The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 737  Drinks With Demons

”So, Karl, was it? What brings you to Drodh? If youʼre transiting between ships, I am looking for a few more hands. Nobody minds an extra cleric or two on board, and it looks like your group can take care of themselves.” One of the men, an aging Demon with one missing eye that still radiated curse damage, asked.

”Nah, we were thinking of going inland and finding somewhere comfortable to relax for a season.” Karl replied with a shrug.

”Not comfortable in the city? Canʼt say that I blame you. But I always end up here for the Dungeon between voyages. Youʼve got a good group for it with a mage and a Berserker plus two healers. It might be a bit dull, but itʼs a decent living if you sell off the excess loot.

A couple of extra gold coins for the month never goes wrong.”

The man beside him, a lithe violet skinned demon with four arms, chuckled and tilted his chin to the kitchen.

”Never goes wrong, indeed. It goes here instead. Old Jared takes one run a month from here to the city of Lared, and when heʼs back at the end of the week, he goes to the dungeon and then drinks away his pay, hoping that Beth will give him a bit of attention.”

The barmaid turned at the sound of her name, then realized that it was just mentioned in passing. The old sailor was old enough to be her grandfather, and contrary to popular belief, even a Succubus has standards.

The group around Karl started to tell tales of the dungeon, the city, the sailing routes off the coast, as Drodh was both the capital of the nation and a major trading port thanks to the fertile farm lands inland of them.

A few hours later, a whole team of guards came in and flopped down in seats, taking up half the room.

They had to be regulars, as the bartender started pouring before they had even finished adjusting themselves in their seats.

But Karl noticed that he pulled from a different keg, and whatever he was pouring them didnʼt smell nearly as good as the ale that Karlʼs team had been drinking.

The sailors were drinking wine and taking shots of Rum, but this new drink smelled almost rancid. The Captain of the guard team pounded down an entire pint of the drink, then motioned for another. ”Having a rough day?” Beth asked, gently rubbing against his shoulder, which immediately relaxed the angry guard, whose eyes went vague under the effects of whatever hypnotic suggestion she had hit him with.

Now that was a useful skill for a waitress.

”The Ghol Regiment is back from their mission. Ten thousand strong, with a dozen warships, and no respect for the local guards. Can you believe that the city Governor let them take over our posts? Said that we werenʼt competent, and now weʼre all being sent for additional training.” The Captain complained.

He was an Overlord, but most of his team were Monarchs, so they werenʼt on the weak side for basic law enforcement. At least, not based on the people Karl had seen in the city.

But the new Regiment must have earned themselves a lot of prestige.

Karl listened to the guards complaining about their lives for a while, then realized they were a temporary force, promoted from the army reserves to guard status. Not only were they being relieved of their posts, but they would return to reserve status, and their pay would be cut back to what it was before being activated.

They had a good reason to be bitter today.

But Karl learned a valuable bit of information about the city as well. Drodh had nearly a hundred and eighty thousand people living in it, mostly various sorts of Demons. Just like it was in Newbon, they freely mingled with various intelligent monster species, and magical beasts ran wild all over the wilderness areas.

You would have to get a way from the city to see much wildlife, as the farms were protective of their crops. However, it sounded like there were some incredibly dangerous beasts once you got too far from the major cities.

Cara was excited to meet them.

They also learned another fascinating fact. Drodh, both the city and the nation, was the original Orcish name for the region, though it had been centuries since the coastal regions were under Orcish control. There were still large Orc tribes inland, and majority Orcish cities, but while Drodh still held to a lot of hold traditions, it was definitely a demonic city these days.

After a half dozen rounds, the guards were starting to get morose, and Karl could sense that they were looking for a reason to lash out. Fortunately, there were a few tables of sailors between him and the guards. If the ladies were right next to them, things might have gone downhill quickly.

But Karlʼs luck was not with the guards today, and after a bit of an argument spilled out into the street, dozens of uniformed soldiers rushed in.

”Well, what do you know. Drunk and disorderly in public. Just what you would expect from a bunch of untrained reservists.” The leader of the guard patrol began.

Karl sighed, and Tessa facepalmed as she realized what was about to happen.

The battle started out as an unarmed conflict between the guards and the soldiers. Then someone knocked over a freshly loaded table of drinks, and the Sailors were pulled in, throwing punches indiscriminately.

Beth appeared unconcerned by the chaos as she brought a tray of cheese and bread to Karlʼs table, along with a fresh pitcher of ale.

”Iʼm going to be cleaning for hours. But at least we get to close early.” She joked as Karl watched half the tables get destroyed in the melee.

Lotus popped a cube of curiously blue cheese in her mouth. ”I can help you fix the tables. If thereʼs one thing that a Nature Cleric is good at, itʼs fixing wooden tables.”

The barmaid laughed. ”I would appreciate it. We have a repair amulet with a mending spell on it for the tables. We have to repair furniture at least twice a week.”

Karl was out of his seat in a flash as a soldier came flying at their table.

He set the man down on the floor, and the soldier swung around, ready to continue the fight, until he looked up and saw Karlʼs face. He instantly turned and grabbed one of the sailors who had been knocked out, which let him drag the man out of the tavern.