Chapter 6: The Welcome but Unwelcome Orc

Jaxon activated his shield but didn’t manifest his staff yet as he didn’t want to seem hostile. Chip started walking again at an average pace, and as they arrived at the gate watchhouse, a short man—well, Jaxon looked again with his senses and saw it was indeed what he would call a dwarf.

“Ai, Lacarne, how ya be?”

“I’m good, Rolo. And you?”

“Ai, I be fine,” he said sceptically. “Did ya have any troubles on your trip? Need a hand with anything?” He said, turning his head slightly as if trying to indicate something, looking between Lacy and Jaxon.

“Oh, nothing more than the usual,” she said, “but that swarm of Spiders that’s been harassing the last few runs.”

“Oh, ai,” said Rolo. “Well, we took care of it. I think it will be a while before they build up again.”

“Ai? How many?”

“Hmm,” Lacy thought, “about 80-100ish.”

The dwarf’s jaw dropped. “Ai, I call Glimmerdraft shit. There ain’t no way you and Chip took on that many.”

“Well!” Thanks for your vote of confidence,” she said sarcastically, “but no, Jaxon here helped me.”

“Ai, he did, did he? Look, Lacy, what’s with the Orc?”

Jaxon coughed. “Mate, I’m standing right here. What the hell?”

Lacy put out a hand to shush Jaxon. “Rolo, YOU? She said.

“Ai, well, ya know I wanna be doing me job if I didn’t ask. Rolo, he is a person, same as you and me, but after that comment, I think more like me than you,” she said.

“Ai, that’s a bit harsh,” he said.

“Well, you started it,” she said.

“Ai, I suppose I did,” he said. “Hail, laddie. Who might you be then?” He said.

“Well,” Jaxon replied, “apart from being offended, I am Jaxon, and this is Doro, my friend.” Doro hovered slightly higher and more proudly.

“Ai, she is a fat one, ain’t she?” She zoomed higher and sent a spurt of water at his face that hit him so perfectly that it caught him in the open mouth as he was going to talk, causing him to stagger back, coughing and spluttering. This caused the surrounding guards to raise their weapons at the group until Rolo waved them down.

“No, no,” he said. “I suppose I deserved that, and it’s only water. Actually, it’s probably the nicest water I have had in a while.” He chuckled as he regained his composure. “My apologies, Doro, I meant no offence, only that you’re swollen with power. The bigger you are, the more mana you command, yes?” Dorothy nodded. “Well, that’s all I meant.” Dorothy settled down. “Sorry,” he said to Jaxon. “The mana elementals here don’t react or show emotion, but I heard a rumour that some mana-using folk back home have ones that do. Anyway,” he said, “I have taken up enough of your time. Have a good evening,” he said as the gate disappeared.

Jaxon blinked and turned to Lacy. “It just disappeared,” he said.

“Well, yeah,” she said. “They have to let us in.”

“No, I mean,” Jaxon said, “it didn’t get raised up, lowered down or moved aside.

She looked at him. “Well, yeah. Why would you think it would do that? That would be stupid. Jaxon looked at Lacy with an eyebrow raised. Imagine, Lacy continued, if a swarm of monsters is coming towards the city, and we are like, ‘Hold on monsters, we have to push the gate shut” she mocked. “Wait, is that what they do where you’re from?”

“Well, no,” he said. “We don’t have walls like this where I’m from.”

“Oh,” she said. “What do you do when monsters come?”

“What monsters?” he said.

“You know, the ones that attack us from outside the islands of Eldoria.”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure,” he said.

“Really? Well, I suppose it has been about 80 years since they last tried it.”

Jaxon shook his head while thinking to himself, “I really need to get some local backstory; I’m so in the dark.”

As they moved through the gate and into the town, people started waving at Lacy and seemed to stop when they saw Jaxon and went about their business.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” she said. “People are quick to judge.”

Jaxon continued to look around the city, and as they got deeper in, the buildings began to get bigger in size and quality. Jaxon checked his map and saw the entire city was visible now, and he could manipulate the map and zoom in. He pinned the map in the corner of his vision.

“Okay, we’re here,” Lacy said as they were about two-thirds of the way to the city centre. As Lacy jumped down, she said, “I will come and introduce you, and then I need to go deliver this load.”

“I will be back,” Jaxon said. “I can come with you. It’s okay,” she said. “It’s boring work.”

“No,” he said, “let’s go. I can help.”

“Okay,” she said as she jumped back in, and they went around a side street. Five minutes later, they arrived at a fish market.

