Iustitia was lucky to hear a faint stomping sound, Guardian was still not too far

“Wait up traveller!” Iustitia shouted out trying to get to him before the sounds of his steps got lost in a crowd of others.

‘What does she want again? Women are so troublesome.’ He stopped and turned around waiting for her to catch up.

She managed to stand right in front of him. Guardian was surprised that a blind girl was able to judge the distance so well, even when he was making no sound.

“Ufff... Ufff…” She was panting and looked flustered. “I forgot your name. Can you tell it again?” She lied to start a conversation. She was well aware of his name.

“I prefer to be referred to as Guardian.”

‘Was it all she wanted? Just a name?’ Somehow he had a hunch that this was not it.

“Such a fitting name. If you haven’t picked on it already, I am Iustitia.”

“I will remember that.”

“There are you going? Maybe I can help you to get around the city?”

She sounded confident but he was reluctant to accept the directions from a blind person.

“I am looking for an inn to stay.”

“You can always crash in our place. The girls would not mind I am sure of it.”

He had no intentions of staying in such a bothersome place, even if it was free.

“I need a place to safely store my possessions and to get some food.”

“Oh, I did not think about that.” She realised that even if he stayed rent free they could not guarantee the safety of his things. He would need to get his own food too. “Is there any inn you are looking for in particular?”

“Adventurers Inn. I was refused service from other ones.”

“I know of that place, just follow me.” She motioned him to follow. “I am not surprised you were kicked out from other places. The things are still tense between the races in this city. The situation of foreigners from over the see do not help either.”

“What is that all about?”

“There is an invasion of foreign people coming to this town. They come from a distant Island far in the see by ships. I have been told the ships look odd and menacing.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“Personally, I do not think so. They come to do business, not wage war. They are like traders or something like that.”

They were chatting while they walked through the paved streets of the city. She was surprisingly good at leading the way. She used her stick not to trip over things and her ears to tell where she currently was. She could tell it by the surrounding sounds, each place had a unique sound.

“So what is the reason for the tension in the city?”

“Foreigners are buying out and outcompeting the local business. Local businessmen and nobility are not happy.”

“So they are rallying the people against these island folk?”

“It looks like it.”

“Who is winning?”

“I believe it is the foreigners. Apparently, they did not participate in wars and thus have more resources to spare now.”

“That is clever of them.”

“I think so too. The last war was… just devastating. If not it, many of us wouldn’t’ be in our current situations; including me.” She said sadly, sorrow clear in her voice.

“Did you actually meet any of them foreigners?”

“Surprisingly, no. They are sailors yet none of them approached any of the girls for our services.” She stressed any as they had quite the variety of different races on offer. “They must strongly prefer their own kind.”

“Or something holding them back.”

“Or that.”

What followed was an awkward moment of silence.

“What do you think of my clothes?” Iustitia broke it, she did not like awkward silences.

For all he cared she could wear a sack for a dress or go completely naked, it mattered not to him. However, he took a moment to pay attention to her attire.

She wore a piece of grey worn cloth as a skirt, it was wrapped around her waist letting the cloth drop diagonally across one of her thighs, the other thigh was barely covered. She wrapped her breasts in a piece of tattered cloth. The material clearly used to be good and expensive, but the passing time had worn it out. Her face was cowered by a veil hiding her scar and eyes. Her ankles and wrists had multiple bracelets made of seashells and pretty rocks. All in all, she looked not too shabby.

“They look fine on you.”

“Do you think I am beautiful?”

Guardian was unsure where she is going with all of this.

“I am not an expert on beastkin looks.”

“Do not avoid answering. Just say as it is.” She wanted to know if she does stand a chance of winning him over.

“You are fit and healthy. Your physical state is good, skinny fur, healthy teeth… You are beautiful.” He concluded.

“How about other things? Like the lack of sight, would it trouble you?”

“You are not an archer are you?” she gestured no with her head. “You seem to manage just fine as long as you can do your jobs it matters not.”

