*Capital of Xyndro*

We were making our way inside from the gate when I saw Jack leaning up against a wall whistling a tune. I smiled and then hid my presence from him using [Hide Presence]. I told Qendaess to wait right where she stood and she nodded her head towards my order. I slowly walked over towards Jack and when I was about to dead leg him he spoke to me, “Nice try man, but I have [Detect Presence] remember?” After he said that he then proceeded to move behind me and grabbed me in a headlock. He then proceeded to give me a noogie from hell, “Trying to sneak up on a more experienced assassin could get you killed kid, so remember that.”

I gritted my teeth, “Okay I understand! Uncle! Uncle!” He laughed and then let me go. I glared at the man hidden by a cloak and a mask. The mask only covered half his face so I could see the grin he had plastered on his face. I smiled and then shook my head; I’ve only known this guy for a few days, but for some reason I have this sort of older brother type of feeling towards him. Maybe it is just me and the fact that I always wanted an older brother or sister.

Jack was still grinning before he spoke, “You mind calming the little girl down as well? The murderous aura she is producing is enough to suffocate someone.” He pointed over towards Qendaess and I could see that she was fuming and looked like she wanted to rip Jack to pieces. I laughed, “Qen, its okay he isn’t a threat.” The aura she was exuding was released and she stopped growling at Jack.

Jack whistled, “You need to teach me how to do that, I need to try it on my wife some time.” I raised an eyebrow, “Wife?” He laughed, “Yup, been married for the last fifty some years.” I shook my head, “Fifty Years! You don’t seem like your over twenty-five!” He laughed and shrugged his shoulders, “My species lives for hundreds of years. In my human form I look no older than twenty-five like you said, but I am actually one hundred and twenty-nine years old. We don’t become an adult on my planet until we are one hundred years old, in humans years that is.”

I was confused, “Human years?” He nodded, “Yeah, in human years it would be one hundred years, but the way my species deals with time is that one hundred years is actually around eighteen.” I shook my head, “That is confusing as hell.” He smiled, “That’s why we stick to human years when we talk to other species. Humans are the main race in the universe so most stuff is geared towards them.” I nodded my head, “To ease to confusion I guess?” He nodded his head.

I then thought of something else, “When did you realize she was hear?” He smiled again, “When you two walked in the gate together I figured she was with you.” He looked her up and down before he spoke again, “Though were you picked up such a babe from is beyond me.” I smiled, “I found her in a cave.” He snorted, but he didn’t say anything towards my answer. He looked at me, “So what’s the plan?”

I smiled, “We are still going to assassinate the king, but I have been given permission to scout out the rest of the capital.” He nodded his head, “Why are we scouting out the rest of the capital?” I grinned and then looked at him, “Because if the capital is just as bad as the king then we are going to burn it to the ground.” I originally planned to raze the entire kingdom, but I figured that there were people in the kingdom that probably didn’t have anything to do with the people in power. So I decided to just scout out the capital and see if it was completely corrupt, if it wasn’t then just the king would die. I could see his eyes get wide through the holes in the mask and he asked in the communicator, “How are we supposed to do that?”

I hooked my thumb behind me towards Qendaess who was standing in the same spot from earlier. He looked at her and then communicated with me again, “And what is the little girl going to be able to do?” I grinned and told him, “Hopefully nothing, but if you’re lucky you will see then.” He glared at me, “You know I could pull rank, but you are of a different suite so it would really do no good…” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “...That and I really don’t care. I am paid to do a job and once its finished what you do afterwards is up to you, but I will give you two days before I leave in the ship.”

I nodded my head, “Two days is plenty of time, but even if it takes longer I have my own way back.” He looked at me for a minute before he smiled and then put his arm around my shoulder, “What do you say about hitting the pub then mate?” I laughed, “Lead the way.” He started to pull me along and I noticed that Qendaess wasn’t following us. I stopped and then spoke to her, “You coming?”

She smiled, “I would love to, but you told me to wait here.” I raised an eyebrow, were my orders that resolute? I figured that I should watch the way I word things to her from now on. I told her to come on and she finally started to follow behind us. Jack whistled again and then looked towards me, “You got her under your thumb don’t ya? I’ve heard of being pussy whipped, but I haven’t seen it the other way around.” I smiled, but I didn’t say anything towards his comments.

