As I continue to run down the alleyway, I turn back to look behind myself but don’t see anyone or anything chasing me. Without mana circulating through my body I felt significantly weakened, but I also knew it was possible to track someone through their mana. As I kept running, I changed my path multiple times before arriving before a small pond.
Taking some time to catch my breath, I had been running for about twenty minutes so I felt confident that I should’ve lost anyone trying to catch me. Recalling being found randomly by Anita, I knew it would be possible for them to find me, and looking around there weren’t many people out and about, in fact I’d drawn attention to myself after running.
Finding a building nearby that smelled like food, I looked at it and saw a sign that read “Lily Pond Inn”. Remembering how Olivia had taken us to an inn to rest, I made my way over to it. People were coming and going from this inn, and entering the building it was warm and had a fantastic smell to it.
Seeing a desk similar to the inn I had stayed at before, I made my way over and stopped in front of it. A young man with bunny ears was sitting there, and meeting eyes with him caused me some surprise. It was someone like me!
“Oh, a young fox. How may I be of assistance to you?”
Seeing him look at me with some surprise, I wondered what to say.
“U-um, I want to rest here…”
“Certainly. It’s 10 copper per night, 30 copper with breakfast or 50 copper for all three meals. What would madam prefer?”
As I thought about what he said, I tried to remember what Olivia taught me about the coins. Something about 100 copper coins being another coin. Scrunching my face, I looked down and said “I-I don’t know…”
“Are you new to the city? Well, just between me and you madam, since we’re both evolved monsters, I can give you a slight discount. You can pay me back later once you have some savings.”
Looking at the bunny eared man, I tilted my head. Handing him the gold coin I was given, I asked “How much is it to go to the Adventurer's Guild?”
Taking the coin from my hand, he looks it over before handing it back. “It’s 2 silver to take the test. I can reserve you a room for five days. It’s on the house, but after that I’ll have to ask for payment. Get yourself settled in Vale first.”
“On the house?” Tilting my head and asking this question, I see the bunny eared man smile brightly at my question.
“Right, you wouldn’t know what that means. I’ll pay for five nights for you, just get yourself settled first. It’s the best I can offer a fellow evolved monster.”
Opening and closing my mouth, unsure on what to say, I decided to tell this nice person the truth.
“I’m not an evolved monster…I-I’m a human and monster hybrid…” With my voice trailing off, I chanced a glance at the bunny eared man. Seeing him nod, he looks at me with some interest.
“Either way, you’re new to the city and a fellow with some monster mixed in. My offer stands.”
“W-why are you being so kind?” Unable to help myself, I ask him this question. I had just met him and yet he was offering a room for free, even if it was only for five days.
“When I first arrived in Vale I had nowhere to go, I can tell you’re in a similar position to me. Instead of leaving you to die on the streets once the blizzard hits, I’d rather you have a room in the warm. The blizzard will hit in the next two days and last three days, thus staying here for five days will at least let you survive.”
Hearing what he said, I remembered Roal talking about the blizzard being the reason why there were no monsters.
“T-then can I spend some coin to stay here for some more days?”
“That’ll be no problem. I can give you another five days for 2 silvers, usually it would be 2 silvers and 50 copper, but I’ll give you a slight discount. Don’t worry about paying me now, use that gold coin to get the test and they’ll give you change. You’ll need to buy a coin purse to lug around all the coins they’ll give you back.”
Thinking about it, I wondered how many coins they’d give me back and knew it would be a lot, just not the exact amount. Bowing slightly to the bunny eared man, I thanked him.
“It’s nothing, as long as you’re warm and safe, that’ll put my mind at ease. My name is Floof, a unique name that people tease me about but I’m very proud of it.”
“I-I’m Alisha.”
“Nice to meet you Alisha. Now, I’ll show you to your room and tomorrow I’ll give you a map to show you the way to the Adventurer's Guild.”
Grabbing a key from behind him, he leads me upstairs and down a hallway with doors on either side. Arriving before a certain door, he hands me the key. “Do you know how to use keys?”
Shaking my head, he nods and points at a strangely shaped hole.
“Put the key in here and turn to the left, it will unlock the door. Turning it to the right will lock it. All of our doors have a defensive magic embedded into them to prevent anyone easily breaking in, so make sure to lock the door when you enter and leave.”
Thanking him again, I did as he said and unlocked the door. Opening it, I’m met with a small room with a bed, a small table and a bath in a room to the side. There was a window that showed the lake I had arrived at earlier. Thanking Floof again, he walked back downstairs as I closed the door and used the key to lock it.
Hearing a clunk, a faint glow appeared around the door. Taking this to mean the door had been locked, I moved to the bed as I circulate mana through my body again, placed Alice on the table beside the bed, and laid down, falling asleep as soon as I put my head down.
