I need to move out and get my own place soon. It was perfect with just me and Flash Gordon. But now with Rob and Duchess, my bed is getting pretty crowded. The good news is my family liked Duchess. When I brought her home, they were overjoyed that I had brought a "normal tamed beast." The pretty feathers that coat her body also helped in first impressions.

I already told her not to direct her mental magic to anyone in the house but me. I don't need my parents freaking out thinking that there's a snake that could read their thoughts hanging out in the bedroom a few doors down. For all things considered, Duchess was very well behaved until nighttime.

She said something along the lines of, “You took away my old bed from me so now I'm gonna sleep in your bed.”

That's when rob joined in, he wanted the attention too. I was fed up. I decided that in the morning that I should buy a reptile aquarium for Duchess. And maybe even a coffin for Rob.

When I asked about her magic, she told me that she doesn't fully understand where she got her magic. She just remembers having it one day and slowly making it stronger through continuous casting against her predators. She was caught by the taming instructor as a possible trophy for the new taming students. For many years now she managed to stay free by secretly using her magic to not be a target. Or at least until I came around.

~

In the morning I left to go see Charlie, he didn't answer his phone and I wanted to see if he made any money with the money I gave him. I could always ask my parents for something but that's not a road I want to go on. Becoming self-sufficient is one of my main goals right now. For the first time in a while, I walked down to Charlie's house. It's currently Saturday, so even if I wanted to go to my classes none of the instructors are teaching. I can probably track them down in their offices but what's the point? I'm not trying to make up work, I just wanted to go to class for once.

Charlie lives in a lower-income area of the city, thanks to his father. If Charlie does have a knack for making money, then it's his father who has the exact opposite skill. Unfortunately, they spend more than they get, and Charlie has to pick up for his father's slack. That's the reason why I kept being friends with Charlie even though most people see him as a scammer. He’s a good person at heart. It's just that he can just get a little tunnel vision when it comes to making money.

I find his front door and go to knock on it. There is no answer. I knock again, but this time I shout out.

“Mr. Greenback, it's Ellis. I'm looking for Charlie. Have you seen him? He hasn't been answering his phone.

”

A voice replies back from inside the building, "Are you alone, is anyone there with you?''

"I'm all alone Mr. Greenback, Can you open the door and tell me where Charlie is."

The door slowly and loudly creaks open. Standing in the doorway, still clutching the doorknob is Charlie's father Mr. Greenback. He looks like an older and more disheveled version of Charlie. He has black hair, but instead of being oiled back like Charlie's, it's caked in oil.

“Charlie isn't here, Ellis. He said he was making a big deal downtown and didn't want me to mess it up. I don't know where he is. He is not here.”

He starts to close the door on me. Before he could get it closed, I interjected one last time.

“But did he say anything, anything at all that could hint where he was going or who he was dealing with?”

“I don't know kid, he mentioned something about getting the greeting right. Something about having to put on his church clothes. We haven't gone to church in years.”

He slams the door on me at that point. I start to think about what is going on.

[Church clothes? What are those?]

“Church clothes are a set of clothes that some people prepare so they can be well dressed in a religious environment.”

[Which religion? I know of a few where the tribal shamans wear nothing but the birthday suit they were born with]

“I don’t know, but I guess we will find out.”

~

The human territories, also known as the Prime Territories, are surrounded by hostile environments. Humans still live there, but they are usually a part of guilds that hunt in those lands, also finding unclaimed fractures to take as their own. Bluefield is a city close to the heart of the prime territories and is relatively safe compared to the other cities. After the Gods came with the otherfolk onto Iona, human’s started building churches for them, hoping to get their blessing. Someone awakening with a religious class is rare, and usually, the churches already have their hands on them. There are three churches in Bluefield that have any power here.

Ceartas is the Goddess of Justice and the protector of the weak. The trustworthy enforcers are typically followers of this goddess, but corrupt enforcers with parade around as a follower, harming her reputation.

Merita is the Goddess of many things including; wealth, gambling, merchants, and deals.

The last god is, and probably the most lacking out of the three, Ikore. He is the God of Harvest and the protector of farmers.

