Chapter 82: Back Together Again (2/2)

Ryan left the childish Professor to his own devices, closing the door behind him as he made his way up the stairs. Blood stained the ground and on a few of the wooden stairs, he figured it would be his responsibility to clean the mess. He let out another sigh as he climbed upwards toward the refreshing sunlight and warm atmosphere of the boisterous sounding inn.

The hectic scene within the upper part of the inn was in stark contrast to the lower. The front parlor was once again packed, like it had been everyday for the last several, full of stranded travelers all clamoring for a place to spend the night. Ben must have returned at some point during his absence, he was standing on the front desk yelling out into the crowd, his voice being lost within the stormy sea of indignant shouting.

Some of the travelers were yelling at Ben, but only the ones that were the nearest to the boy. All of the others were yelling at each other, mere moments from coming to blows. This was much worse than how it was the days prior, the throng of people almost seemed desperate to find shelter. That's the last thing that he needed at the moment, more problems to deal with, taking a moment to prepare himself, he waded through the crowd toward Ben.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, shouting.

Relieved to see his friend, Ben crouched down so that they could hear each other better. "I have no idea." He admitted. "I came back from hiring a few people and walk into this. Richard was all clammed up, just standing there being screamed at. I had him go back into the kitchen just a few minutes ago, I've been trying to get them to shut up, but…" Ben gestured out over the rowdy crowd.

Nodding his head, Ryan hopped up onto the desk next to Ben. With another target to yell at, the already noisy crowd grew even louder, causing some of those within the mass of people to plug their ears with their fingers. One man, his anger needing to vent itself lest his head explode, took this moment to reach out for the new arrival, meaning to drag the young man into the seething crowd.

Ryan, seeing the hand come toward him, stomped down with his boot, and trapped the offending appendage between it and the oaken desk. He could tell by the crowd's increasing hostility that it was only a matter of time before screaming would be replaced by violence. He had decided that the man that had attacked him would serve as an unfortunate example.

Words of power flowed from Ryan's mouth, although no one could hear them, they still fulfilled their purpose. The magical gems giving off light placed throughout the room noticeably dimmed, a cold wind blew through the crowd of people, causing them to stop their bickering and search for an open window but finding nothing. A whistling so loud that it caused their ears to ring drew their attention back to the front of the room.

By this point they had all gone silent, all but the man whose head was being ravished by a small whirlwind swirling around, consuming everything down to his shoulders. His screams could rival the shrill sound of the rotating vortex as he desperately tried to yank his hand free of the youth's boot pinning it to the desk. Satisfied, Ryan abruptly lifted his boot while simultaneously cutting off his mana to the spell he had conjured, timing it perfectly with a hard yank that sent the man flying backwards into the hushed crowd.

The man's shoulder length hair was now sticking straight up, frozen solid, and resembled the cyclone that had styled it. Hundreds of seeping cuts covered his panic-stricken face, some deeper than others because of Ryan's inelegant mana control; the fact that he hadn't killed the man just showed how far he had come since starting out as Professor Kal's student.

"Now, can someone tell me what is going on?!" Ryan shouted over the silent, wide-eyed crowd.

The once boisterous crowd was now at a loss for words, seemingly unable to come up with any answer for the young mage. Mages were almost always members of the elite, either extremely wealthy or of noble birth. Realizing that they had all been behaving in such a way in front of one, even maybe two, they all just wanted to turn tail and run.

An old, croaky voice filled the room, coming from somewhere in the back that Ryan couldn't see. "Monsters, my young Lord." It said, the crowd parting to reveal an old man, hobbled over his crooked cane. "Monsters attacked us last night. We're all refugees from Nox, and after a week of hard travel we were told there was no room inside the city, that we would have to camp outside in the cold!" He paused, catching his breath. "That is fine said we, as long as we have firewood to chase the cold away, we can survive. But what would happen to us the first night that we were not running from those Amine bastards! Monsters! They came in the night, slaughtered us, dragging some off into the darkness. Now no one wants to sleep outside the walls, we're all terrified of what is lurking out there, waiting for us."

Ryan and Ben both were taken aback, instantly visualizing the four-armed, winged demons that had razed Swayzee. Ben asked the question both of them were curious about. "What did those monsters look like?"

"Wolves!" A young man yelled out, standing near the center of the crowd. "Wolves as big as horses, a whole pack of 'em. Their fur was as black as the night, and they were faster than the wind!"

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"NO!" Another older man argued back. "They were goblins! I seen 'em with ma own eyes! Came outa the woods, their beady little eyes glowing piss yella, I could smell their breath from ma tent!"

"You both are wrong." A third voice interjected with a sense of authority. "The woods themselves came alive, wrapping their cursed vines around those poor souls and draining them dry. Whole world is turn'n to shit!"

Those tales started another heated discussion within the crowd of people, some agreeing with what they had said, others adding their own words of what they had seen. All that Ryan and Ben gathered from the stories was that the demons were most likely not involved, at least not overtly. Raising his voice once again, Ryan addressed the raucous crowd.

"Quiet! Quiet! ... SHUTUP!!" Ryan yelled out, finally calming the crowd. "You all can't stay here."

That statement sent them all into an uproar. Derogatory slurs came hurdling his way, seeming as if they had forgotten the fact that the boy was a mage. The cold chill whipped through the room once again, instantly cooling off their reignited tempers.

Ryan eased the mana swirling around in his body as he opened his mouth to speak. "Like I said, we are completely full, there are no rooms available. That being said, the stables still have some room, if you don't mind smelling like a horse." A low murmur swelled within the crowd. "That's your only option, either that or you can try your luck on the streets."

The city guard would never allow them to set up camp in the middle of the street, not only would it impede any foot traffic, but it would also create a hotbed for crime, even worse than the refugee crisis already had. A stinking stable was magnitudes of times better than the risk of being eaten alive by monsters outside the city walls. Not wanting to argue any further with the mage, many of them only had one choice left to them. With those thoughts in mind, the crowd dispersed, making there way outside and to the stables.

Hopping down from the desk, Ryan looked to Ben. "That was easy enough, wasn't it?"

"I guess." Ben said, shrugging his shoulders. "What do you think about what they all said, about the monsters?"

"I don't know. There must had been a breakout somewhere. I'm sure the adventurers will handle it, we have our own problems to worry about."

Ben looked around. "Speaking of which, where are the guys from the Holy Church? Weren't they following you around?"

Ryan looked as if he had swallowed a frog. He searched for the right words to tell his friend. "Uh, they're hanging around in the basement for awhile. Setting up something, said not to bother them."

Ben looked worried instantly. "Didn't the Professor say not to touch the basement? What if he comes back and they're down there?"

Before Ryan could answer, the little doorbell above the front entrance rang out, indicating another guest had arrived. Swinging their eyes to see who it was, they saw two familiar faces, and one that they hadn't seen before.

Professor Treffle looked no worse for wear as she walked in with Marissa by her side, both chatting happily and smiling. A gorgeous man towered behind them, with long silver hair and eyes that had a red tint to them. Both Ryan and Ben stopped on his face, it was familiar to them, like they had seen the man before somewhere.. Putting it off for now, they both greeted the trio.

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