Sioc was exhausted when they finally got to Melromark capital city. But Sonya wasn't in the best of shape either. Too many months of lazily playing video games had taken its toll on her physical fitness. But she wasn't that out of shape! Still, she figured that she needed to practice. They both stood at the gate sweating and leaning against the walls, the gate guards looking concerned at first thinking that they ran because something was chasing them that they could not handle until she waved her arms trying to give them a negative on that. Then they began to feel that she might be a bit of a loon. Which she was fine with that part. Normal people in this world probably didn't run around for the fun of it. But whatever.
Sonya made sure they knew everything was fine once she caught her breath and then it was straight to the weapon store, and then the bath house... If they had one. She hoped they had bath houses in the city. With hot water. Nice hot water... She stopped a city guard on patrol. " Excuse me, this city has a bath house here correct?" She asked.
The man looked at her as if she was asking an unusual question. " Lady Shield Hero, Yes, of course. But, I don't think you would want to use the public bath house... The Adventurer's guild has their own bath house that the heroes are welcome to use. It offers a bit more security." The guard answered looking at her with a bit of concern.
"Yes?" She asked the guard. The guard looked at her a bit unsure of himself. " I uh. I am not sure really. Is it true that you.. Killed the Nightingale Burglar? " The guard asked. Sonya's smile became a more stoic look. " Do you mean the man that burst in my room with clear intent to rob me and force himself on me? Yes, I did the only thing I could do to stop him, and unfortunately it ended up killing him." She answered without hesitation.
"Thank you. We had a hard time catching him. He's also a murderer so once his death is confirmed, people will be able to rest at ease." The guard said. "There are... Still a lot more scum out there like him. Please be careful Lady Shield Hero."
The guard looked at her, gave her a short bow and went back to his patrol. She was not a person who was going to hide that she had killed people. And she was not the type of person who was going to look over her shoulder at every corner. She didn't need to anyways. With the directions given, they made their way to the weapon store. She walked in and stepped into a corner seeing the store owners were very busy. Instead she looked down at Sioc who had been very silent until now. She patted his head and sighed. She wondered what kind of weapon would be best for him other than a crude stick with a sharpened point. Which didn't exactly work very well.
There were plenty of weapons to choose from, but she had no idea what to choose. Maybe a spear like weapon? Or maybe a javelin? The crowd didn't seem to dissipate at a reasonable amount of time so she shrugged and left. Maybe they could find something after they both had a bath. She asked for directions to the adventurer's guild and with they were off that way.
It wasn't long after they got to the guild that they paid for a room, stored what little they had in the room and locked it away that they were bathing in separate rooms. It was when Sonya walked into the women's bathing room where the heated bath was that she saw that Uta-san, the blond woman from earlier and several other women from the other heroes' parties were there. She felt silly for not taking note that one was an elf while two were neko demi-humans.
"Oh, Birinte-san! Uta-san called out and gave a little wave. Sonya waved back. Then there was that look that the blond girl gave. It wasn't the disgust she was expecting. Only concern. Sonya sighed and lowered herself into the bath. The blond girl also sighed.
" Lady Brint, I would like to apologize for earlier. I over reacted." The blond girl said calmly not looking her in the eye. Apparently she was too embarrassed about it to make eye contact. Sonya gave a wave of indifference.
" Don't worry about it. What happened happened. Just worry about the calamity coming up... Umm, any idea exactly when that is?" Sonya asked. It was the Elf woman who answered.
" You can reaffirm this at the dragon hourglass at the Four Heroes' Church but it is in the next three weeks." The elf said. She was one of the rangers in Ishiku-san's party. "Yup! Best get a move on on leveling up Miss Shield Hero!" The female gunner from Uta-san's party chimed. She was a neko.
Uta-san looked like she was unsure of whether she should speak her mind or not.
"Yes Uta-san?" Sonya asked calmly.
Uta-san looked away looking embarrassed but shook her head thinking better to ask whatever she was going to ask. The Neko gunner from her party simply smiled mischievously.