[Floof’s PoV]
As I walked down the stairs, I glanced behind me once more. The little fox that I had admitted had worn a face filled with worry, fear and confusion, anyone could see she was new to Vale, yet seemed to be lost on where to go. Perhaps it was chance she came to my inn.
As I arrived back in the entrance lobby, one of my employees, Jessica, approached me. Bowing slightly, she wore a green and purple dress, the uniform for my inn.
“Master, a Deacon from the Church of the Moon Goddess requests your presence.”
Following Jessica, I arrived at the receiving room for important guests. Opening the door, I see the Deacon who was awaiting me. An old friend of mine, Bud. He wore the usual outfit, a black and grey robe, with the symbol of the Moon Goddess on its breast, with a wreath below it to signify himself as a Deacon.
“Bud, it’s been a while.” Sitting down on the couch opposite Bud, I offer my hand.
“It has Floof. Good to see you doing well.” Taking my hand, he gives me a firm handshake. Sitting back, I look at him, waiting for him to begin speaking.
Leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table, Bud looks at me before asking a question.
“Is she here?”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“I haven’t the slightest clue who you’re talking about.”
Thinking of the young fox I had just admitted, I wondered what she’d done to be chased by the Church. Of course, there are the rumours of the Church prosecuting evolved monsters…
“I see, she is a paying customer after all. Well, that’s fine as well, I am simply here to ensure her safety. Floof, what do you know about the Church?”
“Nothing, I don’t care for it. There are too many Churches worshipping who knows how many Gods.”
“The girl you took in isn’t associated with the Church, she is one who has potential to be one of the Moon Goddess chosen few, a Sister. As per the laws of the Church, we can not interfere or touch her in any way.”
Crossing my arms, I stared at Bud while gesturing for him to continue.
“Earlier she was brought to the Church for lodging. For some reason she escaped from the Priest who came to collect her…saving her life. As it turns out, there were some Priests ready to kill her the moment she stepped inside her lodgings. There are some unsavoury typ-”
“Racists you mean.”
Glaring at me, Bud sighs and says “Yes, racists within our ranks who can’t stand the thought of a monster being allowed in the Church. Our beliefs are that any and all who praise the moon are to be admitted, yet those who believe in an all human society reside in our ranks.” Sighing again, Bud looks at me once more.
“Earlier the Archbishop of the Vale Branch was…forcibly resigned from her post. Rumour has it that she told a Royal Guard trainee that they do not accept monsters into our ranks, and that for one to have a Bracelet of the Moon Sisterhood means she stole it. Not even ten minutes later a Cardinal in training arrived and took that Archbishop away.”
Raising an eyebrow, I wondered why Bud was telling me the inner secrets of the Church. Then it clicked. The young fox must’ve arrived in the city not long ago, meaning the Royal Guard must’ve sent someone to the Archbishop to confirm her identity.
“A Cardinal in training came to clean house? Then that girl is being watched, very closely.”
Seeing Bud nod, he stands. “I’ll leave her in your care. The current bishops have all decided to leave her alone, so the Church won’t be offering her help nor will they suddenly come after her.”
Standing up as well, I shrug and say “I’ll keep an eye out for this mysterious girl.” Seeing Bud sigh and look at me with an expression like he’d given up, I show him the way out before slightly increasing the defensive magic around the inn.
[Alisha’s PoV]
Standing there on my mana lake, I looked at the small moon that represented Flannery. No matter how many times I called out to her, she never responded. In fact, the small moon was a lot more dull than it usually was, like it was about to fade away.
Frustrated, I resist the temptation to simply punch the moon. Sighing, I glance around while thinking of what has happened in the last day. Knowing that my circumstances were dire, I considered what I had to do.
Firstly, I needed to find a way back to Crater Hell. This was a priority, figuring out where I am and how to get back.
Secondly, learn about this world. I have no idea how to collect these coins or how important they are.
Lastly, get stronger. I needed to learn about myself and gain more strength. I felt that I had been dancing in the palm of the strong ever since I was born, and I grew tired of feeling that my life and death could be decided on someone who was stronger than I.
I also wanted to learn more about myself. Why did my monster traits always show when compared to Sally or Gray, why am I supposedly a chosen of the Moon Goddess, at least according to the System’s description of my Race. Finding Dracovish would hopefully lead to me knowing why he created the Hybrid’s in Crater…at least, I hope it would.
There is also the fact of trusting this so-called Church of the Moon Goddess. After that encounter today, I didn’t want to go near them, and with Flannery not explaining anything I felt I had no reason to trust them. In fact, there is a bit of fear I felt towards them. I’d been labelled as someone who was to be a part of their Church, but I didn’t want that, I wanted to decide where to go myself.
