They entered a fairly luxurious lobby, certainly one of the nicest rooms he had ever been in. What amazed him was this was not even the top of the tower, there were better rooms above him. Rooms in this portion of the tower might cost silver every work cycle to rent! This would quickly add up to gold. It was hard for him to imagine throwing away such wealth on just shelter.
A gold standard was something like two hundred and fifty silver standards this far out from the True Human Realm. He had been told, as you approached the core of the human realm, gold decreased in value relative to silver. How much the ratio decreased, he did not know. Greer had told him the differential was because adventurers who came this way tended to buy with silver but take gold back with them. One would think it would be the opposite, that adventurers would want to spend gold here since its relative value was greater, but there was little to spend it on this far from real civilization. Most of what was produced here were raw materials, no finished products. Nearly everything of note was shipped back to the human realm. Some of the smarter adventurers would, of course, receive gold for whatever they found, and change it to silver to bring back with them, making a profit, but this could only be done so much. Money changers were only allowed to work through the tower, and had a stiff fee of their own, making it only marginally lucrative.
Greer led him to a large, elevated, circular table in the back area of the bar. The rounded, bench-seating that went with the table was surrounded by a spelled privacy wall.
Dem didn’t know what to expect from his new employers. Greer hadn’t been very specific about them, either because she did not know, or because she thought it would be a better joke on him when they surprised him. It would be like her to do that. Greer seemed uncharacteristically nervous right now though, as they peered into the dimly lit area.
The first thing he noticed was.. a huge muscular woman, taking up a third of the bench space by herself. She was perhaps the most classic example of Classed Warrior he had ever seen. Her armor wasn’t particularly thick, but it covered everything important, minus her head. Some Warriors went for a fortress-style approach, like a Classed knight, where they encased themselves in armor, but others, like this woman, wanted to used their strength for mobility as well as destruction. Her face was like a block granite, boring, nondescript, and perfectly suited to someone with her type of Class. Her hair was a reddish brown, and tied into a ponytail in the back. It had been shaved on the sides giving her a fierce look. Even her eyes were a boring grey color. She wore some sort of gaudy necklace around her neck, it perhaps the most incongruous thing about her, looking nothing like what a Warrior would wear. She had an overly-large sword peeking over her shoulder, set at an angle for easy access. He couldn’t be sure, but she had to be at least two heads taller than he was. He hoped this wasn’t the one who requested a handsome guide. Even Ina wouldn’t be able to save him from such a woman. Luckily, her face betrayed no interest in him as he looked at her.
Dem strode closer to the table, and more of the people at the table became visible. The privacy spell lifted as you got nearer apparently. He had never seen a spell like it. Eventually he could see a slight woman, in leathers. Her features were fairly plain, but she seemed to have a bright smile for him as she took him in. Her hair was dark like his own, cut short to frame her face. She was a head shorter than he was at least. She had wide, dark-eyes that seemed to shine despite the low light. As he took a step closer, he noticed she had a blade she continually played with. She had a slim build, and as he looked her up and down, he started to notice all manner of places where she could, and probably was, storing blades. Was she a Classed Assassin? Or a simple Blade Fighter? If it was the former, he should probably try to back out of this deal, if the woman would let him. Assassins were utterly frightening and remorseless killers. They were less welcome than Tamers in most places, so the chances were low. He had never met one before, but Caius had told him about them in a drunken stupor. Unlike the obvious Warrior, whose age he couldn’t discern, the woman with the blades was young, perhaps only a little older than he was. This realization made him relax a little, an Assassin would be older, someone her age would only be an apprentice at most.
Finally, after taking one last step, he found himself at the edge of the table. From here he could get a good look at the last person at the table. He inhaled sharply, this woman, was.. what he should have been looking at this whole time! Describing her as beautiful wouldn’t be inadequate, she was a sultry queen! Why he should to devote the rest of his life to serving her! His heart beat rapidly and his mouth starting to gape open. Her sultry smile! He never seen a woman so..
Something white flashed across his vision.. and his mind snapped back into place. The woman had used some sort of glamor, or spell. He could see she was attractive, but not so amazing as before. The last time he had seen a white light arc across his vision like that was when a spell he had cast had clashed with another spell. She must have a glamor on her of some kind, or she had cast a spell to influence him. He could see that she had realized what she intended to do hadn’t quite worked, the sultry smile she had on her face had waned a little.
