Vuthe emerged from the portal in what seemed like an old abandoned industrial complex deep in the night, still clad in her royal combat attire. Around her were the ruins of what she would assume had once been a steel factory, although she was no expert on the matter. Looking around and confirming that they were alone she and her friends stepped away from the portal to allow her army to walk through.
„Vix, I’d appreciate if you and Shade could go and scout the area, but make sure you are not spotted. I don’t care what you find out there, I don’t want anyone knowing you even exist. Report all you find to Tiz as per usual. Archangel, you’re on guard duty. I don’t even want a single rat to get in. Cal and Cast, make sure our people are ready and set up a camp. Organize with Tiz on where the best spots to set up defenses are, but make sure our people get some rest. Corellanium, I want you to think of a plan forward that focuses on safety and resources. We don’t know what's coming for us and I want to have at least some idea for the immediate future, before we can get more intel. Apocalyptica you lay out a rune circle around the area. While I have no doubt that Tiz could keep people out, I want a more permanent solution that doesn’t strain her. Make it subtle and non-lethal, preferably just make them think there is nothing intressting here. Everyone, safety is our number one priority! Make sure your people are safe and sound! Dismissed!“, Vuthe began to bark orders the moment they secured the immediate area. She knew that they didn’t need to be told what to do, but it calmed her considerably. They were out of the way of the world ending dread on the other world, but there could be immediate danger here, and she didn’t for a moment think that they could be careless.
Her people moved swiflty, used to this routine. Their movements were trained and without wasted efficiency, in record time they had set up a preliminary camp, but that wasn’t even remotely good enough for the five reincarnators.
After three millenia of abuse and war it was engraned in them to build fortresses, almost subconciously they all got their people to start setting up a defensive position that was made to withstand the horrors of the other world.
While it looked more like a medieval military camp it was much more, reinforced multiple times with defensive runescript, magic spells, and pure intent given form courtesy of Tizanta. Vuthe would be surprised if a tankshell would even leave a scratch on one of those wodden walls.
Setting up, as used to it as they were, still took time; time in which their scouts, mainly Vixus and Shade, scouted out the area. Four days later Vuthe looked over the camp, happy that so far things had gone smooth. However, that also worried her. She had lived long enough to know that the phrase „Silence before the Storm“ is much more than just a saying.
And as if prod by her worries, Corellanium came over to Vuthe, a small frown on his face.
His scales were currently in the form of his royal strategist outfit, a regal looking suit that seemed like it was reinforced with thin pieces of plate at vital points, coloured in the same black of the draconic scales it was formed out of. He wore two incredibly expensive looking shoes and behind him danced a long black tail that was about the thickness of Vuthe's thigh at the base. Like most dragons he stuck mostly to half of his Hybrid form, with both horns and the tail visible, but skipping the wings for convinience's sake, not that it would take longer than a moment to morph those out as well.
„What is it, Corel?“, Vuthe asked the lanky man, realising quickly that something was up. Corel wasn’t very expressive or social to begin with, so his facial expression alone told her that something bothered him. And after three millenia she knew him well enough to know that that meant it was something affecting all of them.
„Well… We have… a situation. I don’t wanna say problem, since it doesn’t necessarily need to be one, but something is odd. Well, multiple somethings“, he began, scratching the back of his head as he tried to find the right words, his charming, yet distant eyes dancing around in thought. He was a good head and a half taller than Vuthe, yet she always felt that they were on eyelevel.
„Spit it out, Corel. I can’t help you if you just talk around the issue“, she said, shaking her head with a sigh. Corellanium had a tendancy to never get to the point. She liked the guy, really, but that was probably his biggest shortcoming.
„Yes, okay… To begin with, we spent a lot of time over there, as you know. But from what I can see in the immediate area, things haven’t changed here as much. I had Tiz do some scrying the last four days, to get the lay of the land, and everything is roughly on the same technological standard as it was before we had left. In addition“, his frown deepened, „It appears that they have a concept of magic here, hidden but it exists. It’s unclear if it has been there all along or is a recent addition. However it couldn’t have been too long ago, considering how weak the magic here is. The last major oddity isn’t as much of an oddity if you keep in mind that there is magic present, but it does bring up another few questions. Remember the climate change issues we had? They are utterly gone. I can’t smell or feel any pollution in the atmosphere.“
Vuthe thought about that, crossing her arms in front of her while tapping her lips with one of her fingers, her long tail swishing slowly behind her. The movement ruffled her combat dress a little, something she had gotten so used to she didn’t even realise that it excantuated her back quite a bit. His comment immeditalty brought a few possibilities into her mind, some of which she didn’t like all too much.
