Her answer was a slug to the arm, making him wince. He was pretty sure he just took a bit of damage from that tap. As if remembering something though, Agha fished into her a pouch at the waist and pulled out a jingling sack of what he assumed were coins. She tossed the bag at Tyler, who caught it and looked inside. Sure enough, there was an assortment of silver coins inside.

"A hundred copper shillings makes up one silver farthing. A hundred farthings make up one gold mark. One hundred marks makes up a platinum penningar."

Tyler blinked a bit at the strange nomenclature but just shrugged. He was just going to call them coppers, silvers, golds and plat in his head. No reason to overcomplicate things.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked.

"Ye," Agha replied, pointing at him. "Are going tae go tae thae tavern and get a room, and some sleep. Then we can see about gettin' ye work tomorrow. I'm sure Pa has a few ideas. Ye know where it is, ya? Good. I'll see ye tomorrow then."

With a small wink, she turned around and headed out the bath house. A few minutes later, Tyler left as well. He supposed he did need sleep, and some food. So, it was off to the tavern for him as well. Who knew what tomorrow would bring?

It was rather easy to make his way back to the entrance of the village of the tavern where he would be staying the night. He walked across the stone pathway as he backtracked, breaking in his new boots. He had to dodge a few kids, given their smaller than average size and high pitched voices, as they kicked a leather ball around and made all sorts of rambunctious hoots and hollers. Huh, so kids did exist in this world. Tyler was worried for a second that people just popped out as full adults. Mostly because that would be weird and didn't make sense. Either way it was of no real consequence to him. Not like he had kids.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Tyler eventually made it to the inn. Thankfully, there was no puking patron outside the doors this time. He could just imagine stepping into a pile of vomit. Eugh, nasty. For a second, he wondered why there was no sound. That was until he spotted a small rune on the top of the door's archway. Actually now that he paid attention, it was almost like two of them mixed together in some strange, interlocking pattern he could not comprehend.

Runic Lore is Level 2.

Huh, looks like he was right. Well either way, he was tired and he needed a place to sleep. So with only the slightest bit of trepidation he opened the light stone doors, and stepped into the tavern. Immediately, he was hit with the smell of roasted meat and alcohol. That in and of itself would be fine, but there was also the smell of sweat and blood. That, he wasn't a big fan of. Either way, he just hoped his room smelled less. Otherwise he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep.

Scanning the area, he took note of his surroundings. As expected, everything seemed to be made of some stone, but a few of the tables seemed to be made from some sort of white material that looked too soft and polished to be stone. The tops of said tables were also blue with white dots. Wait, were those mushroom tables? Huh, you learn something new every day.

A few of the patrons gave him a glance, but they just seemed to shrug as he made his way to the bar counter. Apparently they had either seen stranger things than a tall, pale man enter the bar or they just couldn't be bothered. Tyler didn't know which, but it wasn't his concern. Saddling up to the counter, he took a seat and waited. It didn't take long before a gruff dwarf, polishing a stone mug, came up to him.

"What can I get fer ye today? Dunnae get many tall-men round these parts, ye some kind of elf?"

Smiling wryly Tyler responded.

"Ah, half elf actually. Dad left my mom after knocking up and she had me. It's a long story, not really interesting though."

As a result of your actions, a new skill has been discovered.

[Deception]

Uncommon

Level 1

Sneaky little twit, aren't you? What's the matter, don't want to spread around that you're not even from this plane? Makes sense.

This skill allows you to lie, hide, cheat and do all sorts of rougeish acts that rely on interacting with others easily. Chance of someone believing you deceit increases per level of this skill.

Well, Tyler wasn't going to turn down a new skill addition, but did the System or whatever was behind everything have to be a dick? He'd have to ask someone more knowledgeable if it was always like that but he pushed the thought to the side. Instead, he simply turned to the bartender and smiled slightly.

"Sorry, System's being a gnat. I'll take a meal, a mug of your finest booze and a room for the night. How much will that cost?"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The bartender rubbed his beard, thick fingers combing through the coarse hair, before he spoke.

"Standard meal of Mantis Steak and Mushrooms is about a silver. The ale will be fifty copper, and it's a silver for a night."

Nodding, Tyler fished into the pocket of his pants, where he had placed the bag of coins from Agha, and grabbed three silver farthings. He decided not to question why the standard meal was what appeared to be shrooms and bug meat. Placing the coins on the counter, the bartender took one of the coins and bit it before he grunted. He assumed the man was testing to see if the money was real or not. Reaching under the counter, the dwarf pushed fifty copper coins as change towards Tyler as well as a pig iron key with the number '3' emblazoned on the bow of the item.

"Steak will be ready shortly, just take a seat and my son Gimlo will be right with ye."

Heh, funny name that. Tyler nodded and thanked the man for his service, scooping the small dime-sized coppers into his money pouch and grabbing his room key before taking a seat near the back of the tavern. He watched as two burly dwarves started arm wrestling. The younger one, if the softer face and shorter beard was any indication, was sweating profusely and red in the face as he tried to push the arm of his gray-haired senior to the side and win. The older man simply yawned and took a sip from his mug, letting it go after a few seconds before belching. Then he simply twisted, and slammed the younger dwarf's arm against the table much to the delight of the onlookers, who cheered. It was a funny sight. People here seemed to jolly, it was a nice change of pace and helped ease his growing tension.

