A Monster Life Ch. 76-78

76 - Biker Party

Rachael gazed out from the bow of the moored ship at the busy docks while Handil finished her business with the captain before they disembarked. Many stacks of goods in crates, barrel, sacks, and nets stood on the wide paved square, and were moved to and from many small and large ships moored at several long stone piers by various crews. She had been to many places on her quests before, but this was the first time at this large coastal city where just about every race walked around, and that included demon races.

Handil giggled softly at her girl's stare when she approached her. 'Kraeintos is a country where everyone comes for high quality mana powered products. Because they trade all over the world and some of the richest and rare ore mines are here, they're neutral to any party as long as they pay, and no one will even think about invading the country because of the retaliation from other countries.'

Rachael nodded slowly as she could see how that all worked out for them. 'So, we're kind of hiding in plain sight?'

Handil leaned on the rail. 'No one will notice another merchant among the many doing business here, and travelling around the country.'

Rachael looked at her. 'But the same would go for anyone who might look for us.'

Handil met her gaze. 'Yes, so we still have to keep our eyes open, although we can hide quickly if we have to.' She gestured with her head at the buildings at the left far side of the docks. 'See that inn with the two blue fishes sign? That's where we'll stay while I arrange for transport and papers for our cover story as travelling merchants visiting various cities in the country.'

'I hope it's not a sign that it's a fishy place to stay at.' said Rachael, and picked up her bags while Handil sniggered.

***

The cargo master of the ship Gentle Wave stared at the line of pack animals with long hair down to the ground, and heads with wide horns that were mostly hidden in it seemingly way back past their shoulders, and who carried large packs on their lower backs. 'What are those?'

Iphigenia looked back casually. 'A special breed. Originally coming from a very far place.'

'Yeah, they must be since I haven't ever seen such strange creatures. They're not easily spooked or hostile to strangers, are they?'

'They're harmless unless someone tries to harm them or steal our belongings.'

The man hummed as he looked once more over the line and the ladies beside them, and the two strangely obedient bloodwolves sitting next to the woman he spoke to. He figured if they can tame such monsters, their pack animals would be safe enough to take on board. He'd assign them a separate hold in any case. 'All right, you can lead them to the storage at the back, which can be locked for your convenience.'

Elzbieta lead the disguised capri up the plank and onto the boat while Iphigenia, Susi, and Ulric stayed, and Ulric glanced up at Valdys as she passed by. 'Those hairy disguises you conjured up may look weird, but I do admit it's working.'

She smirked lightly. 'Just make up a story about a far away land, and most people will believe it as long as you have something to show for it.'

When Yingshien passed them, the cargo master opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it when she gave him a quick frown. Although they were rare to encounter, he knew it was better not to bother them. Even if it was a small one, he didn't dare take a chance. "No wonder they're named Quaint." he thought.

***

Half a day after setting sail, Captain Reganta hummed a song softly as she toured the ship, and came upon Valdys and Conchim at the stern. Valdys gave her a nod in greeting. 'In a good mood, captain?'

Reganta smiled and straightened her back lightly. 'Yes, we have very favourable winds, and it feels like the ship is living up to her name and sliding more smoothly through the water. If this keeps up we'll arrive at Havenno in record time.'

'That's good to hear, even though it's a pleasure to be sailing on this ship.'

Reganta bowed slightly. 'Thank you. It's my pleasure to ferry such an interesting party as yourselves.' she said, and continued her tour.

Conchim giggled as she looked at Valdys. 'I think she'd hire us on the spot if she knew I used my wind ability and you had some friends pushing us along underneath the hull.'

Valdys looked up at the sky. 'It's a shame we have to pace ourselves though. We'd really draw suspicion of we made the journey in half the time. And I don't want to disappoint the captain when everything is back to normal when we leave.'

Conchim nodded. 'I wonder if we will find Cat the way we left it when we return.'

'I believe we will. Cat buried itself deep enough, and Isa left Oono as a guard in it. She will sense if anything's wrong through her link with the little golem, and our honey has his link with Cat.'

***

Rachael and Handil woke up after their rest, snuggled and kissed for a while until they were awake enough to rise, and Rachael opened the shutters to let in daylight and have a look outside. 'Honey? How far are you done with our travel arrangements?'

