Aiden slithered his way through the crowd, smoothly reaching the counter with ease. Looking at the innkeeper for tonight, was a venerable old man. His long, white beard swayed back and forth as he belying his own age ran around the counter taking the orders and shouting towards the back, where a hearty, womanly response could be heard every now and then.

Apart from the bushy beard, the innkeeper had little-to-no hair left on the top of its wrinkled head. Gaps could also be witnessed in his mouth, he had lost quite a few teeth over the years and the rest donned a grimy, yellow color.

He wore simple, red linen clothing, only slightly better than the tattered rags the average beggar could be seen in. While he wasn't skin and bones, he wasn't toned either, the skin hung loosely over his body, but still, some meat could still be observed keeping up and withstanding the passage of time.

His charcoal black eyes rapidly darted back and forth, scanning for new customers to serve. His pace, his attentiveness was something that someone wouldn't expect from a man of his age.

Not long after Aiden leaned against the top of the counter and looked in the elderly man's direction, the man noticed him as well and quickly ran in front of him. With a friendly albeit slightly hideous smile on his face, the elder promptly greeted the youngster with a kindly tone.

"Greetings young man, how can I help you tonight?"

Matching his expression, Aiden smiled back with the same friendliness as he answered in his crisp, clear voice, matching the elder's tone.

"Greetings, elder. Yes, my friends and I would like to dine here tonight. While we are not sure what the menu is, we saw this plate on the neighboring table that we all really liked. It had a pair of sausages with some mashed potatoes and beans as the side. Can you give us three servings of it?"

The elder nodded its head, his expression not changing the slightest.

"Definitely, that is tonight's house special, I am sure you and your friends will love it!" Then, without waiting for a response, he looked at the back and yelled out towards the kitchen.

"HEY! 3 MORE OF THE SPECIAL! QUICKLY WOMAN!"

The response came immediately in the form of a grumbling loud shout.

"WATCH YOUR TONE YOU OLD COOT, OR I WILL HIT YOU WITH MY PAN!"

Ignoring the 'angry dragon' in the back, the old man turned back to Aiden, and with the same friendly smile, he continued with taking his orders.

"Alright, your food is on its way. As for drinks, would you guys like something? Water, juice.. or maybe some beer?"

Aiden wasn't interested in alcohol that much, but he wasn't against it either. With no desire at all, he shrugged at the thought and gave his order.historical

"Two mugs of water, and one beer, please. Thanks."

"Okay, I got everything I need from you. You could go back to your seat, but I would advise against it." Giving a helpless look at the crowd he continued. "Today is a bit.. unusual, so it would make my life and yours easier if you would wait for your order here and take it back. Hope you don't mind."

Aiden shook his head in response, the smile not leaving his face.

"No, not at all. I assume it wouldn't take long?"

"Just a few minutes. Thanks, kid!"

With that said, the elderly innkeeper was already in front of the next customer, taking their orders and repeating the same discourse he had with Aiden while also yelling towards the kitchen.

With nothing better to do than wait, Aiden turned his attention towards the band that was still in the process of setting up their musical instruments and tuning them for the live musical event that would be starting soon. He didn't know if there was any occasion for it or if this was a regular thing, this was only his second night in this place after all. Giving a quick glance at the innkeeper's direction and seeing how busy he was, Aiden knew he couldn't bother him with such a useless question either.

So he kept his attention on the band, mostly focusing on the strange, magical drum-like objects. The aura they emanated was really interesting, he felt a soothing wash over him just by feeling it. He was increasingly interested in what purpose did it serve, and what was the point in bringing it to such a place as this..

Back at the table, Mary seemed much calmer than a few moments prior, it seemed that being in the presence of Aiden made her heart jump and beat at a much faster pace than normal. She looked at Cole, her face revealed a cheery, jubilant expression.

"Cole, may I ask how did you two meet? Don't take this the wrong way, but you guys don't seem that much alike."

"Ahaha, no I don't mind it at all!" Cole chuckled at the question. "True, Aiden is strong, fearless, and brave. He knows no danger, seemingly nothing could cause him harm. Believe me, I've seen him fight against the Sea Devils!"

He looked down on his body, as he continued.

"Then, look at me! Weak and fragile. I don't have any real talents, apart from being a big dreamer, I guess."

He looked up, matching his gaze with Mary's as he went on.

"How did I meet with him, you ask? Hmm.. I will probably disappoint you with it, it's nothing big. I just saw him standing outside, looking at the Haunted Mansion. He seemed lost, so I just wanted to help him and ask what he was looking for."

Contrary to what Cole expected, Mary's brows perked up, she inquired further, with even more curiosity in her eyes.

"What Haunted Mansion? What did he want with such a place?"

"You know, the dilapidated, abandoned building just a few blocks before the Guild's Hall. The one that usually has a request for an investigation, but nobody ever takes it because it's an impossible task? That one. He just kept staring at it, like as if he was in a trance." A muffled, shocked yelp came out from Mary as he put her hands in front of her mouth, frightened by Cole's tale.

He leaned closer, motioning for Mary to follow suit, as he only whispered the next words.

"The weirdest thing was that despite my warnings he approached the building until he met that invisible barrier that keeps everybody out. However, he didn't back down even then, but he suddenly punched at it with such power that a visible ripple of energy was released, silencing the entire street with a loud bluster of a sound."

"Did he manage to get inside the barrier in the end?" Mary asked with a hushed tone with shock still visible on her face.

Cole smiled wryly in response, shaking his head.

"No, he couldn't. Or maybe he just did not want to cause any commotion, as people were already looking his way."

Leaning back against the backrest of his chair, he thoughtfully added.

"Whoever he really is, he is really, really strong."

He sighed, looking at his friend's direction before continuing.

"He is fearsome and brutal.. at least towards his enemies. I can also feel that he is really kind. Just look at me! He treats me, nobody like a friend, even going as far as letting me join him!"

Looking at the boy's thoughtful expression, Mary was about to speak up and inquire about the nature of their relationship further when suddenly they were interrupted. A man plopped at the empty seat next to her, while his group quickly surrounded their table.

Another, a large and bald guy wearing nothing but two leather straps on his otherwise bare, muscled chest plopped at the empty seat next to Cole, looking at Mary with his obvious, lustful eyes.

The guy next to Mary, a blonde, greased and neatly combed haired youth gave a charming smile towards the curly-haired girl.

"Hey there, miss. Please excuse us for the intrusion, hope you don't mind us joining you. We saw that you guys have some space, and seeing how crowded this place is tonight, we had no choice."

He turned his attention towards Cole, quickly sweeping his eyes from top to bottom at the weak-looking boy. A flash of contempt flashed through his azure blue eyes, which quickly vanished, replaced by a friendly mask.

"Friend, I hope you don't mind. We really just needed a place to sit down."

"I.." Cole wanted to speak up, but the blonde hair youth did not give him any time, as he was already back on Mary.

"Young Miss, you look so lonely, without any meal or drinks. May my friends and I invite you for dinner?"

Mary did not respond immediately. The previously friendly and cheerful smile she had whilst talking with Cole faded, only to be replaced with a cold look as her eyes swept through the group. Although she looked cold and collected, she was trembling inside, thinking about ways to fix the situation.

She wasn't afraid of them, she was afraid that Aiden would see them and misinterpret it!