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Inside the newfounded village, the great magus walked about as a kid inside an amusement park. He took his time analyzing everything he could. Especially the enchanted mechanisms inside the houses, already trying to understand its concepts, functionality and even how they were created. Some had 2, 3, maybe 4 different enchantments combined which bewildered the mage, such things should not be possible with those metals.

The houses were built from strange materials as well. They were put together, molded and then hardened, perfectly put and sturdiest than any other construction that the mage had seen.

Not to mention that all houses had the most clear, transparent and strongest forms of glass that he had ever seen. The windows and the many objects inside made of a super strong strong glass. Tables, cups, bottles. So many things that should easily break. Even the wood seemed different, its color and the way it was molded and worked, it was something of another level.

Everything was outstandingly looking, absolutely gorgeous, nothing was ordinary or even crudely due the haste the houses were set up.

Such a house could be sold to the royalty for a fortune. And the old mage wanted to know all about them, in detail.

Riou and Max were walking in the village after a quick conversation about the houses when the old mage finally noticed the beautiful princess in the distance. She was sitting down talking to someone from the village.

He looked quietly at the princess and spoke to Riou “Amidst all that happened, I almost forgot..” Eileen noticed the Magus and waved, she promptly came to his encounter.

“It’s good to see you well Maximilian!”

“Likewise my princess, likewise…” He seemed concerned and glanced at Riou “I forgot to tell you, but I have news of your friend. Something that I heard in Iris”

Eileen didn’t like his tone “What happened?”

But Riou just shook his head and waited on Max.

“It’s about Therese… dire news I’m afraid. I heard she has been imprisoned in the plains,” said the old mage quite concerned.

“What? That can’t be… she went back to free her clan, she had the weapon, how could this happen? What about Leona? What happened to her?”

The old mage shook his head “I don’t know the details, but from what I heard, it seems like she never challenged their leader. And I’m afraid there was no word about her disciple either”

Eileen was taken aback and looked at Riou with deep concern and urgency.

He could tell what she wanted by her eyes “You want to go help her, don’t you?”

“She helped me so much while you were gone… I have to do something about it”

He smiled “It’s fine, after all, it’s about time that we take a look at the battlefront. Argos might want to change their plans now we crushed the Council on Allard” He turns to the mage “Max, how much do the beastmen know about Allard and the Norse down there? Can they recognize the princess? Do they know about Brahm?”

Max pondered for a moment “They know about Brahm’s crest at the very least, but if you don’t announce yourself as it, they will have no idea who you are, any of you. But there is still the issue with the council and Argo’s spies. As you said, we did deal a heavy blow, but they are still to be taken into account. They are not done for, I assure you”

Riou nodded “Attia, Bellica!” shouted Riou as the two bodyguards promptly appeared beside him, startling the Magus that had a memory glimpse of the wall climbing incident. “Go get Arthas, we will meet in my house in a few. In the meanwhile, gather an advanced party, scouts and fighters. At least one gray. Tell them to gather Allard’s jump point crystal and go southeast… beyond the large body of water in that direction. On the other side there should be a portuary city or village. It must be owned by the Beastmen and close to the capital. Tell them to set an advanced jump point for us there”

Both nodded and rushed to comply with his order.

Max was intrigued “What’s your plan?”

“I will go as a trader, the Brahm name and crest will help with that. It will conceal our real intentions.” He then turned to Eileen.

“Eileen will go with Attia and Bellica as her disciple, they will be the ones to look into Therese's location. As a disciple,I imagine she has a reasonable excuse to want to find her and Leona” He then looked at Max.

“And you old man, I think you should go to Longart and inform the king of what happened so far. They may need help to take back the throne. Bhalrom and the army are with them but you never know what they might still have up their sleeve. The regents and the army should be moving soon as the caravan with the supplies is already en route with a large group of mercenaries protecting them. I’d like you to be there as backup if needed.”

Max nodded in agreement. “It will be good to see Elrik and Hanna again, we certainly have a lot to talk about.”

“You can come and go in this village as you wish my friend, but I believe I don’t need to ask you to keep this place a secret for a little while longer, am I right?”

The mage just smirked “Secrets are my specialty”

“I know, but let’s go to my house and wait for Arthas, we need to go over the plan in more detail.”

-------------

They were gathered in Riou’s house.

“Anyone have any questions? Arthas, Attia and Bellica and Eileen will pose as my bodyguards. Once we establish a location of Therese or Thorwald, we will split. Me and Arthas will look into thorwald and the lionesses and Eileen will look into Therese.”

Both half lionesses were about to complain, foreseeing the objection, Riou added “Therese said only females can teach females there… It can’t be Arthas or me.”

Both pouted and lowered their heads.

Riou looked at the two seriously “Follow Eileen’s guidance and don’t let any harm come to her, understand?”

Both Lionesses straightened their bodies and nodded respectfully acknowledging the order. He glanced at Arthas that promptly lowered his head in agreement as well.

“We also need to gather information on the war front and find a way to get Thorwald’s attention. We need to inform him of the Argonian plan and that they are overextending his army in Argos for far too long. They need to review their strategy immediately” He turned to Arthas.

“I want to do reconnaissance before we send anyone on a mission on the southern side of the plains. We never faced Argos before, we don’t know what they are capable of.”

Arthas nodded “The objective is to free this female and advise this North King to not strain his forces on the warfront. Seems simple enough…it will also be a good opportunity to visit our ancestor’s lands”

Riou smiled and looked at everyone “Just be careful, don’t do anything reckless. Try to keep a low profile at all times… I know it will be very difficult for you.” He glanced at Attia and Bellica “But do not stand out too much! The less attention we get, the easier it will be to infiltrate. We don’t want to catch the eye of anyone from Argos, Council or even the Beastmen themselves. Now go rest and prepare for the trip, we will leave once the scouts set the jump point”

Everyone nodded and began to move out when Riou called the princess.

“Eileen…” he moved back to the cabinet where he had stored the armor and weapon.

The princess turned back as everyone else left the room.

“Take these with you… you know… to fit in your role, you need to look the part. And in case we get into trouble, you will be better protected” Riou gave her the black armor and sword.

Eileen smiled “Isn’t that too much? I already have this” she said pointing to the necklace on her neck.

“The necklace is for my peace of mind, not yours. And you do need to look the part as my bodyguard. You can’t be the only one in low grade armor, am I right?” he smiled.

She nodded and took the armor from him, smirking “I will use this only while looking for Therese. When we are back to the village, I will return it to you. I want to earn this like everyone else before being able to wear it in here”

He nodded “As you wish, but you know I’m the one that created the rules right? If I say so, nobody will bother”

“I know… but still, I want to do it properly”

He approached her ear closely “Then maybe, I should give you a private lesson or two... so you could improve quicker. Maybe we could work something out today, after dinner tonight?” he spoke and smiled seductively at her.

Eileen was suddenly over thrilled and excited “That would be great! I have so many questions I couldn’t ask the teacher because Max arrived… That will be perfect!”

Riou forced a smile “Sure… but I was thinking… since it would be just the two of us” Riou said, approaching Eileen very closely. She quickly realized his real intentions and got a bit flustered.

She moved closer to him as well.

With his hands on her waist and she with her hands on his chest… they were approaching for a kiss, when loud, angry steps approached them at the door.

