Hearsay part 1

The next day, Oswald woke up feeling refreshed. He frowned as he saw an unfamiliar surrounding. It was then that he realized that he was not in his quarters. It dawned on him and remembered that he took a journey with his friends to investigate the happenings in the town of Louka. And here he was in one of the inns at the town of Louka.

He slept well the whole night and surprisingly, nothing out of the ordinary happened which suggest that the whole phenomenon was plotted by someone. He made his way to the dining hall of the inn and spotted everyone already seated.

Rem and Curtis sat on one table while Leon and Clive sat on another table not far from Rem's table. Oswald made his way towards Rem's table. "Did not sleep well?" he asked as he saw Rem's dark eyes.

"Hmm." Rem only hummed as he felt his head throb. He stayed late on the lookout for something suspicious but nothing happened.

"Nothing happened last night." Rem said in a hushed voice as he stared at his cup.

"Meaning?" Oswald asked, after his order has come. He ordered the inn's signature breakfast, seared veal in sour cream sauce and potatoes.

"It means that the whole phenomenon was not caused by something unworldly. It was caused by a living being. And the mayor is one of the suspicious people here in town." He said as he finished his drink ordering a sandwich.

Oswald nodded his head as he took a slice of meat stuffing it on his mouth. The meat tasted juicy and a little sweet with a hint of sourness. It really sat with Oswald's taste. "So, we start with him." He said as if it was the easiest thing to do.

"It's not that easy." Rem informed him, his sandwich came.

Curtis was listening on their conversation as well as the other two on the other table. "Nothing was amiss among the murmurs between the servants I've encountered earlier when I was taking care of the horses. I did heard something about missing people."

"Missing people?" Oswald said as he stuffed his mouth with another slice of meat.

"Yes. One servant claimed that they were taken by mythical beast. Another claimed that they were lured away." Curtis continued as he made sure that his voice was only for them to hear.

Rem looked at Curtis, the last one caught his attention, "Lured away? How so?"

"That servant claimed that one night when he was about to check up on his master's horses he heard a soft tune of some instrument most likely a flute-like instrument. When he looked around, he saw no one and yet the sound seemed like it was near. It spooked him so he never went to check the horses and just went back to his quarters and hid under the covers." Curtis relayed the rest of the story.

Clive and Leon's attention was also caught by the story. It was the same as the knights' story. Curtis should talk to that servant again, he might learn some more about the incident.

"You should talk to that servant again." Rem, who knew what Leon and Clive was thinking, instruct Curtis. Curtis in turn, nodded his head.

After breakfast, everyone went to their task. Oswald and Rem went to the merchant's place to pick up the fabrics Rem ordered. Leon and Clive made their way towards the merchant's guild along with their wagon while Curtis went back to the stables where he met the servant.

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The merchant's guild.

Clive and Leon arrived at the merchant's guild which was situated at the center of the east side of town. The merchant's guild was housed in a building decorated by the guild's emblem and decorative columns that supported the whole place. The building was tall enough to support three floors. Each floor was dedicated to each of the guild's level.

Clive and Leon walked inside the building. There were a lot of people inside from different places trading different kinds of goods. The place was enormous enough for anyone to lose their way. That was why Clive and Leon decided to look for someone that can help them.

Clive found someone. He was a young lad who has a smile as bright as the sun, he was clad in plain looking clothes but exuded an air of maturity and intelligence. "Excuse me, Can you help us? We are new traders, a friend of ours informed us that we have to get listed at the guild's record if we want to successfully trade here in Louka.

The young lad patiently waited for them to finish their query before answering their question. "Well, you come to the right person." He cheerfully informed them, "I happen to be the one in charge of the one you are looking for. Come follow me. By the way, you can call me Reese." He said as he shook Leon and Clives' hands before he led them towards his desk.

"Welcome to the merchant's guild of Louka! If I may ask, what goods did you bring to trade?" He said as they reached the information desk where he works.

"We brought fabrics, high quality ones made of water berries and ardula flowers." Leon answered.

"Oh! Those are good things to trade not much competition but also the demand was not high either." He informed them as he took a big book under his desk. "Here." He turned the book towards them, "You write your name here with this." He gave Leon a quill. After Leon had written his name, Reese gave him a plaque, "This plaque will be proof that you can trade in Louka freely."

Reese then took a piece of paper, "This can be your guide inside the guild and if you have more questions you can come back here again or just ask anyone who has the same clothes as mine. They would gladly help you."

Leon took the plaque and the paper. He thanked Reese before they made their way towards the fabric section where they can learn about trading it.

-----

On Rem and Oswald's side,

The two arrived at the merchant's place where he ordered the fabrics he needed. It was like any other building in that part of town, it was painted in an earth-toned hue, giving it a welcoming and cozy feeling.

Rem opened the door and walked inside followed by Oswald. They were greeted by a man in his late years, "Ah! Master Helwin, It's very glad to see you again." He shook hands with Rem. "I'm here to pick up the fabrics I've ordered a couple of days ago. It was supposed to be delivered to me but I sent a letter to let you know that I will be picking it up."

The man's eyes lit up, "Yes! Yes! I did received your letter. I just did not anticipate that it would be this soon." He told them as he led them in and into a receiving room. "No worries, the fabrics has already been prepared the moment I received your letter."

The room was like the whole store. It has a welcoming and cozy feeling to it. "If you could please wait here as I get your fabrics. Do make yourselves comfortable. My helper will be bringing some refreshments." The shop owner disappeared behind the door where they came in.

"What fabrics did you order all the way here at Louka?" Oswald asked Rem as he looked around the room.

"It's a high quality fabric made out of eon fur. The fabrics are normally expensive but here it's a little cheaper that's why whenever I needed those I would order it here."

"Oh, well that makes sense." Oswald said. When he turned around, he saw a boy who just came in with some refreshments. "Excuse me sirs, the master had ordered to bring some refreshments while you wait." The boy informed them as he walked to the table and served them.

After sometime of waiting, the shop owner emerged from the door followed by some helpers much like the one who served Rem and Oswald. The boys were all holding rolls of high quality fabrics. "Master Helwin, here are the fabrics you have ordered. Please feel free to inspect them and tell me if there's any problem with them."

Rem walked to the fabrics and meticulously inspect every inch of them. Once satisfied with what he had seen, Rem informed the shop owner that everything was good and he will take all of them.

The shop owner was delighted that all the fabrics where up to Rem's standards, he ordered the boys to neatly pack the roll of fabrics. "Will you be taking the fabrics with you or do you prefer to have it delivered at the place you are currently staying at?"

"Please deliver at the place where we are staying. Do you have a piece of paper?" The shop owner gave her a quill and a piece of paper. Rem wrote the name of the place they were staying at and handed it to the owner.

"By the way, have you heard of any significant rumors in town?" Oswald, who was quietly observing at the side, asked the shop owner.

The shop owner was baffled from Oswald's question but nonetheless, he answered it truthfully. "Some rumors in town? Well, I did heard that some magic users were missing for a couple of days but they were all found somewhere outside of town. I did not know if those were true but that's what I've heard at the tavern. If you want, you can go and asked there."