Into The Fire

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"CAW! CAW! CAW! CA-"

Ker-chunk!

Were the sounds the three friends had heard as they were approaching the somewhat large tavern with a sign upfront that read "The Flaggin' Wagon". The building itself— which consists of two storeys —looks run-down and rickety, almost as if any moment it could crumble down if somebody were to breath at it the wrong way.

"Well, here it is! The Flaggin' Wagon! The one stop-shop for all your dubious and illegal needs and exotic cuisine, such as the very popular, 'crow stew' which consists of crow's head, and the godly soup, which is made with the intestines of a Foulpaw left in a pot of boiling water!" Takemoto gestures to the tavern with a splayed out hand.

He then leans in closer to his two companions, informing the both of them in a hushed tone, "I can promise you guys, the barkeep is a very nice individual; he served me once back in the day, and he told me, and I quote..."

"...If ye' ever show yer' face back 'ere again, I swear to Izots, The God of Death, that ye' will lose a goddamn finger!" He spoke in a very deep and exaggerated accent, before giving himself a quick chuckle.

He then lets out an exasperated sigh. "Hah, you know, I'm glad he did not tell me that he would hang me off the second floor the next time I showed my face in this fine establishment. A blessing in disguise, honestly."

Nishimoto and Kitamura stand there, letting off an aura of both harrow and terror.

Kitamura then steps forward while placing her pale but elegant hand on Takemoto's shoulder, signifying to him that he should just take a break. "How about I handle this predicament of yours, Takemoto-san?"

"Before you uhh..." She then points at his hand with prose and elegance, "...Lose that finger of yours... does that sound adequate?"

With a tilt of his head, Takemoto considers her offer of not having to lose a precious finger; at first he opens his mouth to refuse such a kind gesture, but he then changes his mind with a sudden expression change followed by an acknowledging nod.

Kitamura then gives him a small smirk; taking his nod as a declaration of her taking full control of this exact situation.

As she starts walking off into the tavern, a wood board becomes lose and crashes down with a loud BANG!, causing her to jump out of shock and almost losing her balance completely because of that occurrence, but she quickly adjusts her form and stands straight while letting out a cough, playing it off as if nothing happened.

She then turns around and gives the two boys a reaffirming thumbs up and a polite albeit forced smile before continuing her trek towards the front door of the tavern which is only just a few steps away.

Nishimoto then crosses his arms, giving off an aura that almost screams, "Why did Natsuo-kun just allow her to go inside a tavern filled with outlaws, bandits, and very disgusting people that would kill or kidnap anybody just to be able to feed their crippling addiction to low quality ale?"

Takemoto glances over at Nishimoto with an unimpressed expression, "I know what you're thinking, Benjiro-kun," he proceeds to roll his eyes and shake his head, "She can handle herself, I know it."

With an inaudible chuckle, Nishimoto responds, "Well, you're not wrong with her being somewhat independent, but have you forgotten, Natsuo-kun?"

The red-headed dark mage turns to him fully with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"The fact that she comes from a royal family?"

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As I approach the wooden door, I pick at my fingers. "Oh dear, I hope this isn't a bad idea..." 

I reach out my hand in order to knock on the very ominous looking wooden door, but something unexpected happens; a man that is overall taller than me slams open the door from the inside and stumbles out before falling face flat on the ground.

Standing frozen out of fear with eyes wide open, I look down at the man and he seems drunken out of his mind, mumbling incoherently about something regarding the last maiden he was with last night; I think it was something about missing her, oh dear.

I crouch down to the man and whisper to him. "Are you alright, good sir?"

No response... Well, as expected from a man who reeks of ale; I reach for my satchel before unlatching it and taking a cyan-colored potion, which emits a very prominent glow.

This potion is one of my magnum opus', I have been developing it for quite some time now; ever since I had graduated from the academy, it was my lifelong goal to contribute to society through the potions I make, and this is one of these contributions: a potion made to get rid of hangovers or inhibit it altogether!

"Now, if you are to consume this potion, in about ten to fifteen minutes, you will not experience a hangover at all!" I inform the intoxicated man with a smile on my face. "Hopefully this helps you with the headache you were meant to experience thanks to the hangover that thankfully no longer exists."

Afterwards, I take off the cap and pour the potion directly into the mouth of the man. After emptying the container, I pop the cap back onto where it used to originally and place it back into my satchel, before latching it shut once more.

I give the unconscious man a warm smile before turning to the now ajar door; I have just realized, It has indeed been awhile since somebody had opened the door for me, the last time I had experienced that was when I would exit the carriage just to attend my school, a servant would always make sure to open the door for me.

'Ahh, enough reminiscing, I still have a barkeep to converse with." I stand up and dust off my dress, before turning my head over to the door that is completely ajar; I put a hair strand behind my ear and peek inside through the open door. "Absolutely nothing... maybe the tavern itself is deeper in?"

I take a deep breathe and place my foot through the doorframe, and something strange seems to occur: a ripple spreads infront of me, all originating from my foot which seems to have been cut in half; strange, this is utterly strange and very interesting.

