Being teleported directly to Port Natalia was so much better than being thrown by a kraken. I suppose I could have done it myself. I was gaining more confidence in my teleportation abilities, but much as a white knuckle driver prefers to be a passenger, I was simply more comfortable letting others handle teleportation duties if at all possible.
We beat most of the mermaids into town, but word had already spread. Meia, embarrassed and ashamed, chose to hole up in her home and not face anyone. The other mermaids didn't hold her actions against her. In the end, she hadn't really hurt anyone. The sailors were none the worse for wear, and while they didn't enjoy being held prisoner with no alcohol to drink, they hadn't minded passing the time with a lovely mermaid one bit. And Meia was among the loveliest of mermaids.
"Thank you so much for solving that mystery and freeing everyone!" the mermaid who had originally sent us on our mission said.
"I never did get your name," I said.
"Oh, I am Clara, and this is Rikanna, my bestie," she replied, gesturing to the brunette mermaid she shared her small home with.
"I hope everything will be all right with Meia. She's not a bad person."
"Except for her love of little boys, no, she's wonderful, I'm sure," Sonya said sourly. "But I guess a hero saves everyone."
"Go easy, Sonya. She may like little boys, but she only plays around with grown men."
"That she turns into little boys!" Sonya argued.
"Could I prevail upon you to do us one more favor?" Clara asked.
"Really!?" Ilias exclaimed. "I think our debt has been more than repaid."
"Oh, it has! If you do this, all the mermaids here will owe you, hero! There are many worse things than having dozens of lovely mermaids in your debt."
Sometimes I felt like the wealthiest man alive, although as great as it was, it didn't come without its drawbacks.
"What do you need?" I asked.
"Could you go to Meia's house and invite her to go with you?" Clara asked. "A mission to save the universe is about the only thing that will give Meia redemption."
"She is powerful," Alice said. "Between Cindy's combat skills and Meia's magic, we'd be making a huge jump in combat ability. So far you've only recruited weak to middling monsters. Cindy and Meia are just under queen class, at least in their specialties. If we use them in situations where they are most likely to succeed, they can be force multipliers."
"At least that's one monster who will keep her hands off you," Sonya chortled. "You are obviously too old for her. And don't ever let me catch you wandering the castle halls as a little boy, Luka!"
I didn't bother to tell Sonya that just because Meia liked little boys, it had never stopped her from offering me her body, and she'd done so for far smaller favors. There may have been other men in the castle to take some of the pressure off of me, but I knew that Cindy and Meia would take a particular interest in me. I imagined I'd be spending many nights in that beach room Alice had been talking about.
Sonya was partly mollified by a rather amazing gift from Rikanna, a magic staff that Rikanna explained would enhance Sonya's magical abilities. Ilias commented that a staff such as that would make Sonya the most powerful magic user in the party, once she learned spells that could take full advantage of the staff's power. Ilias warned Sonya to expect to spend her time training when she wasn't adventuring with us.
While everyone chatted, I decided to go to Meia's house alone. I told myself that I was doing it to spare Meia too much embarrassment by having to face Alice and Sonya, who had already judged her a pervert, but I suspect that what I really wanted her to do was make me a lewd offer, and privacy was best in that case. Her husband was home, however, trying to console her. Despite his little form, there was maturity in those eyes. This man was obviously her rock, appearances notwithstanding.
"Oh, I've caused you so much trouble!" Meia said to me. "Thank you so much for freeing me from that brainwashing!"
"Cindy did the real work," I said, noting that Meia's face was heavily darkened with bruises. Cindy had not been gentle and had no qualms about striking a fellow woman with all of her fists as hard as she could. "Would you like me to heal that for you?"
"No, please don't. The pain of these injuries is what I deserve. How can I ever make up for what I've done?"
"Meia, I've known some people that have done some pretty horrible things. What you did was tiny in comparison. But your friends have asked me to make you an offer. We're on a quest to save the world. Why don't you lend your powerful magic to our quest?"
"Saving the world is pretty good as far as atonement goes, honey," her husband said.
"But I've already left you for so long!" Meia objected.
"Meia, as much as I'll miss you, as much as my child brain is crying for you to never leave me, your amazing abilities are needed. Besides, you won't be truly happy here unless you've redeemed yourself. How about you give me one last night to remember you by, and then go with this man?"
"Do you have time?" Meia asked me. "I really couldn't bear to leave my husband without spending one night with him."