“Hey, Lacy,” said a man. “How was the...” He paused, looking at Jaxon. “Trip?” He continued.

“Good,” she said. “This is Jaxon. He helped me push back that swarm of ants that was bothering the path.”

“Oh, that’s great,” he said, “and he said he would help us unload.”

“Oh, that’s nice of him,” he said. “Hi, I’m Jake,” he said, putting out his hand.

“Hi,” Jaxon replied.

“Well, you will need gloves,” Jake said, glancing at Doro momentarily. As he lowered the back of the coach, Jaxon was shocked to see that the inside was bigger than the outside and was indeed a freezer of some sort, full of different-looking water creatures, all frozen solid in blocks of ice, like they were mid-swim when frozen.

“Wow,” said Jaxon.

“Regret saying you’d help?” asked Jake.

“No, I’m glad I offered. This would take hours.”

“Well, yeah, it does,” he said. “Best get stuck in,” he said.

“Where do we put it?” Jaxon asked.

“Oh, in here,” said Jake, opening a huge door in the building, “and then everyone will come tomorrow to buy it, so we have to stack the different types together,” Jake said.

“Oh, okay,” said Jaxon. Just then, Doro vibrated.

“[Stop]”

“Hang on,” Jaxon said. “Stop.” Lacy and Jake stopped and looked at him. “What is it?” they asked. He turned to Doro.

“[HELP] [Move]”

“I think she wants us to move,” he said as Doro floated into the back of Lacy’s freezer carriage. “I think she wants to help,” said Jaxon.

“Oh, well, I don’t think there is much she can...”

Jake stopped as blocks of fish and water creatures started floating out of the back of the carriage into the cold room and stacked themselves into correct groups.

“Well, yes, please,” he said eagerly. “Help away, Doro. Is there anything I can get you? A nice cup of tea or something?” he said with a grin.

Soon, the fish were flying out of the carriage at a brisk walking pace, and within no time at all, it was finished. Jaxon clapped his hands with applause as Jake bowed to Doro.

“Oh, thank you, great Doro,” he said. “I’m humbled by your generosity and excited that I can go to the pub three hours early. Please,” he said, “let me buy you a drink.”

“I don’t...” Jaxon started to say, then turned to Doro. “Do you drink?” She nodded.

“Really,” said Jaxon, envisioning a drunken floating blob swaying all over the place, hiccupping. “Okay, then, let’s go,” he said as Lacy packed up the back of the carriage.

“Well, then, where are you taking us?” she asked Jake with a sensual tone.

“Hmm,” he said aloud. “How about the Slap and Tickle?”

Lacy’s face dropped. “Really?”

“No, I was just kidding,” he said with a grin on his face. “How about The Gilded Flower?”

“Oh,” she said. “Now you’re talking!” said Lacy. “Meet you there in an hour?”

“Sounds good,” said Jake.

“Geez,” thought Jaxon as he climbed up the carriage again, “why do they sound like strip clubs and brothels?”

“So,” said Lacy, “you got something to wear?”

He looked down at what he was wearing. “Only more of this,” he said.

“Well, that won’t do,” she said, and she stopped by a store that was purple in colour with gold silk drapes. They went inside to see shelves full of elaborate clothing with all different styles.

“Hello,” Lacy said to the frog-looking humanoid behind the counter. “I need an outfit for my friend here. Off the rack is fine,” she said, “and he will need something for his feet,” she added as she looked down.

“Okay,” the red frog-looking person said, “into the change room with you,” she said to Jaxon, handing him brown tan leather long pants, gloves that were two-thirds of the way to his elbow, dark brown/cherry leather, with a green open tunic with leather shoulders and leather work halfway down the left side that showed off his chest with a bunch of leather straps.

“Okay,” said the lady. “Let me see.”

Jaxon walked out with the pants on and tunic but had all the straps and belts in his hand.

“Come here,” said the frog as she fitted the belts and straps. “Much better,” she said, tugging tight on the straps, making him stumble forward. “Now, turn around and look at yourself.”

“Wowzers,” thought Jaxon. “I look incredible.” Lacy was there, nodding her head.

“Much better than the plain cream outfit. Allow me to get rid of these,” she said as she grabbed his old clothes.

“Wait,” she said before Jaxon could protest. “Where did you get this outfit from? It is extraordinary material I have not seen before.”

“Cotton,” Jaxon said questioningly.

“It’s so soft,” she said. “Extraordinary.”

“Yes,” said Jaxon. “I want to keep them.”

“Well,” she said, “I can treat them in different colours for you so you’re not so plain.”

“Really?” Jaxon thought.