" So Miss Shield Hero, who is the kid with the pointy dog ears? He looks like he will be a keeper!" The neko gunner said. Sonya just shrugged her shoulders.
"I have confidence that he'll be a good fighter. For now that is the most important thing." Sonya said bluntly. At first the women in the bath with her looked at her to see if she was serious but then her wording caught on.
There was a commotion from the male's bathroom next door. The sound of someone in pain. Sonya smirked. " Is that the spear hero?" Sonya asked. The elf nodded with a tired sigh..
Sonya nodded. " I guess he found Sioc." She said with a shrug. The women in the bath stared at her.
"What kind of monster is he?" The blond woman asked.
Sonya giggled. " One I taught martial arts from my world to him. Good kid. I like him. Honest as far as I have seen. A bit silly though." She said happily.
Uta-san looked at her nervous. "What are the martial arts from your world like Birinte-san?" Uta-san asked. Sonya looked up at the ceiling pensively.
" Nothing too extreme really. I mean each varies. I taught him the mixture my master taught me. Mostly those that targets pressure points and focuses on dislocation, using a person's force against them like judo, a few grappling moves, and some close quarters moves that mislead an opponent to thinking they have the advantage." She said smiling happily before she started to wet and comb her hair with her fingers.
The blond girl from the sword hero's party still looked at her the same way.
"Again, what kind of monster is he?" She asked now very nervously.
Sonya stood up in the water and crossed her arms over her chest.
" How rude! He is a person you know! Last I checked he is a ten year old Volki boy." Sonya said starting to get annoyed. She looked down to see the vambrace shield that wrapped around her arm and sat back down annoyed focusing on it.
The Neko gunner looked at her with nervous smile. "A Volki? Oh gosh." She said nervously.
Sonya looked at the Neko girl who was a mage in the spear hero's party. She looked just as nervous.
" What's the matter? " Sonya asked starting to get worried.
The nekos both shook their heads. "The Volki are really strong fighters!" The gunner said. "Almost as strong as the Hakuko race."
The nervousness in what the other women said told her she needed to make sure Sioc didn't kill anyone. So she got up, wrapped a towel around her body and went to go check up on the outside of the men's bathroom where Sioc with towel around his waist stood breathing heavily over an unconscious Ishiku-san. Sonya kept her eyes on the ceiling where she grabbed an extra towel that was among some waiting in the shelves of the hallway to throw over Ishiku-san's lower front before the steam conveniently disappeared.
" I take it he was giving you trouble Sioc?" Sonya asked keeping a hand on the front of her chest to keep her towel from unwrapping from around her. Sioc nodded and blushed, looking away.
" Good then. You didn't kill him. So long as it is him or someone like him I don't mind. Just don't kill anyone okay?" She said and waved. " Now go back to taking your bath. I want you not smelling like a wet sweaty dog. And use soap!" She left back to the women's bath to soak leaving a puzzled Sioc.
The women looked at her worried when she came back with a smile on her face.
" Oh no worries. There is a certain dummy who got his lights knocked out but everything fine. He will wake up... Eventually." She said happily as she folded her towel and began to soak her cares away for the next thirty minutes... Or until the women in the bath wanted to compare chest size. Sonya was exasperated.
Of course Uta-san lost because she was a washboard and Sonya... Well She didn't want anything to do with their competition even though they kept trying to drag her into it.
"C-cup! That's what she is!" The neko gunner chimed out before she had a bar of soap chucked at her head by a very annoyed Sonya. That ended the competition. She wondered why she was allowed to throw soap bars when she noticed the convenient skill, ' Bath Time Defense.' floating in her list of skills that allowed for such exceptions. She was liking this shield.
After they bathed, it was back to the weapon store. She looked down to the embarrassed Sioc who walked next to her. He had heard. He looked up at her and waved his arms in defense.
" I swear! I didn't hear anything! I-I had water in my ears!" He tried to lie but Sonya simply bent down and hugged him with his head rested just underneath her chin.
" It is okay. People are stupid and not very considerate. Don't worry about it, I'm not mad at you." She said, patting him on the head and started to continue walking her way to the weapon store. She was in her normal gray dress since she didn't feel like she needed her armor for anything. Scum bags or not. Besides. She had someone watching her back. She could be at ease.
