Chapter 3: Reality Check

 The three slid into the underbrush once more only to find Tangret surrounded by 4 nonels slowly encroaching. He was cowering defenseless on the ground in the fetal position. He was lightly weeping as he held his head. His dark scythe stuck into the ground with the handle pointing up. There were the bodies of 2 nonels sliced in half. "Okay, we have to test the strategy lets go now!" Qrezn said prepared to rush in. "Hold up. We still haven't decided if we're saving him." Shren said, his stare empty as he looked at Tangret. "Let's not do this again okay? If we do save him he'll still be out of our lives when he leaves our group. Let's save him and then think about what we do after." Laiyth said. Shren sighed but prepared his mana anyway. "Fine, but if he complains I don't want to hear anything from either of you." Shren reluctantly replied his nose flared out. Qrezn and Laiyth nodded before jumping into action. Laiyth shot three arrows, grabbing the attention of the nonels. Qrezn popped out of the underbrush and charged the nonels quickly slicing through 3 of the 4 nonels. 2 of the nonels recovered, their bodies pooling together before they slowly began to stand up. Shren quickly followed suit, using Weapon Creation he began to create spears which he then hurled at the remaining nonels. The holy spears tore the nonels apart, their bodies seemingly falling apart at the seams. The nonels let out horrific screams as they died, their purple innards spilling out. A putrid smell filled the air as the nonels collapsed. Laiyth looked around, making sure that the nonels were dead before Qrezn approached Tangret. Tangret hid his face as he watched Qrezn approach. "Stay away! All of you, just leave me. I couldn't bear having any of you seeing me in this wretched appearance!" Tangret shouted aimlessly kicking his feet to keep Qrezn away. "I warned you, if he wants us to leave him I say we do. Lets take the mantins and continue hunting." Shren said his voice sarcastically filled with emotion as he faked a surprised look on his face. Laiyth shot Shren a look. "Okay little brother this is getting ridiculous. Why do you suddenly hate Tangret so much?" Laiyth said his arms folded as he faced Shren. Shren turned his head away. He sat silent for a moment as Tangret and Qrezn watched. "I can't stand his high and mighty attitude. I reminds me so much of the nobles from back home. They'd come to our land and demand our stuff despite not being willing to even try and help us. Why is it that we had to hunt the nonels ourselves? Why are we trying to become mercenaries? Its because of worthless nobles like him!" Shren shouted pointing at Tangret, his passionate response resounding through Tangret. "Then even after they take and take they still have the audacity to look down on us! Do you not remember the way he treated me when we first met at headquarters? Or how he refused to acknowledge me regardless of what the Proctor said?" Shren continued. He finally finished his thoughts running out of steam and simply shutting down. He sat down on the ground breathing heavily as he stared into Laiyth. Laiyth sat silent, scratching his head as he tried to think of what to say. Qrezn would occasionally begin to speak only to stop himself at the last moment as no words could convey what he was thinking. Tangret meanwhile, silently stared at the ground. His eyes shaking as he thought about how he'd been acting. "Am I truly as horrible as he says?" Tangret thought to himself. As he tried to reassure himself flashes of the 3 elves he had seen earlier that day had reduced him to tears. The group fell silent with only the sounds of Tangret's light weeping could be heard. After 5 minutes Tangret spoke up. "I can't say my opinion of you all has changed but I appreciate what you've done for me more than I can express with words. I want to apologize for my behavior. You've all been kind enough to let me join your group and even despite my constant berating of you, you came to help me in my time of need. I will never forget this, thank you and I'm sorry." Tangret bowed deeply as he finished. Qrezn, Laiyth, and Shren sat in silence in shock. Their mouths agape as they tried to find words to respond. Laiyth was the first to break the silence. "Wow. Thank you though it felt a little like a backhanded compliment. Now's not the time to process this though. We have two choices, hunt or rest and give it our all tomorrow. It hasn't been long since the exam began so we have time." Qrezn sat in silence with his head resting on his fist as he contemplated. Shren stared into the sky as he mulled over a decision. Tangret, who had finished crying, was the first to respond. "I say we rest, there is something important that I have to tell you all. It relates to why I was almost killed." Qrezn and Shren nodded, though something was still on Qrezn's mind as his puzzled face never fixed itself. Laiyth remained behind as the other three gathered material for a campfire. Shren casted Field to keep them safe while they rested. "Alright what was so important Tangret?" Laiyth asked his face serious. "The nonels lost their shadows. Yet they continued to move regardless." Tangret explained to an unimpressed audience. "Okay, and