A cozy inn

Calico is bigger than a normal town. Churches, schools, and many other services are located along the Main Street. Althur and Brahms roamed the streets for more than 15 minutes before they found a nice room in the inn. Both were greeted by an old lady. She led the two to an empty room.

They reached the door, and Mrs. Mabel fumbled with her keys. "Sorry, dears, this lock is a little tricky sometimes," she sighed.

"You know what? This is the best room. Don't worry about the inside. Uhm, this door needs a little magic."

"Let me make it."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll call my husband." She did not finish her words but saw that Althur was able to push the door easily.

"That's a very impressive young man." She exclaimed.

Althur looked for a room with two beds. It's a clean place, but it looks old. This place is usually used to welcome people from big cities, as the old lady said.

Althur assessed the room and asked the landlady. "So, what's that rope for?" He pointed to a golden rope woven from cheap ropes but similar in design to the bell zippers used to call servants in aristocratic rooms.

"Yes, this is a luxury service. You can call to request an in-room breakfast. Other than that, nothing else You can't call it that without that time. You know, that's the most luxurious thing I can give. We old." Mrs. Mabel spoke cordially.

"Ah, also, if the door is jammed, please don't break it if you don't want to reimburse us for the cost. Ring that bell for someone to come, and we'll open it for you."

"So, it's a regular incident, right?"

"Oh, no, dears. How can we possibly say that bad luck is a regularity? You know, sometimes we just get unlucky."

"Just note it. We old, young people like you do it better than me and my beloved husband."

"Some fool jumped from the second floor because he was stuck." She recalled.

"In this room. The same room?" Althur asked.

"Oh, no, silly. How is that possible at this inn?

"And why would you say that?" Althur asked curiously.

"What else. He broke several bones. Bedridden. Damned. Oops. I sent him to the hospice because he couldn't pay for his room."

Then the old lady gave Althur a warning look. If something were to go wrong, his outcome wouldn't be any better than that of the man. How intense, he thought.

"Do you need anything else, dear? If not, please allow this body to be dragged downstairs to rest. Normally we would go to bed at this time."

"One last question: do you have anything to eat?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll tell our dripping to make you and this little cutie boy some soup. Is that alright?"

"It's fine." The two nodded.

"Just wait in the room. Our knight will come to your aid." As she said that, she patted the boy's round head and said, "It's an extra."

The woman happily walked out of the room. Leave two human figures in the room, one big and one little, looking at each other.

"She seems to be bemused." Brahms declared.

"Yeah. Like she said, they're old."

"Take a break soon. We've had a long day."

He used several movements to brush off the dust that was left on the bed. Take off his sturdy vest and hang it on a nearby hanger. Brahms imitated Althur's actions, dusting off the bed before sitting across from the young man.

"What's next, Althur?" Brahms asked.

"I don't know," Althur replied. "But we should need something to eat first."

"And tomorrow."

"Go somewhere and meet someone."

"Finding bad guys, right?"

"Haha. No, we don't, Brahms. There is no bad guy. We're going to make friends."

"But I don't like strangers."

"It's really important for young children to be careful with strangers. It's a lesson parents often teach their children."

"But I'm not a child." He denied.

"Of course, you're a young man, and I'm a young gentleman, too. We're both young."

"It seems so." Brahms slightly agreed.

"And did you know what a young man will do? They will sleep so soon that they will grow taller than a tree."

"Yeah. And they have to learn." The boy timidly added.

Althur looked at the boy. It seemed that a long afternoon had stimulated his curiosity. Realizing that there was still time to wait for the food, he decided to answer some of Brahms questions.

"And what is that?" He asked openly.

"Why is an ordinary death an anomaly?"

"He sighed. "This is easy to say. As we go on a journey of the mind, we are no longer normal people. When we die, our minds also dissolve, losing control of the body. Then the absurdity will engulf us and be released."

"A journey of the mind." Brahms questioned.

"I didn't say it last time, right?"

"When you go through the first ritual, your mind will undergo a transformation. A complete subversion of the perception of the world However, it's also a dangerous journey because you also access another force, The Absurd."

"And is it easy?"

"You can guess?"

"Never." The little boy was serious.

"Maybe. But you know what can change the game, huh?".

"Faith," he said. Althur agree. "Good one."

"Faith will relieve the pressure of the Absurd on us because their god is the master of the land. They are fully authoritative and allow one to experience the sacred. Uhm, ... We seem to have gone a long way from the main point."

"In short, when we die, we cannot control the irrationality within, which inevitably causes an anomaly." Brahms summed it up.

"Yes, there is an aspect. Exorcists deal with demonic possession and haunting. As a result, if their work fails, it is most likely because the exorcism failed. The ramifications are too numerous to mention. And these can appear strange as well. The exorcist, for example, is possessed by a high-level demon. As a result, a normal death here is cause for concern."

"However, according to the bishop, his death doesn't seem to have any sign of the devil, so it's possible that another force or secret powers are involved, but I can't draw a conclusion now."

As the spirits of the two roses spoke, a noise came from outside the door. A servant with two neatly placed bowls of soup waited outside and interrupted the conversation. The two enjoyed their meal and prepared for a nap.

"This is better than a seat on the train," Brahms praised.

"This place looks fine. We will be here for a while. How do you think?"

"It's okay. The soup is okay, too." Brahms voice sounded happy when Althur asked.

"Are you tired, Brahms? We've been on the train for a while, haven't we?"

"Uhm, the smell is stinky. But it's fine. I never saw many trees or mountains before."

"And you know, Althur."

"Tell me." While he listened to Brahms, he could feel the heat from the coals radiating under his bed. This is a mining city, so coal heating is common.

"I've seen some deer by the line. They look like they do in the book. Althur, some have horns, some don't. Some are big, some are small."

"They're cute, right?"

"Indee." The little boy's voice was filled with reverie as he spoke. After a while, Arthur noticed that the boy had drifted off to sleep with a peaceful smile on his face.