“He’s almost here,” James said, watching the end of the alleyway with a careful gaze. Tyler turned in the direction of the approaching man, standing directly in front of Anya. Though she was technically six years older than Tyler’s body looked, she was only about a head taller than him. Even so, it probably looked strange for a person of Tyler’s height to be protecting a person of Anya’s height. Tyler began to push mana into his hand, and could feel it collecting in a small ‘pool’ located in his palm. Huh. This body really is weird, isn’t it? He thought in some far corner of his mind.
Within a few seconds of preparing his ‘weapon,’ Tyler could see a man entering his field of view. The man wore a dark brown hooded cloak which looked not unlike the black cloak that Anya currently wore. Within the cloak, though it wasn’t obvious to the random passerby, Tyler could tell that the man’s fist was clenched over something near his belt. A knife? A sword? It’s too early to tell. Something felt somewhat off about this whole situation. First of all, why would the Connoisseur send a human to deal with two nonhuman species? And he was a human. Even if Tyler couldn’t see it with his dragon vision, he would have been able to feel the lack of a blessing in the man in front of him. His mana aura was also greatly diminished compared to James’s, or even Anya’s. Or mine, Tyler thought, although he couldn’t actually see his own aura unless he turned his focus solely onto himself. The human’s aura was also colorless, unlike James’s, Anya’s, or Tyler’s.
Tyler still didn’t know what an aura really was, only that auras from people with blessings were not only stronger, but they had stronger color. For example, James’s aura was a vibrant green, similar to his eye color. It was always surrounding his figure, but was completely invisible to everyone but Tyler. Tyler could only see it because of his dragon vision. Anya’s, in contrast, was a light blue, and reminded Tyler of a sunny sky. Tyler’s own aura was almost the opposite of his companions. Instead of being bright and vibrant, his aura was dark. Dangerous. It resembled his violet flames, but was even more intense. The edges of his aura also tended to flicker with an immense darkness. He didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t like it. It reminded him of the void of his blank dreams.
“Hello,” James said cheerily to the man as he entered the dim alleyway. “Can we help you?” He was acting as if being followed on the street was a common occurrence. The lighthearted way of speaking made Tyler feel even calmer than he already was, and seemed to calm Anya down a little as well. It gave them confidence.
The stalker seemed taken aback as well by James’s words, but for a very different reason. He must have thought he had gone unnoticed until James began to speak, and the fact that he was not made him wary. Is he an amateur? Or is he just not used to dealing with anomalies like James or me? Tyler thought.
Suddenly, the man seemed to disappear. Or perhaps Tyler simply couldn’t follow his movements with his eyes, considering he was only halfway paying attention to the man. An instant later, James was parrying a strike to his face with a steel dagger. The two exchanged knife strikes for a few moments, but it was obvious that James was going easy on the man. He might be fast, but he isn’t strong. It looks like he’s using mana to enhance his speed, though. How is he doing that? He doesn’t have a blessing, Tyler thought inwardly. He had hardly reacted to the man’s movements, and simply stayed where he was. He knew James could easily dispatch the man, but was looking for an opportune moment to disable him without killing him. After all, it would be essential to discover who it was that had sent such an assassin.
It could have been the Winter Kingdom, perhaps. But how would they have hired a human assassin so fast? No, it made more sense that the man was sent by the Connoisseur to collect Anya.
It didn’t matter though. Tyler needed to leave, and this was his chance. He quickly turned around, and began speaking to Anya in a low voice.
“Anya, I’m going to leave. Don’t let James know which direction I’m going, because I’m leaving him behind on purpose. Not that I don’t trust him—James is actually a great guy. I’d trust him to have my back in a pinch. However, I don’t trust the guy he works for, so I don’t want him to know where I’m going. Stay safe!”