Looking at her with new eyes, he could she loved the color red. Everything she wore was a shade of red. Her hair was perhaps the brightest red he had ever seen on a person’s head. Her lips were were a darker shade of red. Her hair was long, coming down her shoulders to rest on one the largest busts he had ever seen. She seemed to be presenting it to him in all its glory. The dress left little to the imagination. The slit down the front, showing her cleavage actually split most of her dress in half, except where it branched off under her breasts, showing a good portion of the underside of her bust as well. She was nearly as tall as he, he could guess. Her age totally indeterminate. Her eyes a darker shade of grey than the Warrior woman, and far more alluring than the larger woman’s eyes, but oddly also the least attractive feature of the woman in red.
Greer coughed, a bit more loudly than was strictly necessary. As Dem had taken in the party, the party had also gone quiet to look at him. The moment must have taken longer than was strictly polite for Greer to chime in. He also considered she might be jealous, perhaps she had been nervous about one of these women stealing him away. The idea of a women jealously competing over him was bizarre, but his life was a strange thing now.
“Lady Adventurers, this man is Demneh, your guide! Bring him back in one piece!” Greer had wanted that last part to sound like a joke, but it was clearly semi-serious. The woman in red look from Greer to him, raising an eyebrow slightly. He kept his face as neutral as possible, but Greer was suddenly an open book to this woman. The woman in red’s smile returned to version Dem had seen earlier.
At her pronouncement, the small girl with the blades, and the woman in red both gave him a polite clap. The Warrior woman just farted and began to pick her teeth, not really looking at him any more. This behavior had not surprised him at all, Warriors had a certain reputation.
The woman with blades began to speak quickly.
“Aye, yar ah an’some fella, dun wurry t’all, I w’all protect yea bu’ in e’change I wan’...”
The words tumbled out of her mouth, almost indecipherable to him and totally belaying the dangerous air about her.
The woman in red spoke, cutting her off. “I shall introduce us properly Dice, do not interrupt.” Something about the way the woman pronounced her Rs ate away at Dem's willpower.
“This, as you might have surmised, is Dice, she is our scout and our lookout, she does a bit of ranged work as well. She really shines when throwing a blade. She will watch our backs, and help you primarily.” The woman in red’s voice seemed to indicate she would be the leader of the party, which suited him fine.
He did have a question though..
“Apologies, but if I might ask. If she is your scout, why do you need me?” He could guess the answer, but having her state his job clearly would be helpful to him.
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The woman in red took his interruption in stride, “She knows nothing of the local area, of forests, of trees, of the Wilds, or even much of beasts as they exist out there. The purpose, in-part, of this endeavor is to train her properly to work in more natural environments. She is our newest member!”
“Aye, I dun’ knuh o’bout rees, only o’bout ah-lees an’ ‘averns.” Once again, he couldn’t understand Dice, as she too interjected herself into the conversation.
The lady in red, stopped her with a look.
“Yes, she is quite new, as you can see. Her accent leaves something to be desired. We will work it out of her though, won’t we?” She turned to look at the Warrior woman, who simply grunted and began to pick her nose, still looking away from him.
“The large woman you see there is Wersa. She fights and kills for us, and does not stop, so don’t get in front of her.” Wersa was struggled with something in her nose, and only grunted in response.
The woman in red’s smile seemed to stretch further a she began to talk about herself.
“I am Karmisina, but you may call me Karmis. I provided spell work from the back, of course.” With this statement, she offered him her hand.
I was a bit dumbfounded as to what I was suppose to do with it, so I simply bowed over it, trying to convey a sense of subservience. Buttering up the leader, especially after he'd thwarted her spell inadvertently, was a good idea whenever wokring with an adventuring party.
The woman in red laughed a little at whatever mistake in protocol he had made. Her laugh sounded surprisingly like a cackle.
“You’re supposed to bring it to your lips, like this..”
She took Dem's hand and brushed her lips over his knuckles while looking up at him. He felt another spell, this time something weaker, begin to affect his mind. He was more ready for the spell, and it seemed to pass much quicker than the last one. He still didn’t understand why her spells weren’t working on him. It was another mystery he would find out when he had a chance to figure his Class out. Right now he needed to focus on making money.
“Ah, yu’ all’ays duh hiss.” Dice huffed out, crossing her arms across her chest, turning her face away from Karmis’ attempt at, what he assumed was, spell-based seduction. Why would this woman need spells in the first place? Why on him? He was already her employee. Perhaps this had to do with her Path? Her Class? Did she want simple obedience? Either way she made no mention of her use of spells, and neither did he.
Her displeasure was a little more obvious when this latest attempt didn’t work, but she kept her face still smiling. She moved the conversation forward.
“Greer has told us a little about you, that you are a.. Tamer? Such good looks, wasted on beasts if you ask me. Though, I must say, your Class is a little like mine.” She didn’t explain her last cryptic statement, but she seemed to be implying he should introduce himself better..
