AN: So I have to admit the response thus far to this story has been phenomenal, far greater than I had thought. So for that thanks a lot, I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story and leave reviews, favs and follows.
Other than that I hope you all enjoy the chapter, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or Elder Scrolls.
( - )
(Last Time)
Even as he thought that though, he felt another person move to stand in front of him. Looking up as he did so, he soon found himself looking into a pair of placid, yet curious, blue eyes.
It was the green haired elf that worked here.
Azoth opening his mouth at the sight of her, however, before either of them could do more than look at one another, they were both distracted by the grey haired waitress suddenly crying out.
"Bell! You came!"
Turning slightly in his seat, Azoth watching as a short, young looking, skinny Adventurer, devoid of armour or weaponry, entered the bar, only for the grey haired waitress, Syr apparently, to usher him onto the seat next to where he was sat.
( - )
Chapter 3
( - )
(With Azoth)
"Come in! I saved a seat at the bar for you!" Syr called out brightly, running around from behind the bar as she did so, before she then began to push the young looking, white haired Adventurer, Bell, towards where Azoth was sitting.
Glancing at the boy, Azoth honestly couldn't say he was all that impressed.
As the Nords would say, the boy looked like a milk drinker through and through; weak, the kind of fool who would either die an early death, or get an arrow in the knee one day and give up on adventuring altogether.
Bringing his wooden tankard up to his lips at that uncharitable thought, and taking a sip of the strong, hoppy liquid, Azoth couldn't help but feel a slight surge of guilt as he watched the very nervous looking teen get ushered onto the stool next to him by the gregarious, grey haired maid.
He was kind of judging the kid without even knowing him.
Everyone started somewhere after all, and Azoth had been no exception. He had been weak once, and no doubt seasoned Adventurers had looked down on him too.
Shaking his head at that thought, Azoth forced a smile on his face. There was no need to continue the cycle of dismissal and disregard, not when he could offer a kind word and a supportative comment instead. He was the Dragonborn after all, he was supposed to be a hero and a role model, not an arsehole.
In front of him, the pretty, green haired elf took his once again empty tankard and silently refilled it.
"You alright kid, had a good day in the Dungeon?" Azoth asked, sending the doll like elf a smile and a nod of thanks as he did so, only to get a curious look back, the girl's bright blue eyes not leaving him as she continued to eye him with a mixture of fascination and suspicion.
It was admittedly a bit odd, and slightly unnerving.
"Uwah, what, me?" The kid, Bell, replied nearly jumping off of his stool in shock as he realised that Azoth was addressing him.
"Who else do you think I was talk too?" Azoth replied amused, the human's reaction was somewhat funny, he kind of acted like a startled bunny.
"Oh, well sorry," Bell muttered shakily, his red eyed gaze taking in Azoth's armour and weaponry, clearly identifying him as a high level Adventurer. "But, well, no it's not gone great…"
"That's sometimes the way it is," Azoth shrugged, accepting his refilled tankard with a grateful smile to the she elf, before he took another sip and once again went back to his food. "We all have rotten days every now and then. Weapons breaks, armour fails, you make mistakes, your enemy turns out to be tougher than you expected. It happens, the mark of a true Adventurer is how you respond to things when they go bad, learn from your mistakes and better yourself!"
"R-right!" Bell nodded loudly, a startled expression his face at Azoth's words.
"Wise words," The she elf commented softly, once again attracting Azoth's attention due to the contradictory nature of her somehow both melodic and emotionless voice. "One must always be prepared for when the worst happens."
"You were an Adventurer yourself?" Azoth asked, eyeing the lithe, green haired woman up and down as he did so.
"Once upon a time, now I am just a waitress." The girl replied dryly, blinking for a moment as she did so, as if she had surprised herself in how readily she replied to him before.
"The name's Azoth," Azoth said for both the green haired elf and Bell's benefit, smiling and giving a half wave to both as he did so. "I'm an experienced Adventurer, but new to the city all the same."
"Ryuu Lion," The elf maid nodded calmly, her gaze roving over Azoth's youthful face, porcelain white skin and angular elven features curiously, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle.