“Interesting way of thinking. I like it.” He was being quite ambiguous in his responses but she reckoned that she had a chance.

“So what drives you?”

“What do you mean, expand on this?”

“It is what you seek in life? For some men, it is sex, for others power, status, money or a mixture of all. More savoury people are looking for peace and starting a family.” She hoped he was the latter kind, even though she knew they would not be able to conceive children.

“Knowledge.”

“Knowledge? Why?” she asked slightly confused by his answer. He did not look like a monk or scholar.

“Knowledge is the greatest of all things. With it, you can get power, money, status and the like. My primary goal is knowledge.”

“How would books help you to make money?” She could not understand.

“It is not the books. It is the experience and know-how one would get from them. For example, knowing what to sell and where can bring a huge profit.”

“Hmmm. I think I understand what you mean… You like to know things, don’t you? I could help you with that.”

“How come?”

“We girls talk a lot, you must have noticed. We also listen. There is plenty of rumours and loosely tied lips in our sort of business. Plenty of men share their worries and darkest secrets whilst in the bed with us. You just have to sieve through the lies and rumours.” A lot of girls peddled information as a side business, Iustitia included.

“I see. I could use some information. How much do you charge if I will need something from you?”

“There is no way I would charge you! Just come and see me now and then and I will share what I know.” She wanted to get on his good side, also this would make him come back to her. Then she would work on winning him over.

“I will keep that in mind.” She appeared to be more useful than Guardian initially thought. Also, he has learned something new about the women. “Is it far?”

“We are actually almost there. You are not too late for the breakfast, I can hear it.” She motioned towards the large wooden building.

They went inside and the inn was indeed in a middle of serving breakfast meals to the guests.

“I guess we part our way here.” He said to Iustitia.

She was feeling reluctant to say a goodbye but did not want to impose herself too much on him. “Make sure to visit me for any of my services. Free of charge.” She said blowing him a kiss.

“I will take you up on that offer.” He had her information services in mind.

She smiled to Guardian and then disappeared into the street which was getting busier and busier with each passing minute.

Guardian stepped inside.

“Ahem! I would like to get a room.” He drew attention to himself.

“Simple room and a meal is a copper a day.” The inn owned said without even bothering to look at him.

“Could I see the room?” He had to make sure he will be able to fit in it. He knew that some inns sold rooms as big as a tool closed. Fine for a human or small beastman, but not to gloriously sized him.

“I assure you our rooms are fine and clean.” The innkeeper said annoyed as he turned to look at the newcomer.

“…” His face got blank and there was a pause.

“At least three coppers for you if you want to stay. And you better make no trouble. You look like trouble.”

There was a sudden change in price and attitude, the Guardian did not like that.

“I assure you I am nothing of the sort. Quite opposite.”

“I doubt that. I know the sort of you than I see one. More muscles than brains.”

“Look I came here thinking this will be a respectable establishment and then you insult me. Gustav recommended this for me, but he clearly misjudged the place.”

Mentioning the name did get a reaction from the innkeeper.

“Gustav? What do you have to do with him?”

“I saved his life outside the city. He even gave me this.” He shoved the token.

The innkeeper inspected it and handed it back.

“Sorry. I did not know. Gustav’s friends are more than welcome here.”

“So can we do something about the price?”

“I apologise for that. You look quite brutish so I added the cost of extra food, space and things you might break. It was not out of hatred or something. It stays three copper.”

“So the token is worthless? Are the kind words is all I get?”

“No, of course not. How about a bigger room than standard, no extra charge beyond 3 coppers. I doubt you would be able to fit in the usual one. Oh, and a free bathing service.”

“That is better.”

“There is little I can do about the food. You seem large and I do not want to go bankrupt. If you would get it yourself I would lower the price back to one copper.”

He was really hungry and did not want to bother by looking for food.

“Three coppers is fine. Here this is for two days.” He put 6 coppers on the table.

“So what happened? How is Gustav?” Innkeeper's worry was genuine as they were true friends.

