Chapter 6: Chapter 5 – Grime I

A woman donning heavy clothing, a scarf hiding most of her head, and a black, expensive-looking long cloak hiding most of her figure, is sitting at the counter in a tavern.

「Something sweet and mild, if you'd be so kind,」 she asks of the bartender.

She's looking a bit haggard, but despite this weary look, she can feel the glares from almost everyone in the tavern. Most of those are from thuggish men, some with scars, others hiding most of their faces under hoods — all glaring lecherously at her and hoping for her attention. Other looks come from females staring in apparent envy. Choosing to ignore all of them, she droops her head down and slacks her shoulders, exhaling.

「Here is your drink. Can I offer you anything else?」 the bartender asks sweetly belying his scary appearance, broad shoulders, arms bulbing with muscles, and a scar across his face. He reveals a set of flawless clear white teeth, which makes the woman raise her slender eyebrows.

She takes her drink and, with a disinterested expression, replies, 「This will be plenty.」

Not discouraged, the bartender gets close to her, closer than necessary.

「Maybe I can listen to what's troubling you?」 he asks with smiling eyes and raised eyebrows, trying to put on his most charming face.

The woman recoils, almost spilling her drink.

「Thank you for the kind offer, but I'm fine.」

The bartender lowers his head and slouches, walking away in defeat.

The woman lets out a long sigh and takes a sip from her jug. Her eyes light up once she tastes the drink and she continues chugging it down hurriedly. Once the jug is completely empty, she licks her lips and lets out a long, satisfied exhale.

In the corner of her eye, she notices how one of the thugs who had been leering at her since her entrance stands up and walks towards her, leaving his friends hollering and urging him on.

「Hello there little missy, are ya new around these parts? Can't say I've seen a face as beautiful as yours walk into a run-down tavern like this,」 he says while unreservedly taking a seat next to her.

The woman stays silent and instead turns her face away.

「Oh come on, missy. Spare me at least a few glances, won't ya? Oh, I know!」 the man raises his hand and calls out, 「Barky, give us two more of those sweetened Hebra juices!」

The bartender gives the thug a knowing look, as if to tell him to give up, which he completely ignores.

「Don't worry missy, this one is on me. With the way ya slurped up that jug earlier, it would be criminal to not let ya enjoy more of em',」 he says with a wide smile on his face.

Upon hearing this, the woman swiftly turns towards him, her face flushed red and mouth agape and twitching, she exclaims, 「W-wa-a! I. did. not. slurp!」

She takes a good look at the man and sees a tall face, short, fuzzy brown hair, light green skin, and small visible tusks poking upwards out of his closed, smiling mouth. With a square jawline, and no scar on his face, he could be considered moderately handsome. He is muscular but not bigger than the bartender.

Happy to have finally gotten her attention, the hoodlum's smile turns into a grin, 「Iyaaa... ya should have seen yourself. Your tongue was sliding all over the rim of that jug,」 the goon says with a mocking tone while swirling his tongue around in an obscene manner, 「And the way ya licked your lips all happy like! Missy, ya trynna kill someone?」

The woman, with her eye twitching and her blush growing redder, slams her hands into the counter, sending a loud clang echoing around the tavern. Everyone's attention was already on her, so the sound doesn't surprise anyone, but quiet snickers and laughter come as response.

「By the Goddess! W-what do you want?!」 she hisses.

「Hey hey, relax, I'm just saying ya were being really cute back then. Cute an' pretty 'nuff to kill, ya know?」 the man says while raising both hands in a faux-defensive manner. 「Hey, I'm Patrak by the way, What's young missy called?」

The woman closes her eyes in an attempt to calm down.

「Ro⸺Melan... Romelan, but the p... people just call me Melan」, she answers, staring him down.

「Melan? 'Atta name! Hey, I didn't notice before but ya have a really nice pair 'o them green eyes,」 Patrak says while smiling cooly, knowing that it makes him appear more charming.

「Many thanks... I guess,」 Melan replies but immediately turns to look forward, 「Hmph.」

「Here are two Hebra juices」, The bartender interrupts them. With raised eyebrows, he flashes his flawless teeth at Melan and says, 「Extra sweetened.」

While walking away he doesn't fail to give Patrak an intimidating and annoyed look of envy but is only sent away with a smug grin, making him click his tongue.

