Chapter 166

Aiden had already told the driver where to take them and the group talked quietly with each other as the cart rolled slowly across K'tharkle. The streets seemed to be even more packed than they had been earlier that day. Not all of the people were dressed as adventurers either – many wore fine clothing and Jay guessed that they were most likely nobles or merchants based on their expensive dress.

The cart finally rolled to a stop in front of a friendly looking building and everyone got out as Jay paid for their fare. The building had multiple floors and lit candles shined in each window. Night had finally arrived and the candles flickered brightly behind the glass windowpanes. The door was sturdy and as Aiden pulled it open the scent of garlic and onion floated past them as they walked inside the restaurant.

A small standing desk greeted them behind which stood the hostess who smiled warmly at their approach. “Welcome! If you are ready I can go ahead and take your names.”

M'redith smiled and offered, “I am M'redith, Glimmerhide Group – this is Jay, Ruler of Kagan's Dome, Aiden, and Norri.”

The woman nodded happily and inspected the seating chart in front of her as she wrote the names down on a piece of paper and handed it off to a nearby employee who walked briskly in to the back of the restaurant.

The hostess was on the short side, even for Eden, and wore thin strapped high heels, silky black pants, and a rose colored silk blouse. Her dark hair fell down her back and shoulders in bouncy curls and she smiled at Aiden as she spoke, “I have a table open, if you'd like to follow me please?”

Their group followed along quietly behind her as they were led to a table in the back corner of the restaurant. The room was busy with people eating at tables and waiters carrying trays of food back and forth. The smell though, the smell was enticing and if the group hadn't been hungry before they arrived then they were definitely hungry now.

Jay pulled out a chair for M'redith and Norri mockingly did the same for Aiden, who made a big show out of thanking her profusely before being seated. M'redith shook her head with a smile as she sat down and Jay helped nudge her chair forward.

“What, you think she can't handle her chair?” Norri asked as Jay sat down next to M'redith.

Jay laughed, “I was just being polite!”

M'redith nodded, “It was nice.”

Aiden grinned, “I thought so too. I could get used to it!”

M'redith made a face at him and Norri giggled.

Aiden's stomach growled and everyone quieted down and remembered that there were menus on the table. They all opened their menus and scanned the pages.

When the waiter arrived they'd already decided. While there were a number of things they could have ordered Aiden was insistent that they had to try the lasagna. They all picked the lasagna with Aiden's encouragement along with a bottle of white sparkling wine and a glass of water for each of them.

The waiter smiled and nodded before he collected the menus and left the table. That was when Jay first felt it – he could feel a number of people looking at him and as he scanned the room he realized that his group stuck out – a lot.

The people at the other tables were all dressed formally. Suits. Dresses. Expensive jewelry. Some tables even had attendants who served the table's occupants. Not the type of place Jay usually ate at. Not the type of place Jay EVER ate at.

“Aiden,” Jay asked in an off hand manner, “how did you find this place again?”

Aiden grinned, “I'd overheard some people talking about it at Redgrass and it sounded good.”

Jay nodded. That explained it. Aiden had gotten the idea of where to eat after listening to some very rich people discuss it. The issue was, even though Jay might soon qualify as a very rich person, he had yet to begin dressing that way.

He and his friends were wearing plain yet well made leather armor with what looked like holographic collar devices that constantly glimmered a rainbow of colors which tended to draw the eye. They wore boots, not shoes or high heels. They were not accompanied by any attendants.

They stuck out. They clearly did not belong there. Not dressed as they were anyway. Still, they had been seated because the hostess wasn't familiar with them and did not want to offend them if it turned out that they were well connected – or well funded. It was usually best to treat diners like royalty and leave it to the manager to throw them out if they were under-dressed.

Which is why the next visitor to Jay's table was the manager.

“Good evening! How are you all doing tonight?” a stout looking man offered as he sidled up to their table. He had a wide smile and an apologetic tone as if he had to break some bad news to the table but would take no joy in doing so.

