Failure, Eternally Retold, Part One: The Human Element

by Kiernan

Chapter the Tenth: The Inn of Ill Omen

Despite Nik voicing his concerns the following morning, he was not given the luxury of something to occupy his time. The day passed the same as the afternoon before, with Nik having nothing to do but wait for his next lavatory break. During one of these breaks, he was given the good news that they were making better time than expected, and they'd likely be at the inn tonight. If the room was big enough, they'd even try to sneak him in so he could sleep in a bed.

Just before sunset, they pulled over again, despite the fact that they hadn't even been on the road for half an hour since their last stop. While this made Nik nervous, he calmed down as Fluttershy called to him from the outside of the cart. Stepping out, Nik found himself standing at the top of a small cliff. Fluttershy directed his attention to a wide gorge nearby.

"We thought you might like to see our destination from a distance," explained Twilight. On closer inspection, Nik could see carvings in the cliff faces on either side of the gorge. These carvings resembled buildings. Nik was rather skeptical until he saw a door open and something walk out. From this distance, it looked like just a speck, but he could only assume it was a pony of some variety.

"Is that the city of San Palomino?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Located inside the walls of the San Palomino gorge. It's a nice enough place, if you like stone structures."

Nik was indeed a fan of stone structures. He was amazed sometimes by the ancient castles of his own world, and how they had stood for hundreds, sometimes even thousands of years. That said, his time spent in Canterlot had not been a pleasant one. He wasn't as fond anymore by the idea of being completely surrounded by stone.

He loaded himself back into the wagon, opting to go into the city, rather than just look at it. He had the possibility of sleeping on a real bed. That was too exciting to pass up at this point. He hoped that there would be one big enough to hold him.

Fluttershy waited with Nik outside while Twilight entered the Drunken Dragon Inn. Most of the patrons had already gone to bed for the night, a factor that Twilight was very glad to calculate into her plans. It meant fewer eyes for sneaking Nik inside. Finding the innkeeper behind an oak bar, she approached.

"Hello, there."

The Innkeeper looked over to see who had addressed him. "Good evening young lady. Can I interest you in a drink?"

"No, that won't be necessary. My friends and I just need a place to stay for the night."

"I'm sorry, miss, but all of our rooms are full for the night. I can recommend a place not too far away, if you like."

Twilight's brow furrowed. "But I was told to stay here, in room nine?"

The colour flushed from the innkeeper's face. He leaned in, motioning for Twilight to do the same. "You're here with that freaky mage?" he whispered.

Twilight nodded. "We were told to meet him here. We know we're a day ahead of schedule, but if the rest of our party is already here, we'd like to see him."

The innkeeper swallowed hard. "One unicorn, one pegasus and one large creature, right?"

Twilight nodded. "That's correct."

The innkeeper ducked beneath the bar and fumbled around a bit, coming up with a small key. "I should tell you, though, there's been a slight change of plans. When your mage friend arrived, room nine was already occupied. You've been moved to room six."

As Twilight made her way back outside, the innkeeper rushed around to all of the remaining patrons in the front area, urging them to return to their rooms as fast as they could and to lock their doors. He would prefer not to cause them any harm, and he felt that a dangerous situation was about to unfold with the introduction of the human.

After entering room six, Nikolas took off the sheet he had covered himself with for entry into the building. Looking over the beds, he was relieved to see that one of them was big enough that he could fit if he curled up. The other bed could be split between the girls. That only left Kai. That said, Nik couldn't see him.

"Where's this wizard friend of yours?"

"I don't know," answered Fluttershy. "He was supposed to meet us here."

"We were also not supposed to show up until tomorrow," reasoned Twilight. "He might not be here yet. However, if that's the case, I wonder why the innkeeper was acting like he was already here. He even called him a freaky mage, so I know they've met."

"He's not a freak," scowled Fluttershy.

"I didn't say he was," replied Twilight. "I only said that's what the innkeeper called him."

Nik sat down. "Whatever the case may be, he's not here right now. We followed his instructions, and we're a day early. Let's all just wait and rest. When he arrives, we can ask him then what he can tell us about what's going on." The girls agreed to the arrangement and picked out their spots on the bed. Just as they were starting to find their comfort, though, they heard the door lock click open. Nikolas sat up. "You see, ladies? That's probably Kai now, using his own key to enter."

Nik stood up to greet their new party member, but as the door swung open, he scrambled backward. The entrants were all ponies in black robes. They wore on their chests the insignia that Nik had been having nightmares about since the day he came to Equestria. A bright red claw, wrapped around a skull of the same colour. However, rather than a human skull, Nik had to assume this was a pony skull.

The four ponies entered the room, swords drawn. Fluttershy, being strictly anti-combat, dove under the bed. Twilight leapt to her hooves, charging her magic missile. Nik had no weapon to speak of this time, and since their room had been carved from stone, there was no window. Even if there was, it would only grant him a view of more rocks. The only escape route was through these assassins. They had no choice but to push through them.