Darkness and Hellfire

Chapter 26 One Bed Or Two?

“Ahoy!” Isaac yelled at the gate like he had seen Aria do. A slit opened up and a young man’s voice came through.

“Names and badges!” He called.

“Lord Isaac Wexler. And my guard, Lenna.” He didn’t mention Lenna’s last name because he wasn’t sure if any surnames were distinctly drow or not and he didn’t want to tip them off. “No badges. Can we get them inside? I need water.” Isaac was starting to feel lightheaded again. The yelling wasn’t helping.

“No. I’m afraid I’ll need to see a badge or we can’t let you in. Doppelgangers and all.” The man called out.

“Listen. Either you open the gate or I have Lenna go through it. I have lost too much blood and am too dehydrated to deal with this.” Isaac gave his ultimatum.

“Is that a threat sir?” The guard retorted.

“I am too thirsty for threats.” Isaac stated.

“I am going to get the sergeant.” The guard told him.

“Good.” Isaac replied.

Isaac leaned against the wall and slid down. He closed his eyes and rested until the sergeant arrived. The gate opened and three men walked out. All of them were covered in full-plate with spears in their hands and shortswords on their belts.

“State your name and business.” The man in front commanded Isaac and Lenna.

“As I told your subordinate; Lord Isaac Wexler. And that is my guard, Lenna.” Isaac said while weakly gesturing to her. “We are here for water. And food. I was also going to sign up with the Adventurers' Guild while I was here.”

The lead guard, who Isaac assumed was the sergeant, pulled a golden amulet in the shape of a crescent moon out of a pouch on his belt. He leaned down to Isaac and spoke to the amulet. “Be. Revealed.” A soft white glow shined out and bathed Isaac in its glow.

Nothing happened and the sergeant seemed to take that as a good sign. He walked over to Lenna and did the same thing. Again nothing happened. He turned and nodded to his men then looked at Isaac and continued: “You may enter. Once inside go straight to the guard station and get badges. They are attuned to your mana signature and will prevent this from happening again.”

Isaac nodded and went to stand. He didn’t get very far before Lenna was there. She grabbed his shoulders and hauled him up then grabbed his belt on his far hip. He grabbed her pauldron and they started through the gate. The guards let them pass and then closed the gate behind them.

The town was much like the outpost in many ways. Its main difference was that the town was much bigger. Down the street they could see a dozen doors on each side and a few other streets that intersected that one. Half way down and on the right was the guard station. There was a sign hanging out of the wall that said exactly that. The sergeant called after them. “The healer is at the end of this street. They can point you towards the guard station.”

“Thanks.” Isaac said but he wasn’t sure if it was loud enough for the man to hear. He appreciated the sergeant’s decency to at least let them see a healer before doing anything else. Lenna and Isaac slowly walked down the street towards a short and wide building. It had a carving of a woman floating in the air reaching down a mass of smaller people who were all reaching up towards her. “Who’s that?” Isaac asked Lenna in a whisper.

“Halya, the human goddess of healing, life, and growth.” She advised after thinking back on her lessons for a second. Isaac nodded his thanks and they entered through the wood-like door.

Inside there was a small room with a desk and a young woman sitting behind it. She was short. Really short. Only about three feet tall but she looked like an eighteen year old human girl with brown hair and eyes. The only real difference was that she was miniaturized. “Hello. What seems to be the problem?” She asked in a high pitched but soft voice.

“Blood loss. Recovery from shock. Dehydration.” Lenna told her as she helped Isaac over to the counter.

“Cleric Edwards!” The young woman called out. An older man, about the same height as Isaac and Lenna walked out of one of the siderooms. He had white hair, a full beard and only the hair on the side of his head. He had an easy and warm smile on his face that reached his blue eyes.

The girl at the counter recounted Lenna’s prognosis word for word and Cleric Edwards ushered them into the room he had come from. Inside there was a table, small desk, and two chairs. “Lie down on the table young man.” The Cleric instructed. Isaac did as he was told and Lenna stood off to the side.

Edwards sent some healing mana into Isaac and then nodded to himself. “You don’t have any lasting physical damage. There is something strange about your mana pathways however. Have you been involved in a magical anomaly recently?” He questioned.

Isaac nodded and said: “Yes. The pathway damage is normal. I really just need another gallon of blood at this point.”

The old man nodded and looked at Lenna. In the lamplight the only part of her that could be seen was a silver eye and darkness under her helm. “Did you treat him?” He asked. She nodded. “You did well. Shock is a dangerous thing. Can you heal?” She nodded again. “I see.” He sat in thought for a moment.

“Anything you can do or do I just need food, water, and a nap?” Isaac asked him.

The old man laughed heartily before responding. “Yes, yes. A good meal and a good rest would do you much good. There is a spell that can make your body create more blood however it is expensive and quite frankly unnecessary at this point. You will feel better in no time.” He helped Isaac sit up.

“Thanks.” Isaac said and nodded to the older man. Then he turned to Lenna. “We still need to get our badges. Then we can have a hot meal and most of all, water.” She nodded and helped him stand.