“Great!” Aiden answered and Norri echoed his statement. M'redith smiled and Jay gave the man a nod.

“Wonderful. Might I ask if you have been here before? How did you hear of us?” the man asked.

Well, that was what he said. What he was really asking without saying the words were 'Do you have any idea how expensive your meal is about to be?'

Jay shook his head, “I've never been here but my friend overheard a couple talking about your restaurant the last time we were at Redgrass.”

The manager's eyebrows rose a tiny fraction at the mention of Redgrass. No one at the table looked as if they would even be allowed inside of a place such as Redgrass but again, looks could be deceiving. The manager tried a different approach.

“Might I share a moment of honesty? Strictly for informational purposes, I mean no offense!” the manager asked with all kindness as his eyes flickered to the group's armor, footwear, and general appearance.

M'redith had been quiet up until that point but appeared suddenly as if a switch had been flipped and the old M'redith was gone and instead replaced with someone the manager was much better equipped to handle.

“My boyfriend will require a bank draft for tonight's meal, I assume your establishment keeps a few on hand?” M'redith said in a no nonsense tone of voice. Those were the words she used, but what those words said was 'We don't carry around the amount of money we are prepared to spend for tonight's meal.'

The fact that M'redith, and not Jay, had made the statement also sent a message. It was beneath Jay to respond to such a series of requests as they were all aware of what was really being discussed.

Aiden and Norri watched them go back and forth in confusion as they completely missed the underlying conversation taking place. M'redith was sitting straight with her shoulders back and her face tilted to stare directly in to the eyes of the manager. She stared with an intensity that was uncomfortable to have pointed in one's own direction.

For a moment she looked, even dressed as she was, as if she truly belonged there and the manager stammered for a moment before he recollected himself. “My apologies miss, I meant no disrespect.”

M'redith nodded, a brief movement that could have been easily missed but the manager caught it.

“Well then. Why don't I go check on your meal and see about having that draft brought over for you as well.” the manager managed to get out. Things weren't solved quite yet. Anyone could put on an act like M'redith if they practiced enough.

The manager walked in to the back and in to his office. The room was strewn with papers and half opened boxes. “I need a credit check on table 7! Get them a bank draft and while they're filling that out check with K'tharkle Bank to see if they can even afford to eat here. Hold off on serving them until we get a response, ok?”

They kept a runner on for exactly this kind of situation as well as a number of others. It didn't take long. There was a bank office open 24 hours a day and the messenger returned with a written note.

The manager opened the note and read the contents quickly before he read it a second time.

Jay does have an account with us. However, please inform him that he should wait a day or two before purchasing the restaurant. -Hodges, Accounts Authentication Department, FKB

The manager growled. They could have just said Jay had enough money, no need to be snarky about it!

The messenger handed him a second piece of paper which he quickly opened.

M'redith does have an account with us...

He read the rest and frowned. Why were two people like that wearing used leather armor to his restaurant?!

“Heads up! Get moving on table 7 now! They're legit!” the manager yelled as he exited his office in a hurry.

*****

After the manager had left M'redith had relaxed back in to the normal M'redith and not the intense woman with the straight back she had been but a moment earlier.

“What was that about?” Norri asked as she looked back and forth between M'redith and Jay.

Jay smiled, “I think he thought we were too poor to eat here and was trying to tell us nicely to leave.”

M'redith smiled.

“Until M'redith spoke up.” Jay said with a grin. “I think that is one of the few times you've ever called me your boyfriend!”

Aiden grinned and immediately began to tease the two before M'redith glared at him and he stopped.

“The manager was looking for you to assure him that you could pay. I just helped out. That's all.” M'redith said with a straight face as she refused to meet the eyes of her group mates.

Norri looked around the table, “Seriously? We're just going to let her get away with that?”

Aiden shrugged, “You want to ask her about her background? Go ahead,” he said with a crooked smile.

Norri sighed in a huff. “Fine. But you're going to have some explaining to do after graduation, I swear!”