“So this is where you were! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, how come you are always here? I didn’t find you in any of the training grounds today, did you even get into any class?” Elise paused, looking at the two “Aren’t you two awfully close? What are you doing?”

Eileen sighed and forced a smile at her. She then whispered to Riou’s ear “When does she leave?”

“I was hoping to deliver her to Thorwald… but maybe we should drop her by Allard’s castle as soon as you parents are back to Longart, that will be much quicker” he whispered back.

Eileen nodded with a smile “I like that idea better”

“What are you two whispering? Come on Eileen they are putting together a demonstration! The blue cloaks will show their spellcasting, it will start in a bit, we must see it!”

The princess sighed once again and turned to Riou “Give me some time to deal with her, I will return soon after”

“I will be looking forward to it”

Eileen left with her cousin and Elise relentlessly questioned her, wanting to know everything that had happened, and especially, where she was during the class hours.

-------------------------------------------------

Riou was preparing the dinner with care. Dimmed down the magelights that were strategically placed around the main room and dinner table. He even picked some flowers to give some nice fragrance to the ambience. All that was missing was some music, but he still had to find a good way to do that with enchanting.

He heard someone coming from the door “You came early, it will take a while to be ready”

“I believe I’m not who you were expecting, master” said the male voice of the Lion.

“Oh Arthas, I was waiting for Eileen to join me for dinner.”

“I’m sure the queen will be delighted”

“So, what brings you here? Something happened?” Riou put the food in the oven and picked a bottle and two glasses from a cabinet nearby.

“The scouts informed, they were crossing the waters during the night. The advanced post will be ready by tomorrow, as expected.”

He gave one glass to Arthas and sat down on a chair “So, are you excited to finally meet your cousins?”

Arthas nodded “It will be great to finally see the plains we heard so much about in our bedtime stories”

“Well, I will be counting on you to guide me through the customs when we are there, I’m sure there is plenty that I still don’t know about”

He took a deep breath, not too certain “I will do my best master, but we did stay apart from them for far too long… it may not be our customs anymore”

“I know, but don’t worry, we will manage”

A cautious *Knock* *Knock* came from the door.

“Hello, am I interrupting anything?” Said Max looking inside from the door.

Riou waved him in and went to get another glass for him. “Just chatting a bit, come in Max”

The mage walked inside smelling the food “What is this smell? Are you cooking? Do you know how to cook too? Of course you do…”

“Yep, I’m having dinner with Eileen in a little while”

Max smiled and glanced at Arthas surprised “Is that so? I’m glad to see that you finally found the better judgement on that subject” he sat down beside Arthas and cheered the fact, raising his glass up before taking a sip.

“Have you settled down well? Did you like your house?” asked Riou.

The mage nodded very impressed “I can’t believe they built an entire house just for me so quickly. And with all those enchantments already in place, I spent the last hour using them over and over… I need to find a way to reproduce them in my home in Thanes. Otherwise I will have to come and live here! I hope you don’t mind me and Eleanor moving in” he joked.

“Since you mentioned it, I’d like to have you around here… I mean, if you don’t mind the weather of these lands. If you want to, we can manage a jump point directly between your houses just so you can bring everything here.” Said Riou.

“Are you sure!? Eleanor would love to escape the cold of the north, also she doesn’t have many friends there… The closer we are to Allard the best would be for her.”

Arthas quickly replied “All master's friends are more than welcomed to stay here. That house is yours.” He glanced at Riou, “And if the master agrees, I can ask the enchanters to teach you how those plates are created”

Max looked eagerly at Riou that promptly nodded, “That will be great… Eleanor will love these improvements. I can’t wait to show them to her”

Riou looked at Arthas “When we are back from the beastment lands, we will use the crystal to get Max to Thanes so he can start packing. And talking about the crystal, Max, do you know where we can find more of them? We could set one in each capital city for fast traveling”

Max pondered “Not in the size that you need… These portal crystals, as you called them, are not uncommon. But only in small sizes like the ones I used at my home in Thanes. For short distances they are fine. But to travel between capitals you’d need the bigger ones.”

Riou nodded “And those are not common… but also, they are not rare enough since goons from the council had one of them in that cave”

Max was surprised “Really? Then my best guess would be that they got a few of them from Argos. If we find Tessai’s base, we may find these crystals.”

Riou nodded “Interesting” he turned to Arthas “We could raid Tessai’s base in Iris to search for them”

“That’s a great idea, want me to dispatch a party right away?”

“Not yet… there might be enemies watching the place and I don’t want the council to learn about us just yet. Let’s complete the mission on the plains first, we go there if there isn't any other way” Riou turned to Max “Even the council must have got their crystals from somewhere, am I right?”

Max nodded “Probably from the Argonians, they have a large mining operation at the south of the beastmen plains and it has been going on for a long time. Chances are they have found many of these crystals over the years.”

“I will keep that in mind…”

The old man smiled “Well, it’s getting late… And our young master here has a lot to do. Why don’t we show ourselves out Mister Arthas? And in the meanwhile, could you point me towards those enchanters that you mentioned?”

The man in the black armor stood up smiling, he nodded to his master and left the house with the old mage.

With them gone, Riou took another look at the food in the oven and went to take a shower, put on clean, comfortable clothes.

Music was still a need in his mind ‘Maybe some metallic pipes with some wind and vibration enchantment? A timer would work on it… or better yet, enchanted disks with the pattern that rotate and blow wind on the pipes… it’s worth a try… or should I go for something with cords? A guitar or a piano? How did they do those automated pianos in the movies?’

He set down metal coins on the table, a small flame appeared on top of them.

There was a knock on the door. Riou smiled “Come in”

Eileen entered slowly, Riou saw her wearing a beautiful light blue dress. But something was wrong, he could tell by her expression as she forced a smile.

She then moved aside, showing who was following her. Elise, Attia and Bellica. All wearing fancy dresses and some makeup as well, it was the first time seeing something like that on the lionesses.

A yellow and a purple dress full of details and laces. It was clearly intended for high court feasts and parties. Their hair was treated, combed and tied stylishly. None would ever guess the two lionesses were fierce warriors in those dresses.

The two had a wild beauty accompanied by their natural elegance, they looked very well with those clothes.

Elise was wearing a green dress. Both princesses had the same style of hair and makeup on them.

But from the whole group, Elise was the only one out of her element, even Attia and Bellica seemed more comfortable than her in those clothes.

The Allardian princess approached him slowly, clearly not knowing how to explain the situation very well.

Riou just smirked, almost guessing what happened “There is plenty of food, don’t worry.”

Eileen smiled wryly “Sorry… someone brought a lot of goods from Brigantium. The girls got curious as they have never seen a dress or makeup before. We talked about the parties and feasts on the court and one thing led to another... I ended up mentioning the dinner and here we are…”

Riou raised his eyebrows with a smile “I can imagine…” he looked at the girls behind her, they were looking at themselves with smiles and having fun while talking about the human customs. They were waving their dressed around like kids “I’ve never seen those two like this, it’s good to see you are having fun”

Eileen smiled, but Riou squinted his eyes and approached her ear “But you owe me one now, next time you will be the one cooking for me”

She swallowed hard, she had never cooked in her life. Still, she nodded, agreeing with the request.

