Godslayer Lysette: Chapter 277

Chapter 277: The Shores of Ereill

The arrival of dawn at Lysette’s back coincided with the first bits of land cresting over the northwestern horizon.  As more and more of the continent came into view, Lysette saw not a frigid snowscape cloaked in endless darkness, but an inviting beach with pearlescent white sand.  Further inland were grasses of green and trees of pine and spruce not unlike the forests further north of Ciricu.

And the continent was of a size worthy of being called such.  Even as she flew over the outskirts and began her descent toward a small coastal port town, she couldn’t even see the northern wilds where Ereill’s capital lay, let alone the opposite shore.  She filled with thoughts of one day circumnavigating Aimarion, of visiting Aurie’s home back in Laquella and the other continents and nations as well.  All part of her journey of self-discovery, of learning more about the varied peoples of Aimarion and what sort of world was best for them.

She touched down just outside the port’s outermost border and headed into the village— Barillie, based on the welcoming sign along a picket fence that marked the formal boundary of the town.  There were no guards or other welcoming posse to greet her, suggesting the fence was more a deterrent for wild animals than fortifications meant to keep out intelligent armies.  Something which made sense— any attack from without would have to come by sea, which would bring with it plenty of warning and time to rally a more proper defense.

She walked through the town square of Barillie, a town about thrice the size of Ciricu, large enough to have merchant and even entertainment districts, but not nearly so grand as the sprawling-by-comparison metropolis of Domark.  As the sun rose higher into the sky, the bustling town gradually quieted.  Stores were closing up shop and lighting crystals were dimmed as curtains lowered over the windows.  People gradually headed toward smaller homes and likely were preparing their morning meals before heading to sleep.

Lysette herself slipped into one of the larger buildings along the main road.  A tavern, judging by the picture of food and drink hanging above the door frame.  And sure enough, the familiar and infamous stench of shit and shittier booze assailed her nose the second she entered.  Even more unwelcome was the rowdy chorus of bawdy songs sung by drunken sailors while the pair of barmaids on duty worked in vain to corral the worst of their tendencies.

“Hey, you, Simon!” the taller of the two barmaids said.  “That’s quite enough.  You want to feel up women, that’s on you.  But you are going to leave Mar alone while she’s on shift or I’ll smack you!”

Simon’s eyes turned to the woman, then to Lysette.  He sneered and even from a distance of  twenty feet, his breath reeked of booze mixed with the sex that was no doubt happening in the back rooms.  “What are you looking at, tough guy?” he slurred out.

“Nothing in particular,” Lysette responded.  “Just surveilling the situation.”

“I don’t like that look in your eye,” Simon said.  “Keep out of things that don’t concern you.”

Lysette made her way past the rowdy crowd and to a small corner table shrouded by a window veil.  She briefly flared out her aura to take inventory of the rest of the room.  And surprisingly, while the sailors were nothing special in terms of their strength, the two barmaids sprinting from table to table were Cultivators of some degree.  Nothing special— Essence coefficients on par with average first-year students back at the Academy— but noteworthy nonetheless after her conversation with Commander Valencia.

Scarcely a minute passed before the shorter of the two barmaids approached her, pitcher of water in hand.  Within another two seconds, she had poured it into a glass and set it down in front of Lysette.  As Lysette focused her attention on the youthful woman and her wavy, jet-black hair, the woman responded with a coy smile for a fraction of a second before masking it with a polite one.

“Good morning, sir,” she said.  “Can I interest you in anything else to drink?  Tea, perhaps?  Or we have several types of beer on tap if you are interested in that.”  The cadence in her words was a bit stilted, but Lysette detected no hostility or ill-intent from the petite waitress.

Lysette nodded and pulled out a pair of Domarian gold coins.  “I’m a bit of a traveler and I just want to make sure my foreign currency is good here before I cause any trouble.”

The woman— Amari, based on the nameplate— smiled.  “Gold is gold.  Plenty of other people come into port with money from other lands.”

“Then I think I will keep to water.  And perhaps some food.  Do you have any recommendations?”

“Perhaps some tomato stew and dumplings?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Lysette closed her eyes and waited.  At some point, she figured, something untoward was going to happen.  Simon or maybe one of his fellow drunkards was going to cause a scene, or some malcontent was going to charge in with criminal intent.  Or maybe a natural disaster or another agent of the gods arriving to cause more chaos.  Lysette did seem to attract and invite and even cause no shortage of trouble wherever she was.  The curse of being a demon, she assumed.

But nothing happened.  Seven minutes later, down to the second, Amari returned carrying a steaming-hot, bubbling bowl of tomato stew filled with chunks of some sort of meat and small dumplings no bigger than her finger.  In addition, Amari brought with her two shakers, one with salt and the other with some sort of dried herb bundle.

“I will warn you, the food and bowl are both extremely hot, so you may want to wait a minute or three before eating.  It is also a little mild to cater to the owner’s personal tastes, so please add as much seasoning as you need.  And please, excuse me.”  Amari offered a slight bow before darting off.