The fact was, I had no idea how much time we had. But knowing that I was supposed to be recreating history somehow gave me a clue that time was not of the essence. More important was getting things right.
"By all means, Meia," I said. "Alice and I could use the rest, anyway."
Rest, however, was not Alice's intention. She was excited about being in a port town that was actually bustling, and wanted to try all of the foods. Ilias insisted on coming along. Wary of appearing to play favorites, even though I clearly preferred Alice's company, I cheerfully agreed. Alice seemed to have no problem with it. As much as she disliked Ilias, they seemed to bond over food.
So I fed them. Seemingly endless varieties of fish, pastries, fruits, and vegetables from various stands went straight into their stupendous gullets. I had no idea how they could put so much food away in such tiny forms. Food seemed to lubricate their relationship in much the same way alcohol often did for humans. They laughed together and exchanged opinions on the various items they were sampling. I knew the camaraderie still only went skin deep. Lifetimes of animosity don't evaporate just because you laugh over a cinnamon roll. But it gave me hope that over the course of our adventure, maybe we could end with a better outcome than the first time around. But was that possible? The true history did not have a happy ending for Ilias.
"I want to drink, Luka!" Ilias announced. "I've never tried alcohol before. I want to see what all the fuss is about!"
"Word of advice, Ilias," Alice said. "Drink a glass of water for every glass of alcohol you consume. You don't like pain. Believe me, you will experience a lot of pain if you pass out drunk and wake up dehydrated."
"To the pub, then!" I said jovially, not really sure why I was happy about the idea. I guess I was just caught up in the moment.
"You can come in," the bouncer said. "The two shortstacks have to wait outside. No kids in the bar. There are laws, ya know."
"Kids?" I said innocently. "I don't see any kids here. Just my two girlfriends."
"What do you take me for? Those two can't be older than- What the hell?"
Standing before the man were the fully grown forms of Ilias and Alice. Oh yes it was good to have my power back. Embarrassed, the bouncer let us in.
"Get drinks before you get small again," I said, handing them each some silver pieces. "I don't want to try making you change size several times. I was told that isn't healthy."
"No, constant polymorphism can definitely have negative health effects," Alice agreed. "Ilias, go easy on the booze. You may not feel much as you are now, but once you revert to your child form the alcohol won't revert with you."
While Alice and Ilias went to the bar, I took a look around. I wasn't much of a drinker. I hadn't actually consumed an alcoholic drink of any sort in several centuries. I could see right away that this was one of Port Natalia's famous mermaid bars. Which made it odd that they had a human bouncer. About half of the clientele were monsters, mostly other mermaids, but also some assorted beast types and even a mantis girl, which I thought was probably trouble waiting to happen given what little provocation mantises needed to start biting heads off. Literally.
Alice and Ilias were already settling down at the bar with drinks in hand. Ilias took a long gulp and spit it right back out. Alice laughed and told her to sip it, not guzzle it. I joined them.
"How long do you think we have?" Alice asked.
"Well, we're not in combat, so I'm trying to concentrate on keeping you both in adult bodies as long as possible," I answered. "Should be easy as long as there are no distractions."
"This stuff is piss," Ilias said, making a face. "Do people only drink this to get drunk? It has no value otherwise. Getting wasted better be good."
"There are drinks that actually are pretty delicious," Alice said. "But first you have to get used to the taste of alcohol. When you finish that vodka and orange juice I'll order you a daiquiri. Those are genuinely good."
I decided to leave them to their girls' night out, while staying close enough to maintain my concentration so that they wouldn't revert and get kicked out of the pub. I sat at the bar a few seats down and asked if there was anything nonalcoholic to drink.
"Sure, we have orange juice, vegetable juice, fruit punch, and soda," the mermaid bartender cheerfully replied.
"Soda?" I asked, interested. "Like, cola?"
"Yeah, we got cola!"
"Pour me a glass, then! Cold?"
"The coldest," she replied with a wink.
She used a bottle opener to pry open a bottle that looked remarkably like something I'd find in an Earth grocery store. Tasting it, I could almost convince myself it was Coke. Closer to a generic store brand, really. It was paradise to me, however.
"Could you give me another one?" I asked, putting two silver pieces on the bar.
"Wow, you're generous!" she said. "You must really like soda! Oh hey, my favorite customer!"
A sheep girl plopped onto the barstool next to me. "I'll take my usual," she said in a gravelly voice.
"Scotch it is!" the bartender said.