“Yes, I would love to work with this,” she said.

“Well, I have a lot more,” he said. “Let’s see what you can do with this one set. I will leave you, and then we will see about the rest.”

“Okay,” she said. “Well, that will be 10 bits for the night and a 25-bit deposit.”

“Oh, to hire,” he said. “How much to buy it?”

“Buy it?” she said. “Well, not too many people can pull off a look like that, and I have been holding on to that outfit for a while now, so I will let you have it for 2 disks if you tell your friends where you got it!”

“DEAL,” said Jaxon. “And 3 bits for the dye, so 2 disks and 3 bits, please, good sir.”

Jaxon reached into his pocket and removed 2 disks and 4 bits and said, “Please try to look after them, and if you do a good job, I will pay 4 bits an outfit for you to do the rest.”

“DONE,” she said quickly. They shook hands as Jaxon pressed another bit into her hand, and they left.

“Good sir, my name is Fenella.”

“My name is Jaxon,” he replied. “Have a wonderful day.”

As they walked out and the door shut, Lacy said, “You are new, aren’t you?”

“Why?” he said.

“You didn’t bargain at all. You should have seen her face when you agreed to the 43 bits.”

“Oh,” Jaxon said. “I trusted my friend to take me to a reputable establishment.”

“Well, I did,” she said, “but still, I could have easily got her down to 34-30 bits. Sorry,” she said. “I should have told you it never occurred to me that you would not be from a place that does not barter.”

“Well, perhaps you should treat me like a new child in this city.”

“Okay, then,” she said. She changed her voice tone and inflection to one you would use on a toddler or family pet. “Okay now, Mr Big Orc Man, we’re going home now, okay? Then we go out for din-din, okay? You need to go wee-wee beforehand.”

Jaxon stared at her with a death stare and then at Doro, who gave the same look. Lacy burst out laughing.

“Haha,” Jaxon said as the cart pulled up to the bathhouse. “Go inside,” she said. “I will be 5 minutes.”

“Okay,” he said as Lacy unhooked Chip, then gave him water and food.

Jaxon walked into the bathhouse. “Hello? Are you lost?” said the woman behind the counter.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Jaxon. “What services do you offer?” he said.

“Erm, well,” the woman said, “this is a bathhouse, but if you’re looking for services,” she said, walking two fingers toward him, letting the sentence hang.

“No, no, no,” Jaxon quickly clarified. “I want a bath, or rather, I want to have access to the baths for a few days.”

“Oh,” she said. “Are you staying in the inn next door? Because if you are, we have a deal.”

Just then, Lacy walked in. Jaxon looked at Lacy to say, “Help me.”

“Hi, Jude,” Lacy said.

“Hi,” she replied. “He is not paying,” Lacy said.

“What?” Jude asked, looking back and forth. “You two really...”

“No,” said Lacy. “So, he is up for grabs, then.” Lacy shook her head. “You’re the worst, Jude. Anyway, he is staying here and can have a bath whenever he wants... in private,” she specified.

Jude looked downtrodden. “Ah well, a girl can hope,” she said, winking. Lacy shook her head.

“Anyways,” she said to Jaxon. “Follow me.” She led him past the front counter, down the hall, and past the first three doors. “Then there are the private bathhouse rooms. Here,” she said, pointing between 9 and 10. “Here is a spot with nothing on the wall. Go for it,” she said.

“Okay,” Jaxon said. “Aren’t we going out?”

“Yep,” she said. “Give me 10 minutes.”

“Okay, then,” he said. “Meet you here. I need you to try something.”

“Um, okay,” she said. “See you in 10.”

Jaxon looked at Doro. “What a day! How are you going? Mana okay?” he said after your lifting exercise. Doro nodded her head. “You look a little low on mana,” he observed. She shrugged. “Here,” he said, and he channelled 30-40 percent of his mana into her and then summoned the room door, leaving him at 30ish percent. “It’s fine,” he said to her as he opened the door and walked in. “I want to see how long it takes to gain it back. Well, the room looks good,” he said, closing the door. “Hmm, I want to try something.” He opened the door, went to the small cupboard, and removed a long pair of pants and a shirt, in white as everything Marion the tree made for him was. He opened his menu and put the shirt and pants in his inventory. Then he selected a preset slot and pressed save. When he did, all the items he was currently wearing appeared in the preset slot. Then he went to a new slot and dragged the white pants and shirt over it, and they dropped into the slot.

