The Problem of Glane

Poole drove for the rest of the night and by the dawn of the next day, they could see the outline of a small town. "Sirs, we're approaching the town of Glane. Would you like to stop?" Poole yelled his question to the pair in the carriage.

"Yes, stop and find us an inn, try and rent out at least a floor, or find a house for us. I need to be able to make alterations to the place we stay," Xan said.

"Are you planning on staying for a while?" Yahn the Healer asked.

"Yes, we'll need to stop so I can make some preparations for Jambre. It will be a good chance to rest and increase our strength. The incident last night proved to me we aren't ready for Jambre," Xan said.

"Oh, why is that Elam?" Yahn the Healer asked.

"Those werewolves were only at the Fang level. In Jambre we'll find ourselves against Beta and Alpha level werewolves. Vampires from Knight until Count level will be there, and there will be many other powerful creatures and warriors present. We need to get a lot stronger before we get to Jambre," Xan said.

"My lord man! How can we get so much stronger? We're already so close to Jambre," Yahn the Healer said.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of things from here.

Poole parked the carriage next to the prefect's hall while he went to make inquiries about lodging. After a couple of hours, he returned and told Xan and Yahn the Healer their options. "Master Elam, Master Yahn, I have made inquiries and the best option is an inn in town called the "Waterboar Inn." The owner was open to renting the third floor to us. We can even make alterations as we need. He had one strange request and if we agree to it, he will rent it to us for half the normal price," Poole said.

"What was the strange request?" Yahn the Healer asked.

"We must stay in the Inn at night and cannot leave," he said.

"How mysterious, what do you think Elam?" Yahn the Healer asked.

"Half-price rent, we can alter the floor as we desire and they just want us to stick around. Why wouldn't we take them up on this? I plan to be here for a few weeks anyway," Xan said.

"Very good Master Elam, I will make the arrangements," Poole said.

Poole climbed on top of the carriage and drove it to the Waterboar Inn. The Inn was grand looking given the size of the town. It was a high-quality establishment with a restaurant at the bottom. You could buy alcohol and food there but it was exclusive to those who stayed in the Inn and only the elite patrons in the town.

Finishing the arrangements, Poole carried the luggage and equipment up to the third room. Poole, Xan, and Yahn took up rooms near the stairs. Xan had Poole get them some lunch. After lunch, Xan made everyone rest for a couple of hours. After their rest, Xan sent Yahn the Healer off on an errand to purchase certain materials. He wanted Poole to snoop around discretely to find out what was going on in the town. Xan took out some materials and built a drafting table.

Just as he finished it Poole returned and reported some strange findings. No one would directly speak to Poole about what was going on, but everyone was clearly on edge. Even the town officers refused to say anything. He was able to overhear some strange conversations but he couldn't make heads or tails out of it. Xan told him it was fine and sent him to help Yahn gather the materials he needed.

Xan pulled out some small dark almond looking things. He placed them on his drafting table and then pulled out a small monitor and pushed a few buttons and turned a couple of knobs. The dark almonds sprung to life. Wings came off of their bodies and legs sprouted. They flew out the window. He set up the small monitor on the table and turned up the volume. He set up a little speaker for every "bug" he released.

Xan went back to his work and set out a few more materials. Then he took some paper and put it on the drafting table. Walking through the third-floor taking measurements, making notations, and eventually returning to his table. He began drawing up blueprints. When Yahn and Poole returned he already finished his plans for the third floor. It was dinner time so Poole went to get dinner for the three. When he returned, he found Yahn the Healer near a few of the speakers making notes on people talking. Xan was sitting on the ground cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Poole set up a small table and the three ate as they listened to the monitors. After they finished eating, Xan looked grim. "It's no wonder he wanted us to stay. He wants us to help defend the Inn tonight when we're attacked," Xan said.

"Should we leave?" Yahn the Healer asked.

"After the attack last night? Do you really think we could survive another attack like that? Even if we made it to another town, there's no guarantee that we wouldn't encounter something similar there. We should put our energy into surviving tonight. If we can do that then I think it won't' be a problem for us to stay here for a few weeks. Once I've completed what I need to do here, we should be able to make it to Jambre even if we ran into a pack of Betas and Barrons.

"Your orders sir?" Poole said.

"From what I've gathered the attacks won't stop until the end of the second watch. This gives us six hours to prepare our defenses. I'll need the two of you to help me set things up. First, I'll need to make some things. We'll turn this place into a fortress," Xan said.

"Very good sir," Poole said.

"Poole, who is the power in this town?" He asked.

"Sir, the town is controlled by the Dygon family," Poole said.

"Where do they live?" Xan asked.

"They live at the other end of the town," Poole answered.

"Hmm. Poole, take this to the Dygon family and tell them this is a little something to help them tonight," Xan gave Poole a laser sword he just created while waiting for them. Tell them, if we make it through tonight we might have an opportunity to work together in the future," Xan said.

"Very good, sir," Poole said as he left.

"Yahn, let's get started," Xan said.

"Yes, how can I help Elam?" Yahn the Healer asked.

"Let's take a look at how the two of you did in town," Xan said.

Xan and Yahn began going through the materials and Xan quickly took some of the materials to create some discs. Xan showed placement positions for the discs throughout the Inn. "If the owner has any problem tell him it will help us survive tonight. I doubt he'll object after that," he said. Yahn the Healer nodded his head and left to carry out his job.

"It looks like tonight is going to be all about surviving. It would be nice knowing what's attacking. It would make defending easier," Xan thought to himself.