"I say, might you be the man who had a misunderstanding with one of the nobles?"
Ethan casually looked at the man. He was a wolf shifter.
Ethan stood slowly, looking down at the man. He had a red band around his arm with some kind of writing on it.
"Alas, my name is Ethan, and yes, I had an altercation with one of the nobles. He threatened my companions here, and I couldn't let it stand. In the country where I come from, if you insult someone, that usually means a dual to death."
The wolf shifter's eyes widened. Stepping back, he looked up at Ethan. His companions were all tensed up and looked ready to spring into action.
Ethan looked at the four women with them. Ethan's attention was drawn to a woman standing at the back. She had blonde hair and blue eyes in a ponytail that hung down to her waist.
Ethan stood relaxed. He did not feel threatened at all. They were there to keep the peace. Ethan realised this could be a way to discover what was happening in their Academy. At that, this was an ideal contact.
"I say, my name is Gunther. I am the leader of the student council. We would like to ask you some questions about what happened earlier today and resolve this as soon as possible. The noble has stated that he wants retribution for his humiliation."
When he looked at Lucy, she stood at the table, and Wendy stood by her side. Lucy and Wendy had their fists clenched. They walked casually, standing to either side of Ethan.
The girl with the blonde hair looked at them with curiosity. She looked like a first-year student, and Ethan wondered what you needed to do to get onto the student council.
Ethan could take a guess, and he was sure it took wealth or talent.
"I say, let us have this conversation in a more private setting. Too many ears and eyes are on us now, and the issue is sensitive."
"Alas, I agree there are things that should be said privately. Please lead the way. We will follow you."
Gunther looked at Wendy and Lucy with disdain, snorting as he turned and walked towards the exit.
Ethan noticed all eyes were on them as they followed the student council to their office. The academy had many expensive tapestries and paintings hanging from the wall.
Old full-armoured suits and new tactical gear lined up as they walked. The scenes are a show of military power. It showed a history of violence and struggles that has endured through time.
The door opened to a room with a large table of highly polished dark wood. The chairs had cushions that were red and embroidered with yellow roses. The chairs were dark wood with claws of some animal on the end of the legs gripping the floor.
Everything in the room was there to intimidate and show the person who sat at the end of the table that they were a small animal with larger, dangerous hunters looking at them.
"I say, I will be blunt."
Gunther said as he sat down at the head of the table.
Three chairs without cushions were at the lower end of the table, and the council members stared at them from their elevated seats. The table was elongated, giving the illusion of separation. They sat at the head, and you sat at the end.
The feeling of being judged came to mind.
Gunther pointed at Wendy.
"I don't even know what type of elf you are."
He pointed at Lucy with a sneer on his face.
"I don't know what type of mut you are. We have never seen a demi-human with white and pink hair, and I presume those ears must be a rat's ears."
Ethan moved in his seat, and the wood creaked under him. He had no more time for these shifters' games. He needed answers and something to give to Thompson. They required silver coins.
"Alas, insulting us will not further our discussion. She is a fox kin and a high elf, and I am, well, I don't even know what I am."
Ethan pointed at Wendy and Lucy.
Gunther jumped out of his chair and hit the table with his fist.
"I say fox kin is only a myth story told by senile old people. I have never heard of an elf that was called a high elf. You look human, but we cannot be sure of it. We have never seen a man as tall and big as yourself with hair as white as yours or the deep blue eyes that you have. Wendy has the same eyes you have, suggesting that you come from the same place."
Gunther sat down slowly as his fellow council members stared at him.
The women had smiles on their faces. The woman with the short black hair knocked her stick on the table.
Ethan wondered why she had an ornate stick with a pointy end.
She stood, her red dress covered in strange patterns and the academy emblem on her right breast.
"Gunther is upset because your companions are drop-dead beautiful. I am a vampire, and we rarely see young girls who look like that, and I am over four hundred years old."
Wendy closed Ethan's mouth as his jaw dropped at the word vampire. They had seen some at the registration, but being face to face with one and an old hag at that was something else.
Ethan wondered why an old hag of four hundred would join the academy. Ethan could not see beyond the four hundred. She looked like a twenty-two-year-old girl.
Gunther gave her a stare that could kill a mature minotaur from a distance.
"I say we have called you here to discuss another matter. We suggest withdrawing from the academy at this stage."
Gunther gave them the facts. Some people targeted demi-humans to take them as slaves. Shifters and vampires had been victims of this new social phenomenon. We need help understanding what is happening. The academy had strange behaviour creep up over the past two years. The activity went into overdrive three days ago. The dungeon had also changed in the past year. People could get to level ten quickly with the proper training and gear.
Ethan listened intently. He squeezed Wendy and Lucy's hands. This was what they came here for, finally, information.