- Heaven's Last Breath -

A Late Night Walk

At that, our time at the bar had come to an end. The four of us thanked Koba for his hospitality, waving him goodbye as we stepped out the saloon doors. Of course, he warned us about staying alert at night, especially on this side of the city.

"Wow, I thought kobalos went extinct." Ariel spoke out loud, turning to me, "And you knew one this whole time and didn't tell me?"

Jade was walking on my other side, chiming in, "He looked more like a tengu to me."

I huffed slightly, turning to the two girls on either side of me, "Yeah, this is the realm of the Four Great Rivers so you'll see all sorts of creatures that you might recognise. Can we not do this every time we see a troll or a goblin?"

Neither of the two girls objected, letting the conversation naturally fade out. I looked over Ariel's head toward Death who had been mostly silent as we walked through the mercenary district under the moonlight sky. His cloak was still over his head so I decided against pulling him from his thoughts as we continued on.

It didn't take long to arrive at the district gates as we stepped into the smallest area of the city. Stonehaven's adventurer's guild was bustling at this time of night, the district filled with inns, bars, weapon smiths and just about anything else that an adventurer might need on their journey.

As we walked the streets, I noticed that everyone here was either working for the guild, an adventurer or a thief hoping to make off with some rookie's treasure. We headed for the main building at the end of the street, seeing that it was particularly active at this time of night.

Death, Ariel and Jade went ahead, giving me a moment to look around outside. I turned on my heels, looking down the street, seeing the huge spiralling towers of the central district in the far distance. At first glance, nothing felt out of place but as my eyes darted from window to window, I was sure I caught a glimpse of someone's shadow.

My lips tightened as I let out a short sigh. I hoped that I wouldn't have to stay in the city for too long but now I was proven wrong.

I shook my head, not wanting to dwell on the future too much, turning around as I stepped through the front doors. The moment my eyes met the interior, I could already see where Stonehaven was putting their money.

Directly ahead of me was a huge roaring fireplace and mantle, the raw flames caged off by a high iron fence. A few people were gathered around the fire, sat on cushioned seats and some on skinned bears, wolves and there was even a mounted great elk head for the mantlepiece.

To my right, there were numerous counter tops where people were dealing with adventurers who needed guidance, directions or anything else of the sort. On my left, rows of tables and chairs filled with adventurers in their groups talking about their next move and whatnot.

I took one step forward, feeling my arms being tightly hugged by two girls I thought could handle themselves.

Ariel was on my left, holding my arm tight, her eyes huge as she spoke, "Aaron, could you take the lead?"

Slowly, I looked over to Jade, "Yeah, we've never done anything like this before. We need someone with experience to show us how to do it."

Without waiting for them to continue, I pulled away from the two girls on my arms, catching the troll head as Ariel threw it to me. I shook my head, knowing that I should have known something like this would happen.

I waited my turn in the queue, shoving my other hand in my pocket as I stood in the middle of the hall with a decapitated head in my right hand. Death had pulled the girls over to a table, all three of them watching me eagerly even though all I was doing was standing in a line.