To the remains of the Pleasant Owl

When we get there, we end up seeing something completely different from what we were expecting to see. Several groups of people have gathered around the burned out remains of the inn. And after we push past them, we see that Aelbrecht is there, together with a lot of skeletal minions of his. The pick up loose rocks or beams and carry them to carts that are being drawn by skeletal horses. The place has been pretty much cleared out, so they have probably been at it for quite a while. Among Aelbrecht, in the center, is Shalia. She is looking at something on the ground and studying it. I wonder what they are doing there.

I then get distracted by someone calling my name. I look over and I see it is Oliver, together with Emma and their daughter.

“Darx. So good to see you.” Oliver says and shakes my hand. “You too, Amelia.” And gives Amelia a hug.

“Hey, I heard from Mia about the Fabe situation.” Oliver says. “Thanks man. Now we can finally live in peace.”

“Yes, Darx. Thank you so much.” Emma adds.

Their words make me think back on how I killed him. I know they don’t intend to make me feel back, but reminding me of it makes me see his body lying on the street again with his eyes all lifeless. It frankly turns my stomach still.

“Yeah. Well. I guess that in a way he had it coming.” I say. I then try to chance the conversation by pointing at Aelbrecht and asking, “Do you have any idea what they are doing there?”

“Me?” Oliver asks. “You are with the Dark Dragons. He is your guild master. I thought you would know?”

“Sorry, buddy. I only just figured it out right now.” I say. “But why are you here? I didn’t see you as the kind of person who comes and checks out the ruins of his work place.”

“We’re not.” Emma answers. “But apparently we got a message saying we should be coming here. I heard the old couple that owned the place was also asked to come here.”

Just as Emma says it, the crowd seems to part and some guys from the Knights Hospitaller show up with 2 old people.

“Why are they with the Knights Hospitaller?” I ask Oliver.

“The inn was not only their job but also their home.” He explains. “When Fabe burned it down, they became homeless, so the Hospitallers took them in until they found a new place to live.”

I look back over to Aelbrecht, curious about what he is planning. I see him walking up to Shalie, who is still crouched to the ground at the center of where the Pleasant Owl used to be and then she starts casting a spell.

From where Shalia is crouching, a tree starts to grow. It goes incredibly fast, all due to the help of her magic elements combining into nature magic. She keeps advancing its growth until it’s about 2 stories tall. When she is done, she looks visibly exhausted. I can imagine. From my own experience, ice magic consumes more mana then air or water. Since nature is a triple element combo, it should be even more demanding when it comes to mana.

While Shalia is resting, Aelbrecht places his hand on her shoulder and just like that, Shalia recovers. It is amazing how fast it goes. Shalia then walks over to where one of the Pleasant Owl’s walls used to be. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a seed, which she later plants in the ground and grows another tree. In the meantime, Aelbrecht rubs his hand over the crystal on top of his staff and when Shalia is done growing the tree, he rejuvenates her and they move on to grow another tree.

It is all quite strange to me. Are they creating a small park in the city where the Pleasant Owl used to be? And why do they follow the walls of where the inn used to be? Eventually, when Shalia and Aelbrecht have made their round and all the trees have been grown, I get my answer.

Shalia used her magic on 2 trees that stand next to each other and motivates them to grow branches towards one another. Then she makes the branches merge with each other, forming a wall, leaving only one large hole at chest level. I remember how, back when the Pleasant Owl was still here, I once sat at a table there, where the wall had a window with a similar size.

Shalia continues making her round, followed by Aelbrecht who keeps rubbing the crystal on his staff then placing a hand on Shalia’s shoulder, as they re-create more and more of the inn’s walls until eventually the first floor of the Pleasant Owl has been restored. As a final touch, Shalia motivates the trees to grow leaves all along their trunks on the outside of the building. Causing the regrown Pleasant Owl to be covered in green leaves.

Shalia then walks over to the old couple, who are already looking very happy at seeing their home returned to them.

“My apologies, but I am going to have to rest a little.” Shalia says. “I will still do the other floor later today. I just need to take a little break.”

“You have already done so much.” The old lady says and gives Shalia a hug. “And you too, good sir.” She says to Aelbrecht. “Gosh, I feel like offering you a free meal, but I’m sure an offer like that must feel insulting to you.”

“There is no need to thank me ma’m.” Aelbrecht replies. “I am simply repairing what I believe is an important part of the city. The fulfillment I find in that is more than enough.”

With Shalia taking a break, I take the opportunity to walk up to her and as if we could talk. Then the lot of us find a place inside the regrown Pleasant Owl and sit on the floor to have a discussion. Aelbrecht joins us and frankly, I don’t mind him being there. A quest into the demon lands is going to be complex enough as it is, it would be a good idea to have the input of an experienced adventurer.

So, I explain the whole deal to my friends, with maybe a few creative liberties. Rather then tell them the queen has been hiding a demon like Livia in the castle this whole time, I tell them that the queen’s spies discovered the Demon King’s forces are not as loyal as they were first believed to be. There is apparently an demoness who goes by the name Zaine and if she can be found and liberated, she can make some of the Demon King’s subjects turn against him, thus making the possible demon invasion of our kingdom impossible.

Ryul is the first to speak up saying, “If liberating this Zaine person really can prevent this war from happening before it even starts, then I say it is the right thing to do. I’m in.”

“Preventing a war is better than winning one.” Merlara adds. “I am in as well.”

Suddenly, Ari snaps her fingers 2 times, and once she has our attention, she places her hands to her head to signify some horns.

“Yes, if we walk among the demons and we don’t have horns, we will be standing out.” I admit. “But apparently, Healslut is able to use mutation magic and grow some horns on our heads.” I then turn to Aelbrecht and say, “Right?”

“It is restricted magic.” The guild leader answers. “It would be bad if clerics like her alter people’s bodies all over. If Harold has suggested Helena uses mutation magic so you can better pretend being demons, it will have the queen’s permission. Now you need Helena’s.”

“Hmm, I wonder how I will look like with horns.” Sophie ponders while turning her eyes up. “I hope she gives me some cute small ones.”

“But when should she give us those horns?” Leona asks. “I somehow doub it will do us any favors to pretend being demons while still in Riledo.”

“Good point.” I reply. “We will have to take her with us so she can give us horns after we arrive in Oidao.”

“Oidao?” Shalia asks. “Why are we going over there?”

That’s right. Oidao is the province Shalia is from. I had forgotten about that.

“The mountains north from Oidao are apparently our best way to sneak into the demon kingdom.” I explain. “It is the place from which they will have the fewest military presence.”

After some more questions, our group pretty much agrees to doing the quest. Now all we need to do is convince Helena to help us with our disguise.