Riou winked at her and smiled, finally addressing his other guests “Well, It seems our dinner became a royal feast, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything special to wear for the occasion”

Attia and Bellica, not wanting their master to feel inadequate, promptly threatened to rip off the dresses. Luckily or not, they were quickly stopped by Elise as she later explained to them, it would not be proper behavior for a lady. She also explained that Riou was just joking.

It seemed like the roles were reversed for the day, the princesses were the teachers and the subject was human culture.

The lionesses were more than happy, but saw no point in the excessive etiquette that Eileen was teaching them. Elise for one agreed with them. It was far too much and never liked it.

“Do you have to do all those things on a feast with the nobility?” asked Attia.

Eileen nodded “Yes, it’s how things are in our land. Some places have even stricter customs. For instance, Iris nobles favor more colorful clothing and accessories. Their tables sometimes have 3 to 5 different forks and knives. While in Brigantium they are much simpler and don’t require most of these rules for eating or drinking. But they do like to dance at all their parties.”

“These clothes are too weak, feels like they will rip at any stronger move, how one is supposed to fight if something happens during a feast?” asked Bellica.

“Something happens?” Elise was confused.

“Like an undead army or a lost Tallahar threatening to step on the village?” asked Attia as Bellica nodded to her, agreeing with her point.

“That, that shouldn’t happen… we are far away from the war front and there are no threats here”

Attia and Bellica nodded “True… we were here for a while and nothing attacked our village yet. Master did say it would be peaceful on this side.”

“Nothing but that one army” added Attia.

“Army?” asked Eileen.

“It was nothing… just neighbors coming to greet us.” Defused Riou.

They sat down and began to eat. Elise suddenly said “So, How come Eileen can go to the beastmen lands and I can’t? Why can’t I go too? I want to go too!”

Everyone looked at Riou instantly.

“Do you even know Therese?” he asked calmly.

“I’ve met her… briefly, that time in Thanes”

“Do you know anything about Beastmen traditions? Or Their land?”

“No…”

“Do you know where to find your grandfather?

She shook her head.

“Then why would you go?” he asked confused.

“Because… because, if Eileen can go then I should be able to go too!”

Attia replied to her “But the Queen knows a lot of the beastmen tradition in this world, sometimes better than us. And she is a disciple of this Therese that we will gonna save.” said Attia explaining to her

Bellica nodded “She wants to find her master” she said clearly understanding Eileen’s feelings.

“Not to mention that our Queen is smarter and a much better fighter too, she will be very useful in this mission” added Attia without restraint or consideration to Elise’s feelings.

“But… but I can help too, I have improved since I got here! I wanna help!”

“You didn’t improve nearly enough to become useful, that’s why you shouldn’t go, you would only be a hindrance to us” said Bellica bluntly.

Elise was shocked and looked at Eileen making an angry face. But she did not contest it anymore.

Riou sighed in relief as he glanced at Eileen, she was also feeling the same, both were glad that Attia and Bellica managed to shut down Elise rather easily.

---------------------------------------------

The Trader Riou and his bodyguards traversed the portal not too far away from the first portuary city on the beastmen plains. They were away from the main road, amongst some rocks and vegetation.

The scouts guarding the jump point approached Arthas, “What’s the security protocol for this jump point?”

Arthas pondered for a moment and looked at Riou “What do you think Master, Tier 3 should be enough?”

Riou nodded.

The scouts went around the jump point that was built out of mud, branches and leaves. One of them approached and put a large metal plate inside of the hut, attaching it to the internal wall.

Once they activated it, a camouflage spell involved the hut and its surroundings, creating a seamless transition; suddenly, it became very hard to distinguish it from another regular rock formation nearby.

Arthas looked at Riou “I believe we are all set to go”

Riou agreed and made sure to hide his presence completely, he was even using his enchanted scarf for that. He wore it on top of his noble attire.

He looked at Arthas, Bellica and Attia “Maybe you three should reduce your presence as well, as they are right now, they could be overwhelming for the Beastmen here”

“How much should we reduce it, master?”

“You two? Around Eileen’s presence should be a good measure, so you three don’t stand out too much from one another. Now Arthas, it would be good if the beastmen respected at least one of us… so don’t tune it down too much, as our leader you need to be imposing.”

They all nodded applying the spell on themselves.

With everything set, the four black wyrm mercenaries and the norse trader began to move towards the city.

As they arrived at the first city, Riou watched the place with interest “Isn’t this place too similar to Allard’s cities? I was expecting something… different”

Arthas nodded “Maybe the beastmen here adopted the human buildings as standard?”

Eileen shook her head “I think it's just because this is a portuary city, I heard these types of buildings are much cheaper and faster to create than original beastmen masonry.”

The place was not too different from the small cities in Allard, Rock and wood houses very similar to the ones built in the human land.

Looking around Riou widened his eyes and pointed out “Anyone knows what those are?” Some females were wearing very pompous outfits, they looked military in design but were way different from the ones used by the regular soldiers so far. They were walking casually through the streets, gathering the attention of everyone on their way. Large medals on their chest and many military condecorations on their shoulders and arms could be seen in large evidence.

Riou turned to Arthas and the girls for an explanation but they just shrugged unsure to why they were different.

“It looks like a combat uniform, but those medals dangling are not practical for a fight,” said Eileen, also not understanding their use either. “Maybe it's made for some festivity?”

“There might be something going on today, for them to be dressed like that. There must be some event.”

As the group walked through the city, they found some more female soldiers wearing such fashion at some extent. And only the strongest looking females at that.

Observing them, Riou noticed something. Most of them seemed from some of the feline clans, displaying a strong but concealed sensual appeal to the way they ported themselves. Which was odd, all other females weren’t so up forward with that.

As the group walked around, searching for a place to stay, they were approached by some guards. A man and a woman with spears and a very sturdy leather armor.

“Are you lost human?” asked the male, both of them seemed to have traits of an ox or a buffalo, especially judging by their large size and body shape.

Riou looked at them impressed by their looks when that up close “We are looking for a place to stay the night, we intend to go to the capital in the next morning”

“Who is your escort?” asked the female abruptly.

“Escort?”

“Humans are not allowed to wander in the plains in such low numbers, it’s too dangerous for your own sake” said the ox with a smirk on his face.

Riou looked around him “I have two lionesses and a lion with me, isn’t that protection enough?”

The female guard showed a smug and glanced at her fellow guard that was about to laugh.

“Parties that have a human present and smaller than 15 warriors, require to have an official beastmen guide. If none of your half breeds are an official guide, then you can’t travel on our lands, it is for your own safety, human”

Riou sighed “I see, so how can I acquire such a prestigious guide?”

The male pointed with the spear to the biggest structure not too far from there, it was a very large building with bone ornaments and war paintings all over it.

“Ask the chief to assign someone to you,” said the male guard.

Riou nodded and thanked for the advice. “I noticed there aren't many males soldiers in this city… is that because of the war?”

The female guard shook her head “No, they are out on the field for training, since we are far from the front, this is a perfect training ground for soldiers. You should see them at night when they return”

“So this is also a training ground, interesting. Well, have a good day” he said as they began their way to meet the chief.

The male guard turned to the female as they began walking away “That was something, Half Lion breeds as bodyguards… Clearly they have no clue where they are”

“That was interesting to say the least… a guide huh? That will slow us down quite a bit.” said Riou as they moved away from the guards.

“Should we just move to the capital anyway, master?” Asked Arthas.