Perhaps I should remove the bracelet, that should solve some of my issues. I’d keep it safe just in case, but removing it would mean people wouldn’t see me as a member of their Church and allow them not to judge me as soon as I met them.
Closing my eyes, I decided to exit my mana realm and allow my mind to rest, just like my physical body was.
***
Waking up to the sound of knocking, I sit up and look around. Snuggling next to me is Alice, her head under a wing, sleeping peacefully. Looking at the door, I heard another knock reverberate. Lifting myself out of bed, I straighten my dress and brush the hair out of my eyes. Opening the door with a turn of the key, a young girl in a green and purple dress awaited me.
“Good morning madam. Your breakfast has been prepared, would you like it brought up to your room, or will you have it downstairs?”
Blinking, I look over the young girl again. Stifling a yawn, I mumble a response. “Up here please.”
Placing a hand on her chest and bowing slightly, the young girl responds “Certainly, I will have it delivered as soon as possible.”
Seeing her walk away, I close and lock the door again. Rubbing my eyes, I sit down and pull out the key and note I received from Luna. Putting the key to the side, I open the note with interest.
On it is a strange magic circle, and from the smell it was written with blood. Raising an eyebrow, I tried pouring mana into it, but there was no reaction. Not sure what else to do, I put the note back in my pocket and leave it be. Looking at the bracelet around my wrist, I try to remove it. Strangely it didn’t budge, causing me to feel slightly frustrated. Trying to break it off didn’t work either, in fact putting strength into it caused nothing to happen at all.
After a few more attempts, the bracelet just stayed on my wrist, causing me to feel dejected. Perhaps I could buy a glove and hide it. Thinking of doing that later, I heard another knock at the door, and answering it I found the same girl, this time with an enormous amount of food on a cart.
Pushing the cart into the room, the young girl bows once again and leaves. As soon as the food had arrived, Alice woke up and flew over, landing on my head and pecking me. Giggling at her, I put the food on the table and along with Alice, we ate for the first time since we left that inn all the way back in that small village.
After we finished eating, I wondered what to do with the cart. Loading the plates back onto it, I thought about taking it myself as another knock came from the door. This time a young boy in a green suit was waiting. Bowing, he tells me he came for the cart, and pushing towards him he takes it and leaves.
Seeing as breakfast was done, I started getting excited to explore. Picking up Alice and holding her to my chest as she snuggled in, we left the room, locked the door and went downstairs. Arriving downstairs I saw it was busy with a lot of people talking, meeting and booking rooms. Not sure how to move in such a crowded area, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Turning, I saw the same young boy who had taken the cart back. Bowing slightly, he handed me a piece of paper.
“The master wishes for you to receive this map.”
Wondering who this master was, I took the map and looked at it. In the corner was a small note written down.
“Good morning young fox. Follow the map here to find the Adventurer’s Guild. Good luck on your test!”
Thanking the young man, I carefully move out of the inn and check the map. Putting Alice on my head, I check the map for details and follow the directions it provided.
As I’m walking down the streets, I was looking around and seeing new things that I hadn’t seen before. People crammed in the streets, people yelling out to sell oddities to others, children playing in the snow. It’s a stark difference compared to Crater and the new home we settled in for the Hybrids.
Trudging through the snow reminded me of my time in Zalus, it had been snowing then as well. Rounding a corner, I found myself in an intersection of sorts, an area without any buildings in it, with so many people walking through it. Six streets branched off into different areas, the one street leading up to the castle had guards and barely anyone went down that street, but the other five had a lot of traffic.
Glancing at the map, I went down the street to my right and the surroundings changed from houses and some shops to having people dressed much differently than usual. There were no children down here, everyone walking down the street here was equipped with weapons and armour. A lot of the people here looked battle hardened, one person I passed by was missing an arm and an eye, but still walked with determined steps.
There were so many different types of people, some had traits of being monsters. Some had claws instead of hands, scales and skin and even one had a boar head, weidling jagged edged swords. No one stared at me, some gave me curious glances but otherwise ignored me. The last time this had happened was back in Zalus.
Continuing to walk down the streets, I turned into another street that was filled with shops selling all kinds of equipment. Armour, weapons, clothing and even food and drink was being sold in stalls and buildings. Resisting the temptation to browse the stores, I kept myself focused on heading towards the Adventurer’s Guild.
Before long, I arrived at a huge circular building. The sign read “Adventurer’s Guild”, the building itself had 10 floors. Craning my neck up, each floor had a different symbol on it that I didn’t understand. Seeing the flood of people coming and going from the building, they were all dressed in different sorts of equipment. Feeling Alice pecking at my head, I grabbed her from the top of my head and moved her into the coat Roal had lent me as I walked into the Adventurer’s Guild.
Stopping for a moment, a question arose in my mind, something I should’ve found out earlier.
What’s an adventurer?