„So… There are three options then. First: We have the wrong world. Wouldn’t that be great? Second: There had been a change during the time we were gone. Did you figure out how much time passed since we left?“, she asked him, one delicate eyebrow raised in question. He answered with a shake of his head, so she continued, „Okay… We need to figure that out as soon as possible. The last option is that magic has always been here we just didn’t see it, which seems the most likely considering that neither of us knew anything about magic before we were whisked away."
Corellanium looked at her in thought and she could practically see the gears turning in his mind, „Personally I believe the second one to be the most likely. True, we didn’t have any knowledge about it beforehand, but considering the time we spent away and how young the magic feels I think it's more likely there were changes. My problem with the whole situation is that magic is kept hidden, it doesn’t seem to make any sense. In either case we need to figure out why that is and what that means for us.“
Replying to him with the same thoughtful expression Vuthe nodded, „Yes, we do. I hope Tiz can make some headway in that regard, however I don’t count on it. Not that I doubt her abilities, but it seems to be something thats hard to get out of a quick scrying. Her time is better spent elsewhere, at least until we have a better understanding on where we stand. If there were indeed changes all we know about this world might be nil. If we could talk to someone in the know however… I think Cal and I need to get into the next town we find and have a look around, maybe talk to some people…“
Both of them stood there in silence for a moment, lost in thought, before Corellanium nodded, „Thank you for the input. For now I think I best get back to work.“
She nodded in turn and he made his way back to his tent, while Vuthe began to make her way to the command tent that had been setup. It wasn’t anything fancy, hell, if it wouldn’t have been for the auras inside she wouldn’t even have know that it was one, since it looked identical to the others. Walking in she found Calagrophy, Castaphiel, Apocalyptica, and two soldiers, a male Tigerkin, and a female Lizardkin, who were talking with Castaphiel.
The moment she walked in everyone straightened, „The Queen is present!“, Calagrophy said with a salute. While Vuthe wasn’t one to stand on formalities, all the others had agreed that for the sake of their people they had a role to play.
And if Calagrophy didn’t play her role perfectly. She wore her scales in the form of her knight's uniform, a mixture between a well tailored suit and light armor, not that she needed much in the form of armor. Her torso was covered in a blouse which had just a hint of cleavage, and was adorned by a stylish piece of chest armor that covered her vitals, yet didn’t look overbearing. In the middle, just between her breasts was emblazened the symbol of Thelvadore, a stylized dragon surrounded by five stars. Her shoulders were covered by small pauldrons in the form of claws that looked like they gripped her from behind. She wore a lightly armored skirt that reached her knees, beneath which her slender legs were covered in knee highs. On her feet she wore greaves straight from any medival knights armor, although a little more light than any real armor should be. Her hands were covered in light gauntlets that reached up all the way to her ellbows, and left her upper arms bare.
„At ease“, Vuthe waved them off offhandedly. Everyone loosened up a little and Apocalyptica turned to Vuthe. His clothes were far more unique than anyone else's. Dressed in a shirt and pants that hung close to his chiseled body, he wore a long trenchcoat with a collar made from thorns. The coat ended just beneach his knees and gave him a dangerous, yet approachable look. His wrists were covered in the same style of thorns as his collar, although these were bent backwards and ran nearly parallel to his arms. Simple half-gloves covered his hands, leaving only his fingers and claws uncovered. On his feet he wore heavy combat boots, not unlike something from earth military. The finishing touch was of course the colour of his dress-up. While Calagrophy favored white with gold accents, his clothes actually shifted colours slightly between different huses of dark purple.
„It is a pleasure to gaze upon your greatness, O my Mistress. As you have instructed, I have layed out a rudimentary rune circle around our camp. I deeply beg your pardon for not being able to create something more sophisticated, however you specified rather clearly that I shan’t harm anyone. Therefore I have decided to keep it more simple, for I do not know the specifics of the surroundings and the residents that I might find within“, he said with a deep bow, which made Vuthe inwardly roll her eyes.