Handil looked up from splashing water in her face. 'As good as done. We only need a few more supplies, but our rides are ready to be picked up.'

Rachael watched the odd animals and their owners disembark from a newly arrived ship at the docks. Larger travelling groups were not uncommon, but one with so many different species and strange beasts was unique. And after what happened, she didn't trust anything out of the ordinary at all. 'Good. I think we should leave as soon as possible.'

Handil joined her at the window and understood what her girl was talking about when she saw the group. 'Indeed.'

***

After the party had finished disembarking and gathered at a little more out of the way spot at the back of the docks, Valdys checked the artefact's direction, and it spun around slowly. 'We might be in luck. It's somewhere here in the city.'

Yingshien looked around at the busy docks. Curious people quickly averted their eyes when she looked their way. 'I think we need better luck if you want to find it in this crowded place.'

'We'll have to begin with finding out who arrived here recently.' said Elzbieta. 'The records from the ships should hold passenger names, and then we'll have to find out who's who and where without drawing too much attention.'

Valdys noticed captain Reganta entering a building with an anchor on the sign outside close by. 'I can retrieve a copy of the books if that's where they keep all records.'

Iphigenia walked into the harbour office a little later after the Reganta had left. The place was empty but for the clerk sitting behind a desk behind the front counter, and it smelled similar to other administrative offices she'd been before, which held many records of many years. The racks with record keeping books stood in narrow rows at the back, but the man in his thirties with thinning, black hair and a stiff expression as he wrote in one book sat sideways, and would surely notice it if Valdys did her book spirit trick. She moved over to the counter and leaned a little forward with her hands on it, squeezing her chest forward. 'Excuse me, can you help me?'

The man glanced up from writing with a light frown. 'What do you need?'

Iphigenia wiggled her chest a little less than subtly. 'I was wondering if a dear friend had arrived in the last couple of days, and wanted to ask if I could have a look at the passenger lists.'

The clerk returned his gaze to the book. 'Records are confidential.'

Iphigenia pouted. 'It would only take a moment, and it would be a problem if I had to visit every inn in the city on my own.'

He looked up. 'Those are the rules. I can't break them.'

She gave him a sultry look. 'I'd be really grateful. And if she's here, we wouldn't mind if an upstanding man like yourself would escort us on a drink in gratitude and maybe join us for a little more fun afterwards.'

He stared blankly at her. 'I'm sorry, but you're not my type, and I have work to do. Good day.'

Iphigenia sighed and left the office. 'He's not charmed by me.'

Ulric sniggered. 'So we need another method to distract him.'

'I'll show you some some distraction the dwarf way if seducing him doesn't work.' said Tipper and went towards the office.

'Don't cause any mayhem!' said Ulric.

Iphigenia waited at the door and peeked inside through the window in case there would be trouble, and Tipper stepped inside. She planted her spade on the floor in front of her and leaned her hands on it. 'Who's in charge here?'

The clerk looked annoyed up from his book. 'What now.' he muttered, then gazed silently at the red-headed and stout woman barely looking over the counter for a moment. He gave her his best smile and smoothly slipped from behind his desk. 'I mean, how may I help you?'

Iphigenia clamped her mouth before the laugh burst out. 'So that's his type.'

Tipper didn't show her surprise at this turn in his behaviour, but she had heard of a few dwarves who hooked up with humans. She figured she'd best use his preference to her advantage. 'Have there been any dwarf arrivals lately?'

The clerk moved over to the counter with a concerned expression. 'I don't know if I can give you any information about that, dear madam.'

'Now, Val.' said Iphigenia, and Valdys cast her spells from a narrow passage at the back of the building, where she stood out of sight.

Tipper drummed her fingers on the spade's handle. 'Of course you can. It's a simple question and I'm sure a fine, upstanding man as yourself can handle it.'

He blushed lightly and gestured behind him. 'I'd have to consult the records.'

Tipper threw her chest forward. 'I'm not interested in records! I want to know what you know.' she said while Valdys slowly extracted ghostly images of the books from the originals.

The clerk cleared his throat. 'Well, I believe a small group arrived five days ago, and one individual two days ago. Are you sure I don't need to verify for you?'

