Chapter 799: Blood (1/2)
Phoebe had to adjust to the dark interior of the adventurer’s guild. The stone floor was cold, nor was there a hearth in the building where a fire could be had. Oil lamps were the only source of light in the large room. It felt claustrophobic anyway.
She felt Willa brush past her, the smirking woman ignoring the tense atmosphere, going towards the bar with confident steps. Ember and Mila entered as well, the heavy wooden door creaking before it shut, any fresh air that could’ve mixed with the stuffy sweat induced drunken mist masquerading as something breathable cut off from the interior of the old guild building.
Phoebe glanced at the patrons, a few of them passed out, one lying on the floor, occasionally twitching and murmuring something to himself.
[Axe Warrior – lvl 59]
She identified a few more, shifty sets of eyes meeting hers. Phoebe could identify them all. She didn’t assume anyone here was competent enough to have an ability to hide their level. Though she didn’t let her guard down, glancing at the wooden board where quests would usually be listed. There were no jobs there, either none available or everything already taken. Gesturing to the others, she joined Willa at the broad stone counter, colorful bottles of spirits set up on a wooden shelf fastened to the wall.
A burly man with gray hair and a deeply set frown steadied himself against the bar, his arms bare, a stained brown shirt covering his tanned chest. He was bald.
[Field Cook – lvl 42]
Is he the one?
Phoebe wanted to sign the others to check their backs but Willa already leaned against the counter with her back towards the wall. Always ready for a fight. She didn’t deny that her teammate wanted those fights as well, but it was nice to know that Willa didn’t overthink as much as she did. Mila stood close to her, Ember a little to the side with her eyes on the patrons as well.
Never seen a guild that was pretty much just a bar, Phoebe thought, wondering if perhaps this wasn’t the original guild in Nara. The city was far too large for this to accommodate their adventurers. Would they even have a need for a lot of adventurers? They’re just confined in their walls, perfectly protected from monsters, and few would travel to the northern plains from here, surely.
The cook said something, looking at her with black eyes. He obviously didn’t give a shit about them, but he didn’t seem outright hostile either. The problem was that she didn’t speak the language.
“I don’t speak Jissu,” she said. “Are you the manager of this guild?”
He took in a noticeable breath. “I am. What do you want?”
“A drink would be nice,” Willa said from the side. “Something that can cheer me up in this miserable shithole.”
There she goes again.
To her surprise the man huffed in an amused manner.
“You can pay, I assume? Half the lot here are just waiting for a good time to rob the place,” he said. “Preference?”
“Strong,” Willa said with a broad grin, a silver piece in her hand a moment later. “Surprise me.”
He took a dark red bottle from the top shelf. “Four?”
“Aye, four,” Willa said, putting the silver down.
Phoebe watched as he filled four small shot glasses with the red liquid. “What brings you to Nara?”
Willa took three of them, putting one in front of Phoebe. “Last one’s for you.”
The man nodded and downed the shot, Willa did the same. First one, then the second.
Phoebe sniffed on the liquid before she downed it. Nothing worse than the poisons they had tried in the Headquarters.
One of the patrons murmured something in Jissu, spitting on the floor.
“You have something to say?” Willa asked.
“He is drunk,” the barkeep said.
“We’re just here to help out,” Phoebe said. “If there is anything a group of Sentinels could help with.” She gave him a long look.
He didn’t react.
The patron said something else, more hostile this time.
Phoebe could feel the tension rise, some of the people in the room shifting. She glanced back when Mila stepped over to the man and answered, in the local language too.
Two sentences, sharp words. She slapped him, the man nearly falling out of his chair, an adventurer twenty levels below her.
Phoebe watched with raised brows. Mila was usually quiet and subdued.
The small black haired battle healer shook her head and looked at the other patrons, some of them flinching. She turned back and walked to the bar, sitting down on a stool. Her hand trembled slightly.
Phoebe walked over, looking at her before she touched her shoulder. She signed a question.
Mila signed back. She was fine.
The barkeep watched it all happen, taking another bottle, this one a dark shade of green. He filled a small glass and set it in front of Mila, saying two words in Jissu.
She didn’t answer but drank it, coughing thrice in turn.
He chuckled.
“There is no work here for you, didn’t you see the people outside?” the man said, leaning forward a little, both hands back on the counter.
“We’re here on the recommendation of someone we met recently,” Phoebe whispered.
“I don’t want any trouble,” he said.
Mila chuckled. “You don’t want any trouble? What did you do before the Empire removed your king?”
The man looked at her, holding eye contact. “I was a cook.”
“For soldiers,” Mila said.
He waited, then nodded. “Yes. For soldiers.”
She asked him a question, using the local tongue.
Phoebe could tell a few of the patrons twitched.
“What is done, is done,” the barkeep said. “You are free.”
Mila cursed, shaking her head. “We won’t find anything here.”
“Another drink?” he asked, looking at Willa.
She shrugged.
He grabbed the bottle, putting it on the counter. “There is nothing here for you. I suggest you go back to your spotless thriving cities in the south.”
“There are thriving cities in the north too,” Willa said with a grin, removing the cork from the bottle. “This one is the outlier.”
Phoebe glanced at the man’s hands when they came back to rest on the counter. She didn’t miss the piece of paper sticking out below his palm. For just a moment she glanced at him, the two of them locking eyes.
She reached over to grab the bottle, pouring herself another shot. “No need for healers in Nara,” she said, pushing the bottle towards him, their hands close for just a moment. Enough for her to take his message. Phoebe downed the shot and shook her head. “Until the drink runs out.”
Willa smiled, Phoebe shaking her head before she made for the exit.
“You didn’t pay,” the man said.
She took a piece of silver from one of her pouches, flinging it behind herself before she reached the door.
The first thing she did outside was take a deep breath.
“The air in that shithole,” Willa complained when she appeared a few meters away. “Fucking horrible.”
Mila cursed again.
“So what do we do? Cause some trouble? Pay someone?” Willa asked, hands on the back of her head.
Phoebe signed for information and stealth. “We could pay someone. But not here. People were way too tense. Let’s see who else we can talk to in this city.” She looked up at the walls, the suns already seeming low on the horizon despite the time. Like a prison for those living at the bottom. Looking to the left, she saw one of the towers, the round structure reaching far towards the skies, impressive in its height.
She checked the few people nearby and made for a random street. The sunlight soon didn’t reach as the stone structures grew in height. The open square near the entrance seemed more an exception than rule within the design of Nara.
Little noise came from the dark alleys, most of them entirely deserted. More a ghost town than anything else, she thought and gestured towards a nearby building. Phoebe checked behind them and teleported in, the others following a moment later.