Before Anya even had the chance to respond, Tyler’s wings were out, and he made a quick leap to the roof of one of the buildings near him. The building was probably five stories tall, but Tyler’s strong legs and wings made it as easy as jumping off a curb. Anya was left alone in a plume of wind with a look of shock on her face. If she had known which direction Tyler was going to take, she likely would have followed him. However, Tyler having wings came as a great shock to her. She didn’t even consider it as a possibility. She had known that he wasn’t a pixie, because his ears were round and his hair was black. Additionally, the chance of a dragonkin being capable of manifesting wings was so small that it might as well have been negligible. However, that was the conclusion that Anya came to. He must be one of those rare dragonkin with wings. She had not actually seen his wings, only a quick blur of black as he lifted into the air. If she had, she would have been more confused at their strange color and the pattern on their underside.
Tyler leapt from rooftop to rooftop, only barely touching down on each roof, but also not lifting up into the air. He didn’t want to be seen by those on the street. Once he had seen his targeted destination, he dove into a particularly dark alleyway. A moment before hitting the ground, he spread his wings once more to rapidly slow his descent. His wings caught the wind, and he gently floated the last few meters until he gently stood on the street below. He quickly tucked his wings against his back once more, making sure to carefully hide them beneath his cloak. Once he was sure his wings wouldn’t be discovered, he pulled his hood over his head and walked confidently out of the alleyway.
While Tyler was walking to the Connoisseur’s meeting place with James, he had kept an eye out for a place to find information. One of the nearest spots he had noticed was a certain pub, named ‘The Wandering Daemon’. Judging by the scantily dressed women standing by the front door, it was a bit more than just a pub. This is not somewhere I should be, is it? Tyler chuckled to himself. Even on Earth I wasn’t old enough to enter a place like this. I wonder what will happen when I try to enter here, looking like an 8 year old.
Tyler raised his hood a little when walking up to the door, showing a confident smirk that was only a little false. The women and the bouncer at the door looked a little taken aback when they saw Tyler’s face, but they made no move to stop him. Tyler entered the pub unmolested, and quickly moved to an empty single table in the back. It seems like bars in Somnium don’t have the same age restrictions as those in the United States. This is perfect. Not only can I discover where the entrance to Gehenna is, but I can also hide from James until he loses my scent.
Tyler sat in silence for a little while, nursing a glass of water while listening to the occupants of the busy pub. At this point, it was just past sunset, so the pub was quickly approaching its prime business hours. Tyler watched as a large variety of races gathered to drink, party, and generally relax after a day of hard work. Most of the tavern’s occupants were humans, but he noticed some dwarves, pixies, and even dragonkin with red or orange draconic horns sprouting from their heads. He also noticed that many of the occupants carried weapons of some kind or another. There were swords, axes, staves, and in some cases, a kind of short, intricately carved metal rod with a softly glowing gemstone inlaid into the top. Is that some kind of magic wand? Can humans even use magic to that degree? Tyler thought, before remembering that yes, humans could use magic. Or at least, some humans had control over mana, despite the lack of a blessing. He could tell when facing off with the assassin that James had no doubt killed by now.
“Hey, did you hear that the mercenary guild is holding a Gehenna expedition tomorrow evening?” Tyler’s ears perked as he heard a word that he had been listening for. He had only been in the pub for an hour, and he had already come across information that could be useful to him.
“No, I didn’t. Why, you planning on joining?” A second mercenary responded.
“Lux, no. I’m not nearly strong enough to go inside of that hellhole. I heard that they’re paying real good though. One osmium up front, and one gold per beast head after that. They pay after, though, ’cause not everyone’s gonna survive.” Before he knew it, Tyler was already walking up to the pair of burly men. One had an ax tied to his bare back, while the other carried one of the short magic staves that Tyler had seen. Both were human, but the one with the staff had a slightly more potent mana aura around him. Tyler’s face was still in shadow from his hood, but his voice was clearly that of a child when he spoke.
“Where would one go to join this expedition?” Tyler asked with a small smile on his face. The two mercenaries stood stock still for a moment, looks of bewilderment evident on their faces.
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“Are you going to join the expedition? But you’re a—“
“I know I’m a kid,” Tyler growled, his eyes flashing with a dark purple light. He was getting really tired of people saying that. The two mercenaries flinched, and they felt a sense of danger akin to that of standing before a powerful magical beast. They began to unconsciously back away, before catching themselves. Tyler grinned internally, before composing himself and asking again.
