Sequence Three: Let it Burn

The clanking sounds of plates being delivered from every table, the noise of people talking covering the whole area with their laughs and woes, the scent of alcohol reeking the whole room, the dim lighting and the warm atmosphere makes this whole tavern feels like I am back in time!

Well, actually, if you compare this to the world I was in, this is definitely something we have in the past! So here I am experiencing the old school way.

Why I am here? Well, Cerise decided to treat me for dinner since I helped her earlier today and the buyer added a few extra coins for it. But what is bothering me the most is what that guy told me back then. What does he mean by an ‘urn’?

***

“Are you… somehow here for the Urn?”

“Err… what do you exactly mean by an Urn? Are you referring to an urn for ashes?”

“Nothing, just be careful on everything you do out here kid, you might accidentally change something, in a bad way”

***

I was very shocked to what he just said, I don’t even know what it means, and to be precise I am totally lost to our conversation. I remember looking at his face and he is giving me that cold gaze that I know for sure, if I didn’t give him the right answer he needed, it’ll be bad for me.

“Hey Josh!”

I looked in front and there Cerise is looking curiously, she even has this bothered face on her. I totally spaced out that moment that I didn’t noticed her calling for me though we are just facing each other on the same table.

“Oh good, you’re looking my way now. I’ve been calling for you like three times in a row.” She said.

“Are you still bothered by what that guy told you earlier?” she added, giving off a smirk on her face.

“Hey, does an ‘Urn’ rings a bell to you?” I said to her

“Nope, not even the slightest hint…” She answered immediately

“Oh, okay. Maybe it’s just me over thinking…” But before I finish my word

“…But I do know a certain ‘urn’ that is kept on the mansion of the duke here in our village.” She immediately intercepted me.

“So this ‘urn’ actually exists?” I said to myself then thought deeper on why would that guy suspects me to have an interest to “that” thing, and I don’t even know about it in the first place.

“But he probably doesn’t mean that urn right? I mean, that thing arrived here just two days ago.” She said resting her head on the palm of her hand.

“Excuse me”

A gentle female voice interrupted our conversation

“Here’s your order ma’am,” she said while placing the plates gently on the table.

What catches my attention the most is the thing on the plate she placed carefully.

The odor it spreads that tickles my nostrils, its glazy color, and the juices it extracts and the sizzling sound it makes. It is just a regular T-bone steak with all the vegies on the sides, but what is this? I feel like I never smelled such an aroma before. It was so intense that my mouth is drooling, just by smelling it takes me to dreamland!

The dumbfound face I am expressing catches the eyes of Cerise and she gave off a chuckle. Embarrassed of what I just did, I poised myself and act the normal way I would while tidying my wrinkled cloths. But later on, I noticed that the waitress returned carrying a familiar looking drinking cup although it is made of wood I know that it’s definitely it. Bubbles are oozing from its rim and as if I can hear the fizzing sounds it makes.

‘That smell that I am accustomed with and the color, definitely! It’s beer! I’ve been yearning for it for three days now!’ I said to myself

While the waitress placed the beer steins on the table, Cerise grabbed the stein on her side of the table and slowly raised it towards me.

“I don’t really want to treat you for dinner but consider this as something a normal person will do when he found a new acquaintance.” She said.

“Well, you are the first person I knew in this place. So yeah, an acquaintance it is.” I then raised mine and bumped it on her beer stain.

“Bottoms up!” I added, then we both chug it down our throats.

“Ha! Now that hits the spot!” I said almost finishing it with one shot. Then I started munching the meal in front of me.

“Hey, it is kinda late to ask, but where are you from?”

I was halted from what I am doing then thought to myself, ‘if I explained to her my situation, that I am not originally from this land, not from this world to be exact. How would she react? Will she burst out laughing then think that I am a mentally retarded person?’ I’ve been thinking about it for some time now, and I don’t want her hanging by a moment.

Wait, what am I thinking? It’s not like I’m proposing to someone right? Well, it is really hard to say the truth especially if I told to her that I am not from this world. Anyway, it’s better to tell the fact than to make something out.

“Well, you see… I am…” but before I could finish, the door of the tavern opens along a loud slamming sound. Then a man catching his breath shows up with a horrified look on his face.

“W-welcome sir… how may I help you?” One of the waitress of the tavern said. The man walks closer to her and then holds one of her wrist firmly.

“Ouch… sir you don’t need to grab my wrist that hard.” She said, complaining on how hard his grip on her wrist is.

“They…” he said still catching his breath

Seeing the pain of the waitress, one of the customers interrupted him.

“Hey bud, I think you’re gripping her too hard.” A man near the waitress said.

“Hey mister, if you are just going to scare our lady over there, something bad will happen to you.” a customer shouted from afar, then the other male regulars burst out on laughter after hearing it.

But there is something weird about this guy. I can’t say it directly but there is some kind of liquid flowing from his back, I can’t clearly identify it due to the dim lighting of the tavern, but definitely, there is something dripping down from his back down to his legs, and he is sweating really hard, he even looks paler for every moment that passes.

“You idiots, they are coming…” he said, but this time he seems to be in pain, like he is suffering from something.

He took a deep breath then shouted as loud as he can with his remaining strength.

“A horde of orcs are coming this way!” after shouting his final words, we pukes out blood and spill it on the tavern floor, then falls on the ground revealing a massive slash wound crossing from his right shoulder all the way down almost covering his whole back.

The waitress screams and the pub’s customers are startled, even Cerise is shocked from what she just heard that she immediately stands up from where she is sitting.

Then in a split of a second, the terror began. The battle horns of the guards are sounded along with the loud chiming sound of the church’s bell, echoing throughout the whole village, giving off a warning that a bloody battle will soon occur.

The people inside rushed out of the tavern in panic, bumping the tables and chairs as they run for the door. The whole place is now a mess.

Cerise waited for a while for the people to exit the vicinity before she steps out. I also rushed out as soon as the door is clear to see what is going on, and what I saw with my own eyes terrifies me.

People running here and there screaming while looking for a place to hide, children being dragged by their parents, even if the child stumbles and falls on the ground from running, their parents still pulls them like a baggage.

They are rushing towards the southern entrance. So one thing is for sure, the attack started on the Northern part of the village.

We are currently on the central district so it is easy to determine where the attackers are.

Smokes are covering the night sky, flames illuminate a certain part of the village, and a loud roar can be heard from not afar.

“Josh watch out!” Cerise’s screamed, seeing her rushing towards me caught my attention. As I turn my gaze to where she is looking at, a seven foot tall buffed beast wielding an axe appeared in front of me, swinging his huge double-edged battle axe up and is about to split me in half.

Hearing its loud roar terrifies the soul out of me, all I can do is to cover myself with my hands. In that instant, I am trembling in fear that my knees and legs are shaking. I closed my eyes then held my breath thinking that this may be the end for me. Then I heard a splattering sound followed by a loud thud and a clinking sound of metal. At that time, I somehow felt the ground shake a bit.

I opened my eyes and to my surprise, nothing bad happened to me. Although confused, I am certainly happy that I am still breathing.

In front of me, the beast is now dead on the ground with a large slash wound on its neck, blood spilling out from it.

“Having a hard time kiddo?” a man holding a pair of daggers said just next to the body of the dead orc in front.

And as I look closer, the view surprised me that I replied instantly.

“You’re that butcher guy in the meat shop!”