“I don’t think we should… By the way they said it, this guide thing seems to be a big deal. And it would be good to have a local to deal with these things for us. That way we will be like anyone else.”

“Makes sense” Arthas agreed.

“Remember the background history and the plan, I’m a trader, you guys are my bodyguards. Re-check your presence concealing spells and let’s go see this chief.”

------------------------------------------- Inside the Chief’s room

The chief was a female with heavy feline traces, she was thin and rather short compared to the other soldiers on the place, she had permanent cat-like eyes and vertical pupils. Dark hair color with golden traces that resembled a wild cat.

She was casually sitting down at a chair on top of leather pieces and in the higher ground of the hall. Several veteran female soldiers around her were also from the cat clan.

The few males present were mostly human servants or smaller beastmen males doing the menial work. Cleaning the place and preparing it for some event, they were setting up tables and chairs all around the place.

She was clearly bored in her chair. But then, a strange group entered her room. She moved instantly and sat down straight as something caught her attention.

A party of five approached her, three of them had traces of the lion's clan. Two lionesses and a Lion accompanied by two humans. From all the groups one of them had a presence astonishingly imposing that she could feel from the moment he entered the room. Their weapons were well concealed, but she could tell by the looks on their armors that they weren’t just anyone.

As they approached, her eyes crossed with the male lion and the hair on the back of her neck stood up, sending a shiver down her spine. She smiled at herself and licked her upper lip staring at him.

“That male is mine” she whispered to the female officers beside her.

“The half lion?” the guard replied with a smile. She nodded with lust in her eyes.

The place was a mess, Riou walked forward watching his steps as many silky cloths were spread around the place, probably to be hung on the ceiling and walls as decoration.

The chief had an exotic and very aggressive behavior, as they approached, she sat down on the chair, occupying the most space possible she could on it, not caring to what parts of her body she’d put in evidence by doing so.

Still, she made sure to be looking at them from above.

“I’m Zafira, the one in charge of this place. What can I do for you?” She said with a smile looking only at Arthas in the beastmen tongue.

“Greetings, we’ve been informed by the guards that we should request an escort if we intend to go to the capital, we were directed here to talk to someone,” said Riou in the beastmen language.

“Hum? He speaks…” she said, barely impressed “What is your business in the capital?” She didn’t even glance at Riou and remained with eyes only for Arthas.

He smirked at the Lion behind him for a moment with a surprised expression “I’m a trader, just want to seize any opportunity given by the war”

Zafira stood up and slowly walked towards the group, she moved rather seductively with her eyes fixed at the half lion. She passed by Riou without giving him any importance.

She stood in front of Arthas, looking at him from head to toe. “Hmm, mind another question? Which path do you follow?” she said looking with intent at the Lion.

He raised his head and looked at her from above, dead in her eyes as if he had been insulted.

Zafira shivered, smiling brightly by his response. She nodded at him before slowly walking back, to her chair. Her expression showed a devilish smile.

“I see you know our ways… despite your breed, you are a Lion, there is no doubt about that. But then, why are you and these two lionesses serving a little human like him?” she didn’t hide her disapproval in her tone.

“To whom or why we give our allegiance is none of your concern” replied Arthas without restraint.

The chief moved on the chair as if she was barely able to control her intentions. “You know, the lion’s code strictly forbids one to serve under someone weaker than themselves… and this one? Well, let’s just say that worms have more presence than him. Even the servants in this place could teach him a lesson or two. Huh, he is so weak that it feels like he is not even here.”

Attia and Bellica were about to step forward, bursting in anger when Arthas put his hand in their way.

Zafira continued “So, if you really follow the Lion’s code as you claim, why are you following a weak human as his bodyguards? I must know, I mean, if you wish to proceed to the capital. You have to answer me”

Riou interjected “We have a deal… a hefty sum while my only request is to be protected as I try to do business in this region. This place can be treacherous, these brave warriors here are the ones coordinating and deciding everything. The when, the where and how we do things. As I said, I just want to reach the capital alive to do some business”

“A deal you say… I wonder how rich you could be to be able to hold three lions under your employment, given how weak you are, I doubt they would even talk to you… they can be quite prideful sometimes.”

By that moment, Attia and Bellica had to be put in check by Arthas or they would attack the Chief for such impudence. He threw them angered glances for them to stop and calm down.

Seeing that, excited even more the female chief. Such overwhelming dominance over the lionesses that were clearly taken offence on by her provocations. Both stood down so quickly and without a word to him. To Zafira, that was a clear sign that he was really as strong as she imagined.

“Suffice to say I’m from a very wealthy house in the norse.” Riou showed her the Ring.

Zafira smiled and nodded, already having the answer she really wanted by provoking the lions.

“That crest explains a lot. Very well” she paused and looked straight at Arthas once again “I decide who comes and goes around these parts… but I don’t know if I’m ready to let you go just yet. Come to my feast tonight, I will see what I can do for you then”

“Can’t you assign someone now? We are in a hurry to reach the capital” Said the trader.

“No…” she looked at Arthas expecting his response.

A moment of silence, Riou stealthy poked the lion that quickly took the hint.

“Very well, we will attend it.” replied Arthas

She squinted her eyes “Hmm, I meant just you... I’m sure the other three can take care of him for one night. Even the human girl seems capable. At least to fend him off from the dangers of my city” she said looking at Arthas with expectation.

“We all come, or we will find the escort ourselves”

Zafire frowned, but she knew the Lions hardly budge. She forced a smile “Fine… the more the merrier I guess. Well, it might be a good experience for the two half lionesses after all… to see how a true female from the feline clans should behave. But don’t blame me if something happens to him.” she pointed at Riou.

Arthas didn’t bother by the remark and nodded, ready to leave. “Won’t you tell me your name?” suddenly said the chief to the lion.

“I’m Arthas”

Zafira smiled and bit her lower lip “Very well Arthas, I can barely wait to see you tonight…” He nodded and proceeded to leave the place. Zafira kept watching the lion, staring at his back and butt at every step of the way out. Arthas could almost feel her intense gaze on him.

As they stepped outside Riou turned around and looked with widened eyes at his group “Well, I might be wrong about this… but I think that the chief might have taken a liking to our Arthas here” he said playfully, smirking at the lion.

“I did nothing to cause such a response, master…” Said Arthas, a bit concerned with the clear advances and bad intentions of the feline chief.

“You may have exaggerated your presence, oh well, at least she will help us, that’s a good thing, right?”

Attia shook her head “What a strange woman, I don’t like her… the way she spoke was clear out of line.”

“She should mind her own business, calling our master weak. That only tells how weak she is to not recognize his power” Bellica was still quite mad by the disrespectful way she spoke about Riou.

“So, was that normal behavior for a catlike female of the clans?” Riou asked them.

None of the three lions could explain any of her strange behavior, Eileen just chuckled on the side noticing they were quite lost.

Everyone turned towards the princess with surprise.

“Therese told me once about the Cat clan when we were discussing… something. She said that the females are the ones in charge for many things. They are well known for their aggressiveness and can be quite upfront in certain matters… especially if they see something they want. Arthas may need to watch himself around her tonight.”

Riou turned to Arthas “Did you know that was a thing?”

The lion frowned “Well, sort of, but nothing like that… extreme. Usually in our village, those things are more private”

“So unladylike,” said Bellica as Attia agreed.

