Chương 25: 1-24 Going for dinner

Unsurprisingly, Zassa wasn't at all happy with Josef's decision to go out at night to have dinner with his new friend. Of course he understood where her objections came from. After all, he was taking a risk by doing that. He could be walking into a trap, get ambushed on the way back, or have his identity leaked. Not that he expected the latter, with Zippa being a straightforward guy, even if his little brother appeared a little moody. But so what, he decided.

Something like that would probably happen at some point, as Highsend wasn't exactly a safe neighbourhood, at least in the parts he was spending his time. He wasn't defenseless, not with all the magic he could now wield, or the familiars at his side. If someone tried to rob or kidnap him, they would be in for a bad awakening. It was with thoughts like this that he kept psyching himself up during his next day at the clinic, trying not to get cold feet.

It became increasingly clear to Josef that he had never been an outgoing guy, and coming to Aurum with a couple of holes in his mind didn't magically change that. Even so, he was also excited to just go out, have a fun time and just enjoy an evening doing something normal. Normal. That word had lost a lot of meaning over the last week. He was now one of a kind in a world full of fantastical creatures, even when not taking into account his future scaly prospects.

Right, he was going to become some kind of half-dragon hybrid. There was also the magic he could now wield just as easily as he drew breath. Nothing was normal anymore, and he was just bouncing from situation to situation, healing, fighting, gaining levels. Maybe that's why he was so adamantly looking forward to this evening. He missed just having a fun night. Playing games with his friend, eating popcorn while watching a movie, or just browsing the web.

Well, he couldn't exactly do those things, since this world didn't have that kind of technology, but they could probably do something similar enough. Like eating pizza with friends while telling jokes and complaining about work. Or whatever food there was going to be. Actually, if pizza wasn't a thing, maybe he could make it himself? Josef shelved that idea for the future. If healing didn't pan out, then he would just start a pizza empire.

Even on Aurum, money would surely get him some level of power to affect the world. That idea made him wonder about the intricacies of magical politics. They couldn't just run by the motto of 'might makes right', or could they? Or maybe that entire field was filled with high Charisma mind magic users. His thoughts involuntarily wandered to Vasaj and his oily demeanor. No, he definitely wouldn't go into politics, ever. His musings were interrupted as Charly came down the stairs, like she did every night.

The old lady never approached him in a more personable fashion, mostly sticking to giving polite yet friendly greetings and goodbyes. She also never skipped coming down and thanking him for his work every single night. This time, though, she had some more words for him.

"Your friend's upstairs, waiting for you." She chuckled to herself for a moment before continuing.

"Good for you, boy. You do need to get out of the basement more often." Did she just make a joke?

"Who are you and what did you do with Charly?" He took the opportunity to attempt a little quip.

"Oh hush you, I'm still plenty fun. You're just not old enough to appreciate finely aged humor." She gave him her best grin. It was missing a lot of teeth.

"Now then, before you head out, let me give you a word of warning."

"Don't walk around alone at night, avoid talking with strangers, and never get lured by candy?" Josef joked. He wasn't a little kid anymore. He knew not to be dumb. Charly huffed.

"What are you, 5? If you were that stupid, then that old snake wouldn't let you leave her den. No, boy, I'm telling you to always keep your eyes open, spells ready, and if someone draws a knife, kill them before they can stab you." She definitely wasn't joking this time.

"Are things really that bad? I haven't had any run ins so far." Josef wondered. The streets of Highsend seemed surprisingly calm so far. She made a point of fixing his eyes with her own.

"You only went out with that lycan girl before, didn't you? Her nose would've led you around any street rats you could have encountered. Also, most of your way here leads through the sewer, no? That's a neutral ground, as no one wants those fancy guards to stick their noses where they don't belong. And nobody would dare to jump someone right outside that snake's den. Last guy who did… came to regret his actions."

So he had been sheltered and fed with a silver spoon so far, at least as far as living in the harbour district goes. Josef was surprised to hear that. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"And folks jump people outside of your shop?"

"Not anymore. They eventually stopped when I kept poisoning those fuckers whenever they came in for medicine after one of their stunts." She grinned melancholically at that.

"I sure taught the bastards not to mess around with my customers." Not that Josef had ever planned to do so, but he was never going to mess with that old lady, ever. Don't fuck with a person who makes medicine, they know some nasty stuff.

"Now off with you, I gotta close down, and your friends are waiting." She ushered him upstairs, continuing more quietly.

"And don't you dare die out there. This town needs you more than ever."

