Onyx

Chapter 6: Hello Stranger

Starting off his journey, Rigel felt energized, optimistic even. But as the hours of walking on a dusty road wore on, so did the weariness. He was tired and desperately wanted a bath and a hot meal. This put him in a very irritable mood.

"We need to stop and make camp." said Rigel.

"No, if we stop and make camp now, it'd be suspicious to people on the road. It's almost daybreak." retorted Neo.

"So then why don't we make camp hidden somewhere away from the road?"

"Because what if someone accidentally stumbles upon us."

"Orrr we can go to that other village that's just a mile away." suggested Enzo. Neo rolled his eyes.

"The whole point is to not be spotted by a bunch of people. Typically people who travel at night have something to hide. We don't want to risk getting in trouble. None of us here can fight-"

"I hit the little girl with a sti-"

"Can you stop with the whole stick thing? You were useless, the little girl didn't even flinch and Onyx is gone. We need-"

Rigel felt a massive headache forming. "Can you stop arguing with people for 2 seconds Neo?! We're all doing our best here to help, and you always have some sort of rebuttal. Let's just walk into the village and if anyone asks just say we're weary travelers coming from Oakenband. It doesn't matter if they search us we don't have weapons."

They all agreed—Neo begrudgingly— and walked in the direction of the approaching village. As they arrived, a man greeted them with suspicion.

"What are you 4 doing out here so early? You aren't from our village, that's for sure." said the man who looked to be around his mid 40s, with graying hair.

"We are weary travelers from Oakenband looking for shelter." replied Neo.

"And where are you heading to?"

"Uhh-"

Rigel stepped in to help. "We are heading to Baypeak. We're looking to sell goods there. Why do you ask? Has there been trouble?"

"Yes there has been. News has been spreading of a 'monster' who has been slaughtering all the livestock, but leaving the carcasses untouched. Our village has recently been attacked as well, so we've been weary of any travelers."

"Well, you may search our packs if you must. You won't find any weapons in there. We're simply looking for lodging for the day."

After a thorough inspection of everyone's packs, the man entered the village with them. "The names Klay." said the man as he shook their hands.

Rigel didn't find any harm in sharing his real name. It's not like he was a fugitive or anything. "My name is Rigel."

Enzo shook Klays hand beaming. "My name is Enzo"

Neo shook his hand with a stern face."My name is Neo."

Reno clasped Klays hand firmly and said, "Reno."

"It's very nice to meet you all. We have an inn you can stay in for 2 pieces of copper per person. The place isn't much, but it's got a bed and a roof over your head, as well as a hot meal."

"Thank you very much Klay." said Neo shaking his hand once more. Klay showed everyone where the inn was, and waved them goodbye.

As they entered the inn, Rigel saw it was completely empty. The place was small, but clean and cozy. On one side of the room was a small fireplace in the corner with some rocking chairs around it. On the other side of the room were tables seated with chairs.  Behind the bar counter in the back of the room was a burly woman cleaning a glass cup with a rag.

This village is not nearly as poor as ours. Why is it that they're able to thrive and we are not? wondered Rigel. They walked up to the woman behind the counter, and asked for 4 separate rooms. They paid her the coins, and she walked them upstairs to the rooms. After dropping everyone else off, the woman walked Rigel to his room.

When he entered he saw that the room was quite small. It had a rickety bed in the corner, and a rusted wash bin by a small window next to the bed. Rigel set his pack down and rinsed himself off in the wash bin feeling a bit more refreshed.

After settling for a while, he decided to go downstairs and grab a hot meal. As he was coming down the stairs, he saw someone in a dark cloak sitting at the bar.

A little unsure, Rigel sat a couple seats down from the person. He ordered his meal, feeling anxious as he waited with the stranger so close by.

"You new here?" asked the stranger.

"Yes..?" Rigel realized the person speaking was a man.

He swirled his drink in his cup. "Me too....You've heard news of those attacks?"

"Yes I have... Is there something you need?"

"What, a guy can't have small talk?" The man turned his head facing Rigel. His eyes were covered by the hood, but Rigel could see his mouth pulled into a smirk.

Something about this man unsettled him. He kept looking for the lady to come back. She was taking unusually long.

"You said you weren't from here. Where are you from?"

The man took a sip of his drink and said, "Somewhere far away from here. Very far."

"Then what drew you here."

The man laughed a little sending chills up Rigels spine. "I've left something here very valuable to me. At least I didn't realize it was valuable until recently. I've come to claim it, but it seems to have been taken.....So now, I've come to take it back."

"What is it?"

The man looked at Rigel and smiled. "It's more of a 'who is it'." he chucked a little bit seemingly amused with his play on words.

Rigel froze. A strange feeling crept over him, but he wasn't sure why. The man just kept on staring at him. Rigel snapped out of it when he saw the lady come back with his food and exit to the back room once more.

The man pushed back his chair and sighed. "Well, I better go back to my room and rest." He got up and asked, "Your name is..?"

Rigel had a feeling it wasn't wise to say his real name. As he was about to say a different name, he peeped the man's eyes under the hood.

His eyes were golden and had a strange purple hue to them. He felt frozen in their sight, and the strangest sensation came over him as couldn't control his vocal cords when he blurted, "Rigel."

When Rigel was able to come to his senses, the man smiled and shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you Rigel."

Rigel looked down at their hands clasped. When he looked up the man was gone. Shaken, he got up and went back upstairs leaving his food untouched. His appetite was gone.

He went back to his room and sat on his bed contemplating in his mind what happened over and over again. It didn't make sense. That entire interaction didn't make sense.

Rigel laid his head down. It took a while before he fell into a fitful sleep dreaming of the monsters lurking in the dark.