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「So, where do ya come from, Melan? Ya don't strike me as an adventurer and with green eyes like that, ya can't possibly be an elf,」 Patrak asks, watching on as Melan nimbly grabs one of the jugs of Hebra juice and takes a small sip. Keeping her mouth and eyes closed for a moment as if to thoroughly enjoy the taste, she smiles lightly.

「That's miles 'way from how ya did it earlier. Maybe, missy is of noble descent,」 Patrak quips.

Melan glares daggers at him.

「I'm a human. Where I come from is none of your business,」 she says, her voice ice-cold. 「What about yourself? You don't look entirely like an orc. You a half?」 she asks.

「Oh, how observant of ya! Half-human, half-orc. One of 'em orc rape stories ya hear all the time,」 Patrak replies with a grin, showcasing again his sharp tusks. Melan raises her eyebrows and stays quiet for a moment.

「I'm sorry,」 she manages to say with eyes cast down into the jug.

「Nah, don't mind it Melan, life's gotta find its own ways to work, ain't that right?」 he says and slaps his own thigh before breaking into a laugh.

Melan can only stare and cringe, slightly regretting showing even an ounce of compassion. She tries taking another sip but finds that her jug is empty, which directs her eyes to the other untouched jug on the counter.

「It's yours, please help yerself,」 Patrak tells her with his signature grin.

Melan doesn't hesitate to grab the next portion.

「Delicious, isn't it?」 Patrak says, egging her on to take one more sip.

「Yes, what's it made of? I've never had anything like this.」 Melan takes him up on the offer, taking one more sip.

「It's a local drink, made outta stuff from 'round these parts of Wilderness, by those dwarves as usual. Iyaaa... I gotta say, they really got a knack for making drinks,」 Patrak says before lifting his shoulders in a shrug, 「Although, you won't find anyone in ere' ordering that kinda drink. We consider it a girly drink,」 he adds with a smug look on his face.

A mild blush appears on Melan's face and she averts her eyes in embarrassment.

「Gyahaha! Don't worry, I think it's made for people just like ya,」 Patrak bellows with another slap on his thigh.

「But I gotta say, missy, is there any reason ya so heavily clothed in this heat? You tryina hide from someone?」 his demeanor and tone abruptly changes.

His eyes scan her body, taking in every nook and cranny.

「If you need help just tell me. See my buddies over there?」 he says pointing towards the corner he came from. His buddies whistle and holler at the attention.

「If it's someone ya need beaten up, don't hesitate, we got it. Quite a common thing around here,」 he says shrugging as if to reassure her.

「Oh, right,」 Melan mutters while her eyes widen. She downs her drink quickly and slams the jug on the counter.

「I just remembered, I was looking for someone. I have to go now. If you'll excuse me,」 she says before promptly standing up and heading towards the exit.

「Ah, hey! Wait!」 she hears Patrak shouting for her but continues walking off with quick steps and leaves him behind.

§

Exiting the tavern, Melan is met with a street filled with people of various races going on about their day. Large horse-drawn caravans roll on the dirty cobblestone. Noisy conversations and shouts resound all over. The air is heavy with the smell of horse manure and bodies, causing Melan to momentarily block her nose with her hand. She lets out another sigh before looking left and right multiple times. She starts walking left but soon changes direction to the right. Walking around, she keeps her eyes open and head high, looking curiously at the passing people. The street has a few shops, with owners shouting out how cheap their items are in hope of attracting customers. Only a few large buildings can be seen around the area. The biggest and most popular one is the Adventurer Guild which she can see from a distance.

After walking around for dozens of minutes, Melan stops and crosses her arms. She scratches her head and starts stomping the ground with one foot, seemingly in frustration. Letting out a resigned sigh, she turns around but her vision suddenly blurs and dizziness overcomes her. She holds on to her head and watches as a few large, blurred profiles of people appear in her vision.

「Oh look, it's finally working.」

A deep, muffled voice is the last thing she hears before collapsing on the ground. She tries to yell and reach out to the people walking around her, calling for help, but besides those big profiles, no one seems to approach her. Some even step right over her. Before fully losing her vision, she casts a spell over her body.

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