Days after the take over, new connections have been made. The people of the city have decided to work with Ryuu as they will provide additional labor for their protection. The labor will be additional hands that will be paid fairly and protected just the same. Rae and Chel went back to their home, leaving the siblings together. Today. Amatesa decided to go through the city. She was on her own mission, to discover some information.
As Amatesa is walking through town, a man with a food cart waves her down. "Amatesa, hey, I have your favorite dish today!" Amatesa ears perk up and she sees her favorite cart owner. She rushes over and takes a seat at his stand.
"You have those delicious wraps? What flavor do you have today?" Amatesa asked with big eyes.
"I have lamb and salmon mix today. I know you like the mixture. We had a very nice donor today make a delivery." The cart man said.
"I'll definitely take however many you have. How much do you want for them?" Amatesa asked.
"Altogether, I have about $120 worth today, if I divide them then..." As he started to say but got cut off.
"I'll take them all!" Amatesa slaps the $120 coins on the table. "I've been wanting this for weeks! Take as long as you need to get it together."
"Right on it!" And he started working on the big order. Amatesa was his only customer at the moment. It was after lunch time, so the streets were filled with people traveling to other destinations. As she was waiting, a familiar face approached her.
"AMATESA!" A large voice rang. She turns around and sees a tall lion man. He had a brown mane that covered his head, and a beard that had three braids with great length.
"Hey Leon! Long time no see!" Amatesa said running towards him and giving him a hug.
"It's great to see you. I knew you would stop by your favorite stand when you could eat again. Hey sir, let me also get a lamb wrap." They then sat down together and Amatesa told him about the Raccoon city mission they had. "Hmm, that seordmaster sounds familiar. Raphael right? He may have been one of the blessed knights from the north. If he was pompous, I'm almost sure of it. But it's odd he was with a necromancer. Most people don't associate with them. Especially those from God lands, it's treated like a disgrace to their immortality." Leon said.
"Yea, it was weird. Plus he took his neck being snapped like a champ. He looked like a normal human, but apparently not. I don't get why someone so strong would be there. Didn't add up to us." Amatesa said with a sigh.
'You guys came out on top, with minor issues. That's a win. Next time you get into something, call me, you know I'm down for some good action." Leon said
"Definitely will. By the way, did you happen to get that info I was asking about?" Amatesa asked.
Leon passed a note over. "I got something for you. This woman is suppose to be able to track anyone, anywhere. She is hard to track though. Once enough people knows where she is, she vanishes to another location. She doesn't like to be tracked herself. Her services aren't cheap, but money isn't a thing for the sapphire dragons." Leon said smirking.
"Thanks big guy. You can come with me to find her too. I'm sure you'll have a lot of Intel about this spot." Amatesa said while putting the note away.
"We have to move soon, otherwise she may move again and not be close. Word on the street, she's probably leaving after the next full moon passes. That gives us a few days." Leon said.
"Should we get flown nearby or teleported close?" Amatesa asked.
"Teleporting would work, but she chooses area that are so dense in mana, that most people can't teleport in. So, flying would likely be our best option in getting there without issue." Leon said.
"We should get a third. Always best to move in threes. We should get someone to mask our presence though, just to keep word from spreading on us being out there. Don't want anyone trying to get the jump on us, like Raphael."
"I can think of a few stealth specialist, though they charge a lot. Could end up being a large expense with the two services." Leon said.
"I have someone in mind that can work for very little. Though, they may not be fully skilled." Amatesa said with a smile while Leon looked confused.
"Here's our stealth specialist." Amatesa introduces Turquoise to Leon. "My niece, Turquoise. I called her up to help us out."
"Good evening, Sir Leon." Turquoise bows to Leon.
"Good evening, she's young though. Are you sure?" Leon asked.
"Yep, this shouldn't too hard. We shouldn't have any crazy incidents. Making this a good first time exploring." Amatesa said while high fiving Turquoise.
"This will be fun. I get to use my mom's techniques for real. No more trying to sneak up on dad or Lea who always knows I'm coming. I'm excited for this!" Turquoise said pumping herself up.
"Dragons are always a blast. This is why I enjoy having you around Amatesa. Hahahahaha" Leon starts laughing away.
The group will head out the following today. Amatesa told Ryuu that they were going to go traveling to a different beach to hangout. Ryuu wanted to come but they insisted on it being a girls trip. Leaving him home with Lea, who didn't mind cause she loves being home. They were able to leave for a few days, giving them plenty of time to travel.
