Cardinal sin (2) : A laugh in Vain

6 - Torchpit's inn

That evening, a weary traveller entered the lonely seaside town of Torchpit. He trudged to the only inn around. At the counter which served as both a registration desk and bar, he pulled up a seat and took it gladly.

"How long are you going to be staying with us?" the man behind the counter asked.

"Just a night."

"Under what name?"

"Elric."

Edward Elric paid up for his intended stay at the hotel. Afterwards, the man asked him if he wanted a drink, but Fullmetal kindly refused. He couldn't risk losing his soberness—not when the next day was a crucial step in his plan.

"Why's it called Torchpit?"

The clerk looked up. "Huh? Oh—you mean the town."

"The town," Ed confirmed.

"A couple of hundred years ago this was nothing more than one big chunk of unpopulated town. There was a terrible plague at the time that wiped out hundreds. The people of the next town over came here and dug these giant pits in the ground to throw the infected bodies it. Then, they'd torch 'em to ashes. After that sickness passed, the grave-diggers who'd set up temporary houses here built a town. We still have just a small population, but it's a nice place. It was named Torchpit by the grave-diggers in honour of all the work they did here."

Fullmetal answered lamely, "That's cool. Hum, do you get a lot of people passing through here?"

"Not much." The bartender chuckled, looking embarrassed. "Torchpit isn't well-known enough to be a famous tourist destination. Most of the time, it's just relatives of people in town. But we do get people who've never been here before like you."

"What about a woman called Rebecca Catalina? I'm looking for her and I thought she might have stayed here."

"Rebecca Catalina?" Without stopping to even think about it, the clerk said, "Don't think so, sorry, but she might be registered in our book. How far back are we talking? Days, weeks, months or years?"

"A few months. Half a year, probably. I'm not sure."

"It might take a while..."

It didn't.

Only a few minutes afterwards, the bartender exclaimed, "You mean that Rebecca?! Woman with a black ponytail and overly flirty?"

"Huh... well I've never actually met her, but sure."

"Rebecca Catalina." The man made a face. "She was really something. Walked in, ordered a drink and tried to flirt with me. She reserved a room, but then this guy—Denis—who bought a cottage here two years ago, came in and suddenly she was real pale. She got up and ran out, leaving behind this expensive watch and not even using the room she paid for. Denis told me they were going out and they'd gotten into a fight recently. He took the watch and said he'd return it to her when they made up. She never did come back, though."

Ed's eyes narrowed. This Denis person he had heard of twice now must be a member of the Cardinal Sin, and the entire story recounted by the bartender was confirmation that Rebecca Catalina had been captured by the enemy—and was probably now dead.