Chapter 71: Grand Opening, I Guess?

The prehistoric looking creature lumbered forward with its mouth wide open, issuing a threatening hiss. It waded through the crowd of apparitions that attempted to bar its path, completely ignoring them as they clawed and bit at its thick protective scales. Professor Kal didn't know what would happen if he was touched by the illusionary spirits, but he had an idea. He figured that they would act much like the chandelier did and absorb any mana they came into contact with, slowly sapping his power while they used it to empower themselves.

That is why he had summoned a creature with hardly any mana, a Terrestrial Cave Dragon. Just as their name implies, the creatures lived deep inside the darkest caves, often resorting to cannibalism in order to feed their massive bodies. Over eons living underground, they had lost their sight but had evolved the ability to use echo location in order to 'see' their surroundings. They weren't truly dragons either, only named so because of their appearance that very loosely resembled one.

As the cave dragon came into contact with more of the spirits, it began to slow down its steady march, but only just slightly. In a matter of seconds, it was directly beneath the shimmering, pitch black chandelier. Reaching up with its overly long arms, the cave dragon dug its sizable claws into the crystal. By now it had a dozen spirits crawling all around its body, feebly attempting to injure the monster but was unable to draw any mana from it to strengthen themselves.

Its muscles bulged underneath its scaly skin as it pulled and yanked on the ornament hanging from the ceiling. It pulled so hard that its feet lifted off of the ground, its long, clubbed tail dragging on the ground as it swung back and forth. Professor Kal was actually a little worried that perhaps the cave dragon might not be able to perform up to his expectations.

Bracing itself against the ceiling with its feet, its body completely inverted, the cave dragon pulled with all its might. The structure of the chandelier started to warp under the intense pressure of the monster's grip, some of the crystal glass developing hairline fractures across their surfaces. The flames of the lit candles grew to enormous proportions, engulfing the entire decoration along with the cave dragon in an attempt to burn the creature off.

Having lived its entire life deep underground, the cave dragon was not built to be able to resist the white flames assaulting its body. It let out a raucous howl as it experienced the unbearable pain of its flesh melting, only finding relief when its nerve endings finally burned, numbing the anguish. Only the compulsion to follow every command given to it kept it conscious as it continued to pull with every iota of strength it could muster.

After what seemed like an eternity, there was finally some sign of progress. A sharp cracking sound resonated throughout the room, the spirits pooling around the burning monster flickering in and out of existence. Professor Kal urged the summons on, shouting at it to pull harder. He held no sympathy for the suffering monster, only interested in the end result. With a burst of strength, and at the cost of tearing its exposed muscles apart at the joints, the cave dragon ripped the chandelier from the ceiling with the sound of rending metal.

Instantly, the spirits ceased to exist and the monster, along with the chandelier, fell to the ground in a mangled heap of glass, metal, and sizzling burnt flesh. The blood pooled on the floor had disappeared and the walls returned to what they looked like when he and Trist had first entered the room. Professor Kal cautiously made his way over to the small, gory hill residing in the center of the room. Although there should not be anymore surprises, one could never be too careful.

Using the end of his staff, he poked at the mangled remains of the cave dragon. Confirming that it was indeed dead, he went about the task of separating its corpse from the ruined chandelier. He was sure that whatever was creating the illusions and affecting his mind was somewhere in the mess in front of him, and he was determined to find it.

…..

A light dusting of snow had coated the ground the previous night, turning the many rooftops a pure wintery white. Contrasting the blinding white snow was the murky haze settling within the city due to the thousands of coal fires working to keep the commoners' houses warm. The sky was overcast, blocking the morning sun, and threatening to dump even more snow on the already lightly covered ground.

A deformed clay golem was hard at work using its shovel like arms to clear a long walkway leading up to an inn. It was only three feet tall and had no head to speak of. Its legs were slightly different lengths, making it waddle as it slowly walked up and down the walkway scooping up snow as it did so.

"Wow, you're awful at making those things."

Ben whipped around to see Ryan standing in the doorway to the entrance of the inn, a playful grin spread across his face.

"I'd like to see you do better, you ass." Ben retorted with a faux scowl plastered on his wind chapped face.

"Is it all done in there? Should be pretty close, right?"

Ryan nodded his head. "Yeah, we just finished up. The carpenters are done as well, so everything's good to go."

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"Great." Ben said as he followed Ryan back into the inn, leaving his clay golem behind to finish its work.

The inside of the inn looked completely different than it had only a few days ago. Once a foreboding, dark, and rundown structure, was now warm, inviting, and pleasant to look at. The floors had been sanded down and refinished, the cobwebs spanning the window frames had been replaced with brightly colored curtains that stood out against the eggshell white walls. Even the steps leading to the second floor no longer let out harsh squeaks every time someone ventured up them.

The students had done as Professor Kal had suggested and used magic to deep clean every nook and cranny inside and outside of the inn. It only took them a few hours to complete their task, but many things could not be accomplished with magic alone. That is why they had used some of the gold coins they were left with to hire a small army of carpenters to repair and refurbish the neglected inn. Now that the hired help had finished, they were busy packing up their tools before heading to the front to collect their pay. Once Ryan was done doling out the previously agreed payments, him and Ben were left alone.

Ben looked around, not quite sure were to begin. "Are we really doing this, running an inn? I really don't see the point."

Ryan shrugged is shoulders. "I mean, that's what the Professor said to do, right?"

"Yeah, but he's a bigger ass than you are... ow!"

Ben rubbed his shoulder where Ryan had just punched him. "I was only joking, geez."

"Whatever. Anyways, you know as well as I do how temperamental he is. I'd hate to see what would happen if we didn't do what he told us to do." Ryan said.

"I guess. Well, we're committed now anyway, so there's no going back. Hey, where is Professor Treffle? I figured she'd want to hang onto the money." Ben asked, finally realizing that Ryan was hanging onto a large bag filled with gold coins.

"Where do you think she is? Ever since they redid the baths she's been holed up in there. Her and Laura are probably well past being prunes by this point."

"Guys! Guys! There's someone coming!" A frantic voice heralded the start of hurried footsteps clambering down the recently repaired stairs.

Both Ryan and Ben looked up to see Richard racing down the stairs, his face wide eyed and panicked. Ryan was happy to see that the carpenters had done quality work as Richard used the handrail to the fullest. Stopping on the landing at the foot of the staircase, Richard didn't bother to catch his breath.

"Saw... out the... window. Someone.... coming to the ... inn."

Before they had the chance to ask any questions, the double doors opened wide, ringing the little bells rigged to let them know someone had entered. A portly man with a handlebar mustache and very little hair on top of his head waddled inside the finished front room. He was accompanied by three armed men that kept a sense of wariness about them.

Ben and Ryan recognized the man's occupation instantly. Both of their families were merchants by trade, so it only made sense that they would be able to identify another one at a glance; the man's fancy clothes, jewelry, and bodyguards helped as well.

"You, manservant. I require your best room, and something for my retinue as well.." The fat man haughtily said, not pointing to anyone of them, just glancing in their general direction.

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