"Amatesa, why didn't you want to tell dad the truth?" Turquoise asked.
"Well, this could end up concerning him and I didn't want him to be bothered. Plus, there really is a beach near this area. It wasn't completely false. This is something for my curiosity mostly, but I don't want everyone to know." Amatesa said.
"Ok." Turquoise shrugged it off.
They met back up with Leon at a tall tower on the other side of the city. It was extremely tall, allowing for flyers to easily see the building and to land there. "We'll be traveling by the air. These birds are able to use wind magic with their natural flight to effortlessly carry others to destinations. And since they are so common, most spies don't watch them. Perfect for blending in." Leon explained.
The group headed off to see this seer. It was only half a day travel through the air. Upon arriving, they didn't immediately go searching for the seer, as she is only available at brief periods during the day. They instead hit the city.
"This city is different from what I've seen growing up. What kind of city is this?" Turquoise asked.
"This is a human based city. Instead of having floral and nature, they remove most of it for cement and brick. The city is much more sturdy, but it's stiff looking." Leon explained.
"I'm not a fan. It's better than being next to a swamp though. My mother side loves those damp areas, so their cities are typically covered in mud over the building. I prefer the one near dad's home, where it's a lot of grass and openness. People have stands they open up on the streets for everyone to come to. I wonder what the beach would be like here." Turquoise pondered.
"We can check it out, we just need to find lodging for the night. Then we can head to a beach and have some fun." Amatesa said. The group went a hotel. The language here is different. They speak what is commonly called "human" language, compared to the other species who speak "beast". Several people do learn to speak both languages, but language comes naturally at birth for both groups. Only the other language has to be learned. Amatesa being a halfling can speak both fluently. Turquoise can speak it on a casual level while Leon can not at all.
The group found an inn and went inside. It was mostly filled with humans who were staring at the group. Turquoise was concerned about the looks but Amatesa and Leon were completely unbothered. "Hi, I'm looking to get two rooms. A single room and a double bed room." Amatesa did the speaking.
"Are you sure YOU will be able to afford our rates?" The front desk worker arrogantly asked.
"Yes, whatever the rates I can afford it." Amatesa pulled out local money. "I see your prices over on the wall, and this will be enough to cover it."
"For your kind, a security deposit is also required in case you damage anything. That's an additional fee on top." The clerk responded.
"Already counted for." Amatesa said with a smile. "So, if you could hand me the keys for the rooms, that'd be great."
The clerk started to get angry, but then Leon looked him coldly in the face, and the man backed down. He got the keys for the group. "Your rooms will be on the same floor, three. They won't be next to each other but the room number is on them."
"Thank you for your assistance." Amatesa takes the keys and heads to the stairs. The lobby still silent from when they entered and still watch as they head to the stairs.
The group went to the bigger room first together. "Why was everyone staring at us? It was so weird." Turquoise asked.
"That's normal, once we leave the southern zone. Humans don't like most beast people. They have their preferences like dogs and cats, but otherwise they think we are beneath them." Leon explained.
"That is so weird. I didn't think we would be treated as such. I didn't even see any other beast people either. It was just all Humans." Turquoise said.
"Humans tend to push out beast people if humans outnumber them. They make it difficult to live with them, like how you saw with Amatesa." Leon explained.
"How did you to bring extra money?" Turquoise asked.
"I'm used to this. I travel often and this happens regularly. Their customs won't punish them for treating us differently. Whatever rules they make up, we can either agree or walk away. I just catch them on their first offer to avoid them getting ridiculous with their demands. They always like to charge more for a deposit. They also have to legally give it back, or they'll suffer consequences for not keeping their word." Amatesa said.
"The law of the earth would punished them. Makes sense. Well, I'm ready to see the beach!" Turquoise said happily.
"Great, you get to wear these clothing." Amatesa pulled out a bathing suit from her pocket dimension. "Humans don't like nudity. So, you have to wear this at the beach "
"WHAT! Thats crazy. Why would you wear clothes and purposely get them wet? It's much easier to just swim naked. Humans are weird." Turquoise started looking sad. "This beach probably won't even be all that fun."
"Don't look sad, they only care about you covering two spots on your body. This will cover you but will keep you agile." Amatesa said as she handed the bikini to Turquoise. The group then proceeded to get ready, as they will travel to the beach.