I was pacing in front of the inn, trying to let go of my frustration. Karla had somehow managed to profoundly irritate me. It was the first time that I had been that angry with her, or with anyone for that matter. I was grumbling to myself not looking where I was going when Opal showed up. I turned around just as she was about to tap me on the shoulder.

"Yikes!" Opal gasped as I slammed into her and she fell to the ground. It took me a moment for my mind to clear and realize what had happened. Opal was sprawled on the ground looking rather upset. I offered my hand to help her up but I turned my face away out of embarrassment. Her skirt had flipped up in a very unladylike like manner. Opal noticed me and she let out a high pitched squeak as she quickly got up and adjusted her clothes.

I chuckled a little, not really knowing why. "Hey! Quit laughing. That was embarrassing." Opal said sheepishly. She continued to adjust her clothes. "I guess it was my fault that you didn't see me though. I should have called out just before reaching you. I thought I could surprise you, as you seemed lost in your thoughts, I thought it would be easy. It turns out my idea backfired on me, I'm the one who got the surprise." Opal joked.

Opal looked around, then looked back at the inn. "Your friend is late. I was hopping we could advance a fair bit before lunch. Did she have something to do first?" Opal inquired. "She's not coming." I said flatly. Opal's eyes widened. "Oh! that's ... that's a shame, I guess. But that means we can leave now right?" Opal said. She didn't seem entirely disappointed that there would only be the two of us to handle the mobs. It was going to be harder than I had expected, but at least it didn't seem to affect Opal's mood. In fact she seemed quite cheerful.

I on the other hand was still a little annoyed. I sincerely wished Karla had joined us and I felt bad that I was leaving her behind. On the other hand her attitude would have put a damper on the day that I didn't want to deal with. "It's a good day for hunting and it's too bad for Karla if she ends up missing it. There will be other days." I thought to myself as I tried to rationalize the situation.

Opal made a quick check of all the things that we needed for our trek. "You've got potions? Teleport crystal? An extra weapon?" Opal asked trying to catch me forgetting something. All the while she was smiling and humming. She was creating a joyful atmosphere that was relaxing and inviting. I relaxed and went along with her questions.

"Good, lets go then. I'll lead for a bit if you want." Opal said as she started off towards the center of town. "We'll take the road into the hills. Usually the riverside is the safest but too many people hunt there so the pickings are slim. We can get more prey after we cross the vineyards. They're worth checking out, if you harvest them you can get sweet grapes. Something to go with lunch." Opal explained.

Going with someone the first time I would have insisted on a safer route. I seemed to have let my guard down with Opal. So I didn't object to her suggestions, it's not like I had a plan anyway. Any hunting spot was good for me, and Opal looked like she knew what she was doing. So after spending some twenty minutes, gathering sour grapes just to get a sweet grape bunch each, we took out our weapons and headed into the forest.

Opal knew how to hold her own in the wilderness. She had partied before and clearly knew what she was doing. "Switch!" I cried after stunning the bear we were fighting. Opal came in at top speed, crouching low with her spear pointed at the bear. At the last minute, she leaped and drove the spear into the bear's chest. As the bear fell backwards she turned her body and planted her feet on the bear. She pushed off, pulling the spear out of the bear's chest, and landed next to me. A moment later the bear exploded.

I whistled as the blue shards dissipated. She smiled satisfied with her move. "I can only do that with the larger creatures. It's my latest skill and I haven't had much chance to try it out. I really like how it performs." Opal said proudly. She looked at the pop up window in front of her. "Grrr! I only got some col. Did you get anything good?" Opal asked.

"Same as you. Next time we'll get some better stuff. It's not like you're suffering, we've gotten a lot of loot already." I said. I looked up at my time display. "We should be getting back it's getting late. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be out here at night. I don't want to find out what kind of undead or night predator might roam these woods. I haven't practiced my perception skill enough to see at night." I said.

"We're too far in to make it back before it gets dark." Opal stated. I stood there with my mouth agape. Opal frowned a little "I'm sorry but I thought you knew? Hey don't worry, we can get to a safe zone fairly quickly. There's a little village near here, it's just up the road. We can head there now if you want." Opal said in a comforting voice.

I guess I must have looked quite worried. Opal led the way to the road that went to the next village. I looked down the road toward where the village would be and then looked the other way towards the town and huffed. "It's a shame to not make it back to town, I already have a room reserved there. But there's no way I'm hunting at night without knowing exactly what's out here." I admitted.

Opal turned and looked at me waiting for me to decide. I smiled to Opal and she smiled back. She offered her hand and I took it. "C'mon, it's not far. It'll just be one more place you'll get to visit. There's a cute little place that has a room we can use there. And the food they serve is tasty, not cheap mind you. But after a long day, I think you'll appreciate it." Opal said. With Opal leading the way we soon made it to the little village.

She was right, the supper was good and the place was nice and cozy. It only had one table with four chairs and a fairly small fireplace. But it felt more like a home than an inn. Opal went to reserve some rooms while I finished my supper. I took the opportunity to write Karla a message. She was mad at me when I left but I didn't want her to worry.

Karla,
We couldn't make it back to town before it got dark.
We did get to a small village, it's a safe zone, so we'll spend the night there.
I hope to get back to town late in the morning.
Wolf

A minute later I got a reply back

Wolf,
Ok.
When you get back, we need to talk.
Please be careful, and not just with the mobs.
Karla

I read the message twice. I couldn't figure out what, other than mobs, could possibly be a threat out here. We had met shady characters in the past, who tried to gain some advantage at our expense. But I hadn't come across anyone like that on this floor. We were going to spend the night in a safe zone, it would be impossible to cause us any harm.

I didn't have time to send a question back before Opal finished with the innkeeper. She looked a little embarrassed. "I asked the NPC about getting a room for the evening. He said that they only had one; not just one available, but they literally have a single room to rent. I took it anyways because there isn't anywhere else we can go. I hope you don't mind sharing." Opal said.

"I guess there's not much we can do about it. Let's check it out, and we'll decide how we'll arrange things." I suggested. I didn't think it was such a big deal, but Opal seemed relieved and happy with my reaction. We went up the stairs to the only door on the second floor. Opening the door I stopped. "Oh!" I said as I looked into the room and it dawned on me.

"There's only one bed!"