M'redith smiled lightly, “Of course. It's not that interesting, really. When we graduate I'll be happy to answer all your questions Norri.”

Norri seemed mollified, for the moment at least.

Jay was just as interested but he was positive that M'redith wouldn't answer any questions until after graduation. So he didn't ask any. It was easier that way.

They sat and talked for a time before waiters finally began to approach their table. They each had a wide plate set in front of them, each covered with four square slices of the most delicious looking lasagna that Jay had ever seen. Placed next were the group's water glasses, wine glasses, and a bottle of wine which was opened for them and poured. Finally the waiter asked if there would be anything else.

“No, thank you.” M'redith assured him and the attending waiters filed out and returned to the kitchen.

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The surface of the lasagna was covered in cheese and looked almost the same as the top of a really good cheese pizza would. The cheese was topped with a crumbly white substance that Jay wasn't sure of. As Jay used his fork to cut off a bit of it a mix of cheese and ground meat dribbled off the side as the scent of garlic and onion wafted in to the air.

The lasagna was fresh out of the oven and far too hot to eat. So Jay and his friends stared at their meals as they blew on them as if that would somehow cool it down after coming out of a 375F degree oven.

Finally Aiden managed to take a bite and the others made moves to follow his example before Aiden began to make huffing noises and shake his head. The others stopped before they could put their food in their mouths as they watched Aiden burn his mouth on his food.

He had a big sip of water before he put his fork down. “Too hot to eat still.”

Norri laughed, “How could you tell?”

The others laughed as well. They were starving at this point and were barely holding back from eating even if it would burn them.

Eventually their food cooled enough that they could all eat, and they did. Jay was surprised to taste a slight tang to the cheese when he ate his bite. “What is this?” Jay asked curiously.

“Feta!” Aiden said with a grin. “Feta cheese is the best. I don't know why more people don't use it in their foods.”

The rest of the table was forced to agree as they continued to eat their meals. The feta was a great addition to a standard lasagna – an already delicious food.

After they had finished they all sat quietly as waiters arrived and cleared off the table. Jay sipped at his last glass of wine – he had a few already and the bottle on the table was not the original one they had started with. They all ended up enjoying the food as well as wine which was bubbly and tasted more like a champagne than the usual white wine.

They waved off dessert as they were too full and the waiter eventually brought Jay the bill along with the bank draft he had already filled out. Jay worked out a 20% tip and wrote the final amount on the bank draft. The total tally was in gold and silver amounts, not copper and silver, and Jay realized that he had just spent the most money he had ever spent on a meal.

As he handed the papers back to the waiter the waiter's eyes widened and he bowed twice and thanked Jay before he left.

“What was that about?” Jay asked.

“What did you end up giving them?” M'redith asked curiously.

“I gave him the usual tip, twenty percent.” Jay answered a little defensively.

M'redith laughed, “Oh Jay.” When she finally got her breath back she explained. “Five percent is a tip. Ten percent is a gratuity. Fifteen percent is overdoing it. I'm not sure what twenty percent is considered, I mean, other than too much.”

Jay frowned, “Isn't five percent a little too low?”

M'redith smiled and her eyes twinkled, “Jay, this place is expensive. Five percent is the minimum. Ten percent if you liked the service. You just made their night as far as tips go.”

Norri spoke up, “Don't rich people tip more?”

M'redith wiped her eyes and chuckled, “They tip more in value but not in percent. They spend a ton so a five percent tip is a lot of money. If you were buying something cheap you'd pay a higher tip percentage because otherwise the amount of money would be insulting. What Jay just paid was a lot both in percentage and value. The rich don't do that, not often anyway.”

The manager had returned to the table and M'redith motioned to him with one hand as if to say, 'See what you've done?'

“Thank you for coming, you have been very generous! Is there anything else we can do for you tonight?” the manager said with a smile. He seemed a bit nervous that the group might hold his earlier behavior against him. Now that he knew the group had money he wanted to make sure they were happy and would consider returning for another meal at some point.

