TBE Chapter 59

  Ezekiel decided to purchase small wooden arts and crafts, and small furniture since Robert and Luke were still busy playing outside. As was his current plan, he only spent a total of 20 silver coins so the total amount of coins in what he dubbed as his business chest was 1 gold and 80 silver coins.

  It was not difficult for Ezekiel to select the items since as long as the products were made of wood, the price was within the budget, and aesthetically pleasing, and he had not bought it before he rapidly purchased them. Soon, items worth 20 silver coins littered the room and he immediately put them all in his inventory he was calling his 4th tab space.

  When he checked the time it was already six in the evening and was about to ask Yuki Onna to call his brothers when the door suddenly opened and Robert and Luke barged in.

  The two boys were still full of energy and they couldn’t seem to sit still. They kept moving about here and there.

  “We had so much fun today! We went to the forest since according to our friends it was safe enough since the villagers made sure that all animals there were hunted. We went to all the places in the village that we can go to and we played a lot of games!” Robert loudly said.

  “There’s a very big scary house!” Luke added.

  “What do you mean?” Ezekiel asked.

  “On the outskirts of the village, there’s a very huge house and our friends said that it was filled with ghosts! Our friends said that a very very rich man lived there a long time ago and that rich man was supposed to be very evil and had eaten a lot of little kids! Now, anyone who goes there doesn’t leave and will remain in that huge house. It’s so scary!” Robert said while he and Luke mock shivered.

  Ezekiel was very intrigued. He hadn’t encountered anything remotely associated with magic and even though he and his brothers roamed the forest outside Eagle Village, they hadn’t encountered anything supernatural. Not a single iota of anything magical like a magical beast. A thought even grew in his mind that there was no magic in this world except the one he had which logically thinking about it, was impossible because the fact that he had magic meant magic existed.

  “None of the villagers attempted to take over the haunted mansion?” Ezekiel asked the boys.

  “Our friends said that a very very long time ago, a lot of the villagers attempted to enter the big house but after seven villagers died, they stopped even though there was supposed to be a lot of treasure inside it. They said that some travelers did not believe that there were ghosts there and went inside the house but they never left,” Robert whispered.

  Robert's actions made Ezekiel and Luke laugh then he told his brothers it was time for them to take a bath so they all went to the basement where the bathroom was located. While they were bathing, Ezekiel cleaned their clothes using the Prestidigitation spell. After that, they went to their room and ate the food that Ezekiel prepared. It was still hot and fresh as the day that he made them and he was again thankful for his 4th tab space function to stop the time inside.

  After dinner, Ezekiel, Robert, and Luke went downstairs to listen to the minstrel who was performing in the common room. Apparently, the minstrel arrived that day and Ezekiel was amused to see Portia making calf eyes at the handsome musician.

  He had to order a pitcher of milk for four copper coins for the three of them since the innkeeper was eyeing them staying in the common room without buying anything. Ezekiel was not worried about his reputation for not buying any alcohol since he did look like a child.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  He was just glad that they would only stay in this inn for three days since he started to not like the character of the innkeeper and his daughter.

  One thing Ezekiel could say was that the minstrel had a very good voice and he was a bit envious of that since he couldn’t not sing a single note to save his life. He then thought that the one who could not carry a tune was his old body and maybe this new one could sing so just like some of the audience, he joined in when the chorus came since it was easy enough to follow but based on Robert and Luke’s reaction to his singing, he sadly realized that he still couldn’t sing.

  While they were being entertained by the minstrel Ezekiel thought of the vaunted haunted mansion. There was a chance that there were really ghosts there and he knew that his spells could probably defeat them. Confronting the possible ghost that lurked in the haunted mansion was a huge risk but Ezekiel thought that it was a good chance for him to earn experience points and the treasure inside could be real as well.

  He would have to think deeply about it and Ezekiel would talk to Robert and Luke as well since he could not put himself in danger since his life was their life.

  After a couple more songs, the minstrel started to sing risqué songs and Ezekiel knew that that was the time for the three of them to retire so even though Robert and Luke did not understand why they were not allowed to listen to the songs anymore, Ezekiel commanded them that it was time for them to rest.

  When they arrived at their room, Robert asked again why they could not continue listening to the songs the minstrels were singing.

  “When you grow up you’ll understand. Anyway, I want to talk to you two about something important. Something about the house with ghosts,” Ezekiel asked to divert his brothers’ attention.

  “What about it?” Robert asked while Luke listened.

  “I want to go inside that mansion and defeat the ghosts there since I think that that will increase my magic powers.”

  “That’s fine but you will have to bring us with you,” Robert said and by the look on his and Luke’s face, they would be extremely stubborn about it.

  Ezekiel said that he would to Robert and Luke since he knew that their lives were tied together. If for some reason he did not survive that confrontation, his brothers’ surviving well in this world would be miniscule. He knew that he was being irresponsible but due to Ezekiel’s body’s age and stature, he would need all the power he could get and he couldn’t hold himself up because of his brothers.

  Besides, he was confident of his magic that even if he couldn’t destroy the ghost living in that haunted mansion, the three of them could easily escape using his magic. He hoped.

  After that discussion, they all went to bed and after a few minutes, they were asleep. The next day after eating breakfast from the food that was stored in his 4th tab space, Ezekiel told Portia that he and his brothers would roam the forest to hunt for some animals since he missed doing so. He informed the innkeeper’s daughter that he would be bringing their cart and donkey but they should be back around lunchtime.

  The innkeeper’s daughter who was conversing with the minstrel who was eating breakfast looked annoyed about Ezekiel interrupting their talk so after sharing that information with the girl, they headed directly to the stable. They wanted the cart nearby just in case they needed to run away from the village after they exited the haunted mansion if it was truly haunted.

  While thinking about it the night before, Ezekiel realized that the situation could be a Scooby Doo mystery, meaning that there was a huge chance that it was not supernatural at all but the work of bandits hiding in the mansion using ghosts as a cover for their misdeeds but of course, he wasn’t writing the thought in stone since without knowing the actual situation, anything was still possible.

  Since it was very early, they hadn’t encountered anyone on the way to where the haunted mansion was located. When they arrived in the vicinity of the mansion, Ezekiel tried to find a place where he could hide Prince Charming that was nearby.

  They left Prince Charming and the cart near some trees and they did not need to tie the donkey since Prince Charming was very obedient and docilely waited for them there. Then Ezekiel cast the Mage Armor spell on all of them including the donkey. He also cast a Glyph of Warding near the donkey to protect it but he only paired it with the Minor Illusion spell to scare off the people who would attempt to steal Prince Charming.

  Ezekiel then spent 45 copper coins to purchase 9 huge knives and cast the Tiny Servants spell on all of them. He had to spend several minutes waiting for the cooldown so he could awaken all of the knives but after it was done, it was amusing to see the nine knives moving.

  “They’re like our own tiny army!” Robert said while Luke cheered.

  The presence of their tiny bodyguards gave them a little sense of security. Ezekiel and his two brothers then proceeded to head towards the haunted mansion after he made sure that he chose the spells he would want to use in the upcoming confrontation.