Audeo Tavern. It was once a normal pub that explorers stop by before they venture further south but because of the recent advancement of technology, it now became one of the most popular location in the Styrtan village. The tavern has three floors. The first floor are full of circular tables made of purple wood from the Sud trees which are found in the southern forest. It also has a counter in the right for drinks, a counter in the left for food and a stage in the front. The second story was U-shaped. The people are able to see the people below and the front stage. The third story was a mezzanine floor were it only occupied the back side but it also has 3 rooms which are usually occupied by important people.
On another hand, the menu for the alcohol and refreshments are said to be over 20 pages. Countless colorful drinks can be seen in the bar. Serving the counter were two non humanoid beings.
The alchemical race of Auro. They are said to be able to transform the composition of a material into a different one. They are also very good at mixing chemicals to create something entirely different which also made them very good at mixing alcohol.
Looking at their current appearance, they seemed to be humanoid in shape but it is very hard to have them mistaken as humans. Both of them appears to be metallic from head to toe but one of them is silver in color while the other one was gold. It is known that they are able to change their form but they would still have their metallic exterior.
Today, the tavern owned by the Auro brothers were so full. It is due to the humans celebrating in finding a new humanoid race after a century that would further strengthen the whole humanity.
"You should have seen how I crushed those ugly fools who tried to fight me head on!"
"Oh come on! I burned 3 of them to death. They could not even fight back."
"Tell us more about your race! "
"Can you guys use magic?"
"I already sent a message to the Capital! They said that they would like to invite the elders of your race!"
"Thank you everyone! Thank you for saving us!"
Multiple conversations were currently going on. Some of it were from the militia bragging their achievements while most of them were conversations between the current human races and the new race.
As the party continued, Cyziel and Volare finally arrived. Cyziel wore his new mask and his eyes were still black. They entered the crowded tavern but no one really paid them attention. Volare ordered two silver colored drinks that was recommended to him by the Silver Auro while Cyziel took a few skewered meat in the left counter. Since no more seats are available, they just went to a corner in the second floor.
"You actually got my favorite barbeque!" Volare licked his lips when he saw what Cyziel had in his right hand.
"Oh yes! I actually missed this!" Cyziel pulled down his mask and took 3 sticks and moved it to his left hand.
"You recognize this meat?" Volare asked curiously.
"No.. No.. I meant I miss eating meat." Cyziel immediately corrected himself then made the 3 sticks fly to Volare.
"You can do that too?" Volare was surprised when he saw Cyziel made the 3 sticks fly.
"Why? Is that not common." Cyziel, narrowing his eyes, seemingly not understanding what is special about it.
"No. I mean it is just that for someone as young as you, you seem to be really proficient with aether."
This is really weird. The technology these days seem pretty good but simple magic like this seems surprising. This one is pretty common for kids back then. It is not as if I am making a huge boulder fly. Well. I remember failing a test like that because I tried to pull a prank on my instructor hehe! Cyziel smiled as he thought of something.
"Volare! Where have you been?" Suddenly, a course voice was heard as a tall man close to 8 feet and has muscular physique came forward.
"Senior Geir! Glad that you are unharmed!" Volare raised his hand holding the wine. "I went back first because I need to meet this friend of mine."
"Oh! Never saw you before! You from the capital?" Geir asked loudly, inspecting the unfamiliar face.
"Ah yes! I just came here because I heard that there would be aether storms." Cyziel nonchalantly made up some answers.
"Aha!! Thinking of finding treasures in the storm remnant? Haha!" Geir laughed before suddenly pausing and lowering his head. "Anyway, have you guys talked with the new race? It seems that their world is named Dielif! This would probably be the 7th major humanoid race."
"Dielif??" Cyziel blurted out as he tried to rack his brains on where he had heard it.
"Yes! You heard of that before?"
"No. Not really. Just heard a friend mentioned something that sounds like it before." Cyziel tried to dodge the question. "Senior. What have you learned about them?"
"Oh! It seems you are also interested in them. We learned that they excel in Soul magic. Some of them are also capable of Healing magic." Geir answered with full of praise.
"What? Isn't that great? Soul magic is already hard to master then they even have Healers." Volare reacted the same.
"I also have some secret news. Don't tell them to anybody else." Geir motioned for the two to get closer. "It seems that there is another humanoid race that came here!"
Cyziel's body suddenly jerked up. He and Volare then looked at each other for a second. He suddenly remembered the guard outside.
Did he know that I am from another race so he approached Volare then this would- Before Cyziel could continue his thoughts, he heard an unexpected news from Geir.
"There was another guy with the Dielif! He has tattoos all over his body. We asked the rest of the Dielif and it seems that nobody knows him except for one guy. He was always with this one guy who has a worn out robe. Unlike the rest of his race who wore clothes that complement their skin, he was the only different one. Unfortunately, even their elders are afraid of him and warned us not to disturb them." Geir softly added .
"Wait! Senior Geir! Where are those 2 now?" Cyziel asked with eager eyes that cannot be hidden.
"They are currently in the balcony of the 3rd floor. You can't go up there though since it is currently reserved for the elders of the Dielif race and the leaders of the humanoid militia." Geir warned.