Riou chuckled at their comment and continued “Well, if it’s a trait and tradition of her clan here, we will have to deal with it.”

Arthas nodded agreeing.

Eileen was a bit intrigued “What did she mean by not being responsible if something happened to you?”

He shrugged “Probably just trying to scare us off, after all, her target is clearly Arthas” smirked the young trader at the lion. “Well, let’s take a look at this place… we have some time, let’s gather information and find somewhere to spend the night.” Riou spotted a few humans on the other side of the street chatting, “Wait here” he then smiled and walked to the other side of the street.

Eileen leaned toward Attia and Bellica “At least the scarf is working, Zafira really thought Riou was weak. Beastmen usually have a good instinct towards that, Therese told me she knew instantly that Riou was dangerous. Just a single glance and she even tried to kill him”

Bellica shook her head clearly still bothered by that “It’s because that Zafira is dumb, that’s why.”

“Dumb and annoying, anyone can tell just by looking at him that he is extremely powerful and skilled, even with the enchantment” added Attia also greatly anoyed by Zafira.

Eileen didn’t know the two for too long and was having trouble to understand them. Especially how the two really felt towards Riou. Sometimes it looked like admiration and loyalty, but at others it seemed to be more than that. After all, she knew what meant to be pledged, still, they didn’t seem to have that kind of relationship. Attia and Bellica seem to be too innocent and their relationship feels like those of brothers and sisters to her.

But the thought of Riou staying such a long time in another world, trapped with the uncertainty of ever coming back. Set a seed on her mind. After all, he was surrounded by these beautiful women, all the time while there. Women that literally worshipped, that wanted to be with him and that would gladly comply with all and any request.

She often wondered if something had ever happened between them. A sentiment of uneasiness and even jealousy began to form on the princess the more she saw them together. After all, the two seemed to have such a strong connection with him. They clearly spent a lot of time together, probably more time than she had with him despite knowing him first.

Arthas overhearing the conversation and noticing Eileen’s changed expression, quickly addressed her “Don’t listen to them. You were right, he is able to hide his presence completely and he really looks like an ordinary human now”

She forced a smile and nodded.

He frowned as he seemed to have missed the point completely, something else was clearly bothering the princess. He tried to continue the conversation, but didn’t quite know what to talk about.

“The wyrm armor looks good on you” he added quickly.

“Thank you... I can’t imagine how good your crafters must be to create something like this”

“Oh no… your armor was custom made by the Master himself a long time ago. And he made it himself, I’m impressed how well it fits you, seems like he really remembered your measures by heart”

The memory of a younger Riou standing on the open door and staring at her at Max’s place came to her mind, making her smile faintly.

“So, he was the one that created this armor?”

“Oh yes, he didn’t allow anyone else to touch this piece. He said he was making it for you. And he always kept it with his own things, in his house, at all times.”

“I see” She smiled a bit “he did want to give it to me when I arrived at the village…but I said I wanted to earn them first. But since this mission required that I looked the part...”

“Very honorable of you. But you do know, as his mate, you don’t need to follow any of those rules, they were made for a different time and even a different world, we still follow them because we grew used to it.”

She shook her head “But I want to, I need to be stronger. I want to be able to walk beside him with my head high”

Arthas smiled at himself, her mood had clearly improved, it seemed he found out what was really bothering her.

“How long has it been since you met him?” she asked.

“Oh, many, many years now. I wouldn’t know for sure. We didn’t record time in that world”

“Must have been difficult… have you ever lost hope that you would be able to come back?” she glanced at Riou on the other side of the street.

Arthas noticed what she was really asking “After the master appeared? Never. Everyone was certain he would succeed. And him… well, you know how he is. He never tires and he never rests… he was devoted to finding a way out. He was like that from day one. I believe something very strong motivated him to return to this place” he smiled tenderly looking at her. “I’d tell you a few stories of him, but master is returning and I don’t think he’d approve of me speaking of him if he ends up hearing it”

Eileen's expression changed completely. She quickly pulled the necklace before he arrived and showed it to Arthas “He also gave me this. Do you know the story behind it as well? I’d like to hear it too”

Arthas looked at the necklace and got very surprised, Eileen could even see glints of fear in the proud lion’s eyes as he struggled to decide if he would approach to look at it or move back and away from it.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this, did he give it to you?”

She nodded.

He sighed “I see, well… it’s a long story, let’s speak of this at another moment” he forced a smile as Riou returned.

“No news about Therese nor Leona, just what Max had already told us. They didn’t know much of the war. So nothing on Thorwald either. But they did know about the Inn, there is one not too far away from here”

-------------------------------------------------

The city was large and well distributed despite its rudimentary look, the houses were plenty and spaced between each other giving the city a stretched out feeling. Making it way bigger than it really was. The roads were straight with plenty of space for people and carriages to move through, especially around the port where they could easily load the ships with cargo.

As they walked towards the inn, Arthas, Attia and Bellica were the center of attention everywhere they went, gathering eyes and gazes of all kinds.

The commerce near the inn was mostly seafood and few luxury items.

After a while roaming the streets, they found what seemed to be the inn, a building with two stories high, very similar to the taverns in Allard. On the front there was a large man taking care of the place, fixing a hole in the wall, nailing planks in place with his bare hands. A member of the Ox clan for sure thought Riou.

The man was wearing common clothes, the hair on his back and chest was long, thick and vast in quantity, sprouting out of his shirt that barely could hold it in.

“Hello, we need a place to stay the night,” said Riou.

“Hmm” replied the Ox continuing on his work.

“We have money, can we get a few rooms?”

“Payment upfront, 20 coins a night, for a private room, 5 extra coins per meal. Communitary rooms are 7 coins a night per party”

“Fine, we'll take five private rooms,” said Riou, not caring about the overprice and clearly wanting to show off his wealth, after all, it was uncommon to pay for individual rooms for mercenaries and bodyguards. The young trader smiled, shaking the bag of money making a loud sound of coins rumbling against each other.

The Ox’s attitude changed immediately as he heard it. He turned to them with a smile on his, promptly showing them inside and their rooms while not forgetting to inform them of all available meals on his establishment.

“Anything you need, just let me know”

“Thank you” replied Riou with a smile sending the Ox on his way.

With everything settled and everyone gathered in his room, the conversation continued “Well, we still have a party to attend to, let’s rest a bit and then visit the main markets. Maybe we can find some new people there that have some information onTherese and Thorwald.”

As the night approached, they went to the center of the city. The stores there were selling Pelts, weapons and armors that were clearly superior to what was sold in Allard. Yet, nothing was special or even made of steel.

At night, the streets became even busier than the day, the young male beastmen that couldn’t be seen during the day, now began to surface, most of them still wearing their uniforms, most were low ranking soldiers.

And all the younger ones seemed to be on edge, their faces looked young but their bodies were already big. They looked like teenagers on steroids. Riou thought they could be drugged at first as their eyes were wide open and glistening. Their movements were fast and almost uncontrolled at times, twitches and compulsive scratching were a common sight.

They were all drinking by the streets, staring at the people that passed by. And Riou’s group was not different, their eyes followed them with an unusual interest.

More precisely, all their attention was directed at the girls, Riou could almost feel through their stare, the burning desire inside of all of them. It was a crave, a craze that seemed to be filling their minds.

