Am I the popular kid now? Rook gave an embarrassed smile and waved. In the middle of the room, seated at a table, were the gnome and dwarf scoundrels eyeing him suspiciously.

  “That’s enough!” Brianna called over the noise. “You two take a seat,” She said with a laugh.

  The barbarian was there too, the usual crowd. However, the bartenders were changed, a few unfamiliar faces, including a young Torokin bartender. They sat down, and their table quickly filled with drinks and food from grateful patrons and adventurers. The Torokin came by the table with their order of coffee and water. The bull man let a long breath hiss out from his wet nostrils.

  “Rook is it?” The Torokin asked. “My name’s Strike Redcloud, and coffee’s on the house this morning. Come back tonight and I’ll buy your party a drink.” He let out a low barely audible moo. “Any person who is brave enough to fight against the Bloodstone is okay with me.”

  Rook fought the urge to repeat the moo, instead managed a smile and nod. The torokin was as big as a final henchman boss, stacked with muscle and thick as a tree.

  Brianna brought over a plate of meat skewers. “Courtesy of the table over there.” She pointed at a group of female archers sitting across the tavern, waving like idiots.

  Reina sighed. “As good as it is to stand out, you may want to stop. We should hurry and get out there in the trade district, I’d like to visit a bookshop.”

  After eating the skewers, they exited out into the street and Rook’s stomach did a flip. Oh this isn’t good.

  “How much did your stats increase while duck walking?”

  “I was increased to level one hundred and twenty, from around twelve I think,” Rook said, stretching his neck to the left until it popped. “Ah.” he sighed in relief, as his stiff neck released from sleeping wrong the night before.

  “That’s impossible, a one hundred point gain in a skill? Unheard of,” Reina hissed. “My regeneration skills only went up twenty, which is still incredible.”

  “You didn’t level. Speaking of, what is your identify skill at?” It’s going to be useful when trying to avoid unnecessary confrontation.”

  “It’s at one hundred and eighty out of two hundred. I’m anxious to see what the next rank will bring me.”

  “Say, is there a bathroom around here? I think the skewers aren’t sitting right.”

  Reina made a face of disgust and pointed down an alley towards a sign. There were two wooden boards; one had a beard, and the other had a ponytail. At least they made this easy to tell. Rook walked inside. The room had one window and would’ve been overall dark, had it not been for a pleasant blue hue from a crystal set in a lantern on the wall. This would come in handy for an adventure.

  After a few minutes, he washed his hands and walked out, wiping the excess water on his pants. As advanced as this city is, they could at least have paper towels or something. Bet if I found a way to make a blow dryer I could be rich.

  They made their way towards the bookshop, taking a route unfamiliar to Rook. He saw it then, the first undesirables of the city. Two cloaked men exchanging something, their shifty eyes darting about. I wonder what they were doing.

  “Don’t let your eyes linger too long here, not everyone is friendly here in Ollar.,” Reina said.

  Rook nodded, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him, using his peripheral vision to scan instead. After several minutes of walking under the baking sun, Reina stopped at a vendor selling shredded milk, topped with fruits.

  “Let me treat you,” Reina said, pulling a small purse out. “Two berry flavored, please,” she said to the man.

  “Thank you,” the man said, taking the money. “Two berries coming up.”

  He opened the cart and cool air misted out. How? Rook found himself looking down into the cooler like cart. By all common sense it shouldn’t be possible.

  “A fan of cold stones are you?” the man asked, his kind smile showing no signs of condescension. “I buy two a week and they keep it the perfect temperature for the shaved milk.”

  “Wow,” Rook said, taking a bowl from the man. As they walked, Rook took a bite and his eyes went wide. “This is the sweetest thing I think I’ve ever eaten.”

  “Glad you like it,” Reina smiled.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  He took several more bites, forgetting where he was. It wasn’t until Reina stopped that he realized she wanted to go to the bookstore. He looked up at a sign, with a stack of books on it, that read Tomes galore.

  Reina took her bowl and threw it into a barrel outside the shop. They both walked inside, it was an open concept, much like Mimics. A friendly-looking woman stood behind an island counter, surrounded by four walls of books.

  “Ms. Jax, good to see you.”

  “You as well Claire,” Reina said back, walking up to the woman.

  “Whose your friend?” the woman looked Rook up and down. “Must be new around here.”

  His friend looked annoyed at the straightforward comments from the librarian.

  “I’m Rook,” he said, following Reina to one section of books.

  The wall was full of monster information, what they eat, how they look, and how they fight. Moments after getting to the shelves, Reina had a handful of books.

  “Is this okay?” Reina asked, sitting down at a table and reading.

  “Normally, you rent to read, but sure, I guess it’s fine,” Claire answered.

  Rook placed a silver on the counter. “Will this pay to read?”

  “It’d pay for more than just reading, handsome.” The librarian took the coin and smiled at him.

  Bored, Rook walked over to a history section. Might as well know a little about what this place is. He grabbed aptly named The Complete Histories of Yorthon. Over the next few hours, he consumed the information. Unfamiliar names, he wrote down on the provided scratch piece of paper, unsure of the context. From the gist of his reading, he found that the world was water to begin with, before two Leviathan-type guardians fought over control of a location named the Pale Sea. Their magical attacks caused the formation of land.

