The Nights

Amelia turned her body to face the boy. She once again observed Klein, his previously messy appearance now having been cleaned up.

Klein had rid himself of the tattered military outfit and was now wearing a simple white tunic and black pants, over which he wore a short blue robe.

He smiled at her, "Amelia, before we get to it, I must confess something..."

Amelia focused her attention, and at the words the young man was about to speak.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well, I think we should head inside before nightfall" He glanced towards the sky, shadows creeping over his face.

"Ah, right, it's quite cold out" She nodded and got up, looking up and glancing in the direction of the window of her room at the inn.

Klein got up too and chuckled, "No, that's not the reason..." He paused for dramatic effect, and continued harmlessly, "It's just that I think ghosts will show up"

He continued on, entering the Inn a few steps away, before looking back, "Or you could stay outside to meet them?" He tilted his head, "Right, fascinating things they seem to be, maybe I should also -"

Amelia cut him off before he could say anything, having regained her senses, "No need, let's head inside"

"Ah, is that so?" A hint of disappointment colored Klein's tone.

The moment they entered, the inn seemed to quiet. There weren't as many patrons in the lounge as there were in the morning, but a fair few remained.

Amelia attempted to hide her nervousness. She was finding it difficult to withstand the pressure brought by these foreign people.

"Hey Klein! You up for another drink tonight? Juice of course!" A rugged man from a table at the other end called out in Common.

"I'm sorry Batch, I got some stuff to do later! Maybe when all the ghost stuff is sorted" Klein waved back with a smile and replied with as much enthusiasm.

They passed by, going up the stairs, and Amelia observed Klein from behind.

'Incredible...' She couldn't help but marvel at the personality that turned a group of cautious and hostile men around with such ease.

Wasn't it the same for her and her family? They accepted him rather easily too.

Once they entered their room, the last rays of light had already left.

Harold was talking and playing with his kids. He turned to Klein who had entered and then to Amelia who followed.

"Have you eaten already? Want anything?" Klein asked, smiling at them as he made his way to the window.

"Ah, yes we have. Thanks a lot for smoothing things over before" Harold said, then asked Amelia, "What time do you want to leave tomorrow?"

Amelia considered, then said, "Well, staying here doesn't seem too bad for now. We don't even know if the way to the military is safe or not..."

After a momentary silence, Harold continued, raising his voice slightly, "How are we supposed to stay here? They're tolerating it now, but people here don't welcome us"

"Haven't you seen how dangerous it is outside? How could we leave?" Amelia spoke gently.

As their conversation became more heated, Harry and Amanda, their children, tentatively approached Klein who was observing the desolate street outside from the window.

"Hey, Mister," Harry said.

Klein looked down at them, and smiled, "Yes? You need something?"

"Show me a magic trick," The boy said, shifting in embarrassment, "How do you disappear?" 

"Yeah, how do you disappeaw?" Amanda, the younger sibling added.

"Ah, well, I just think about it and it happens" He smiled at them cheekily, he snapped his finger, casting 'illuminate', and a light manifested on his index, "Or I can snap my fingers, and things light up, it's common sense, really"

The siblings widened their eyes, "D-do it again"

"Why don't you try it instead?" He said, then turned to look outside the window again, catching shifting shadows.

"- and that's why it's better to leave?" Amelia asked in a low murmur, cognizant of the others in the room.

Klein heard it, and said aloud, "Yeah, it might be better to leave..."

The couple turned to him with a question in their eyes.

He chuckled.

"Unless you don't mind being eaten by ghosts?"

And the moment he said that...

"AAAAAGHHHH!" A loud scream echoed from below.

The couple shot up, and looked at the wizard.

"W-what's going on?" Harold asked, staring at the young man.

"Ah, don't look at me like that... it just seems that ghosts come out at night. I mean, if there are aliens, why not ghosts too, am I right?" He put his hands in the air and shrugged, then closed the window blind.

The sounds of swords being unsheathed rang.

"Well, not to worry too much, I expected this might happen, so as long as we remain in the room - "

Before Klein could finish his sentence, the smell of smoke wafted from beneath the floorboards.

Fire. The smell of something burning. Shadows shifting in the dim light.

He paused, then saw the horrified faces of the couple, and the frightened gazes of the children.

He scratched the back of his head with a nervous chuckle, "Well..." He began, then lingered for a moment, then continued, "Guess we're in a bit of trouble...?"

Klein retrieved his military knife from his inner robe, began casting, then spoke with a hop towards the door, "Well, don't just stand there, let's be merry and on our way, shall we?"

He turned his head slightly back towards them with a relaxed grin as he spoke to the frozen four.

After that, he kicked the door and was met with a floating shadow.

His knife glowed, and he slashed.

The knife phased through the apparition, seemingly not having caused it any harm.

"Fascinating thing, aren't you?" Klein barely had the time to say before the ghost charged at him.

Klein attempted to cast 'illuminate' to see if it would have any effect. After all, he had seen Big Nystagmus disappear when the sun began to rise.

He had made many preparations throughout the day, analyzing what he could, based on his altercation with Nystagmus.

The light shone brightly, causing the shadow to lose its form slightly. Klein used the opportunity to coat his knife with the light, delicately handling the mana, and then he attacked it once more.

The effect was good. After slashing with rapid movements a few times, the apparition dissipated into smoke.

'Hmm... that seemed to be a weak one' Klein thought when he recalled what he faced the other night.

Although the apparition he just faced was nothing like Nystagmus, Klein surmised that their essence should be the same.

And through his meticulous analysis, he had come up with four ways to deal with these strange things.

Physical attacks were the first - yet, they naturally didn't seem to work very well.

And light was the second.

"So... are you coming, or what?" Klein turned to the stunned family with puzzlement in his eyes.

"Or... did you really want to get eaten by ghosts?"

There was no reply for a moment as they stood there. The children were tearing up.

Klein scratched his head again, then said hesitantly, "Or... burned by flames?"

At last, the couple gathered themselves, quickly picking up their kids, and followed the young man.