wagons." I said.

Star blinked her blue eyes at me. I was certain they could pass for a human color under the right lighting. My eyes were golden but could be mistaken for a shade of brown.

"I was thinking about trying some equine for good luck before we put on our act. Should I cry, I don't think I can. I've never cried before." She licked her pale blue lips. Star reared back and kicked the side of the barn. The barn shook and the horses inside began to neigh in an uproar.

"Why would you do that?" I asked in a whisper. I knew the wind and snow would be too loud for the humans inside to hear us but why take the risk.

"My mother told me some funny stories about humans. They can be made to cry by stubbing their toes." She scrunched her beautiful face and flicked some crimson hair behind her ears. The logs are too soft." I sighed.

"Star, you don't have to cry in front of them. We can melt some snow and let it refreeze on your face. It will look like you've been crying." I said.

I looked her up and down. She appeared human. Her skin was a little paler and her hair a bit closer to red than orange, but Star could be a human. Even her height was a measly six feet. She was perfectly within human standard height.

If I slouched, I could pass as an eight-foot-tall human. Whether there were eight-foot-tall humans in this world or not was anyone's guess. Would we look like the people around us? Did we speak a similar language?

Killing everyone wasn't an ideal outcome. Bodies raised questions even in this world someone would eventually wonder why everyone in the inn vanished. Still, I lacked information and I wanted to know more.

We walked down the road from the barn to the inn. Hagerty Lodge was painted red over a small gate. Tiny runes carved into the stone beneath our feet melted the snow and some well-placed trenches ferried the water away. The runes beneath our feet did nothing to fight the chill I felt.

The door to the inn was tall and old. A heavy brass knocker lay warn on the door. Two of its original five nails were missing. It had seen better days but the red paint on the door was new. A wooden peg on the knocker saved my hands from touching the cold brass. I gave it three heavy slams and waited for an answer.

A slate on the door shifted and a pair of inquisitive eyes stared at the two of us. "You two aren't exactly dressed for this kind of weather. I'm guessing you want inside." I thanked my lucky stars that we spoke the same language.

Then I questioned why we would. The society in the junkyard couldn't be the same as the surface. I looked over to see a clueless looking Star.

"My names Jacob. We are travelers and the storm came out of nowhere. At first, we tried to get to the next town, but the way was blocked and then a beast attacked. I showed off my wound." The man's eyes widened.

"It wasn't a werewolf, was it?" The man asked in a dark tone.

"No, it was a bear, a big one." The man let out a sigh at my words.

Why would he be so trusting? Either I had a great poker face or if someone was bitten, they were expected to speak up. There might be a cure if werewolves spread through bites and scratches. The lab seemed pretty high tech.

"Please mister let us in. Its so cold out here and I don't think I can go on much longer." The man's eyes turned to star and for a second, he gasped.

"Right away miss, I'm sorry but I had to make sure the two of you aren't monsters. Your friend is a tall one. I'll let you two in, but you'll have to perform some tests to prove you aren't monsters."

I raised an eyebrow. What tests did they have to performed? "Hold out your hand Jacob." The man said. I complied.

He jabbed a needle at my finger. "No reaction not even a prick. You aren't a vampire but that's not normal either. Well you look like you might have monster blood in you." I pursed my lips. "Nothing wrong with that, so long as you're mostly human."

"Ouch," Star cried when the needle drew blood.

"That's a normal reaction. The wound isn't sizzling or doing anything weird. Test number two." Yellow powder blasted me in the face just as I took a breath. I sneezed but was otherwise fine. Star gave a ladylike achew!

"One final test and I'll let the two of you in." The man promised. Out of the slate came a silver bottle with star like symbol on it. He tossed a few drops of the contents at us. I brought a drop up to my nose and sniffed it before giving it a taste. It was salt water.

"Alright, you aren't werewolves, vampires, or demons. Any other type of monster that roams these lands would have been chased out already." Star let out a hum. "So, the two of you were on your way to Gendry Town. It skirts the boarder of the vampire lands, why would you want to move there?" He asked as the door opened. "My name is Hue Roberts but most call me old Hue."

"My name is Star, and we wanted a nice place out in the country. My husband here is a brilliant mage and we're going to start the biggest farm ever." Star cheered.

The door opened and we walked in. I ducked under the doorway and was greeted but the sounds of conversations pausing, logs popping in the fireplace, and the aura of another.

Humans by in large hadn't awoken their auras. In the entire inn only, a handful had auras and only one of them had any level of strength.

Half the inn seemed to sigh at her sudden revelation. The fact that they weren't preparing to burn us at the stake for knowing magic was a good sign. Either the government wasn't apposed to magic, or we were too far away for their laws to be enforced.

Half the inn had already returned to what they were doing. A bar wench was sucking some guy off below the table while the men around drank and tossed coins in tin bin. The wench's name was Stacy though all I could see from her was an exposed rear.

We sat down at an empty table. A girl with striking purple eyes and a tied back blond hair approached our table. She had to have been older than 11 but younger than 20. Star licked her lips upon seeing the girl. The girl kept her eyes on me as a shade of pink slowly covered her face. She sucked in a breath and seemed to prepare herself.

"We have a roast duck for fifty," I waved her off her spiel.

"I wasn't able to take much from our wagon when the bear attacked." I pulled a white stone from my pocket. Her eyes bulged at the massive stone in my hand. "Have you seen one of these before?" The girl sucked in a breath.

A man with an eyepatch and a head of scraggily grey hair approached our table. "You aren't some demon prince the blessed water would have made burned you. How did you manage to pull a fast one over demons?" The man asked. He pulled out a chain with a faded orange stone in the center of it.

"I'm an inquisitor, you can tell by my rosary. I'll even let you scan it with your aura if that'll put your mind at ease." I pulled my BS wallet from view before the old man could snatch it. He nodded his head at my action.

"What do you want? If you owe a debt to some demons, I can't help you. They aren't interested in being paid back." I said.

"Jacob, that is the wisest thing I've heard in a long time. I'm on a mission to investigate a disappearance in Gendry Town. I'm not sure if its demons, vampires, or some teenage rebellion. If its demons, I'd like someone in my retinue who knows how to handle demons." He placed a hand on the table and left three silver coins behind. "Let that young lady give you and your wife some good service and travel with me."

I tapped the table with a finger hard enough to launch the coins up in the air and snatched them from the air. This time every resident of the inn looked at me. "If you need a demon expert, you'll have to look elsewhere. But if all you need is a magic farmer experienced in demons, I'm your man."

"You show me a free man who claims to be an expert on demons, and I'll eat my hat. My names Lewis Barnabas inquisitor of his holiness's inquisition. Don't party too hardy, we leave at first light." I let out a sigh, I'd have to inform Gwen and Doppel of this and find a few victims for them.

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