“Have a good rest of your day young ones. And please be more careful.” Edwards told them as they walked out.

Lenna turned her head to face Isaac as best as she could with only one open eye. “Yes. Be. More. Careful.” She told him. They heard the old man laugh heartily again as they walked out into the street.

There weren’t many people walking around this part of town. It was impossible to tell exactly how large the town was because each road was only about a hundred feet long before it met a building. The town was laid out like a maze.

They walked over to the guard station. A guard, in full-plate, met them outside. “Here for badges?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Isaac replied. The guard nodded and headed inside. He soon reemerged with a pair of bronze plates. They were rectangular and about two inches by four inches and were only about as thick as a coin. He held them out towards Lenna and Isaac.

“Run some mana through them if you can. If not, put your blood on your thumb and press it to the back of the card.” The guard instructed. Isaac and Lenna obliged and ran mana through their respective cards. The badges glowed blue and some script appeared on them. The script was in some runic language that Isaac couldn’t read.

‘I thought I could understand every language.’ Isaac thought. “Thanks. I don’t want that mess from earlier happening again.” He said to the guard. Lenna just nodded to him and stuffed it in a pouch on her belt.

“No worries. Have a good day. And get some rest, you look like shit.” The guard said to Isaac.

Isaac chuckled weakly. “Yeah, I feel like shit. See ya around.” He replied and then looked at Lenna. “Alright my knight in no longer shining armor, to an inn.”

She nodded and then looked down the street. “Take the next right and it’ll be on the left.” The guard said as he headed inside.

“Thanks.” Isaac replied and the two weary travelers headed off.

The inn was right where the guard had said it would be. It was another building half carved out of stone and half built out of that wood-like material. The red stone and the magical white light gave the whole town a warm feel. In fact it was warmer. The increased population had caused the partly man-made cavern to be about fifteen degrees warmer than the rest of the Innerworld the two had traveled through.

The tavern had a pair of double doors but otherwise looked the same as all the other buildings. There wasn’t even a sign outside. The two pushed their way inside and were met with the smell of stew, sweat, and alcohol. Inside there were about two dozen patrons, a barmaid running to and fro, and a middle aged man with reddish-brown hair, brown eyes and familiar features working the bar.

The barmaid moved with the grace of an experienced dancer. Her dirty-blonde hair and dress flowed and billowed behind her. Her sharp green eyes tracked everything in the room. Her slightly pointed ears helped keep her hair in line.

A few of the patrons stopped to look at the new arrivals. The pair slowly worked their way to the bar. My name is Abe Edwards. What can I do ya for?” The man behind the bar asked.

“Edwards? Like the cleric?” Isaac responded.

“Yep. He’s my uncle.” Abe responded.

“Huh, Well, he told me I needed a good meal, water, and rest.” Isaac explained.

“Ya came to the right place mate.” Abe assured him. “One room or two?”

Isaac looked at Lenna. “One or two?”

“One.” She stated.

“One bed or two?” Abe asked with a wink.

“Two.” Isaac replied without even looking at Lenna.

“A chair is fine.” Lenna responded.

“Two beds.” Isaac retorted. “You need to sleep as badly as I do. I don’t know how you are still standing.”

“It’ll be easier to respond if I’m already in my armor and I don’t have to fight a blanket first.” Lenna shot back.

“Two. Beds.” Isaac commanded, his tone leaving nothing for debate.

Abe just watched the entire interaction with a smirk and a practiced patients. “Two beds, one room, with a desk and chair?” Abe asked.

“That sounds perfect. How much, Mr. Edwards?” Isaac asked.

“Just Abe, two gold a night. That’ll include two meals each.” Abe replied.

Isaac put his hand on the counter and left a platinum coin. No one saw where it came from. Abe picked it up and bit into it before nodding and stashing it under the counter then handing Isaac back eight gold coins. He handed them a key. “Third room on the left.” He informed, while gesturing towards the stairs.

“Thank you.” Isaac said as he grabbed the coins then the key. “Can we eat in the room?”

“Sure but I’ll charge ya extra if I gotta clean anythin’ extra.” Abe responded.

Isaac nodded and he and Lenna started their way up the stairs. “I’ll bring it up to you.” Lenna told Isaac as they climbed the stairs that seemed to get longer and more arduous with each step.

“Thanks.” He replied between deep breaths. “You’ll have to explain doppelgangers to me. And what that magic moon thing was.”

“Doppelgangers are shape changing monsters. They’ll kill travelers in their sleep and then assume their identity. The amulet is able to dispel illusions. Many like them are used to prevent incursions.” She explained simply.

“Shape changers… That’s a scary thought.” Isaac said absently.

“Yes.” Lenna agreed.

The two of them ate their food and Isaac made sure to drink as much as he could. The water was crisp and cold. The natural spring that this town was built near must have been very close to the inn based on the purity of the water.

The two of them passed out within a matter of minutes. Lenna refused to use the bed and slept in full armor. She argued that if anyone broke in they would see her face otherwise. Isaac didn’t have enough energy left to argue with her and soon it was the next day.