The White Devil Guild had like sunk into a cold silent graveyard in the darkness of night. The faint torchlight cast eerie shadows on the black stone floors and carved wooden pillars and the smell of burnt wood and rusted metal lingered like a memory of forgotten battles.
The group sat around a cracked wooden table staring at Ivan. In his battered leather armor and with a massive sword hanging at his waist Ivan looked like a specter from an ancient war. He repeatedly raised a metal mug to his lips his deep black eyes seemingly filled with nothing but darkness scanning the room. His gaze mixed rage and mockery so heavy that no one dared meet it directly. Even the guild's veteran warriors with their scars and weapons sitting in corners lowered their heads—perhaps out of respect perhaps fear. Ivan was like a crownless king in that dark hall.
Silence flowed between the group and Ivan like a cold mist. Ayhan fed up with the tense atmosphere cleared his throat and said in a voice striving to be respectful,
"We want to reach the capital as soon as possible. We've heard it's a long journey, but we need to get there quickly."
Ivan staring into his mug, smirked bitterly. In a voice laced with mockery he said,
"As soon as possible? Have you even seen the weather outside, kid?"
Ayhan angered clenched his fists and opened his mouth to retort but Ivan continued with a theatrical sigh,
"Yeah yeah, I know you're a dragon and you've lived longer but I don't care."
Nadia sensing the situation slipping out of control, placed a hand on Ayhan's shoulder and said quietly with a warning look,
"Stay calm."
Then with a cold expressionless face she looked at Ivan and said,
"How long do you think it'll take to reach our destination?"
Ivan slammed his mug on the table with a sharp sound wiped his mouth with his sleeve and gave a taunting smile as if challenging Nadia.
"I don't know that, but I do know you're my type beautiful! How about we spend the night together?"
The words ignited Ayhan like a spark in gunpowder. He threw a furious punch at Ivan's face but just before it landed Nadia swiftly caught his fist. In a voice trembling with anger she said,
"What are you doing Ayhan? Calm down!"
Ayhan, his eyes blazing with rage glared at Nadia and growled,
"What do you mean? Didn't you hear what he said?"
Ivan as if enjoying the scene began to laugh—a slow, cold, mocking laugh. He stood from the table shoved his hands in his pockets and said in a tone that mocked Ayhan,
"Just as I thought, you really are a kid!"
Then louder he shouted,
"Matthew get these kids a four-person room upstairs."
Matthew trembling like a leaf jumped up and said in a shaky voice,
"Yes of course Mr. Ivan."
Without another glance at the group Ivan walked heavily toward the wooden stairs to the upper floor. As his footsteps echoed in the hall he said,
"Rest up. We'll talk terms tomorrow. I'm not in the mood now."
The group still shocked and bewildered by the encounter stared at him. Ivan's presence even from behind felt like a threatening shadow. Soon Matthew hurriedly led them to a dark narrow hallway upstairs. The room he gave them was old with cracked wooden walls and the stale smell of dampness. The beds, with thin gray sheets seemed new but the room like the guild was cold and foreboding. Matthew still anxious gave a hasty salute closed the door and vanished like a ghost into the dark hallway.
Nadia exhausted removed her woolen cloak and sat on a bed. She lowered her head and sighed deeply as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. In a quiet but reproachful voice she said to Ayhan,
"He was just testing you. You should've stayed calm."
Ayhan his anger still simmering ran a hand over his face and said restlessly,
"I know I know. I just couldn't stand what he said about you."
Nadia paused her eyes widening in surprise. Then she lowered her head and whispered barely audible,
"Thank you."
That small thanks sparked a flush in Ayhan's cheeks. He turned his head to hide his embarrassment.
On the other side of the room Zelina looked around with her childlike excitement her eyes gleaming in the faint candlelight as if she'd stepped into a new world. She was oblivious to Ivan's behavior or the tension between Ayhan and Nadia as if the old room and dangerous journey were a thrilling adventure.
Hours later in the dead of night Rio rose from his bed. Thirst and hunger clawed at him. Without waking the others he quietly opened the door and went downstairs. The guild's hall was emptier now but its darkness and silence breathed like a living thing. The dimmer torches cast eerie shadows on the walls. At the hall's end Ivan sat alone on a chair metal mug in hand looking like a solitary specter. His gaze fixed on some unseen point, seemed to see beyond this world.
Rio his heart pounding with anxiety approached Matthew who was reading an old book behind the desk. In a quiet polite voice he said,
"Hello."
Matthew startled by Rio's sudden presence set the book aside and said with a nervous smile,
"Hello. Can I help you?"
Rio hesitated then said,
"I'm really thirsty and hungry. Can you give me something? I'll ask my sister to pay for it later."
Matthew glanced at Ivan, who gave a silent nod of approval In a trembling voice he said,
"Yes, of course."
He stood and went to a back room. At that moment, Ivan's deep mysterious voice echoed like thunder in the hall:
"Hey little boy, come talk with me while they get your stuff."
Rio's heart pounded like a drum. He looked at Ivan—a man in battered armor with a massive sword and black eyes that seemed to search souls, a dangerous enigma. With trembling steps Rio approached unsure what conversation awaited.
The guild's atmosphere with its dancing shadows and deadly silence seemed to hold its breath. Ivan with his mysterious smile and unpredictable demeanor was like a monster lurking in the dark.
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