“Don’t worry about me. Just tell me where to find the mercenary’s guild.” The two men smiled, seemingly shaking off Tyler’s accidental intimidation.
“What would a small boy like you want to do in a mercenary raid?” The man with the battleax said in a mocking voice. Bastards, Tyler thought grimly. Well, they still have their uses. I need to join that mercenary expedition.
“Why else? I need the money. And I can fend for myself, so like I said, don’t worry about me,” Tyler responded with forced patience. The rest of the tavern was still bustling with activity, so their conversation was going largely unnoticed by the greater crowd. However, some stray eyes were being drawn their way. Tyler needed to finish this fast.
“Oh, you need the money. That’s a good one. I haven’t heard that one before,” The man with the magic staff leered. Why are they being so aggressive? Tyler thought. Any way you looked at it, this situation was absurd. Then Tyler realized. Not only were these two mercenaries drunk, but they were scared. They had been intimidated by what they saw as a little kid, and were trying to compensate for their pride by taunting Tyler and puffing up their own egos. It wasn’t a very smart thing to do, but hey—they were drunk.
This isn’t going to get anywhere. If these two won’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll find someone else to tell me. After all, I have another destination now.
“Well, if you aren’t going to tell me where to find the mercenary’s guild, then I’ll just ask someone else. I’m sure someone could help me out,” Tyler sighed in frustration. Stupid humans. Then he immediately stopped that line of reasoning. What am I thinking? Wasn’t I a human just a few days ago? Deeply unnerved, Tyler turned and started to walk away, towards the bar front. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t notice the man with the staff raise his weapon, a look of drunken rage contorting his face. Almost. This is almost comical, Tyler thought as the man began to chant loudly, his words almost slurring together. How much did they have to drink?
“Fire, o fire, demolish my enemy. Collect on my staff in a killing ray. Flame Bolt!” The man shouted. The rest of the occupants noticed the commotion and slowly backed towards the sides of the room. The only ones left in the center of the tavern were the two mercenaries, and Tyler himself. He had turned around and was watching the magic of the mercenary in front of him with a level gaze, his glowing violet irises indicating that he was using dragon vision. This is my first time seeing any kind of magic that isn’t a blessing. It’s a little… inefficient, isn’t it? As the man chanted, he could see pure mana both from the man’s body and the surrounding air as it collected on his staff. Its makeup was then gradually altered, turning from pure mana into an orange flame, seemingly by either the chant or the staff itself. Is the chanting really necessary? Not only does it announce your attack, but it’s also cringey as hell.
“How juvenile,” Tyler said aloud, simply watching as a bolt of pure flames launched itself directly at his face. Seeing as the other occupants weren’t trying to interfere, this was not an uncommon occurrence. The only occupants with looks of surprise on their face were the ones at the perfect angle to see Tyler’s lower face under his hood. Most of the occupants thought Tyler to be a dwarf because of his small stature. That is, until Tyler finally reacted to the attack flying towards him.
With a single hand raised, Tyler said a chant of his own. “Cancel.” The fire then hit his palm, and flared with a purple light before disappearing as though it had never existed in the first place. Tyler slowly walked towards the duo, releasing a small amount of killing intent. Even so, it was enough to push the two drunk mercenaries to the ground. The rest of the tavern watched as he turned his back on the two squirming mercenaries and walked calmly to the bar. The silence of the tavern was deafening in its intensity. Tyler sat at a barstool and motioned towards one of the barmaids.
“That was quite the spectacle,” the barmaid grinned while looking Tyler in the eye. Her gaze was piercing, as if she was looking straight through Tyler’s soul. Interesting, Tyler thought with a smile. He looked a little closer at the woman, but stayed silent while the rest of the tavern slowly lost interest in him. The barmaid was quite pretty, with smooth black hair and eyes that resembled molten silver. The two mercenaries were quickly kicked out of the tavern by a dwarven bouncer, and the occupants almost immediately returned to their conversations and drinks. This kind of thing was normal, if not even expected. The only thing that was outside of their expectations was Tyler’s attitude and ultimate victory over the two mercenaries. Tyler could feel a few eyes still trained in his direction, but paid them no heed.
