William was heading towards the town of Pax, looking closely at the thick forest through which the path of men and horses led. Alone, he felt the anxiety and uncertainty that reigned in this forest. He no longer knew what to expect from this world, so he was on his guard.
Suddenly in the distance he noticed a dark smoke, which indicated some kind of burning. As he looked up, he decided to approach the place where the smoke was coming from. As he got closer, he saw a burning cart and took a look around. There was no one around but a flaming wagon.
William looked with a frown at the empty cart, which had been wrapped in fire. There was a lot of blood around it, indicating the recent battle. However, no corpses or injuries were observed.
"It may be the work of bandits,"
William thought and wanted to pass by, but at the edge of his eyes noticed a glimmer of something near the cart. As he approached and looked around the ground, he saw a silver pendant with a picture of a fox.
- It looks like Will's necklace!
He said, remembering that there was a silver pendant hanging around his neck with the image of a bird resembling Felix. However, it seemed strange to him that this necklace was so similar to the one he wore in another world.
Lifting him up and putting him in his backpack, he looked again to make sure no one noticed. Making sure there was no one around, he continued on his path towards the city of Pax.
***
Will noticed the distant outlines of buildings and large walls with towers, which meant approaching the city of Pax. Looking at the sun, which was already moving towards the horizon, he knew that it would soon be evening. Taking a deep breath, he headed resolutely toward the city.
At the gate of Pacs he met the watchful eye of the guards. Before coming closer, Will put on a hood to avoid attracting undue attention. One of the guards approached him and asked:
- Where are you from and why are you here?
Upon hearing the question, William wondered for a moment. He didn't know what to say, but he quickly remembered the name of the village from his memories. He only had to think of the reason for his arrival, and he quickly found a suitable answer. With his head raised, he looked bravely into the eyes of the guard:
- I came from the nearby village of Valios. I came here to visit my relatives.
The guard carefully examined Will's eyes, as if trying to figure out his true purpose. They seemed suspicious to him, and he said:
- Would you...
But he was interrupted by another guard, who said:
- If you ask him, let him go. He must be from the village.
- Pass.
Worshiping the guard, Will entered the gates of Pax. They were as large as its walls, and testified to the greatness and importance of this place. Once inside, he looked around. Around it stood beautiful houses, each of which had its own unique style, and a little further was the market, where local residents and traders traded.
- Where is the inn?
Will thought, looking around. He understood that he was in the middle of the ages and had a hard time adjusting to the new reality. However, thanks to the books he read as a teenager, he knew almost everything about life at that time. And although it's been many decades since then, he remembered every word read as if it were yesterday.
appearance and decided to ask the local people. He went to the first bakery merchant, interested in his goods.
- Hello! You do not know where the inn is, where to stay for the night.
The merchant looked at him with a questioning look, evaluating him from head to foot, and said:
- Buy a loaf of bread, and I'll tell you.
Will was somewhat puzzled by the offer, but could not refuse the opportunity to get information. He mocked himself, thinking:
"They try to trick me for money, but I practiced that myself".
- And how much is bread? he asked.
- Two copper coins, followed by an answer.
Will started looking for the coin bag in his backpack. Finding it, he opened it and, seeing the contents, picked out two copper coins with an owl image. Giving them to the merchant, he took a loaf of bread and put it in his backpack, again looking questioningly at the salesman.
- The inn is just down the street, around the corner, and it's a two-story building called "Snow Star".
- Thank you!
Will nodded to the merchant and, turning around, was about to go to the inn, when he noticed a black and white cat's eye. However, Will's attention was drawn to his yellow eyes, which stared at him relentlessly. The cat did not approach, he only watched Will from a distance. Without giving it much thought, Will continued his journey to the inn.
Following the trader's instructions, Will soon found himself at a two-story building with the sign "Snow Star". Stopping for a moment, he looked at the structure with curiosity. At last, when he had made up his mind, Will pushed the door down and the smell of food and beer hit him in the nose, reminding him of those times when he himself did not deny himself the pleasure of a drink.
Once inside, Will saw many visitors and workers handing out food. Going forward, he noticed the innkeeper, who seemed to him to be watching everyone closely. Will approached the innkeeper and asked:
- Do you have a spare room?
- Yes, five copper coins per room.
Dry answered the innkeeper, giving up his gaze on Will, but did not look at him, waiting for an answer.
-Okay, here are the coins.
Will put the coins on the table in front of the tavern-keeper, and he took them and pointed towards the corridor:
-Third door on the left.
Nodding to the tavern keeper, Will headed for his room. Walking down the hall, his head still couldn't see it as real, but there was nowhere to go. Standing at the door of his room, he reached for the handle and opened it. She creaked, and there was only a bed, a chair, and a table with a candle burning on it. Without looking at the room, Will first of all laid down on the bed, which turned out to be as solid as a tree, but he did not complain, he wanted only to sleep, because he spent half the day on his feet and ate little.
Looking at the ceiling, he remembered the day it happened. Will suspected that Martin was out of his mind. When he was transferred to their precinct, he behaved normally, but after one case he seemed to have lost his mind.
The «Star» case caused Martin's mind to become clouded. When we caught all the criminals, he started talking about letting them go, but everything was already decided. Maybe that's when he started acting suspicious.
"You should have killed him then".
Will thought, aware of his inattentiveness. But the main thing was that he could still achieve his goal, although the price was too high. Almost the entire department was killed by an explosion and shot.
Will frowned, absorbed in his thoughts. He felt mixed feelings - anger and sadness because of what happened. Covering himself with a blanket, he decided that he needed to sleep.
***
Will woke up to a feeling of coolness, as if it came out of nowhere. When he opened his eyes, he found the window was open.
"I didn't open the window! Maybe it's the innkeeper?" he thought.
Will approached the window to close it, but his attention was drawn by the movement below. In the dark, he could not see the silhouette, but he thought someone was staring at him. Suddenly, the silhouette turned around and disappeared into an alley.
Will did nothing and just closed the window. He wanted to go outside, and when he came out of the room he noticed that there was hardly anyone in the inn except those who had rented the room.
In the hall, he saw a tavern keeper who was sitting at the table and counting his daily earnings. The innkeeper looked at Will, but said nothing and continued to count the coins.
Will walked out of the inn. Opening the door, he heard the innkeeper's voice:
- It's dangerous at night, don't go far.
Will woke up to a feeling of coolness, as if it came out of nowhere. When he opened his eyes, he found the window was open.
After pondering the words of the tavern-keeper, Will went out into the street, immersed in silence. He looked up at the dark sky, dotted with stars and a moon that was dimly lit, and he was filled with calm.
Will stood there for a while and then wanted to go back to the inn, but he noticed a familiar silhouette peering at him from around the corner. The man immediately aroused his suspicions, and Will turned to him, slowly striding towards him.
Silhouette slowly crept around the corner, and Will ran after him. As he ran to where the man was standing, he saw that there was a dead end around the corner. The only way out of it was to climb up the walls, but they were too high - there were two-story houses here, and a man could hardly climb them quickly.
As he looked around, Will noticed a scratch on the wall that indicated that a man was running over the walls.
Turning, he went back to the inn, thinking aloud:
"I must find out as soon as possible. I must find the prince".
Having set himself a goal, but not knowing how to reach it, he went to the inn. Entering the room, Will sighed wearily, feeling the pain in his head. As soon as he touched the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.