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“Okay,” he said as he shut the door. “Let’s try this,” he said to Doro, and he activated the second preset with the plain white cotton outfit. There was a ring of lightning that formed above his head and then suddenly moved down with bolts and sparks coming off it. It zoomed down to his feet and then back up again, then collapsed and disappeared back into his body, and sure enough, he was wearing the new plain white outfit.

“So quick,” he said, looking at Doro, who was looking at him in surprise. “What was that, like three seconds?” He activated his leathers and tan pants preset, and the same thing happened again. Three seconds later, he was back wearing the outfit he just purchased. “That’s super cool,” he said. “Reminds me of a Stargate teleporter.” He laughed. “Oh wait, you don’t know what that is,” he said. “Never mind, Doro.” The elemental shrugged and still looked impressed. Then, there was a knock at the door.

“Oh, it must be Lacy,” Jaxon said as he opened the door and stepped out. “Hi,” he said. “Wowzers, you look great.” Lacy was now wearing a long red dress and had let her hair down with long-back boots.

“Well, shall we go?” Jaxon said, looking between Lacy and Doro.

“Yep,” she said. “It’s not far, just a few streets over.” As they walked, Lacy pointed out different shops and locations to avoid.

“What about food?” Jaxon said. “What would you recommend?”

“Well,” she said, “if you want good food that’s a good price, then I would go to Mystic Brews and Stews, or if you want something fancy, then there is the Enchanted Spoon.”

“Okay,” said Jaxon. “What’s the street food like here?”

“Hmm,” she said. “We can go tomorrow for lunch. There is this place that does this meat on a stick, and they coat it in some form of heavenly bliss. We can go after we visit the airship yard and enquire about prices.”

“Sounds good,” Jaxon said. “Here we are,” Lacy said, indicating across the road. It was a bar, but when Jaxon entered, he was greeted by the warm, ambient lighting that cast a soft glow over the entire space, creating an inviting, intimate, and lively atmosphere. The walls were adorned with vintage posters and artistic pieces. The stage, the centrepiece of the venue, was framed by lush, velvet brown curtains. Dorothy vibrated, looking around at everything. As they walked in, a dwarf dressed in a stunning blue sequined cocktail dress that made her breasts pop greeted them.

“Wow,” Jaxon thought. “I have never seen a dwarf in a dress before.” Wait, he thought, this is only the second dwarf I have seen as he smiled to himself. The dwarf mistook his smile.

“Well, hello there, Mr Tall, Green, and Handsome. Someone sees something they like, am I correct?” she said as she looked him up and down. Jaxon felt like he was being undressed as her gaze lingered on his belt line. Rather than leaping into a full explanation about his smile, he went with it.

“Well, of course,” he said. “Never before have I seen a more beautiful dwarf.” And that, he thought, is, in fact, not a lie, as he smiled again. Then Lacy said, “Jaxon, stop looking like you’re going to kill her and bathe in her blood.”

Jaxon immediately stopped smiling, remembering it somehow looked creepy.

“No, Lacy,” said the dwarf. “Have you not met an orc before? When they look like that, they are happy and smiling. It’s when the mouth closes shut completely that you should be running for the waters.”

“Waters?” Jaxon asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, you know the rumour that orcs can’t swim.”

“Oh,” said Jaxon, who did not indeed know that, but went along with it anyway.

“Anyway, who’s your friend here?”

“Oh, sorry,” Lacy said. “Raz, this is Jaxon and Doro,” indicating who was who.

“Well, Raz said, “it’s wonderful to meet you. Let’s get you and your green pole here a table.”

“Seriously, Raz, WTF?” Lacy said.

“Fine, fine, sorry,” Raz replied. “Hey, I will give you a table at the front to make up for it.”

“Yeah,” said Lacy, “not so it makes him easier to point out to people at all.” Raz smiled at Lacy. “For two, no for three,” she corrected, bowing slightly to Doro. “My apologies,” she said.

“No, Jake is coming,” Lacy replied.

“Okay,” Raz said. As she raised her finger at head height, a man came rushing over, toned and dressed only in some form of tight speedo. “Table 8,” she said. The man looked in surprise.

“Yes, madam,” he said, grabbing six menus and bowing to them. “Good evening. Follow me, please.” He led them to the frontmost centre table that Jaxon noticed was raised up on a small platform, placing the table as the centre of attention apart from the stage.

“This is Henry,” said the man, indicating a more chiselled and thicc man in what Jaxon thought was a speedo, but when the man turned around, it was indeed a... well, he was not sure. He thought it was a G-string, but the band around the waist was a red metallic band that didn’t close like a wrist bracelet. Jaxon had no idea how the thin red material stayed in front. “He will be looking after you tonight,” he said. Henry looked at them as if to say, “Great, I have poor people at my table tonight.”