“Humans truly are idiots. Especially when they’re drunk,” Tyler said with a chuckle. The bartender’s eyes widened a fraction, and she laughed lightly.
“I’m not sure whether to take offense at that or not. I’m a human as well, you know,” the barmaid said with a thoughtful look on her face. Tyler gave her a questioning gaze, then refuted her with three words.
“No you’re not,” Tyler said, cocking his head a little. The barmaid laughed nervously, then glanced around as though checking to see if anybody had heard. Seemingly satisfied with their relative privacy, she turned back to Tyler and hissed:
“What gave it away?” Her pleasant smile was gone, replaced with a look of wariness.
“Your aura. You’re doing a splendid job of suppressing it, but I can still see it. I can’t tell what you are, but you definitely aren’t a regular human, are you?” Tyler responded coolly. It was true. When she had approached him, he was able to see her suppressed aura through his dragon eyes. Her aura was a strange one, so he had noticed almost immediately. Instead of a pleasant light color like most non-human races he had met, her aura was the color of ink. In a way, it was eerily similar to his own.
“Ahh, I guess that would make sense,” the woman sighed while picking up a glass to polish it. It didn’t seem as though it needed polishing, so Tyler guessed it was a nervous habit of hers. “Just my luck to run into someone who can see auras after all this time,” she muttered. “Well, you caught me. I’m not a human. By your comment, I’m guessing you aren’t one either, are you?”
“No, I am not.” Tyler left it at that. No need to explain just what he was to this pretty stranger.
“I see. And you don’t know what I am, I take it?” the barmaid asked with a smile.
“No, though I must say that I am a bit curious, now that you mention it. Perhaps I will tell you my race if you were to tell me yours?” Tyler quipped with a small smile.
“Hmm. Perhaps. However, it would be more appropriate of me to ask you what the reason behind that little squabble was. No matter how drunk someone is, fights don’t just spontaneously start like that.”
Apparently they do, Tyler thought, before shaking his head. No, the fight did have an apparent reason. The two men had felt threatened by Tyler because of his dangerous aura that he had released in a moment of frustration. I need to make sure to suppress my aura more completely if I don’t want any more… annoyances like this.
“Actually, it was quite uncalled for. I had overheard them talking about a Gehenna expedition that the mercenaries were having in a few days, and I asked where I could find the place to sign up. After just a few exchanges of conversation, I decided they were being unhelpful. The human mage attacked when my back was turned,” Tyler said matter-of-factly.
“And then you, what, canceled his spell? Is that even possible?” The woman asked, bemused.
“That’s a secret,” Tyler said while smiling smugly. In truth, the ‘spell’ that Tyler had used to block the incoming fire spell actually wasn’t a spell at all. As a dragon with authority over fire, no human with a ‘flame bolt’ spell could overpower Tyler’s natural violet flames. And so, he had used his own flames to burn up and disrupt the oncoming flames in a single instant. He had also simultaneously discovered that he could use his flames without physically breathing them out of his mouth.
“Ok, I can accept that. What I am concerned about is the fact that you’re trying to join the Gehenna expedition. You know how dangerous down there it is, right?” The barmaid asked with concern in her face. Tyler almost slapped his forehead in irritation.
“That is not your concern,” Tyler growled with gritted teeth. I may look like a child, but do these people really have to keep looking down on me? I can’t wait until my body grows more, Tyler thought. He had to consciously prevent an intimidating aura from leaking out, and the woman looked taken aback by Tyler’s frustration.
“Sorry, did I say something offensive?” She asked, backpedaling. Tyler took a big sigh before speaking again.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m getting a little tired of people underestimating me because of my apparent age,” he muttered.
“Well, if you really want to join the expedition, you came to the right place. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. What’s your name?” Tyler floundered for a bit before settling on a response.
“You can just call me Blackie,” Tyler said, regretting every word. He really was going by that stupid nickname now, huh? [Bleep] you, James. The woman blinked in surprise, but then shrugged and took Tyler’s outstretched hand to shake.
“I’m Eliana Harbinger, owner of The Wandering Daemon tavern and Master of the Mercenary Guild of Junction City. Nice to meet you, Blackie!” She said with a wink and a smile. Tyler almost groaned aloud.