A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

Nisha was halfway to standing up and rushing out, fleeing the place before thinking of countermeasures to protect her identity.

Once she heard the bartender mention that she met a beast instead of thinking that the elf herself might be one, she blinked her eyes and remained frozen on her seat.

Draining the rest of her juice to mask how she scanned the man to make sure that he was not trying to set her up, the elf slowly calmed her nerves and attempted to see through the reason why he said that.

While their conversation fell into a lull, the illusions around the bartender once again gained their full strength, the old inhuman man and the maw of teeth slowly disappeared into thin air, leaving only the human appearance behind.

“You don’t need to brood so hard.

It’s actually not that difficult to guess.”

Flipping over another glass, the man continued to polish the cups, working with a grace that belied the long turns of experience that went into perfecting a craft.

“You saw my appearance and neither ran, freaked out or got scared.

And given that you peeked behind the illusion, you were not aware of my presence beforehand either.

Given all that, there’s really only one conclusion.

This is not the first time that you saw a beast within the capital.”

After the defences inscribed into the floor and behind the counter worked properly again, the bartender relaxed a great deal and resumed his bearing of a superior.

It was a lapse on his side that his illusion got breached, which coincidentally sparked his interest into the elf, leading to a proper conversation.

Nevertheless, Nisha latched onto a small detail that the man inadvertently revealed.

He only spoke of his illusion and not of the second layer, which she really accidentally peered into.

Most likely, he was not aware that an even bigger secret of his got uncovered.

The elf was happy enough to play along and let him remain unaware of that fact.

Each advantage over the other was akin to a weapon during a conversation like this.

 

“Isn’t it possible that I want to protect myself and was going to ask someone for help later?

After all, it’s not safe for me to confront you on my own.”

Nisha regretted drinking all of her juice at once, it was truly delicious.

She could only play with her cup and try to see if there was a drop left at the bottom.

The bartender could not by chance be someone unimportant, it really made the dragon curious about his identity.

“If you were really unaware, then count it as an error on my side.

Many people pass through this bar on a daily basis, it’s my job to assess them and serve them to the best of my ability.

Thus my judgement needs to be up to the task or I cannot do my work.”

Placing the glass to the side, the man started wiping the counter, stepping a bit closer to the guest to keep their conversation between them.

The myriad small tasks that were needed to keep a bar running were endless, yet they also gave the guests and the employees a better chance to converse.

“Let’s take you as an example.

As soon as you stepped inside the bar, you came to the bar and asked for someone.

This place prides itself on its name, [Unknown], and will never give away the information of our customers.

As a result, it’s easy to guess that this is your first visit and you do not know about the rules here.”

Nisha very much wanted to argue that point and mention that she was only looking for an acquaintance, but it was true that she had not known about the particular set of rules before stepping foot inside the establishment and witnessing the effects of the concealing arrays.

“Furthermore, when you ordered a juice earlier, you were neither concerned about the price nor asked for a particular blend.

You also paid on the spot, making your wealth obvious.

Ultimately, you did not complain about the price or asked about the origin of the ingredients to make sure they warrant their high rate.

Customer, it is not a good idea to reveal so much about your person in a public place, I can guarantee you that there are already several eyes on you, waiting for you to leave the place so they can follow you.”

 

Nisha resisted the urge to look around and spot the fellows that had their eyes on her shiny treasures.

Not to mention whether they had a higher cultivation than the dragon, daring to have plans to lay their hands on her hoard already decided their ending.

If they had the guts to show up, the elf vowed to teach them a lesson they would never forget.

Her silence was misconstrued by the bartender, who further expanded on his analysis.

“There’s really only three options for someone to be throwing around money like this in a place so far out.”

Everyone knew they were in the slums, but the residents refused to give in and admit to reality and acknowledge the unsafe aspects of their district.

“First, you’re a fool with too much money. Those either end up drifting face down in the harbour with emptied pockets or wake up with a headache and nothing to their name anymore.

Second, you’re the kid of someone powerful, say a high position in posh places like a big merchant house or something of that nature.

Or third, you come from a big background and no one dares to make a move on you regardless of what you do.”

“Why is it my fault if I spend a lot of money, but the other choices all include that it’s one of my elders that ultimately counts the most?”

Nisha finally retorted after being torn out of her thoughts of what she would do to a petty thief that eyed her shinies.

It peeved her that her accomplishments were reduced to being related to someone else, the elf was capable in her own right and never relied on her family name to bully others or get preferential treatment.

Just by virtue of her status as the potential heir to the title of a Duke, her prestige eclipsed everyone else in the establishment by a long shot.

“And the second and third options are virtually the same anyway.”

 

“No, there’s a very big difference.

Having money because a relative is powerful and going to exciting places chasing a thrill is a stupid thing to do and more than one family had to nurse a grievance after one of their offsprings lost their way and disappeared or ended up miserably one way or the other around here.

