Ada was greeted by the sound of laughing patrons and clinking silverware as soon as she stepped inside. Outside was loud but inside was louder. The room that she stepped into was huge with numerous wooden tables and chairs -- almost all filled with patrons eating, drinking or smoking. They were dressed far better than the peasants but still seemed to be part of the lower class with their cotton tunics. Most of them were quite lively talking loudly punctuated by laughter while swigging their mugs of beer. None were passed out yet though some were getting there. A thick layer of smoke permeated the room obscuring the view of parts of the room. Everyone there should expect an early death from lung cancer, Ada thought.

She expected a tavern-like atmosphere and the reality was that. An establishment like this was entirely foreign to Ada; she had never desired to frequent one back on Earth. She didn't like indoor crowded places nor did she like to drink or smoke. For most of her life, Ada's favorite social activity was chatting with friends on her computer in videogames. Recently, she had acquired the taste for trying out new restaurants with her college friends. If she was still a mortal, she would have started coughing from the density of smoke in the room. As a goddess, she only suffered the psychological distaste with no physical discomfort. Leanne and the Gunders must have similar distaste for she didn't see them anywhere in this room.

"First time?" Obar slipped inside after her. The heavy wooden door closed slowly with a soft thud.

"How can you tell?"

"You look like an ostrich who lost his tail."

"Ostrich? Tail?"

"Ah, that idiom may not translate well into the divine tongue."

"I venture a guess that ostriches are those animals pulling the wagons."

"Yes," Obar nodded. "What I mean is that you look completely stunned."

Jokingly, Ada said, "Don't you mean stunning?"

Obar raised his eyebrows in confusion. After a second, he laughed. "The lady knows how to praise herself without my help."

Ada chuckled. "Lame joke aside, you're right. I'm not used to noisy bars. Can't say I ever cared to."

"I would have thought a traveler like yourself would be well-acquainted with these places."

Ada hesitated before she spoke. "I'm still adapating. I'm used to ... a more refined atmosphere."

"I see," Obar's eyes flashed for a second in curiosity. Then he added, "Well, that can be found here as well. Upstairs."

"I think my friends are probably there."

"Let us find out," Obar said and gestured to Ada to follow him.

Obar manuevered through the crowd like a fish through water. Ada was far less smooth and almost crashed into a few people before reaching a staircase at the back. With no fast food, there were no obviously obese people but some were still quite large. As the followed Obar, she quickly realized that he must be familiar with the place since the staircase wasn't visible from the main door. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she noticed that unlike the bare wooden floors of the main room, the winding staircase, though made of similar wood, was richly layered with an embroidered carpet. A sharply dressed young man in a jacket and some kind of suit stood alertly next to a podium there carrying a small bundle of tied together parchment. Staples did not exist yet. Neither did paper clips. Ada thought of giving the young man one but decided now was not the time to reveal a new invention.

"Rand, how goes business?" Obar asked in the divine tongue.

"Business is good. How are you, Master Obar?" the man replied.

"Good, I would like you to meet my friend here," Obar said and gestured to Ada.

"Good to meet you, Rand. My name is Flora, a traveling merchant," Ada introduced herself. She was once again taken aback by the fact that Rand knew the divine tongue as well. Maybe Leanne was wrong in that most people didn't know the tongue.

"From your accent, I cannot quite place your origins. Perhaps one of the Southern Isles?" Rand asked curiously.

Just as Ada was about to reply, Obar interjected, "In fact, she is. We are in a hurry to meet some friends. Have you seen a Tesian lady pass through here?"

"Yes, I have. She was quite noticeable with a few peasants in tow. Possibly her servants or newly bought slaves. They stank," Rand wrinkled his nose.

Ada decided that this Rand guy really stunk. He reminded her of the preppy kids at her high school which had their noses in the air and probably bought their way into the private school.

"Yes, but you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," Obar said.

Obar didn't wag his finger in the reprimand but Ada mentally visualized it. She smirked.

"Indeed, the adage holds and you grace me with wisdom as usual. No need to take down your names. If you can vouch for the young lady, go on right ahead."

Obar bowed and Ada followed his example. Without another word, they walked past him and started climbing the stairs. When Ada felt that Rand was out of earshot, she spoke, "That guy sounds like a total prick."