"Ah thank you senior! I guess I will first try to talk to the other Dielif people. Volare! I will leave you two for a while."
Cyziel eagerly left and as for what he was planning to do, it was quite apparent for the other two.
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A few minutes after Cyziel left.
"Volare! Answer me! That Cyziel also arrived from a different planet didn't he?" Geir asked with a commanding tone as he slammed his hand at the wall behind Volare.
"Ah yes senior!" Volare answered truthfully. "How did you know it?"
Geir, lowering his hand, nodded his head with a satisfied look. "It was just my intuition at first but then that kid was really bad at lying and his actions now confirmed it. So tell me, what do you think of him? Do you think that he is dangerous? What is his capabilities?"
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"Senior I think he is just a kid. He seems to be talented in magic but he could still be taught. He has some weird abilities like turning his eyes black but what I could say though is that he is not bad. He said that he came from a very harsh world and it was probably what made pushed him to learn magic but I think it is all for him to survive." Volare, without fear, sincerely answered.
"Hmm... I'll believe you if you say that and if I am correct he is the same race with the tattooed youth." Geir theorized as he rubbed his chin.
"How could you say?" Volare asked curiously. "But that would be great if there is another survivor from his planet!"
"You see when I asked the people from Dielif, they said that a few days ago they met that guy in their planet while they are trying to evacuate their people in their space ships. They said that he was badly injured but a scary aura was covering him. They immediately attacked because they thought he was dangerous but then his eyes changed its color from brown to red." Geir narrated with a fearful expression. "They said that they felt pressure they never encountered before and it was only stopped when the hooded Dielif kid appeared. It was that hooded kid that is currently protecting the tattooed one. Isn't that changing color similar to Cyziel?"
"That's a good point! Anyway, what is with the hooded kid?" Volare changed the topic as he was curious about the other kid.
"Unfortunately, they are not allowed to talk about him. My guess is that he is some kind of royalty. When I asked the captain about him, he just said that the kid looks very dangerous." Geir shook his head as he did not have much information left.
"Wait! You said that the tattooed kid was found in the Dielif planet." Volare was suddenly startled with his own thought.
"Yes. What of it?" Geir replied nonchalantly.
"Wouldn't that mean that Cyziel also sneaked in the Dielif space ship?"
"What is the problem with that?" Geir, still with a strange look, not understanding what Volare's point was.
"You see. I also found Cyziel injured. What if the tattooed kid was actually enemies with Cyziel! What if there are multiple clans with different eye color that are at odds with each other? Wouldn't they try to kill each other? It might be the reason that both are injured! I thought he was injured due to the aether storm!" Volare, with an increasing volume of tone, was getting more anxious.
"You got a point! We need to go! We need to stop them if that conjecture is correct!"
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"Sorry kid! You are not allowed here! " A middle aged man, leaning at the hand rails of the stairs, stopped Cyziel. He was quite buff and a saber was strapped in his belt.
"I really need to meet someone upstairs!" Cyziel insisted.
The man suddenly stood straight looking down at Cyziel with fierce eyes. "Not my problem kid! Stay back if you don't want to get hit!"
Ughh! This guy! Okay calm down. Let's not get violent. This should be a good day. Worst case is I'll just fly around towards the balcony. Think. Think. Okay Let's try this. Cyziel tried to brainstorm of a way to pass in the most peaceful way possible.
"I came from the capital and I need to deliver some news." Cyziel's eyes started to go back to its original golden color as he talked with a straight and full of confidence tone. Cyziel had also unconsciously emitted some kind of dark aura.
As the guard saw him, he was first startled by the sudden change of the color of Cyziel's eyes. Afterwards, he felt weak in his knees that he almost fell down if not for the handrail beside him. "Ah! Yes.. Sorry.. You may pass!" The man seemed so scared but he was not able to look away.
That actually worked? Are golden eyes really that special? Oh well! Good for me! The outcome was actually more than what Cyziel expected.
As Cyziel continued upstairs. He was also getting more excited. He can't believe that he might actually be able to see his friends just after 3 days. The aura he was emitting was also getting stronger. Luckily, most of the people are already drunk and only a few were able to notice him.
Seeing that he is masked, a female militia woman in the opposite corner of the floor got curious and looked at him. Cyziel looked back with a poker face before proceeding to walk towards the room in the middle. The woman on another hand got beguiled for a moment.
"Hey! what's wrong with you?" The militia man tapped his partner beside him who seemed to be daydreaming.
"Ah! Don't scare me!" The woman was awakened from her trance. "Wait! Where is that guy?"
"You mean that one!" The man pointed at Cyziel who was approaching the middle room. "Didn't the captain prohibit anyone from entering that room?"
"Is he talking with those two? I thought those two girls were mute! Wait! Come on! We need to apprehend him!" The woman immediately pulled his partner.
In front of the middle room were two young woman from the Dielif race. One was the white variant and the other was black but both of them could be considered attractive. The young white woman named Misa was wearing a white dress that looks like it was for a wedding while the young black woman named Mina was more of the goth style.
"You smell the same as elder brother and his friend but even stronger." Misa uttered with a smile.