He shrugged his shoulders and we walked into a building that was pretty lively. There was a person on a small stage playing some kind of banjo type instrument. There were conversations all over the place and even a few tables singing and banging their mugs together. It was like a pub you would see in those movies about the middle ages. Jack led the way towards a table against the wall.

He sat on one side while Qendaess and I sat on the other side. Qendaess was sitting against the wall and I was on the outside. Jack sat comfortably in the middle of his bench. I asked him a question that has been nagging me since he brought up the whole pub idea, “What are we doing here?” Jack laughed, “What better place to gather information than in a pub? The only place here with looser mouths is a brothel.”

I laughed and nodded my head, “I guess that is true.” Qendaess looked at the table trying to hide her red face. I grinned at the sight and then looked around the bar. Everybody was having a fun time and I could see lots of waitresses moving about the room. They were wearing short skirts that showed off their fair legs and blouses that revealed quite a bit of cleavage.

One of the waitresses walked over and asked us what we would like to have. Jack answered her, “We want whatever drink you recommend gorgeous.” He smiled at her and revealed a set of pearly white teeth. She smiled and wrote down our order, “Three mugs of Dragon’s Piss coming up.” If I was drinking something I would have spit it out on Jack, thought about what the bartenders from Earth would think about such a name. The waitress smiled at my laugher, “It’s named that way because it smells like a Dragon’s Piss, but the taste is amazing.” I smiled at the waitress and she froze for a split second before smiling and walking away.

Jack laughed, “Easy there killer, don’t need the waitress crawling into your bed at night do we?” I laughed, “I have no clue what you are talking about.” He shook his head, “You really have no clue do you?” I furrowed my brows, “What are you talking about?” He shook his head, “Nothing man, enjoy your night life though.” I shook my head and looked towards Qendaess, “Do you know what he is talking about?”

She looked away and spoke in a tiny voice, “You have a very handsome smile.” I couldn’t quite hear her so I grabbed her chin and turned her towards me, “What was that?” She moved her eyes away from me and repeated herself, “I said you have a very handsome smile.” I smiled at her, “I do?” She saw my smile and she stiffened up before if felt like she melted in my hand. She nodded her head and weakly spoke, “Yeah.”

I laughed, “I never thought about my looks that much nowadays. Everyone used to say that I was a sickly pale looking stick, so I just quit paying attention to my looks.” Jack laughed, “You don’t look anything like a pale stick. You are pretty good looking and while you aren’t the most handsome man I have ever seen, you do have a smile that could cause even a man’s heart to flutter.” I laughed and then let out a small smile and looked around. I saw that the waitress who took our order was talking to a couple other waitresses.

She pointed at our table and they all looked over towards us. I decided to test out what they were saying and gave them a small smile. Their faces turned red and they immediately turned around and tried to busy themselves. I laughed and then shook my head at the sheer ridiculousness in the fact that I had a lady killer type of smile. I guess the game gave my body more than I thought it would, not that I am complaining or anything. I suddenly thought of the other people I smiled at and tried to remember if they acted the same way, but I couldn’t think of any. Maybe I will notice it more from now on or something, who knows.

I looked back at Qendaess who had composed herself some and asked her a question to change the subject, “Do you know why their drink is called Dragon’s Piss?” I only asked her because she has been on this planet longer than I have. She smiled and answered my question, “The reason it’s called Dragon’s Piss is because one of the ingredients is actual dragon’s piss. It has a smell just like normal piss, but it is a little bit stronger. From what I have been told by other species is that it tastes wonderful and almost has a grapey flavor to it.”

I raised an eyebrow, “From what you have been told? You mean you have never tried it before?” She shook her head, “Of course not, what person in their right mind would drink their own piss?” I laughed at what she said and shook my head at the thought of drinking piss. I thought about all those survivalists who said they survived by drinking their own piss, but I don’t know if I could have done it or not. The waitress came back to our table after a few minutes and gave us our mugs. She looked at me, but before I could say or do anything she turned and fled. I smiled and shook my head.

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Jack took his mug and took a giant swig of the drink and then slammed it back down on the table, “Damn that’s good!” I raised my eyebrows in shock causing him to look at me. He laughed, “I have drunk way worse things kid, but I do want to know why the girl said something about drinking her own piss when talking about this drink here.” I looked over towards Qendaess and she bluntly answered him, “It’s because I am a dragon.”