M'redith fielded the question, “That's all for tonight. Please thank the staff for us, the lasagna was delicious.”

The manager smiled as if M'redith had said just the right thing because she had. “Of course! I will personally let them know. Thank you again for visiting and we look forward to seeing you in the future!” he happily proclaimed before he walked off to return to his office.

It had gotten late and it had been a long day. The group hadn't fought any monsters or run any dungeons but they were just as tired as if they had. In addition, they still all had class in the morning, bright and early. They had missed class today as they had a really good reason for it. Were they to also not attend tomorrow however questions would inevitably be asked.

They hadn't graduated yet, so finally they all got up and thanked the hostess on their way out.

They were walking much slower than they had before they ate and no one was interested in walking anywhere.

“Cart. Now. Erg..” Aiden mumbled as he looked around for somewhere to sit.

“No sitting yet! We'll never convince you to stand back up if you sit now!” Norri scolded him as Jay flagged down a passing cart.

Jay spoke with the driver and handed them a coin before Jay returned to the group and everyone climbed inside.

Everyone made vague sounds of unease as they were so full but no one complained. They had done it to themselves and had enjoyed the entire process, no point in complaining now about such a delicious meal.

Jay marveled at the amount of people out and about. K'tharkle was a large city to begin with but the sudden influx of people was showing in the crowds and lines of people that had appeared for what seemed like every other city block. Earlier in the day it had been adventurers but now that night had set it seemed like there were a lot more nobles about than was usual.

“What's with all the people you think?” Jay asked.

M'redith looked at him like he was crazy. “Seriously?”

Jay nodded and the conversation drew the attention of both Aiden and Norri.

“Well, the adventurers are all here because of what we did to Kagan's Dome. The more expensively dressed people you are seeing are probably here to bid on our auction coming up. The fact that those two events are so close together, along with the fact that the King attended the Kagan's Dome's opening, is probably the reason so many people are showing up all at once.” M'redith calmly explained as she pulled at the collar of her armor.

“Can I just say that we should never wear armor when we plan on stuffing ourselves ever again?” Norri said as she tried to rub her belly through her leather armor.

Aiden groaned and shook his head. “So full. I can't wait to get all of this armor off!”

They all smelled of garlic and onion and were too tired to worry about it.

They'd arrived at the Guild's main entrance but were forced to wait in line. Something had changed. Now, instead of a smoothly moving line, there were two lines. One for pretty much everyone and a second line of carriages that looked extremely expensive and well made. Many had coats of arms displayed on their sides.

It appeared as if the Guild was receiving visitors from more than just adventurers currently. It was causing a delay in gaining entry.

Although the process was slower than it had been earlier that day it still moved somewhat smoothly thanks to the numerous Guild guards that patrolled the area as well as the city guards that managed traffic just outside of the Guild's main entrance.

Their cart finally rolled in to the courtyard and Jay and his friends exited the cart as fast as they could as guards shuttled them off to the sides and out of the way of traffic.

A well dressed man was causing a scene as he refused to move along and was instead standing in the way of traffic as he spoke with his attendant. Finally the Guild guard had enough of it and what looked like a guard with a rank device on his shoulder and chest approached.

A brief conversation ensued in which the guard made repeated requests as the well dressed man...well, there is just no other way to put it, the well dressed man threw a temper tantrum.

The guard gave him a moment to tire himself out but when he realized that the well dressed man had no intentions of complying things quickly escalated.

The man and his attendant were surrounded by guards, picked up off of the ground, and thrown out of the main pedestrian gate. People quickly moved out of the way so that the bodies wouldn't touch any of them as they passed.

Jay and his group looked on in amazement as the well dressed man got up off of the ground and ran at the pedestrian gate to try and get back on to Guild land, all the time yelling and cursing.

The city guard on the city side of the pedestrian gate grabbed him and hauled him off to a waiting transport carriage where he was shackled and stuffed inside without any sympathy. His attendant followed soon after.

The Guild grounds returned to normal as traffic swiftly resumed. The guards weren't taking any crap from anyone, even the well off it seemed.