  After several hours of reading, they walked back to the Stumbling Ogre, bleary eyed and ready for a meal and sleep. The tavern bustled with activity, same as the nights prior. A bard was standing in the corner of the stage near the bar, strumming an upbeat tune. A savory meat was cooking in the kitchens and Rook’s mouth watered as the scent wafted into the open area. Giving a wave to Brianna, he held two fingers and found an empty table.

  “Find anything interesting today?” Rook asked.

  “Nothing I didn’t already know. I just wanted to skim through and see if I missed something in my studies.”

  “You knew everything within those books?” Rook asked incredulously.

  “Yes, If I’ve read it or seen it before then, I’ve memorized it,” Reina answered, perking up as Brianna came bay with a tray.

  The owner set down two plates of the brisket, complete with potatoes and peppers. Pretty normal-looking meal. Not gonna ask what type of meat it is though. He gave the notes he took from the book to Reina, and she skimmed the page.

  “There all locations, mostly lost to history after the dwarf and orc wars. Some, though, like Marshspire, are still around. The trolls live there in the black murks, if they weren’t bad enough, clans of ogres run around killing one another for territory,” Reina said, before taking another bite.

  “Hope we don’t have to go there, I’ve hate the swamps since going to a training center in Louisiana,” Rook responded. “Weeks of buzzing insects and poisonous creatures. It’s a long story.”

  “Will you tell me about it sometime? I’d love to catalog it.”

  “Of course.” Rook continued eating.

  They got cleaned up and went to sleep. The next few days continued much the same, Reina scanned a new section of the bookstore, grabbing handfuls and reading. Much slower than his enhancing friend, he read until his eyes felt like they wanted to pop out of his head.

  ***

  Just as Phane said, Rook and Reina set out three days following the Bloodstone incident. They walked down into the tavern, and a few gave them friendly nods, and others, dismissive rolls of their eyes. Can’t make fans of everyone.

  He looked over at Reina and sighed. “Ready?” He asked.

  “As I’ll ever be, so long as my nerves don’t kill me.” She chuckled.

  “I’ll give you a health potion if that happens,” Rook said, laughing to himself.

  The morning sun was hanging swollen in the sky above Ollar. The normal sounds of birdsong, all manners of city chatter. Vendors called out wares as they walked by, and the sweet smell of baked muffins enticed Rook as Reina continued leading him towards the compound. A portion of the trade district they hadn’t visited before. They met a wall that must have been at least ten feet tall, with spiked posts to defend against intruders. Rook ran his fingers against the rough stone.

  Turning a corner, they met a rough-looking crowd, some in robes, others in metal armor, furs with bows and axes. Of course, we wouldn’t be the only ones who want to be sentinels. Most looked the part, while Reina and he were dressed in crude hide leather armor. Many stared at them with serious gazes, others with nonchalant, leveled glares and unimpressed scowls. My guess is they are wondering who the idiot wearing the red beginner gear is. The area itself was a gated perimeter, guarded by two city guard sentries. The place was every bit of a military installation he had ever visited.

  “Some of them are from Maldoon,” She nodded at a few wearing sleek black armor with gold trim. Rook looked at them for a while; they resembled samurai.

  There were others with dark grey skin. “Who are they?” He asked.

  “Their Gobans, from the Inferno wastes. Desert dwellers, mostly.”

  That group wore cloth and leather armor, prioritizing comfort over protection based on their appearance.

  A particularly annoying man stared at them, he wore fur lined silver plate armor. The gaudy ensemble was complete with a large mohawk. “You’re telling me this is the pup that survived the Bloodstone?” The man asked, his disdain evident, as he eyed Rook. “You don’t look like much.”

  Rook pressed his lips together in a thin smile. “You’re not winning any beauty contests yourself, buddy. Good thing we’re not here to be the best looking, if that were the case, he’d win.” Rook said, pointing at a dwarf who looked like he was chipped out of a boulder. An amalgamation of scars criss-crossed his sun-baked face; he was a man who knew nothing but war.

  Reina snickered, shaking her head at Rook. He found making her break composure addictive.

  Command Presence- Silver Tongued Bastard activated.

  “Aye, fair enough. Warriors should look like warriors; you can’t be small and mighty. The little bastard half-man probably got those scars trying to eat a rock,” the annoying man burst into hearty laughter. “Fucking half lings, Commander Jensen took his scribe as a charity case, in fact, when-”

  “You, that’s enough.” A sentry said, holding the hilt of his longsword. “We won’t tolerate your hate-filled speeches, especially against the Sentinels. Then he gave a friendly smile to Rook and Reina. “Miss Reina, Mr. Rook.” He gave a nod to his partner. “ It seems we’re all accounted for. Please enter everyone, the Sentinels are expecting you all.”

  “Welp, I guess these people were waiting on us,” Rook muttered.

  “I’m sure it’s more so because of the Bloodstone incident.”

  “Fair.”

  The morning sun swelled over the three tall buildings made of neatly stacked stones, casting shadows like extended fingertips. To the left, dozens of men and women dressed in linen training clothes worked on training dummies, targets, and striking posts that stood bearing countless wounds from thousands of hours of practice. Barrels of wooden weapons were placed for easy access around the sandy yard. The urge to hit one with his mace was overwhelming.