I don’t know how many I’ve slain. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Mnatu… even a stray Eon. Death doesn't phase me anymore, the suffering I bring to these people… is all but a breeze in the wind.
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After leaving the large building with a smile creasing his lips, Kai marched toward the town center, scouting any places that could provide him lodging. I’ve already asked at most of the places on the main street, so there’s no point going there… that only leaves the outer ring and then… outside of it. A light sigh escaped his lips before taking a look at the moon. It’s… very close to morning I suppose.
He pats Onyx on the back and walks around the main street, making his way from one end of the city to the other, however, lady luck doesn’t shine upon him.
“I’m sorry kid, we’re fully booked.” A woman said, her tone monotone, and seemingly out of energy. “Go look somewhere else.”
Kai held back the urge to yell, or break out in anger, and simply huffed and left, leaving a simple “Thank you, goodbye” behind.
Outside, he let out a frustrated sigh and sat down on a nearby bench. Looking back toward the center, and picturing all the inns he visited with no success, he punched his seating, slightly bending the metal holding it all together.
Damn it, how come none of these people accept me? There’s no way all the inns are full, there aren’t even enough adventurers in this town! Something is fishy, fuck!
He cursed internally, however took a deep breath and gradually calmed down. There’s no use breaking my arm over this… I should go inside somewhere and decide what to do next. Lifting his head and looked around, besides the inn and random houses, the only place in the vicinity was a run-down bar with barely any clients.
Better than nothing, he got up and walked toward the bar, Onyx following beside him. The door, accompanied by the ringing of the bell, announced Kai’s entry, much to his ‘delight’. Great… However, the sight of heads turning and sizing him up one after the other didn’t arrive. His gaze was met with that of a little girl a few heads shorter than him. Short black hair decorated her head, and her beautiful big, green eyes seemed to stare right into Kai’s soul. The clothes she wore, although at first glance looked common, were littered with tears and stains. Regardless, a bright smile decorated her face as she ran toward the bar counter, yelling in a cutesy, high-pitched voice.
“Daddy, daddy, look! A strange customer has entered, and he has a puppy!”
Huh?-
Kai glanced at the barman, the man the girl called dad, and their gazes met. A soft smile creased the man’s lips, hidden away by a thick beard. Long, dense hair cascaded down his back, sharing a similar brown color to his beard and eyes. He rubbed the bar counter with a cloth as a deep, gentle voice echoed in the almost empty room.
“Welcome, please excuse my daughter. She hasn’t seen a… pet in a long time.”
“Haha, that’s quite alright.” Kai chuckled awkwardly as he walked to the counter. He sat down, his shoulders barely reaching past the table, despite the high chair. Onyx sat down below it, leaning on his paws and looking around at the empty bar. The dirty windows barely let any sort of light enter, and the rundown, rotten chairs, and tables creaked at the slightest movements.
“What’s a young feller like you doing in here?” The man asked, pouring Kai a glass of still water. “It’s rare to see someone your age in this part of town, let alone in a bar.”
“Well, I-” Kai said, however, he was quickly interrupted by Onyx, who let out a yelp before jumping out from under the chair. He circled a few times before patting his tail and glaring at the child.
“Awrf!” He barked as if to say ‘She grabbed my tail!’
Kai and the father quickly looked at the girl, who held a bit of fur in between her tiny fingers. She quickly hid it, however, her dad already wore an awry expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He let out a light sigh, and quickly leaned over the counter and brought the girl into his arms. “Tausi… it’s not nice to grab an animal like that, it hurts and scares them.” The man scolded her lightly before turning to Kai. “I’m sorry, she, let’s just say she hasn’t seen many animals besides those locked in a cage. I know that’s no excuse, but please forgive her.”
His small, beady eyes seemingly penetrated Kai’s soul, and his gentle tone couldn’t help but make one get any bit of anger they had been appeased. Letting out a sigh, he looked at Onyx, who wore a bitter expression on his furred face. “It’s not up to me, the one who needs to forgive someone is him.”
The bartender looked at the Obborik with a complex expression, however he quickly understood and turned to his daughter. “Go and say sorry to the big wolf, alright?”
The girl named Tausi nodded smiling as her father put her on the floor. She immediately rushed to Onyx’s side, slowing down as she got closer and stopping a few centimeters away. Placing the bit of fur she pulled out from his tail, her rosy lips parted as she said. “I’m sorry Mister Wolf, please forgive me for pulling your tail.” Her large eyes turned even larger, and she made a puppy face that could rival even Onyx’s own.
Seeing that, Kai chuckled as Onyx stood up and sniffed away the fur, raising his snout to her face and licking her on the cheek.