"Recovering alcoholic?" the sheep girl asked me.
"No, I just don't like alcohol much," I answered. "Soda's more my thing."
"Stuff's bad for ya," the sheep girl said. "I'm Mary, by the way. You got a cigarette?"
"I don't smoke."
"What do you do?"
"A little of this, a little of that," I shrugged.
"Really?" the sheep girl said, rolling her eyes. "It's okay, I'm supposed to be quitting anyway. Thanks, Piper."
The bartender handed her a glass of scotch, which the sheep girl downed in one gulp. "More," she said.
"You sure, Mary? Barbun wouldn't like it if she saw you drinking like that."
"She's not my mother, and neither are you!" Mary exclaimed. "You're probably right, though. I shouldn't drink so much scotch. Give me a cola like my friend here. But put a lot of rum in it. On the rocks!"
I'd never talked to a sheep girl before. I'd seen them around occasionally, but they weren't all that common, although their numbers had grown as human and monster relations had improved. The world I'd stepped into so long ago had been a harsh world. There had been no place in it for the gentler monster races. The kitsunes had gotten by on their intelligence and wits, but rabbit girls, sheep girls, and the like had been preyed on by human and monster alike. Rabbit girls had still managed to eke out a tenuous existence due to how desirable they were to men. Sheep girls on the other hand, were left out in the cold. They were the weakest of the bovine monster races, and also the least attractive. Mary looked as if she might have been attractive had life not worn her down so much. She had the trademark curly, thick, blonde hair down to her ass, but her face had been worn down by stress, cigarettes, and booze.
"So I haven't seen you around before, delicious," Mary said. "You here with someone?"
"Two someones, actually," I said, pointing to Alice and Ilias, absorbed in conversation a few stools to Mary's right.
"Well look at you!" Mary laughed. "A ladies man! At least with monsters, I'd bet. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm guessing you don't have much luck with the human ladies."
"No, not really," I said. "I've never been regarded as handsome, but apparently being delicious is more important than looks to monsters."
"You got that right. Believe me, kid, handsome is overrated. I married a handsome man. He was a worthless sack of shit."
Piper the bartender returned with Mary's rum and coke. Mary tipped her and asked if she had any cigarettes.
"Mary, this bar went non smoking three months ago!" Piper scolded. "The monsters don't like it and we cater mostly to monsters."
"Ah, fuck," Mary said with resignation. "Guess I gotta quit after all. Don't ever smoke, kid. I got addicted cuz I hung out with humans more than I did monsters. Monsters don't smoke much. It's more of a human thing."
"I noticed that," I said. "I'm older than I look. If I haven't started by now, I doubt I will."
"As Piper said, monsters don't like it. Masks your smell, and monsters are attracted to men mostly by smell. As you must know well, amiright? Haw!"
Mary slapped me hard on the back and I winced.
"Mary, if you'll excuse me, I need to take my dates home," I said. I wasn't trying to get away from the sheep girl, so much as my concentration was beginning to stress me out a little. I was afraid they'd revert if I spent much more time talking to other people in the pub.
"Hey, have you two had a few?" I asked.
"I'm not feeling much," Ilias said. "Do we have to go?"
'I'm afraid so," I said. "I don't know how much longer I can maintain your forms."
"Give us your semen, that should give us enough energy to do it ourselves for awhile," Ilias suggested.
"Hey!" Piper yelled. "None of that shit in the bar! That's what the VIP room is for!"
Piper pointed to a staircase that led down to what I presumed was a basement where men and monsters could enjoy a special kind of refreshment.
"We've had enough to drink, Ilias," Alice said. "Believe me, once you revert, it'll hit you hard. C'mon, Luka, let's go."
I walked over to the exit with my two companions, planning to leave. I still had to feed Alice later that night. I wondered what she'd do to me. Had the boob job come next, or the flower and the hair? The flower had to be due. My fantasies were interrupted by loud cursing behind us.
"Ooh! I want to see a bar fight!" Ilias shouted.
"Alice, would you and Ilias please go outside?" I asked. "There isn't going to be a fight, Ilias. I'm going to go be peacemaker."
"Figures," Ilias said grumpily.
I walked back to where Mary had been sitting. She was standing now, her finger poking a big burly bearded man who towered over her. Despite the size difference, I knew that she was much stronger than he was. Sheep girls were physically powerful and had ridiculously hard heads. If that guy was dumb enough to take a swing at her, he'd break bones in his hand and then probably get tossed out a window.
