He pointed down the end of the hall just past him.
INNKEEPER
Just follow this hall here and you'll find it outside.
He leaned in closer to me, finally making eye contact,
INNKEEPER
We only have one so you might see some stunning ladies out there.
I doubted him because on my way here, I did not see a single attractive lady. I paid the Keeper, he handed me my key, which was soul bound meaning it would return to him if they were far apart. I made my way up the spiral staircase, down the hall, and into a spacious room. The bed was fit for a noble; a wooden bedstead with a feather stuffed mattress and it had a headboard that led upwards into red velvet drapes. Draped across the floor were two bear hide rugs with the skin of their heads still attached. The walls were painted red and so were the wardrobes but with silver trimming. Above me were candles enclosed in a lantern chandelier.
Back home, a room such as this would have been at least four hundred puries a day. After enjoying the sight of my room, I went down to the bathhouse to shower.
It consisted of several plumbed showers upon marble slabs with several drains. Bars of soap were placed on the wooden wall that enclosed the entire bathhouse. To the right of the plumbed showers were enchanted towels floating in the air waiting for a wet body to give them a hug.
Ahead of the platform of plumbed showers was a stone hut tub enchanted by what seemed to be infused ruby and sapphire gems. The entire bathhouse was empty so I decided to become perverted and arouse myself as I showered.
It felt absolutely amazing taking a shower after so long. After I was done, I took my belongings and placed them close to me as I submerged myself into the hot tub. I instantly realized the water was entirely made of enchanted magic which swiftly relieved me of my stress and caused me to relax. Another subject that proved difficult to understand.
Strangely enough, it further aroused me allowing me to finally understand the first line spoken by the Innkeeper. Tenants possibly come for an hour to spend time with a partner in this tub. How delightful.
I would hope to have peace and solidarity for the next few minutes and for the next few minutes I received just that. Despite the fact that it was almost midday, it was quiet for a nice day like this. I'd expect more people to be out and about.
After my bath I allowed the towels to dry me off and massage out the kinks in my back and shoulders. They were enchanted to leave their clients smelling like oranges which was okay in my honest opinion. I was pretty sure there were much better options than oranges.
I then dressed myself and headed out to find a place to clean my robes. After a nice bath, it was disgusting wearing these dirty robes. I stopped by a market with only three stalls and bought a fine leather waist satchel and secured it to my bare waist for fifty puries. The stall tender studied me likely questioning to herself how a filthy person obtained such wealth. Thanks to the trade I received from the Innkeeper, I didn't need to use any golden coins.
As I wondered, I began to transfer my few belongings from my robes to the satchel. After searching for several minutes, I eventually found a small shack with two brothers advertising lethargically.
As they laid eyes upon me their faces brightened. They were slim, in their twenties and as I approached, I noticed they were twins. White hair, white skin, red eyes, and red tiny spots all over their bodies. Despite being twins, their spots weren't identical—how cute. They wore short cloth overalls over... from my perspective, nothing.
THAM
Hi, I'm Tham.
THAN
And I'm Than.
They both began to undress me with their eyes and despite the flattery, I wished they'd stop.
PAIN
Cleaning?
THAN & THAM
Yes! Come on in.
The inside was worse than the outside. It was small, dirty, shoddy and lit by a wavering candle. They had a makeshift counter made of two festering tables. Behind the counters I saw empty shelves meant for clothes.
I thought I might as well make their day so I disrobed with confidence and allowed them to admire my aroused nakedness. They were able to handle my robes because the enchanted magic placed upon it was prospected and owned by me so they were in no danger.
Than, I believe, was proficient in water magic as he hung my robes and doused it with magical water and scrubbed it with soap. Tham couldn't keep his eyes off my erection and was seemingly touching himself behind the tables. He kept smiling at me in hopes, but little did he know, he wasn't getting any.
Once Than was done soaking my robes he swapped places with Tham. Similar to his brother, he couldn't keep his eyes off me and touched himself behind the tables as well. Tham begun drying my robes with the use of controlled wind magic. It was a fascinating ability and I wondered why they weren't drowning in work. Unlike Than, Tham was vastly proficient in mana control and had created a powerful yet gentle funnel of wind around my robes.
I watched him as he controlled his wind with absolute concentration. I came to the conclusion that he worked hard to generate such force and made it gentle enough to work with clothing. I forced myself to stop staring less I become more aroused. Maybe at another time I would come back and spend some time with the two.
I shouldn't do foolish things now with (???) Ring and about thirty thousand puries on me. Despite their lust for me, I doubted they wouldn't cut me open and steal my belongings if they were to find out.
Tham handed the robe back to me, pristine and spelling like oranges. It seemed as if oranges were the preferred aroma in this town. I loved the smell but I would think one wouldn't want to smell like oranges all day. I gave them a little show as I "struggled" to get my arms into my robe,
PAIN
What's the cost?
THAN & THAM
Thirty.
Ridiculously cheap but I wondered, was it because of the lack of customers, their attraction towards me, or was that an increased price? I was lucky enough to have about fifty copper coins and spared thirty because I wouldn't want them to see a gold coin.