“I think he accepted the apology,” Kai said, smiling behind his mask and turning toward the man. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t hold a grudge. Though I’m surprised you let her get close, Onyx isn’t exactly a ‘pet’ kind.”
The man took a second and looked at the Obborik who seemed to be playfully giving his daughter the cold shoulder. “Well,” he sighed, “Let’s say I’m a good judge of character. I’m almost-” he continued, but stopped himself before clearing his throat. “Forget about that, why did you come here?”
“Well, the truth is I’ve been looking all around for some lodging, but all the inns are full, everywhere,” Kai said with a little bit of anger and annoyance hidden within his voice.
“Ah!” The man exclaimed, giving Kai a weird look. “That’s normal, the inns here are owned by the Twelve Big Guilds, so unless you’re affiliated with them, don’t expect to be treated nicely.”
“Huh? That’s stupid, why would they do that?”
“Simple, to attract more members. The inns in the middle of the town are the best - Good food, good rooms, close to the headquarters. Plus they offer perks such as free meals and the like. They want to give members the best environment so naturally they will gatekeep them.”
“That’s… still stupid. And what about people like me who aren’t affiliated with anyone?”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Well, there aren’t a lot of people like you.” The man explained, scratching his chin. “You’re one of the only people that don’t belong to a guild, as far as I know.
As for them, well, tough luck. Another reason why they gatekeep all the inns and the like. More members, more profit, and more benefits.”
Kai sighed, feeling defeated by the whole situation, and reached for the glass of water, only to realize he still had his mask on. “I’ve never heard of such predatory tactics. Damn them! Had I known I would have signed up when I arrived instead of wasting time.”
Hearing such words coming out of Kai’s mouth, an awry smile creased the bartender’s lips. “Well, that’s how it is in this town. Gotta do the best you can to attract members. I assume you’ve signed up with someone already then?”
“Uh yeah, Wildfire. Some weird man introduced me to them… really weird man.”
“Wi-wildfire?!” The bartender exclaimed, scaring even his daughter. “You joined the third-ranked guild in the country? Kid, are you some sort of prodigy? No, even with talent, joining them is difficult. You need an established background and power, and even then you may not get accepted.”
Kai took a figurative step back, looking at the bartender like he would at a ghost. Not quite sure what to say, all he could muster was an awkward laugh while scratching the back of his head. “They didn’t tell me any of that, I just went and filled out a form, then they examined me and tomorrow I’ll get my Guild ID. That’s all, it seemed extremely simple.”
The barman blinked rapidly, staring at Kai with widened pupils and a twitching lip. “That easy huh… yeah that easy…” He mumbled before clearing his throat. “Well, that’s good, that means that by tomorrow you’ll have a place to stay, right?”
“Right,” Kai said, “But there’s an issue, I’m extremely tired right now after traveling for so many days, and I wanted to sleep the day off. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere I can go, I doubt they’ll accept me if I say I belong to a guild…”
“Haha, no, they won’t” The man laughed. “Tell you what Kid, I’ll let you sleep at my place for tonight, how does that sound?”
“Really?” Kai smiled behind his mask, delighted to hear that. “I’ll compensate you, sir, don’t wo-”
“Ah you kids and always paying back, don’t worry about that, it’s not that important.” He said with a hearty chuckle. “Name’s Karfi.”
“I’m Ichor, thank you again, sir, I won’t forget your hospitality.”
“Ah, look at you using them big words. Let me close for the night then, not like we had any customers anyway.”
Having said that, he walked out from behind the counter, his large frame towering over Kai and the small-sized Onyx. The lock to the door wasn’t fancy, and neither was it effective and keeping the place safe. But looking at the state of the building, Kai doubted anyone would even bother breaking in. Superficial lock in place, Karfi picked up his daughter and walked toward a door to the side of the bar.
Onyx and Kai followed unprompted, and the door creaked open, inviting them in. On the other side lay a large room with two couches sitting opposite each other around a large coffee table made out of glass. The couches themselves were beautifully crafted, however time and stains left their mark on them. The floor was decorated with what seemed to be a beautiful, large rug, however upon closer inspection, it became obvious that it, too, wasn’t in a good condition.
The few windows it had were broken and bandaged with wood and cloths, so the cold air couldn’t get in, and the entire palace was illuminated by wax candles and very few, dwindling light crystals. Next to the couches, a fireplace crackled with life, providing some much-needed heat to the icy adobe. They also had a kitchen not too far away, however, its usage, judging by the dirty counter, seemed limited to cutting up bread and dried meat, accompanied by the occasional vegetable.