what does that have to do with anything?" Qrezn brazenly asked. Shren nodded with his brows furrowing. "You don't seem to understand. That's not normal, and its certainly not good. Dark magic can steal shadows, though I lack the mana necessary to use that spell, but it turns the target into a living statue. You cannot move without your shadow." Tangret said, his voice grave as he looked around. He hoped that they'd now understand the seriousness of the situation and yet their faces made no change. "That doesn't really answer my question though. Nonels aren't normal so why would you expect them to act normal?" Qrezn asked his brow now furrowed as well. "Yeah, Qrezn's right. I usually throw out common sense when fighting nonels. They're unpredictable." Laiyth added on. "Also can dark magic even work when there is barely any light making it in here?" Shren asked his head tilted. Tangret's brow furrowed at the flurry of questions. "Listen! I've fought nonels before their shadows have never, and I mean never, separated from their bodies. And Shren dark magic is usually stronger in the darkness. My magic should have been more than enough to dispatch these nonels. My scythe alone should have been more than enough and yet after they lost their shadows it simply bounced off the nonels bodies, lodging itself in the ground." Tangret explained. He looked around once more and much to his satisfaction the faces of those around them were filled with shock and horror. "What's happening then?" Qrezn said, appearing the most terrified out of the group. "What do you think happened Tangret, you're the first demon I've met so this is my first time hearing about dark magic." Laiyth replied. "Same here, It's quite interesting that your magic is stronger here, mines a little bit weaker." Shren said. "It is probably related to Sanctus, his holy magic often produces light, it would make sense that your magic is weaker without that light. Honestly I cannot say for sure what is happening. I've never heard of nonels moving after they lose their shadows but I know that we must move with extreme caution. Who knows what other strange things may occur." Tangret explained. "Hmph, fair point. I did hear you say 'we' so does that mean we are one group again?" Laiyth said a wide smile on his face. "Hah! I'll have you know I still haven't changed my mind. I will leave you all when we leave this accursed forest but clearly if I can't freeze the nonels it wouldn't hurt to work with you. But only till the exam ends!" Tangret shouted, he began to blush only to then try, and fail, to hide it. Laiyth laughed while Qrezn and Shren shook their heads.

 The four sat for a while longer, they devised a new strategy, taking advantage of their new member. Since Tangret couldn't use traps, the chance of nonels losing their shadows freaked him out of that idea, he would be on the frontlines with Qrezn. He'd use his scythe to carve out the nonels mantin with precision strikes while Qrezn focused on providing the killing blows. The group, with their new strategy in place, gathered the mantins of the surrounding nonels. Their mantins were strange, purple like the rest of the nonels organs but also warm. They had a putrid smell that cause many to refer to nonel mantins as living rotten meat. Qrezn and Tangret did the actual gathering while Shren, overwhelmed by the smell, threw up. Laiyth stayed with him to try and comfort him. After 15 minutes the group gathered the 6 mantins and prepared to set off. They decided to return towards the entrance they went through, then set off from there to avoid becoming completely lost. Laiyth stuck another arrow in the ground as a marker and then snuck through the underbrush. Their journey back was much less quiet than their journey to Tangret. Sounds of wildlife suddenly filled the forest, birds chirping and the occasional rustling would set off the group. After confirming the lack of danger they would continue until they stumbled upon a group of 3 nonels. The nonels were shambling around, ever once in a while letting out a blood curdling scream from their disfigured flesh. Strange symbols replaced their pupils. Laiyth stopped the group, they all sat in silence watching the monsters as they decided how to act. "We still need 14 mantins, I don't think we can afford to be picky." Laiyth whispered. "Maybe so but I feel strange mana coming from them, especially their eyes." Shren whispered back. Tangret nodded in agreement. "If we take them down fast enough would it really matter?" Qrezn suggested. Laiyth thought about the idea. "No you fool, what if they have an ability that makes it difficult to kill them. While three may not be that many if more appear we would be in grave trouble." Tangret sternly warned. "He's right, I didn't come to Taliqun just to die during the final exam. I say we continue searching for nonels." Shren said. Laiyth sat in silence, his head on his hand as he remained puzzled. "But what if we get something special for killing them? Maybe they'll even increase our starting rank?" Laiyth said. Qrezn's eyebrows shot up. "Do you really think that could happen?" He said, his eyes gleaming. Shren let out a deep sigh. "Fine Brother, if you think it's a good idea, just know I'll haunt