PAIN
Great work. I will see you again.
I tied my robes and took my leave. The wind blew harder than before and as I searched for a clothing store of any sort, I felt myself becoming more aroused.
PAIN
Well damn. That's not good...
The wind picked up suddenly and I was almost blown over. I saw a cheap clothing sign made of splintered wood as I caught myself. This wind felt quite unnatural and had me wondering if there was a skilled dragon or an ent fighting off a foe in the distance.
I pushed through the ravenous wind, past the splintered sign, and into the rundown clothing store. It was a lot better than Tham's and Than's but not as neat as the inn.
An old witch around sixty years old stared at me behind a tiny counter. Feather pens, charcoal pencils, paper, and many other tiny objects were dancing about in the air around her. She wore a saggy and dirt ridden wizard's hat and a (Mana Infinity) Silk Robes, 1% Mana Control over a brown blouse.
She had gray skin with thick pink lines running down her arms and neck, pink hair, and pink eyes. Her face was covered in moles and ingrown hair so in simple terms, she wasn't at the least bit pleasant to look at. Her eyes scanned me up and down before resting on the visible bulge of my erection.
BURLA
Mmm, somebody be happy to see Burla. Yes?
Oh great, a weirdo that spoke in third person but I shouldn't be talking since I was the one with an erection.
PAIN
Correction. I saw someone else.
She pressed her lips together as I continued,
PAIN
I am in need of some basic clothing. As you can see.
BRULA
Burla can't see nothing. Why do you need clothes from Burla. Burla thinks you already clothed.
PAIN
Ok, I'll buy some just to buy some.
BURLA
Fine, Burla knows be
st...
She pranced around the counter and her floating objects followed behind her,
BURLA
...if Burla can see what work needs to be done.
I folded my arms as she approached. If this bitch touched me, she'll be losing that arm. She stopped a foot before me as if she had just read my mind.
She ogled my bulge as I turned my attention to the back of the small store. The entire store was made of wood and held up by well-made wooden beams. The walls were lined with shelves of tunics, jerkins, leggings, boots, gloves, robes, scarves etc. Burla lift her gaze and looked at me uncertainly,
BURLA
Show Burla the work Burla must do.
She smiled, revealing a mouth full of black decaying teeth. How could one be so disgusting and fowl? Than and Tham were two good looking guys and thinking back, they had clean white teeth. I then wondered how my own teeth were holding up because I never cleaned them but they felt strong and healthy despite the numerous times I have been reduced to mush, beaten, and eaten alive.
PAIN
No. Get me a set of clothing and let me be on my way, or I'll go somewhere else.
I was being down right selfish but there was a difference in requesting something verbally than to being nonchalant about it. So why should I de-robe in front of this goblin? I felt as if she did not deserve it, being hideous and all. If two guys can keep themselves tidy and presentable why couldn't Burla? Not to mention, her store seemed to be doing well and she wore a quite expensive robe. Puries could do wonders but her horrendous looks proved she didn't know the true power of puries.
BURLA
Go somewhere else?
She laughed and went back behind her counter. I felt a distinct change in the air as she spoke the next few words,
BURLA
There is no other.
I glared at her and she giggled a crude laugh. Her laugh instantly killed my erection. Good.
BURLA
Burla kidding, boy.
She took notice of the deflation, shrugged, and grabbed a tunic, sash, grieves and thin leather leggings from the shelf behind her.
BURLA
Fine. You don't want to show Burla, here, take these. Four hundred and twenty puries.
She gave me a fake smile. Was that supposed to be expensive? Stupid bitch didn't know who she was talking to. I pulled out five silver coins and twenty copper coins. Her smile faded as I grabbed the clothes and bolted out.
PAIN
God…
Something about her was off-putting but I didn't want to think about that as I made my way into a secluded area to dress. Afterwards, I found my way towards an alchemist's hut. It was a small shack at the far end of the town enclosed by a lush gated herbal farm.
I walked inside and laid my eyes on the most beautiful lady in the entire town. Red skin with small blue triangular patches, long red hair, and stunning blue eyes. We made eye contact and she rolled her eyes.
I spoke under my breath,
PAIN
I guess it's that time of the month.
CHARLA
Pardon?
PAIN
Do you know of any infusers?
CHARLA
Infusers? Um. No. Are you not from this kingdom?
PAIN
Nope.
She made eye contact with me again and held it before I looked away. The inside of this shack was well maintained. Shelves lined with red and blue potions and herbal plants growing neatly within the far corners of the shack. I noticed no green potions and thought to ask her about it but,
CHARLA
Ugh. Just like all the others.
I frowned at her,
PAIN
What?
She mimicked me,
CHARLA
What?
PAIN
Did I offend you?
She took a deep breath and looked off elsewhere,
CHARLA
No. So frustrating.
I wasn't going to ask her what she was so pissed off about,
PAIN
Would you know where I can find an infuser?
She glared at me and rolled her eyes again. What the hell was her problem? No, I was not going to ask nor should I have cared.
CHARLA
Dagon City. About an hour walk north of here. It's our trade city.