She knew, of course, that he was a little weird, and the circumstances under which they had first met and he came to follow her, but sometimes he could be a bit much with his theatrics. „That is fine. Thank you for your work. I hope once you know more about the people and the area you can update it?“, she asked in the same lording tone she always used when addressing him.
Apocalyptica was unlike the other members of her council. He was dangerous, and extremely so. It had taken her a week to finally beat him and make him submit to her, and during their fight they had destroyed an entire mountain range. That didn’t mean she feared him, not at all, but she wanted to make it very clear to him who was in charge. The others were loyal to her because of their opinions and goals. Apocalyptica was loyal to her because she beat him. That meant should he one day feel that she could no longer beat him his loyalties would change.
The dragon in question nodded once, still bowed nearly ninety degrees, „Of course, O my Mistress. It will take but a moment to better my creation, once I have determined what needs to be done to perfectly fulfill my mission“. Finally he stood back up straight, „I also have another message for you. Lady Tizanta was requesting your aid on some matters.“
„What help does she need?“, Vuthe asked in turn, stepping to the front of the small table setup in the middle of the tent. On it was depicted a magical map of their immediate surroundings. There were still a lot of holes in the coverage, but they were filled slowly but surely. Vixus and Shade were doing a fantastic Job scouting out the area.
„I need some direct data, preferably an Internet connection, about two gallons of coffee, and maybe a handsome man to make the work less tedious“, Tizanta's voice came from behind Vuthe. Vuthe turned around to find Tizanta coming into the tent with one of her many magical notebooks in hand.
As usual Tizanta was a stunning beauty to look at. She wore her scales in the form of a simple, yet aluring summer dress that disregarded all forms of defense over pure style and seduction. Not that she needed any help with the latter to begin with. Her face was that of a refined beauty, and her dress reflected that. While she wasn’t the most well grown around her chest, she had enough to turn some heads, and the way her nightsky coloured dress was cut only accentuated that. She was also one of the very few draconics to stay mostly in her full hybrid form. The back of her dress was bare all the way to her tail, making it very aluring, but not risque, and her wings sprout out in all their glory. Her arms were bare, safe the small bracelets she wore on each arm. And of course, she wore her stilletos, something that Vuthe could never understand any woman to do out of their free will.
„What kind of direct data?“, Vuthe asked with a small smile of affection, yet still ignoring Tizanta's bad joke. They had work to do and if she started to indulge her girlfriend on those jokes they would never get anywhere.
„A complete record of what happened while we were away, hopefully a witness account, the current geopolitical climate, financial climate, military dispositions and everything you can find on Tommee Profit“, Tizanta sat down the notebook on the table with an aluring smile at her queen. The notebook quickly copied the newly updated map onto itself with a flick of Tizanta's long and slender tail.
„Tommee Profit?“, the Lizardkin, Vuthe thought her name was Gasira, asked confused. She had become somewhat of a direct subordinate of Castaphiel due to her discipline and loyalty, however Vuthe hadn’t interacted much with her. She wore the typical Army uniform, as did the Tigerkin next to her.
„Ignore her“, Calagrophy told the taller woman with a smirk, „She’s talking nonesense.“
„Hey! Tommee Profit was an amazing artist! I need to know the new albums“, Tizanta interjected, crossing her arms with raised eyebrows, which pushed up her chest quite noticably.
„Tiz, focus“, Vuthe said with a stern tone that booked no argument, „I can’t help you with a complete record, but Cal and me will be going into town to get some hard information. I had a talk with Corel earlier and I don’t think we will get very far if you try to do everything related to information gathering. I need you to focus on whats most important for our immediate safety.“
Now Calagrophy was the one to raise an eyebrow, „Are you sure? We can’t leave our people undefended“, she asked Vuthe, a clear tone of disapproval in her voice.
Vuthe chuckled, „Cal, I thought you were the first one to tell me how much stronger they are compared to any of the earthen militaries“, she said with an amused flick of her tail in her friend's direction.
To Vuthe's surprise however, Calagrophy remained serious. „Last week I would have told you that. Now I know they have magic. You know humans, the first thing they do with a new technology is create new weapons. And we both know what magic can do when weaponised“, she said, both Vuthe and Calagrophy glancing over to Apocalyptica. He smiled warmly, „Why yes, of course! Magic is the greatest of all weapons. Ah, I wish I could bring about armageddon once more…“, his voice was filled with warmth and longing, and everyone immediatly decided to ignore his byplay. Although Vuthe could clearly see the shivers running down both Gasira's and the Tigerkin's back. While the council may be used to the Apocalypse Dragon's ramblings, their soldiers were less so.
