Meeting the locals

An hour passed like this, the inn quiet but warm.

The door to the inn soon opened to show two familiar figures, the mother and daughter walked into the inn. Robin had found himself a tree branch to rest on.

The mother started to talk with the innkeeper as the daughter roamed the inn, her attention soon attracted to the three adventures before she spotted the Mage.

A child's mind was simple, over choosing an empty seat, someone they have met or a group of armed people, she started to walk towards the Mage.

The mother noticed this but the Mage waved at her, while her worries were still present she felt like the Mage wasn't a bad person.

'This is what happens when a town is mostly untouched by bandits or war, it's a shame that this will soon change with the construction of Blackriver.' The Mage stayed where he was as the girl soon sat on a chair at the table, her face was full of smiles.

The Mage just minded his own business, before that asked if he was ok waiting till the inn gets busier so that they don't cook a whole pot of stew for one person, the Mage agreed of course. He sat there making plans of what he would do tomorrow.

The mother soon sat down as more people entered the inn, her worried look had not vanished as she watched the Mage mind his own business. She soon sat down at the table, both she and her daughter looked happy but the mother couldn't shake this feeling of danger.

The mother kept cheering up her daughter and reassuring her that food would be served soon, the Mage had been in and out of reality as his thoughts constantly drifted, the only thing pulling him back being the little girl occasionally asking his opinion on something.

The three of them got their meal two hours later when the inn had filled half its tables, it was meat stew made from a local breed of deer and some potatoes, they cooked a large amount in a pot and constantly added more to it as portions were served, making the meal taste better as the night moved on.

The Mage had been watching the room occasionally, he hadn't heard or seen anything interesting yet but he did hear that the local graveyard was being disturbed. Graves dug open, claw marks inside the coffin, it spooked the town's people.

Another semi-interesting rumour was that the sheep had been disappearing whenever the Shepard went to sleep, every time he counted them there was one less and there was nothing to show it ever existed. He has spent the last three nights watching his sheep but he would always fall asleep and wake up an hour later to find one missing.

The last rumour was the most interesting, a man fell down a well but he didn't climb out, the town went down and checked if he was still alive and only his head was found bobbing in the water. They soon sealed the well and had the local priest bless it.

The Mage finished his meal before saying farewell to the mother and daughter, retiring to his room.

He made notes about the rumours before checking in on Robin, Robin didn't need to sleep therefore he stayed on top of the inn and watched as the night quickly fell.

The room which the Mage stayed in was simple, it had a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. The furniture was all made by the same carpenter as the initials D.S were engraved on every piece of furniture in the room.

This brought the Mage back to his staff, how his mentor gave him it along with a bundle of other gifts, his mentor introduced him to the art, gave him materials and left him to explore on his own.

He had spent less than three days with them, he never saw their face or learnt their name, he was still uncertain of their gender as the voice changed every time they met.

He soon shook away these memories as he looked around his room, looking outside the window, the Mage could see a few clouds in the sky. He opened his window and Robin flew in, landing on the window cill.

He soon made himself comfortable as the Mage got in bed, leaving the window slightly open.

The Mage organised what he wanted to do the next day, before going to sleep. The night slowly got quieter as the town went to sleep, the noises from the inn downstairs slowly faded as the people went to their homes or rooms.

Then the Mage heard it, voices within the night. The inn slowly woke up as doors and footsteps could be heard, Robin was spooked by the sudden activity and flew to the Mage's shoulder. He cawed before rubbing his beak against the Mage's hand.

The Mage got up from his bed and got dressed, he then looked out of his window. The street was dotted with people holding torches, the townsfolk talked with each other in whispers too quiet for the Mage to hear.

Robin conveyed his feeling of danger to the Mage, the Mage felt it too. The air was thick with worry, blame but most importantly, death.

A raven had a unique sense for death and so did a necromancer, they could smell it in the air. The Mage soon got his things before leaving the room, making sure to lock and take the key with him. The inn was still filled with activity.

The Mage saw the mother and daughter walking towards him.

"Someone has been murdered, guards are going around to find out who the murderer is."