you if I die." Shren responded, finally relenting. "Hehe, jokes on you I'll be right there with you." Laiyth replied smiling. Tangret clicked his tongue. "Fine. But I want the first strike, I've a vendetta against those monsters anyway." The four nodded before breaking off in formation. Laiyth fired 2 arrows to get the attention of the nonels before Tangret and Qrezn flew out of the underbrush. Tangret quickly went to decapitate the closest nonel while Qrezn attempted to cleave one in half. Shren prepared a Holy Ball and waited with bated breath. The nonels Tangret and Qrezn attacked quickly fell, their bodies seemingly falling apart with no real effort. The motioned to finish off the third nonel however, just before they could reach the final nonel the bodies of the previous two began to clump onto the third. The nonel let out a roar that rattled the groups brain. Shren had the greatest reaction as he tightly gripped his head with both hands. He groaned in pain before collapsing to the ground. Whatever the nonel did it was clear that it was effective. "Shren!" Laiyth shouted before running to Shren. Laiyth laid Shren on his lap as he tried to calm him down. "Tangret! Qrezn! Get away from that thing!" Laiyth shouted to Qrezn and Tangret, his attention now fully focused on Shren. "Alright!" Qrezn shouted before running to Laiyth and Shren. Tangret meanwhile fell to his knees. Without Qrezn noticing the roar had incapacitated Tangret, his scythe fading away. "Qrezn wait. What's wrong with Tangret!" Laiyth shouted. Qrezn turned to see Tangret on his knees, his head facing up, mouth agape, and eyes wide open. Qrezn quickly turned to make it back to Tangret when he saw the nonel begin to move. Qrezn didn't freeze. "If I don't move now I won't be able to save Tangret. Plus if I let one monster scare me now that means I'll never be ready for Rakgur." Qrezn thought to himself as he pushed his body as hard as he could. The monster had increased in size, having taken in the mass of the other two nonels, despite that it's speed was still incredible. It raised its arm as it prepared to strike Tangret down. Laiyth rushed to fire an arrow as he feared Qrezn wouldn't make it in time. Shren, from Laiyth's lap, tried to fire off a Holy Ball but failed to make it through the pain. He began to slip into unconsciousness yet determined to save his ally made one more push to fire a Holy Ball. He still wasn't able to fire it as he blacked out. Just as the nonels arm came crashing down Qrezn tackled Tangret out of the way. The two rolled, carried by Qrezn's momentum, but were now separated from Laiyth and Shren. "Laiyth! What should I do, Tangret's still out cold." Qrezn shouted. He carefully watched the nonel preparing to dodge at a moments notice. The nonel began to shuffle around as it regained its bearings. It turned to Qrezn and Tangret as it slowly advanced. Its gaze was fixed on Tangret as it stumbled towards them. Laiyth glanced down at Shren, who was now passed out. He considered trying to wake him up but decided it to be fruitless. "I guess running away would be pretty difficult right now, huh?" Laiyth said with a light chuckle, sweat dripping down his forehead. He began to look around before taking a deep sigh. His mind began to race as he tried to think of some way out. He stared at the group for a moment be flashing a smile to Qrezn. "We'll have to take this thing down ourselves. Think you're up for it." Laiyth was visibly sweating as his gripped his bow firmly. Qrezn responded in kind firmly gripping his great sword while smiling. "Not like we have a choice do we?" Qrezn gently put Tangret down before charging the nonel. Despite Qrezn's charge the nonels attention didn't shift as it continued to slowly shuffle towards Tangret. Laiyth began to fire arrows at it in an attempt to slow down the monster. "D-don't count me out." Shren groaned, suddenly waking up before firing off a Holy Ball. The nonel began to roar once more, Shren preemptively wincing as he braced himself. However, before the nonel could do that terrible roar once more Qrezn struck the monsters legs. He cut through one leg and greatly damaged the other causing the monster to howl in pain as it crashed to the ground. To not give it a moment to recover Qrezn then went to decapitate the beast, hoping to put it down for good but as his blade should have made contact with the creature the nonel's body condensed. Like a turtle the monster's body shrunk and Qrezn's strike missed. Qrezn's face contorted in visible confusion as he felt the dull impact of the ground. The nonel's leg rejoined with its body. The monster quickly stood and swung down on Qrezn. Qrezn turned his head in shock as he gripped his sword tightly. Qrezn quickly moved to block the strike with his sword but it was clear that he wouldn't be able to repel the attack for long. He began to look around as he tried to think of his next move. The weight of the nonels attack was slowly forcing him into the ground as he became panicked. "Hold on Qrezn!" Laiyth said now charging the monster with his knife. "Don't! It'll just go for you next!" Qrezn shouted in return stopping Laiyth in his tracks. "I don't know if I have enough mana to fire another Holy Ball." Shren weakly