The Birth of Madness

Chapter 6 - Town

From atop her new horse, courtesy of the checkpoint's stable, Ashi could view a very welcoming sight. A town, surrounded by wooden walls, built up against a raised hill with a small stone castle on top. It was, loosely, a mott-and-bailey.

Food. A bed. Just relaxation awaited her. The idea of taking a day, or even multiple days, to do nothing sounded sublime.

Unless she did something to mess it up. She gave a faint grin as she scratched at the horse's mane. "Hopefully no mind readers," she commented, the horse whinnying in response. Though, she ruefully realized, she'd already doomed herself here. Presumably, this was the town that staffed the border, and eventually they'd send a change in the guard, who would notice that the previous guard was dead. If she was still in town then, the townsfolk would certainly put together that she - the person who went through the gate last - is suspicious. And if they matched her weapon to the wounds, they would know. And fighting a whole town would not be worth staying in relaxation for a few extra days.

It was decided then, she sighed. A short stop. Perhaps for the best though, she had not yet come any closer to her goal. Perhaps the people here knew of Indigo, which meant she'd need to ask. Even less time to relax, she silently mourned. At least the food would be cooked for her.

She dismounted.

If this horse was from here, someone might recognize it, and that would be an immediate problem. So, she tied it up to a tree, making sure it was surrounded by plenty of greens, for food and cover, and began making her way to the palisade on foot. As she got closer, the tree cover got more scarce. They must have cleared a good number of trees to prevent monsters sneaking up on them. What monsters even lived here, so far south, in the new heartland of civilization? Poetic, she smiled to herself.

The road wound up to the wall, and as she entered its long shadow she looked up to see helmeted faces looking down at her. She waved. They did not wave back.

As she reached the gate proper she lowered her eyes to see the gate and... no obstacle. A guard standing to the side nodded at her - Ashi smiled at them in return and kept walking. Now that she considered it, it made sense there would be no strict guardianship of this gate. That was what the checkpoint was for.

Not that she'd be left unobserved - guards patrolled the streets too, she noted. And despite her short stature, she'd always stand out; her ears and tail twitched as she felt a momentary frustration towards her ancestry. But it would do not good, she sighed to herself, because there was no way she would cut off her ears.

Speeding up, she crossed across the road and made for a noticeably tall building bearing the hanging sign of a lizard - the sign was bordered by second-story windows, meaning this was likely a lizard-themed place to stay.

And indeed it was, pushing her way through the door revealed an open dining room with a large mural against the far wall of a giant lizard climbing over mountains and looking down at a defenseless village. Its unexpected nihilism made her smile - had the creator of this piece seen a creature so horrifying it seemed to dwarf mountains?

The atmosphere of the place did not match its backdrop, as it was calm and suffused with a positive air. A few conversations of varying volumes competed with each other in the air. The windows gave the whole building a nice warm lighting.

She approached the counter and looked up the average-height man staffing it. Producing some money, she put it on the counter. "One night," she told him.

"Only?" he asked. She nodded confirmation and he took out a few coins, letting her reclaim the rest. "If you want to stay longer in the same room, you have to pay before midday."