"Erm, my name is Bell Cranel," Bell added on awkwardly, glancing between the two elves as he did so, as if unsure about whether or not he was included in the conversation. Not that that stopped him from asking a follow up question. "But erm, Mister Azoth, sir, how can you be an experienced Adventurer if you're new to Orario?"
It was a good question, Azoth had to concede, and a tricky one to answer.
Fortunately though he was saved from having to answer by Ryuu.
"There are monsters outside of Orario, Bell, those that escaped the Dungeon and bred in the traditional way." Ryuu said simply, tearing her gaze away from Azoth as she instead looked down at Bell. "Many Familia's operate outside of the city and deal with these monsters."
"O-oh," Bell nodded. "I guess that makes sense, I-I mean I knew that monster were living outside of the Dungeons, I just didn't realise that there were other Familia out there dealing with them."
"It's not just Familia outside of Orario that deal with the weaker, rogue monsters that live on the surface, the Guild here in Orario sometimes offer quests to deal with them too." Ryuu said with a nod.
"Interesting," Azoth muttered, his brow furrowed. A few Quests outside of the city might be good for earning a bit of money and getting the proper lay of this land.
Ryuu raised an eyebrow at his muttered word.
Before she could ask though, she was interrupted by the cheerful Syr returning once again. The grey haired girl practically bouncing as she finished delivering some food to one of the tables and came back to speak to her 'friend?' Bell?
"I wasn't sure if you would come tonight," Syr voiced through a fit of giggles, taking a seat on the other side of Bell, capturing his attention as she did so. Which Azoth took as a sign to go back to finishing his meal, whilst Ryuu was called away by Mama Mia telling her to start dishing out beer to some of the most recent newcomers. "I'm so happy you accepted my invitation!"
"W-well," The white haired boy muttered, visibly nervous as he edged away from the pretty, exuberant girl, reaching behind his back as he did so, after which he grabbed a wrapped up box which had previously been attached to his belt. "I had to return this, so…"
"Oh of course, my lunch box!" Syr smiled brightly, clapping her hands together with delight. "Thank you for returning it. I hope you enjoyed the food! I-I made it myself," noticeably her cheeks went a little pink as she accept the box off of him.
"I-It was brilliant. Thank you." The red faced Bell muttered back.
Azoth, from where he was sitting couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, nearly spilling his ale as he washed down the last of his food.
Immediately the two teens turned to look at him. Bell looking distinctly embarrassed, whilst Syr looked faintly irritated.
"Sorry," Azoth chuckled, wiping some foam from around his mouth and pushing his empty plate across the bar so that one of the cat like serving girls could take it, a coy smile on her face as she eyed him up. "It's just amusing to see young love again, it reminds me of when I was your age, and fumbling around with courting a woman for the first time."
Almost immediately both Syr and Bell went bright red, the white haired Adventurer stuttering out denials, even as the grey haired maid suddenly found her services needed elsewhere. With her only sticking around long enough to call for Ryuu to come over and take Bell's food and drinks orders.
"Was it something I said?" Azoth asked the green haired elf as she came over to where he was sat.
"I don't believe they have defined the terms of their relationship, or even known each other long enough to be even close to forming one." Ryuu commented lightly, her blue eyes moving from the still pink cheeked Syr, who was at that moment serving a short, bearded man on the other side of the bar, to the still red faced and stuttering Bell.
"Oh I had thought otherwise. Maybe it's just cultural differences. Back in my homeland, in the far north, life is tough and often times short. The humans, and some of the other races, up there don't bother with prolonged courtship. If you like a person and feel desire for them, then you express it. If they reciprocate you couple up until one or other of you either die or grow bored." Azoth shrugged, scratching his chin idly as he pondered over the cultural differences between the hard, cold, tough lands of Skyrim, and the Dungeon City of Orario.
Turns out there might be a lot.
"W-what!?" Bell squeaked, his face so red now that Azoth thought he was about to pass out.
"That is a simplistic and rather blunt way of viewing something as delicate and meaningful as a relationship." Ryuu commented mildly, her blue eyes studying Azoth curiously. "From where do you come Mister Azoth?"
"The far north, a country of ice, snow and monsters." Azoth replied with a shrug, not too offended by her words. "As I said it is a rough place to grow up, cold, cruel and inhospitable, and as such those who grow up there have had to adapt and evolve to survive. What about you Ryuu, where does such a beautiful and enchanting elf such as yourself come from?"