“A dozen of bandits attacked his group. I intervened and saved his skin. Some of the travellers were injured but it must not have been bad as they continued their journey.”

“That is bad. The roads are getting worse by the year. Listen, your men are welcome here too. Invite them over, I will offer a better price than other nearby taverns.”

“What men?”

“The ones who helped to chase the bandits off. Even if the Gustav helped, you could not have taken twelve of them.”

“But I did. With no assistance whatsoever.”

“Hahahaha. I assume they saw you and just ran.” He laughed it off.

“Not before I have outright killed the four of them and incapacitated the other two.” Guardian said very seriously. His achievements were no joke.

“Killed? I thought they were just chased off. And you blame me for taking you for a brute, I knew it. However, I believe you. The fewer bandits living the better.”

Innkeeper took the coins and handed a key.

“Your room is upstairs. It is the second door on your left. Feel free to get something for breakfast now, no more than three portions. We also serve a meal in the evening. The hot water for a bath is available before or straight after the meals.”

Guardian took the key and headed to inspect his room. Inside the room were basic furniture: a straw bed, a dresser, a small table and a chair, also a small coffer with a lock to store his more valuable possessions. He took out his things and reorganised them, he would head to the market to sell it later. He had to eat first as he was getting hungry. After all, It was two full days since he ate.

He went to the mess hall and ate three servings of gruel and hard baked bread. Three portions were not enough, he needed ten or so. Also, meat to go with that. But this will have to do for now.

After finishing his unsatisfying meal he went outside to explore the city. He was told by Lucas that it had a grand library here and many guilds which probably held the information about the monsters he needed.

He strolled around the streets trying to familiarise himself with the city layout. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Some sort of a guild house. He tried to go inside but was refused at the entry.

“Go away, foreigner. You have no business here.”

“But I do. He showed his alchemists plate.” Proving that he was a credible businessman.

“Nope. The thing must be stolen. You do not look like a merchant. Get lost before I call the city guard.”

He did not bother to argue with an ignorant guard. The plate had a mechanism to identify him as the rightful owner of Alchemy Shop, there was no known way to forge it, stealing it was also useless.

He went to a different guild house.

“No entry!”

“Why is that?”

“No entry!”

“Come on.”

“No one would do business with you, traveller. You look like a barbarian. I am saving you time.”

It appeared that his unusual look proved to be more of a hurdle than he initially taught. He had to do something about it.

He decided to visit some of the specialised shops all around the city to better understand the situation. He went from place to place observing the people and their interactions.

The businesses seemed to be decent, they were serving both humans and beastmen alike. He tried buying some food from the vendors and they were happy to have him as a customer. He purchases some raw vegetables to satiate his hunger. He was eating them as he thought about his situation.

It was the higher status people who did not want to get involved with him, not the simple businessmen. But what he could do about that, he understood that it was something to do with his looks or that he was a foreigner.

He hanged around one or the Merchant Guilds just to see what sort of people were let inside. He found what he had suspected; only the rich and wealthy got through to use high services provided by the city and its guilds.

He could do something about that. As he had the money. However, him looking alien still might have something to do with this. He might need to hire someone to act as his proxy, someone human-like and pretty.

As he was thinking this through an odd creature approached the entry of the merchant’s guild. It wore extravagant clothing in a form of a robe. Chains of metals were decorating it. The creature was roughly the size and stature of a human but it had a bluish grey skin and a set of horns on its head. The horns were also adorned with various trinkets. It wore no shoes as it had hooves for the feet. The person looked wealthy and exotic.

To Guardians surprise that foreigner had no issue getting past the guard.

“So it is a simple matter of appearing wealthy. Money talks I guess.”

He had to improve his looks, after all, he wore a simple loincloth and that was it. That did nothing but to shout poverty to others. He had to admit he did look like a brute or barbarian, someone who might be completely ignorant of even basic concepts of trade.

He went to look for a shop which would be able to outfit him. This would cost quite a bit of gold but he had the money.