“Hello,” Henry,” Jaxon said politely.

“Hello,” said Henry. “Would you like a drink or perhaps some water?” he said, indicating he thought it was the latter they would choose.

“Hmm,” Jaxon said. “I will have something sweet and fruity.” Looking at the menu, he pointed at a unique hand-drawn picture of a tropical cocktail with a price of 8 bits. The man’s attitude changed immediately.

“Yes, sir,” he said, bowing slightly. “And you, madam?” he turned to her.

“I will have the 5-for-3 bucket, please,” said Lacy, looking at Jaxon in surprise.

“Oh,” said Henry, his face dropping slightly. “Of course, madam.” He went to collect the menus.

“Hang on,” Jaxon said. “What about you, Doro?” he said, turning to his familiar. The man looked shocked. “Um, my apologies, Doro, and for you?” he said, turning to Doro, going along with what he thought was the absurdity of talking to an elemental. Dorothy vibrated a lot.

“[Water] [lots]”

Jaxon blinked at her, nodding his head in understanding. “Well,” he said, “please bring a punch bowl big enough for my friend here to sit in and a bucket of water,” he said.

Henry looked at the group with an “I knew it, a bunch of crazies at my table” expression.

Jaxon pulled a mana disk from his inventory, tossing it to the man. “That’s for our drinks and the tap water for my friend, and what’s left is your tip,” he said.

The man looked like Christmas had come early. He bowed and said, “Right away, sir.”

“You just ordered an 8-bit drink,” Lacy said. “I ordered 5 drinks for 3 bits, so you just gave him a 9-bit tip!”

“Well,” he said to Lacy and Doro, “it looks like we have been put on display tonight, so I thought we better earn it.”

“Yes,” said Lacy. “I have never been seated here. It’s the best seat in the house, and it’s normally reserved for...” She made a fist, then shook it up and down.

“Wankers?” Jaxon said.

Lacy screamed with laughter. “No,” she said, tears in her eyes. “Well, yes, you’re correct, but actually, no. This,” she did the gesture again, “means lots of money or expensive, you know, a full pouch of disks and drops,” she said between breaths. “Wankers,” she said to herself. “I like you. You’re funny, but 8 bits!, she said, gaining her composure. That’s like... ahh, never mind,” she said as Jake arrived at the table.

“Hey,” he said. “You already ordered?”

“Yes,” said Lacy. “I got our usual.”

“Oh good,” he said. “So... how the hell did we get seated here?” he said.

“Well, that’s a bit of a story, but long and short of it is Raz took a liking to him,” Jake looked at Jaxon in his new outfit, with his chest exposed. “Yeah, that will do it,” he said as a huge punchbowl came over and was placed on the chair next to Jaxon. Jake saw Jaxon remove a mug from his shirt and put it on the table as a man in a red sock brought a bucket of water over. Jake saw Jaxon begin to pour water from the bucket into the mug. The mug seemed to be made of roots entwined together, and Jake swore he saw the vines twitch for a bit, then stop. Then Jaxon poured the water into the big punchbowl next to him and repeated the process once more. Again, the mug twitched for a few seconds, then Jaxon put his finger up next to his head, and the man in red came back to remove the bucket.

“Would you like more?” he said to the elemental.

Doro shook her head, and the man bowed again and left. Then he saw Doro settle into the water like it was a hot tub. She vibrated slightly as she relaxed into the liquid.

“Wow,” Jake said to Doro. “You sure do know how to unwind.”

She poked a water tongue at him, and he looked surprised but did not comment. He looked at Lacy and shared a glance, indicating his surprise at their new companions. Lacy nodded her head slightly, indicating the same. Their drinks arrived, and Jaxon’s drink was the size of his head, with a purple colour to it, slices of fruit all through it, and a long curly straw. Jaxon took a sip.

“Wowzers,” he thought. “I better take it easy on that.”

He saw that a bucket of bottles had been put in front of Lacy and Jake, and with his mana senses, he saw it was a cold bucket that had similar but much weaker magic to the carriage Lady had.

“So,” he said, raising his glass, “to new friends!” He toasted.

“To new friends,” they replied, and they knocked their drinks together. Doro vibrated in agreement. Soon, the place started to fill up with patrons, and Jaxon saw a mix of people, from more dwarves to elves, and even two who looked a bit like green tree frogs but were red instead of green. Soon, three elves were seated at the table off to the right and slightly more in front of them, and the three of them kept looking at Jaxon and his group as they sat down, with looks of anger on their faces. Jaxon gave a friendly wave in an attempt to try and break the glare they were giving him. As it did not work, Jaxon turned to Lacy and Jake.