"I came from Ryumilua Forest in the west, but it has been many year since last I walked through the ancient trees of my homeland." Ryuu said, the slightest hint of sadness entering her voice as she did so, but only for a moment before her gaze sharpened. "As for your compliments, please do keep them to yourself Mister Azoth. You do not know me, and I am not one of your kin, and thus do not follow your crude courtship customs."
"Ouch," Azoth replied mildly, his violet eyes twinkling, despite the rejection. "Still not unexpected, I apologise if I offended you."
"You need not apologise, for you have not caused me any offense." Ryuu shot back, her lips curving upwards into a smile for the slightest of instances.
"I'm glad." Azoth nodded, meeting Ryuu's intense blue eyes with his own violet ones.
Before anymore could be said, a sudden gurgling noise interrupted the moment. The sound causing both elves to turn and look at the source, only to see that it was the red faced Bell, with the sound having been his gurgling, rumbling stomach.
"Oh, Mister Cranel, forgive me, I forgot to take your order." Ryuu said suddenly, tearing her eyes away from the other elf as she instead gave a bow of apology to the stuttering, red faced boy and quickly took his food and drinks order. After which she retreated to the kitchen to tell the cooks.
"You're not particularly good with women are you kid," Azoth said blandly, watching the still stuttering, pink faced, boy with a bemused expression. Seriously had this kid never even met or spoken to a member of the opposite sex before? What kind of upbringing did he have?
Bell, if possible, just flushed an even deeper shade of red at Azoth's blunt comments. Fortunately though he was saved from replying, by the now recovered Syr, who chose that moment to come over, noticeably sending Azoth the stink eye as she set a new tankard of ale in front of the Snow Elf.
Apparently he didn't need to even ask anymore. No doubt Mia had given standing order for his tankard to be refilled whenever it was empty. Which was good in the way that the ale here was delicious, and bad, because even with his Dragonborn and Werewolf, the perks of being in the Companion's inner circle, constitution, he was beginning to get drunk. That and it would probably hit his finances hard.
"Have you started behaving?" Syr asked Azoth, her grey eyes narrowed as saw him grin in response to her pointed, rhetorical question, after which she turned to Bell, her cheeks going pink as she gave him a bright smile. "Do let me know if he continues to run his mouth, Bell, if he does I'll set Mama Mia on him!"
With that said she then disappeared into the back room, leaving Bell alone with the amused Azoth, the white haired boy clearly completely confused now.
This was probably not how he had expected his night out at the tavern to go.
"Like really, I make a single innocent comment and the girl gets all snippy." Azoth muttered, taking a sip of his ale as he did so.
"Oh, so is that why little Syr was all out of sorts, you were causing trouble?" Mama Mia spoke up jovially, the grinning woman laughing loudly as she sidled over and put a large plate of some kind of fish dish in front of Bell.
"Apparently so…" Azoth shrugged dryly.
Mia let out another laugh at that, her brown eyes twinkling at Azoth, before she looked down at Bell. "So you're the kid, Syr, mentioned before? It seems she has taken quite a liking to you!" With that said she gave the nervous kid a broad smile that was both warm and welcoming. "The name's Mia Grand, but everyone calls me Mama Mia. I'm the owner of this fine establishment!"
"I-I am Bell Cranel. Syr helped me out this morning, so I'm here to, um…" Bell muttered sheepishly.
"Pleasure to meet you Bell," Mia interrupted cheerfully, her smile brightening as Ryuu came along with two other large dishes in her hands. "Now eat up, I've added an extra bowl of pasta on the house! We need to get you beefed up if you're to be going into the Dungeons! The last thing I want is for Syr's new friend to get himself killed down there!"
"O-oh, er thanks!" Bell replied, blinking in shock at the sheer size of the mound of food in front of him, even as he dutifully began to eat up.
"And you, little elf!" Mia said turning to look at Azoth again as she did so, the grin on her face taking any real heat from her words. "I've decided that you can buy another order of the pie to make up for bothering poor Ryuu with your perverted attentions and embarrassing innocent Syr!"