For good reason too. While the reincarnators knew his loyalties, the soldiers were less informed on the matter. And it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he could raze an entire world in less than half a year if suffieciently motivated and unopposed by beings on Vuthe's level.
„In any case, them having magic is the reason I don’t want the both of us to just wander off. Sure we can get here relatively quickly, but why book trouble?“, Calagrophy turned back to Vuthe. The younger girl thought about it for a moment.
She could see Calagrophy’s point. And while she'd much rather have her friend with her, there really wasn’t any reason she couldn’t do it alone. „Alright. You bring up a valid point. You stay here, I’ll go with Vixus. They can get here quickly enough and can probably figure out a lot more things while I talk to people. Get our people on alert, but make sure they get some rest“, she finally relented with a sigh.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Calagrophy nodded, visibly relieved that Vuthe had listened to her, „Will do. Be careful out there, okay?“, she said as she leaned forward and kissed Vuthe on the cheek, „I don’t want to find a new queen for our people.“
Vuthe chuckled, returning the small peck on her cheek with one of her own, „You don’t need to find one. You’ll be the next one. They listen to you. But don’t worry, I don’t plan to kick the bucket after three millenia now that we are finally home.“
Turning to the Apocalypse Dragon, Vuthe spoke, „Apocalyptica, it would be very helpful if you could try and lay down an alert or sensor network a mile out of the camp. I do not distrust your work, however it pays to be prepared in the face of adversity“
The man in question gave a wicked smile and nodded. „Of course, O my Mistress. Anything you desire. I thank thee for thy trust“, he said, giving her another deep bow, before turning around and leaving the tent. She knew that he was by his very nature inclined to ruin worlds, not be subtle. But she knew he could do it if he was tasked to. He was a master at runes, and had long since perfected the art. She would be hardpressed to find anyone with more knowledge about runes than him. Well, excluding her abyssal friend, but she was so far off the charts that in Vuthe's mind she didn’t count.
They talked about a few other important things, mostly to get the camp up and running, getting supplies, so on and so forth. After they were done Vuthe contacted Vixus, who promptly returned to her shadow.
„Yes, my queen?“, the melodic voice came from her shadow as Vixus took residence.
„We will be going to the nearest city. Your job is to lay low and look for information. Stay out of trouble and out of sight until we can confirm how people view us“, Vuthe ordered as she made her way out of the camp. Vixus had always been a fickle one, and she knew she had to be rather precise in her orders. Not that the shapechanger would betray her, she knew they were the most loyal of the bunch, but they also had a tendency to bend orders a little.
Her Shadow familiar Shade had found the nearest town a few kilometers away. Vuthe was a little startled at the distance, given that they emerged in an old and abandonded industrial area. She would’ve thought the city would be closer.
As a dragon Vuthe didn’t need to worry about speed. Even in her Hybrid form she was more than fast enough to clear that distance within minutes. She could be faster in her true draconic form, but she decided against it simply because of the complications that could arise if someone saw her. She wasn’t about to go and reveal magic to the public, mostly because she didn’t want to suddenly create a panic. She also didn’t want to answer annoying questions. And last but not least, there might actually be a very good reason for why it was hidden, although if there was it escaped her.
The fact that magic was kept hidden was something she simply didn’t understand. She would have thought that it would come out eventually, yet it hadn’t. There was very obviously a huge effort being put in to keep it that way, and outright revealing its existance wasn’t something she was comfortable with for that specific reason. Who knew how many enemies she made with that, and how powerful they would be? From what she had seen and felt so far they couldn’t be too powerful, considering that the magic seemed… weak to put it mildly.
Draconic beings, and especially Dragons and Serpents, were thaumavores. They could eat pretty much anything to survive, but the best way for them to keep up their bodies was consuming magic from the surrounding area. The best effect was achieved when they consumed magic of their respective element, but they could survive off of other types of magic in emergancy cases.
That was also one of the reasons the rest of them, and Corellanium in specific had quickly noticed the existance of magic on Earth. While they could survive in a magic-devoid world, it would have been unpleasant. A fact they had anticipated and made their peace with when they originally decided to come here.