“What’s his problem?” he said to them, nodding his head in their direction.

“Oh, that’s a highfalutin guy who comes here often and sits here normally. The son of some important rich prick somewhere,” Lacy explained.

“Oh,” Jaxon said. “Well, I tried to wave, but they just glared daggers even worse at me.”

“Yeah, well they...” she suddenly stopped talking as the three elves walked menacingly up to the table.

“Just who the fuck are you, then?” the elf said, tilting his chin at Jaxon with his arms crossed in an attempt at intimidation.

Jaxon suddenly bit his lip, trying not to laugh. The elf’s voice was so high-pitched and irritating it reminded him of a cartoon character from home. He couldn’t help it, and a small snort of laughter escaped his nose while he kept his mouth shut.

“Hey! What’s so funny, you green prick? If you have something to say to us, say it to our faces!”

As the table erupted in laughter, Jaxon stood up. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I am new here. My name is Jaxon,” he said as he put his hand out to shake. The elf looked down at Jaxon’s hand and said, “I’m not shaking the hand of a Z.” He spat in Jaxon’s drink.

Well, it was like someone shoved a hot iron into Lacy and Jake. They both drew weapons from god knows where and stepped out from the table.

“What the...?” Jaxon thought. He summoned his weapon as Doro zoomed behind the three of them and froze the two companions of the elf in a blink of an eye. The middle elf jumped back at the sound of cracking ice and saw that his two companions behind him were encased in ice, their mouths open with muffled screams coming from them. Now that the entire establishment had come to a standstill to look at the commotion, the elf looked panicked.

“What did you do to my bodyguards?” he said.

“Me?” said Jaxon. “I did nothing. I just drew my weapon, as these two did.” Just then, Raz came over with the biggest hammer Jaxon had ever seen.

“What in the hell is going on here?” she said.

“Nothing,” replied the elf. “Whatever your familiar did, please let them go now. We are leaving.”

Jaxon shrugged. “So we are all done here?” he said.

“Absolutely,” said the elf. “My apologies.”

“Okay,” Jaxon said as the ice turned into water and flowed back into Doro. The two men collapsed, shivering on the floor. The elf, who was not turned into a popsicle, helped them to their feet, and they ran out of the establishment.

“I’m sorry,” said Raz. “I was a little worried when he cracked it about the table not being available, but he is not normally here on the sixth day. What happened?” she asked the group, and they filled her in.

“Wow,” she said. “He said that, did he? My sincere apologies,” she said, bowing. “Mr Jaxon, that type of racist behaviour is not tolerated here.” Then she held up a finger, and a staff member came running over. She said to him, “The three men that just left now have a permanent ban from this establishment. Go find them outside and inform security. Mr Jaxon, please allow me to replace your drinks on the house.” With another finger raised momentarily, she had his drink taken away and a fresh, full one provided along with another bucket for Lacy and Jake. “All right,” she said, “good thing tomorrow is the seventh day! And I propose another toast! To Doro, who’s so damn fast I didn’t even see her move and saved the evening!”

“To Doro!” they clinked drinks, and Doro spurted water up into the air and caught it again. As they looked around, they saw the place was now completely full.

“Food,” Jaxon said. “We need food!”

“Yes,” said Lacy. “We do need food,” in a very relaxed, happy tone. Jaxon held his finger up next to his head, and within no time, Red Sock Guy, as Jaxon had come to call him in his head, appeared, produced some menus, and gave them some time to decide. Jaxon looked at the menu and did a quick math: to try everything on the menu would be 2 disks and 8 bits.

“I want to try everything,” he said. “I’m buying one of everything!” The other two looked at him like he was crazy. “No, it’s fine,” he said. “I will take any leftovers with me!” And within no time at all, Red Sock Guy was carrying over plate after plate of food. Just as the last plate was placed on the table, the lights dimmed, and music started playing as people entered the stage to bow. They consisted of dwarves with voices as deep as the mines from which they hailed, humans adorned in colourful garb that sparkled under the lights, elves whose movements were as fluid as the wind through the trees, and a singular goblin whose mischievous grin promised a performance filled with unexpected twists. Together, they wove a tale of adventure and camaraderie, their song rising and falling with the beats of a story that transcended the boundaries of their races. The goblin's sharp wit, interspersed with the harmonious melodies of the elves, the robust choruses of the dwarves, and the humans' passionate solos, captivated the audience, leaving them enchanted. It was a cabaret performance that celebrated the diversity and unity of their world, reminding everyone present that art knows no bounds, and all beings are kin. Jaxon did note the lack of an orc, however, he did not comment. After the show, the lights returned, and they continued to talk about local goings-on, like how they needed more local muscle and how people were going missing to the south, and it was rumoured that there was a village of cannibals that could be taking travellers along the path.