A corner staircase led upstairs, supposedly to the bedrooms, however, Kai couldn’t be sure unless he went there.
“Please excuse the mess, we didn’t expect any guests,” Karfi said with an awkward chuckle, rearranging and dusting off some thin blankets he laid out on the couches.
“That’s alright, I’m grateful you’d allow me to rest here.” Kai smiled, although no one could see it. “Uh, may I?” He asked, pulling out a few light crystals and scattering them in every corner, completely revealing the room stowed away by darkness.
“Oh, you didn’t have to” Karfi’s lips parted, however before he even had time to finish his sentence, Tausi’s light laughter bounced off against the walls.
“Daddy, look, there’s so much light!” She exclaimed with a childlike cheerfulness. Her little eyes sparkled as she gazed at the light crystals, and the sight of her visage made Kai take in a short gasp. The girl looked frail, almost malnourished, the clothes she wore stood loosely on her body, much like an oversized sweater. Dark patches, dirt, and a few scars decorated her pale face. Despite all that, she still wore a bright smile on her face, seemingly unaware of the situation she was in. And then, she said, her voice lowering by a few octaves, and her gaze losing some luster. “I wish Mommy were here to see this.”
Kai’s stomach sunk, the girl’s words thugging away at his heart like a singer at their zither. He understood why the house and bar were in such a state, though he didn’t have the full picture.
“Yeah… I wish that as well…” Her dad’s voice almost broke, his eyes lingering on the small girl before he took a short breath and broke a pained smile toward Kai. “Some stuff happened and her mother… she died of an unknown illness… But let’s put the depressing stuff behind us now. I’ll prepare the guest room for you.”
Kai nodded and stood still, refraining from looking at the house anymore only to find out more about the awful conditions the child lived in. I guess it’s not really out of place in this world… Julie wasn’t living that good of a life either. I guess I got so spoiled after leaving the vicinity of the kingdom that I had forgotten poverty is still a thing. What a fool. He chuckled to himself, more out of nervousness than amusement.
The girl turned toward him, her smile brightening up as she ran toward Onyx, who stood not right next to Kai. “Mister, can I pet the dog?”
“If he lets you,” Kai replied, a soft smile creasing his lips.
Tausi let out an excited laugh and reached her hand toward the Obborik’s head, who wore a look of hesitation on his fluffy face. Regardless, he let out a low puff, seemingly sighing, and lowered himself so that the girl could pet him. However, he instantly regretted it and let out a low yelp as the girl carelessly disheveled his fur.
“No, not like that,” Kai said softly, lowering himself before her. “You need to be more gentle, like this.” He pressed his head against Onyx’s head, and patted down, stopping at the neck before scratching under the chin and using both hands to put his fluff in place. “See, careful movements, slow motions. If you’re too forceful it will just make him hate it.”
The little girl nodded and let out a determined puff before copying what Kai did, gently ruffling Onyx’s fur and scratching under the chin. Onyx seemed much more content this time, and let Tausi do what she wanted, letting out a light yawn. “Oh, is doggy tired?”
“Haha, yes, it’s been a very long day for both of us,” Kai said, ruffling Onyx’s fur. “Speaking of, why are you not sleeping so late at night?”
“Ah- I don’t like leaving daddy alone,” Tausi said, her tone turning lower. “Mom used to help him but she disappeared, so I have to stay with Daddy until she comes back, right?”
“Mhm, you’re right. You can’t leave Dad alone, but you also need to sleep properly. Otherwise, you’ll end up remaining short all of your life!”
“What!?” She gasped, comparing her height to Kai’s by moving her hand around. “I don’t wanna be short, I want to be tall like daddy!”
“Then you need to sleep a lot,” Kai chuckled and stood up, hearing a door click open. Karfi’s frame appeared from behind a corner.
“The room is ready, please make yourself at home, kid.”
“Thank you, mister, I will,” Kai replied and headed inside, Onyx not falling too far behind him, and closed the door with a click. What greeted him was a dimly lit room, which he quickly fixed by placing a light crystal on the desk. An unexpectedly clean room revealed itself before him - The bed, sheets, floor, desk, and chair were in pristine condition, and it even had a functioning window. Of course, Kai preferred it to be as broken as the others, but he couldn’t ask for much.
He let out a light sigh and took his mask and hoodie off, letting his long hair cascade down his chest and back. Because of Aina’s dye, its silver color was now replaced with an ebony black. Such a shame, Mom’s hair is really pretty… He thought to himself, placing the mask on the desk and closing off the blinds, making sure to not let any light enter.
A gentle knock startled him, followed by the creaking of the door as it slowly swung open.