Disclaimer: I dont own anything except OC's that appear. This is from Erinn's POV
I've seen a lot of adventurers come and go through my inn for the past three years. No one has ever touched my heart more than the boy that fell from the falls four years ago. His name was Nick and was supposedly a minstrel. He was always different from everyone else. Very kind, funny, and most of all, loving as a fighter. I never should have worried about him when he went to find Patty for me. He came back to me unhurt and with flowers for me. The night I got mad at Ivor for taking him out was my own insecurity at fighting.
Nick left that night and found my father's trophy which proved in was the best innkeeper in the world. He motivated me to leave for Stornway with Patty and start my career as an innkeeper. Nick aided me once more by being a moving advertisement board. He visited and saved many towns. Even during the toughest of challenges, he always found time to visit me. I never told him, but I asked Simona for a book that held lore of what the guardians were and was shocked to find he was one such being. When he came back with his friends in critical condition, I was hurt. The look of pain in his eyes were injuring me more than anything else. His friends took care of him bringing him back to health. When he recovered, he went straight to Patty to cure her depression. I didn't know it was the day Patty's former combat buddy died. When he figured out the problem, Patty joined him as a partner. That was good since I can now have her keep an eye on him. I didn't admit it at the time, but I fell in love with him the day we met. Once he learned that Sellma was a spy. He aided her on getting the address book back from the thugs that stole it. She offered him her services as a priest for helping her. Two months later, I was told by the guards at the castle that I was a contender for an Inny. When Nick heard that, he went straight to helping me prepare for the test. After finding out that we had to kill twenty octogoons, I was scared to death. I thought I was going to die. Nick held me in his arms and began teaching me how to cast spells. I learned how to be a mage and helped fight off some of the monsters. He never left my side and never let me get hurt. After the test, I told the king my answer was trust in your teammates and of one's self. I received the Inny and placed it on my mantle at the inn. I decided to confess my love for him and he was happy. He already knew that I loved him yet he wanted to hear from me first. He was always kind like that. I joined him as a partner and had been though twenty different adventures including two that went into grottos. I left him one day to take care of the inn.
That day haunts me still. He found a map that day that was saying a grotto was next to Stornway. Because of its close nature, he and his friends went in to kill the evil monsters in the cave. No one knew that an ancient monster known as the Dragonlord was sealed there. I was finishing up cleaning the counter when one of his friends came in close to death. He told me of the Dragonlord and I got my wand and went in with Patty and Sellma. The battle was going badly and our timing could not have been better. Nick was getting manhandled by the monster. Before we could down him. The Dragonlord spewed fire at me and our group. My life flashed before my eyes when I heard screaming from in front of me. I looked up and saw Nick collaspe to the ground burned beyond anything I ever see. Patty put her knife through the dragonlord's throat killing him after about a half an hour of fighting. We took him to the church to have him healed, but was pronounced dead instead.
The next day was the funeral for my lover and friend. He always smiled, even in death. I went back to my innkeeper career, but I go out and fight in the grottos as a tribute to him. He always helped me and anyone else who came to him for aid. I chose to continue his legacy of kindness and caring heart. I still cry sometimes, but I learned to be strong for everyone, and for him.