Knowing Charlie, if he was going to deal with any church, it would be the Church of Merita.

The Church of Merita has a bad reputation. The people who run the churches in the Prime Territories are notorious swindlers that abuse the power given to them by their god to make unfair contracts and force smaller establishments out of business. They are so notorious, that people now represent Merita as the second god of swindlers in their minds. They aren’t that powerful here in Bluefield, but they own all the casinos and gambling parlors in the city. Some of them are illegal or are fronts for bigger operations like drugs or contraband. The enforcers and the followers of Ceartas have been trying to weaken the Church of Meritas over time. Unfortunately most of the time the law is on the side of Meritas.

I caught a bus to the downtown area of Bluefield. I found out that if the Duchess hides her head, she is almost identical compared to a normal feather boa, the scarf, not the animal. There are a few casinos and gambler dens that I can check out. I decided to go for the biggest one first. There are no entry requirements besides security. I had to leave my gloves, Rob and Flash Gordon together in my bag in an alleyway. I tell Rob to make sure nothing gets stolen and I headed inside.

Inside I take a look around. There are a lot of slot machines and tables with people sitting in front of them, gambling money away. There are no windows here or clocks. I do a quick look around and I don't see Charlie anywhere.

I contemplated just going home, but it couldn't hurt to ask a staff member. I find a cocktail waitress that seems to be unattended. She smiles when I approach the smile quickly dies when I asked her if she's seen anyone fitting Charlie's description. She was unhelpful, trying to leave the conversion as soon as possible. I asked if I could speak to the manager of the casino since it seemed that she was too busy to help, and she left. I assume that she went to go get Em but something seems off.

[Ellis, that woman seems suspicious.] Duchess communicates in my mind.

“I know, she got all shut down when I said I was looking for someone,” I whisper to my neck apparel.

I start flipping my phone open and close, tempted just to call the enforcers over. Although it'll be a waste of time if my hunch was incorrect. Before I could decide, the cocktail waitress and a handsome older man wearing a nice suit with a gold watch walked toward me. He's bald and has some tattoos all over his head that make him look intimidating.

The cocktail waitress immediately flees as the bald older man speaks up to me.

“I heard that you were looking for somebody? If it's important we could go up to my office, and I could look through some footage.” My instincts tell me that something is wrong. Before I can answer, more men appear from around me.

“Let's get going now. If someone is missing, we have no time to waste.”

"Alright let's go." I decided to act like a naive kid who didn't know what he was getting into.

I followed the man as his goons escorted me. On a second floor, I was led up to an office and placed in a chair facing the man. The office is well furnished, this man has a lot of money. A window that I didn't see on the ground floor looks over the entire casino. He has a massive painting of himself on a wall, so I know that he's not a good person. Next to it is a smaller statue depicting the God of wealth. The marble statue has gold necklaces hanging from its neck like chains. There's a huge aquarium next to him, filled with golden koi.

“So what's your name kid?”

“Jake,” I lied.

“So Jake, you are looking for someone, can you give a name and a description.”

This seems sketchy, I quietly activate my [Scientific Insihgt+]

[??? Human lv75]

I can't escape even If I wanted to. If I tell him that I'm looking for someone named Charlie, and describe him, then what? If charlie is here he’s probably not here as a guest and me asking for him is a liability. The only thing I can do is lie, I don’t believe that the cocktail waitress was able to tell him about who I was looking for in such a short amount of time.

“I’m looking for a half-elf that has blonde hair and blue eyes. She is shorter than me and has a distinct silver bracelet.”

“Is that so Jake.”

I don't like how he emphasized my fake name. He continues.

“A little-known fact about followers of Merita, we can smell lies.” My heart drops. “It’s supposed to help us make deals with each other, but now it's just a handy tool to sniff out rats and swindlers.”

He pushes a button underneath the table, I can hear the click. I stand up, I’m prepared to get out or die trying.

“Oh calm down Jake, don’t get your panties in a twist.” A group of large men enters the office. “Put him with the rest, if he resits beat him until he's half-dead.”