The Villain Wants to Quit

Going to Town (2)

When they arrived at Piederfort, Theo hopped off Carrot's back as they approached the gate.

Scourge was tucked away in his cloak, and Theo had threatened him to keep quiet until told otherwise.

Piederfort was a small, somewhat poor town.

There was a gate guard, though the walls around town were in such disrepair, Theo didn't know what the point of having a guard was.

The guard seemed to agree, as he didn't make Theo show any type of identification.

Not that it would have mattered. Theo had plenty of fake travelers' pendants.

"I'm looking for an inn. Do you have any inn recommendations?" Theo asked the guard, a tanned, fit man who seemed to be in his twenties.

"There's only one, my friend."

Theo nodded. "Where can I find it?

"Just stick to this road. About ten minutes of walking and you'll get to the city square."

Raising a hand, the guard waved down the street.

"Take the road on the left. Go until you get to this road on the left...I can't remember its name...Anyway, it's by the store that sells girly stuff and take a right. And then..."

Theo was trying to pay attention, but he was absolutely lost at this point.

The guard stared at his feet.

"Sorry. I'm terrible with directions. But if you wait twenty minutes, my shift will end, and I'll take you. It's where I'm staying. It's called The Plucked Chicken." The guard mumbled.

"That would be fantastic."

Theo sat on the ground, leaning against the brick gate wall while he waited.

"It'll be safer that way, too. I'd hate for a newcomer to get injured," the guard said.

Theo paused. "Injured? Is there much crime here?"

The guard waved his hands. "No, no. People here are great." He said, but he rubbed the back of his neck. "There's just been some kind of bogie coming. We've got a crew keeping watch, but...it still got in twice this week."

If a true monster was going around, it was probably something he had accidentally summoned at some point.

He'd better take care of it.

Of course, Theo would be beaten to the brink of death if Dullahan ever found out about it, but that just meant he had to make sure he didn't get caught.

"What's the monster like?" Theo asked.

The guard shuddered. "It's been eating people. Some it's just drained their blood. Another had their heart ripped out. It's-It's been nasty. I've never seen anything like it."

"What does it look like?" Theo asked, ignoring the cold guilt that was coiling in his stomach.

"Someone said it looked like a human, but the bite marks. There's no way."

Theo nodded. A bloodthirsty, human-like creature.

He could do this.

"I'm Marcus, by the way." The guard said and offered Theo a hand.

Theo shook it. "I'm Th-Thad."

Theo kicked himself for almost saying his name.

Even if the wanted posters had his name wrong, Theo didn't want any rumors of how he saved a town circulating with his real name.