"Hey, bitch!" the man said angrily. "It's not like you're gonna get any better offers today!"
"Oh, because I'm a sheep and the other monsters here are mostly mermaids, you think you're giving me charity by offering to fuck me?!" Mary raged. "Get the fuck out of my face! I don't want your rancid semen!"
"Hey, don't be insultin' my friend like that!" another large man said threateningly. That worried me. Two against one was more of a fight.
"Ah, forget this cunt," the other man said dismissively. "Not even her husband wants her anymore!"
"You fuckin' bastard!" Mary yelled, and bulled into the man, toppling a table and breaking it.
"Dammit, Mary, not again!" Piper yelled in dismay. "That's goin' on your tab!"
Mary wasn't listening, head butting the man repeatedly while his friend vainly tried to pull her off. No one else in the bar was interfering. Some of the mermaids were actually smiling, enjoying seeing the admittedly rude man get his just deserts. Why did he have to be so awful? As if it was hard to get laid in a bar full of monsters!
I decided that I should intervene. As little sympathy as I had for the man, she was drunk and out of control. His face was already a bloody mess. I grabbed Mary around the waist and pulled her off. I got an elbow to the face for my troubles from the irate sheep girl. Before she could attack the man again, I grabbed her around the waist a second time, trying to speak soothing words.
All that did was make Mary decide to focus on me. Picking me up, she rammed me into the bar, sending us both topping over, breaking bottles and causing a shelf to topple.
"Shit, Mary!" Piper yelled. "Calm the fuck down! You're destroying my bar!"
I pulled guard on Mary to prevent her from doing any further damage to me or the bar, but she had already stopped fighting. Her face was buried in my chest, tears and drool soaking my shirt. Having no better ideas, I stroked her lovely hair. Ooh, wool! So nice!
"I'm sorry!" Mary said, raising her head. "I shouldna taken out my issues on you. You were just tryin to break up a fight! I'm such a loser!"
"Hey, it happens, okay?" I said. "Why don't we just go."
"I think that's a good idea, Mary," Piper said. "And don't come back until you can control your temper! What the hell was that man gonna do to you other than hurt your feelings?"
I led Mary outside, where Alice and Ilias waited, reverted to their small forms.
"Oh, great, did you pick up another one?" Ilias asked.
"No, she's just having a bad time," I said. "Where do you live? Do you want me to walk you home?"
"Down the street," Mary replied, embarrassed and sad. "I'm all right, though. Just having a shitty life, that's all."
"You seem really drunk," Alice said. "Did you come to the pub already wasted?"
"Yeah," Mary slurred. "I usually prefer the human bars, but they started cutting me off. They don't think I can handle it."
"How surprising," Ilias said sarcastically. Then without warning, the goddess puked.
"Told you it would hit you," Alice laughed, then barfed as well. "Okay, maybe we both had more than these little bodies can handle."
"See, your girlfriends need you," Mary said. "Thanks for trying to play peacemaker, kid. I'll be on my way."
"No, it's all right!" Alice insisted. "Luka, please escort this adorable little sheep girl home. I'm all right. I'll make sure Ilias gets back safe."
"Where will you be?" I asked. "Pocket Castle?"
"No, we'd have to get some distance from the city for that. In our current states we'd probably pass out in the middle of the wilderness. We'll just stay with Clara and Rikanna. That means you're off the hook tonight, Luka. I'll be seeing you tomorrow night, though."
"Oh, gross," Ilias said. Apparently Alice felt no reason to hide that she was using me for food.
Alice and Ilias left, leaving Mary and I alone in the street. "Well, lead the way," I said.
"You're a good guy," Mary said, and began unsteadily walking towards her house. "I know you must not be tryin' to get some from a drunk girl, cuz I ain't shit compared to those two perfect tens you had with you."
"No, not trying to get some," I chuckled. "Just want to make sure you get home safe."
"Not many guys in the world like you… did she say your name was Luka?"
"Yep, Luka."
"Well, Luka, keep being who you are. The world needs more men like you. And less men like that piece of shit I married."
"I'm sorry, Mary. I'm sure you'll find someone better."
"Not living here I won't," Mary said, shaking her head. "It was stupid of me to come to this town. A sheep girl can't compete with mermaids. You know that's why he left me? Some mermaid slut ran off with him. And not even far! He's shacked up with her just down the street!"