She looked back to see Sioc walking a little behind looking up at her as if he was marveling that she could actually be a kind person. She rolled her eyes and continued on, her subordinate carrying his stick-spear resting on his shoulder like a lead soldier would. When they finally arrived at the weapon store the old sibling pair were sitting in chairs looking exhausted.
" Just a moment. We just got through a crazy influx of customers." The man said as he looked up to see Sonya who sat down by the windowsill. "Just so long as we are next." She said and waited patiently.
" Ah, shield lass. Welcome back." The old woman huffed and leaned back in her chair. The old man sighed and got up. " I see you have a lad with you. Is he your servant?" The man asked. Sonya was hesitant, but nodded.
" And my comrade. And student. A bit of a mix I guess." She said. The man walked closer to get a better look at the Volki boy who stood next to her.
The man sighed. " Been a while since I saw a volki warrior in my store. Well, I'm sure that will be what he will turn out to be. Right then. I am guessing you need a weapon for him eh?" The old man asked before he sighed and looked at his sister.
Sonya nodded. " Also I have some things I was wanting to sell. I figured I probably wouldn't be able to sell them here, but if I could get an idea on where to sell them that would be great!" Sonya said happily.
The old woman walked up to Sonya and handed her a envelope. " We were asked to give you this by an eccentrically well dressed gentlemen. He seemed interested in doing business with you." The old lady asked.
The old man grimaced and waved his hand over to the volki. " If you would like, what is your budget? We can fit your lad while you attend to your business with the fellow." The old man asked. She thought about it. She had bought her armor for two gold and forty eight silver plus the two silver she had spent on lodging and meals so far minus the change she received back in copper...
" I would like to say twenty five silver. I'm sure I will have to replace his weapon sooner than my armor so his gear and weapon doesn't need to have such a high budget. If I feel he needs better armor and weapons, I'll be back. But also, if you have clothes he can grow into, I would appreciate it." She said. The two shop owners nodded and they all waved farewell.
Sonya hesitated when Sioc started to follow. "Ehh. I wouldn't worry about her. If that guy is expecting her, she will be fine." The old man said. Sonya smiled back at the boy. "Behave while I am away." She said before heading out.
She sighed. Sioc did not look to happy with her going alone. She looked at the contents of the envelope. There was a short letter written by a Beloukas the Fifth requesting her audience at his store with a simple map enclosed that gave her directions. The only problem was, she couldn't read in this world's language and had to ask a passing citizen if they could read it for her. A woman about her age with her son looked at her nervously before nodding and accepting. She looked about for the landmarks that would lead her there and eventually found the circus like tent that was the destination. She stepped inside smelling the scent of monsters of many kinds. Some were not in perfect health.
A gentlemen on the plump side carrying a cane and wearing a top hat with a black waist coat, white dress shirt, black bow tie and matching dress pants smiled at her pleasantly. He reminded her of the Penguin from Batman. He gave her the creeps. It didn't help that he was wearing perfectly round shades or that his footwear looked like he was going to a funeral just as much as a party for nobles. His face wasn't cruel, but she had the vibe that he wasn't exactly the kindest person in the world. A businessman who was all to happy about what he sold.
" Ah, welcome, welcome to my store Shield Hero! Or would you prefer Lady Brint?" The man said happily and politely.
Sonya smiled pleasantly. She had to. She just had to not look like she was very uncomfortable right now. And she was very uncomfortable right now. " Lady Brint please." She said simply. The man nodded.
"It is pleasant to see you today. Shall we get down to business?" The man asked reading her look of disinterest with going through pleasantries.
" This way please." He said leading her further into the tent and past a flap. He was a monster dealer as a front and a slave dealer as his main business, but he didn't seem to blatantly hide the fact either. " Ah yes, one of my most famous ancestors of this market did business with your predecessor and I was hoping to see if you would also be interested in my wares."