"Wait what?" Azoth replied, blinking with surprise as Mia slammed the large plate of food down in front of him. His eyes flicking up to look at the green haired elf, who just shrugged to show she had no idea what was happening, after which he caught the wicked smile on Syr's face.
Oh, so this was the girl's revenge for embarrassing her.
That was fair enough, he might not have done it on purpose, but still, he had embarrassed her.
Besides if this was the extent of her revenge then he would take it good naturedly.
"You heard me!" Mia smirked.
With that said Azoth rolled his eyes and started eating without complaint. The food was good, and admittedly he was still kind of hungry.
"Now tell me because I'm curious and didn't ask properly before," Mia continued, leaning against the bar, both Syr and Ryuu noticeably lingering nearby, even as they continued to serve the other customers. The number of new clientele having noticeably diminished over the last half an hour or so. "Just what have you been up to wreck your armour like that?"
Azoth cocked his head to one side at the question, finishing a mouthful of food as he pondered over what to say.
"I took on an opponent I thought I was ready for. Turned out I wasn't, and the bastard tore me a new one for my impudence. Were it not for my armour and equipment being as good as it is, well I would probably be dead right now!" Azoth finally said, thinking back on that final battle in Sovngarde with Alduin.
"Ahh, so you bit of more than you could chew." Mia stated sagely.
"Aye, for three days and two nights we fought, man against beast! But in the end that damned dragon got the best of me." Azoth grunted, and honestly it really did hurt his pride to admit such a thing, that he, the ultimate dragon slayer, had not been able to slay a dragon.
"A dragon eh?" Mia asked, leaning in with more interest now, an odd look in her eyes as she looked over the horrific rents and gouges in his all but ruined armour.
"Yes, one as black as night, with a wingspan that could cover an entire town in shadow, and spikes and horns as sharp as the most deadly of blades, and teeth that are longer and sharper than the most powerful of swords. A monster of incredible power and unimaginable rage and fury." Azoth muttered, his tone unconsciously becoming colder, more furious and more intense as he thought back on his destined foe.
Not noticing as he did so how the four people listening in had all leaned closer and were hanging on his every word, their gazes filled with fascination.
Ignoring the looks, Azoth pulled his double bladed battle-axe, Wuuthrad, from his back. Power and fury coursing through the ancient, enchanted weapon and up his hands and into his as he studied the intricate, carvings, and screaming faces on the axe's blade, one of his fingers absently trailing over the dried golden blood, Alduin's blood, which was still encrusted on one of the edges.
Unknown to Azoth, Ryuu, flinched at the sight of the axe. Her heart skipping a beat as her natural affinity to magic picked up the incredibly powerful enchantments on the axe, as well as the hatred and fury emanating off of it, a hatred and fury which to her senses felt personal.
Just from a single glance the elf maiden could tell that this axe had taken the lives of thousands, if not tens of thousands. But more than that there was a malevolence surrounding the axe, a bloodthirsty rage that made her heart tighten, her gut clenched and her skin crawl.
"A one-eyed black dragon, that is who I faced, and that is who I failed to kill." Azoth muttered to himself, his violet eyes hard and cold as his finger still traced the encrusted blood on the axe. "But I gave as good as I got, and landed more than a few blows on that monster, enough to spill its blood!"
At those words there was a sharp intake of breath from all four of the listeners, all of them looking at Azoth in shock as they registered just who he was talking about.
"You fought the One-Eyed Black Dragon and lived?" Syr asked in awe, not doubting his words for a second, as there was no way anyone was a good enough actor to fake the fury and emotion Azoth had just shown.
"You've heard of him?" Azoth asked sharply, looking up at Syr, before he then turned to Mia, his eyes widening as he saw the pale look on her usually ruddy face. Her eyes unerringly fixed on his axe.
"It's the last of the Three Great Beasts, everyone has heard of it!" Ryuu said sharply, her eyes not on the 'cursed' blade, but on Azoth's face. "For over a thousand years that monster has plagued the lands. Thousands of Adventurers have fallen to its fury, and entire towns have disappeared over night at its passing. Not even the combined might of the Zeus and Hera Familia's, the most powerful Familia's of all time, were able to defeat it!"
