Chương 125: Ravenous

"Very good," I said.

"Looking forward to it." I gestured around the room.

"Can we just sit anywhere?"

"Sure," the barman replied.

"Sit wherever you want." He pointed at a large window.

"But if you'd like to enjoy the view, I recommend sitting by the window there. You can see the Vistula and the mountains." I glanced at the well-dressed man and saw the corner of his mouth twitch. His eyes flicked to Bogumir's head hanging from my belt, but he didn't say anything, nor did his expression change. I wasn't sure what to make of it. We sat down by the window and I took in the view. It really was incredible to behold.

Autumn had started, and the trees were transitioning from deep green into various shades of gold and red. The Vistula looked like a shimmering vein of silver running through it all. My goodness, it was making me feel poetic. I could see why they built this inn here, and with this view, the name The Golden Wheel felt appropriate.

"It's beautiful," Kasia whispered, leaning her chin on her hand. I glanced at her and smiled.

"Yeah. It is." After some time the mead and our food arrived. The beaver tails were carefully placed on bright white plates. It kind of looked like a semi-translucent slab of fat. The yellow sauce was pooled around it. When the barman set the plates down, the tails gave a little wobble. Pouring the sauce over it probably would have made it look a bit more appetizing, but not by much. I cut off a piece and put it into my mouth. It was so buttery and oily it immediately coated my palate.

I tried to chew, but there was nothing to chew. It was like some kind of gelatinous blob that dissolved in my mouth. It was like I was eating saffron-flavored grease. Where is the meat? I wondered. Am I just eating wiggly fat? It did taste expensive thanks to the mixture of rare spices. Rich people liked to eat strange foods and pretend it tasted better than it did. To me it just tasted like I was eating buttery wiggles, and not in a good way. I wondered if it was too late to ask if they also served meat pierogi.

I looked at Kasia, who was already on her second bite. Her eyes were closed. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying it. It was probably the first time in her life tasting saffron. I poked at the beaver tail and it jiggled slightly. This sucked. I was getting hungry, but I didn't feel like eating more of this… stuff. I glanced at the well-dressed man, but he wasn't paying us any attention. He had resumed his conversation with the barman and was spinning his little cup again. I took a sip of the honey mead.

It was quite thick and heavily spiced, but in a good way. It prickled my throat. At least that tasted pleasant. The more I thought about it the less I wanted to take another bite of beaver tail. Kasia had already finished half of hers, so she clearly liked it. I pushed my plate toward her.

"Here. Have mine as well." She looked up, surprised.

"You don't like it?" I shook my head.

"The texture doesn't sit right with me. And the flavor. And the jiggliness. And everything else."

"But this is expensive," she said.

"People would kill for this."

"It's like I'm eating a wiggly candle. Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's good." Kasia pulled my plate closer.

"If you don't want it…" I smacked my mouth, the insides still covered in an oily film. I took another sip of mead, hoping it would reduce the beaver tail coating. The feel and taste were not great.

"Would it be weird if I asked for something else to eat?" I asked Kasia. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"I don't think they'll care," she replied, cutting off another piece of beaver tail. I looked back out of the window. This place was pretty nice and peaceful. Too bad the food sucked. This could have been an amazing experience. I hoped in the future we could have more moments like these, sitting together, enjoying the view without anyone trying to kill us. Only next time with some good food.

I decided I needed something that wasn't beaver tail and was willing to risk offending the chef since I didn't want to leave this inn hungry. I waved over the barman.

"How may I be of service?" he asked.

"You uh… You got any meat pierogi?" He frowned.

"The beaver tail was not to your liking?"

"Oh, no, it was great. Really great," I said raising my hands.

"It's just, I'm in a pierogi kind of mood, you know."

"Would you like some pierogi stuffed with beaver tail?" I felt some bile rise up my throat and quickly swallowed it down.

"No, no!"

