The Illusionist

Part One: Strange Encounters

BANG!

My eyes shot open and I bolted upright. All around me, I saw nothing but darkness. There wasn't the slightest clue that I could find in this inky blackness that would help me discover what had woke me up.

Alas,  I didn't need to find something. I needed to hear it.

The moans in the room adjacent to mine were deafening. A sharp, high pitched gasp, and a low rumble. That was all I needed to hear. Before a third sound completed the triumvirate, I threw on my traveling clothes and bolted downstairs. No one wants to listen in on their neighbors having sex.

The bottom floor of the inn was a rather cozy looking tavern, with several tables clustered together, and chairs piled everywhere in a haphazard mess, with a whole mess of people sitting on those chairs. Everyone was talking, laughing, eating, drinking, carousing, and any other -ing that you can think of.  It reminded me of a guild hall.

 The barmaid herself stood behind (you guessed it) the bar, fully stocked with any kind of alcohol that you could possibly dream of. She was a very pretty woman with stormy gray eyes, and a dazzling hourglass figure. She had wrinkles around the corners of her eyes and mouth that gave away the impression that she smiled a lot, but she also had crinkles in her forehead that gave her a rather serious demeanor. I smiled at her, and made my way over to the bar.

I made my way through the veritable sea of people, and I was almost to the bar when a woman older than the earth I stood on grabbed my wrist with strength that I'm sure would've given a grizzly bear a run for its money.

"HEED ME, SORCERER," she rasped out. She gave me a good yank and almost took me off of my feet. I regained my balance, and attempted to wrench my hand free. She didn't budge. Hell, she didn't even move out of her seat. I quickly glanced around the place, but there was no one paying me any attention. 

"Let go, you old bat, I'm not a sorcerer," I snarled. I tried to pull my arm free again, but there was nothing that I could do. She was strong. I pulled and pulled, but I only got the same result.

"Heed my warnings, young sorcerer. The town with Ten Eyes is in your future, as is the Ragged Man. The Last Ones are coming to claim the Prodigal, and only the man with the Righteous Eyes can stop them. In this town of Ten Eyes, the Prodigal will come to you. Become the man with the Righteous Eyes, and save us from the Last Ones, sorcerer. The Ragged Man is watching!"

The woman's voice rose in pitch and volume as she continued, and soon she was advancing on me, and almost screaming. Her grip had become unbearable, and the bar went dead silent. After she finished the last sentence, she screamed, and just for a second, I could've sworn that her eyes flashed an eerie green, but when I got a good look, they were just milky white. Cataracts had taken over. 

She lunged at me, and took me down over a table with a young couple. The girl screamed, and jumped out of her seat. The boy tried to help get the old lady off, but she smacked him hard about the face.

Correction; she smote him. His neck and head twisted hard and fast, and he smashed his head off the ground, blood gushing out his mouth and the ear she'd hit. He didn't get up again. 

The hag kept screaming, "Beware the Ragged Man! Beware the Ragged Man!"

"Get off of me," I roared, and using what strength I had left, I got my feet under me, and squatted her. Once her arm was extended, I yanked free, and rolled around the table to my feet.

Seeing their moment, two men attempted to grab her. It was a terrible mistake. 

She moved way too quickly for any old woman, and slipped behind them. The first man stumbled, and she took advantage, cracking him hard in the back of the head. I heard a hard knock, and he hit the ground unconscious. The second man swung at her, but she caught his fist in her hand, squeezed, and crushed the bones. She then swung him by the arm and threw him into the crowd.