"You don't have to compete for a good man, Mary. So many men marry human females even though human females can't hope to compete with monsters. The pleasure you can give a man is several times greater than what a human could. But people love who they love. Who can pleasure you best is what you worry about when you want to take someone into the VIP room back at the bar. Who you marry is about who connects with your heart."
"What the hell do you know about it? What are you, sixteen? I've been on this planet sixty years. I've seen a lot of bullshit."
"I'm a lot older than I look, Mary. And you don't look sixty at all."
That was only half true. While I knew that for an average beast monster, sixty was equivalent to thirty, her lifestyle made her look closer to mid-forties.
"That's cuz I'm a monster, moron," she laughed. "You're sweet, though. So which of those two girls has your heart?"
"The lamia," I said.
"I dunno, I think the angel's prettier. And it's tough for me to admit that, being a monster."
"Like I said, it's about the heart."
We walked on for another ten minutes, into a residential area. It didn't look as if Mary did too badly for herself. It was a nice, middle class neighborhood. I mentioned that to her.
"It's not my place," she chuckled. "My best friend is giving me a place to stay ever since my worthless husband left me. I couldn't afford the rent anymore with him gone. Well, I probably could have if I didn't like drinkin' and smokin' so much. Guess quitting the cigs should net me a little extra gold per month. Good. Means I can drink more. It's this house right here."
We walked to the door and Mary fumbled for her keys in her purse. "Shit," she said with resignation. She began pounding on the door. "Barbun! Let me in! I forgot to take my damn keys again!"
The door opened and one of the loveliest rabbit girls I'd ever seen stood in the doorway. I realized I was staring when Mary laughed and nudged me.
"Barbun has that effect on men," she chuckled. "Was that your heart she was affecting, or your dick?"
"Mary, are you drunk again?" Barbun asked. "And why are you bringing a man to my house? That's what the VIP room is for!"
"I'm not here to fuck him, Barb, he was being kind by walking me home. He's a good guy. If he wasn't already taken, I'd fix him up with you. You could use a good man in your life. Not that I'd know what one looks like. Maybe this guy's a serial killer. You're not a serial killer, are you, Luka?"
"I am not a serial killer, no," I laughed, then remembered that I had indeed killed. Four times. I hated thinking about it, however necessary it had been.
"I don't like the way you put the emphasis on 'serial'," Barbun said, half jokingly. "So you're a killer, but not a serial killer?"
"I'm an adventurer," I quickly explained. "Unfortunately, I have had to kill a time or two. I hated doing it though, and the people I did it to were responsible for countless deaths."
"Ah, I thought I spotted you for an adventurer," Barbun said. "Come on in, adventurer. The least I can do is provide you with some hospitality for walking my friend home. I've done some adventuring myself, in my younger days."
Younger days? Mary may have looked middle aged, but Barbun didn't look a day over twenty-five. Then again, that could still make her fifty or so. Adventuring could have been thirty years in her rearview mirror.
Mary entered along with me and Barbun hustled Mary off to bed to sleep it off. "Can I get you anything?" Barbun asked. "I don't smell any alcohol on you except what Mary drooled onto your shirt, so I'm guessing you don't drink. Wait, let me smell your breath."
Slightly embarrassed, I let Barbun bring her nose close to my face and I breathed out. "Ah, cola!" Barbun said. "Well let me thank you for helping my friend by getting you another ice cold cola! I've got a special cherry vanilla concoction."
"Cherry vanilla!?" I said excitedly. "I love cherry vanilla!"
"Well have a seat on the couch and I'll bring you the highest quality cherry vanilla cola you can buy in Port Natalia!" Barbun laughed.
I heard a refrigerator door open and close and the sound of liquid pouring into a glass and fizzing. If soda was common on Sentora in this world maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. I gratefully accepted the glass and drank slowly and deeply, sighing in satisfaction at the cherry and vanilla flavoring.
"Wow, I was going to offer you a footjob, but I think that soda might be better than my feet!" Barbun said, only half jokingly. I knew that once you did a monster a favor, all you needed to do was ask. Sometimes you didn't even have to do that. "When you finish that, I've got lots more! Drink as much as you want! It's surprisingly cheap and I buy it just down the street!"
"Thank you so much!" I said. "So, how is Mary doing? It sounds like it's been rough for her. I don't want to pry, of course. It's okay if you don't think you should talk about it."
