POV: Victor Sterling
The aroma was intoxicating. Those guards sure know where to go. The bustling establishment was filled with people talking of rumors. I made my way to a table near the center of the room. I listened to the room before the barmaid came up to my table.
“Evening stranger, What can I get for you tonight?” The honestly cute half devil teen asked.
“Go ahead and give me the house special and a blood ale if you have it.”
“A disguised vamp eh?”
“Half but yes. The illusion is just normal for me to where, like pants.”
“Ah fair, not every city is welcoming to your kind. Any preference on the blood ale, I have orc, dwarf, human, and elf. Oh and don't worry it is properly sourced with pay to the donors.”
“Well that is very comforting, dwarf please.”
“Not a problem,be out shortly,” she finished before going to the bar and kitchen area.
A nearby table started murmuring having partly overhearing my interactions with the waitress. “Half-vamp eh?” the large she-orc said jabbing the human man in the side.
“Yea that shouldn't be surprising. I meant with The Sleeping God being one himself. Can't throw out and hunt down the race of your god and all,” the human shot back.
“Yea, that sounds like a one way trip to get smote,” an elven woman chimed in.
“No, no, no. I was just pointing it out as they tend to have interesting skills and we need a new member,” the orc backpedaling. “I mean with that goblin tribe going the rout of banditry and the Harden Nest going to break any time now.”
Oh now that was interesting. The Harden Nest was a farmable dungeon that had some wicked tough draconids in it. Plus goblin tribes near my old base, could it be from the dungeon called The Verdant Horde? These are low level dungeons, with the fact that the average level is down under 100, it means that the population of this world can't keep up with the culling that dungeons require. Got to fix that sooner or later.
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Another table full of dwarves piqued my interest, “Madame Ironbelt, wants this done quick?!? Why?”
“She has a feeling that this year's festival is going to be something extra. It is the 350th anniversary. Don't blame me for it.”
“I know, I know. Don't bury the messenger an' all.”
“I head that it was a request from the council themselves. Guess they figured the sitting member and head of the Guild had the right people for this.”
“Bah! I just wished she would give us more then 4 days to get it all ready.”
The grumbling seemed to agree with that dwarf. I just realized that they weren't speaking the same language as the other patrons, and I just remembered that my character could speak Dwarven, along with Elvish, Orc, Angelic, and Demonic.
By the time my meal was in front of me, I learned that the city was controlled by The Regency Council. There are 7 seats on it, one seat for The Crafting Guild, The Temple, The Guard, The Merchants and The Adventurers' Union. The last two seats go to the Ambassadors from the two waring factions of gods. Within the territory dedicated to Sterlingstead, there are 6 Villages, 4 dungeons, and 3 ruins that from the descriptions were former player bases. Bordering territories include three of the Protection Gods and four of the Plundering Gods. For Protection Gods it was Empyrea, Garvur, and Tagar. On the Plundering side was Vagara, Neporan, Zeek, and Holmes. Land locked in the center of this whole war, yay.
After eating, I rented a room for the night.
POV: Kyle Payne
I couldn't sleep. That Drake guy rubbed my gut the wrong way. Natsumi has never acted like that before, that and her nerves got to her for the rest of the shift. I sighed as I walked into the Exquisite Apple Tavern to treat myself as I tried to put everything together from the day.
I saw him. He was just walking up to the rented rooms. I just stood there stunned. Shaking my head to clear it, even while off duty, my mind never could get off duty.
Two of my co-workers flagged me down, “Hey Payne, how was it this evening?”
“Uneventful save for one thing,” I responded pulling in a chair.
“Oh. With that bait we got to know what happened.”
“The magic user detector went off the charts. Guy named Victor Drake came through. Turns out He is a half-vampire that had hidden himself away and leveled up to around level 210. Natsumi looked into his staff and went weird but didn't say why.”
“Wait, Victor Drake, isn't that the name of the guy who stomped Wolf Umbra. Because of him we finally got that jerk in suppressor cuffs.”
“The hell, Wolf is in cuffs?!?!” disbelief clear on my face.
“Wait that dude is half-vamp? I would be wild if he was... you know.”
“A god hitch hiking in on a merchant caravan, yea right. And I'm the son of Garvur.”
“From the God of Oaths who swore to never lay with any women?”
“Exactly, oh right you have a hard time with sarcasm.”
“Ah, you were joking to make a point, got it.”
From there my night descended into drinking eating and forgetting the days troubles. Yet I still wounder.
