The paved streets were busy as usual for that time of the day, the market as full as the previous week, even if it wasn't half as much as it used to be, before the disaster struck, in the form of death and its blue harbingers.
These people were unaware of the demons that walked among them.
'Damn it! I look around and find myself imagining how this town would look like, in flames, of that annoying merchant, Laurence the cheapskate, burned and half eaten, his face forever locked in fear. How the marketplace would look, washed in the blood of the townspeople.
Will I always be damned to be plagued by those visions, these ideas and wants?
I hope that at least Tymeon is enjoying himself, and is in a much better place, better situation, than before.'
"Yer the new lass, right-the one that came to take over the old miser's Inn, right?"
The demonic girl once called Leah turned to look at the source of the voice, broken from her reverie.
The speaker was an old man with a messy white beard, a head shorter than herself. He wore well used travel clothes of average quality, in the common brown color.
"W- sorry, yes I am, and you are?"
"Just an old man… coming to greet our new Innkeeper. After the recent disaster, it's been a downhill road for this town. The recent disappearances didn't help either. Maybe the successful reopening of that old house will prove to be the start of a change of luck for us."
"Disappearances?"
"Aye. The Mayor sent a letter to the Nephew of your predecessor , the lad was last seen by a caravan, reported on the edge of the woods, just a day from the town, only he never did reach us. Three days ago one of the hunters that frequent didn't return either, and the baker's daughter –a fine pretty maiden, gone as well."
The old man got closer, and after a few shifty glances around, whispered to her.
"They say the Darkening of Old Tristram began just like that, around twenty years ago.
Sneaking through the back alleys of what was probably the worse district of the town, Tymeon wondered just how it was that he was walking on that particular path, again.
The kids, two boys, were playing with a ball. While their first glances were suspicious, they soon saw no malice in him, and invited him to join their game. It was nice to play again, like he used to years ago. When one asked if he was with the new Innkeeper, the other frantically proclaimed that the place was cursed, that the two previous ones died, that the old miser who used to own the place killed the guests, greedy for their money, and after his death, his ghost still roams the property, killing any who would try to take away his inn, or lodge without paying him-how that was why his nephew disappear- he got into the town late, and went straight to the inn, to sleep the night. Only the Old Miser got angry, and the new guy never got to wake up. Why even some of the poor that were on the streets went sneaking in, to never return!
Tymeon found their quick acceptance of him careless, he knew, saw first-hand, how demons could hide behind pretty face, and their worshipper- in plain sight. How even Angels could bring ruin on mankind.
He found his hand in his pocket, reaching to his amulet. Again.
Their ghost story didn't faze him though. No ghost could be worse than his Demonic Companion. And any ghost trying to harm him and his 'Mistress' -will get hell.
While the spending some time with the other kids, or at least the ones who weren't doing chores, was a nice distraction, he found their company somewhat uneasy… childish…
As he separated from their company, he found a mark.
That Glyph, and others, led him, through encrypted clues, to a small, abandoned house, and its basement.
He entered under the light of red candles. To a red robed crowd.
He was surrounded.
"Greeting, initiate, and welcome to our shrine of the Dark Lord."
'stocks filled, rooms dusted, roof fixed. The inn is ready to be opened for business tonight! And not a moment too soon, its getting dark outside.'
A pleased Leah nodded to herself, satisfied with the preparation completed.
'I finally found a place to rebuild the life that HE stole from me. No curse will stop me-I will have my sanctuary!'
"Now, that everything is ready, only Tymeon is missing."
Just as the words left her mouth, the object of her quarry entered.
Giddy with excitement at having something she wanted for quite some time-namely an inn of her own, at something going well after her 'rebirth', she cheerfully called to her younger friend.
"Ready for our opening Tymeon? "
At a lack of response, and not due to fear- she didn't sense any spikes of fright from him, caused her to approach him.
The boy walked slowly, and his movements felt numb, his eyes were numb.
Just like when she broke his binds, in that burning mansion, amidst bloodstained walls and corpses.
"Whats wrong?"
"Nothing…"
Outside a cave, a cloaked figure lurked.
Some torn clothes and clawed footprints led inside.
"So this is where you made your stop, demon."
The man reloaded his hand crossbows, rechecked his grenades, and said to himself.
"Let the hunt begin."
Author Notes: Sorry for the delay, and thanks to a Certain Bman for motivating me to rush my updating schedule.
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