'No.' said Tipper as she glanced to the shelves and the white images moving in between in the dim light, and stepped forward. 'I have more faith in what's inside your head.'

He coughed and gave her a polite proud smile. 'I do pride myself on knowing most of what's in the books.'

Tipper nodded. 'I'm sure you do.' she said and hoped Valdys was done soon with her magic. 'Then, can you tell me where I can find a place with ale that's worthy to be drunk by a dwarf?'

'Oh, I do. There's an inn named The Dancing Pony, of which the owner is proud to cater to little folk, if you pardon the expression. And there's the Restaurant at the End of the City. They're known for their unique show.' He stood a little straighter. 'Perhaps I can interest you in a meal or a drink if you need a guide?'

The last few book spirits seeped through the back wall and Tipper was glad it was done. She slung her spade onto her back. 'Thank you, but there's a lot of work waiting for me and my associates.'

Iphigenia stepped into the office. 'There you are! I thought I saw you come in here.' she said, and hugged Tipper. 'I offered the gentleman here to join us for a little fun, but he wasn't interested.' She turned to the door. 'It'll just be you and me drinking then.'

Tipper gave the clerk a salute with two fingers. 'Thanks for the information.' she said, and left the stunned man behind in his regret.'

Valdys joined up with the girls as they returned to the others. 'I have the list of names. It's quite a lot but most are two or three people from the same merchant group, so that cuts it down by more than half if we find only one of them in each group.'

'Still a lot of work.' said Ulric. 'Even if you could collect all registrations of all the inns in the city.'

'Nothing much we can do about it.' said Elzbieta. 'Let's find a place first where we can leave our rides safely behind.'

***

Rachael and Handil walked into the large barn of one of the transport and carriage dealers of the city with their packs and bags. Here were rows of stalls with mounts of various species for sale and hire, and Handil beckoned at one of the stable hands. 'We're here to pick up our joks.'

The dwarf walked up to the girls and gestured at a stall nearby. 'There they are, fed and ready to leave.' he said. 'If you come with me, I'll hand you the owner badges for their collars.'

Rachael thought the dwarf's scent blended in real well with the smells of animals and straw and feed, and gestured at the stall as she looked at Handil. 'Go ahead, I'll pack them in the meantime.' she said, and led out the first of the popular long haired herbivores to the baggage and provided saddles. She slung the soft saddle over the beast as tall as her, and fastened it while being careful not to snag the belt in its thick fur. She knew how painful that could be from her own experiences. She lifted one of the large side packs to hook it to the rear of the saddle, and groaned when she couldn't quite put the loop over the out of reach hook. She stretched and stood on her toes, but her stature was too short. She looked back in surprise when a cloaked and hooded figure loomed over her and hooked her pack on the saddle. She noticed the black muzzle under the hood and stepped back. 'Ehm, thank you?' she said, wondering if she'd seen him before.

'No problem.' Ulric said. 'I just noticed you were having trouble.' He gestured at the rest of the baggage. 'I'll give you a paw with the rest.'

Rachael wondered for a moment if she could trust the beast demon who kept his face hidden under the eerily dark hood, but she expected he wouldn't do anything with several of the staff and other people around. 'Thank you.' she said, and picked up the pack for the other side.

When both joks were saddled and packed, Rachael gave her unexpected help a nod. 'Thank you for helping me out.'

He held up his paw. 'I hope you have a safe journey.' he said, and walked away towards towards a couple of women dressed in black and talking to the staff.

Handil returned with the badges for the joks and chuckled. 'Wow, you already packed them. I honestly thought you'd need my help.'

'Someone was kind enough to give me a hand.' Rachael said and glanced back, but the canine and women were already out of sight.

Handil attached the badges to the collars, and they mounted their animals. 'Let's try reaching the first communal rest on the road without stopping.'

***

The party spread out over the city in pairs while Conchim, Yingshien, Isazea, and Susi stayed with the capri to prevent inquisitive people looking too deep into the disguised constructs, and prevent extra attention being drawn to themselves. The ones who went out kept their ears open, and when they found someone from the list, they observed them long enough to make a guess on whether they might have the artefact or not.