"A thousand years…" Azoth muttered, his eyes narrowing. Was this the same beast he had fought, or just a coincidence?
"I had heard," Mia suddenly said, her voice tense and much quieter than normal as she leaned over the bar to speak to Azoth. "I had heard the rumour that the One-Eyed Black Dragon had the golden blood of the gods. But to truly see it!" Her eyes snapped up to Azoth as she said this. "And you say you fought it and survived?"
"If we are talking of the same dragon then yes." Azoth nodded slowly, a frown on his face as he took in their reactions, noticing as he did how Bell had frozen, his jaw slack and his fork hanging in the air halfway to his mouth. "The one I fought, well the people of my land knew him as Alduin, the World Eater."
Mia let out a hiss at that, her hand gripping the wooden bar's table top hard enough to crack it. "Don't say that name out loud! It's bad luck!"
Azoth blinked in surprise at that, looking to Ryuu for an answer as he did so.
"When the dragon first arrived, over a thousand years ago, it caused so much death and carnage that gods and mortals alike don't speak its name. To do so is considered bad luck, a curse, as it is feared that by just speaking its true name you would summon it to you." Ryuu said calmly, her gaze and expression back to being placid now.
"Ryuu's right, we don't speak its name, and instead just call it the One-Eyed Black Dragon. In fact that has been the tradition for so long, that only the gods that have been here for the longest, and their most trusted Familia members, remember or know its name." Mia muttered, her hard gaze surveying both Bell and Syr, the look in her eyes obvious.
They were to tell no one of the beast's true name, nor were either of them to mention what they had heard here today.
Azoth nodded at that, not at their fear of the World Eater's name though, but instead at the confirmation that the two dragons were one and the same. Alduin was here and still alive, and apparently he had been in this world for over a thousand years. Perhaps a side-effect, a peculiarity, of the way they had been transported here.
"Do you know where he is?" Azoth suddenly asked, looking at both Mia and Ryuu, the two women that, by this point, he knew were experienced Adventurers, after all Mia had said so herself, only those in old and powerful Familia's knew the details surrounding Alduin and his presence in this world, and his deeds.
"I don't know, I've not heard of anyone seeing the beast, not since it decimated the Zeus and Hera Familia fifteen years ago." Mia shook her head, calming down significantly now, though she still kept a curious, cautious eye on Azoth. "By the sounds of it, you're the last one to have seen it, so surely you should know?"
"That's the thing, I don't know." Azoth muttered irritably, putting his axe away now as he instead drummed his fingers on the bar. "At the end of our fight he hurled me away, and then I just woke up here, just a few hours outside of the city, alone, and battered, but alive."
Mia and Ryuu frowned in confusion at that. Bell and Syr meanwhile just exchanged a glance, it seems both of them knew that they were out of their depth in this conversation.
"Then it seems you are at an impasse." Ryuu said simply.
"Yes," Azoth nodded, pausing his drumming now as he instead looked up at the green haired elf. "But all is not lost, I'll forge myself some new armour, hone my skills, and get more powerful. After that I will track the overgrown lizard down again and finish it off once and for all!"
"Ha!" Mia laughed, the loudness of her voice startling all four of them, after all previously they had all been whispering. "You don't half aim high do you elf?!"
"It's in my nature," Azoth shrugged absently. "I am a born dragon slayer."
Mia's lips twitched upwards in amusement at that. "I like you kid, you're crazy, and clearly have a death wish. But I like you all the same!"
"Erm thanks, I think…" Azoth replied dryly.
In response Mia shook her head. "Follow your dreams kid, but try not to get killed. The world would be a much more boring place without you." She then nodded, turning away to get back to work as she did so, however before she left she paused long enough to say something else. "As for your issue with the dragon. Share with the Guild and your goddess what you know when you join a Familia, they should be able to help you. Other than that though, try to keep it to yourself. That dragon is a touchy subject, and shouldn't be bandied about thoughtlessly."
Azoth paused as he heard her advice, but still nodded all the same, her words made sense.
"The same goes for the rest of you, especially you Syr and Bell, it would be best if you forget, or don't think about, what you learned here tonight." Mia added on, her eyes flicking over to the two teens now, her gaze as intense as it had been before.
In response both Bell and Syr nodded, both of them sending Azoth partly cautious, partly curious looks as they did so.