shouted. "Ha, I don't think it'd do much to this thing anyway. I'm going to try and redirect the strike, then I'll try to create some distance and we'll think of something then." Qrezn replied. He took a deep breath as he prepared to act, suddenly the nonels lower half separated from its upper half. The nonel once again howled in pain as it fell to the ground. "Strike now Qrezn!" Tangret shouted. Qrezn froze but for a moment before slicing the monster's head in two with a powerful overhead strike. Qrezn shot his head up as he began to look around in confusion. The nonel let out a defeated whimper as its body lost its shape. The nonel was dead. Qrezn made eye contact with Tangret as relief flooded his body. "Tangret you're okay! And you saved me, thank you." Qrezn said down on one knee, using his great sword to support himself. "Man, I'll make sure to make sure listen to you two next time." Laiyth said before he passed out. "Yeah. you better." Shren said, following Laiyth and passing out as well.

 Tangret looked around himself to see Laiyth and Shren passed out with Qrezn on the verge. "Qrezn, I'm going to put up a Field, usually they'd be weaker than Shren's but with this darkness hopefully it should withstand any attacks. You clearly need rest too, go ahead and get some sleep, I'll wake you all up if something happens." Tangret explained. Qrezn sat in shock, "Wow, your taking care of us? Thank you Tangret!" Qrezn said an innocent smile on his face. Tangret quickly hid his face as he began to blush. "Hurry up and go to sleep, fool!" Tangret bashfully shouted. Qrezn chuckled before laying down. As Qrezn laid down memories rushed to the front of Tangret's mind. As nobility Tangret wanted for nothing. The experience of near death did nothing but remind him that the future of Tegrad rested on him convincing his brethren that the techniques of the western demons are superior. Tangret looked to the sky as he wondered how his family was. He had learned tonight, the hard way, that the world is a very dangerous place. To protect those important to him strength was paramount. He nodded to himself with a renewed vow and began to take watch over his resting allies. Laiyth, Shren, and Qrezn rested peacefully while Tangret carefully watched out for any nonels. After 5 hours the group began to wake up. They found Tangret still keeping watch. The air around him seemed stoic, his nobility clear with the regal presence that oozed from him. The forest was alive with the sounds of wildlife. Rustling was a common occurrence and even the occasional animal appeared. "Finally, you're all awake. I've been dying to get some sleep. But I know we're running on a schedule. I gathered the mantins while you rested so we're up to 9. How about we get that last 11." Tangret said a devious smile on his face. Without hesitation the group sprang into action, quickly hunting any nonels that they could get their hands on. There was one exception, if they ran into any nonels with those strange symbols for pupils they would leave them be and report on them after the exam. Over the next 7 hours sounds of arrows whistling, blades slicing, and magic being fired filled the forest as they did their best to complete the exam. At around the 13 hour mark the four had finally completed the exam. "We did it!" Laiyth excitedly said. He pumped his fist as he jumped. "And we don't even have major injuries. It wasn't easy but it was entirely doable with all four of us." Qrezn said, he was covered in scabs and cuts from nonels. "I must admit we worked well together as a team." Tangret said, lightly muttering. "You did good too Tangret. I guess your not like the nobles I know." Shren replied. "I knew you two would get along." Laiyth said putting his arms around their shoulders. Shren opened his mouth to speak before averting his gaze. Tangret tried to weasel his way out of Laiyth's arm but just couldn't manage. "Now all we have to do is get out of here right?" Qrezn said. "Yeah, that should be the last part of the exam. Shren would you happen to be able to feel the mana of the arrows I stuck in the ground?" Laiyth asked, letting go of Shren and Tangret. "Um, yes it is this way. Brother in such a large forest though you shouldn't rely on my ability to sense mana without telling me. I only figured it out this time cause you do it so often." Shren said shaking his head disapprovingly at Laiyth. "I only do it cause your so good at finding it, sorry." Laiyth replied a smirk on his face. The four began to follow Shren as he led them to the first arrow. Laiyth and Tangret kept a keen eye out for any danger while Qrezn was prepared to defend them from any unexpected attacks. Around thirty minutes later they made it to the first arrow. There they found an elf sitting on the other side of the Field, presumably waiting for them. Shren raised his hand to get the elf's attention but the elf ran off instead. The four then sat by the arrow hoping he'd return soon, he was replaced by the Proctor instead. She stuck out her hand and a small opening appeared in the Field. "Hurry now, I can't leave this open for too long." Smiles appeared among the four faces as they ran out of the forest. "What are you doing here? I thought we still had another 24 