Not According to Plan

The festival was going to last a couple more days, so Val agreed to stay a little long to continue to show Celeste around. Cosmo voiced no general opinion, as per usual.

The next day, they saw more performances than the day before. Celeste dragged both Val and Cosmo around to each new sight that caught her eye. And every now and again, one could catch a hint of a smile on Cosmo's face.

Before they knew it, it was time for their midday meal. This time, Cosmo was left in charge of getting the food. Val tried to convince him to let her go, but he was very adamant about it. She gave him a huff, but eventually joined Celeste in finding a good spot to relax. The found a table near one of the taverns. Since the festival was great for business, many pubs and taverns, or anywhere that sold food set up some simple chairs and tables.

Cosmo brought quite a bounty, considering he has bigger hands. He also was somewhat clueless what to get, so he got a bit of everything. Val and Celeste dug in right away, not even thanking him for his efforts. The area was very lively. Everyone was having their fill of beer and other spirits.

Suddenly, a few rowdy patrons came their way. At first the trio paid them no mind, but suddenly a brawl broke out, causing beer to spill on Cosmo. The only available clean cloth that Val had was the red handkerchief, so she gave it to Cosmo to help him clean up. He took it with only a nod of acknowledgement.

"Maybe we should head out now." Val suggested. Celeste and Cosmo agreed.

But before they could leave the area, a booming voice could be heard. "Hey! That's him! That's the man who broke my wrist yesterday!"

When Val turned around, sure enough, it was the barbarian from the day before. Why must everything be so complicated? She also noted that he had quite the posse with him today. They were the ones causing the ruckus. Val took Celeste's hand and turned to Cosmo.

"Do you have a plan?" Val whispered.

"Not particularly." He lazily turned to her, still wiping his hand with her handkerchief. "I thought you were full of them."

She rolled her eyes at him. The posse came barrelling towards them. It would be much easier if she were by herself. Then she could slip into the crowd without much issue. Then a thought struck her.

Turning to Cosmo, she said, "You go towards the main street. Since you are the one they are the most angry with, that should distract enough of them, so that Celeste and I can slip away. We will go through the alleyway there." She pointed with her head to the place she was referring to. "Then you can meet up with us at the well in the northern part of the square."

Cosmo looked a bit uncertain about the plan. Celeste tugged on his sleeve with pleading eyes. She trusted Val implicitly. Cosmo surveyed the ruffians, and quickly made a decision.

"Fine, but be careful to not lose Celeste." He agreed gruffly.

With the his consent, Val took Celeste and began to move towards the alleyway. As expected, the bigger men followed after Cosmo, and a few followed Val and Celeste.

Val expertly navigated through, not slowing down her pace. She wasn't running, but could easily go into a sprint. Celeste had no trouble keeping up. Every now and again, Val looked over her shoulder to see that there were three men following them. They also kept a brisk pace, but seemed to be waiting for the ladies to meet a dead end.

Val knew that the well didn't have the best escape routes, but it was more secluded, and thus a place that would make it easier to maneuver. She wore the same dress as the day before, but this time, she did have a few tricks up her sleeve. More like the dagger hidden in her boot. She also had her crystal. The plan was to blind them with a short burst of blinding light, and then cause as much damage as possible.

They reached the well, and Val pulled Celeste behind her. She then took out the crystal and started a chant. She nervously rubbed it between her hands, waiting for their pursuers to catch up.

Once they were close enough, Val was prepared to launch her attack, but something unexpected happened. Out of nowhere, two men appeared. They had what looked like ancient relics all over their bodies, and their eyes were red. Out of their hands came dark shadows that seemed to form into creatures.

"W-who are y-you?" One of the ruffians stammered as the newcomers approached.

A sickening feeling began to well up in Val. She went to push back Celeste, but she didn't feel her behind her anymore. She turned her head slightly, and noticed that she seemed to be kneeling and praying next to the well. Since Celeste was behind her, she didn't pay it much mind.

A peal of laughter brought Val out of her thoughts. One of the men with red eyes looked on with contempt. He meerly waved his hand to order his shadow creatures. The creatures swallowed them whole, as they screamed in agony.

Val felt her throat go dry and her legs weaken. She knew how to counter a few hooligans, but this was out of her league. Panic started to take over. What should she do? How can she get away? How foolish she was too choose such a location.

When the screaming stopped, the shadows returned to the man who had ordered them. He then looked at Val, and said, "We have come to collect your debt."