"We also have some stuffed with fresh white cheese, raisins, and sugar." Hmm. That actually sounds like it could be pretty good.

"Yes. That sounds lovely, thank you." The barman dipped his head and retreated to what I assumed to be the kitchen. Kasia had started on my plate. I wondered if she was really hungry, or felt like she had to eat everything just because it was expensive. She seemed happy, so that was good. Maybe we could visit Viswa again some time once everything calmed down. I was captivated by the spectacular views when the barman returned with a plate full of steaming pierogi.

They smelled sweet and amazing and my mouth started watering. He gave a broad smile, then asked, "Would that be all?" A burst of adrenaline shot through me, but I couldn't understand why. The man appeared calm and friendly, yet for some reason I felt like I was in danger. I glanced at the well-dress man, but he still had his back turned toward us. I looked at Kasia, but she didn't look alarmed.

"Uhh…" I said.

"Do you have anything else to drink?" The man's eyes flicked to my mug, which was still mostly full of mead.

"Sure. What can I get you?" Then I spotted it. The man had two sets of teeth. It wasn't noticeable when he smiled, but if you paid close attention when he talked you could see it. I quickly cast [Soul Index]. [Strzygon] Status: Ravenous His smile immediately faltered, and his face shifted into what I can only describe as half-man, half-owl.

"Kasia!" I screamed.

"Run!" She looked up from her plate, confused, fork still in hand. The strzygon lunged, but I was just fast enough to summon my revolver and shoot him in the chest. The [Essence of Push] bullet was slotted first and when the projectile hit him, it exploded with a loud boom that had me closing my eyes from the shockwave. The blast was deafening. All windows shattered and we both got knocked off our chairs onto our backs.

The strzygon got blasted through the ceiling and vanished from sight, leaving nothing but a large hole. I cast [Reload], scrambled to my feet and saw the well-dressed man was already running toward us. He also had a half-man half-owl face now. I cast [Blink] and appeared to his side, then shot him. The shockwave sent me stumbling back, and the strzygon sort of bounced on the floor then crashed through the wall.

"What's going on?" Vasil asked from the satchel.

"Not now!" I snapped. I moved to Kasia, who was sitting on the floor, shaking, her back pushed against the wall. Another strzygon suddenly appeared in the window. I cast [Clean Entry] and took its head off. [Generous Gift +25% Damage]"Kasia get up! We have to get out of here!" But Kasia didn't get up. She was terrified. I ran over and held out my hand.

"Take it, Kasia. Now!" She reached out, but before I could touch her hand something grabbed me by the waist and pulled me up. I tried to squirm free, but I couldn't. Whatever had me was too strong. I got pulled up into the air, through the hole in the roof. In a desperate attempt to free myself I slammed the back of my head into the face of whatever was holding me. I heard a wet crunch and the grip loosened. I dropped down and used [Blink] to land safely back onto the floor of the inn.

When I looked up I saw another one of those creatures, but this one had large, feathery wings. Kasia had gotten up and moved toward me. Another strzygon entered through the window, coming straight at her, but a [Clean Entry] stopped it dead in its tracks. [Generous Gift +30% Damage] [You have gained 1 level.] [You have gained 1 skill point.] [You have gained 3 stat points.] I grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the exit.

I saw the strzygon that had grabbed me attempt to descend through the hole, and I fired a [Clean Entry] that hit it between its legs and tore it in half, spraying us in blood and guts. [Generous Gift +35% Damage] I kicked the door open and was immediately hit in the side. Kasia slipped from my grip as I was sent sliding across the packed dirt. In a single motion I cast [Reload] and rolled onto my back. I managed to fire off a shot just in time as the strzygon that had sent me flying tried to jump on top of me.

The shot hit him in the face so hard it snapped his neck. The shockwave pushed me back further away from Kasia. [Generous Gift +40% Damage] When I opened my eyes I saw Kasia being pulled back into the inn, screaming, clawing at the ground.