Town of the Lonely Mage 2

"Tell us what we are, Kinib."

Erwand was looking at the man who was at least two heads shorter than him. Kinib was breathing loudly, and Lilynn could feel her pulse rising. Who was this person? Did he sense anything in her presence?

"You..."

He paused to hiccup.

"... are..."

He almost fell. A peasant from the crowd had to catch his body to let him regain his balance.

"Uh... whatever. Just do whatever you want! Annoying kids... The demon will kill you, and I will not be here to help ya. I see you hiding your mage clothes beneath, girl. Rich kids like you learn nothing from the best mages, only on how to spend your coins."

Great. He was not only a blatant fraud but also a drunk failure. Lilynn felt stupid for suspecting anything from him. At least he did not question if she was a real mage or not. The villagers seemed to be more convinced when she let the cloak expose more of her body and the uniform.

"We would appreciate more information about this demon you cannot deal with, mage," Erwand said to him. Lilynn was not sure the man even understood the question. He was looking away to the side, ready to leave for another drink.

"It resides somewhere in the swamps up north," is the only thing Kinib shared and then left. Lilynn and Erwand were left among the villagers looking at them curiously.

"So, we are now the saviors," Erwand whispered to Lilynn.

"The elite mage and her alchemist companion," Lilynn added, and then she turned to the villagers gathered around:

"Listen, people! We will investigate this demon with our high magic skills involved. All we ask for in return is a place to sleep and eat for our hard work!"

Curious mumbling could be heard from the people, but they seemed to like the idea. An old woman with a head scarf went up to the duo.

"We have a tavern with a double-bed available for you!" she said.

"A double..." Lilynn repeated, but the woman was already showing them the way to the tavern. Erwand was following her without a word.

Of course, they were supposed to look like partners, but to sleep in a well-made bed together? That was going to be a new thing between them. Lilynn hesitated but decided to just follow them to the tavern.

The ground level of the tavern was a bar, with a few men drinking their beers and singing. A stair led up to the vacant rooms. The room Lilynn and Erwand got was quite small, only consisting of the bed and a wardrobe.

The old lady gave them the keys and left. Lilynn hopped down to the bed.

She suddenly liked the idea of sleeping on a comfortable bed instead of a tight carriage. For a moment she even forgot what they were here for.

"How should we do this?" Erwand reminded her.

"We could just stay here for a few days, telling them that we are doing hard work. They won't mind, as they already let Kinib make a fool out of them."

"Sure, this is quite cosy," Erwand sat down next to Lilynn. "But that guy is no mage. Maybe once he was, but the drink got his mind fully altered."

"I want to keep my eyes on him. He might even be the demon we are looking for."

"Kinib, the demon?"

"You heard the villagers. The demon is stealing their food, drinks and other goods. I don't doubt that this drinker might be just setting up the demon story to deceive the villagers."

"Fair point. But we will see if that demon really comes back here during the night."

And so, their plan was to wait until the sun sets. They decided to spend the rest of their day with simply relaxing their travel pains.

After parking the carriage and the horses behind the tavern, Erwand decided to nap in their room, but Lilynn could not sleep. She could hear the drinkers downstairs making a loud noise, even though it wasn't evening yet. The people here drank whenever they felt like it.

Lilynn decided to get a better look at them. On the stairs leading down to the bar, she stopped high up on the steps, where she could peek down at the men.

Kinib was among them.

"Did you see the faces of those kids? They probably came from Emerstead to have a nice holiday in the countryside! They will not catch any demons!"

So he did believe they were mages. Quite unusual that Lilynn could feel the man's magical presence, but he could not sense anything demonic about her. It could have been the alcohol's effect.

Some of the men in the tavern agreed with him, but others frowned upon what he said.

"It is a blessing that these young people came to us," one of the angered men said. "You, old man, have been doing nothing to keep us safe for the past years."

"Past years? What about the other decades I spent here? Instead of serving the king in a big city, I sacrificed everything to stay in this shithole!"

That made even more people angry. They were demanding the tavern's host to throw Kinib out.

"What, you now turn against me too? I deserve everything this place has to offer, and so much more!"

He left the building. Lilynn, however, wanted to see what happens next. She got on her cloak and stepped out searching for the drunk mage on the main street.