Alex and the team finished their dinner late into the night. As they walked out of the Moon palace Restaurant, the dark night was illuminated by street lamps lit in different places.
Some of them are magic orbs, while some are old gas lamps. Alex improved his estimation of the Magic civilization from the medieval to the early modern period.
As the group reached the guest villa, they found the Black tiger tribesmen still arguing with the villa manager. But this time, an old tiger man with his arm cut off and head bandaged was talking to the manager.
Alex was too tired and sleepy to hear any details. He went straight to his room and was about to sleep when he heard Tom's voice.
"Alex, don't forget, your caravan leaves at 6 o'clock."
"Got it," said Alex as he shut his door and slept on the comfortable bed. Varis, who came through the window, perched on the cabinet.
Alex slept soundly. He neither heard the alarm of his watch nor the repeated door knocks. As the sunlight from the window hit his face, Alex woke up while stretching his body lazily. It was 10 'clock.
"Shit." Alex quickly woke up and got ready. As he dressed, he bumped into the cabinet, waking Varis up.
"Good, you are up. Let's go. We are running late," said Alex.
[Where Are we going? The restaurant? I am hungry.] said Varis.
"We first have to see if our caravan is still here. Then we can go to a restaurant."
Alex quickly took his backpack and his belongings and went to the living room downstairs. He noticed an envelope on the table and opened it.
"Hi, Alex,
It seems you will miss your morning appointment. Do not worry. Tom has booked you a spot for the next caravan in the afternoon. The ticket is in the envelope. I also talked to the villa manager, and you can stay till noon.
Don't forget to contact me in the Elmore Potions once you reached the Tyros.
Sincerely Rose."
Alex checked the envelope and saw the ticket. His tense shoulders slightly relaxed.
'Sister Rose is too thoughtful,' thought Alex as he pocketed the ticket.
"Ok, let's go. Time to eat," said Alex.
[Great, can we go to yesterday's restaurant. The moon tower or something?] asked Varis.
"No, that's too expensive, and It's Moon Palace," said Alex.
Yesterday the total cost of the dinner was 300 gold coins. Alex doesn't know the actual gold worth, but judging from the faces of Tom and Gary, that's a lot for a meal.
Alex opened the door, expecting to see a beautiful garden, but was greeted by the villa manager, who was about to knock. The fox man saw Alex with his backpack and smiled.
"Oh good, you are leaving."
"No. I am not leaving. I am going out for errands," said Alex frowning.
"I am sorry, but you have to vacate," said the fox man, not sorry at all.
Alex was a little confused.
"Miss Rose said she talked with you about my stay here,"
"Yes, but unfortunately, things changed. There are guests arriving today, and you have to vacate," said the fox men with a cold face.
"So you are going to throw me out and go back on your word to Sister Rose?" asked Alex.
"Of course not, but things have changed."
"I don't care. Do you know what will happen if I complain this to sister Rose?" asked Alex, getting angry.
"Boy, the person who is coming is a real noble," said the Fox men as if that should explain everything.
Noble. After meeting the kind and approachable Rose, Alex was a little relaxed. But it seems he underestimated their power and influence. However, Alex did not give in.
"Miss Rose is descendant of a Viscount. She is going to be the next head of the Elmore family and a future Legend. You know what that means don't you," said Alex threateningly.
Seeing the ugly face of the fox man, Alex was a little satisfied and continued.
"One complaint to your tribe chief, and you can kiss your job goodbye," said Alex.
Alex saw the manager's fox ears tremble slightly, but he quickly controlled it. After some thinking, he took out a parchment placed on the wall and started scribbling. In the end, the manager stamped it before giving it to Alex.
Curious, Alex read it. 'All the hotel charges owed by the person holding this letter will be paid by Risten Rufek. ' Below that, there was a stamp of the Elder Rufek.
"We are very sorry for the inconvenience. But you should leave now," said the manager, barely keeping his voice straight.
Alex silently stared at the petty and stubborn manager and walked away. This parchment is actually worthless to Alex, as he was not going to stay for more than a few hours.
'The fox men not only have the ears and tail of the fox but also cunning and cowardice of a fox,' thought Alex.
As he stepped on the cobblestone road, he saw a large group of black tiger tribesmen coming out of the three-story building in the distance. Many old and kids stood on the road with a lot of luggage.
Alex noticed very few young people among them, and all of them were bandaged. As he walked beside them, he heard their complaints.
"All the tribute we paid to the Moon fox tribe was a complete waste of money. I want to snap those fox heads."
"Yeah, not only did these treacherous foxes not help us during the war, but they are kicking us when we are down," complained the other.
Looking at the wounded people and the children on the road, Alex once again cursed the scheming fox-men.
Deep in thought, Alex accidentally ran into a kid with fluffy black ears and a tail. Alex quickly helped the kid up. But the little kid's eyes were on the teenager who was walking towards them. The young man's torso was bandaged from the shoulder to the waist as if someone slashed him.
"Brother Kyzer, I am not running around," said the kid begging.
"Go to your mother. She is worried sick," said Kyzer.
"I am sorry. It's my fault I was not looking," said Alex as the kid took off.
"It's not a problem. The little guy is silent and small. Even we wouldn't notice him sometimes," said Kyzer.
"I am very sorry about your tribe's condition," said Alex.
"Yea, it's a bit troublesome. But if these foxes kept their promises, we would not be in such a predicament," said Kyzer looking a little worried.
'These guys probably hate the Moon fox tribe more than their enemies,' thought Alex as he suddenly had an idea.
"Here, I don't need it, but this may be of some help to you," said Alex, handing over the parchment in his hand.
Kyzer read the parchment, and his eyes went wide.
"You mean, all the charges will be paid?" asked Kyzer.
"I sure hope so."
"Who is Risten Rufek?" asked Kyzer again.
"A very kind man," said Alex snickering inside.
"Why don't you meet our tribe chief, Cletus," said Kyzer eagerly.
"Sorry, I am busy. Maybe next time," said Alex as he walked away.
After doing a good thing, Alex asked for directions to the nearby tavern.
"If you are new, you can try the Happy monkey tavern. It's right next to the Adventure Guild in the market," said the demi-human with grey wolf ears and a beard.
Alex found his way to the Happy monkey tavern in the market street and walked into the dingy tavern full of demi-human adventurers and their beast companions.
Alex ordered some bacon and sandwiches, while Varis ordered two dishes of Roasted duck. It cost them a total of 1 gold and sixty silver. (1 gold coins = 100 silver coins)
[It's not that good,] said Varis as he ate the greasy roasted duck.
"Ok, next time, I will prepare something nice for you," said Alex.
"[No need,] said Varis reflexively.
[I mean, you are a wonderful cook, but you are very busy, and I can manage,] said Varis telling his first lie ever.
"Ok."
After the meal, they went to the Adventure guild next door and were surprised to see a familiar face.