Chapter Eight

The spring winds warm a small rural village; the town is located in an open field with hills to the East. They have crops to the west filled with all kinds of vegetables and meadows.

The village is filled with farmers that grow crops and raise animals. They have shops that sell general goods, weapons, medicine, and sometimes, a caravan would trade with them. There are no knights to guard, so the village uses any able-bodied men to patrol the roads.

A girl in a yellow hooded robe, Eleanor, approaches the town gates. She wears the robe over an orange shirt with a brown corset tightened above her waist, orange shorts and brown leather boots that reach above the knee. Along her waistline, is a satchel and a book strap to her.

"Greenbourge welcomes you, traveler." A guard greets her.

Eleanor nods her head and enters the town. The streets are bustling with people, shopkeepers shouting out their sales, and loud inaudible conversations in every corner. Wired flowers hang from house to house raining petals onto the cobblestone pavement. Eleanor arrives in front of a stall. Sparkling pastries from buttery brioches to sweet pies lay in front of her, making her mouth water.

"Please, pick anything you like." An old woman pops out from her shop with a cane.

Eleanor holds her lip as she ponders, imagining the surgery tastes that she’ll soon enjoy makes her stomach rumble like it's begging for a treat. Her eyes dart around the variety of colorful sweets, glistening like gems under the bright sun. A slice of apple pie, a lemon danish drizzled with cream, a bread pudding oozing caramel, a fruit tart glazed in strawberries or maybe muffins spotted with chocolates and blueberries? Eleanor groans to herself as to not let the elderly lady hear her not knowing what to choose. Finally, she points one out. "How much is the fruit tart?" She asks.

The old lady smiles. "That'll be sixty coins, dearie."

The smile puts Eleanor at ease. Digging into her satchel, a small pouch clinks as she pulls it out then trades some golden coins for the pastry. "Oh, by the way." As the elderly woman accepts her payment, she casually takes out a brooch and shows it to the lady. "Have you ever seen this before?"

The old woman adjusts her spectacles and flinches. The brooch has three dark amethyst snakes surrounding a black skull with emerald gems for eyes. "That is... one charming brooch, but I have never seen one like that before." The old lady quickly wraps a fruit tart in a napkin and hands it to Eleanor.

"I see..." Eleanor’s shoulders slump. "Thank you anyway." She takes the pastry from the lady and bows. As she leaves, she unwraps the napkin, hiding the fruit tart then removes her hood, freeing her short brown hair with a yellow flower tied to a side ponytail. Her eyes are blue and clear as the sky, and her skin is pink as peaches.

Eleanor’s mouth waters as she takes a bite out of her fruit tart; the fresh, colorful glazed fruits and the vanilla cream pastry fuse inside her mouth, enriching a sweet and juicy flavor. She smiles at the dessert with eyes sparkling and bites into it again. As she eats, she goes around the town markets asking for any information about the ominous brooch she carries. She turns to the shopkeepers, "Sorry, missy. Never seen that thing in my life."

The citizens that pass by, "No, we haven't seen anything like that before."

And town guards, "So sorry, traveler, but we don't know anything about that pin."

Everyone the girl asks all shakes their heads at the brooch.

"Now what?" Says Eleanor. She slumps down on a bench and drops her head; she stares at the mysterious brooch with dejection. The black skull looks back at her like it’s grinning. She clenches the jewelry. I’ll find you guys… Then finally placing it back into her satchel. “Guess it’s time to find an inn.”

Eleanor locates a tavern beyond the crowded market. The inn is twice the size of an average home. The walls are made of wood and painted white; windows show diners eating at round tables and waitresses in tan aprons rush around with platters in their hands.

Over the entrance, there’s a wide sign colored green and white over the entrance that says, "Greenbourge Inn."

Then Eleanor pushes the twin wooden doors open. Laughter and conversations soar in the air. The inn is bright from the sun's rays and lit by electric lanterns. The aroma of steak fills the entire floor that can make any customer drool as they enter.

Eleanor approaches the front desk and asks the lady behind it, "Hi, I would like a room, please."

"Of course, and how many nights would you like to stay?" The receptionist smiles.

"Three."

"All right, I just need you to sign this." The receptionist takes a quill and a piece of paper.

Eleanor takes the pen out of her hands and writes down her name then hands it back.