hours?" Laiyth said. "Yeah we didn't fail did we?" Qrezn asked. Shren smiled softly, "Were you waiting for us? You did say we'd be able to leave as soon as 12 hours after the beginning of the exam." Tangret nodded along. "Haha! I knew Shren would figure it out. He is correct, I have been waiting for you all. Of course we'll check the mantin in a moment but I trust you all enough to say, Congratulations! You've all officially become Mercenary Corps Members. I, Rosen Hebren, your Nu ranked Proctor officially welcome you all as Zeta ranked Mercenaries." Rosen proudly stated. She snapped her fingers and two elves came and grabbed the groups mantin. They quickly counted the 20 mantins and gave Rosen a delighted smile. An air of relief rushed in after the elves reassurance to Rosen. The four breathed a deep sigh, Laiyth and Shren hugged each other while Qrezn struggled to hold back tears. Tangret faced the direction his home and nodded, "I've taken the first step. I'll prove to you that the western demons are superior." He quietly thought to himself. "Excellent. Just excellent. I knew you all would succeed. Now lets return to the guild so that you may receive your MerCo tags. These will simplify your journeys working as ID, not only for the guilds but also for the surrounding nations. Any fees for entry are returned if you complete a request within the city. You'll also receive a discount on anything bought from MerCo and receive a better price than you would on the market should you sell to us. Any further questions can be asked at your local headquarters, now lets go!" Rosen excited shouted before returning to Taliqun.

 The group traveled to Taliqun, but stopped right outside the headquarters. "Alright, we won't be here for too long. It is extremely late at night. We'll just be grabbing your tags and going home!" Rosen said with a smile on her face. Shren suddenly spoke up, "Um, actually we have something important about the nonels to tell you." He quietly shouted. Rosen turned to face him with an eyebrow raised. "Oh, do tell." She replied. "I think that Tangret should tell you first." Shren said before turning to Tangret. Tangret gave Shren a surprised look. He smiled warmly before taking over. "When the exam began I went off by myself," Tangret explained "and I attempted to dispatch several nonels by holding their shadows and attacking. However three nonels escaped my binds and in fact grew slightly stronger. My scythe, which easily cut through nonels previously, glanced off their skin." Tangret finished. Rosen's face turned grim. "I see… This is significant. I will need you four to report to Headquarters tomorrow when we're open. I can't be the only one who learns about this. Anything else before we go in?" She asked, her voice still. "Yes. We fought three nonels with strange symbols in their eyes. After we killed the first two they joined together with the third and became even stronger." Shren quickly replied. Rosen froze solid. "Are you serious?" She said staring holes into Shren. Shren quietly nodded. "I understand." Rosen coldly replied. "Let's hurry then, you'll need your tags and then report back here tomorrow bright and early. For now though its time to celebrate. You've completed all of the exams, so leave the difficult things for your first day." The four nodded as the gravity of the situation dawned on them. They all made their way into headquarters. As the door creaked open the four gulped in anticipation of the mercenary life awaiting them. They entered to see several staff members waiting for them patiently. When the staff members made eye contact their faces lit up as they excitedly shouted "Congratulations!" together. A jubilant energy filled the empty headquarters. Some staff members were clapping with elated smiles on their faces while others clearly were struggling to stay awake. Qrezn proudly pressed out his chest with a wide smile on his face, Tangret had a smear of superiority covering his face, Laiyth awkwardly smiled and waved while Shren hid behind him. A staff member broke away from the group and approached with small metal tags in her hand. "Congratulations again! These are your MerCo Tags, take care to not lose them. They are very important and have plenty of advantages. Should you lose them they can be replaced but it will cost at least 2 Palus coins each, any questions?" The staff member said with a bright smile on her face despite the early hour they were all gathered at. "No questions here. Thank you all so much!" Laiyth said excitedly taking the tags. The tags were intricately detailed, the name, rank, species, and role of the owner was engraved in the tag making impersonation impossible. Laiyth happily handed out the tags before fastening his tag to his belt. He looked at Shren practically about to burst. "We did it! We became mercenaries!" He excited shouted. His hands were closed as he energetically vibrated. "Y-yeah. Now we just have to see everything and become rich." Shren mumbled, his tag affixed to a bracelet on his wrist. "Okay now. I'm happy your excited but go celebrate where ever you're staying. Do you know what time it is, we're going home and going to sleep." Rosen said, shaking her head astonishingly. She smiled as she waved them off.

