Chapter 1; Amari

Amari “25 coppers for the cows, 30 for the horses, 15 for the chickens, there’s also the employer tax, 10 coppers… the Inn tax, 10… I’ll also need another 10 for today’s items… Aurghhh…. Where am I gonna get this money from?” A tired Amari asked herself as she placed down the sheets of paper on the bar counter, leaning with her back on the counter.

She glances to her right, noticing another sheet of paper, she picks it up.

[Went to buy the stuff from the town, don’t wait up, Rian]

Amari(Thinking) “Awww… How thoughtful of him, he’s been working so hard lately, after he finished his school years, he’s been helping so much around the Inn, I guess I should reward him somehow... That’s right! Tonight I’m making chicken soup! It’s been so long since we’ve had any meat… Ever since…. No! Snap Out of it Mari! No more dwelling on the past when I have a future to work for!”

DHUUUUUM!

Amari(Startled) “Ahhhh!”

Unknown “Hide me!”

Amari “What? I’m not… Huh?”

Unknown “Hide me! I’ll make it worth your while! *She slams two pieces of silver on the bar’s counter* Hide me! Now!”

Amari(Thinking) “That’s! 2 Silvers! What the!?”

Unknown “Woman! Are you deaf!? HIDE. ME!”

Amari “Ahhh! Yes! The cellar, to the right, there’s a book, a red book! Pull it out! It will open a door!”

Unknown “Uhhh…. Uhhhh… Thank you…” She runs off to the back of the Inn.

Amari quickly scoops up the two silver coins and puts them into her pocket.

Unknown Soldier(Shouting) “In here! She has to be in here!”

5 Soldiers rush inside Amari’s Inn.

Unknown Soldier “You! Wench! Where is she!?”

Amari “Where’s who? I don’t understand…”

The soldier draws his sword.

Unknown Soldier “I will ask you one more time, where is she!?”

Amari “Nobody came through here! I would’ve told you otherwise! Why would you think that I would put myself in such a position!?”

Unknown Soldier “I don’t know? Money? Perhaps help a friend? Why would she run straight towards here, towards this location, if you didn’t know each other?”

Amari “It’s a bloody forest! Take a look around! You’re more than welcome to search everywhere you want! I’m not hiding anybody! Especially from Royal guards!”

Unknown Soldier “You search the lower floors! You, upstairs! You two! Cover the exits! I’ll go take a look in the barn.”

Amari(Thinking) “Damn you Amari! Why did you do it! Why!? Why!? What if they find her!? What if she didn’t find the book? Arghhhhhh! They’ll kill me the moment they find her, not just me, Rian… Argghhhhh! Rian! No! No! No! No! Do I just tell them!? Maybe they will just kill me if I tell them? Right? No! No! They won’t be able to find her! They won’t, if she reached the door…” Amari kept thinking, biting her nails in frustration.

30 minutes pass as the guards thrash the entire Inn, looking for the woman.

The soldier that was guarding the entrance looked at Amari, who was circling around, glancing to the ceiling every time she heard the guards, breaking, throwing things away.

The soldier walks towards her, he puts his hand behind him as he walks towards Amari, scared, she backs off, before hitting the bar’s counter.

Unknown Soldier “Here, for the trouble,” he spoke as he put a pouch of coins on the bar’s counter, near Amari.

Amari(Scared) “Uhmmm…. Thank you…”

Unknown Soldier “I’m Liam,” he spoke, with a gentle smile on his face.

Dhuuuuuum!

Another drawer destroyed, tossed through the wooden floor, could be heard from one of the upstairs rooms.

Amari, scared, looks towards the ceiling.

Amari “I’m Ama…”

Liam “Amari, I know…”

Amari “How? Uhhh?”

Liam “Let’s just say that I owe a debt to someone who believed in me when none did, got me to where I am today. He spoke a good deal about you and his son… Ohhh…. How he never shut up about it. Look Liam! Look! That’s his first time walking! Look!” The guard spoke as he sat down on one of the chairs, near Amari.

Amari “That does sound like him,” Amari replied, with a sort of relief.

Liam “He was the best among us, we mourn his passing even to this day, I’m sorry I can’t do more, and about them as well, they're not as bad as you may think, it’s this mission, this person, I believe we’re all probably gonna be hanged if we don’t find her soon… They know it too…” Liam spoke as he too, glanced at the ceiling.

Amari(Thinking) “What do I say? Do I just reveal her location? Spare these men their life? One life so that five may live? But if I say it, will they just let me go? They wouldn’t, I’m sorry Liam… I’m sorry, Marcus! What did I do !? What did I just do!?”

Unknown Soldier “Any luck?”

Liam “Doesn’t seem like it,” Liam responds as he shrugs and gets up from the chair.

Unknown Soldier “Well, you played the good guard, time for me to play the bad one,” the guard spoke in a coarse throat as he grabbed a knife.

Amari(Thinking) “He was just playing with me! And I believed it! Thank God I didn’t say anything!”

Unknown Soldier “Time to speak up bitch.”

Liam gently places his hand on the other guard’s chest, he whispers something in his ear.

Unknown Soldier “Fine… Have it your way Liam… *WHISTLE,*”

Unknown Soldier “Time to move out, you sacks of shit!”

Liam glances back at Amari.

Liam “Just so you know, I stand by what I said, that was no lie.”

Amari “Uhhh…. Uhhhh… Uhhh…”

Amari quickly rushes to the Inn’s door and closes it.

Amari “Fuck! Fuuuuuuuck! Uhhhhhhh! *She drops down on the floor, scratching her head in frustration,* Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! Arghhhhh!”

