The man's eyes were filled with fear, darting from shadow to shadow. Still keeping his hands in place holding his guts he gasped slowly saying in weak tones, "...beast...from...noooo...."
His voice was trailing off as his eyelids began to close slowly. The man looked on the verge of letting go...
Faust quickly finds the source of the gasping coming upon a young man in his twenties. His face was covered in dirt and blood, hair a black mess. He looked like he was on Death's doorstep slumped over, hands cradling his gut. Blood was flowing out into a small puddle around him, slowed by his hands holding his torn guts in place...
The screams had died out as Faust pushed himself through the town until he had passed all of the buildings. He was at the treeline now, looking at a shadow filled woods. Scanning the treeline for a lead, Faust heard a faint and weak gasping off to his right...
As Faust rushes outside, he takes a moment to try and find his bearing. Fighting off the last remnants of grogginess, Faust determines that west was probably the direction he heard the last scream come from.
The bed was pleasantly comfortable to Faust's surprise. So much so that he was sleeping soundly, until he woke up to the distant screams of a man. At first he couldn't tell if he had dreamt the scream, but he soon found the answer as another one come. This last one had been further away than the one from before...
Horace nodded ordering one last drink. With a loud belch he said, "If we have nothing further to discuss then I will retire for the night and see you in the morning."
Horace took another swig of his drink before setting it down with a satisfied breath before saying, "Alright. I'm not some back water fool to reject help when it shows up. We'll work together and hunt down the creature come dawn. It'll be hungry by then and we'll have a good chance of picking up it's tracks at that time. Sound like a plan?"
"I know what you're talking about. I also know that it was the council's idea to post that bounty." Horace took another gulp of his drink and ordered another saying, "That got impatient at the progress I was making. Damn thing is a slippery bastard though."
Horace took a deep gulp from his mug before turning in his seat to face Faust. Glancing at Faust's satchel, clothes, and then face Horace said, "I suppose I could put whatever was stolen towards helping with improvements around Dars. Judging from your clothes and that bundle, I take it you're from either Ravnica or Estark. I also assume you're a mage. So what business do you have here in Dars? We're not exactly known for magic."
Horace adjusted in his seat so he was facing forward muttering, "Not unless we had a mage become famous from our village while I was out patrolling."
An hour went by of patrons passing through, coming up to the bar for drinks and leaving. Finally a man stepped through the entrance, stout but heavily built, the spitting image of a woodsman. He surveyed the room scratching his black full beard before moving his hand to brush back his curly hair. The man looked at the bartender raising a single finger as he approached.
The bartender catching sight of the man said, "Your usual then Horace? Oh and this man wishes to speak with you."
The bartender had nodded towards Faust. Horace strode over next to Faust and sat down heavily accepting the mug of ale. Horace looked Faust over before asking, "What's a traveler want with me?"
"I suppose Horace would be the one to talk to in that case. He's not an official or anything, just the peacekeeper around here. Though that does seem to make him the most eligible person to talk to on this matter..." replied the bartender as he popped a few almonds in his mouth from a bowl he kept behind the bar.
His voice was trailing off as his eyelids began to close slowly. The man looked on the verge of letting go...
Horace adjusted in his seat so he was facing forward muttering, "Not unless we had a mage become famous from our village while I was out patrolling."
The bartender catching sight of the man said, "Your usual then Horace? Oh and this man wishes to speak with you."
The bartender had nodded towards Faust. Horace strode over next to Faust and sat down heavily accepting the mug of ale. Horace looked Faust over before asking, "What's a traveler want with me?"
Faust can hear the silent accusation in that single word as well as see it in the bartender's eyes.