She landed a little outside of the city, lit up by the many lights present in a modern city. During her time in the other world most towns got pretty dark during the night, since electricity hadn’t been discovered yet. And while she and her friends had tried to be a little more advanced in their attempts at cities, there wasn’t much to be done. Keeping magic-fueled lights going over such a huge city was an excercise in futility, especially with how many draconics were around. They would suck the lamps dry before the night was over, and that was without even wanting to.
Of course they had ways to protect items and runescript from being drained dry, otherwise their entire stockpile of enchanted items would be useless, but it was simply way too costly to do for all the magic lights a city would have needed. They had done so in their Capital, but that had taken decades of work and a myriad of different runesmiths to achieve the sheer bulk of lamps they required. Because of that they decided to forgo that approach in their other cities.
After confirming nobody saw her she shifted back into her humanoid form and began to casually walk towards the wide road that led into the city. She made sure her clothing was a lot more natural, and not the typical royal attire she wore. While she loved the outfit, it would immediatly single her out. The mixture of dress and light armor simply wasn’t part of this world's style.
Therefore she opted for a more casual appearance. In her youth she loved to be a little rebellious. Nothing that would get her in trouble, but she usually dressed a little outside the socially accepted norm. With that in mind she shifted her scales to look like an oversized hoodie with the emblem of a random music artist she listened to during her youth. She was sure tastes had changed, but you could never be wrong with a music artist. For her lower body she opted to wear a pair of ripped pants and leather boots. On her neck a collar with small spikes appeared, giving her even more of a rebellious look. The fact that her scales made everything look like it was coloured obsidian black made it even more fitting, although for the emblem she weaved a little bit of silver into it, which she took from her shadow storage. Satisfied with her work she continued onwards.
Emerging from the small bit of forest she landed in, she turned and made her way into town. It was a strange feeling, seeing a modern city up close and only now did she realise how much she had missed it. She was definitly in germany, considering the signs she saw everywhere, and after a quick look at the license plates of the cars parked around her she was sure that she was in her old hometown of Essen. She winced at that. Sure she was happy to be home, but she still was on edge about visiting family. It seemed suspiciously convenient however. The five reincarnators had come from all over the world, and to be suddenly so close to the hometown of Vuthe, who was their leader, was… a little too convenient.
This did clear up some of the uncertainties however. They were definitly in the right world, that was for sure. While she wasn’t an expert on the theory, she did know that there wasn’t something like parallel universes as depicted in old stories. Sure there were other worlds, but all of them were unique. Of course, some were rather similar, but each of them was distinct enough that landmarks and cities were almost always unique.
The thing that surprised her the most was how similar everything was. If she hadn’t been away for three millenia she wouldn’t have thought a day went by. Sure, there were more electric cars and some such, but not that much more as to be surprising.
She had layered a solid shadowstuff illusion over herself to hide her rather unqiue features, and glasses that would hide her otherwise rather conspicous eyes. To any normal eyes she looked like a normal fifteen year old, if a little rebelliously dressed. And she was glad she did now, as there were more people out and about than she would have guessed at this time of day. It would have been extremely awkward if she had to explain to a random passerby that magic was real and she was a dragon from another universe. She chuckled to herself at the thought.
What was surprising was the things she picked up with her magical senses, senses she didn’t have before travelling to the other world. Nearly all the people she saw had at least some level of magic, sure most of them had so little as to be laughable, but it was there nonetheless. Another item for the ever expanding list of things to investigate.
As she walked she was overcome with a sense of nostalgia. She hadn’t been here in… Pretty much nearly three thousand years, and the familiar sights were… tear inducing. She was worried about her family, even if she didn’t see herself as human anymore. Family was family, and she wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Eventually she came across a bar and decided the best way to get some information was to just sit down and listen in. She felt Vixus leave her shadow as they went to whereever to complete their own task. A good thing too, she knew that it would be very hard to get Vixus not to pop up to drink. They were somewhat of an alcoholic, although it never seemed to affect them at all. Deciding that her current appearance might be a little too conspicious in a bar, she did only look fifteen after all, she overlayed another solid illusion over herself, rounding out her rather flat bust and bottom, and shifting her to look more adult. She didn’t like altering her appearance, but she didn’t have much of a choice.