10 minutes later;
The cellar hidden door;

Unknown “No! No! No! No! Where is it!? Where is it!? No! No! No! No! No! No!”

Amari “You! Arghhhh! *She pins the female to the cellar’s cold rocky wall* You’ve got some explaining to do!”

Unknown “Bardho Rhooam!”

Amari “Ackk!”

Amari is pushed away from the unknown female, by wind like magic, she drops down on the cold floor.

Unknown “First of all, thank you, again… and never touch me again, peasant, unless I touch you first…” She replied, in disgust.

Amari “You!? You’re a witch!”

Unknown “Tskk…. You should not use that term, it’s offensive…”

Amari “Offensive?”

Agatha “It’s like how you would call an Orc a green skin or a human orc hybrid a brown skin, sorceress is the politically correct term… and I’m Agatha Fairbrook, at your service, peasant,” she replied, with a small bow.

Amari “Ack! Ack! Is this how you treat a person who just saved your life?” Amari asked, as she got up from the cold floor.

Agatha “Saved my life? Pfffft… I would’ve killed those 5 idiots before they could even touch me, if I wanted, buuut… not to say that you didn’t help me, and perhaps you could help me further? Maybe? I can make it worth you while…” Agatha replied, as she grabbed a coin pouch from underneath her boobs, waving it in front of Amari.

Amari “No! There will be no more helping! Get out of my Inn. Now!”

Agatha “Are you sure?”

Agatha opens the pouch, revealing what seemed to be at the very least 30 gold coins.

Amari “Gold!? You have Gold!?”

Agatha “Seems like someone is suddenly interested…” She puts the gold coin pouch back between her breasts.

Amari(Thinking) “Those are gold coins! I’ve heard that only Kings have golden coins, how is this witch…. sorceress have them? With just one of them we could probably live for at least three years, without having to worry about food, water, customers, or anything, I could pay for whatever my son wanted to do… perhaps even invest in other Inn’s, make a whole chain business that could support us for a lifetime…”

Agatha “Mhhhm! Mhhm! Are you done contemplating?”

Amari “What could I help you with that’s worth that much?”

Agatha “Well, accommodations for starters, you are running an Inn here, are you not?”

Amari “Yes…”

Agatha “And you will also have to help me find a peculiar item, a gemstone, if you manage to find it, the whole bag is yours, I will be in your care until you find it for me…”

Amari “A gemstone? That’s worth 30 gold? I don’t believe you…”

Agatha “Let’s just say that it has… sentimental value…”

Amari(Thinking) “Sentimental value my ass, whatever this witch stole, this gemstone, it must be at least triple the amount she’s willing to offer, I’ll play along for now…”

Agatha “Well, shall we?”

Amari “Shall we what?”

Agatha “Guide me to my room, what else?”

Amari “Your room? In case you forgot the royal guards are looking for you… You will stay here…”

Agatha “Here? No thank you, get me a room, I will make it so that no one else can see it, come now peasant…” She spoke as she walked past Amari.

A few seconds later they reach the third room on the upper floor. Amari opens the door.

Agatha “What’s this?” She asked, noticing the trashed room.

Amari “The guards, they searched for you…”

Agatha “In a room? How dumb are they? Or better yet… how are they not dumb, they will be back, I need to prepare, give me one of those papers,” She asked, as she glanced through the window.

Amari “Can’t you get it yourself?”

Agatha “This is very bad customer service, but I’ll allow it, peasant, since you’re cute,” she replied, winking at Amari as she went to the paper.

Amari “Don't... do that... and If you’re a wi…. sorceress, which apparently can make a room invisible, why don’t you just make yourself invisible and go look for your stone?”

Agatha “Ughhh… Cute peasant as you are, you’re not the smartest one, are you?”

Amari “Ha!?”

Agatha “Magic requires time, preparation, items, the higher the magic, the greater the preparation and item requirement, I don’t just conjure up lightning bolts out of my ass…”

Amari “But earlier… you…”

Agatha “That was just a push spell, it only works on people under 60kg, under certain conditions such as one’s life in danger, among other things which I will not explain since you cannot grasp it, here,” Agatha spoke as she forcefully placed the sheet of paper with an open palm on Amari’s chest.

Amari “What’s this?”

Agatha “What you’re looking for, now scram off, I’ve got a spell to prepare and it’s going to take time,” She replied as she grabbed her robe with one hand tossing it a few times from left to right.

Items started dropping out of the robe, potions, hair strings, eyeballs, bottled blood fluids, toenails, mucus, among other disgusting things.

Agatha “Ahhh! And one more thing,” she said as she carefully approached Amari.

Amari “Wha… What are you going to… Ack!”

Agatha pulls out a hair string from Amari.

Agatha “So you can see the room, start searching from the castle to the west wing exit, to your Inn, scram off now, I’ve got a spell to prepare.”

Amari “How would I even find this item?”

Agatha “I don’t know and I don’t care, lie, cheat, whore yourself off for all I care, what matters is that you find it,” She replied in a serious manner.

Amari “Whore my… You know what!? Fuck you!”

Amari attempts to leave.

Agatha forcefully slams the door, stopping Amari from leaving.

Agatha “No. Fuck You! Fuck Me! Fuck Every fucking human being, monster and whatever else creature in between existence, nothing fucking matters if that item is not returned to me, do you understand?” She shouted in frustration at Amari, as her eyes started to glow purple.

Amari(Scared) “Y…Yes…”

Agatha “Go…”