Chapter 40: The end of the group

The first thing to notice was that new smells were being brought to them on the wind. They were smells of decay and rot and held a deep stench like that of thick mud. It was a sure sign that they were approaching the marshes of the northwest. The next thing they noticed was how the trees were becoming more sparsely spaced, and the few that stubbornly grew in the acidic sole were gnarled and twisted, bearing few leaves or branches. Cresting one final hill, they saw an unlikely sight. An Inn was built right beside the part of the marsh where Ghost explained that it was the thinnest and easiest to cross.

It was a large structure, a standard two floors high but very wide and laid out like a crescent moon around the half-courtyard that led to its entrance. The building was covered in mud from the marsh and seemed to squat, almost sunken, into it, but the windows were kept clean and gleamed in the sunlight. Whoever owned it was clearly still eager to make a good impression on any travellers passing them by. To Kira, it looked like it could be a home-from-home and, even without Cat's and Aura's fervent requests, he headed to it, finally thinking that the money he had gathered in Ostermark would come into use.

Above the arched doorway was a large sign reading Adventurer's Rest, and the actual door was set a few feet back into an arch with a rough mat in front of it to try and claim as much mud from people's boots as possible before they entered. Stood to one side of this passage was a hardy looking man, covered in mud, who watched them pass with cautious eyes, speaking after them, "I hope you aren't going to try an' cross ya don't look the type…" but he was ignored, and Kira led the way in, pushing the door open.

Inside was a large room that extended upwards of twelve paces to either side and was broken up by occasional supports for the ceiling. Around its edges were placed booths for sitting and eating that had high wooden sides to maintain a bit of privacy for their occupants and, directly in front of the entrance, there was a large oak counter being wiped by the bartender. He didn't bother to look up at them as they arrived, and Kira saw several doors both behind him and off to the side.

One led away and into a small shop where adventurers could stock up on supplies before their crossing, and another led into a deep kitchen, filled with fire pits all blazing away to their merry hearts' content. Approaching the bar, Kira let Aura do the talking as Cat explored the area, acquainting himself with various groups of people around the hall.

"Can we have a room for tonight?" she asked the man who eyed her kindly.

"Of course, thinking of making a crossing?" he questioned as he walked to the back wall and plucked a key from its hanger, "That'll be one gold piece." And he dropped the key into her hand.

"I don't know," she replied as she took the key and handed over the money.

"You don't know?"

"Kira should know…" she told him, looking accusingly at him.

"We're crossing," he said, referring to himself and Ghost.

"Well, I'd consider it carefully if I were you," the barkeeper advised, "It's a tough journey that not many can make, but there are big rewards in terms of artefacts and precious metals on the other side, which is why we attract quite a high proportion of manipulators here. Not just that, but there are some pretty nasty monsters lurking in the mud too, and on the island across there, which Krinestadt manipulators sometimes come to test their strength against. None are here at the moment, though." he finished, much to Kira's relief.

It had been another long day, so Kira allowed Aura to order for him and bring the food over to his table, not looking particularly happy at being reduced to a servant for the only one of them that was technically still a slave. Cat returned to them as they ate to tell them all about the other people around the many tables who seemed to have all dispelled a lot more information to him about what they had found or hoped to find. The yokai seemed to have an uncanny way of making people like him, and it did irritate Kira a bit as he sat there listening to the boy because why wouldn't people like him in the same way? It would undoubtedly make his journey easier….

A good deal of tension existed in their room that night when they settled down to sleep with Kira in one bed and Cat curling up with Aura in the other, apparently having had enough of sleeping alongside someone who hardly spoke to him anymore. Kira did not dream or feel excited at knowing that he was closing in on his goal; instead, he now approached with a solemn calm certainty that he would achieve it and own whatever it was that he was looking for.

Waking again in the morning, he was the first out of bed, despite seeing that Cat had his eyes open and was watching him sternly, and he headed with his bag downstairs to restock with supplies, buying food and taller boots to help combat the mud.

The price of this exercise exhausted what was left of his money as he had been the one to pay for their room the previous night. When Kira was sat on a stool at the bar to look over his prizes, Cat chose this time to come down and jump up onto the counter to kneel before Kira, looking down at him. No one seemed to mind what he was doing. However, Kira suspected it might have been an entirely different story had the shape-shifter been muddy because the barkeeper was yet again wiping down his counter when it already seemed impeccably clean.

Cat's late arrival annoyed Kira quite a bit, and when the boy asked him about how he had slept, he rebuked him angrily into silence because had he come down earlier, Kira was certain that he would have gotten his things for a lower price. The bartender didn't seem to like him much and viewed him with disdain after hearing how he was treating the child, and Kira almost wanted to tell him about how Cat was not a child and instead was a monstrous yokai, but he didn't as it would just cause him trouble. That was a lot of restraint that he showed.

Aura came down with her stuff later and threw herself down onto the stool next to him, clearly with something to say that pained her. Kira wondered if she had been discussing nasty things about him, behind his back, with Cat, but he held his tongue as there was no point in speaking anyway as, no matter what he said, everyone would naturally hate him. Breakfast was silent too, and Cat seemed pretty miserable, possibly wrestling with something internal to him too. As they finished, the Inn's owner sauntered over, noticing their lack of conversation, and said to them, "So are the unhappy faces because you've realized that kids shouldn't try and cross?"

What an absolute idiot, thought Kira, nothing was going to stop him from crossing, but Aura answered for him with something that he did not expect, "Yeah, I'm going west." and she turned to Cat, not wanting to even look at Kira, "Want to come? You probably shouldn't continue on with him…."

Hearing this, the man backed off again, thinking that he might have started something that he did not want to be a part of and, a few moments later, Cat replied to her, "Nah, I'm going to follow Kira a bit longer, I can always get back anyway."

"You're absolutely sure?" asked Aura sceptically, "He's changed, you know; he doesn't even know what he's looking for. It's complete madness!"

"Kira, what are we looking for?" murmured Cat, but Kira couldn't respond.

"You see!" cried Aura, and she fastened her shoes with a sense of finality before marching to the door with her bag slung over her back. She stopped there for a moment to call back, "I'm heading west along the road that leads out from this Inn, you can probably catch up if you want to follow me." to Cat and then she left.

Kira felt very little other than emptiness, but that was nothing new, and she would have just slowed him down anyway; the only person that he needed to keep with him was Ghost, to show him the way. Cat was clearly not happy with his lack of reply, and the bartender commented, "He doesn't say much, does he?" as the group, now only totalling three, including Ghost, left.