I was in a crowd of people. Most of them were making the last arrangements before the evacuation. It had been a very long time since I had been in a city. The change was suddenly uncomfortable. I could have left at any time, but I decided to stay for a while. I looked around. On a small stage stood a clown performing his magic. Although it was high time to evacuate, he was still engaged in his performance.
"Look, creatures of Endton, I will show you a magic spell that will temporarily turn any of you into another race that is in your blood." This interested me. Various changes of form are not among the usual spells.
The so-called shapeshifters were very dangerous and very often worked as assassins or something similar. They could transform into any creature, but it was quite mentally demanding and if they did it wrong at a moment, they could have lifelong consequences.
"Come closer, is there any volunteer here?" The jester looked carefully around the crowd of interested people. "You sir, the magic wardrobe has chosen you." He pointed towards the boy who seemed least interested. He frowned, but stepped up to the stage. "What other race do you think runs in your blood?" The boy hesitated for a moment. His ears were rounded, so he was probably a commoner.
"Maybe Cerpeirian," the boy said uncertainly.
"What do you think, audience, what will he turn into?" Several different races were heard from the crowd. "Now, the entrance to the magic closet." The boy took a few steps and found himself in front of a red oak closet and entered. The jester approached the closet and closed the door. He muttered some spell in a foreign language. The door flew open. An elephant-sized figure emerged from the smoke. The Trenon, that was the name of the race, were among the nearly extinct. The boy looked around. Suddenly he could see almost everything.
"I didn't expect that," he muttered, his voice deepening considerably.
"The effects last for about five minutes," the jester pointed out. The boy threw himself into the street and walked through the crowd. It was a very unusual spell; if it could transform various creatures into giants, it would be a pretty powerful weapon.
"Any other volunteers?" His eyes suddenly fixed on me. I turned my gaze away and walked away with a smooth, quick step. I didn't want to be the center of attention.
I moved a few streets away, where it was quieter. I spotted a nearby tavern and headed there. One of the waitresses was trying to hide the menu sign. Her long black hair fell over her shoulders. The slightly protruding horns from her forehead indicated that she was a vaudeville.
A vaudeville is a race that has its ancestors among demons. Her skin was a little pink. I went inside and sat down at the bar. The tavern had been freshly cleaned.
"We're closed," the innkeeper said in my direction. He was also a vaudeville.
"Just give me a moment," I repeated and pulled a copper beer mug from my bag.
"You have five minutes," he decided. He tipped the pint and began pouring beer.
"What's wrong, everyone's running?" I asked.
"Didn't you hear that? Luskar suddenly attacked the Erdon army and Erdonia was badly defeated," he paused. "They should be here in about two days." The fall of Erdonia was apparently inevitable.
The Luskar Empire currently has the most powerful army on the continent and has a very wide influence in other countries. Until recently, Detruisia rivaled it, but after its fall, the empire is quickly conquering the entire continent.
The innkeeper placed a mug of beer in front of me. I took a sip and wiped the foam off my lips. The taste of the beer flooded my mouth. I wasn't very used to the bitter taste, so I frowned a little.
"Don't you like that?" the innkeeper asked.
"Yes, it does, I'll just have to get used to it." I turned to the waitress. "When are you planning to evacuate?" The girl looked up from the bucket of water and fixed them on me. Her brown eyes seemed to absorb me.
"Tomorrow morning," the girl said. A slight smile appeared on her face. I raised one eyebrow to emphasize the silent question. I didn't look my best right now, but a quick bath would solve that. She nodded.
"What kind of deal is this," he paused. "She's my daughter, if you do anything to her, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth," he said quietly.
"It won't be anything serious," I assured him.
"Just so..." He was still tense, but he relaxed a little.
"What's your real name?" I asked.
"Tessia, but can you call me Tes?" she added.
"I'm Daen, out in ten minutes?" She turned to her father. He just nodded and looked away. I finished my tankard and climbed out of the inn. The wind was furiously beating against the walls of the houses. A storm was coming. Within a few minutes, Tess appeared.
"Shall we go for a walk?" I suggested.
"I'd love to." She walked up to me and leaned on my shoulder. Tess was about a head shorter than me.
"What will you do when you evacuate?" I asked.
"We'll see, we'll probably escape to Medroinia and start a new venture."
Medroinia was the westernmost great power, the last one likely to be able to resist the empire.
"And you, what will you do after that?" she looked at me curiously.
"We'll see, I'll probably just travel." We walked through many streets until we reappeared at the stage. There was no performance. There were only a few people there who They were loading the body into the wagon. At first I didn't recognize him, his face was completely disfigured. The clown was dead.
"What happened here?" I asked one of the people.
"He went to jump around for a while, and then he didn't come back," he paused. "They found his body in a side alley." I looked around, stunned. "The only thing he had on him was some illegible paper," he added.
"Let's go on," Tess whispered. I nodded. It was strange. If there's a killer somewhere in town, I'll tear him to pieces.
We walked around for the rest of the day, stopping here and there for food. The sale made it easy to get food cheaper. Tess opened the door to the two-story building. We climbed a few steps and unlocked the door.
"You can sleep over at my place if you want," she offered.
"Thank you, I'm glad." I leaned towards her, but her hand stopped me. Take a bath first. She pointed to the bathroom with her other hand. I frowned, but I obeyed. Within a few minutes I was out. I looked around the room and went to the bedroom. The darkness was broken only by the small candles on the sides. Tess got out of bed, and only then did I realize that she was covered only by a tiny nightgown. I looked away from her body and focused on her face. Her smile was beautiful. She raised one eyebrow to show that she had noticed my gaze on her mouth.
"Now kiss her." I crossed the space that separated us and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Her mouth opened, wanting more. I pulled away. It felt wrong. I had slept with many girls in the past, but this time it was different, as if my body didn't want to.
"What?" she asked, offended. "Like I'm not good enough for you?" Her sadness hit me like an arrow.
"Sorry, I just can't do it today." She pulled away and sat on the bed. She tapped her fingers next to her for me to sit next to her. I sat down.
"Okay..," she said. She lay down on the bed and covered herself with a blanket. "Okay." she said, somewhat disappointed.
"Good night, I'll be leaving early in the morning," I announced.