"Is this a fake wall?" I assumed with a raised eyebrow, before reaching my hand out towards what I assume is a fake wall that was procured by a mage— well, not just any mage, an illusionist who is capable of performing such high skill spells —and it is as I expected.

 My hand completely phases through it, causing the same rippling effect that was caused by my foot being passed through it. "This is absolutely strange, considering the fact illusionists are extremely rare in these lands; considering the fact that the Art Of Illusions had been abolished completely by the Sect Of The Mages." I had pondered, and it was also a little scary knowing the fact that I may know who this illusionist is.

I shake my head as to regain my focus. "I can think about that later; focus, Kitamura Ei!" Before proceeding through the illusion of an empty tavern.

As I make my way through the illusion, a few things immediately catch my eye as I stand by the entrance: First, the hustle and bustle of the entire tavern. Conversations between bandit leaders, their lackeys trying to stab each others eyes' out, and smugglers dealing with very illegal wares litter the entire tavern— It was in itself, its own entire ecosystem of crime and filth.

Second is the crate stack in the corner right beside the bar, it seems to be filled with sacks of something, possibly the ingredients for the ale that is made here; That would be a good idea, considering the fact the high traceability of just purchasing ale from the kingdom, so instead, they just make the ale here inside the tavern, which— albeit untraceable —contributes to its low quality flavor.

And lastly, the barkeep himself; a man who looks extremely battle-hardened just because of the noticeable scars spread across his face and an eyepatch covering his left eye. Another prominent feature of his is his elegant moustache and tied-up greyish hair; simply put, he almost looks like he is in his late thirties, I presume.

They all seem to focused in their own business to notice me, but before I was even able to take my first step towards the barkeep, I am immediately taken off my feet by an individual in a purple cloak; I shout, "GET Y-"

But before I was able to finish my sentence, the man in the purple cloak quickly draws a symbol on thin air using his finger and shortly after completing the symbol, I feel my mouth get sewn shut and my hands and feet bound together by ethereal strings; although painless, I am now unable to speak at all. I start sweating profusely "A-Am I getting kidnapped!?" 

I continue tryin to scream and wiggle my way out of his grasp, trying to tell him to release me, but my pleads fall on deaf ears, considering the fact I cannot speak at all. I cant control the impulse of my eyes tearing up due to the fear of being sold into slavery. "Great Goddess Of Fortune, Duena, pl-please don't curse me like this!"

As he starts running up the stairs, I then notice his hood which is hiding his facial features in a shadow show a slight glimpse of a long and braided grey beard. My eyes cannot believe what it has seen, my thoughts start running wild. "Wait just a minute, is that Murakami-sama?!"

I am not mistaken, that is indeed Murakami-sama. He was my old mentor back when I was only living at my parents' place all the way in Slaitia; my eyes widen as I finally come to the conclusion that I am, indeed, currently being kidnapped by my old mentor.

I don't know what is worse, being kidnapped by a random person, or being kidnapped by a person you used to place all your trust in back when you were simply a child; this was the biggest betrayal I have ever felt in a long time.

As he approaches a door, I continue struggling and acting like a nuisance. "This is what he deserves for doing such a heinous crime to me! The person who saw him as their third parent, is currently in your arms, Murakami-sama, you traitor!"

He slams open the door with his shoulder and my eyes get blinded by the excellence and beauty of this said room: bookshelves stocked to the brim with archaic books, a purple carpet with runic hieroglyphs plastered all across it, a table with a burnt-out candle and a opened book— this was all indeed a room of a mage. 

He carefully plops me down on his bed, before returning to the wooden door and peeking out of it, before closing it and locking it with all the apparent locks that reach from the top of the door until the bottom— Murakami-sama has always been the type to care for his security, so this is something I expected.

Click! Clack! Ker-Ching! Clank! Chunk! Shwoop! Clink! Crink! Badum-tss! Meow!

He lets out a deep exhale from his mouth, before unveiling his hood and turning towards me; he approaches me slowly and crouches down to my level, before asking in that very memorable gravelly voice of his, "Ei-chan, how did you find this tavern all the way in Ladour? I thought you were still living with Mister And Missus Kitamura?"

Chirp... Chirp...

I raise an eyebrow, signaling to him the idiocy of his statement; Murakami-sama then proceeds to tilt his head in confusion, before having his eyes widen and letting out a quick chuckle while rubbing the back of his head. "Pardon me, Ei-chan," he states before drawing another symbol on thin air, which frees me of all my restraints and having my mouth unsewn.

I give my old mentor an approving nod, before taking a deep breath; he stares at me unknowingly, not anticipating the thing I am going to do next.

"SOM-"

Before I was able to finish my sentence, he quickly draws another figure and my mouth is sewn shut, causing the rest of the sentence to become muffled and inaudible to anybody that is not inside the room.

Murakami-sama looks at me with squinted eyes, completely unamused with what I have done; he proceeds to facepalm and drag his hand down his face, before stating politely, "I think we may have to clear things up and set some boundaries before I ungag you once more."

I roll my eyes in defiance before staring at him and crossing my legs and arms and tilting my head downwards— I'll give him a chance to explain himself, maybe he does have something important to say.