 The four were now walking back to the inn. Unlike the bustling life the city was filled with during the day the night was empty. Other than the sounds of wild life occasionally echoing into the night the sounds of a cart passing through were the only sounds. "Wow, we really did it." Qrezn said, his gaze fixed upon his new tag. "Yes, a proper first step for all of us. Now we'll have to make a proper name for ourselves." Tangret said as he confidently walked. "I thought you were going to go off on your own?" Shren said. "Don't be confused. You all saved my life. I'm simply repaying the favor, I still don't consider you friends." Tangret shouted embarrass. He began to blush as he increased his walking speed. "Now, now Shren don't tease him. For how ever long you stay with us I look forward to working with you." Laiyth said with a warm smile. "Though if we are going to make a name for ourselves we might need a name for our little group." He said raising an eyebrow. Shren looked, his interest clearly pique. Qrezn turned to Laiyth with a wonderstruck look on his face. "Oh. My. Gods. We need one! What should it be? I've never thought about this! Oh man this is going to be so cool. Ooh, maybe we need a catchphrase too." He began to blurt out as his ideas seemed to show no signs of stopping. "I'm not joining that! What name could even fit us? We all have different goals." Tangret said, displeased with the idea. Laiyth stayed silent as he walked forward. The four finally made it to the inn, which in the darkness of night appeared slightly off. "Maybe us having different goals can be part of the name?" Shren said. Laiyth's eyes lit up as he turned to Shren. "Shren, you're a genius! What about 'Diverging Road'?" He said with a large smile covering his face. "Since our group has differing goals its perfect!" Qrezn sat silent with his mouth agape. "I. Love. It. How did you come up with such a good name so fast?" Tangret was decidedly less impressed. "Where did 'Road' come from? Plus 'Diverging' makes it sound like our group is going to split up at the first sign of trouble." He said, dismissively shaking his head. Laiyth smiled as he shrugged. "Hey, I think it fits us pretty well. Plus if we are going to split up we can even change it to 'Diverged Road'. Then when people ask if we were part of a group we can make it all cool and mysterious!" Laiyth said. Shren and Qrezn chuckled while Tangret began to frown. "Fine! But don't get mad at me when people say our name is weird!" Tangret shouted folding his arms. "Alright, alright. Now lets get some sleep and pick our first request tomorrow." Laiyth said as they entered their room. The moonlit filled the room as the four quickly settled in for the night. Qrezn was the first to fall asleep as he mumbled to himself about being a great mercenary. Tangret fell asleep second, having wished Shren and Laiyth a proper goodnight. Laiyth and Shren alone remained awake. "Brother, we really made it, right?" Shren said staring at the ceiling. "Yeah Shren. We really made it. Soon we'll be writing letters home about the incredible things we see, and we'll even be able to support them. We'll finally thank Mom and Dad for everything." Laiyth replied. He turned to face Shren as he spoke. "Now go to sleep, we'll need it for tomorrow." Laiyth then went to sleep leaving Shren alone with his thoughts. Shren didn't think of anything particularly important but sat in silence taking in the peaceful atmosphere abundant in the inn. Shren smiled as he went to bed preparing himself for the busy day that awaited him.