42 Full Recovery (2/2)
Because of that, the more they met humans, the more they saw surprise and wariness but not hostility. They knew that because of their deep friendship with the elves, numerous races were doing business with the Republic of Avenio. Some were still labeled as monsters and exterminated at sight, like goblins, orcs, and even trolls. But the elves and some other humanoids were capable of traveling without getting worried of being enslaved. The only one that truly cut ties with the humans was the dwarves, retrenched in their kingdom in the West. As for why no one that they killed knew that for the moment.
Profiting from that clemency for strange creatures, Davion and Meridiana arrived at the closest city, named Archet. Before that, however, they had to wait in line at the eastern gate, hearing the complaints from everyone else. To not be too high profile, Meridiana was not carried by the orodil anymore and was just walking side by side. Since she fully recovered, she began to exude her natural charm and the group right behind them was constantly staring at her. Receiving the dark stare of the blue man because of her high visibility, she toned it down and looked only beautiful, not devastatingly gorgeous like before.
After a dozen minutes, it was finally their turn and as they guessed, they were escorted to the captain for further investigations. Even some wagons were smaller than Davion and since he was totally covered under his clothes, no one was capable of finding his race. Because he was rather slim, they dismissed the idea of him being a troll but it was also causing a headache for the captain. The poor human had never heard about a creature as tall as a troll but nimble like a human. At the same time, it was extremely disrespectful to ask the tall giant in front of him to remove his hood. Recently, some elves were badly treated and the mayor was trying to fix it before it blew out of proportions. The captain had absolutely no intention of creating another incident.
So, for a few minutes, he only just talked about common topics, like how the weather was very nice recently and stuff like that. Meridiana was the only one talking and while she responded calmly to the questions and didn't do anything to bewitch the human, the latter was still heavily sweating. As time passed, Davion even began to poke at the succubus to make her stop, prompting the latter to berate him because it was not her fault. But since they both realized that they were not leaving anytime soon, Meridiana was forced to manipulate the man, prompting him to release them. They quickly buggered off before the captain realized what he had done.
After wasting so much time, they immediately searched for the main plaza of the city. The sun was still up in the sky and they were probably in the middle of the afternoon. For the next few hours, they roamed the city, gathering all the recent news. Thanks to that, when both of them returned to the eastern gate, they found out about the recent increase in price for the weapons and armors. Coupled with their encounter with a patrol near the mountain, they understood that something was brewing inside the republic. As for precise information, they won't be able to get it just by stalking merchants and listening to drunk soldiers. No, they needed an official status, recognized by the higher-ups.
Finding the most broken and dirtiest inn of the city, they rent a single room. The shady innkeeper looked with lustful eyes at Meridiana and a few other men that were drinking nearby were sharing the same idea. That was the main reason for choosing such an establishment. Baiting some unconscious preys, not having to pay a lot and be far away from any capable magicians. The moment they locked the frail wooden door and sat on the pitiful bed, Meridiana began to establish a mental connection with Malakov.
”Ah, Mis…, greetings succubus. What did you learn?” The proud voice of the undead resonated in the mind of the succubus. She felt that he was taking control over the spell and she left him to do that. That way, it will reduce the strain on her mana reserves that were not infinite.
”A few things. The mountains separating the two countries are apparently filled with deadly monsters but we were fine, so it is probably not that scary. At the same time, it still took us nearly four days to cross it. Also, the Republic of Avenio is acting weirdly, the prices of numerous weapons, armors, potions and other things related to fighting are skyrocketing. However, the reason for that is unknown, probably related to our arrival but could be something else.” She waited for a few seconds until Malakov started talking.
”I see, so you can't get anything more until you are known. I guess your plan is related to the adventurers or something like that. Well, you will be pleased to learn that we found a few metal veins that made master Agnil very pleased. So, to make it big instantly, instead of going naked like you are, I suggest you come back. I can't promise anything close to anything we had on Artosis, but we should still be able to do something good. If that's all, I expect you in four days, succubus.”
”That's all, may you not disappoint her, Envoy.” A loud laugh was reverberating in her mind while the connection between the two was fading. Seeing the succubus opening her yes, Davion asked her what was making her smile. She only answered by one word.
”Agnil.”