“Hmm,” said Jaxon. “Well, what’s to the south?” Jaxon said, bringing up his map.

“Not much, just a fishing village,” Lacy said.

“On the river?” Jaxon asked.

“No,” said Lacy, “on the coast.”

“Oh, well, don’t forget the little village in the forest along the river,” Jaxon said.

The two of them looked at him. “What village?” Jaxon said. “You know, the little village with the 10ish homes and the well. Well, I went for a swim in the river and floated for a while, and then came into a village near the ocean,” Lacy asked.

“No, in the middle of a forest.”

There was silence.

“Did you...” whispered Lacy. “Did you find the rumoured cannibal village?”

“No,” said Jaxon. “It can’t be. They were nice after they knocked me out.”

“They what?”

“Well,” Jaxon filled them in.

“OK,” Lacy said. “First of all, why would a village with only 10 houses build a prison cell? And second, who did you see?”

“Well,” Jaxon said, “it was the woman who ran, and then the three guards.”

“Jaxon, a tiny village would have zero guards, not three!” she said.

“Well, how am I supposed to know that? Wait, it can’t be them. I would have smelled something with my sen... Oh my,” he said. “You could be correct. I smelled something vile, and there were maggots eating it. I got away as soon as possible, and I did notice someone following me for a bit after I left.”

“Jake said, “There you go. See, we has to report it in the morning.”

It seemed he was much further along than Jaxon and Lacy, as Jaxon had been sipping on his one drink throughout the night. Hmm, he tried to think but was way too tired.

“Okay,” he said, “let’s go home.”

“Oh, wait,” he said as he pulled all the platters and food dishes into his inventory. Lacy and Jake looked at him, mouths open.

“Um, you know you can’t put that food in a holding bag,” he said. “It will go bad.”

“It’s okay,” Jaxon said. As they got up and headed towards the exit, Raz intercepted them halfway.

“I do hope you had a good evening,” she said.

“Oh yes,” Jaxon said. “It was absolutely fantastic. This establishment is amazing, and the entertainment was fantastic. Thank you for a really nice evening.”

Raz did the lowest bow she had ever done. “Well, Mr Jaxon, my sincerest and humblest apologies again for the mishap tonight, and I do hope you keep an eye out for that man. Something tells me this won’t be the last you see of him.” They wound their short distance back to the bathhouse, singing one of the songs they heard that night, however getting the lyrics completely wrong.

“Well,” Jaxon said, “if this is a dream, this is quite a nice dream. What do you think?” He said, turning to Doro. “Am I crazy?”

Doro nodded her head in agreement. Jaxon laughed.

“You’re probably right. Oh well, we will see what tomorrow brings, and if you’re still here in the morning, then I guess it’s not a dream.” “Goodnight,” they said to Jake as he continued on his way home as Jaxon, Lacy, and Doro entered the bathhouse.

“Goodnight,” said Jaxon as he entered his room. “Come on, Doro, let’s get some sleep.” Jaxon shut the door and collapsed on his bed. “Come here, Doro!” He said with outstretched arms. As he hugged her and fell asleep, the next morning, Jaxon woke up feeling rather okay considering the night out. Doro was there next to him, all floppy as usual.

“Jaxon said, “it’s time to wake up

.” He gave her a little nudge, and she didn’t move. He pushed her some more, and she began to roll, and before he realised what was happening, she rolled off the bed and hit the floor with a splat. Then instantly flew up, looked around in shock, and spurted water in Jaxon’s face, vibrating angrily, and went and sat in her bath.

“Sorry,” Jaxon said. “I was trying to wake you, and you rolled off the bed. How are you?”

“[Good]”

“Oh, that’s good. I think it’s time for a shower, just a quick one to freshen up,” he said as Jaxon stripped off his clothes, threw them in the sink again, and stepped into the shower. Doro once again went over and cleaned and dried his clothing for him, then went back to her bath. After Jaxon finished showering, he stepped out of the shower, and all the water lifted off him as it did before. He got the shiver down his spine and shook a little bit.