Ulric stared at a young man chatting up a girl while showing off his rings and gold pendant. He leaned a little closer to Valdys sitting beside him. 'I don't think he has it.'

She glanced around at the other people at the inn. 'Why not?'

'I can smell the lead underneath the gold veneer of his so-called jewellery.'

She giggled. 'You nose is really something.'

'I don't even need my nose to smell a fake like him.' he sniggered. 'Can't the artefact pick up any direction at all?'

Valdys covertly pulled out the stone and placed it on her palm. It stirred, then rotated, and to her surprise stopped. 'They have moved. It's showing a direction now.'

Ulric stood up. 'Then we'd better follow it quickly.'

They hurried through the busy streets until they ended up at the barn and stables at the road leading outside the city. 'Our target has left the city.' Ulric said to the others. 'We'll have to leave.'

When Iphigenia and Kaui arrived last, the disguises had been removed from the capri, and the staff from the barn gawked at the strangest things they'd ever seen. Valdys checked the direction with the map of the country. 'They're likely heading to Abana, the city this road leads to. The road has plenty of traffic, so we can't drive fast and startle the people and animals passing along it.'

'It'll also prevent us from passing them unintentionally, I'd say.' said Elzbieta.

'I agree.' said Ulric and gave Harry a pat. 'Let's ride out, partner.'

Onlookers stared as the party drove by on their softly growling bike golems, while Ulric grinned wide at the image of leading a biker gang. Yingshien glanced sideways at him from the capri built for her. 'And you say there are a lot of people in your world who ride this kind of thing often? You really come from a weird world.'

***

Rachael and Handil passed the border fence of the city of Abana, and Handil pointed at a large building off to the side and halfway to the city walls. 'That is where my friend Kopper lives and works. We can take our next rest at his place, then pick an inn if it seems safe to stay.'

They arrived a while later at the house which seemed to consist more of attached extensions than a main house, and the large warehouse connected to it. Handil rode to a fenced off section behind the house, and led the joks inside. 'They can stay here for now.' she said as she dismounted. 'Let's say hello to Kopper first.'

Rachael followed her to the warehouse entrance, and was greeted by a red-orange Ruza in most fancy blue clothes. 'Handil! How wonderful to see you again.' He gave her a hug, and turned to Rachael with an outstretched hand. 'You must be Rachael.'

Rachael shook his hand. 'Nice to meet you.'

Kopper looked at Handil. 'We'd better step into my house, there is some news you should know.'

He poured tea in his study and looked at his guests for a moment. 'I heard the Safo ruler and his direct family have been incarcerated and accused of treachery for plans to invade the troll country. One of the ministers assumed leadership for the moment, and they're negotiating a deal where trolls station some troops in the country as a gesture of the Safo wanting peace and trust.'

The girls glanced at each other. 'Our king would never do this.' said Rachael. 'This is a trap.'

Kopper handed them their cups and sat down with his own. 'Nonetheless, there are rumours and even some confessions by people with knowledge of the invasion plans. The future looks dim for your king.' He sipped his tea. 'Now, with you suddenly asking me about the situation here and to keep an eye out on suspicious activity, my guess is that there's a link here somewhere.

Handil nodded. 'It's best to know nothing, but demons might come after us because Rachael has bonds with the king, and the trolls might want to round up everyone who might cause trouble.'

Kopper nodded. 'I'll have one of my contacts look around the city for anyone suspicious. Until then, you both stay here.'

Handil gave him a smile and laid her hand on Rachael's. 'Thank you.'

77 - While Two Dogs Fight

The guard at one of Abana's gates watched the group of diverse people on their wheeled mounts approach on the road into the city early in the morning, and gazed dumbfounded at the softly growling parade as they passed. He shook his head and resumed his watch on the road and the familiar kind of visitors to the city. His commander stepped out of the guard house when he heard something suspicious, and hurried up to him when he saw the back of the party. 'Hey! Why didn't you stop them? Did you not see them?'

The guard turned to him. 'I saw a bunch of hot women, a small dragon, and a cloaked canine with a bloodwolf on two-wheeled stone animals. I thought it safer to assume it was something in the beer that I drank earlier.'