Midnight Droplet

Chapter One

Stella Lily is shivering from the coldness along with her friend Lyla. Harold and Bruno are enduring the coldness of winter like it's nothing. The group arrived in Putao Mountain at midnight.

Putao Mountain is a land of eternal winter. There are three levels of flat lands on this mountain. The base level is mainly used for residents. The second level is the commercial district. And the top of the mountain is for the chief and their attendants.

Harold looks around for an inn while trying to see through the falling snow. "We need to find some place to sleep. Hopefully, there will be one around here."

"Yeah, I don't think we can camp here tonight." Bruno said.

"I'm so sleepy." Stella yawned. "It's so dark here."

"That's because it's winter midnight," Harold explained. "During winter, the nights are darker and colder. We just need to look for a building with lights on." He looks around the area and sees about ten or so buildings. There is only one with the lights on. "There! That must be the inn. Let's go!"

The inn only has one floor. The innkeeper looks at Harold and his friends with a surprised look.

Harold walks up to the innkeeper. "Two rooms, please."

The innkeeper is a bald-headed man about forty years old. He looks at Harold and then at Stella, Lyla, and Bruno one by one. "I only have one room available."

"Really?" Harold said. "Well, if that's all you have, then we'll take it. How many beds are in the room, though?"

"Two beds."

"Can we get extra blankets?"

The innkeeper gives Harold two extra blankets which Bruno grabs. A key was also given to Harold by the innkeeper. And with that said, the group goes to their room.

Stella leans toward Harold. "Don't try anything tonight. Hihi!"

Harold and Bruno share a bed and Stella and Lyla share the other bed. The extra blankets are for the girls to keep themselves warm from the midnight winter cold.

It is now morning around seven o'clock. As always, Harold and Bruno are the first ones to wake up.

Harold goes to the window to check the morning sun. "The winter here is really dark."

Stella wakes up and makes a loud yawn. "What time is it?"

"About seven." Harold said. "Bruno and I will wait outside while you guys get dressed."

Stella gets up from the bed and walks to Harold's ear. "See anything you like?"

Harold makes a confused face. "No, I only slept."

"Too bad." Stella giggled as the boys headed outside into the hallway.

There is a local restaurant across the street from the inn. Harold opens the door and motions for Stella, Lyla, and Bruno to enter before himself. Inside the restaurant, there are about four tables. Two of the tables already had customers. Bruno walks to the table closest to the wall. This is to allow Harold and Bruno to scan the area and avoid being attacked from behind.

Harold lets out a small smile. "We aren't getting any weird looks around here. Normally, people can tell that we are foreigners here."

"They're probably busy eating." Stella said. "I'm hungry, too!"

A waitress comes to the table. She looks to be in her early twenties. Her outfit is a typical dress shirt and long pants. "Here's the menu!" The waitress drops the menu onto the table and walks away.

It took about five minutes before everyone decided to order rice porridge and dumplings. The waitress silently came by to drop off the food. While eating, Harold and Bruno notices two customers walking in. Both are guys with long coats. One has a black coat and the other has a blue coat.

"Alright," Harold began. "We don't know what lies the Jade Cat had told his friends here, so we need to assume that everyone is a potential enemy."

"Does that mean Lyla and I can play in the snow?" Stella asked.

"Yes, but make sure there are witnesses in case anything happens." Harold said. "Bruno and I will do our thing. You guys can do whatever, then we'll all meet up around dinner time."

Stella and Lyla said goodbye to Harold and Bruno and walked out the door of the restaurant.

Harold begins to walk to the waitress to pay the check. While standing next to the counter, Harold overhears the conversation between the two guys who came in earlier.

"I can't stay long." said the guy in the blue coat. "I'm meeting with Shun later. She said something about the security of this place."

"Go!" said the other guy in the black coat. "I'll bring you some food later."

As soon as Harold overheard this, he turned back to Bruno. "See those two over there?"

"Yeah, I saw them enter earlier." Bruno answered.

"Well, one of them has to go meet with someone named Shun. He said it has something to do with the security of this place. If he were one of the guards here, then he should know about the potential threat to this mountain village."

"Yeah, and we can assume that the Jade Cat had told lies about us to the leader of the village. The meeting is probably about us."

Harold notices the guy in the blue coat is leaving. "I'll go after him."

Bruno stands up. "Then the guy in the black coat is mine."

Due to the coldness around here, Stella and Lyla decided to go clothes shopping. While looking for a store, a young man in a black coat with black pants and fuzzy brown boots walked past them.

"Excuse me?" Stella asked. "Hi?! May I ask you a question?"

The young woman stops walking and turns around. "Me?"

"Yes! Do you know where I can buy some warm clothes?"

The young woman looks at Stella up and down. "You're not around here, are you?"

Stella shakes her head. "No, that's why I'm asking for a clothing store."

"There is one on the middle level. We're on the first level now. I'm actually going to the top level. Why don't you come with me? I'll show you."

"Sure! Thank you!" Stella said. "I'm Stella and this is Lyla."

"I'm Shun." said the young woman.