Drake and his friends entered the small town of Draco. Nelly perked up, seeing that she was back home. A wide smile etched her angelic face.
As soon as they stepped inside the town, a soft voice floated through Drake's mind.
{Quest 'Save Nelly from the Gargoyles' complete}
{You have received a new Skill}
{You have received: Whirlwind Level 1}
'No mana…I wonder why.'
The three boys made their way to the tavern. Drake figured that the men from that morning would still be there. Going up the steps, he set Nelly on her feet and took her hand, leading her inside through the wide double doors. Mike and Chad followed behind them.
As they opened the double doors, all eyes turned to the newcomers. Gasps were heard throughout the room. Everyone knew about Nelly getting taken. They also knew of the pointless rescue mission. As the patrons of the tavern looked at the three boys, one of them was holding the hand of the child they had gone to save. Mayor Ivan had been sitting in a back corner, writing in a thick parchment book. His quill was dripping dark ink on the page as he looked up. Seeing that it was Drake and his companions, he stood up abruptly, knocking his inkwell over as his round belly bumped the table. The ink spread a dark puddle across the rough wood. Ivan's eyes moved to the child who was grasping the young Dimension Master's hand.
Not caring about his spilled ink, Ivan rushed over to the trio. "You did it! You really did it! You saved her!"
Not responding to the mayor's excitement, Drake scanned the room looking for the man who made a deal with him. He wanted to rub it in. He knew he was being petty, but the man pissed him off. The man was nowhere to be seen. He could seek him out later. He then turned his attention to Ivan.
Turning to the mayor, Drake said calmly. "Nelly has been through a lot. She needs food. There are also some things that I need to discuss with you. Things that we noticed while we were at the monsters' lair." He didn't say gargoyles. He knew the villagers didn't know what the monsters were. Since Drake didn't want more questions, he continued to call the monsters aloud.
Ivan nodded. "Let's take Nelly home. We can go to the inn and have a bite to eat while we discuss it."
The boys followed Ivan out of the tavern, Drake picking the little girl up as they exited. Following the mayor, they headed to Nana's house.
When they arrived at the residence, Nana was sitting on the steps, her eyes still red from crying. It was clear she had been crying most of the time they were away. No one expected the little girl to still be alive. She was though, and now she was home.
Tod was sitting next to the old woman, his eyes puffy. Dried tears were still on his cheeks. Tod looked up, noticing the group coming toward them. His eyes locked onto his little cousin. Nana was already pulling herself up from the bench. She stiffly walked down the small stairs, taking only a couple of steps. Her eyes were wide in shock.
Drake lowered Nelly to the ground, letting her stand on her own two feet. She only got a few steps toward her family when Tod rushed past the old woman, crashing into the child. He hugged her tightly, his tears renewed. Only this time, they were tears of joy. When he released the small child, Nelly ran to her nana with her arms wide open.
Drake noticed the doll had been forgotten, dropped on the packed dirt when she was lowered to the ground. He slowly picked it up and walked toward the child.
Bending down to Nelly, he handed her the doll. The child hugged him tightly. It wasn't for the doll; it was for saving her. She had grown attached to him in the short time she had been in his care.
Releasing the small girl, "We need to speak, Mayor Ivan. I will meet you at the inn," Drake said calmly as he stood up and walked away.
Nana rushed up to Drake before he could get too far, "Wait!" she called. He turned around. Not giving him a chance to say anything, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my baby."
Drake didn't say anything. He just nodded, then motioned for his friends to follow. They headed to the inn to get something to eat and make sure they had another room for the night. It was too late to leave, and he needed to get more information before they headed out again. After what he saw, he wasn't so sure that the cabin he had received from the Dimension Master was going to be enough to keep the monsters out.
The boys walked into the inn. Mary was cleaning one of the tables when she looked up at them and smiled.
Before she could say anything, Drake spoke first. "We need rooms for tonight. One for each of us."
The woman's smile grew. "Your rooms you stayed in last night are cleaned and ready. You can use the same rooms if you like," she offered.
"Thank you, that will work. We would like something to eat as well. We haven't eaten since this morning. Mayor Ivan will be here soon to join us as well." After a few moments, he continued. "How many gold coins will that be?" He had no idea of the value of gold coins in this dimension.
They had received coins after they had fought bandits. They had plenty. Since everything wasn't prepared ahead of time, Drake didn't feel comfortable having things handed to them for free.
The woman was a little taken aback. She answered without thinking. "There are three meals served each day to guests. For three rooms, plus meals, would be one gold coin," she stated.
Drake walked forward, pulling out several gold coins, and handed them to her. "For all our expenses," he stated simply. I know you gave us supplies as well. When she looked in her hand, there were four gold coins.
"This is too much!" she protested.
Drake shook his head. "We may be staying for more than one night," he explained.
Just then, Ivan walked in. Immediately, he walked to his regular table and sat down. Drake and his friends followed as Mary disappeared into the kitchen to prepare a meal.
After they were all sitting and waiting for their meal, Drake looked at Ivan, his voice calm. "The monsters," he started, "explain why you believe they can't touch wood or stone?"
Ivan shrugged, "They never touch buildings. They avoid them."
Drake sucked in a long breath. "When we went to their lair, it was a village of tree houses. All the structures were made from wood. I looked at an axe they had. The axe head was made out of stone. If they crafted the axe, then they can touch stone. What I'm wondering is why they are able to touch the wooden structures they built, but not the homes and buildings here. Unless I'm missing something, when everyone goes inside thinking they will be safe, they're not as safe as they think they are."
Mike and Chad sat quietly, listening. They were taking in what Drake was concerned about. It made sense.
"When we reached the monster's village. And that's what it was. It was a village in the trees. We found Nelly in one of the structures. Since someone witnessed her being taken, finding her confirmed that the ones from the village in the trees were the ones that took her. It confirms that the village belongs to the same monsters you spoke of. From outside the village, there was no sign of anyone or anything there. It was as if the only ones there were the prisoners who were waiting to be prepared for food."
"Prisoners?" Ivan asked. Understanding that the statement implied that there was more than one.
"Nelly wasn't the only one there. There was also a bandit. I killed him. After I freed him, he attempted to take my life. He gave me no choice. As I was saying, there was no one visible. There were no stone statues suggesting they turned to stone. We would have stayed and investigated, but we needed to get Nelly safe. We couldn't guarantee her safety if we had to fight a village full of monsters. I need to know how you know they turn to stone. Why do you believe they can't enter a residence without being invited? I need to know everything you do and how you came about this information about these monsters. That village didn't feel right. Something was off. We just couldn't determine what it was. If what you think you know is false, then there is no one safe in this town."
Ivan frowned.