Lysette took a small bite and immediately regretted it.  Amari was serious about the temperature of the dish.  A bit of ice and a bit of her regeneration healed over the burn before it became serious, but the whole ordeal puzzled Lysette.  She wondered if Amari had some talent for Fire-element Cultivation to handle such intense temperatures.  And just as she had said, the dish was in dire need of some seasoning.  Salt and herbs both.  And garlic, though she didn’t see any of that around.

As if on cue or some force even higher than Omnia’s system had interfered to bring more chaos into her life, a trio of ruffians stormed into the tavern once Lysette had finished about half of her meal.  Lysette could only shake her head, both in terms of her luck with taverns and how foolish or desperate these ne’er-do-wells were to try to rob an establishment that regularly dealt with the basest elements of society.

The taller barmaid, whose name Lysette still didn’t know, looked on with a scowl.  “You three again?”

Lysette rolled her eyes and contented herself to watch the exchange play out.  She was determined not to intervene unless she herself was drawn into the conflict.  She was a guest of Zarielle’s, after all, and the incident with Ciricu had demonstrated that the reach of consequences was long indeed.  Something which she was perhaps cosmically attuned to, with her Domain being what it was.  Maybe these sorts of encounters were the world’s way of enforcing Reciprocity back upon her, after all.  She did deserve it, after all.

“Oh, what’s the matter, Cynthia?  Don’t tell me you think you’re too good for me!”

“The stuff that came out of my ass last night is too good for you, Marq.  Now I hope for your sake that you can keep Tiny to yourself, or else I’ll tear it off and feed it to you.”

Unexpectedly, the three didn’t raise any further objection.  Marq grumbled some slurs about Cynthia under his breath as he and his cronies were guided to a table two away from Lysette’s.  As the waitress sprinted off, the vulgarities continued as the three talked amongst themselves in hushed whispers.  They spoke in some cryptic cant that Lysette couldn’t fully understand, but from what she could grasp, the three were private sailors-for-hire, as they called themselves.  Pirates seemed a more accurate term.  Though, with Leviat in the vicinity, one had to wonder how rich the plunder would truly have been.

Amari returned from the kitchen a moment later and refilled Lysette’s water.  “I hope you are enjoying your meal.”

“It’s quite good.  I hope you’re handling all the customers well.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I will be quite fine.  I may look weak, but if anyone tries anything inappropriate, I both can and will throw them out.  With my own two hands, if I must.”

Lysette smiled.  “Maybe you should light their butts on fire and–”

“Oh, I would not go to that extent.  Maybe if they were threatening my–”

“You have a lucky guy waiting for you to finish your shift?”

Amari frowned.

“Or maybe a lucky lady?”

Amari frown curled upward into a warm smile.  “I do.  I–”  She paused and lowered her voice to a whisper.  “I have a wonderful woman to come home to.  Or, I would, except that she is often away for long stretches of time.  Sometimes weeks at a time, if we are unlucky and her work keeps her away.”

Lysette smiled back.  “She sounds quite accomplished.  I would like to meet her at some point.” 

She was a little surprised by the revelation, though Amari’s reticent whispers spoke louder than her excitement.  Ereillan society at large was unlikely to accept such a relationship that, barring literal deific involvement beyond even her capabilities, was unable to produce children.  One that defied the traditions and cultural norms that Lysette had learned about from Dennell.  But despite those expectations, despite the obstacles that society had placed in the path of those star-crossed lovers, love was as love did.  Just as it did and continued to do for her and Mirae.

Amari sat down across from Lysette.  Lysette gazed into her eyes, those onyx irises meeting the silvery ones of her shell.  “Do you have someone?  Some lucky girl or maybe a guy waiting for you back wherever you came from?”

“Neither a girl nor a guy, but yes.  Yes, I have someone I love very much.  And I hope to spend the rest of my life by their side.  I could spend eternity with them, and it still wouldn’t be as long as I wish I could have.”

“You are a rather romantic individual.  You are also quite powerful for a simple traveler.  If it were up to me, I would like to stay and talk with you for a very, very long time.  But I think Thia will get upset if I do not return to my duties and help her with the tables.  I appreciate your company, for however brief a time.”

Lysette nodded as Amari again dashed off in a blur.  There were so many questions about that mysterious woman.  Why did she talk in such a strange cadence, almost as though every word were being chosen for a deliberate yet unknown purpose?  Who was her girlfriend, maybe wife, about whom she seemed so happy?  How did Amari know that she was ‘powerful’ without some way to sense her capabilities?  Or did she perhaps possess some deific power of her own?  And if so, from whom?

For some reason, the question of whether the couple was even from Aimarion slipped into Lysette’s mind, although the premise was preposterous and a negative answer would be even more so.

Lysette finished her food and made her way back outside where daytime was now in full swing.  Most of the earlier bustle had died down, leaving only the tavern and a few shadier establishments open as the people prepared for a long day of sleep and another night of activity to follow.  And Lysette headed down to the port, ready to wait until her guide arrived to lead her up to the capital.

Chapter 276: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116367284

Table of Contents: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101896170

Chapter 278: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116502663