As she walked inside the bar she got a few curious gazes. Despite her attempts at hiding her true nature, her appearance was still a tad unusual. And while it was a little by design, it was also a good part because of her race, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. She didn’t get the time to think about that however. Behind the counter stood a demi-human. The older man looked like some variant of Dogkin, althought distinctively different from the ones she was familiar with. She did notice that he had what appeared to be a magical illusion shimmering around him, probably to hide his true appearance, but Vuthe couldn’t help but gawk for a moment, before she cought herself and walked towards the counter, a few eyes following her. She could feel a multitude of emotions in the people present, a few of them directed at her. Some were looking at her with openly lavish eyes, practically undressing her in their mind, some were suspicious, some curious, others only mildly intressted. She didn’t mind either of them, mostly because she didn’t care, but also because her changes to her body and mind, once she was reborn as a dragon.
Sitting down at the counter the bartender came over, „Evening, what can I do for you?“, he asked. While his face was that of a dogs, she could clearly see the more human expressions in it. His fur was a deep brown, accented with some dark and light gray. His eyes were brown and looked friendly.
„Firstly, a drink. A good one“, she said with a smile, before continuing, „Then I got a few questions. Been out of town for a while. What did I miss?“. She made herself comfortable on the chair, enjoying the feel of just sitting down and relaxing for a while.
The old dog swiftly prepared a drink while he talked, „Well. Think the biggest thing was the disaster with the KISS. God knows we had a gang problem for the better part of fourty years, but as of late they got a lot more aggressive. A week ago some of them managed to get the records and customer details from the KISS and began to extort them“, he sighed, „Just hope someone would finally do something about it. Goverment doesn’t have the resources and the KISS can’t because of legal reasons“.
She had no idea what this KISS was, and she knew better than to ask, although it didn’t stop her making a fool out of herself in other ways. „Gang issues? First I heard of it“, Vuthe said before she could even think about it.
He gave her an odd look, but continued, as he placed the drink in front of her, „Where the hell were you for the last fifty years to not have heard about that? You one of those rich folks from the secure district or what?“
Vuthe winced internally, „You could say that“, she said with an unsure smile. Her family had been living in the more expensive areas of town during her childhood, so it wasn’t a complete lie. But at the same time she was so out of touch she didn’t really feel like she belonged there anymore. She was a dragon now, no longer human. A small part of her regretted it, but she no longer felt human either.
The bartender shrugged, clearly unhappy, „Well then, your highness, we normal folks are getting threatened every night by the gangs going about. People who fancy themselves bigshots, because they got the muscle and the manpower in these parts. Problem is they are everywhere, drug deals, extortion, blackmailing, you name it. Of course if they are found they are arrested, but there are simply so goddamn many of them.“
„Oh… That sounds terrible“, Vuthe said, quickly commanding Shade mentally to keep an eye out and inform Vixus. Gangs were always a bad sign. She had to figure out more, it could be cruicual to their plans in the future.
„Yeah. Doesn’t help that all the resources are getting used to protect the rich folk district. Honestly, since the shift in the goverment shit went kind of bad for us normal folks“, he gave Vuthe a barely hidden withering look, as if she was responsible.
„Hey, I didn’t change it nor did I choose my family,“ she said with an apologetic look, raising her hands. Internally she could understand him. She had in fact spent the last millenium and a half overthrowing such governments in the other world to finally have some peace of mind. And it would’ve worked, if the remaining kingdoms didn’t start using forbidden magic en masse to fight off her army. She still couldn’t understand how they felt like it was a good idea, it was called forbidden magic for a reason. None of her friends were surprised when Ga’zeith de Thal decided to take things into his own hands, something that only happened when some very large scale magic was in play.
The old dog deflated, „Yeah, that's fair. Sorry. We’re all a little on edge these days.“ He scratched the back of his head. Looking at him she could now feel the stress in all the auras present in the bar. And it did make sense when she considered what he had told her so far. She didn’t blame him.
She chuckled, „Oh, believe me, I know exactly how you feel,“ she said with a sigh. Memories of all the experiences she went through in the other world coming to mind. Shaking off her funk she turned back to him. With a sigh and another sip on her drink she looked around, „So, anything else new?“
The bartender shrugged, picking up an empty glass and started to clean it, „Well, there was an attempted bombing at the Overwatch Facility. Luckily for the people present the bomb didn’t go off.“
She blinked, „Oh wow… that sounds… Bad“, she said, this time making sure she didn’t make a fool out of herself and inquiring about this Overwatch Facility that he mentioned. She had no clue what it was, but it was best to keep him thinking she knew what was going on, at least for the moment.