Some of them even dared to approach the girls. But took them a single glance at Arthas to send them back to their place.

---------

Approaching Zafira’s place for the feast, they began to hear a loud music coming from the direction of it. A mixture of a few cord instruments and drums playing rhythmically.

At the entrance, many beastmen males were standing in line, waiting for a chance to be judged by a female officer. She was deciding who would enter and who would not. The females with the medals and their uniforms that were seen earlier in the day were there. Entering the place without any delay.

Riou and his group went directly to the officer in charge of the queue.

But the moment she saw Arthas approaching, her attitude changed, she smiled seductively at him and even opened the doors for him to enter.

Riou smiled to himself while following Arthas inside, he looked back to Eileen and the girls “VIP treatment! I feel like following a celebrity”

Eileen was confused with the terms, Riou shook his head smiling “I’ll explain later”

The place had transformed with the night. Magelights gave a red tone to the place with it’s light. The ceiling and walls all had clothes and silk hanging to embellish the place.

Many of the female officers were already there, sitting each in one of the small tables that were set earlier on.

A few strong looking males were present as well, they were to the corner of the room on a specific common table. They sat on the ground or in pillows and pelts. They all were drinking while observing the males that entered the room.

Riou smiled with surprise “This will be interesting, I was not expecting this”. He notices a gaze in his direction from one of the females officers nearby.

Eileen slapped Riou’s arm as she saw him looking at someone, he turned to her overly surprised, not understanding the reason for that.

A servant inside the place guided them to a small table to the left side of the room, there were only three spots there..

Riou looked at him confused about where everyone would sit.

“This is for the females, all males must sit there” he said pointing to the common table at the corner.

“I see…” Riou looked at the girls and shrugged before moving there with Arthas. Eileen, Attia and Bellica weren’t happy about that.

At the common table, most males there were from the Ox clan as expected. Big, hairy, smelly and strong looking fellows. Of course there were a few from other clans. But one common trait that was present in all of those sitting at that table, was their fierce looks. Scars on their faces, big muscles showing off. They were clearly men of action and very strong ones at that.

As Riou approached, some of them looked insulted while others just laughed at the sight of a human sitting on that table.

Riou paid no mind, he just glanced at Arthas with a smile, expectantly waiting to see his friend dealing with the whole situation.

Zafira’s table was empty, the chief was nowhere to be seen.

Mugs with a strong spirit were being served for everyone by humans and smaller beastmen.

Suddenly the music changes completely to a slow tune. The curtains at the back of Zafira’s chair opened. Wearing a revealing dress made of a few veils. She walked aggressively, displaying a raw seductiveness that immediately gathered everyone’s attention.

Her veil dress had a red tone like the lights, adorned and detailed with gold strings and delicate silver chains around her waist. It was very well crafted and delicate. Giving her an unmistakable presence. Small golden bells were attached to the end of the veils at her feet, they chimed a very light tone as she moved by.

Her eyes looked at the whole place for a moment as she moved. The chief stopped at the center of the room and stared with certainty at Arthas.

At that moment most of the males around Riou began to move uncomfortably, making displeased noises.

Zafira then smiled, greeting him from the distance with a slow nod and then moving back, sitting at her chair.

As a human waiter came to refill the table mugs, Riou asked “What’s this all about?”

With a smirk on his face the waiter approached to speak “You came here and yet you don’t know? This is a custom of the felines of the southwest… It’s full moon so they have a mating ritual. The males here are to impress the females to… you know”

“Did you just say mating ritual?”

The waiter nodded “If the female is pleased by what she sees and senses from the male, they invite him to join them at their table and then their bed.”

Riou raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Arthas “Did you know about this... tradition?”

Arthas shook his head a bit concerned “Well, the full moon is known to increase certain needs… but mating rituals usually are much more private matters, this is concerningly different.”

“I guess a lot changed…” Riou added.

The waiter entered the conversation again “It’s not like they will do it here, but they will definitely do it in their rooms later on” he then forced a smile looking at Riou sitting there, almost feeling sorry for him.

“What? What’s the matter?” Asked Riou noticing his concern.

The waiter glanced at one of the female officers that was staring at Riou. The same one from before “Just a word of advice, be careful with Milia, she likes to… well, I just don’t know if a human would survive a night with her.”

Riou immediately glanced at Eileen with apprehension. The princess twitched her head noticing his looks, not quite understanding his concern.

After a few drinks, Zafira was about to make a move, she stood up and the music stopped. The drums began to play, slowly at first and increasing in rhythm and tempo as she began to walk towards the common table.

She moved slowly and her eyes were locked on Arthas. Riou could feel and see the disappointment of all other males on the table as they were now more than evident.

One of the bigger ones that was close to Arthas, stood up beside the half lion, flexing and pumping mana to increase his muscles. He was showing how much bigger and powerful he was. Arthas looked half of his size, both in height and width.

The big Ox flexed his whole body, rushing it with mana, enhancing his abilities to the maximum while staring at her with a smirk, certain to make an impression.

On the other hand, Arthas just remained sat down, not even paying attention to what was happening beside him. He wasn’t even looking at Zafira at that point anymore. The half lion was just calmly sipping on his drink.

She approached them. And without giving a single glance at the Ox, she went straight towards the half lion.

Ashamed by it, the ox quickly moved back and sat down once again.

“So… should we discuss your needs? You wanted an escort to go to Kargaz, am I right? I’m sure we will reach an arrangement” she said with a sweet voice. She extended her hand to Arthas wanting him to follow her.

The Lion stood up and stepped forward “That’s correct” he said accompanying her to her table. Arthas glanced at Riou for a moment. His master was with such a grin in his face that made the Lion swallow hard.

Arthas realized that he would have to play his part for the plan to work.

Nonetheless Riou was enjoying the party right now, especially seeing Arthas so outside of his element.

The composed and strong Lion was clearly walking on unknown lands. A cultural shock even for a half beastmen like himself.

As Zafira sat down with Arthas on her table, the other females began to stand up and move towards their selected male. One after the other, respecting some unspoken hierarchy.

The intention was clear on the looks and faces of all of the involved. Riou realized it was much worse than any mating ritual and tradition. It was raw desire, some of them barely waited at all and promptly left the place together.

He smirked as he noticed the girls talking to each other with widened eyes of surprise. He could almost guess what they were thinking.

Didn’t take long for him to be the only one left at the common table.

The remaining female officers didn’t even care to look at him, displeased that all males were already taken.

As none of the other females were interested in him, Milia smiled to herself and slowly stood up on her turn. A very tall, strong and muscular woman. She moved and looked at him with a sadistic smile on her face.

He could see more than lust in her eyes, she really had a desire for something else.

As she was about to reach him, Milia suddenly stopped, frozen in place for his surprise.

Her face changed completely, from the lusty expectation to a pale fright. The female officer suddenly looked back.

Riou stretched his neck to see what was happening past her. But strangely enough to him, she seemed to be looking at the trio’s table. And only Eileen seemed to be smiling and looking at her direction.

But Milia didn’t even think twice and quickly turned back, sitting on her own table without giving Riou another glance.

Not understanding what he missed, he then looked at the others nearby Eileen. Attia and Bellica were with widened eyes, in awe while looking at the princess. Even around them, all other females seemed to be impressed as well for some reason.