As soon as the words left her mouth the entire pub went quiet. I looked around and saw that the entire pub was looking our way. I turned towards Jack who was taking another swig of his drink, “That makes since.” He pushed his mug aside and took Qendaess’s, “I guess I can have this then.” He slid her mug towards himself and then pointed towards a man sitting at the bar, “That explains why that man has been staring at you since we walked in the bar.”

Qendaess looked towards the man and gasped, “It’s him.” She grabbed onto my shirt and scooted a little closer towards me. I was shocked at the fact that she actually seemed scared. I spoke to her, “What’s wrong?” She whispered towards me, “That is the man that poisoned me. He is the Dragon Hunter known as Xandrix.” I raised an eyebrow, “Dragon Hunter?”

She was about to answer me when Jack spoke up, “It is a rare class and they are a part of an organization that specializes on bounty hunting. For one of them to attack you then someone must have paid them to do it.” He looked at Qendaess, “What did you do to have someone pay them to come after you?” She thought about it for a minute before speaking, “The only thing I can think of is the time I refused some weaker dragon’s hand in marriage. He followed me for months even after I told him no. I finally embarrassed him in front of his friends and he backed off. That was almost five years ago though.”

Jack shrugged his shoulders, “Some people hold grudges for a long time. I had a friend that held a grudge for almost four hundred years, from what he told me. He held onto that grudge before he killed the man that he had the grudge against.” There was a voice from right beside me, “I was paid to kill you or humiliate you. I figured that killing a dragon of your power would be easier than humiliating you, so I purchased that poison I used on you. You disappeared on that island somewhere and I figured that you were dead so I just left.”

I looked to my right and saw the same man from the bar standing beside the table. He was looking down at us and had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He has dark black hair and a matching goatee. Standing about six foot, but sitting down it is hard to tell. He was built like a body builder and had a black sleeveless shirt showing off his muscles. He had a pair of blue jeans on and a brown leather sleeveless jacket over his sleeveless shirt. The collar of the jacket was fluffy as hell and a cream white in color. What stood out the most was the fact that his eyes were a creamy white in color too; it was like he didn’t have any pupils.

He was staring at Qendaess and was completely ignoring me and Jack. If he was able to injure Qendaess then he has the right to ignore me right now, but Jack is another story. He isn’t as weak as I am right now. Jack stood up and stood right in front of Xandrix. Xandrix looked at him and smiled, “I am only here for the dragoness, no one else has to get hurt.”

Jack smiled, “I agree that no one else has to get hurt, but she is a part of our group and we can’t just let anything happen to her now.” I nodded my head and stood up, “That’s right. In fact as her owner shouldn’t you have to ask me for permission before you can touch her?” I didn’t know if what I was saying was true, but in a lot of web novels and light novels slaves of another person can’t be touched without the permission of the owner. I figured I would try to see if that worked here.

The response that the man gave me was a little different than what I thought. He looked at me, “Owner, you?” He laughed and then shook his head, “If a runt like you is the owner of a High Dragon of Fire and Earth then I am the lord of this galaxy.” I grinned and mockingly bowed, “A pleasure to meet his majesty.” Xandrix hardened his face and threw out a lightning fast punch towards my face. His fist was stopped inches from my face.

I felt the air from the punch blow past my face and I could feel my mouth twitch a little. I looked at who stopped his punch and saw Qendaess gripping his wrist. She was growling like a dragon protecting her property, “Don’t touch my master.” I was surprised that the fear she had earlier was completely gone. Xandrix widened his eyes and shook her hand off. He looked at her and spoke, “If he is really your master then show me your brand.” She didn’t say anything, but the brand from earlier glowed on her right cheek. He checked it out and then looked at me, “Now show me your ownership brand.”

I was confused and looked at Qendaess. She smiled at me, “Just concentrate on an area of your body and think of the brand.” I nodded my head and did as she told me too. A brand showed up on the top of my right hand and it looked exactly like the brand that Qendaess had except for the violet colored word owner below the bottom of the spade. Xandrix sighed and then shook his head, “It’s real.” He looked at Qendaess, “I will report to the organization that you’re to no longer be touched and the contract will be canceled.

I was completely confused at what was going on, “Wait? Really? Just like that?” Xandrix nodded, “Just like that. There is a universal law that doesn’t allow the slaves of other people to be touched by anyone else, unless the owner gives them permission. It doesn’t completely eliminate the humiliation and foul treatment of slaves, but it does prevent people from harming slaves of those that treat their slaves like friends or family.”