PAIN
Thanks.
I took my leave and heard her scoff in frustration. I cared less about her issues and made my way toward the Adventurer's Guild. It was easy to spot for it was a fine structure built next to the Inn and the Town Hall.
I pushed open the door and to my surprise, was shoved ruthlessly and sent flailing onto my ass.
BLACK KNIGHT
Move!
An eight foot tall warrior clad in full black armor—no, it wasn't just simple black armor. I blinked in horror because his armor was made of obsidian puri and each piece was enchanted. But something prevented me from understanding the enchantment. I saw nothing but (XXX) in front of each armor piece and (XXX) suffix behind each piece. I had never seen such a prefix or suffix upon someone's armor and concluded that unknown magic prevented my understanding.
Around his neck was an insignia made of gold puri with a letter "C" designed upon it. I wasn't able to gawk at him for long. He was already marching away and upon his back were two obsidian puri long swords that also had the (XXX) prefix and suffix upon it.
HUNTER
You okay, bud?
A young man in his thirties, leaning against the entrance called out to me. His long pointy nose was the first feature I noticed. His onyx skin color painfully reminded me of the horrendous brute that launched me into the sky. He had thin curving white lines over his body, white hair, and eyes that glistened an ivory color.
He wore a leather jerkin, hide pants, a short sword at his hip, a small bow upon his back, and a side quiver opposite his sword all with +2 suffixes.
PAIN
I'm fine. What the heck was wrong with him?
HUNTER
Careful. Despite his distance from us, he can still hear ya. Either way, my name's Hunter, and that beast that decided not to take yer life is simply named the Black Knight, or as the kids are referring to him nowadays as "BK".
I got back to my feet as Hunter continued,
HUNTER
As to what's bothering that beast, we got ourselves a few heroes from the North Star Kingdom.
He looked at me inquisitively,
HUNTER
Ya new aren't ya kid?
I nodded,
PAIN
Yes.
HUNTER
Ha! Join the party!
He gestured inward and I moved in closer to take a look inside. The guild hall was enormous and cluttered with adventurers, upon the leather couches, against the walls, crowded around tables and upon the second floor wooden railings.
HUNTER
Are ya from the Gayrock Kingdom?
I shook my head.
HUNTER
Neither am I. A wanderer is what I am. Got caught up in a great battle between vampires and the knights of this kingdom. Bloody hell that was. Lost my horse and well, everything was on my horse as it took off. So now I'm here ya see. What about you? How'd ya get here?
PAIN
Skirmish, pretty much the same.
He nodded with deep understanding,
HUNTER
Yeah. Vamps are no good for anyone. Really miss my ol' Silver. A good horse she was.
Either he was easy to convince or incredibly self-centered.
HUNTER
Maybe we can team up yeah?
Absolutely not,
PAIN
Yeah, maybe.
HUNTER
I could always use another pair of eyes watching my rear.
I knew of a pair of twins who would gladly do just that.
PAIN
Let me first apply and understand the rules.
HUNTER
Ha, by all m
eans lad! Go for it. I'll be waiting here. Not much else I can do.
I made my way in and immediately felt a dozen eyes fall upon me. They watched, studied, glared, and scowled at me. It was as if I were walking through seven different packs of wolves—each pack ready to rip off the neck of the neighbor to the left and right of them.
There were a handful of strong looking adventurers here but out of the few I was able make out, I did not see (XXX) upon any of their armors. They were still enchanted either way. There were also starved and poverty stricken adventurers, some naked and others barely clothed, grasping onto their weapon.
The guild hall was rich, smelling like that of oranges (despite the foul stench of the homeless adventurers), and had fine rugs on polished wooden flooring. At the forefront, three girls behind polished wooden counters waited for my approach to one of the three leather chairs before them. On either side of the luxurious counter were two knights who wore iron puri armor. Behind them were poles bearing two flags.
I easily understood the upper flag, checkered in red and black, to be the flag representing the Gayrock Kingdom noted by the combination of letters "G" and "R" at its center. The lower flag was in gold and black side by side with a golden letter "R" at its center.
As for the guards, a few pieces of their armor's prefixes matched that of the Black Knight, (XXX), but the others were easy to see.
(Health Infinity), (Restoration Infinity) and (Physical Infinity). I turned my eyes away from them to avoid seeming suspicious and sat on the middle chair in front of the center girl.
The young girl before me aged, probably about fourteen years old, with straight blonde hair and yellow eyes with black rings, smiled at me as I took my seat. Her skin was dark red but I was able to see a little white skin upon her chest.
CARLAY
Hello, my name is Carlay. How are you doing this fine day?
Her voice carried over the quite guild hall.
PAIN
I am doing alright.
CARLAY
Great! Are you a member of the Adventurer's Guild already?
I shook my head,
PAIN
Not yet, no. I am wanting to apply.
CARLAY
Great!
She pulled out a unique bag, a contract, blood pencil, and an insignia made of copper puri. A blood pen looked neither like a charcoal pencil nor feather pen. It was a thin blade with a miniature glass storage on its side.
Monarch- the Elementalist Page 7