Yet if your background is big enough, then no one will dare to do a thing to you no matter how clueless you are and where you accidently wander.

If anyone harbours a bad idea about you, a clandestine guard in inconspicuous clothing will approach those idiots and beat some sense into them.”

Somehow the elf got the idea that they were thinking of different things when they talked about big backgrounds.

And she also wondered what kind of interesting things the bartender got to see every day in a place like this. Clearly there was a story behind his statements, one that she wished to hear sometimes in the future.

“But what does that have to do with me? Why do you say that I know a beast living here?”

Despite the curious episodes the man mentioned, Nisha still wondered how these things were connected to each other.

They were talking about beasts living in the capital, then he suddenly mentioned how the elf spent a lot of silver on tasty juice before switching to backgrounds and social status.

“Of course it has something to do with you.

Every employee here, including me, has to learn how to distinguish the circumstances of the guests we serve.

Here at [Unknown], we sell privacy to our guests and act as middlemen to connect people that have things the other party needs.

Only by observing closely and keeping the big picture in mind can we accurately determine what our guests need exactly.

This is our duty.”

As the disguised man expounded on the details of the establishment, so did Nisha’s impression of the bartender.

He had hidden his true self beneath illusions, gave the elf a shifty impression and tread a fine line between a legal business and the matters of the Thieves Guild.

Nevertheless, once he assumed his position behind the counter, the bartender suddenly looked like he stood straighter and had a broader back.

Perhaps it’s alright to trust him a little.

 

“We’re going to great lengths to create the perfect framework for safe meetings.

Each of the employees have sworn a temple oath that any information they come across while working will not be disclosed to another person.

The arrays and inscriptions employed in the bar and around the tables dampens sound and enables private conversations, while concealing the faces of our guests.

Lastly, there are several exits to prevent any trackers from following our guests throughout the establishment.

No matter the topic, [Unknown] offers the perfect venue to host a discussion.”

Temple oaths were no laughing matter.

By swearing on the name of the deity in the respective hall of the [Seven Star Church], the promise given in front of the altar got binding weight.

No one needed to enforce it, as soon as it was broken, a heavy punishment befell the oathbreaker like divine retribution.

Nisha was impressed by the dedication of the establishment, such oaths were generally not made lightly.

From what she had seen so far, the bar took its reputation very seriously and handled all aspects related to identity professionally to a fault.

“Due to all of the work related requirements and occupational skills, it’s my best judgement that you encountered a beast in the capital before and are acquainted with them at least.

Otherwise you would have reacted either very violently or gotten quiet and prepared to escape.

Truth to be told, there’s actually quite a few beasts that live quietly within human territory.”

With a casual shrug of his shoulders, the bartender dropped a big piece of news on the dragon.

Because Nisha always tried her best to conceal her own identity and never dared to reveal even slight traces, a blindspot formed in her vision.

She never even entertained the thought that other beasts might be living close by, or that they wanted to do so.

But upon second thought, it did make some sense. Just like the dragon that inexclipaply assumed a humanoid form, there were bound to be other beasts that had similar encounters or innate skills that enabled them to blend into human society.

She did not comment about the topic at hand, unwilling to say more about a relationship between herself and a suspected beast.

 

With the lull in conversation between the two, another employee took the chance to approach the bar counter.

And as soon as he came close, the muted background noises came back to life, whereas the space around the two of them was no longer mysteriously enclosed.

On an instinctual level the elf realised that these were precautions to keep their conversation confidential and she raised a brow at the fact that an array was capable of affecting her without being spotted by her [Spirit Sight].

“Apologies, I’ve just got an update from a colleague. Apparently the guest you were waiting for, Ser Alestar, left in the meantime.”

After he whispered something to the bartender, the other server promptly left and the noise died back down while the room got limited to the bar counter, Nisha’s seat and the man once again.

Nisha raised an eyebrow and pulled out another coin worth ten silver.

“Give me the same juice again. Didn’t you say that the people from the seating area could spot me at the bar counter?”

It did not make sense that the old crook would leave without an appearance as long as he saw the elf waiting for him.

All things considered, she was more or less his employer currently and they were on good terms personally as well.

The bartender took the glass in front of the girl and mixed another beverage with practised ease, not betraying a hint of his thoughts.

“Apologies, that was my oversight. I activated some arrangements to give us a private space for conversation and forgot that you were waiting for an appointment.

To give you some compensation, let me let you in on a small secret in return.

As long as you pass the message and let me know, there’s a contact here for beasts that have not come into contact with their own circle in the capital, I can establish a connection for you.

It’s a free service.”

With a flourish, the honey was added to the mix and he returned the glass to Nisha, who slowly went over the new information in her head while she scrutinised the bartender.

Soon, she caught onto a flaw in his speech.

“Didn’t you say that the employees here took an oath to protect the information of their guests?

How can you tell me about this group on your own initiative then?”