Chapter 27
Rohan
Three full days and Tyson still hasn’t returned to our room.
I pull my legs up to my chest. I should be so much angrier than I am, but it was so short-lived.
Like a flame being snuffed out by a torrential downpour.
I think deep down I thought he would walk through the door, we’d have a stupid fight, then we’d do that weird making up thing we do.
Maybe he was tired of it?
He tired of me quickly…
Or maybe I really was slowing him down. Maybe he figured he could get out faster without me.
The floor creaks under my heavy steps as I get out of bed and swipe everything on the small desk off onto the floor.
I grit my teeth, the skin at my nape burns so badly it stings.
I change into my armor and pull the door open, my chest heaving with labored breaths.
“Ah, I was just coming to ask if everything is okay?” Marta asks, warily.
I’m scaring her.
Letting my muscles relax, and my mind come back down. “Oh, I’m sorry, Marta. I just…”
“It’s okay,” Marta says, patting my cheek. “He’ll come back, alright?”
“Will he?” I pinch my brows.
“Of course, why don’t you go into town, try asking around today, take a walk to clear your head.” She smiles, “He’ll turn up.”
“Yeah, I hope.” I bite back a smile.
Marta steps aside to let me walk down the steps through the lobby and back into the bustling town. The same as ever. It’s almost driving me crazy how same it is every day.
I sigh, sucking in the morning air. At least the weather is consistent here.
I don’t know what I’d do if it just started pouring or something.
The dread I feel is already too fucking much.
I still don’t even know what to believe.
Or what to do. Because either way, Tyson is gone, and so is this stupid town’s leader.
Listening to my footsteps tapping along the stone puts me in a state of zoning out to the point I bump into a small figure in the town’s square.
“Oh, sorry!” I gasp.
“It’s okay! You helped me find my ball the other day.
” I squint at the brown-haired boy. Ah, yes, I was waiting for Tyson to come down, and his ball bounced along the road right into my hands.
I chuckle thinking about it. He and his mom thought I did the greatest act known to humanity, then again, NPCs.
“Demi! You’re off again with the ball bothering this Lancer.”
“No, no, it’s okay, he’s fine.” I smile as his mother finally catches up with him, the same as the other day.
“Ah! I hope he’s no bother. Oh, and did you find the town’s leader, you were asking about him before?” She smiles.
“Oh, uh, no, I didn’t, unfortunately. Still looking.”
“Really? That’s strange. Your friend didn’t find any information either? He had asked me as well that day.”
“Wait, you saw Tyson? You spoke to him?” I ask, standing up straight.
“Yes, he asked the same questions, if I’d seen the town’s leader. And then he was headed back to the inn.”
“Back … to the inn? Not to the town’s gate?”
Why would he have been heading back to the inn? Back to me. If he’d been offered a way out. The monster said he went to the clock tower and completed the quest. Now that I think of it, how did the monster get the key? What’s going on?
“Town’s gate? No, pretty sure he was heading back to the inn. He said maybe you’d have found some information after I told him you also asked.”
“Thank … Thank you.” I bite my lip to stop tears from falling again. I don’t know which is worse, Tyson leaving me behind or knowing something could be really wrong.
“Of course, dear!”
“Hope you find your friend!” Demi shouts as they walk back to their home.
Tyson’s disappearance has to have something to do with this mysterious monster.
I had never seen the shadowy creature before accepting this quest. It could be a part of the whole thing, but it’s just all so odd.
Maybe I’ll retrace Tyson’s steps. It’s the only thing I can do right now.
The monster hasn’t even appeared again for me to investigate it.
If Tyson had been talking to Demi and his mom, then he had to be standing right around where I am before heading back to the inn.
I turn towards the direction I just came in and walk slowly, retracing our steps.
There’s another dark alleyway I never really noticed a few paces before the inn.
It’s so small and honestly, a little menacing; I probably ignored it on purpose.
But that monster seemed to thrive in places like this, and it’s the closest lightless place to the inn.
I step into the small space, igniting a small flame with some MP so I can see where the hell I’m going.
Further into the alleyway, something crunches under my boot. My brow pinched as I crouched down to see; it’s a dagger. Tyson’s dagger … He uses it as a secondary weapon for quicker or combo attacks.
There’s something on it, dried up.
I would say it’s blood, but it’s … completely black.
My breath catches in my throat. The air around me feels thick and heavy. Tyson didn’t leave me. I realize now it’s the worst of the two options.
He’s in trouble.