"I know you can be kinda shy so you're welcome to use my bath. It's private, and the others only go in when I do so you shouldn't have a problem. I'll be checking on you later so get some rest okay." Zack smiled as he helped Vanessa up.
"Thank you. I will see you later." Vanessa turned around clutching her robe.
'Why is my heart beating so fast? Is it adrenaline?...No, that kind of fall wouldn't trigger that response... Anxiety?...No, I didn't have problems talking...His hand was so warm.' Vanessa touched her hand carefully as she walked towards the exit.
Zack continued his search for Rolen and found him a few aisles over deep in a book. Glancing at the cover he couldn't tell what it was about. Out of all the books Zack has seen it was by far the oldest, and it was all in elven. The library was massive so he figured it was just overlooked in his past. Rolen heard his footsteps turning around.
"Do you know who this belongs to?" Rolen asked.
Zack shook his head no, and Rolen looked down at the book as if it were a priceless treasure. It was one of the personal journals left behind by Altair the progenitor of the elves. Rolen found it randomly while searching for books with lore on angels.
"I wonder where she found something like this," Zack said while glancing at the pages.
"Everything they've told them was a lie," Rolen stated.
Zack was preparing to ask what he meant until he saw the diagrams on the page. He promptly retrieved the artifact Samuel gifted to him, and the inscriptions matched exactly. Someone in the angelic order is deceiving the rest. Altair designed the artifacts for the angels long ago, and he even wrote about being hunted after. Someone wanted to ensure Altair couldn't teach others to create the artifacts.
"Does that mean you could make another one?" Zack asked desperately.
"I will need a few things, but with your skills, and resources it shouldn't be a problem," Rolen replied flipping the previous page.
They needed a large number of high-quality mana gems to power the artifact. The other two steps they needed to achieve were already within the city. The unique forge designed by Altair, and a substantial amount of grace powering it.
"Thank you for helping me with this." Zack smiled extending his hand.
"Anything for a friend. Could you give this to Akiko?" Rolen asked handing Zack a ring.
Zack nodded in agreement before rushing out of the library. He was on his way out the main door when Olivia was descending down the steps. Behind Oliva stood two beautiful women dressed in a similar maid uniform. One of them was Tessa and the other a devil. The devil had long black hair, a busty frame on par with Tessa, and glowing orange eyes that were locked on to Zack.
"Why are you wearing that?" Zack asked Tessa.
"You said we could pick whatever job we want," Tessa replied spinning to display her uniform.
"Serving others can be quite pleasurable after all." Olivia smiled.
"My name is Astrid, and I hope to match your standards. I'm yours to do with as you please. I'm into BDSM, voye.."
"I think he gets it. Sorry, she's a little forward." Tessa stated.
"Do you really have any room to stay that about somebody?" Zack teased.
"You should've heard her idea for introducing our new roles," Tessa replied.
"I still think we should do it," Astrid said while pulling at his belt.
Tessa smiled trying to help Astrid with her efforts. The sounds of little footsteps came from the hallway, and Zack was preparing to pull their hands away. Before he could act tentacles of slimes wrapped them both up as a devious grin went across Olivia's face.
"Don't worry master I'll be sure to put them through a proper orientation to correct these breaches in house etiquette." Olivia bowed dragging the two away to a room with a sound barrier.
Zack almost felt bad watching them get dragged away. There was slime keeping Tessa from shouting slurs at Olivia. Astrid on the other hand had a lewd grin on her face eager to reach their destination. Zack would've intervened to help Tessa, but the face Olivia made when seizing the two sent a chill down his spine. While walking out the door he called over an idle sentry and gave it a message to relay to Mephisto.
'Need to stop by the aquatic district then find Vicente.'
Zack looked around to make sure Vicente wasn't in the vicinity before flying towards the aquatic district. He dove in seeing the mermaids hard at work constructing new buildings. Seeing his sudden appearance a group of naga swam up asking for assistance.
The naga is a cousin of the Apophis and preferred making dens in underwater caverns. Their appearance was rather similar to their cousin except their skin was brown instead of purple, and their scales came in shades of blue rather than black. Their demeanor was also more friendly since they weren't influenced by the effects of the pit.
A young woman with long black hair waving with the water, light brown skin that shimmered under the rays piercing the water, glowing blue eyes that mesmerized anyone who gazed into them, and wide hips that swayed as she swam in his direction.
She was wearing a sky blue saree top covering her right shoulder and had a warm smile across her face. Her tail and hair swayed elegantly as she swam through the water. Zack couldn't help but find himself staring at her hips. The naga approaching was named Anaya and is the daughter of their chief.
"Could you help us with this?" Anaya asked grabbing his hands.
"Of course." Zack smiled entranced by her beauty.
The hood around her head made it difficult to see anything but her glowing eyes. Zack shook himself from the trance remembering his urgent matters and promptly helped them. He established a large burrow that leads to an underground cave at the base of the lake. They all possessed large bodies, and over twenty clan members to house. This would allow them to construct a little village to resemble their former home.
"We can handle the spellwork, but thank you for your help." Anaya smiled before leading the others inside.
"No problem," Zack replied waving goodbye.
"He is a powerful warrior we should've lured him inside."
"They say two already bear his children so the seed is strong."
"I hear the other clans have sent their own candidates to be the next."
"He would strengthen our bloodline greatly, and it could also raise our position here."
"He will come back don't worry," Anaya smirked.
Zack continued swimming around looking for Akiko as he passed Lydia's house admiring the renovations. After Lydia moved in she had a restaurant constructed on the top floor making it accessible to people from the nearby pavilion. Holly along with a few others from Blackreach decided to help her manage things, and it opened last night.
The majority of the incoming human residents were either young couples or single males just leaving home looking for a place to build a life. This was one of the reasons so many aquatic species joined. They all seemed to be low on males, and Eden was the perfect place for their species to prosper in peace. Since most mermaids prefer to introduce themselves in their natural form it made Lydia's new restaurant a major hit with the new residents.
'There she is.' Zack sped forward.