Ignoring these looks, Azoth instead downed his tankard of ale and handed it to Ryuu to get it refilled, aware as he did so, that the green haired elf was watching him closer than ever, an inscrutable expression on her face.
This girl would be damned good at poker.
"The group reservation has arrived, nya!" One of the cat girl waitresses suddenly called out loudly, distracting Azoth from his musings as Ryuu put another full tankard in front of the tipsy Snow Elf. With him, as well as the rest of the tavern quieting down and turning towards the door at the girl's words.
As he did so, he saw several unfamiliar people walk into the room, each of them carrying themselves proudly, even as the entire tavern turned to watch them.
Shifting fully around on his stool so he could get a proper look at them them, his tankard in hand, Azoth's violet eyes flicked back and forth, surveying the members of the vaunted Loki Familia as they entered the tavern on mass.
The first of them was a striking, and beautiful, green haired elf, she Azoth certainly noticed. The next was a short, blond child, or at least a man that looked like a child. After which there was then a grey haired young man that had the scent of a wolf about him, after which a short, stocky, brown haired man followed along.
After him walked a skinny, red haired woman, who toddled along casually behind the others, wearing obscenely tight and short clothing. With two, tanned and admittedly attractive dark haired humans walking along behind her, both of whom were just as obscenely dressed. With another striking, blonde haired, golden eyed human and a long, brown haired elf maiden following after the rest.
All of these people were members of the Loki Familia, one of the most powerful Familia's in the world.
And honestly, Azoth wasn't impressed.
It might be the drink talking, or the fact that they all, or at least most of them, seemed so young and cocksure, but they didn't look like powerful, experienced Adventurers to him.
Sure there were some exceptions, the short, stocky man and the green haired elf, they had an air of power, age and skill about them. As too did the blonde child, surprisingly.
The others though, they just looked like kids playing at Adventurers, powerful kids sure, but kids all the same. They didn't look hardened and weary, nor did they walk like people who had faced down certain death, and not only come out of it alive, but come out of it stronger than they had been before.
Again it might be uncharitable, and judgemental, it was one of his flaws, and he would certainly blame the drink, but he just wasn't impressed.
Still, regardless of his opinion, the Loki Familia had, in recent years, according to Mia, become one of the undisputed top Familia's in the world. The growth of their top members, most of whom were apparently quite young, had been much faster than most other Adventurers. So much so that many of their top executives were called prodigies.
Mia had even suggested that he join either the Loki Familia, or their equal, the Freya Familia, or at least she had before he had made his interest in Smithing known, and considering what he knew of, and had seen of, Mia thus far, he was inclined to take her at her word.
Drinking more ale as he watched the group, Azoth didn't miss how the white haired kid, who was still beside him, cheeks suddenly went bright red as he saw the young looking blonde haired human, like seriously she couldn't be more than sixteen.
Then again that was how old Azoth had been when he had started Adventuring, so who was he to judge.
Still, despite this Azoth smirked into his mug as he saw Bell's reaction. It seemed the horny little kid who couldn't even talk to a woman without stuttering, fancied the blonde swordwoman.
It was cute.
Not that he would say anything about it, he didn't want to embarrass the kid any more than he already had after all, or at least not yet. Nor did he want to upset that Syr girl. The last thing he wanted was for Mia to ban him from her rather delightful establishment for upsetting her waitresses.
"So those are the top Adventurers of the Loki Familia." Azoth muttered, leaning back on his stool as eyed the large group of rowdy Adventurers, even as more and more of them streamed into the tavern, the group quickly taking over the two largest, circular tables in the centre of the tavern, with some of them spreading out over the rest of the busy tavern, as even those two tables didn't have the capacity for all of them.
"They're regulars here at the Hostess of Fertility. Their goddess loves this place." Syr explained from behind him, her voice soft as she looked between the two white haired men. "In fact, that redhead over there the one in the short shorts, she is the Goddess Loki, believe it or not."
Azoth frowned as he heard that, ignoring Bell as he asked more questions of Syr, instead he focused on the skinny, red haired woman, taking in her half closed eyes and fox like features. Again this goddess didn't give off the aura of a Divine Being, not like the ones Azoth had met before.