Even Zafira was staring at her, the chief suddenly stood up laughing, raising her mug toward the blond human girl. “Look at that! That’s new coming from a human! Please, go, take your prize!” The chief then pointed to Riou while looking at Eileen.

Zafira turned to Arthas and nodded, very impressed, sitting down beside him once again.

She leaned in Arthas ear and whispered “She is stronger than I anticipated, that human isn’t bad at all! And that trader is her lifelong mate isn’t it? She wouldn’t be that pissed off for Milia’s attempt otherwise.”

Arthas just smiled and nodded confirming both her remarks..

“Ha! Humans never understood them and their tastes on males, to me, he is too weak even to be considered a male. I’d never guess the human girl would chose him as a lifelong mate”

Eileen didn’t lose time and stood up quickly, walking towards Riou.

Like Zafira, she extended her hand to Riou that stood up and reached for her as well. He smirked and squinted his eyes “What did you do? And how did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That I was in trouble? That officer was bad news, the waiter said she likes to do weird stuff to the guys she picks”

“Is that so?” Eileen just smiled and glanced at Milia with piercing eyes, the muscular woman just forced a smile.

Everyone watched as she led him by the hand all the way back to her table, just like the others have done. As they both sat down everyone cheered once again and laughed at Millia’s expense.

As the commotion was going on, Riou leaned towards Attia and Bellica “What happened?”

Attia observed Eileen while whispering back to Riou “The Queen can be very scary when she wants to” Bellica nodded agreeing with it.

The drums stopped and so did the chatter, the food began to be distributed on the tables in silence, large plates with all kinds and sizes of pieces of meat, clearly poorly seasoned and undercooked.

Riou glanced at Arthas with another smile, it was the moment he was waiting for.

With food on every table, everyone in the room looked at Zafira.

The chief smiled. She then began to move her hand towards the food. Arthas suddenly growled towards her.

Everyone was surprised, especially Riou. He looked with widened eyes and a smile from ear to ear at Arthas. ‘He won’t allow her to go first? Damn, this thing really bothers them!’ he thought to himself.

Zafira squinted her eyes at him and continued moving her hand, slowly, as if challenging him. The lion couldn’t help but to show his teeth towards her attempt. That seemed to be much more than just s tradition, it was almost at an unconscious level. An instinct that remained. A need to assert some kind of dominance, thought Riou.

And he was finding it a very clarifying experience, he now began to understand why Therese and the folks in the village were so adamant about the food thing.

Arthas glanced at Riou just to find him smiling brightly, the lion’s master was leaned away from the food, watching him with all his attention.

The Lion smirked, he had to pull himself together and play his part as the mercenary leader of the group. With a serious expression, he stared Zafira that was once again threatened to move her hand towards the food.

He growled once again, this time with intent as he stared at the Village’s Chief.

An unseen battle was taking place between the two, until Zafira pulled her hand back while showing her teeth at the Lion as well. She then looked deep into his eyes with her cat-like pupils.

Riou kind of understood what was going on, but everyone else seemed to be following along on another level. Making faces and unexpected reactions.

Without taking his eyes off her, Arthas calmed down. Zafira then tilted her head and slowly brought her hand towards his face.

As she touched him, her eyes flared once again and a big smile appeared on her face.

The beastmen there could not believe what they were seeing and began whispering to each other, commenting on the situation.

Zafira stared at him for a moment and quickly hugged him by his arm, patiently waiting for him to be the first.

The half lion served himself while everyone watched with widened eyes, in utmost silence. The event of food serving was clearly a solemn occasion.

Zafira then began to move her hand once again, but a glance from Arthas made her stop. Everyone watched in complete disbelief.

Arthas looked at the Lionesses and even Eileen. Attia, Bellica and Eileen served themselves to the complete astonishment of everyone there. Some dared to stand up to defy him, but Zafira shut them down with just a glance. His opinion was clearly enough for her to believe in their strength.

Not a word was spoken while it was happening.

The party only started again after Zafira served herself. But she didn’t even bother to eat, she just hugged Arthas arm, with her small frame she seemed to be all over him. The chief was completely swooped by the half lion.

She wouldn’t stop hugging him, touching or even clinging to him at every opportunity.

Music began to play and the waiters once again moved around the place. But the party mood had greatly changed in tone after what happened, most couples began to leave. Just a few officers more loyal to the chief, remained.

Riou called one of the human waiters “is this really a normal event in the Cat clan?”

The waiter chuckled, nodding finding the question quite dumb.

“Another thing, I heard a great deal about Therese, the Great Lioness, and I was wondering if I could meet her, perhaps sell her and her clan a thing or two. You wouldn’t know where the great Lioness is?”

The waiter nodded “She is very famous in Allard and the Norse, but here in the plains she has fallen into disgrace”

“Is that right? What happened? I thought that a great warrior was always respected in this lands”

He looked to his sides and whispered “I heard she was put to prison, immediately after she was easily beaten by a young lion... so much for a famous warrior right?”

Riou’s eyebrows raised in utter surprise “A young Lion you say? Why did she fight with him?”

The waiter continued “I heard she went to her clan’s main house, which is a crime since she had been banished a long time ago. She ended up attacking the matriarch probably out of some old dispute and a young one that heard the fight, captured her.”

Riou nodded “On the way here I heard that she might have come back to challenge the leader of her clan, so that never happened?”

The waiter doubted “I don’t think so, such a thing, if had really happened would have spread like wildfire in these parts, it has been many years that no one dares to challenge the head Lion. Everybody knows he cannot be defeated… I mean, aside from his father, the king, nobody stands a chance”

Riou nodded “That's quite a story… Still, you wouldn’t know where she could be being held? I’d like to talk to her nonetheless”

The Waiter looked to his side to see if nobody was listening “Well, I’m not sure about this, but I heard from a friend in Khargaz, someone with connections with the lion’s clan and he told us that the clan have their own dungeon, somewhere in their own lands, hidden inside the wilderness in some cave or something. That way they can solve their internal affairs on their own and without outside interference… So, if I had to bet, I’d say she’s there. So good luck trying to find her”

Riou nodded thanking him for the information “You sure know a lot”

The waiter smirked. “If you keep your ears open, you end up hearing a thing or two. Especially from other humans, after all, we have to stick together on these parts”

Riou understood his comment and pulled a coin and put it in his hand.

“We sure do… speaking of humans, you wouldn’t know where the norsemen army is located, would you? I mean, if I were to go and see the king Thorwald, where should I go?”

He put the coin in his pocket “I heard they were close to the front lately, but they also set a large infirmary base to the east, on the shores near the village of Barka, not too far from the Argonian border. Their ships are still there. So, no one can tell for sure where the king of the norse is at the moment. And the only certain thing is that they’re not doing well on the war”

Riou thanked him once again as the waiter went on with his business. The young trader pondered while looking at Eileen.

“Well, seems suspicious that Therese hadn’t made the challenge after going through all that trouble to get the sword, something's definitely fishy here”

Eileen nodded with certainty “With that sword? She wouldn’t lose to anyone, something definitely happened”

The party went on and Arthas was not able to get away from Zafira, she held on to the matter of the escort assignment, knowing that it would ensure that Arthas remained there with her.

“Zafira, shouldn’t we discuss the matter of our guide? It’s getting late and we still haven’t touched the subject properly, will you assign someone to our party?”