"Yes! The smell of death is stronger in you!" Mina added with a scary grin.
Cyziel twitched as he heard what the two said. He calmed himself down and the aura he was unconsciously generating also vanished.
"Are you also his friend?" They both asked with a neutral tone this time.
"Yes. I am. Can I enter?" Cyziel asked respectfully.
"You may!" Misa stepped sideways to the right to give way to the door.
"And we can't stop you if you insisted." Mina, on another hand, stepped sideways to the left.
Cyziel entered slowly and quietly.
The militia man and woman who saw him previously was close to be able to grab him but unfortunately, he entered the room before they can apprehend him. They were thinking of going in and taking him out but the two young women caused them to stop.
"You two are not welcome inside. Please leave." Misa said with a reprimanding tone.
"If you do not fear death-- then you may enter!" Mina warned.
"But our captain and your elder specifically said not to let anyone in! Why did you let him in?" The militiaman protested but he was only ignored by the two.
"Let's go inform the captain and their elder!" The woman went towards the rightmost room and the man followed.
As Cyziel entered the room, he saw the backs of two familiar figures. The two were leaning forward in the balcony. They were observing the surroundings and were talking about some things.
One of them was wearing a sleeveless clothing that made it visible to see his tattoo on his both arms. The art of the tattoo was quite hard to understand due to a number of objects drawn in there. There are weapons, beasts, shadows and many more. The other one was wearing a black hood so his face can't quite be seen.
Cyziel continued to walk quietly towards the two.
Suddenly, a deathly aura came from the hooded figure. A powerful pressure also appeared on the tattooed guy as his tattoos started to glow.
"Didn't I warn them that no one should disturb us?" The hooded man creepily said.
"I guess some people really don't know fear!" The tattooed guy added with an intent full of hostility.
"You guys finally got the courage to fight me huh? Bwahaha!" Cyziel confidently replied before following it with a loud cackle.
The aura of the two suddenly vanished and they immediately turned around.
"Cyziel????!!!!" The two shouted. Their eyes were wide open as if they cannot believe who was in front of them.
Cyziel immediately snapped his finger as soon as he heard the two shout and the room seemingly got encased in some magic that prevented sound from entering and leaving.
At the same time, the tattooed guy was already running towards him. He then dived and hugged Cyziel. The two fell down the floor.
"How? How? Its really you boss! What happened after we left? Why are you here? How did you get here?" Ortix, who was ignoring his awkward position with Cyziel, bombarded him with questions.
"Stop it! Ortix! Get off me! It was only a few days since we last saw each other! Volus help me here!" Cyziel was trying to push Ortix away from him but it was apparent that he was not really angry.
Volus can be seen smiling and tears can be seen from his eyes. "Well to be honest. I would also like to hug you but it really is not my style!"
"We should celebrate this! We need more alcohol and food here! I'll go get down and bring some more! I have lots of things to ask!" Ortix finally got off Cyziel but he was still talking loudly.
Haiz...I knew this guy would be noisy. Luckily, I cut off the sound of this room. Cyziel who was still on the floor was shaking his head while smiling.
*Thud!*
The door of the room suddenly opened. Outside the door, there were numerous people that can be seen. Volare, Geir, a black old man, a middle aged man wearing a black long sleeve with brass colored chainmail on top, the two young Dielif woman, the militia man and the militia woman stationed in this floor.
The people saw Ortix standing in front of Cyziel who was still lying on the floor.
"Stop! Don't kill him!" Volare shouted.
"Captain! That guy on the floor is the one who barged in!" The militia man pointed at Cyziel who was currently lying on the floor. "We will apprehend him immediately!"
"Forgive me young master but no one was answering so we opened the door!" The old man, with an alarmed voice, added. "I also do not know why Mina and Misa allowed him to get in."
The expressions of the three friends abruptly changed. Cyziel covered his face with his palm. Ortix and Volus were now looking at the group of people with fierce eyes.
It was obvious that there was some kind of misunderstanding and Cyziel was trying to stop himself from laughing to lessen the other's suspicions. Ortix and Volus looked at Cyziel for a few seconds as a habit. They were trying to get a signal on what they should do. Cyziel then gently shook his head.
"Enough! You guys could leave!" Volus projected his voice in a loud but calmly manner. It might seem disrespectful but the elder and the two Dielif ladies were surprised because this was one of the calmest that they heard Volus spoke.
"You are not trying to kill him?" Volare carelessly asked.
"No! I won't do that with my brother!" Ortix, waving his two hands in front of him, strongly denied.
The rest of the group were surprised because it was their first time to hear the tattooed guy speak and more so in an innocent manner. In the one day that they have observed Ortix, he was always with Volus and no one dared to disturb them.
"I see so this was just a misunderstanding." Geir, with a relieved look, commented.
"But boss are we really not-" The militia man tried to step in.
"Enough! It seems that there are no problems. Geir! Volare follow me!" The guy who seemed to be the captain interrupted the militia man and commanded the other two to follow.
"We will be leaving now young master." The black old man closed the door and seemed to have left with the rest.
The three young men burst out laughing a few moments after the door closed.