The Talla

Aisle Creek

Paul and Crest headed out of the inn, hoping to get some fun in town. Following the address the card Jerry gave to Crest, they arrived at a nearby pub called Aisle Creek. It was an old tavern that appeared as old as the town itself. It was like an ordinary pub house with the all too familiar wooden doors and walls made from stone with its roof made from hay with a chimney too small for a man to fit into. The two couldn't help but wonder why Jerry would prefer to hang out in a place like this.

"What in the world are we doing here?" asked Paul still snubbing at the pub's looks

"Hey, don't worry this could be fun." answered Crest as he pushes Paul towards the pub. "We're just here to get our systems flushed before we start our assignment tomorrow."

"I hate this place" Paul exclaimed

Paul pushed the door open to see the bright atmosphere the place had and the music that surrounded the place. It was all jolly and fun with beer all around with dance and music to add to the game. The sound of laughter filled the place with joy. The two of them turned to each other and knew what they were gonna get. Paul smiled while Crest scringed. 

"This is awesome!" said Paul as he goes straight to the bar and orders a pint of beer. "Crest, over here!' he called

Crest took a deep breath and sat next to Paul since this wasn't what he was expecting. He just thought this was a peaceful pub with drinks and soft music that don't blow you deaf. Sadly, this pub was not it.

"C'mon cheer up man, we're here to have fun." said Paul as he grabs another pint of beer "Drink up, let's get this show on the road."

Crest looked at the pint of beer in his hand. Thinking about Cyndia was not a topic for the night, so he drank up the entire pint of beer in one sip wanting to get all this over with.

Without knowing, he drank another then again and again until he couldn't feel a single thing on his body.

Everything after that went flashy. First, he finds out he's prancing around  the dance floor. The next minute he found himself drinking another pint of beer. After that, he saw himself on fighting a man outside the pub for no absolute reason. Paul on the other hand tried to keep himself a bit more sober. Having seen Crest go wild the whole night. He couldn't help but wonder if this was still the guy he left the bus with. 

Then they had to leave since Crest started talking to another man's butt as he laid on the ground flirting with it. Paul carried Crest to a nearby bench outside the pub.

"Man, you gotta get yourself under control." said Paul scringing at the fact that Crest almost wrecked the place. 

"Let's head over there." said the drunk Crest pointing at the chapel a few blocks away from the bar.

"We're not heading to the Monastery, let's go home, you're drunk." said Paul grabbing Crest's arm to try and lift him up again. "We'll have our chance tomorrow."

"Tomorrow can't wait!" exclaimed Crest as he stood up by himself and ran to the Monastary like a drunk athlete.

"Hey, wait!" called Paul trying to catch up to Crest

Crest ran past a running car and crossed the road, hitting his left shoulder on the lamp post as he ran to the Monastery's gates.Paul couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Crest making a fool of himself that night. He ran after him, hoping to at least find Crest laying in an alley somewhere.

Sadly, that was not the case.

When Paul reached the Monastery's gate, he saw Crest climbing on top of the 13 foot gate preparing to jump down from it. Paul was scared helpless, he didn't want to see another friend die again.

"The fuck is wrong with you man, get down from there." said Paul raising his arms waving it trying to catch Crest's attention.

Crest went on and jumped. Luckily, he landed on  a bush and didn't get a single scratch on himself.

Paul went after him and climed the gate then jumped towards the bush. Only this time he hit a rose and scratched his arm but he ignored it when he saw  Crest running straight to the chapel. 

"I'm never handing him beer again." Paul said to himself as he ran after Crest.

After a few minutes of roaming around the place, he saw Crest sitting down at the bench right outside the chapel's doors. Exhausted, Paul sat next to him trying to catch his breath.

"Man, you've got the stamina of ten men when you're drunk."said Paul panting

Crest didn't mind him for a while as he savored the silence of the wind.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Crest referring to the Chapel's view from the bench "Cyndia used to draw this place when we were kids. I never had the guts to ever go with her everytime she visited this place."

Paul stopped panting and went silent.

"She was a great artist Paul, she loved to sketch the sites she visits every time she went on a trip." Crest got out from his jacket a notebook. Opened it and showed the drawing of the chapel to Paul.

"Look at this, she drew this for me. She told me that when I visited this place, I would write about it." Crest took in a breath "She was right, you know, she told me the smell of roses filled the place and that her drawings would never capture that essence."

Paul looked at the cut he had from the roses and realized it hurt and placed pressure on it while trying to hide it from Crest.

"If only we could relive those times, huh?" asked Crset rhetorically

Paul tapped Crest's back and tried to cheer him up a bit. Paul barely knew half of the pain Crest felt but he was also hurt when Cyndia left, just not at this extent.

After all that, a dark figure from the shadows in front of the started to appear. The lamp post in front of them was too dim to see the who it was.

"Gentlemen, can I have a word with you two?" asked the man.