“Best to be on our best behavior. The guards seem a bit on edge.” Jay muttered as they quickly walked away from the courtyard and towards the female living area. They dropped Norri off first who thanked Jay for dinner emphatically before giving everyone hugs goodnight.

M'redith thanked Jay as well and gave him a kiss that Aiden finally was forced to look away from as he grew uncomfortable standing there. She gave Aiden a quick hug and closed the door behind her.

Aiden and Jay walked off in the semi darkness. The area was usually occasionally lit by torches and magical lighting but they were walking along a path that wasn't as well lit.

“So M'redith. What do you think her deal is?” Aiden asked as they brushed past plants and trees that had overgrown the path.

Jay shrugged, “Princess? Rich girl? Married? Who knows?” he said as he stepped over a muddy patch.

Aiden laughed, “MARRIED? You think she might be married?”

Jay grinned, “That was more of a joke, but the others? Who knows. She can be different when she wants to. There's something there but who knows what. We'll just have to wait and see.”

Aiden nodded, “Right. It always comes back to that, doesn't it?” Aiden kicked a rock that was in his way and it skittered down the path and off to the side. It came to rest in a patch of leaves.

“Hey, thanks for dinner, if I haven't already thanked you.” Aiden said with a serious tone.

“You're welcome, and you haven't.” Jay replied with a teasing grin.

Aiden smiled. It bothered him sometimes how Jay had to pay for everything. He worried that Jay might get tired of paying for Aiden's meals, but it hadn't happened yet. What Aiden had failed to realize is that to Jay paying for meals was a negligible price to pay for a loyal friend in a strange and new land.

Jay's teasing response gave him comfort though – if Jay was bothered by something he had a difficult time hiding it and would have said something.

“Here you are Ruler,” Aiden said as they had reached Jay's rooms. “Or Patron. Mini-king? Ooo! Can I call you Jay the Little King?”

Jay laughed, “Absolutely not! None of those! Just Jay. Or I'll start calling you by your titles.”

Aiden grinned, “I'd like that!”

Jay smiled and shook his head, “I bet you would! Listen,” he said, “I'm still me. Don't go all weird on me now just because we got to meet a King today.”

Aiden nodded, “Ok. Jay then. Seriously though, I think Little King has a certain something to it.”

Jay gave Aiden a half handshake half hug. “Go get some sleep and stop calling me names.”

Aiden grinned, “Nite, you.”

Jay closed the door behind him and happily peeled himself out of his leather armor. His underclothing had become a bit sweaty and was in need of a wash. Jay was too tired to spend time on his aura so he instead put it all in a pile in the corner. He'd 'wash' them in the morning.

Jay smiled at the pictures of M'redith on his bed side table and turned out the lights. He lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. What was M'redith's deal? He just didn't know enough to even make an educated guess – he wasn't educated enough when it came to Eden.

A pool of light played across his ceiling and moved across the wall as someone carrying a light source walked along the path below outside near his window. The light passed completely as whoever it was turned a corner and Jay sighed.

He'd met a King. He'd been made a King in a way, but a tiny one and of just a tiny piece of land. Aiden wasn't that far off when he had called Jay a Little King. Tiny King would be even more apt.

Crafting the new rooms for the dungeon had been fun and Jay was looking forward to learning what else he might be able to do with that ability. He'd been able to change the area around the dungeon – would he be able to change the inside of the dungeon as well? He needed a guide – the menus he had looked at when he was working on the dungeon had been far too confusing to attempt to make changes without some sort of plan.

Hopefully Glenda would be able to help him with that. If anyone could find information on Patrons it would be Glenda.

Jay was finally winding down as his mind slowly relaxed from the long and eventful day. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. He dreamed of a tiny castle built on a tiny rock with a tiny moat. Tiny people begged him to grant tiny concessions while he had to find tiny money to pay for expenses that were somehow not tiny at all.

Jay tossed and turned in his sleep as the night wore on.

The Tiny King slept fitfully.