“Well, ma’am. I am Demneh, a local guide and hunter. I am a Classed Tamer. I only have one beast, she is a many-tailed. A good huntress. She has gotten me out of many a bind.” He didn’t know what to say exactly in this situation, but a Tamer was generally judged by the quality of their beast.
Karmis spoke again, “I see is she a lesser beast? Perhaps a greater beast? I’m sure she is very helpful in your work.” Her voice sounded only mildly interested.
Suddenly he felt a bit like he had forgotten something important. These adventurers would undoubtedly meet Ina, who was now a beastwoman. Beastshit! He hadn’t really thought about this, his cover story was pretty flimsy and Greer, still standing beside him, would be astounded at Ina’s new form.
He simply had to move forward, and hope Greer moderated her response.
“Uh.. about that.. well Ina has advanced, again, recently.”
Greer punched him in the arm.
“She advanced ‘again’? You liar, something did happen out there!” Greer’s voice was a little loud. So much for playing this cool.
Karmis’ face suddenly looked a lot more interested. This was bad. She seemed to be trying to look at both Greer and himself, at the same time. Like she was trying to understand both our reactions simultaneously.
Greer’s face suddenly became a little blank, asking another question.
“She is a middling greater beast now? Think of what you could hunt and then sell to me with a beast like that!” Of course, Greer's mind was on gold.
“Not exactly..” He laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with a sweaty hand.
Greer, still excited. “Is she an elder beast then? That would still save you rotations of helping her increase her abilities. No wonder! You look a bit different, her advancement help you out a bit? You sly beast, you.”
Dem's voice got a bit quiet, and some of the confidence left it, “Ah, well. It's a bit more complicated than that.”
He now had Greer, Karmis, and Dice looking at him intently. Greer was especially confused.
Dem needed to just spit it out, “She is now a beastwoman, at around the elder beast level.”
Greer’s face was the most surprised, but then quickly got serious.
“What happened?” Greer’s question sounding more like a command.
“She ate something, I don’t really know what it was, I didn’t actually see it. It was probably something significant though, or perhaps something especially beneficial to her beast-type. I asked her to show me where she found it, but nothing was there.”
Greer, “Are you sure you didn’t get just a little bit of it?” Her voice slightly accusatory.
Dem responded quickly, “I’m sure, I would have sold it to you, not eaten it. You know that.”
Greer seemed mollified by this response, but then her eyebrows began to move down and closer together signifying a small storm brewing in her mind. Then just as suddenly, she turned red and spit out another question.
“Is she pretty? What does a many-tailed beastfolk even look like?” Greer actually seemed to be pouting.
Dem was deeply conflicted now.This woman had always been a solid, yet greedy, rock in his life. She had always been something he held on to when things were tough, and yet whatever he had become had reduced her to pouting and jealousy. It turned his stomach in exactly the same way he felt when Caius had told him the reason for Caius’ exile. She wasn’t herself, clearly, but he still needed her, for his parents sake.
He feigned a laugh at her reaction and spoke, “She is mostly claws and fur, rather scary if you ask me.”
Greer still didn’t seem totally convinced, but Karmis, thankfully, decided to chime in.
“Really? A Beastwoman? How interesting. You say she ate something powerful?” She looked around to her compatriots, eyeing them in turn, before settling her eyes back on him.
“We should explore where she found it, perhaps we will find something else nice there?”
“Of course, ma’am” His response was immediate and undisagreeing.
“Oh, you can call me Karmis, you don’t have to call me ma’am. It makes me feel like an old woman. You don’t think me an old woman do you?” she spoke to him intently, and batted her eyes at that last question.
He wondered how old she actually was, but quickly responded.
“No, of course I don’t. Karmis.” He gave the best smile he could as he spoke.
Greer side-eyed him, still suspicious. Wersa hadn’t reacted to any of this, but Dice was holding in a comment he could see.
“Well, Lady Adventurers, Karmis, Dice, Wersa. Greer has told me you want to leave in half a cycle? Could we meet at the Wilds-Deeper doors?”
The doors the led further away into the Wilds, were aptly called Wild-Deeper by locals. The doors that led to the trail that pointed towards the True Human Realm, were generally called the Realm-Doors. Technically the settlement was still surrounded by the Wilds on all sides, but people generally tried to orient themselves using the human realm as a locus.
Karmis spoke, “Of course, Demneh. We should rest shouldn’t we ladies?”
Dice hummed in agreement, while Wersa simply grunted.
“Thank you for your time, Lady Adventurers, I look forward to working with you!” Dem tried to give this farewell a flourish.
The women at the table merely nodded and went back to their drinks. He steered Greer away from the table, back the way they originally came. Only stopping when they were back in hallway that led to the lift. It was, thankfully, still deserted. He pulled her into their original alcove.