"No, no, it's all right," Barbun said hastily. "It's an all too common story. Boy meets monster, boy hides behind the school building smoking cigarettes with monster, boy gets fake IDs to go drink with monster, monster fucks boy, monster marries boy, boy leaves monster for a prettier monster. It's a story as old as time. Do you smoke? You must not, I didn't smell it on you."
"No, I don't."
"Cool. I gave it up many years ago. I've been trying to get Mary to quit. I don't allow it inside my house, but I keep a stash for her when she starts to climb the walls. I was going to offer you one if you wanted. The drinking is obviously going to be tougher to get her to quit."
"Yeah, she seems to have a problem."
"Today was mild," Barbun said. "She's always been a heavy drinker, but since her husband left…. "
"Have you ever had a husband?" I asked.
"Me?" she scoffed. "Nooooo…. Her example scared me off that sort of thing. No, men are good for only one thing: Food. Carrots and cum, the two Cs, that's most of my diet. It's how I keep this nice figure. My only vice these days is that cherry vanilla soda. Sometimes Mary talks me into putting a little rum in there."
"So you were an adventurer?"
"Way back when, before the Great Disaster," Barbun said, looking wistful. "Mary and me, we always identified more with humans than monsters. You know how it is, us gentle beast types, even before the Great Disaster, we were friendlier to humans than most monsters. And back then, you either hung with monsters or humans. Not both. Today it's different. But anyway, back then I had a few guys I was hooking up with, sexually, you know how it is, right? And I got really good with a bow, so we'd go on quests. Nothing huge, just looking for treasure, doing favors for people. One of my group became an actual freakin' hero, got baptized and everything. So I couldn't drink his semen anymore. He believed, though, and we stayed good friends. Being a hero made him a better person, you know? He stopped drinking, started wanting to help people more than just be in it for the cash. Great guy, that one."
"Is he still with us?" I asked, knowing that it probably would have been decades.
"No, he was eaten by a monster," Barbun said sadly. "Lamia swallowed him whole. Being baptized ain't the protection a lot of heroes thought it was. It's a small advantage, no doubt, because it means monsters aren't likely to attack you at random, or try to beat you with pleasure attacks. But the carnivorous ones, it's no protection against them. They'll just eat a man. In fact, they used to make a special point of eating baptized men. Different times."
"So you quit after that?"
"Yeah," she answered sadly."I didn't realize until he died just how much I loved that man. Not in a romantic way, even though I was fucking him before he got baptized. But as a dear friend. He inspired me. His name was Baldric. Ain't that a super heroic name? Baldric the hero. He should have gone on to do great things. It was a shame. I didn't have the heart for it after that. You see that skin on my wall? That's the lamia that got him."
I looked up and noticed the long snake skin on Barbun's wall above the fireplace. Yeesh.
"I cut her open to try to save him, but I was too late," she said. "At least he had a smile on his face. Not a bad way to go. I should be so lucky. So are you on an adventure now?"
"Yes, actually, I am."
"What's the quest?" she asked.
"Um,… it's a pretty big deal. Saving the universe, that sort of thing. You know how it is."
"Actually, I don't," Barbun said, leaning forward. "Are you serious right now? All I ever did was go look for gold, or run little errands for people, or save kidnapped humans from bad monsters. I mean, every adventurer dreams of a quest with worldwide implications, but not many ever get to go on one. You're not pulling my leg? You're really on that kind of adventure?"
I wondered if I'd said too much. I was entirely too loose with personal information, and after the priest had admonished me right at the beginning to not advertise the fact that I was on such a quest. Still, I'm a bad liar, so decided I'd have to just play the hand out.
"Yes, it's that kind of adventure," I admitted. "We're investigating the Tartarus rifts, trying to figure out why they are threatening existence. Plus there are some very powerful beings running around that don't belong in this world."
"Really?" Barbun asked, and seemed to think for a moment. "Luka, where are you staying? How long will you be there?"
"I'm staying over in the mermaid district, at Clara's house. Do you know her?"
"Yeah, I know Clara! Are you going to go back there, or do you want to stay here tonight? You're welcome to if you like. I've got another bed, unless you want to sleep with one of us."
"Um…. I'll take the spare bed," I said. "I am a little tired. Thank you."
"It's the least I can do," Barbun said, smiling. "Mary's… difficult. She has no purpose in life. She's depressed all the time. Thanks for letting her see the good side of humanity for once. You remind me of Baldric, you know that?"
She led me to a spare room, which I occupied for the night. Another long day had ended. I was asleep within moments of my head hitting the pillow.