"What a lovely name you have." The receptionist giggles.

"Yes, thank you."

The receptionist processes the information in her logbooks and grabs the room keys. "That'll be four-hundred and fifty coins."

Eleanor takes out the same amount from her satchel and places it on the desk.

"Okay, your quarters is on the second floor, 229." The receptionist smiles and bows her head. "Enjoy your stay, traveler."

Eleanor nods as she takes the keys then heads up the stairs and searches for her room number. "226... 227... 228... Ah, there it is."

There's an old rusty number plate on the door that shows the number 229 on it. Eleanor inserts the key in the doorknob, hearing the lock click as she enters.

There's a single bed in the corner of the room next to a table with colorful flowers in a vase. A bookshelf with very few books along the walls and also cow hides as rugs. The windows are as big as Eleanor's height and present the view of the town's crops and the expansive colorful meadow.

"This'll do." Eleanor unbuckles her book and satchel and places them on the bookshelf. She peers outside of the glass and stares at the sea of rainbow. A relaxing smile crosses her face as she stares out into the meadow. "Maybe I'll go have a stroll through flowers tomorrow.”

A yawn wells tears in her eyes, a sign for her to rest, so she heads toward the bed. Taking off her robe, Eleanor hangs it on a chair and then takes off her boots. She flops onto the bed and closes her eyes while filling her mind with questions about the brooch. Why is there nobody that knows of this pin? I'll ask around again later tonight and tomorrow... I'll find them no matter what... Eleanor’s thoughts slowly drift away as well along with her consciousness.

Thud…

Thud...

Thud!

Eyes shooting open, Eleanor flinches up in bed and surveys the room.

It’s dark. Night has engulfed the town; there’s no light except for the crack under the door.

Thud!

Eleanor cringes toward the wall next to the bed. Then another thud followed by an ear-piercing scream turning her face pale. Immediately, Eleanor jumps out of bed, gathering her things as quickly as possible and grabbing her robe and tossing it over her.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eleanor freezes on the spot with eyes shooting right toward the door of her room.

The banging becomes aggressive, almost breaking the door.

Eleanor rushes to put on her boots, but the door breaks and falls onto the wooden floor. A group of masked men with blue bandanas below their eyes, covering their faces and on top of their heads, wearing thick animal hide as armor comes rushing into the room; they charge at her. Eleanor runs to the windows and grabs a chair to break them, but her hair gets pulled. She lets out a scream and tries to fight back, but the masked men grab her legs and lift her off the ground, carrying her. She squirms furiously, but their grip is too firm. Eleanor’s eyes widen in shock as the masked man drags her out of the room.

There’s blood everywhere. It’s on the walls, floors, and doors. People lying on the ground lifeless; men, women, and children dead.

One of the masked men trips over a corpse, making the group drop Eleanor. She cries out as she hits the floor, but this gives her an opportunity to get away. She hurriedly gets up and jumps down the stairs.

"Get her! Don't let her escape!"

As Eleanor lands on the first floor, she gasps. Countless bodies lie on the floor, blood-drenched everywhere. Gritting her teeth, she rushes toward the exit. More masked men pop out of nearby doors; they unsheathe their weapons and lunge at her. Eleanor ducks as one of the men jumps, but another tackles her to the ground. She quickly gets back up and punches the man in the face. She throws another fist, but the man brings up his elbow and blocks it. Then the masked man’s fist slams into Eleanor’s face.

A cry shrieks from Eleanor’s throat as she falls back, her eyes becoming wet. In front of her, a broken table leg. She doesn't hesitate to grab it, baring her teeth, Eleanor swings the club at the man behind her and knocks him away. But another masked man rushes toward her.

Eleanor screams as she swings again with all her might. But the masked man grabs it out of her hands, then whacks her across the face.

Blood drips from Eleanor’s mouth, and tears fall like rain. She tries to get back up, but her body gives out, feeling numb all over and trembling uncontrollably. Breaths burst in and out of her lungs like her body had run out of oxygen.

More masked men gather around Eleanor.

What are they going to do with me? Am I going to die? Eleanor thinks. The tears in her eyes make it hard for her to see how many of them there are, and she can barely hear except for the ear-piercing ringing sound that makes the masked men sound like they’re speaking underwater.

Then the sole of a boot fills Eleanor’s vision.

And everything goes dark.