Book 2 - A Sleepless Night

The town of Smelt looked shabby at first glance but got better as it expanded into the land. From what our Captain said, it had started out as just a couple of buildings and a dock that retired adventurers built and grew from there. Now it was a medium sized port city used as a weigh station for smaller boats to go longer distances. I could see the tops of trees poking out above the buildings on the far side of the town. It was probably the forest that supplied the trees used to build all the houses, docks, and small boats I saw.

Amy and I decided to use my 'Masquerade' spell before we disembarked. We went into our room that we had been sharing, these last couple of days, before I cast it. Amy as a bunny girl was a bit distracting. She had the same nervous habits I had when I transformed. She bounced from foot to foot causing me to look a bit lower than I should. Her breasts weren't very big but still jiggled a little. I quickly handed her a cloak to wear. I was afraid that I would scare her if she saw me ogling her boobs. I breathed a sigh of relief once she was covered and she gave me a strange look that I just ignored. We kept the hoods of our cloaks pulled up to cover our faces, at least a little. We did not change in front of the captain so I wasn't sure if he noticed our change, but if he did he didn't say anything.

We disembarked with the plan to buy some supplies before trying to book another ship. We would have to be quick since I could only maintain these two spells for a few hours. I would need to work on improving my skill if we were to continue to pretend to be beastwomen. Before leaving the docks I asked around about other ships leaving but there was nothing going in the direction we needed at the moment. I was told to come back in two days to check again.

We walked into town but didn't get very far before I noticed the posters. My picture was posted on walls and poles with a huge reward under it. What was worse was the smaller picture of Amy under mine. Her reward was not as big. I was hoping that the smaller picture and the lesser reward would have people more focused on me, in case somebody saw her while my spell was down. Either way, it was a problem since any ship we could get would be too small for us to go unnoticed for very long.

We walked through the town. I had given Amy some money so she could buy her supplies while we shopped. The people here looked like they were use to a tough life. They wore armor and weapons openly and, unlike the capital, there were more races mixed together. They tended to cluster into groups of five or six. Most stuck with their own races but a few looked like they were a hodge-podge of various races. They didn't make any trouble for us and I wasn't sure if all the guards around played a part on how well they were behaving.

As we shopped I bought some cheap supplies such as rations, camping supplies and a sling. I had an idea of using the druid spell stones imbued with an attack spell as the ammunition for it. Amy bought some food and a couple of weird items. I did not know what their purpose was so I wasn't sure if she was wasting money or not. We also picked up some information from overhearing people talking about a dungeon. It had just opened up not far from here. So far, nobody had made it past level one. The Adventurers Guild had sent higher rank adventuring groups to deal with it because of that.

I was so interested in their stories that I lost track of time and was rushing Amy to finish shopping. My magical energy was getting too low for my liking and I didn't know how long it would take to get a room at the hotel. It was the only one in the entire town so it was easy to find. Upon entering I noticed it's run down appearance. I guess when you're the only place in town you don't need to decorate as much. The wallpaper was even peeling in spots. I made a mental note to check for bugs. The shop keeper was a greasy looking man that gave me the creeps but his wife shouted him away to the kitchen when she caught sight of us walking in.

The lady looked as if time had worn her down and her beauty had faded due to the hard life she lived. Her wrinkles from frowning, the bony fingers from hard labor, and the condition of her clothes said it all. We made our way to the desk and I signaled Amy to book our rooms. I felt like I was being watched and was trying to figure out where it was coming from. I shouldn't have bothered. The greasy man's face was leering out at us from a window in the kitchen door. He was not trying to be subtle about it either. I debated on just leaving town and camping but I didn't have time to get through the entire town before I ran out of energy. I did my best to ignore him and as soon as I did I heard Amy paying for one room.

I gave her a questioning look but she shrugged and whispered that they only had one left when the lady turned to get the key. Not that I minded staying in a room with her and it was probably safer. We were told a number and were pointed to a stairway leading down.

Our room seemed to have been used as a food storage area and later converted into a room. It was small with only one bed in it that was big enough for us both if we were really, really friendly. Amy closed the door as I walked in and I let go of the spells before removing my cloak. My energy was under a hundred at this point. 'Too close,' I thought. I debated using my 'level any skill' reward on 'Spell Crafting' so I could adjust my 'Masquerade' spell to consume less energy but I was so close to leveling it naturally. With less than forty points before it leveled, it would be such a waste of the contest prize that I finally decided to leave it as it was. I would just find more time to practice.

I checked the room for bugs. The creepy crawly kind and found only a few. I only felt better after I gave them some crumbs as payment to leave us alone. I then meditated while Amy did some type of clairvoyance magic. I wanted to get my magic back as soon as I could, so I zoned out and left her do her thing. By the time I came out of my meditation, Amy had on an oversized shirt I had seen others wear as night clothing and was sitting on the bed. She looked nervous and I wondered what she saw while I was out of it. She had already told me how she saw me dying in the castle's courtyard and had come to warn me. She was just a bit too late in her arrival. So, I took her seriously. Especially if she was afraid of what she saw.

I stood up off the floor and asked, "What happened? What did you see." I figured it was better to not beat around the bush and get whatever she saw out in the open so we could plan. The problem was she couldn't see it. When she recounted what she saw she only got imagines of men coming after us and a feeling of danger. She also knew it was a few days away so I did my best to comfort her. I wrapped her in a hug , told her it was days away, that we had time and to not worry. She had worked herself up into such an emotional wreck just sitting here worrying about something she couldn't do anything about, that it took me some time to calm her. When I finally did she was so tired that she crawled into the bed and after I joined her, fell asleep.

I for my part could not seem to find a good place to put my arms and spent half the night fretting over the least offensive place I could put them. When I finally fell asleep my dream was vivid, at least, what I could recall. I was in many places almost at once. Some depicted places I have never been, while others were of places inside the capital we just left. When I awoke I was left with vague impressions of the people within it. People were thanking me, questioning me, begging me but for what, I couldn't remember.