Soon, his food arrived as a stout dwarven boy with barely any facial hair came out with a tray of food and a mug of alcohol.

"Here ye go sir, enjoy yer meal!"

The lad saluted and hurried off towards what Tyler assumed were the kitchens. Looking at his plate, he scrunched his face. The mushrooms were reddish brown and sauteed in some kind of odd brown sauce that smelt savory. It was the bug meat on the plate that made him pause for a second. It looked like a steak made out of crab meat. That is, if crab meat was slightly green. There was also some herbs on it and he leaned down to take a whiff. It was...od. It smelt like a mixture of fried chicken and mollusks with a hint of cilantro. Certainly an odd pallet of tastes, but well...what else could he do but try it. So try it he did, using the provided utensils and cutting into the meat. Then, he popped a piece into his mouth expecting the worst.

It was...decent. Good even. A bit rubbery like calamari, and the mixed taste of poultry and seafood was a bit odd to his senses. But he had been expecting something like lima beans or brussel sprouts in meat form. Thankfully, he was wrong. Seriously, whoever thought brussel sprouts and lima beans were food had to be sick in the head. The mushrooms were, well, mushrooms. Earthy and spongy, and the savory sauce added a slight hint of beef. Or at least a beef-like flavor. Either way it was a good meal.

Next came the alcohol and with another sniff, Tyler scrunched his nose. This was definitely some strong stuff. But he WAS in a Dwarven village. So he might as well get used to it. Tipping the stone mug and lifting it to his lips, he took a small sip at first to get used to it. It was strange, with hints of apple or something similar to it and a slightly citrus-after taste. Of course, it was also strong as hell, the burning in his throat making him cough slightly. A few dwarves chuckled at his reaction, but didn't seem to mind that he was a newbie at drinking booze. It was a good drink though, and he finished it within a few minutes, letting the warm buzz of alcohol fill him.

Finally finishing off his plate to his utmost, he left the used plate and silverware, or was it ironware now? Well either way, he left it all on the table, assuming the bartender's son would take care of it. Having nothing else to do, Tyler made his way up the stairs of the tavern. He passed by the first two doors, pursing his lips as he could hear the telltale signs of flesh smacking against flesh, male and female voices muffled by the door as he passed by the first one. Quickly, he made his way to room number three, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

The room was cozy, that was the best way to describe it. A small bed, obviously fit for a dwarf, sat in the upper-left corner of the room. Thankfully it wasn't made of stone like so much of the village. It seemed to be made from mushrooms. At least the frame was, and he wasn't going to question fantasy furniture. Though given this was his new reality, maybe he should? He didn't know, and he was getting distracted. A small window outlooking the village was in the center right across from the door, letting in the smallest amounts of the setting sun's light. Next to the bed was a small stone nightstand and opposite the bed in the far-right corner was a mushroom cabinet, where one would store clothes he presumed.

"Might as well get some sleep, who knows what tomorrow will bring."

Tyler mused to himself, palming a yawn as he slowly began to disrobe, leaving his clothes and boots in a pile on the floor as he crawled into the bed. It took a few minutes for him to get situated, given his much taller stature. Also, the blanket and pillow were a bit scratchy, but he guessed he would have to deal with it. There probably wasn't much in the way of linen and soft fabrics in an underground village. Closing his eyes, Tyler began to drift off to sleep.

----------------------------------------

Far away on another continent, four members of the Church of Yavera knelt before Renara. They had finished their mission, and put an end to the Transmigrator's life. What was his name again? Oh well, it didn't matter.

"And you are sure he was dead?" The priestess asked, a firm tone to her normally lilting and holy voice.

Daren nodded. "Indeed, stabbed him in the back multiple times and tossed him down a chasm in the repository. Even my eyes couldn't see how deep it went. If by some chance, he did survive the fall, he'd have bled out or starved. I'm sure of it."

Renara pinches the bridge of her nose. This would be more simple if there was a kill notification. But sapient beings such as humans, orcs, goblins and the like gave little experience outside of truly evil people such as demonic worshipers or mass murderers. It was a long-standing fact that the System Conscious, called the World Soul by many, did not like sapients killing each other, especially outside of an outright warzone, hence a massive penalty towards XP. That didn't stop the Church from purging non-humans and heretics though. Why it was that way, no one knew. Hell even the eldest of the Elders and Yavera herself did not know why the System gave power as it did. Sure there were theories. But no proof. What they did know was that if you pissed off the System in some way, doing anything it didn't like, your life would be hell.

"Very well. We shall send scholars to gather the information there now that it is open. Here, your reward from the High Inquisitor himself."

Renara waved her hand and four divine treasures appeared, one for each of them. These items, while useless to her and Garium, would help push this quartet past True Copper and into High Bronze. If they were smart of course. The four bowed ever deeper and accepted the treasures, taking them into spatial storage rings. Then she dismissed them.

Once they had left, she stared into space for a moment. She had a bad feeling and only hoped she was being paranoid. If that man had survived, the Church would fall. She only prayed to her Goddess that he was well and truly dead. No good came from a Transmigrator.