Then again, as Mama Mia had said, the gods had descended from the heavens and taken on the forms of mortals, sealing away their divine power, their Arcanum, as they did so. Perhaps that was the reason why the gods felt so mundane, because for all intents and purposes they were. Or at least they were as long as they didn't unseal their Arcanum.
"Alright, good work on the dungeon expedition! Today's a feast so let's get this party started! Cheers!" Loki shouted out as her Familia got comfortable, and all the waitresses, including Ryuu and Syr headed over and started serving them drinks of ale, wine and many other types of alcoholic beverages and spirits, some of which Azoth didn't even recognise.
"Cheers!" Many of the Adventurers chorused, even as they began to drink and celebrate, shouting and cheering somewhat obnoxiously, as food was brought out, and drinks were drunk, their voices quickly blending with all the other voices in the tavern as everyone else went back to what they were doing before, the atmosphere quickly returning to what it had been previously, if not a bit rowdier than before.
Save for Mama Mia and her girls, all of whom were rushing about bringing pre-ordered food and drinks to the Familia's tables.
Smiling slightly at this, Azoth downed his most recent tankard of ale and turned back to face the bar.
They might be kids, or at least most of them, but they looked like they were having fun. Honestly it reminded him of how he used to party late into the night and early morning with the warriors of Jorrvaskr after a successful quest.
It was nostalgic, and made the idea of joining one of the Familia's all the more tempting, he liked company and drinking with comrades, especially after a hard fight.
"Hey, Ais! Why don't you tell them the story of the Tomato Boy?!" A particularly rowdy voice, the one belonging to the wolf boy, suddenly sounded out over the crowd. "You know, the kid that got covered in Minotaur blood down on the fifth floor!"
From beside him, the somewhat drunk Snow Elf saw Bell tense and pale slightly.
The kid had said he had had a bad day, he was inferring here, but maybe this was a part of it.
"I mean come on, tell us the whole story! I only saw the kid running away covered in blood and screaming! I really wish I had been there to watch what happened to get the little shit that worked up!" The grey haired man shouted out with a loud bark of laughter, the pair of grey dog like ears on his head and his bushy grey tail twitching as he continued to laugh. "He was just running around, screaming. Blood was flying everywhere! I mean seriously you guys should have seen it!"
The wolf like teen laugh again at that, some of his companions, like the two tanned girls and quite a few others, joining in at the picture he paint, even Azoth felt his lips twitching upwards in spite of himself, out of context the story did sound amusing.
The green haired elf sitting next to him however just frowned in the grey haired teens direction, "Why ask Aiz to tell the story Bete, when you are doing a fine job of it yourself?" The scorn and disapproval in her voice was clear to hear.
"Hah?!" The now named, and clearly drunk, Bete, laughed, looking over to the pretty blonde human, Aiz, as he did so. "Aiz was there and she knows more about it than I do, I just turned up at the end! So come on Aiz spill, did he cry and scream, oh, oh did he piss himself too, you know before you saved him? It looked like he did, please tell me he did!?"
Azoth's smile faded and he frowned slightly as he heard this, and began to understand what this Bete was talking about. He was no saint, he had mocked others before, and had not always been a graceful winner. But he had never acted like this, deliberately and harshly scorning a weak, inexperienced Adventurer for not being able to deal with more than he was capable of.
It was shameful.
Looking to the side he could see the kid, Bell, looking at the floor, his hands at his side, visibly shaking. He could also see a cold look on Ryuu's face, and looks of distaste on some of the other Loki Adventurers and tavern goers faces. The expressions becoming more and more prevalent as Bete continued to cruelly and crudely rip into the younger, weaker Adventurer he spoke of for failing to fight or stand up to a monster, that, by the sounds of it, was far stronger than he could realistically defeat.
The man's mockery was verging on cruel now.
"Come on Bete, it's not that funny," One of the tanned girls finally spoke up, the one with the longer hair and bigger chest, a frown on her face as she by this point had stopped laughing. "I mean come on, the kid was just a Level One and he was against a Minotaur, he never stood chance! Besides the whole thing was our fault anyway!"