“Thanks,” he said. “It will take some time to get used to, but it’s way better than being wet. Oh, and thank you for doing my outfit.” He said, “You are the best friend ever.” Dorothy got up, floated over to him, pushed herself into his chest, and vibrated affectionately.

“Thanks,” he said. “Love you too,” as he hugged her with a few pats on the back. “But this is really weird because I’m naked.” He laughed.

Doro moved back, looked at him, and shrugged.

“Yeah, I suppose so. Hey, I want to try something,” he said. Jaxon picked up all his clothing that Doro had washed and dried, placed it all in the inventory, and then clicked the preset and then selected the preset outfit for his leathers. As the lightning ring moved down and up his body, he appeared fully dressed in his outfit.

“Wow,” he said. “That’s much faster than getting dressed.” Jaxon realised he’d left his staff at The Gilded Flower. “I wonder,” he thought as he conjured his staff into his hand. “Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Now let me just check my notifications, then we can go.”

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

Notifications:

You bond with your familiar has increased Level 2 - 45% Check status for more information.

Your Conjured Weapon Ability has increased Level 0 - 15%

Your Keen Scent Ability has increased Level 0 - 15%

Your Whisperwind Ear Ability has increased Level 0 - 25%

Your Spiritual Awareness Ability has increased Level 0 - 25%

Your Lightning Bolt Ability has increased Level 0 - 5%

Your Static Shield Ability has increased Level 0 - 5%

Your Ionic Blink Ability has increased Level 0 - 30%

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

He opened the door, and they walked out down the hall and passed the reception.

“Hey, sexy,” Jude, the receptionist, called to him. “I have a message from Lacy. She said she had to go out and do an emergency errand today. And that she would meet you tonight for dinner. Something about street food, okay?”

“Thanks,” said Jaxon. “We are heading out. I’ll be back just after lunch for a nice soak in a hot bath. Is that okay?”

“No problem,” Jude said. “Enjoy your morning.”

As he stepped out of the bathhouse, he turned around to look up at the sign “The Eldrwood Moonwell Bathhouse,” and just underneath the name was “Your local family-friendly establishment for over 40 years.”

“Okay,” Jaxon said as he marked it on his map. Then he searched around for the airship dock on his map, found it in the far northeast corner of the map, then looked for the library pin, then looked for the clothing shop. He was in yesterday. He found it on the map even though he didn’t remember the name, but according to his map, it appeared to be the Threaded Boutique. He said, “I think her name was Hashata.” He organised his plan of attack based on the locations. He needed to visit the library, then the clothing store, then the airship dock.

He looked at Doro. “You all good to go?” he said. “Oh, I want to change into something more basic,” he said as he changed into his plain linen outfit. “That outfit is my favourite so far, but I don’t want people thinking I’m made of money and trying to rip me off.” Doro nodded in agreement.

As he said, “Off towards the library,” he found the streets were a little busy but not as much as the day before. He figured this must have something to do with the seventh day or whatever Lacy was saying yesterday. They arrived at the library, and Jaxon was greeted by a young elf.

“Be with you in just a minute,” the elf paused, looking at Jaxon up and down. “Minute,” he said, “minute,” as though it was a question?

“No problem,” said Jaxon. He stood there waiting for the librarian to finish sorting two book piles. Then the librarian finished and turned to him.

He said, “Now, how can I help you?”

“Hi,” Jaxon said. “I’m looking for books on the history of date and time and why we use the system we do now.”

“Certainly,” said the elf and led him over to a section of books. “I suggest you start with this one,” he said. The cover said, “Island of Eldoria Species Treaties and the Standards.” This book covers the changes that were made together as an island by all representatives of all island dwellers in order to facilitate island peace, commerce, and trade.

“Thank you,” Jaxon said.

“No problem,” replied the librarian. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Conscious of time, Jaxon started to quickly skim through the book, noting that there was an eight-day cycle: three working days, one day off, two working days, two days off, with 9 to 10 cycles for a season. It seemed that this was the best system for the orcs, elves, and Freshadatons (the frog-looking people he saw at the club), but was not the best system for dwarves or humans, and the goblins didn’t care.

This was decided after the war with orcs and goblins versus humans and elves. The dwarves who were in the mountains stayed out of it, as well as the Freshadatons who wanted no part in it.

“Well,” thought Jaxon, “that gives me some starting context,” as he closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. On his way out, he said to the librarian, “Are you open tomorrow?”

“Yes,” she said. “I am here all the time unless it's a human or local holiday.”

“Okay,” he said. “See you tomorrow,” as he walked out onto the street. He checked his map again. “Okay,” he said. “Off to the Threaded Boutique.”