Zafira roamed her finger through Arthas chest “You think so? I’d say the night is just starting… Don’t worry, I already sent word for my officers to bring your guide here… he should arrive at any moment now… you just have to wait a bit and the process will be… all… Done” she spoke pausedly while looking at him and smiling.

After a few more drinks, it was time to leave, the place was almost empty. Few of the newly formed couples still remained inside. Everything was quieting down… except for Zafira that was even more comfortable with the half lion.

Riou stood up, it was time to return.

As the group began to move, Bellica glanced back at Arthas “What about Arthas? Shouldn’t we let him know we are going?”

Riou smirked “Nah, he is busy… let him enjoy the party” Riou replied while watching the half Lion being harassed by Zafira.

On the other hand, Arthas noticed the group leaving and also tried to do the same. But the chief wouldn’t allow him to go that easily. As she noticed him trying to stand up, she quickly sneaked between him and the table, blocking his way out of the chair, wrapping her legs around him and putting her hands on his chest, pushing him down and back to the chair, ending up on his lap.

“Where do you think you are going? We still haven’t finished our business here... I can’t let you go now the guide has been summoned…”

Arthas looked at Riou as if asking for help, while Zafira was pushing her body against his, slowly reaching for his ear. She whispered a few words that made Arthas swallow hard and look at her with quite a surprised expression.

The young trader, observing the interaction, just smiled from ear to ear and waved the half lion goodbye; the cat chief immediately blocked Arthas view, taking all his attention back at her.

----------

Outside, the line of people was gone, just a few more resilient groups remained there, still drinking. Beside them, dozens of empty jugs and bottles.

The late night seemed to have an even stronger effect on the young beastmen. Wherever Riou looked now, couples could be seen forming up, leaning on walls, sitting on the stairs and in front of the houses. The young males that were still alone were even more desperate to impress a partner than before.

Fights for partners and dominance were now a common sight between them. The victorious would grab their prize and continue on the mating ritual from where the loser stopped it. The female seemed not to bother who her partner was, she’d exchange them without a second thought for the stronger one.

The worst cases of the fever showed anger and desperation on their expressions, saliva drooled from their mouths continuously while their eyes showed a glassed glint. They were in some sort of trance. A deep craving with a feverish look that was taking them over completely. Some moved about almost rampaging, attacking trees and walls, throwing stones, ready to fight anything that crossed their path while a few more contained of his group just watched and laughed at him.

As Riou’s group moved through the place and back to the Inn, some of these more affected males tried to advance towards them. Aggressively trying to woo the females. They came with displays of teeth, muscles and even terrible bodily odors. Some put up a show of strength and dominance, stomping around making strange sounds in an attempt to gain a mate for the night, some others tried their way forcefully to grab the girls.

And without Arthas around and Riou being practically invisible to them. The young beastmen males had no restraints. Not even Eileen escaped from their attempts.

But it was a mistake few dared to attempt. For the more fortunate ones, all it took was a menacing look from one of the lionesses to keep them at bay, raw killing intent irradiated from just a look was enough to shake them into some sense.

For the rest, those with thicker skulls and smaller brains, these were struck down without mercy in a single blow, sending a quick message to all that witnessed the smacking.

“The youngsters' fever seems much harsher than what Therese told me,” said Eileen as they walked through the streets.

Riou nodded “I’ve seen some of it in our village, but never this level of behavior… and I thought it only affected males”

Eileen shook her head “Therese said it can affect both genders in some clans, but males with traits of the larger animals are affected the most.”

“And since we only see ox and bull types around here… no wonder why this place turned into a brothel.” he concluded.

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Back to the Inn, the tables were all occupied by humans and beastmen alike, people of all sorts, merchants, mercenaries, guards and soldiers. Their eyes followed the group as they moved inside, amidst so many gazes, one was particularly interested in Eileen, following her from the shadows.

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As the next morning came, Eileen and the two Lionesses were the first to wake up and wait at the tables by the tavern on the ground level. Riou joined them shortly after.

“Is Arthas still sleeping? Should we wake him up?” asked Bellica.

Riou shook his head with a smile. “I don’t think he came back yet”

“No?” Bellica looked at Attia unsure to why he wouldn't come back, but her companion also wasn’t understanding what was going on. “Did you send him to another mission?” she asked.

Riou’s smile got even bigger. “Well, in a certain way…” He laughed a bit “Anyway, let’s wait here for him. He will show up eventually.” Riou glanced at Eileen, but the princess was quite surprised to know the half lion had yet to return.

The time went on. It was in the middle of the morning that Arthas finally showed up. He walked slowly with a very tired expression. He entered the inn pressing his fingers against his forehead, clearly in pain. Riou couldn’t help but notice a few scratches on his face and neck, but they didn’t seem to end just there.

With a majestic grin on his face Riou waited for him to approach “Rough night?” he asked.

Arthas sighed “You have no idea… Can we go back to normal now? I don’t know if I can survive another night like this.”

“And miss all this fun? I can’t let that happen! Come on, my indomitable leader, sit down, you look like you could use some fresh water to help with that headache.”

Arthas sat down “After a long night, we finally got our guide this morning, he should arrive soon”

“Guide?” Riou frowned “I thought after yesterday we wouldn’t need an escort. After all, the mighty lion picked first! A tradition we must continue when we get back home”

Arthas sighed “Please don’t, one time was more than enough.” He looked at Riou “I judged it to be better for us. Zafira explained to me, if it depended on her, she’d gladly allow us to go on our own. But once we get to the capital things could get complicated without the guide. There seems to be protocols for humans arriving in Khargaz, they have a strict control on them, where they go and stay. A guide can quickly get us inside and allow us to move more freely in the city as well.”

Bellica shook her head “I still don’t understand our plan, why don’t we let them see master for who he is? These ungrateful and mannerless beastmen would be kneeling down and thanking the elements for him to be stepping in their lands so peacefully” she was clearly not too happy with how the people there were treating Riou so far.

Attia nodded vigorously agreeing with Bellica. “They have no manners or sense of respect that they should”

Arthas sighed “Master explained it already, we don’t know the extent of our enemies reach or their actual power. And since they have no idea of our existence we can use that to our advantage.”

They sighed, not too pleased with the idea.

Riou sighed “Come on… take this as a training trip, the goal is to learn how to be more patient and how to restrain your impulses. You are lionesses after all, you need to have both of those qualities always present.” He smiled trying to lighten up the mood of the table.

The half lions nodded and smiled, happily agreeing with him.

By that time, a man with a round body and large tusks on his mouth, entered the place searching for someone. He sees Arthas and approaches him.

The half Lion looked at Riou and nodded while waiting for the big man “This is Barnar, the guide Zafira chose for us”

The big man smiled showing even more of his strange tusks, “Mister Arthas, is this all of your group?” Barnar’s voice was loud, deep and rough.

Arthas nodded “Yes, we want to leave as soon as possible”

“It’s a very small group, but fret not, you are with the best tracker and guide of this region… My nose can smell any beast, monster or undead! Beneath or on top of the earth! And if that is not enough, I’m born and raised in Khargaz. Been a hunter for half my life and a guide for the other half! I know the beastmen plains as the palm of my hand! I can get you all to the capital and back without a single scratch” boasted the large man.

Riou laughed a bit, he looked at Arthas and the girls “We are ready, should we go now?”