//------------------------------//
// Chambre pour la Nuit 
// Story: Voyage 
// by Comrade Bagel Muffin 
//------------------------------//

"Well that was an escalation," Atlas said looking out a window to the now heavy down pour. "I'm glad that you knew about this inn." Red nodded. There was a soft crying that caught his attention.
"Dusk are you okay?" Escutcheon asked as he held onto her. She was softly crying as she shook like a leaf. "Dusk, did you get hurt?" Escuthceon asked. Turkeylegs looked over to the distraught filly on its back and leaned it's neck back nuzzling her softly. She didn't answer but held hugged Escutcheon tighter. Red Wine's horn lit up wrapping the filly in his magical aura.
"Whatever is wrong it's nothing physical. She's completely unharmed." Red Wine's magic died down. "I'll let you handle this Escutcheon. I'll see if I can find the innkeeper and get us rooms until the storm is over." Red Wine walked through the lobby and up the stairs, to the second floor.
There was another close flash of lightning followed quickly by a boom of thunder. Dusk skreed and squeezed tighter around Escutcheon. "Dusk it's okay." Escutcheon softly nuzzled her.
"Is she going to be okay?" Atlas asked looking over the two of them.
"I think it's the storm outside, I think it's triggering some bad memories." Escutcheon answered as he stroked her back trying to comfort her. "She was trapped under Storm Peak for a long time." She softly whimpered as he rocked her back and forth. "I'll take care of her you should help Red Wine find the inn keeper." Escutcheon softly nuzzled her trying to help her calm down. Atlas nodded and headed down the stairs to the inn's cellar. Calling as he went down for the inn keeper.
"I'm sorry," Dusk said with a squeaky voice, that was barely audible above the grey noise of the rain beating down on the roof of the old inn. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay Dusk. It's not your fault." Escutcheon held her close to him. "Your fine."
"I'm not fine." She shook her head. "I thought that I was past this. Stupid thunder. There weren't any storms when we were in Marine."
"Marine's to far north for thunderstorms like this, and It's just now starting to enter spring again." Escutcheon held her close. "There's going to be a much higher chance for storms like this, until we hit the mountains of Slo."
"Red Wine!" The Professor's voice boomed through the entire inn causing to two of them to jump at the suddenness and worry of the Professor's voice. "In the Basement quick!" The sound of galloping could be heard above them as Red Wine soon appeared running down the stairs back to the one room first floor.
"You three stay there." The old unicorn continued to sprint down the stairs with remarkable speed for a pony of his age. He rushed down the stairs. The two sat in quite on Turkeylegs' back with nothing, but the grey noise of rain beating down on the inn. After a few minutes the professor came back up his face paler than it normally was.
"Is everything okay Professor?" Dusk asked rubbing her eyes.
"Not, not exactly no." Atlas wiped his forehead. "We've got a room. Up stairs. The two of you and Turkeylegs should head up there. Red Wine and I will join you in a little bit." He said before heading back down stairs. Escutcheon and Dusk hopped off of Turkeylegs' back and went up the stairs.
The second floor was a small hallway, with four doors. Two on the left side and two on the right. "So which one of these is our room?" Dusk asked unsure her voice still wavering.
"I'll go down and ask them." Escutcheon looked at Dusk. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah I got Turkeylegs." She hugged the giant bird.
"I'll be right back then." Escutcheon hurried down the stairs to the cellar of the inn. A closed of space was glowing red with Red Wine's magic. He made his way toward it not thinking to announce himself. As soon as he turned the corner Atlas screamed in fright, and Escutcheon was assaulted with a horrible smell.
"Escutcheon!" The panicked professor tried to catch his breath. "What are you doing down here? I thought I told you and Dusk to go up stairs to our room."
"You didn't tell us which was ours." Escutcheon said his face going a pale white as he looked past the professor and Red Wine to the corpse of a very elderly earth pony, that was mostly decomposed. "What, what happened?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out." Red Wine answered, his magic enveloping the entire room. "Professor you're clearly not up to this. Go upstairs with the foals." Red's voice was neutral and flat. "This might take a little bit, but from what I'm seeing, this was not a murder. I'll be up in a little bit."
"Right you heard him Escutcheon. Come on let's leave the officer to his work." Atlas hurriedly ushered Escutcheon out of the cellar and back up to the second floor.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Escutcheon lied. "Just, just a little bit of a mess is all. That one on the right is our room come on." Escutcheon walked past her and Turkeylegs trying to regain control of his body, which was still reacting to the memory of the half rotted corpse that was in the cellar.
The room that they walked into was a little under a quarter of the size of the first floor. There were four beds and a single exposed bathtub, as well as a single dresser. "I guess that this place doesn't see much traffic," Atlas said his voice still a little on the shaky side. There was a constant dripping as the rain came in from a small hole in the roof, and there was a strong smell of mold.
"Never mind, it was the left room sorry about that." Escutcheon quickly shut the door and cast a small barrier spell around the door. Blocking the putrid smell. He hurriedly walk past Dusk and opened the door the room had the same lay out as the other one including the open tub.
"Come on what's wrong?" Dusk looked between the two of them. "You're both clearly bothered." She wiped her eyes.
"The uh-" Atlas began.
"The inn keeper is dead." Escutcheon finished, for him. "It wasn't a pretty sight." Dusk deflated a little. "It looks like it happened about two or three months ago."
"Three and a half." Red Wine corrected coming into the room. "And it was a complete accident. The aging inn keeper was trying to get a jar of tar from the top shelf probably to fix the leaking roof, for the bedroom next to ours." Red said. "I'll inform the authorities in the next town we visit." He walked over and took the bed closest to the door. "I suggest the two three of you get some rest, or get a bath. But you shouldn't leave this room." The three of them nodded. Turkeylegs' already having claimed a corner of the room to sleep in.