Chương 4: Onward, into the new world [4]
With the arrival of dusk and the absence of the horrors that the curse normally haunted them with; The group had decided to stay the night within the village. The previous tavern had explained they did not have the room for them and directed them to the best tavern in town. While Cyril was quite unhappy to change locations, Randol had to explain the concept of the common folk never wanting to offend those with power. The tavern looked like it would only have straw beds in one common hall. It would have been okay if they all didn't look nobles - Especially Cyril.
They parted with the tavern with that tavern's owner as a guide. He led them, nervously, towards the center of the village where the market stood. Despite Quinn's Wood being a countryside village, situated in a fief no one wanted to be, it was surprisingly thriving. With the last bit of light, the market bustled with life as people went about their last-minute shopping. They were lead to a large timber-framed building on the southern end of the market. The building was situated next to the large bridge that spanned across the river, with a sign that said "Ironhorn", and an arrow pointed to the east across the bridge.
With the bit of coin they had managed to scrape from the guards of the keep, they secured rooms for each of them within the tavern. During which, Cyril had noticed the curse had fully repaired itself and had adequate mana stored to continue its torment. It never activated out of the bounds of the forest, so she surmised that it wouldn't activate outside of them. She brought this information forward once they were all together in private, which somehow, ended up being her room.
"Ah." Desmond muttered as he leaned back in one of the chairs beside the frosty glass window that overlooked the dying market. "It's a conditional curse then."
"Mm." Cyril nodded as she laid back on the queen-sized bed. It was quite plush. She had half expected the mattress to be filled with hay or something of the like. It wasn't as large or springy as the mattresses from her childhood, but it was quite comfortable. Several pillows occupied the bed and she had managed to only get two of them before Priscilla laid next to her and stole the rest. She wasn't going to argue as the child rolled side to side.
Randol slipped out of his armor, the metal clang noisily as he set them on a table beside the door where a lantern sat. Soft orange rays filled the room as a knock sounded from the door. The prince opened the door slightly, sure to block the view of whoever was on the other end from seeing inside. "Yes?" He asked.
It was one of the barmaids. "Y-Your drinks." She said as she held a wooden tray with five wooden mugs.
"Bring them in," Randol said as he pushed the door open, but made sure to only step back enough to allow the worker to set the drinks upon the table. She tried to walk further in the room to hand the drinks out personally, but by habit and training, he blocked her. "Set the drinks on the table, we'll get them when we're thirsty."
The barmaid looked dejected momentarily before she smiled. She nodded her head and quickly set the mugs on the table. She wanted to see the pretty white-haired lady again with the exotic eyes. It wasn't often a beauty came around, but when they did, they quickly became the talk of the town; and she wanted to be one of the few would say she had seen her. From where she stood, she only saw two humans and the beast girl, but the snowgirl and the raven-haired girl were out of view. Then that girl's voice called out from behind the handsome man.
"I just remember!" Cyril snapped her fingers.
Randol turned to face Cyril, and the barmaid saw the snowy maiden sitting on the bed, her eyes locked on the man beside the fox girl. The next moment, Randol ushered her out the door. The barmaid was too stunned to protest. The woman's eyes were burned into her mind. Two glowing golden eyes... She quickly scurried away, nearly skipping down the steps with the latest gossip.
Once the room had been resecured, Desmond spoke up.
"Well?" He asked.
"I just remembered I had an item that could deal with conditional curses." She beamed as she tore a hole in the fabric of time and space, opening her spatial storage. The sudden use of that magic chilled everyone's spine. Spatial magic, outside of enchantments and prepared rituals was a near-impossible task. Yet, Cyril did it as easily as she breathed. Desmond only wondered why she hadn't fully grasped the use of her magic yet if she could cast.
She rummaged around with her hand. After a few moments, she became agitated and stuck half her body in the tear. That scared everyone, but before anyone could pull her out, she plopped back out with a frosty crystal fashioned in the likeness of a human skull. The tear shut itself and faded away with a sigh.
"This!" She laughed. "I'm such an idiot! I have so many things that it all gets jumbled together!"
"That is...?" Randol asked.
"It's a Curse Breaker." Cyril beamed. More proud that she remembered what the item was than actually having a solution to their problem. "It sucks away the negative energy out of the curse completely. That destroys the curse and bam! You're free!"
"By the gods!" Desmond cried. "When we get somewhere safe, we're going to have to sort through your stuff!
"Mhm." She smiled. "Now, come here. Everyone place your hand on the stone because it only works once per day." And everyone did so. The stone pleasant to the touch. Its texture course and cool to the touch. The feeling of summer came, and everyone felt something begin to slip from their bodies...
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