"What, so it's our fault that the kid couldn't handle a single Minotaur? Give me a break, Tione!" Bete snarled, a flash of irritation crossing his face at being called out, especially by someone who had previously been in on the joke and laughing.
"It kind of is, Minotaurs aren't supposed to be in the upper floors, you know that. If we hadn't let them run away from us, then that kid never would have gotten in trouble," The other tanned girl, the one with shorter, spikier hair and a flatter chest said.
"You too, Tiona?! You were laughing your ass off at the time, too!" Beta complained, scowling at the two tanned girls now, a put out expression on his face.
"That's because it was funny at the time, I mean the kid wasn't hurt, but was running about covered in blood, screaming. But still, it might have been funny, but that doesn't make it any less our fault, though." The now named Tiona commented with a shrug, her, 'sister maybe?', nodding along in agreement.
Bete growled at that, before he turned and looked over to the blonde haired swordswoman again, "What do you think about it, Ais? A little coward like that couldn't hope to make it as an Adventurer, you agree, right?!"
In response the blonde haired girl just tiled her head to the side, her expression and golden eyes emotionless as she just looked at Bete.
Apparently she wasn't much of a talker.
The green haired elf though, seemed to have had enough. "That's enough Bete, it was our fault those Minotaurs were down there, not the boy's. We all start somewhere Bete remember that, just because he is weak now and understandably couldn't fight a Minotaur at his current level, doesn't mean he will remain weak."
"Hn! You're giving the kid too much credit, he'll end up dead sooner or later, and good riddance too, if you're too weak, and can't keep up, then you don't belong down in the Dungeon." Bete snapped, his words holding a bit too much weight and emotion to them than Azoth expected.
Apparently he wasn't just being an arsehole, but had a personal stake in this too. Not that that excused his dickish actions.
Now, it might be the twelve or so tankards of strong ale talking, but Azoth decided it was time to say something, time to set the grey haired kid straight on how the world really worked and how he should and should not be treating and talking about his fellow Adventurers.
By which he meant that it was time to do what he loved best when he was in a tavern, in a dour mood, and drunk, it as time to challenge some idiot to a brawl!
Ignorant of Azoth's internal decision, the wolf boy continued yapping. "What, not you too Riveria? The kid is a waste of space, and would be better off giving up on being an Adventurer, you know that!"
"Azoth!" Syr suddenly called out in surprise, her grey eyes widening as the white haired Snow Elf stood up off of his stool and started walking over to the Loki Familia's table. "What are you doing? Don't cause any trouble!"
Azoth however only sent her a grin in response. He wasn't going to kill or maim anyone or anything like that. He was just going to challenge the wolf boy to a fight, kick him around a bit, and put the little yapping puppy in his place. He wasn't going to do anything too bad, right!?
( - )
AN: So what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next one will involve Azoth's introduction to the most powerful Familia, and will also involve him leaving the pub and setting down proper roots as he searches for a Familia. Should be fun!
That said this chapter was important in setting things out, adding to Azoth's character and giving more context to his situation.
It also involved his first meeting with the canon protagonist Bell Cranel. Though that said I would like to say here and now, I have certain issues with some crossovers. Little irritations that I tend to avoid. One of which is how in quite a few stories the MC from one will train the main cast from another for no reason. That kind of annoys me, after all you don't give something without getting, and unless it is reasonably justified it tends to annoy me when the protagonist just randomly starts training others, or even worse, sharing his magic, skills or equipment with them, for no justifiable reason.
Honestly it is a pet peeve of mine, especially when the main cast of one is just randomly given the skill set or abilities from the other verse for no discernible, or justifiable reason. So yep just a warning I will be avoiding those cliches in this story, like I do in most of my stories.
That said one thing I do love in stories is a spot or romance and a good pairing, I have a soft spot for it. And Danmachi has quite a lot of strong, intelligent female leads to develop and play around with. Like seriously there are so many, and some of them are quite grounded and well written, or have the potential to be. There are some crossovers already that show this, a favorite of mine surprisingly despite my aforementioned dislikes, due to it being done properly, Heroic Myth, for one.
Other than that, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you all review, and continue to enjoy my story. If you have the time please do check out my other ones on my bio. If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.
For those interested my next update should be for my 'The Renegade' HP story.
Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll catch you later.
Greed720.