Meli is tired and still in pain.  They are going to be confronted and interrogated somewhere, might as well be the inn where Meli can have a seat and a cup of tea.  That's her suggestion.

Muse helps Meli get to the inn, making sure she's comfortable before relaxing in a chair.

"Would you like a drink Meli?  You look like you could use one after all that."

Meli clenches her teeth for a moment and then lets it go. Muse is trying to help and 'a drink' does not need to be a problem.  "Tea would be nice."

Muse goes over and gets some tea for herself and Meli.  Time to relax before the fireworks begin.

She also takes a moment to convert 2 SP into a first level spell.  Better have some resources available just incase.

The templars enter the tavern in a grim parade, the four armored figures peering about for the rest of the HILT. The Gatekeepers are clad in plate armor and cloaks kept magically neat, armed with wands and blades. 

They're trailed by the fourth templar, a hulking older man in a dented and dusty suit of armor, a heavy mace at his belt. Alonzo Marquez, the Hearth Defender of South Westworth. Spying the pair of you, he moves to the table, steps weary from the road. 

"May I join you?" 

Without waiting, he takes a seat.

After thanking Muse for the tea Meli sips quietly watching the Templars progress.  As Alonzo approaches she puts the tea down wearily, hoping she won't be spending the night in a cell.

"Care to tell us what's going on?" She ask him as he sits.  

Taking a sip of tea to calm herself, Muse puts on a big smile.

"Alonzo!  Good to see you again!"

The Gatekeepers watch nervously from the bar, expecting trouble. Alonzo's face is serious. 

"These Gatekeepers have been tracking you. They say a dangerous power has fallen into your hands, and have come to secure it."

"Well that's pretty vague.  Are they talking about the demon we just killed?  Because I don't think that can be secured anymore."  Muse pauses to think a moment.  "Can it?"

"Well not that incarnation of it..."  Meli shrugs "But I don't think that was the last we'll see of that particular demon."  She take a sip of tea and glances at the Gatekeepers before looking back at Alonzo.  "I don't know what dangerous power they could be talking about but they're more than welcome to search." 

It doesn't need to be mentioned that there's almost nothing left in town to search.

Alonzo glances back to the Gatekeepers as well, waving off their leader as she advances. "I don't know about demons, but I believe you. No, it's a stone. About the size of a fist. A dangerous relic. They--We are trying to retrieve it, to safeguard it and protect people from it."

"Like I said, they're welcome to search.  We have nothing like that."  Alonzo is someone she trusts but he doesn't seem on board with this either.  "How'd you get roped into helping them?"

"I have a duty to aid the Gatekeepers on a hunt. We all do." He beckons to the leader, who approaches again, drawing herself up as Alonzo introduces her. 

"This is Marcela--"

"--Gatekeeper Marcela." she sizes up the pair at the table. "It is imperative that we move more quickly. The stone is a volatile artifact, and places anyone holding it in grave danger." 

"Well Gatekeeper,"  Meli doesn't stand, just looks up at her.  "I'm Meliantha Noor and this is my friend Muse and we have no stone."  She gives a little shrug.  "So I suppose you should move on to the next place you think it might be."

Gatekeeper Marcela glances over her shoulder to her subordinate, who nods, supporting Meli's claim. "The stone travels with the HILT. Where is it? The artifact is dangerous, and we're charged with securing it." A pointed look to Alonzo. "By any means necessary." 

"We don't know where your stone is."  Meli insists to the gatekeeper.  "What's so dangerous about it anyway?"  She ignores the veiled threat.  She's too tired for that crap right then.

"And why are you so worried about a stone when there are demons harming the people here.  You don't seem very worried about helping them."  Muse glances at the Gatekeepers suspiciously.  

Marcela's face tightens in fury, and Alonzo intervenes before she can do something regrettable. "These Templars are oathbound to carry out this service without interruption, so they aren't permitted to deviate from that hunt. Evarel gave us the details, and we've arranged to send word back to our orders." He tries to shed his serious look and muster a smile. "It's been a long journey."

Standing, he motions for the other Gatekeepers to attend to the knight. "They tell me it's an old artifact, recovered from the lair of a possessed magus, and powerful enough to have survived the Unraveling. Recovered by you, in fact." A nod to Muse. "You brought it to the Church for analysis, but left the city before they could properly appreciate the severity. As soon as they realized the oversight, Marcela and her fellow knights were dispatched to retrieve it."

"That thing?  What's so dangerous about a glowing rock?"

Meli sighs inwardly.  She is not sure how to navigate this... Muse pretty much just admitted they had it.  perhaps she can shift the focus.  "Muse hasn't had that thing for a while."  Sticking with the truth is the best way to go she thinks.

"Yeah.  I can make rocks glow on my own, so I didn't need to keep it."  Muse looks at Alonzo.  "how long until help for these people arrives?  And will they know if this Demon has been causing trouble anywhere else?"