Within a span of seconds, the people in the waiting room formed a small, curious crowd around them, their voices a low murmur of questions directed at the baby.
"You tricked him!" the lady exclaimed, her accusing gaze fixed on the baby.
"There aren't many slaves here, how unfortunate for him to be one," the other dwarf lady chimed in, looking at Leon with sympathy.
"Why would you need a slave so bad?" a rugged man asked, shaking his head in dismay.
It was overwhelming; everyone had something to say.
"I needed him to do me a favor! I don't have anyone who'd do it for me!" the baby squealed in his defense.
"So, you trick a poor soul and degrade his position, making him vulnerable?" another voice said in disapproval.
"He is not like that, he even came out of the forest of silence with only a broken neck!" the baby retorted, trying to defend itself from the nosy bastards.
Everyone gasped, and the dwarf lady moved a little closer to Leon, her curiosity piqued. "How? And why didn't you take the main entrance?"
Leon hesitated, unsure if he should answer. He hoped the baby would tell them away but it was the other way around at this point.
"This is still absurd! How could you trick a young soul like that? What were you thinking, Elias?" the woman from earlier said, her voice filled with rage.
Despite the crowd's shouting and pity towards him, Leon felt like they were more jealous of Elias having a slave. He realized it was a waste of time listening to their judgmental remarks, so he turned to leave, and Elias, noticing this, joined him.
"Hold on, Elias," the lady who led them to Macaw emerged from the dark corridor again, holding a sheet of old, withered paper and a leather covered object.
"What is it, Milady?" the baby asked, as the crowd slowly dispersed, murmuring behind their backs.
"Macaw wants Leon to pay back," she said, handing Leon the paper sheet. It was thicker than it looked and appeared to be some sort of map, but the main destination seemed to be constantly changing its location.
Leon couldn't help but wonder how she knew his name. 'Does Macaw have the ability to know names too?' he pondered as he inspected the map.
The baby looked at Leon in surprise. 'You really have no luck, young man,' it mouthed.
"For sure, what is it?" the baby questioned turning toward the lady.
"Macaw wants you to bring her the Ember Crystal--"
"From the haunted house?" the baby cut her off, looking slightly scared.
"Yes," the lady nodded, handing Leon a leather-covered object. "It's for you."
*ding*
[New Quest: Haunted House, locate the destination and find the treasure it holds within!]
[Quest Rewards: Depends on your choice!]
'Oh shit'
The baby looked at Leon again with disapproval, mouthing, 'You've got bad luck.'
Leon was fed up; it felt like everything was going wrong in his life and even in his afterlife. 'What does even fate want from me?' he wondered.
"Did you say Haunted house? Like The Haunted House??" the tall man exclaimed popping in again among them.
"Ahem, C'mon Leon, let's get going," the baby urged, nudging Leon outside.
The people were still gathered outside, standing here and there, and the night was still young, which prompted Leon to think about his pocket watch again.
"By the way, Elias, does this thing work?" Leon inquired, holding up his pocket watch.
The baby squinted its eyes and replied, "Yeah, it works," pulling out its own pocket watch.
Leon rolled his eyes, "Are you sure? It ain't moving anywhere, and I've been here for hours. Why is the night so long?"
"To be honest, I don't make those watches; I just find them when I look for plants to weave into suits. So, I don't really know how it works," the baby explained as they walked.
"The night has been young ever since I could remember. What humans defined as time doesn't apply here; perhaps a day in purgatory is like a year, but I have never seen the dawn," it added, gazing up at the star-filled sky. "And I've been here longer than most here."
Leon glanced at the baby's watch, noticing it was a typical timepiece with all its hands intact, and like his own, it wasn't working either. 'Maybe they are all just broken watches,' Leon thought to himself, putting his pocket watch back without throwing it away.
"What about this map?" Leon questioned, uncovering the old, withered parchment.
"We have to find the haunted house and retrieve that Ember crystal. I'm not sure why Macaw would want a slave to do this job; clearly, they've got no abilities as they are the lowest rank in the purgatory whatsoever," the baby replied.
Leon couldn't help but twitch at the baby's remark, but his attention shifted to the dagger the lady had given him. It was beautiful but lacked the majestic aura he had expected. Still, he hoped it would prove sufficient to keep them safe during their quest.
"What if we don't do this and run away?" Leon asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
The baby stopped in its tracks, looking Leon dead in the eyes. "You think Macaw is just a poor blind lady, don't you? If we don't do this, we might—or rather, you might—have to face something far worse."
"Listen young man," the baby continued, "the only reason this town is in peace is because of the presence of Macaw. Sometimes, when given two worst options, you have to choose the lesser of the two evils, you know."
"It's called Town of Mishap for a reason," it added.
Leon sighed. Deep down, he knew that running away wouldn't have worked, especially considering the mysterious nature of the purgatory and the powerful forces at play. Reluctantly, he acknowledged that they had no choice but to fulfill Macaw's request, no matter how dangerous it might be.
***
The lady trudged toward the dark corridor, entering the dimly lit room where Macaw was walking up and down, seemingly waiting for her arrival.
"I gave him the map and dagger," the lady said quietly.
"Macaw, he is a slave. Why would you send him to the haunted house? And the dagger... why did you give him that? It was yours," she questioned.
"Hmm, he will bring it back," Macaw slouched down on her seat, engulfed in silence.