I nodded my head, “I guess it’s better than nothing.” He nodded his head, “Since everything has been settled it is about time I head back to the organization.” He put some coins down on the table and left the pub. I sighed and then sat back down on the bench. I must have sat down a little too hard, because I fell back a little and leaned against Qendaess. She surprisingly didn’t move much, just enough to make it more comfortable for me.

I decided what the hell and just leaned back against her. Jack sat back down and downed his mug. He slammed it down on the table and hollered at the waitress, “Give me another one!” Everybody in the pub snapped back to reality and started conversing with each other and the waitresses went back to work.

Jack and I sat there listening to the conversations in the room. Most of them were about what just happened and others were about meaningless things. I unconsciously grabbed the mug and took a swig of Dragon’s Piss. The putrid smell hit my nostrils almost instantaneously, but it was too late. The liquid flowed across my tongue and down my throat. I was mentally preparing myself for the nasty taste and the possibility of throwing up, but it was surprisingly good. It actually reminded me of a grape soda from back on Earth.

I took another swig and then when I moved the mug back I saw Qendaess looking down at me. She was upside down from the angle I could see her at and smiling. She looked at the mug and then back at me, “Was it good?” I tried not to smile and nodded my head, “Yeah, it’s surprisingly tasty.” She nodded her head and then looked at my mug. I moved it in her direction, “Want a drink?” She was a little shocked at the offer and then grabbed the mug.

She blushed a little bit and then looked quickly back and forth between me and the mug before she finally took a swig. She pulled the mug from her mouth and then licked her lips a little. She saw me staring at her and she quickly handed the mug back. She quickly said thank you and then stared at the table. I laughed and shook my head, which caused her bust to move up and down. This brought a few stares from the men in the pub, but we both ignored them. Ignoring them didn’t stop her face from turning and even brighter red.

I started listening to the conversations around me again and after a few minutes there was a notification.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill [Eavesdrop]!

Eavesdrop Level 1: Allows the user to listen in on conversations at a far distance as well as quiet ones. (Skill can be leveled.) Limitation – Current maximum distance for normal conversations is one hundred yards, quiet conversations are fifty yards.

I smiled and then activated the new skill. The conversations around me got a little louder and I could actually hear a few people that were whispering. There was one conversation that caught my attention. At a table on the other side of the room was a group of people dressed in armor, they looked like knights of some sort. There was a stout knight whispering to one of the other knights, “The girl that we kidnapped has been taken from the palace.”

I heard all I needed to from just that sentence and deactivated the skill. I looked over at Jack, “You get that?” He smiled and nodded his head. I took this time to ask a question that I had been wondering, “Where is the little lass by the way?” He smiled, “She is hidden safely and won’t wake up on her own for a few days.” I nodded my head and didn’t ask any more questions. The girl was safe and secure which is all that matters.

I stopped leaning against Qendaess and I could almost swear that she made a pouty noise when I sat up. Jack stood up from the bench and I followed suit. I looked back at Qendaess, “Stay here unless I call for you okay?” She nodded and then Jack and I activated our [Hide Presence] skill before walking over towards the table. We made our way carefully towards the table and tried to not look like we were actually headed towards them. We didn’t know if one of the group had [Detect Presence] or not, but to be careful we made it look like we were just aimlessly walking around.

When we got within ten yards of the table we were relieved to know that they didn’t have the skill and we could stand closer. We were almost touching the table at this point and could hear their conversation clearly. It was honestly a shock at how well the skill [Hide Presence] worked. It almost literally made us disappear and the fact that the knights were huddled up and not looking at their surroundings helped out a lot. I don’t think the skill can make us turn in visible, but it was damn near close.

The knight that I hear speak from our table was speaking again, “We went through all that trouble to kidnap the bitch, so that the king could make her his concubine, only to have her taken from right under the royal knights noses. Either the person that took her is a master hired by the family or the royal knights are useless.” Another knight snorted, “If it was me watching the girl then the person that took her would be dead or captured. If I captured them then I would let them watch as I played with the bitch a little.”

Another knight hit him on the head, “You idiot! The girl was for the king, do you think you have the right to mess with her? What do you think the king would have done if he found out?” When the knight finished talking he actually noticed us standing by the table and his face turned white. The rest of the knights saw his expression and looked towards us with pale expressions. Jack sneered, “Why stop? You were just getting to the good part. I wanted to know what the king would have done to you.” I laughed, “It probably doesn’t hold a candle to what we are going to do.”