"No worries, I don't plan on dying." He tried to sound as reassuring as possible. Not that anyone would ever plan on it, yet it still happened. He took off his mask as he reached the top of the stairs. It would be a bit too suspicious for his venture through the city, and the token from Vasaj should give him enough protection as it is. The obscurity enchantment on it, as Zassa had informed him, would make it hard to memorize or recall his features. At least for those who didn't already know his face before.

It was already getting dark outside, and the shop was only barely lit by a couple of gloomy lights, emitting from small stones spread around the store. There was barely enough light to see the assortment of herbs and jars of ointments on the shelves and counter. The smell reminded him of a spice shop. Actually, would she also have herbs that are spices? He didn't have the time to check much with his eyes, and any opportunity to ask ended the moment they reached the door.

Notably, they hadn't headed to the front of the shop, but to a smaller door in the back. Apparently, backdoors were a standard of construction around here. One that he was thankful for. Just as he stepped outside, he was already beset by an energetic storm of scales crushing the life out of him.

"Hey Zippa, glad you didn't forget about me," Josef greeted with whatever air he could spare.

"Never!" he laughed.

"Come on, let's get this party on the road. The food's not going to cook itself." As the reptile dragged him off, he paused and turned as someone cleared their throat behind them. It was Charly, who was looking somewhat disappointedly at Zippa.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Her arms were crossed and her glare was piercing as she called out the younger reptile. He abruptly ran back to the old lady and gave her a gentle hug.

"Sorry grandma. You know how it is when I get excited." He laughed as he spoke, but Josef could hear a bit of a fearful edge in it. So he was her grandson? Josef wouldn't have suspected that, as the two of them didn't really look alike. Well, other than being reptiles and having a vaguely similar color of scales. Clearly, though, he knew to fear the wrath of his elders. Zippa did behave like the kind of guy who must have received plenty of scoldings in his youth. He wondered why she hadn't said anything before.

"That's no excuse, you brat. Don't think I won't smack your behind just because your friend is watching." She then proceeded to pull him down and… lick over his eye? Was that the reptilian alternative for a grandma pinching you? Or did that count as a kiss on the cheek? They had very little lips to work with, after all. Josef was resolved to always keep an arm's length away from that lady. He was not ready to feel a tongue on his eyeball.

There were some things he wasn't confident even magic could heal, like mental scars. Maybe he could bleach his brain and recover from the fallout? Or maybe Nibbles could take that trauma unto himself? The rat on his head suddenly began to shiver, as if he could read his mind. After Zippa finished fulfilling his duties as a grandson, he grabbed Josef by the arm and quickly took off with him.

"Bye, grandma!" he called over his shoulder and didn't even wait for a reply.

"Let's get away before she decides to keep me. I swear she gets worse every year."

"I heard that!" Fortunately, they made it around a corner and out of sight moments later. He hoped she wouldn't take this out on him the next day, but that was a problem for the Josef of tomorrow. They soon slowed down to a more manageable pace, walking down the alleys of Highsend. It was a part of the town he hadn't been to before, not that this was very surprising. He hadn't seen all that much, if he had to be honest.

"Thanks again for inviting me. I was looking forward to this a lot." He tried to start a bit of small-talk. Josef wasn't very confident in his ability to hold a conversation, but he wanted to prevent an awkward silence.

"I should be the one thanking you, man! Can't believe I'm gonna have an actual h-" he barely caught himself from making a blunder.

"A friend over. Seriously, I owe you more than dinner." It was hard to tell with him, but there was a sad note in his cheerful voice. There was probably still some undigested trauma attached to the memory of how they met. Trying to steer away from the awkward topic, Josef continued, "By the way, where did you leave your brother? He didn't move out in protest, did he?" It was a little jab at how Bezzo had acted the day before.

"Nah, he's good. My little bro's always paranoid about everyone. Don't mind him. Even if he acts like that, he doesn't mean anything by it. He's actually gone off to grab some stuff from the market before the last stalls close down. We didn't know what a human eats, so he decided to get some extra food just to be safe." Josef was surprised to hear that Bezzo was going out of his way to accommodate him. That guy was a lot nicer than he acted.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but is that such a good idea? Should you really split up and go alone through the city right now? You know, with those lunatics around." Zippa gave a stern shake of his head at that.

"Nah, we lived here our whole lives. It's not that easy to pin us in these alleys. Those bastards got lucky that we just came back from the dungeon, or they would have never caught us."

"If you say so, you're the expert on this. Well, compared to me at least," Josef really hoped his friend was right. As if to spite them, a scream rang through the darkening streets. They both pressed themselves against the wall of a building as they slowly approached the corner of the street. There was the sound of fighting ahead, and while Josef's nose wasn't any good, it could still recognize the smell as they neared the source of it. It was the coppery smell of blood.