Kaia took a deep breath, rolling her eyes. "Okay. Fine."
She turned away from the dead Field Wyrm's mangled corpse and began trudging back toward the village, her boots squelching against the swampy ground. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and mystery (mostly swampy mystery), but she felt oddly lighthearted. Her quest was done, she had Jewels in her pocket, and best of all she was heading back to civilization.
Sort of.
Dallira wasn't exactly civilization. But it was still a place with roofs and food that wasn't actively trying to eat her.
As Kaia entered the village, she realized that something was off. The usual dull hum of market sounds and sleepy chatter had been replaced by murmurs of alarm and sudden stillness. People who normally wouldn't bat an eye at her muddy appearance were now staring some even backing away in wide-eyed panic.
She stopped in her tracks. "What is…?"
Before she could finish, a man dashed toward her. He was wearing an apron and looked like he had just been in the middle of something important (like pretending his life was going according to plan). He pointed at her.
"Blood! There's blood on you!" he cried, as though Kaia had single-handedly murdered the entire bakery with a dagger made of disappointment.
"Yeah," she said flatly, holding up her hands. "It's mine, mostly."
"What happened? Are you hurt? Did someone stab you?" Another villager—an older woman with a broom ran up, brandishing her weapon of choice.
Kaia's eyes flickered from the woman's broom to her own dirt-covered attire. "Oh, no, I wasn't stabbed. I uh just fought a giant monster, so, you know, slightly more dangerous than getting poked by a knife."
The older woman blinked. "A monster?! Are you sure you're not hiding a knife wound?"
"Uh," Kaia hesitated, glancing at her muddy sleeves. "I'm sure. No knife wound. It's just swamp juice. Swamp juice, monster guts, and my general inability to aim magic properly. It's… a whole thing."
Another villager a man who appeared to have lost all patience with the conversation walked up and squinted at her. "That's not just swamp juice," he muttered, his eyes flicking to her face. "You're covered in it. You're gonna scare the kids!"
"Hey, I didn't ask for this look," Kaia snapped. "And I've been in the swamp for hours, alright? Can we just please pretend this is normal?"
[Note: It is not normal.]
"Normal?" The man repeated, eyeing her with suspicion. "What are you even doing in that mess of a place? This looks like something out of a ghost story. First, it's strange blood, then monsters in the fields. Where did you even come from?"
Kaia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I came from the Ravelle Marsh. I'm just a normal girl with a very abnormal amount of bad luck. Nothing to see here, folks."
[Technically, you are abnormal, yes. But you're also slightly fantastic.]
Kaia ignored Styme's annoying commentary.
"Well," the man said with narrowed eyes, "you better clean yourself up before you start scaring people with that look. It's bad for business."
"I'm working on it," she muttered.
"Fine. But don't be wandering around like that. You're giving the impression that someone stabbed you or something," the man said, half-shaking his head, as if his job now was to save everyone from a mild crisis caused by a teenage girl's unfortunate fashion choices.
Kaia managed to slink through the rest of the village, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. The whispers that followed her made her feel like a cross between a misunderstood heroine and a criminal with a questionable wardrobe.
When she finally made it to the inn, she realized something equally tragic: it wasn't just a matter of finding a place to sleep. The whole "cleaning up" part was next, and the villagers were right she looked like a crime scene. And as much as she wanted to pretend it was "cool," it wasn't.
"Hello?" Kaia called as she opened the inn's door.
The innkeeper, a gruff woman with her hair tied back in a no-nonsense bun, looked up from the counter. She raised an eyebrow at Kaia's muddy appearance. "You're here to stay, right?"
"Yep." Kaia gave her a half-smile. "And, uh, probably buy a bath with that. You wouldn't happen to have a cleaning option that doesn't require drowning, would you?"
The woman studied her for a moment, then sighed. "I've got a room. One room, mind you. You'll want a bath. I'm sure. But if you're here with those stains, you'll need to clean yourself before I even think about letting you near the bed."
Kaia stared at her. "Are you telling me I need to pay for a bath and a room? Who do you think I am, a walking banknote?"
The innkeeper paused. Then she smiled just a little like she had just made a deal with the universe. "If you want to pay in Jewels, that can work. For now. But if you're planning on paying with swamp juice, we're going to have a problem."
Kaia threw her head back and sighed. "Fine. Bath first. Clothes second. Let's get this over with."
After somehow managing to pay for a ridiculously overpriced bath and a clean set of clothes (which were, disappointingly, simple traveler's garb but less swampy), Kaia found herself in the inn's tiny, cramped room. She looked at herself in the mirror and was honestly a little bit proud of how good she looked. Clean, hair brushed, no blood anywhere.
Not a single piece of swamp in sight.
She turned around and grinned at her reflection.
"Look at you, Kaia. You've officially crossed into civilization."
[I wouldn't go that far.]
"Well, I'm trying to enjoy the moment," Kaia said with a mock-sigh, flopping onto the bed. The sheets smelled surprisingly fresh. She didn't even want to think about the last person who had slept in them she just needed to lie down for a minute.
But before she could drift into sweet, clean sleep, there was a knock at the door.
She groaned, knowing full well it was probably someone coming to ask if she was "feeling alright" or "was she sure she wasn't hiding a dagger in her clothes?"
"Yeah?" she called out, sitting up quickly.
The door opened, and the innkeeper poked her head in. "I don't know what kind of 'adventure' you're on, but you'll want to be careful around here. Some people don't take too kindly to strangers."
"I'm from here," Kaia said, lifting a hand as if the fact was going to help somehow. "Just... trying to get to the next place. Don't worry about me."
"Just," the innkeeper repeated slowly. "That's what you say, huh? You're here one minute and gone the next. But trust me this village doesn't like outsiders showing up with… blood."
Kaia stared at the innkeeper, unsure of how much to reveal. She wasn't a liar, but this wasn't the time to tell anyone she'd been running around with a talking system that had a terrible attitude.
"I'll be careful," Kaia said with a wink. "I'm just passing through. Maybe catch a train to Magnolia after I sleep for a year."
The innkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Good luck with that."
The door clicked shut behind her, leaving Kaia to stare out the window at the darkening sky.
She was one step closer.
A little tired, a little dirty, and maybe a little mysterious but closer.
"Alright," Kaia said, stretching out on the bed. "Tomorrow, Magnolia. Today, I'm just going to enjoy not being covered in swamp sludge."
[Right. Until you wake up and realize you're going to be in another swamp tomorrow.]
"Shut up, Styme. I'm getting some sleep."