We got a nice hot stew and some local ale for dinner. The other guests did not approach our group, which was nice. After the meal we retreated to our suite. It had a small entrance area that opened up into the living room. We had a couch, two comfy chairs next to a fireplace. From the living room two doors led to the bedrooms, one on the left and one on the right. There was a third door leading to the shared bathroom, right next to the entrance area. It was quite spacious and had a shower and a bathtub!

"Wow, this is really luxurious." I said.

"We are getting close to the capital, a lot of wealthy travellers pass through here." Helena said.

"They have their own servants' quarters and proper guards. Hatsumi picked a good place." Cassie pointed out.

"She did. But wait until we reach the capital, I think that hotel will be even nicer." Helena added.

Hatsumi and Kaito were in their own quarters, the cats were with us. The other undead protected the carriage.

"So, we have our cats as guards, Frank, Chariot, Bob, the ibex and the horses protect the carriages, Hatsumi and Kaito can defend themselves." I stated.

"Ah, you are getting properly paranoid. Good." Cassie said.

"It's not really paranoia, they are out there to get us." Skadi pointed out.

"True." Cassie agreed.

"I see the cats are taking their guard job seriously." Helena said and we all looked at the cats. They were currently on the couch. Yoru was grooming Nyx, or at least licking her bones. Was it truly grooming without fur? Nyx was sitting there looking pleased until Yoru started chewing her ear, then she hit him with her paw. Soon they were brawling and fell off the couch.

Kasai and Ivy had curled up next to each other and were napping. Ivy opened one eye to look at us while we talked. I suppose she was listening.

"If danger arrives they will defend us. They have never let us down." I stated. Nyx had saved me in the past, she would devour any attacker who broke into our room.

We left the cats in the living room and went to bed. They were doubles so I got to snuggle with Helena. It made any foreign bed immediately feel like home. Not that I really had a home, aside from the academy. Home really was where my friends were. My friends, and my girlfriend. I liked the sound of that.

"Meow."

I opened my eyes and saw Yoru sitting on top of me. Helena was waking up as well but the meow had not sounded urgent enough to really jump out of the bed. Instead I stared at the cat, who raised his paw to point at the window.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Our room had one window looking towards the forest. We were on the upper floor, right above the entrance of the inn. The curtains were closed but I could see Nyx sitting underneath them, observing something below.

"What is wrong?" Helena asked.

"No idea." I replied, while getting out of the bed. Then I walked towards the window and opened the curtain, to look outside.

Small creatures were leaving the forest, slowly approaching the inn.

"Goblins!" I shouted.

"Crap, how close are they?" Helena asked, while hurrying towards the window.

"Not that far but they are still sneaking… Hey, how did you know about them, Nyx?" I wondered.

Nyx smiled, or just looked smug. "Meow."

"I have no idea what that means." I replied.

"Ohhh, I have an idea." Helena said.

"What? How can you understand her?" I asked, feeling frustrated.

"Oh, I did not understand her. I just saw something else outside." Helena stated.

I looked through the window again. Kaito had left the building and was calmly walking towards the goblins. They had stopped their approach.

Kaito had his hands behind his back as he strolled towards them. The frostfire from his neck illuminated his suit, I wondered if he had packed spares.

I could not hear Kaito speak but he had crossed the road and was standing in the grass in front of the forest. It looked like he was talking to the goblins.

"Should we help?" Helena asked.

"I… I think he got this? I am fairly certain Nyx would be a lot more agitated if there was a concern."

"Why did you wake us then?" Helena asked Yoru. The cat was now also looking out of the window and simply pointed at the scene below.

"Maybe we need to deal with the aftermath." I replied.

Negotiations seemed to fail as arrows were unleashed towards Kaito. They hit a cloud of frostfire and dropped to the ground. Then some of the goblins turned towards the forest.

"What is happening?" Helena asked. Her vision was not that great at night and only Kaito's magic was providing illumination. That and a nice full moon.

"Something is killing them from behind!" I just saw a blur, and goblin body parts flying around. Something was cleaving through them rather brutally. "It's Hatsumi!"

I saw a faint glow from her runes on her arms. She had summoned blood claws and was brutally efficient at dismembering her enemies. I could hear faint screams now, as the goblins panicked. Those close to Kaito were suddenly engulfed in frostfire and their bodies slowly turned to ice.

"I think they got this." I stated the obvious, as the goblins were already abandoning the attack and tried to flee.

"They did not even have a shaman." Helena observed.

"Yeah, they were not prepared for us. Either this is a coincidence, or someone lured them here with false information." I concluded.

"You know, Kaito and Hatsumi are kind of cool. I like my father's butler but he is no fighter." Helena mused.

"Butlers and maids are not fighters!" I protested.

"Have you read some of Skadi's books?" Helena asked.

"Only one…" I admitted. "But maids are not trained assassins!"

Helena studied me, then she grinned. "You would make a cute maid assassin. You even have the qualifications for one!"

I groaned. I also noticed that I did not mind the reminder of my past. Instead, I looked at Helena. "You know, you would look good in a maid uniform."

Helena curtsied. "Yes, mistress."

I giggled at the absurdity.

Meanwhile the battle, if you could call it that, was already over. The goblins were dead or fleeing. Hatsumi and Kaito did not pursue, instead they had started cleaning up the battlefield.

"Should we go down? Or just go back to bed?" I wondered. It did not look like I was needed.

"I think they got it covered." Helena replied, while slipping back under the blanket.

I looked at the clock, it was just past midnight. "I guess they will wake us if they need us."

Nyx nodded, so I joined Helena in bed. Despite the attack I felt oddly safe, and rather proud of my undead. Our true enemies were still out there, plotting something. Maybe they would strike tomorrow, or in Neth, or on our way home. But I was confident in our defences.

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