"Rand may be a little classless in his denigration of the lower echelons of society," Obar agreed.

"Ugh, that doesn't matter. I'm glad that he let us pass. I'm a little surprised he let Leanne pass," she said.

"Peasants aren't usually welcome upstairs but I'm sure your friend was able to bribe her way through. With the right amount of gold, Rand is pragmatic enough to let anyone pass."

Ada nodded. The winding staircase was taller than she expected but their walking speed was rapid. She gasped upon seeing the second floor. The opulence was astounding. Rich embroidered rugs covered the floor. Oil paintings of the city skyline and harbor as well as portraits of important-looking people were arranged neatly around the walls of the rectangular room. The paintings were well-done and reminded her of the Italian ones during the Renaissance. A somber-looking large pendulum clock stood by one corner of the room while the other corners had large shelves attached to the walls holding an artistically arranged assortment of scrolls, books, glassware and handcreafted artifacts. There were wide windows with clear glass and three doors with colored glass panels presumably leading to the balcony that she saw earlier from the street. The sunlight filtered through the glass windows forming rainbow colors.

Ada counted fourteen large circular wooden tables scattered around the room. They each were crafted individually from different kinds of wood. Some of the tables had a varying gradient of brown from the tabletop to its six legs which blended together to form a whole. Each table had at least six well-crafted wooden chairs with designs of flowers. Unlike downstairs, the people here matched the decor's standards with men in well-pressed shirts similar to Rand downstairs and the women were in short colorful dresses. Ada and Obar were definitely the most rustic looking ones here.

"This is not what you expected?" Obar turned to Ada who was gawking.

"It looks a lot more refined than downstairs," Ada replied.

"Well, of course. I thought you may have realized by now that we are all members of Galacia."

Ada nodded. She had no idea what Galacia was but she wasn't going to reveal her ignorance here. As much as she would like to since Obar seemed to be a decent person, she wasn't naive enough to trust him entirely after just four minutes and thirty-five seconds of meeting him.

"Our old establishment burnt down in the last war and unfortunately the city still haven't approved a new site for the rebuild. We are temporarily renting the upstairs here," Obar explained and then added with disdain. "There are other interests here that are outbribing us if I may so bluntly. Typical trash."

"I still don't see Leanne and the others," Ada said.

"They may be on the balcony," Obar said.

The tables here were less densely arranged and Ada didn't clumsily bump into anyone. Obar greeted a few people while they walked and they exchanged pleansantries. Most were spoken in the local tongue but some spoke in the divine tongue. We have a roomful of polyglots here, Ada thought with slight envy. Then she comforted herself with the knowledge that she knew more computer languages.

Obar opened one of the doors and gestured for Ada to pass through. She walked out on the balcony and was surprised that she didn't sneeze right away or had to the blink her eyes for her retinas to adjust to the light. Photic sneeze reflexes were mildly annoying and she was glad that she no longer had to suffer that.

"Ada, you found us!" Leanne exclaimed. She waved for them to sit down at the empty chairs.

"Leanne, let me introduce this fine gentleman named Master Obar," Ada said.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance as well," Obar bowed.

"The feeling is mutual," Leanne replied. If she was surprised to hear him speak in the divine tongue, she didn't show it. She introduced the Gunders to Obar as well and they exchanged greetings.

"All of you must have already eaten?"

"No, we actually just sat down. Doing the paperwork felt like it took three weeks," Leanne said.

Ada could see that the table was still bare but there were menus with food and prices written in the local script.

"Paperwork?" Ada was confused.

"To join the Galacia Club. We could not sit here unless I joined," Leanne explained.

Obar nodded and expounded, "With no member of Galacia to vouch for her, she had to join. The only people allowed upstairs are members of Galacia. Your friend here already passed the requirements so it was easy for her."

"Alright, enough of this mystery. I have to know what is this Galacia Club?" Ada said. She was revealing her hand but she decided that it was worth the risk. Perhaps these people could become her allies if she played her hand right.

Obar raised his eyebrows in surprise. "A refined lady such as yourself do not know? I am having my doubts on who you really are."

"My friend here does not ...," Leanne started to interject.

"How about you explain to me what Galacia Club is and then I can tell you who I am," Ada interrupted.

"My curiosity is growing. Let us make this exchange," Obar grinned.