Sonya didn't look at him when he said this. By wares he meant the people who she was sure were either sold into slavery or sentenced thus. She was sure that was the case. But these people all had an air of looking as if they had no hope or real will to live. She sighed.
" Don't bother showing me your most expensive wear. Start with your least expensive and work your way up. Starting with those who are still in a decent enough condition for combat. I don't care how low their levels are." She said making up her mind. She would do something about the rest later. But now was not the time.
The gentleman was taken back but laughed, which added to his creepy aura along with his bouncing over-jubilant gait. " Ah, this makes me happy. My, Lady Birinte, you know what you want indeed! This way!" He said excitedly leading her away from a group of humans and beastmen to more decrepit looking individuals. Some of them were still children. Beastmen, Demi-humans, humans, dwarves, transparent people, elves. She stopped when she saw a little girl who was chained at the neck to the cage. She wore a dirty white dressed and had yellow feline eyes. She looked like she was part snow leopard.
" Ah, a good eye, but I am afraid you would not want that one in particular. She is very problematic. Very violent." He said with a sigh. " Most return her the same day. She is about as bad as any volki that we try to sell here."
Sonya had a blank face that turned into a grin. " 'About' as you say? Is she in good health. Physically and mentally?" She asked seeing that her level was at ten. The man looked at her with caution.
" No, Lady Birinti, she is perfectly fine but this one will-" He began but was cut off.
" How much for her?" She asked calmly, and very firmly. The gentleman Beloukas the Fifth as she recalled looked at her nervously.
" Lady Birinte, No. I mean, one gold and ten silver..." He said when she turned to him with a wide grin.
" I happen to have a volki boy that I think would be able to manage a Hakuro his level if he had to. And I my self don't feel like I need to worry." She responded as she pulled out the single gold coin she had left and ten silver. "Please do the ritual for her."
It was moments later that the little girl followed behind her. " SO, shall we go get you washed up, a new set of clothes and a full stomach?" Sonya asked looking down to a girl that looked almost about Sioc's age. The girl looked up at her surprised.
"What, you think I'm going to let you go walking around in your condition? Your dress needs replacing, you stink, and need I mention the dead ends on your hair need trimming?" She asked pointing out her almost black hair which was dirty and the split ends. The look on the girl's face said she thought the woman in the gray dress carrying a shield was weird, if not crazy.
"Is it true that you have a volki?" She asked when they got to a clothing store to buy her a blue tunic and shorts to go along with it. She knew the girl was a demi-human so the tunic would fit her as she matured. As well as the shorts, which were a simple beige. That meant they were oversized, bunched up and required a belt or two to stay on. Sonya nodded finally after paying and leaving. Despite what the Slave dealer said, the Snow leopard girl was surprisingly compliant.
" His name is Sioc. Does that name mean anything to you?" Sonya asked leading her to the Adventure's Guild to get washed up. "No. Well, He was apart of my village. But I didn't know him." She said. Getting her to undress meant she also had to undress. She frowned at the scars on her back. She had been whipped, cut, and beaten quite a bit.
"I don't mean to be rude, but by chance did you give the people who did this to you hell?" Sonya asked as she scrubbed the girls back. She received an angry look. " Yes. I did." the girl said flatly.
Sonya smiled which made her madder. " Good girl!" Sonya said happily. " My name is Sonya Brint, by the way. I'm the Hero of the Shield. And it is nice to meet you." The snow leopard girl looked at her surprised and turned around to face a woman with a towel wrapped around her and a leather vambrace with a large green jewel in the middle.
Cautious yellow eyes looked up at cheerful honest blue eyes. The woman who sat now in front of this girl looked plain to her. But made her smile. " My name is Siorradh." She said smiling before turning back with a smile.
Sonya knew Sioc would not exactly be happy with the fact that for starters, he was out numbered. And two, Siorradh did not let him come close to Sonya without giving him a glare in warning. He was wearing almost the same clothes as the snow leopard girl except their colors were in reverse and he wore baggy pants. Sonya sighed knowing they would end up as rivals as she bought him a short spear and her a dagger. Both were iron and would need replacing eventually. Things would be getting very interesting.