His laugh in reply was throaty and lacked any form of humor, „You can say that again. Stupid assholes thought that bombing one damn building would change something… Fucking shit… I’m just glad the bomb didn’t go off, lots of people about that would’ve been wounded, and none of ‘em would’ve deserved that…“
There was a clear melancholy in his voice, but Vuthe dared not pry. She was unsure if it was a personal thing or something publically known, and by this point she realised lots of things had shifted during her absence.
She finished her drink and sat down the glass, „Thanks buddy, for all the info. I think I’ll be around for a while, although I probably won’t be here too often. Work and stuff, you know how life goes,“ she said, giving him a smile.
He snorted, „Yeah, lass. There is always something going on,“ he replied, finishing another drink and handing it to another customer with a nod.
„What do I owe you for this one?“, she asked, pushing the glass towards him. She had no earth money of course, but she had an idea. An idea that hopefully didn’t backfire on her. Well, she wouldn’t know if she didn’t try. And if it didn’t work she could just manifest some fake coins. It would be a bit of a dick move, but what could she do. Tell him she didn’t have money?
„For that, its six bucks,“ the answer came with trained ease. She nodded, it sounded fair. A drink was more expensive than a beer, and while it wasn’t the best one she had ever had in her life it was good.
Leaning forward she let out just a trickle of her aura to get his attention. Giving him a smile she spoke, „I don’t suppose this would do as well?“, she asked, pushing a ring from under her hand discreetly towards him. She made sure nobody looked at them with usage of her aura, diverting their intrest.
His eyebrows shot straight up to his forehead, then his expression cooled a little. He didn’t say a word, simply looking at the ring. The ring was magical, and he knew it. Only those with magical senses would pick up its light magic after all.
After a moment he spoke, his voice filled with suspicion, „Who the hell are you? And what do you know about… these things?“, he asked, scrutinizing her thoroughly. She let him and didn’t try to hide her magic anymore. Letting loose just the smallest amount of her control that kept her magic bolted down she let him feel her magic, ensure him she wasn’t just some random girl with a funny trinket.
„My name Is Vuthe de Thal, although my friends call me Vuth. And I know a great many things. Many, many things. Enough to know what you are and that you are in hiding. You and all the people of our… inclanation in the area. I’m new to the area after quite some time, and I don’t want to stir up any trouble. So I’m letting you know I’m here. I hope that is payment enough for this drink“, she said, using some magic to make sure nobody would overhear them. It was a risk, but she thought it was worth it.
They just came back from another world, and despite magic being hidden, this world had smartphones and the Internet. She’d be damned if she would take the risk of pissing off the people by encroaching on their turf. She would win any fight, she knew. Her people were leagues above the residents of the area, but why antagonize the locals?
He nodded, looking back at the ring, „I suppose…“, he mumbled, before looking back at her again, „Alright lass. Here is the number one rule: Don’t fuck with the council. I’ll let ‘em know you’re in the area. I need to know what you are and what to expect from you. What's your goal here? Once they know you aren’t a threat we can talk about territory. As long as you play nice you won’t have problems“, he explained quietly, making sure nobody overheard them. Not that there was any chance of that with Vuthe’s magic. „After we got you settled you need to get a mask. Think of it as a magical disguise, the Council will set you up with one. It's mandatory for us to get one.“
She nodded. His requests made sense to her. If they had any organisation they would need to know how to deal with different types of people. Since she just announced her new arrival and her plans not to stir up trouble she would have to play by the rules. This went a lot better than she hoped it would, honestly she didn’t even think there was any form of council or organisation in the area. At least not to this degree. The idea had been a spur of the moment thing, but she was glad she did what she had done.
„That sounds very fair. I’m here with a few friends and our people. We are out in the old industrial complex to the east. Most of us won’t come near your turf, probably only my closest friends“, she explained, carefully being truthful while also ommiting certain details, like their numbers. „As for what me and my closest friends are… Well“, she gave him a wide, toothy smile, showing off her predatory fangs, „We are dragons.“